Gifts for the Homesteader (More Gift Giving Ideas

gifts for the

HomeSteader

WRITTEN BY DIANE WHITTEN, JESSICA HOLMES, NICOLINA FOTI, CORNELL COOPERATIVE EXTENSION SARATOGA COUNTY

Get your canner ready

for next year with these gifts for the home canner, in case canning supplies are in short supply again as they were in 2020.

Canning Jars

$10 per case of 12 Jars. Don’t let your canner run out of jars next year, stock up on canning jars. Depending on what is canned you might want 4 or 8 oz jars (usually used for jams & jellies), pint jars or quart jars. Half-gallon jars can be used for canning juice. Jars come in regular and wide mouth openings, either can be used, but wide mouth jars are more versatile and are better for large pieces of food, such as whole cucumbers.

Pectin-A nice stocking stuffer.

$2.50 - $6.50 per package, enough for two batches of jam or jelly. There are two types of pectin, one for making full-sugar products and one for making reduced-sugar products, be sure to get the correct type. Most recipes call for powdered pectin, but pectin also comes in liquid form; the powder and liquid are not interchangeable in recipes. Pectin packets include recipes.

Get your animal lover ready for winter.

The leaves fall, and the livestock’s coats thicken with each lengthening night. A homesteader's work is never done, even into the winter months. As the holiday time approaches, the biggest question on the minds of friends and family of a homesteader is, what is the perfect gift?

Fence Crimping Tool

If your homesteader has livestock, you can bet they have a fence to maintain and fix all throughout the year. The perfect gift for them is a fence Crimping Tool. Whether they have smooth electrical wire or multiple stranded barbed wire, a Fence crimper will save time and keep their fence tight enough to play Christmas carols off of! (Price between $50-$60.)

Farm Record Keeping Book

There are so many things to keep track of on a farm, from livestock, their vaccination, breeding, and other care schedules, to the maintenance of buildings and equipment, and purchasing records. Not to mention things to remember to make your life easier later in the year. For many of us, we just try to make mental notes, but it's not always that easy. Luckily your homesteader doesn't have to do that anymore. (Price between

$6 -$20.)

Get your gardener ready for next year.

Why not get them the perfect holiday gift by giving them a vegetable garden starter kit! Get a cute basket or container that they can reuse for duelpurpose and put all your little gifts inside of it! What are their favorite vegetables? Add five packets of their favorite vegetable seeds into the container, then grab them a small bag of compost, a hand shovel, a pair of gloves, and garden labels! You can get all of these items together for about $40.