Spend time on your farm infrastructure to ensure years of smooth sailing.
SELF-RELIANCE
6 Homesteading On Marginal Land
Use an imaginative eye to find land for a farm, and transform it with sound husbandry practices.
11 10 Rules for Starting a Successful Farm Business
Go from part-time hobby to full-time career with these tips for turning a profit from your property.
16 A Smarter Farm
Design infrastructure to help you work smarter, not harder, on your property.
21 Fire-Starting Tools for Any Situation
Ignite your understanding of traditional fire-starting equipment before living off-grid or exploring the outdoors.
25 Coppicing Trees for Sustainable Firewood
You can grow firewood in a fraction of the time it takes to raise a tree from seed.
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Masonry Heaters: Warm
Your Home With a Gentle Giant
These super-efficient fireplaces produce long-lasting, comfortable warmth with less wood, work, time, and worry.
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34 Solar Heating Plan for Any Home
Slash your home heating bills with this exciting solar project.
40 Emergency Power Options
With the right generator, you’ll be prepared when storms or blackouts leave you without electricity.
44 Start a Work-FromHome Business
Our readers get down to business, offering advice on how to be your own boss.
48 Seed to Shirt
Be inspired by this slow-fashion project to grow, process, spin, weave, and sew cotton garments.
52 Farming the Neighborhood
Transforming lawns into gardens means “plenty” of food and a sense of community for a Colorado town.
57 If I Could Do It All Again… Homesteading Lessons Learned
From planning your home to laying out garden beds, a longtime homesteader offers advice over 20 years in the making.
FARM ANIMALS
61 Want Milk? Get Goats
Dairy goats can supply your family with fresh milk inexpensively. The fun is just a bonus.
66 Homestead Helpers: Sheep, Cattle, Pigs, and Poultry
Livestock aren’t just useful for meat and eggs. They can mow lawns, work garden soil, dig stumps, and more!
70 Get Started With a Livestock Guardian Dog
After choosing a working companion, follow these tips for housing and socializing your LGD.
74 Reasons to Raise Ducks
Consider adding these hardworking birds to your homestead for pest control and year-round eggs.
76 Protect and Shelter Your Goats
Construct sturdy housing and fencing for your goats to help them stay safe—and stay put.
80 A Passion for Heritage Pigs
A burgeoning pig farmer perseveres through rough patches to provide pork to farm-to-table restaurants.
82 Keep Bees, Naturally!
Enjoy the many sweet rewards of beekeeping by learning how to use natural methods to harvest fresh, delicious honey from your own backyard.
DO IT YOURSELF
86 High-Quality, HandForged Homestead Tools
The Dobkins family crafts long-lasting garden tools to sell from their blacksmith shop in the Ozarks.
88 DIY Tool Belt
Assemble these pockets and pouches and mount them on your favorite belt to hold your most-used tools.
91 Construct This Simple Wind Generator
Turn an alternator into alternative energy in as little as a weekend.
94 Looking Sharp: Build Your Own Utility Knife
To customize your own knife, order blade blanks online, and round up some spare wood for the handle.
97 Natural Insect Repellents
Don’t get bugged out—follow these simple DIY recipes to keep pests at bay.
100 Make Easy Herbal Oils, Salves, and Syrups
Soothe injuries and boost your immune system with these effortless, plant-based recipes.
104 Transform Backyard Plants Into Natural Dyes
Harvest beautiful colors to dye for from these everyday outdoor plants.
GARDENING
106 Install the Best Garden Fences
When you protect your crops with a critter-proof fence, you can love the wild things, sleep peacefully at night, and grow a great garden.
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109 Grow Free Fruit Trees
Grow your own delicious peaches, nectarines, and apricots from seed—and save!
112 Build a Basement Root Cellar
Store root crops in a passively cooled cellar for one of the most efficient ways to preserve food.
114 Start a Quick and Easy Food Garden
This season-by-season planting plan for a no-dig, easy-care bag garden features 25 favorite crops.
118 Abundant Summer Mulberries
A common sight in rural American landscapes, mulberry trees provide plenty of fruit for snacking.
121 Grow Backyard Strawberries: Varieties for Every Region
These simple-to-grow berries give gardeners a big return for a small investment.
124 Gooseberries in the Market Garden
Start your own small-scale berry market with the flavorful and sought-after gooseberry.
128 Terrific Tomatoes for Spectacular Sauces and Creative Canning
A tomato connoisseur and organic gardener recommends his favorite cultivars based on flavor, reliability, and years of experience.
132 Homegrown Olive Oil
One small family has built a big business by growing olives and pressing its own extra-virgin oil.
FOOD & RECIPES
137 Sweet Corn Off the Cob
Try these sweet and savory ideas for enjoying your abundance of corn this season.
141 Brew Backyard Root Beer
With a little experimentation you can learn how to make your own version of this historic, herb-infused soda using foraged ingredients.
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144 American Barbecue Seasonings
Spice up your summer cookouts with these recipes for flavoring meat.
148 Season of Smoke
Bring exceptional flavor to cookouts this season by trying these hot-smoking and hay-smoking methods.
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152 Savory, Satisfying Venison Recipes
Learn the quirks of cooking with venison and use it in these flavorful preparations.
156 Debut Delicious Desserts
Cast-iron cookware produces particularly wonderful results when it comes to the sweet ending to any meal.
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160 An Inexpensive and Easy Homemade Wine Recipe
Gary Miller shares his easy homemade wine recipe using fruits or honey to create a wine from home.
Add some sizzle and flair to your favorite cookout meats with these mouthwatering barbecue recipes.
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