Gleaning — An Old Tradition Made New
By Daniel Furtney
Issue #147 • May/June, 2014
Gleaning. You may remember the term from Sunday School or your Bible studies. In the book of Ruth, "gleaning" refers to poor people being allowed to follow a...
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...
Herb Boxes from Fence Boards
By Maggie Larsen
Issue #86 • March/April, 2004
During a binge of spring cleaning, I ventured outside and began to renovate the exterior of my home, a 47-foot trailer in a mobile home park. While waiting...
Naughty Peppers
By Alice B. Yeager
Photos by James O. Yeager
Issue #62 • March/April, 2000
If you are prudish, narrow-minded or puritanical, read no further as this article may offend you. If, however, you enjoy a good laugh...
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...
Nut Trees on Your Homestead
By Jackie Clay-Atkinson
Issue #149 • September/October, 2014
While growing up in Detroit, we had no nut trees in our yard (though we did have seedlings before I left home). That didn't stop my parents, though....
Garden Spaces for Small Places
By Dorothy Ainsworth
Issue #116 • March/April, 2009
When the world wearies and society ceases to satisfy, there is always the garden.
Minnie Aumonier
Yes, and if your budget is lean and you want something green, there's...
Swiss Chard — The Leaf Vegetable That Keeps on Giving!
By Raymond Nones
Issue #92 • March/April, 2005
For years every spring I planted spinach in my garden. For those who have never tasted home grown spinach, there is a world of difference between its taste...
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...
Hügelkultur for the Homestead
By Rose Shelton
Issue #176 • April/May/June, 2019
Last spring, I finally completed a long-planned homestead project of constructing two hügelkultur beds. What is hügelkultur? It’s basically a method of recycling junk wood to make a...
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....
Propagating Grapes
By Sylvia Gist
Issue #107 • September/October, 2007
As a kid in western South Dakota, I enjoyed picking wild grapes and using the delightful juice they produced, so when I eventually acquired property in Montana, I...
Propagating Plants
By Jackie Clay
Issue #128 • March/April, 2011
We all love the idea of having a big, productive garden, full of all the nutritious, tasty foods our hearts desire. But the prices in the nursery catalogs...
Solar-Powered Electric Fencing
By Jeffrey Yago, P.E., CEM
Issue #147 • May/June, 2014
A new electric fence attached to older traditional wood fencing
More and more people are turning to electric fences as the cost of standard metal and wood...
Elderberries — Hospitality, Health, And Beauty
By Gail Butler
Issue #124 • July/August, 2010
When friends stop by for a visit I like to offer them a hospitable and healthful libation of elderberry cordial. When served in a small aperitif glass or...
