When it comes to jewelry on the homestead, you have to think about your safety, your animals’ safety, and your happiness, in no particular order. Fifteen years ago when we moved out here from the city, I loved to wear … Read More
If you have a farm or a homestead, odds are good that you have barn cats, whether you planned to have them or not. When we bought our homestead, there were 15 resident cats, according to my daughter’s count. She … Read More
I’ve spent the day curled up with my favorite seed catalogs and dreaming about my gardens. Every year between Groundhog Day and the first day of planting in the spring I struggle to find activities that allow me to feel … Read More
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. To continue “Chicken Week” on the blog, I wanted to write about Hatching & Brooding Your Own Chicks by Gail Damerow. I read this book last spring as part of a … Read More
We were naively ecstatic when our first chicks were hatched in 2003. Not only were the chicks adorable, but it also meant that we were self-sufficient when it came to providing eggs for ourselves. Our hens were providing us with … Read More
Whenever anyone asks me to recommend a place to buy non-GMO or organic seeds, one of the first places I suggest is Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds in Missouri. We’ve been buying seeds from them for about 14 years, and we’ve … Read More
Vermicomposting (worm composting) is one of my favorite gardening subjects. Worms are exactly the right micro-mini “livestock” for munching down kitchen scraps and transforming them into a nutrient rich plant food. I just can’t wait to encourage folks to keep … Read More
I grew up in a gardening family. This meant that I learned a lot about taking care of my body while standing on a stool in the kitchen. Both my parents and my grandparents knew a lot about how to … Read More
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. I’ll soon be moving to a new home where I’m planning to begin an orchard as part of my homestead. I understand that many types of fruit trees won’t start producing … Read More
I’ve written previously about how I recently returned from two months traveling across the U.S. working on farms. On a farm I visited in Kentucky, the family had a family cow, and their teenage son was typically responsible for milking. … Read More
Thrifty Homesteader was created in 2012 after the publication of my second book, Ecothrifty. The name was coined by one of my followers because I said that I didn’t want anyone to think that they had to be rich to homestead or live a greener life....
