You Can Make Your Own Fertilizers
By Christopher and Dolores Lynn Nyerges
Issue #44 • March/April, 1997
For some people, home gardening is an expensive pursuit, which seems a bit backward to us. At one time, people gardened because home-grown produce was...
Grow Open Pollinated Seeds for Self-Reliant Gardening
By Jackie Clay
Issue #56
In the past I've grown hybrid vegetables, mostly the varieties that have been developed to produce early yields. Because of this, I was able to grow things like sweet corn in...
Plant Your Trees in the Spring
By Tom Kovach
Issue #61 • January/February, 2000
Winter is a good time to plan your spring tree plantings, deciding what and where you want to plant. When spring arrives you'll be ready.
Spring is the best...
Grow Garlic and Reap Health Benefits
By Alice B. Yeager
Photos by James O. Yeager
Issue #98 • March/April, 2006
Garlic is one of our oldest herbs on record. Anyone can grow garlic without having to hover over it, hoping that it produces....
Converting a Gasoline-Powered Rototiller to Electric
By Glenn Willis, Jr.
Issue #87 • May/June, 2004
Several years ago my sister and her husband had an 8-horse gas-powered rototiller that went belly up. They fussed with it a bit, but couldn't get it...
Mid-season planting
By Jackie Clay-Atkinson
As the saying goes “Life happens…” Maybe events have kept you from getting your garden planted early in the spring. When we moved to New Mexico, it was in late June and...
Graft Your Own Designer Fruit Trees
By Jackie Clay
Issue #121 • January/February, 2010
Although I've been homesteading for more than forty years, there's always something new to learn. (I figure that if I don't learn at least one thing every day,...
A New Use for Old Tires: A Garden Using Tires
By Charles Sanders
Issue #98 • March/April, 2006
There are mountains of old tires out there. Americans keep on rolling and tires keep on wearing out. Every year there is almost one scrap tire created for...
Build an Old-Fashioned Hotbed and Start Your Seeds in Style
By Roy Martin
Issue #104 • March/April, 2007
A hotbed is a miniature greenhouse that is heated to protect new seedlings from cold. The hotbed differs from a cold frame in that it has an internal...
A Child’s Garden — More than Child’s Play
By Jackie Clay
Issue #69 • May/June, 2001
There are many things parents can give their children, other than plastic toys or a few bucks to play video games at the mall. And one of the...
Blueberry Cash Crop
By Ed Mashburn
Issue #130 • July/August, 2011
My almost two-year-old grandson loves blueberries. Put a bowl of those round blue jewels in front of him, and he's a happy little man. He's not alone. Many...
Okra — Not Just for the South
By Alice B. Yeager
Photos by James O. Yeager
Issue #58 • July/August, 1999
No one is quite sure about how okra seeds came to this country. Okra is of African origin and the seeds could have...
Your Manure Pile — For Fuel, Fertilizer, and Maybe Even Improved Water Quality, You...
By Rev. J.D. Hooker
Issue #87 • May/June, 2004
It's been well over a decade now since I first heard my friend Pete voice his amazement at my practice of spreading animal manure as a fertilizer....
Grow Open-Pollinated Tomatoes
By Jackie Clay-Atkinson
Issue #166 • July/August, 2017
Nearly all of us homesteaders grow tomatoes in our gardens. Tomatoes are hugely valuable as a homestead crop. After all, they give us a wide variety of products.
Many...
Jackie’s Garden Primer
By Jackie Clay
Issue #117 • May/June, 2009
The birds are singing. The sunshine makes the day feel soft and warm. The soil is mellow and damp. It makes us feel like being outdoors and doing...
Fermenting Chicken Feed
By Melissa Souza
Issue #174 • November/December, 2018
On our homestead, we eat yogurt, kombucha (fermented tea), sauerkraut, and kimchi to add probiotics to our diet. These beneficial bacteria promote good digestive health, strengthen the immune...
