Grit

Last spring, a doe that’d been hanging around our farm had twin fawns. I recognized her from the year before. Most people don’t believe that deer look different enough to tell them apart, but it’s easy once you get to know them. The doe and her babie

It’s almost impossible to navigate modern life without bumping into social media, but does it have a place on the modern farm? Absolutely! For many farmers, social media is a valuable tool that can be used to grow their farm or homestead. From a mark

When my family started our first tiny flock of laying hens several years ago, I quickly learned the meaning of “feast or famine.” Within months, we were eating golden, delicious eggs until we couldn’t stomach the sight of another omelet or quiche. In

All serious gardeners acknowledge the undeniable benefits of compost, and most maintain their own compost-bin system. If you want to join their ranks, you’ll need a system that can handle a large volume of material and allow easy access to finished c

A potager garden, also known as a “kitchen garden,” is historically a French style of gardening that incorporates herbs, fruits, and vegetables with flowers and ornamentals to create a functional, aesthetically pleasing space. Traditionally, these ga

While most of the world associates France with the grape, the mirabelle plum (Prunus domestica subsp. syriaca) is queen in that country’s Lorraine region. Little-known in North America, this small, pale heirloom fruit is essential to Lorraine’s culin

Unlike many vegetables, sweet potato plants aren’t started from seed or from replanted tubers, but are grown from “slips,” which are pieces of stem with a few leaves that’ve been grown from a mother tuber. We used to buy bare-root slips for our garde

I owned an old classic gas tractor that was manufactured in the 1950s. My Dad and I restored it to like-new condition, and it was a workhorse for us for many years. Because that tractor had been originally designed and constructed with quality workma

Readers, this is the second of 12 basic homestead skills we’ll be presenting throughout the year from Kimberlee Bastien’s new book, 52 Homestead Skills (available on Page 49). We invite you to join Kimberlee and her family on their homesteading journ

When I was given the tiny, black seeds of a maypop a few years ago, I was warned: This plant will absolutely, without question, take over your garden. I heeded the warning to an extent, but I was sure I could manage my plants. After all, could this v

You don’t need to plant a vineyard to make wine. Many ingredients can be gathered for free or grown in your own garden. Before you begin the process of making wine, consider your two main ingredients: fruit (or flowers, herbs, or vegetables) and suga

Perhaps in the past you made the decision to plant your own blueberry bushes, inspired by visions of steaming stacks of blueberry pancakes drizzled with homemade blueberry syrup. You probably picked what you thought was the perfect spot to plant, wit

When Esmee Mckee and her family moved to their farm in Owenton, Kentucky, they had more in mind than just growing organic vegetables. Their house faces a road, and one particular goal they had was to create some privacy around their front porch and p

There were four of us there, four of the devil’s own, and a hard lot by any man’s count. We’d come together the way men will when on the beach, the idea cropping up out of an idle conversation. We had nothing better to do, all of us being fools or wo

Should you really do all the work involved in registering your livestock? All the applications, fees, tagging, and more can seem unnecessary and time-consuming, especially if the majority of your animals are destined for the freezer. But there are ad

Tell your friends and family that you’re thinking of them while showing your support for bees with Bee Notecards! These hand-painted prints feature three different bee portraits, each with a blank interior and an accompanying envelope. Printed on pap