Expanding Your Home Outdoors Homesteading requires creativity and ingenuity. In the depths of winter, I often find myself dreaming of days and evenings enjoyed outside. On our homestead, we have discovered opportunities to expand our living spaces by creating private areas outdoors as well as creatively using outbuildings. Wintertime is the perfect time to plan […]

Here in Vermont, trees are starting to come out of their winter hibernation as their sap starts to flow from the roots on warmer spring days. The trees stored the sap during the shortened days of autumn. In the early spring, the sap occasionally travels from the roots to the leaf buds awaiting to unfurl. […]

One of the best ways to save money on a farm is to reduce, reuse, and recycle. Facebook has given us all an outlet to teach others how they can help their local farmers. People are amazing and when you inform them that there is a way for them to help, they often step up […]

Help Your Chickens Thrive This Winter Most breeds of chickens are hardy animals. Just like songbirds, they have feathers and a voracious appetite to help keep them warm when the temperatures drop. On our homestead, we choose to raise breeds that are hardy, good layers, and good mothers. Two breeds that we found represent these […]

Healthy Chickens=Healthy Profits Healthy chickens result from careful planning. Your happy hens will lay eggs regularly which you can turn around and sell for profit. Following are the practices we implement in our flock to encourage optimal health in order to produce the most amount of eggs. Ways to save money It can be easy […]

While making my home, I try to focus on green products and environmentally friendly actions that save energy and money, but also reduce waste. I have completed the research to help you decide what ideas to employ as you start on the journey to making your home, or being a homemaker. There are so many […]

Animal tractors are bottomless pens for housing livestock. They are designed to be moved easily. Whether you have an existing barn or coop for your animals or you are considering adding livestock to your homestead, animal tractors may be a good fit for you. Virtually all small livestock and poultry can be housed in an […]

If you garden, you can start your own plants like tomatoes or peppers, or you can purchase them elsewhere. While it is obvious that a packet of seeds costs less than a flat of already-started plants, there are a number of other reasons to start your own transplants. If you are only familiar with what […]

I’m very fortunate to live on a beautiful property that has been farmed continuously since just after the Revolutionary War. We tend 50 acres and have a barn that dates to 1894 as well as numerous outbuildings. For those trying to homestead on just a few acres (or less!), this may seem like plenty of […]

The weather here was unseasonably warm through much of February. We’re used to having a foot or more of snow on the ground this time of year but found ourselves wading through mud and teased by warm temperatures that felt like we should be doing productive things outside. While it’s too early to begin much […]