Homesteading Tools and Reference Charts
Current Homesteading has seven free homesteading tools and reference charts. All of them work in your browser, none of them ask for an email before they answer, and every number in them is traced to a named university extension service or veterinary reference.
Homesteading tools: the calculators
Gestation calculator
Pick a species, enter the breeding date, get the due date, the normal early and late window, and a dated milestone schedule. Saves your bred animals so the page becomes a season-long dashboard. Goats, sheep, cattle, pigs, rabbits and horses.
Raised bed soil calculator
Bed dimensions in; cubic feet, cubic yards, bag counts, delivered weight and a mix ratio out. Flags your blend when it crosses the compost ceiling Oregon State publishes.
Homesteading tools: the reference charts
Home canning time chart
Processing times and methods by food, for water bath and pressure canning.
Produce storage life chart
How long fruit and vegetables keep, and the conditions that get you there.
Background reading behind these homesteading tools
How much compost is too much in a raised bed?
The evidence behind the soil calculator: what each extension service publishes, where they disagree, and the soil-test numbers that tell you if your bed is already over.
Drought-proofing a homestead garden
Water-holding soil, mulch depth and the watering schedule that survives a dry summer.
What each of these homesteading tools answers
| Tool | The question it answers | What it needs from you |
|---|---|---|
| Gestation calculator | When is she due, and what has to happen before then? | Species and breeding date |
| Raised bed soil calculator | How much soil do I buy, and is my compost share too high? | Bed length, width and fill depth |
| Companion planting chart | What can share a bed? | Nothing — it is a chart |
| Home canning time chart | How long do I process this? | Nothing — it is a chart |
| Produce storage life chart | How long will this keep? | Nothing — it is a chart |
Data updated September 2026. Every tool on this page is free, works without an account, and keeps whatever you save in your own browser rather than on our servers.