Have you ever considered selling your goods at a local Farmer’s Market? If so, there are many things to think about before you plant a garden with every vegetable known to man. THE FIRST STEPS You need to become acquainted with all the laws, rules and regulations surrounding Farmer’s Markets in your state. They can […]

Having a tree farm can be a profitable business. Owning a farm or homestead means having the land and the freedom to grow what you want, when you want. Whether you grow your products for your own table or to sell at farmers’ markets, there’s something amazing in knowing your hard work and dedication created […]

When I moved to our farm, I longed to put in more flowers. There were a few things that bloomed- irises, lily of the valley, daffodils- but not a lot. A farm is a busy place, so planting pretty things often falls way down the to-do list. But here are five great reasons why I’ve […]

Our farm is horse powered. We don’t own or desire a tractor. We plow the fields, cultivate crops, make hay and more with the help of a mother-daughter team of Belgian draft mares, Dixie and Dolly, who were both born right here on the farm and trained by my husband. While an unusual choice for […]

Pumpkins are for laughter — for Jack-O-Lanterns and Halloween — during the cool, overcast days of autumn. Pumpkins are for pies . . . all winter long. And pumpkins are for extra cash: their sales bring in dollars when most other money crops are gone. A fellow homesteader put it this way: “Pumpkins are our […]

Spring on a farm can be stressful as you try to fit everything that needs attention into the time you have available, and it’s often equally stressful to look at your bank account. It sometimes seems that all you have are expenses, with very little income before crops are ready. One way we diversify our […]

Lots of Little Incomes; 8 Tips to Help You Do a Lot with a Little. Sometimes on a homestead it can be difficult to find one source of income that will sustain you for the whole year. Unless you have a large piece of property and can devote acres and acres to a mono crop […]

Profit as a Homesteader Shared with permission from MOTHER EARTH NEWS and Friends Download this episode (right click and save) From being open-minded but honest about what you can and can’t provide to consumers, to finding and keeping customers, to looking at your homestead as a place for new, potential resources, the urban homesteading business can […]

Hoppy harvesting! Shared From Grit Magazine – Written By: Chris Colby It usually takes at least three years for hops to start producing up to their full potential. From the second growing season onward, the steps you take are the same. In spring, the shoots will emerge. Once they are long enough, train the fastest growing […]

Lavender Farm Becomes Agritourism Stop Shared From Grit Magazine – Written By: Deborah R. Huso Julie Haushalter decided to start growing some lavender of her own, and she began with 150 plants, selling the harvested buds, as well as products she made from lavender, at the nearby Harrisonburg Farmers’ Market. The business took off like wildfire, […]