Grow Your Own Spices and available for pre-order Weed-Free Gardening
eBooks (available from The Grow Network)
- Raising Backyard Chickens for Eggs, Meat, and Fun!
- The Ancient Art of Making Vinegar
- Simple & Effective Watering Systems for Livestock
- Hydration Handbook
You can also see my multi-part training videos on raising chickens, ducks, and goats as a subscriber to The Grow Network Academy.
My Blog Posts
If you want a down and dirty look at real life on our homestead, please also visit Reluxe Renderings. That’s where I post seasonal photos from the homestead and updates on what we’re working on. That’s also where I share the tough stuff like animal losses, emergency processing, lessons learned, etc. Plus, personal essays and thoughts on things like our environment, money, guns, and more may show up on that site.
Morning Chores
This is an awesome site for all things homesteading. You can check out my posts below or just head to MorningChores.com to see all the amazing resources they have to offer.
Calculators for Homesteaders and Gardeners
Garden Planting Calendar – Find the Right Time to Plant Vegetables
Fertilizer Calculator: Find Out How Much Fertilizer to Use in Your Garden
Carbon to Nitrogen Compost Calculator: Create the Perfect Compost Pile
Incubation & Gestation Calculator for Livestock, Insects, and Aquatic Animals
Material Volume & Weight Calculator for Mulch, Compost, Gravel, Sand, and More
Gardening
The Mega-List of Fertilizers for Your Organically-Grown Garden
How to Grow Exotic Spices for Self-Sufficiency At Home
Herbs vs. Spices: What’s the Difference and Why Does it Matter for Gardeners?
Try Indoor Landscaping to Grow Beautiful Plants Indoors All Year
How to Grow Exotic Spices for Self-Sufficiency At Home
Herbs vs. Spices: What’s the Difference and Why Does it Matter for Gardeners?
Try Indoor Landscaping to Grow Beautiful Plants Indoors All Year
Perennial Food Gardening Methods – What Are the Differences?
5 Tips for Creating a Duck-Friendly Garden for Everyday Pest Control
11 Ways to Put Your Garden to Bed in Winter
Blister Beetles: How to Identify and Control this Toxic Pest
Harlequin Bug: How to Control This Pest in Your Garden
How to Grow and Train Your Own Topiary Plants
Growing Rapini (Brassica Ruvo): Best Varieties, Planting Guide and Care
The Compost Tea Controversy and Tips to Use ACT & PCT Correctly
Understanding What ‘Disease-Resistant Plants’ Actually Means
How to Create a Delightful Herb Border Hedge
22 Practical Hedges for the Homestead That Add More Value Than Just Beauty
Plants that Grow Well Indoors to Expand your Indoor Garden
15 Forgotten Garden Hacks to Help You Get the Most From Your Veggie Garden
1-Day Projects to Add Beauty to Your Homestead Landscape
15 Tips to Make Gardening for Seniors Easier and More Accessible
When and How to Use Humic Acid Fertilizer to Improve Soil
How to Decide the Correct Plant Spacing in Your Garden
When and How to Use Rock Dust for Your Garden
10 Tips on Long-Term Garden Care for More Productivity
13 Ideas to Make an Elegant French Garden
11 Healthy Crops to Plant in Your Garden Year-Round
Choosing Plants for Your Garden – Everything You Need to Consider
14 Tips for Managing a Large Garden with Minimal Work
How to Plan an All-Purpose Herb Garden
How to Use Intercropping Wisely to Increase Your Harvest
How to Grow Gochu (Korean Chili Peppers) for Gochujang
How to Improve Your Landscape Hydrology to Minimize Fire Risks
Landscaping Techniques You Can Use to Reduce Risk of Fire
10 Tips to Help You Maximize Your Greenhouse Space
18 Fall Gardening Activities to Take Your Garden to The Next Level
Why You Should Grow Baby Vegetables and How to Do It
How to Create an Exotic Edible Landscape in Your Greenhouse
Downy Mildew: Identification, Plants at Risk, Prevention, and Treatment
Are Nematodes a Friend or Foe for Your Garden and Livestock?
A Beginners Guide to Using Fungicide in the Organic Garden
How to Kill Spotted Lanternfly and Save your Fruit Trees
Growing Fenugreek: Plant Varieties, How-to Guide, Problems, and Harvesting
5 Best Summer Cover Crops and How to Use Them
Seed Stratification: A Comprehensive Guide to This Seed Germination Trick
How to Use Leaf Mold to Restore a Weedy Garden Bed
Growing Poppies for Decorative Seed Pods, Spice, and Beauty
Allelopathic Plants: What Are They, The List, and How To (and Not To) Use Them
What You Need to Know to Safely Compost Dog Poop
How to Extend Your Cool Season Crops and Spare Your Soil Despite the Heat
The Good and The Bad About Using Urine as Garden Fertilizer
What is a Walipini Greenhouse and Do You Need One?
5 Common Gardening Myths Debunked (Backed with Research and Experience)
How to Start a Cut Flower Bed in Your Vegetable Garden
How to Use a Broadfork to Promote Good Drainage in Your Garden
5 Ways to Improve Your Gardening Skills
Landscaping with Moss Can Create a Magical Fairy-Tale Garden
Weed Control Plan for an Organic Vegetable Garden
Hotbed Gardening: Add a Little Heat to Your Gardening Repertoire
How to Make and Use Aerated Compost Tea (ACT) in Your Garden
Plant Roots 101: Going Back to Our Roots in the Garden
How to Store Seeds Correctly and Why It Is Vitally Important
How to Make Even More Compost Using Bokashi
14 Do’s and Don’ts of Growing an Organic Vegetable Garden
Get an Early Start on Spring Gardening with These 8 Off-Grid Tricks
6 Smart Strategies for Starting Seeds on a Shoestring Budget
20 Low to No Cost Gardening Hacks for Homesteaders
Potting Shed: Why You Need It and 15 Tips on How to Use It
How to Make Organic N-P-K Fertilizer Mixes at Home and Save Money
How to Create Moss Scapes to Bring the Outdoors into Your Home
20 Easy-to-Grow Spices You Can Grow at Home
Growing Saffron: A Complete Guide to Planting and Taking Care of Saffron at Home
Use Cloches to Add Charm, History, and Functionality to Your Garden
Buying Seeds Strategically: A Frugal Gardener’s Guide to Ordering Seeds
How to Create a Potager Garden: An Aesthetically Pleasing Kitchen Garden
How to Use Plant Labels to Keep Your Garden Organized (and 10 DIY Plant Marker Ideas)
The Fall Transition Gardening To-Do List
6 Tips to Help You Start Your Fall Garden Now (and Why You Should)
How to Get Prepared for Planting Fruit Trees and Bushes This Fall
Use the Right Winter Cover Crops to Supercharge Your Spring Garden
5 Reasons to Start a Pollinator Garden (and 6 Tips to Help You Do It)
20 Practical Ways to Use Weeds on Your Homestead
Growing Egyptian Walking Onions: How to Plant, Grow, and Harvest These Unique Onions
How to Save Lots of Money Propagating Plants from Stem Cuttings
Growing Horseradish: How to Plant, Grow, and Harvest Horseradish
When to Pinch Pennies and When to Pay for Quality as a Homesteader
An Essential Guide to Self-Sufficient Gardening with 17 Staple Crops
10 Easy-to-Grow Alternative Greens to Diversify Your Salad
Growing Asparagus: How to Plant, Grow, and Harvest Asparagus
12 Underused Herbs Every Smart Gardener Should Know and Grow
Why You Should Have a Herb Spiral and How to Build It in 4 Steps
How to Propagate New Plants with Minimal Work Using Layering
Many Benefits of Mints and Their Surprising Versatility for Gardeners
Edible Landscaping: How to Start a Beautiful Perennial Plot for Food Supply
3 Easy Ways to Radically Improve Your Soil Using Trench Composting
How to Grow a Salad Garden from Seed to Table
Keyhole Garden: Why You Should Build a Keyhole Bed and How to Do It
How to Grow Duckweed and Water Hyacinth for Cheap Livestock Fodder
Poultry (Chickens, Ducks, Turkeys)
The Complete Guide to Raising Healthy Ducks for Beginners
How Much Protein Do Ducks Really Need?
How to Prevent and Deal With Niacin Deficiency in Ducks
How to Butcher and Process Ducks Humanely
Can You Feed Ducklings Medicated Chick Starter?
15 Forgotten Garden Hacks to Help You Get the Most From Your Veggie Garden
Duckquaponics: How to Use Duck Manure Water in Your Garden
9 Options to Keep Ducks Around the Homestead
How to Raise Ducklings More Naturally in a Brooder
Complete Guide to Incubating Duck Eggs for Optimal Hatch Rates
How to Choose the Right Duck Breed for You
How to Introduce New Chickens into an Old Laying Flock
10 Tips for Taming Chicks so They Become Friendly and Social Chickens
How to Keep Hawks Away and Protect Your Chickens
20 Money-Saving Chicken Care Hacks for Every Chicken Owner
Turkey Anatomy: Revealing the Mysteries of Snood, Caruncle, Wattle, and More
9 Reasons Why Raising Turkeys Might Not Be Right For Some Homesteaders
12 Odd Tips on Raising Heritage Breed Turkeys You Need to Know
20 DIY Poultry Brooders from Low Cost to Beautiful and Durable
When Poultry Predators Attack: Investigation and 11 Prevention Tips
Everything You Need to Know about Duck Molting and Care
5 Ways to Use Duck Poop to Enrich Your Edible Landscape Soil
Goats
12 Spring Transition Tips to Keep Your Goats Happy and Healthy
How to Safely Introduce a New Goat to an Existing Herd
Beginner’s Guide to Raising Goats for Milk Production
Basic Goat Care Management Responsibilities for New Goat Herd Owners
American Lamancha Goats: Breed Info, Characteristics, Breeding, and Care
Suckling and the Vital Importance of Colostrum for Goat Kids
5 Goat Birth Complications You Need to Know Before Kidding Season
How to Get Ready for Goat Kidding Season
10 Super Simple Goat Care Hacks That Can Make Your Job Easier
12 Easy Ways to Get Your Goats Ready for Winter and the Freezing Cold
A Comprehensive Guide to Goat Breeding for Beginners
How Train Your Goat to Milk on a Stand the Easy Way
How to Train Your Goats to Use a Litter Box (and Save $40 Easily)
The Homestead Kitchen
How to Make Homemade ‘Champagne’ and Enjoy Sparkling Wine
Best Herb Drying Methods for Every Level of Harvest
6 Eggcellent Uses for Leftover Egg Whites and Yolks to Prevent Waste
Confit: What Is It and How to Do It at Home
24 Interesting Ways to Use and Preserve Your Plums
How to Make Homemade Kimchi from Your Fall Garden Produce
How to Make Powdered Spices Easily at Home
Shiitake Mushroom Uses and Recipes to Inspire You
How To Make The Easiest Fermented Pickles Ever
15 Solar Cooking Tips to Help You Cook Better With Sunshine
How to Make Goat Cheese (Chèvre) in Only 6 Steps
The Life and Times of Cornbread: From Ancient History to Being the Gluten-Free Alternative
Bring the Wide World of Flatbread to Your Homestead
6 Easy DIY Cheese Cave Ideas for the Cheese Lover
3 Steps to Savor Your Personalized Homemade Herbal Teas and Infusions
5 Tips for Making Herbal Vinegar and Other Infused Vinegar Recipes
How to Make Vinegar Extractions (plus Infusions, Tonics, Fire Cider, and Shrubs)
13 Creative Kombucha Recipes for a Flavorful Health Brew
How to Make Homemade Cordials or Fine Spirits in 6 Steps
How to Make an Endless Supply of Kombucha with Very Little Work
Fermentation: What Is It and How to Ferment Food at Home
10 Easy Steps to Make Homemade Elderberry Wine
5 Steps to Start a Homemade Cheese-Making Routine
How to Make a Homemade Palak Paneer from Scratch with Whey Vinegar
4 Tips on How to Cook “From Scratch” Like a Homesteader
Miscellaneous Topics
How to Create a Home Library and Inspire a Culture of Reading
6 Homestead Edit Tips to Makeover and Maintain an Elegant Homestead
8 Ways to Pretty up Your Porch and Still Use It for Homestead Activities
15 Tips and Ideas to Help You Create Decorative Garden Fences
How to Create A Multi-Purpose Outbuilding to Make Homesteading Easier
Insider Tips from an Old Farmhouse Renovation – Modernizing the Past
Ferme Ornée: Creating the Beauty of an Ornamental Farm
Epicurean Homesteading: How to Be Self-Sufficient While Making Your Life More Pleasurable
1-Day Projects to Add Beauty to Your Homestead Landscape
20 Self-Sufficiency Hacks You Can Implement Right Now
21 Things to Know Before You Buy an Old Farmhouse
How to Cope With COVID-19 and Self-Quarantine as a Homesteader
Urban, Suburban, and Rural Homesteading: Which Type Is Right for You
Winter Homesteading Activities To Fill Your Freezing Cold Days
20 Tips to Help You Become a Minimalist Homesteader
Create a Cozy Small Courtyard in Your Backyard Using a Few Cheap Tricks
6 Reasons to Get a Farm Dog and 5 Reasons You Might Not
5 Homestead Clothing Trends for Comfort, Safety, and Style
DIY Mold Remediation on the Homestead
How to Create Farm-to-Table Outdoor Dining Area
How to Design and Create a Cozy Bistro Dining Area in your Garden
How to Create a Beautiful Homestead Office that Works for You
25 Practical Indoor Homesteading Hacks at Zero Cost in Less Than 5 Minutes
10 Indoor Homestead Skill-Building to Beat the Winter Blues
3 Steps to Turn your Home into a Homestead for $500 (and Save Thousands of Dollars)
How to Right-Size Your Homestead Dreams Right Now!
20 Tips for Winter Preparation for your Homestead (from Personal Experience)
Celebrating Christmas on the Homestead: 5 Ways to Make It More Meaningful
Growing Shiitake Mushrooms – a Guide to Getting Shiitake Done
Top 10 Homesteading and Self-Sufficiency Books for Cold-Weather Reading
10 Inspiring Fall Homestead Activities to Reconnect with Nature
10 Fall Homestead Projects That Will Give You a Headstart to the Busy Spring Season
5 Creative Ways for Effectively Managing Mud on the Homestead
18 Relaxing Activities to Beat the Fatigue from Your Summer Chores
5 Homestead Layout Planning Tips to Save You Money in the Long Run
Mother Earth News
Year-Round Greenhouse Gardening Using Passive Solar and Microclimates
The ABCs of Homesteading Series
The ABCs of Homesteading: A is for Asceticism, B is for Borrowing, C is for Creativity
The ABCs of Homesteading: D is for Ducks (Also published in the Grit Guide to Raising Chickens)
The ABCs of Homesteading: E is for Edible Landscaping
The ABCs of Homesteading: F is for Fodder
The ABCs of Homesteading: G is for Goats
The ABCs of Homesteading: H is for Horticulture
The ABCs of Homesteading: I is for Income (Also published in Mother Earth News Magazine)
The ABCs of Homesteading: J is for Jack of All Trades Journeyman (Also published in Mother Earth News Magazine)
The ABCs of Homesteading: K is for Kitchen Skills
The ABCs of Homesteading: L is for Legal Considerations
The ABCs of Homesteading: M is for Meat
The ABCs of Homesteading: M is for Mushrooms
The ABCs of Homesteading: N is for Nutrition Management
The ABCs of Homesteading: O is for Organic and Beyond
The ABCs of Homesteading: P is for Ponds and Preparedness
The ABCs of Homesteading: Q is for Quiet Reflection
The ABCs of Homesteading: R is for Responsibility
The ABC’s of Homesteading: S is for Seeds, Storage, and Spice
The ABC’s of Homesteading: T is for Tools
The ABC’s of Homesteading: U is for Uncertainty
The Grow Network (TGN)
The Grow Network, led by the fearless Marjory Wildcraft, is the host of the Homegrown Food Summit, which is totally free during Summit week. They also have tons of great information on homesteading, gardening, personal health and wellness, and home herbal health care. They gave me my start writing about homesteading and making videos and have been like family to me over the years.
Organic Gardener’s Tool Kit Series
The # 1 Tool for Organic Growers – Organic Matter
The # 2 Tool for Organic Growers – Mason Jar Test
The # 3 Tool for Organic Growers – At-Home Soil Test Kit
Special Challenges to Managing NPK in the Organic Garden
The # 4 Tool for Organic Growers – 6 Organic Nitrogen Fertilizers for Healthier Soil
Mycorrhizael Inoculant: A Powerful Solution to the Organic Gardener’s Catch-22
5 Reasons Your Green Beans Are Thriving (When Nothing Else Is)
7 Keys to Good Water Management
11 Irrigation Techniques for a Happy Garden
Vegetable Growing Guides
Growing Kohlrabi: A Sweet and Tangy Cool-Season Crop
Growing Mâche: The Little Lettuce that Lasts All Winter
Growing Spinach: Pack a Punch in a Little Bunch
Sweet Potato Vines: How to Grow This Antioxidant Powerhouse
Purslane: The Omega-3 You Can Grow for Free! (With Recipe)
Heat? Drought? Delicious Oak Leaf Lettuce Thrives Anyway!
Chard en Garde Manger: The Delicious 3-Season Green for Food Security
In Praise of Growing Parsley (With Recipe)
All Hail, Kale! Growing Kale at Home (With Recipe)
Growing Arugula: The Rocket in Your Salad Bowl and Garden (With Recipe)
Mustard Greens: What You Need to Know Before You Grow (With Recipe)
Pig Processing Related
Hog Processing: Skinning, Scalding, Scraping, and Eviscerating
Make Delicious Homemade Bacon in 6 Easy Steps
Have You Ever Been to a Hog Killing: Part 1 – Hog Raising
Have You Ever Been to a Hog Killing: Part 2 – Hog Killin’
Have You Ever Been to a Hog Killing: Part 3 – Hog Cookin’
Crop Rotation
Crop Rotation for the Home Garden, Part 1: Pest Control
Crop Rotation for the Home Garden, Part 2: Pathogen Prevention
Supercharge Your Garden! 4 Steps to Vibrant Soil Using Compost and Crop Rotation
Chicken Related
Crowing Hen? Is That Even Possible?
Cold-Weather Chicken Care: How to Keep Chicken Water From Freezing
Cold-Weather Chicken Care: Cold-Hardy Chicken Breeds
Cold-Weather Chicken Care: 11 Quick Ideas to Improve Chicken Comfort
CBD Series
My editor at TGN asked me to do some in-depth research into CBD and write an articles series on it. I warned her that I was a CBD skeptic because of its newness and all the legal confusion surrounding it. But she said, that’s exactly why she wanted me to write the series. As such, these CBD posts are are not meant to advocate or discourage CBD use, they are just an examination of the issues.
CBD: How to Choose Between Full-Spectrum, Broad-Spectrum, and Isolates
Are CBD Oil and Hemp Oil the Same Thing?
5 Reasons Why CBD is Such a Big Deal
3 Hidden Dangers of Buying CBD and 3 Simple Ways to Protect Yourself
Miscellaneous Subjects
14 Tips for Training Your Livestock Guardian Dog
Dog Training 101: Good Dog + Good Trainer = Right Results
20 Healthier Alternatives to Granulated Sugar
Garlic: You Might Be Using It Wrong
Is Your Food Grown in Human Poop or Sewage?
Siberian Ginseng: The Adaptogen for Astronauts, Athletes, and Anyone Under Stress
How to Label Homemade Herbal Medicines and Why You Should
10 Incredibly Powerful Antiviral Herbs
5 Ways to Find Farmers in Your Area
Make Peace With Your Poop (and Then Make Compost With It!)
The Ongoing Farmer Crisis (and What You Can Do About It)
8 Simple, Succulent Ways to Cook Duck
Are Banned Drugs Making Meat Unsafe to Eat?
Benefits of Bone Broth: Myth or Magical Mystery?
5 Keys to Food Security in Extreme Weather, for Home Gardeners
4 Uncommon-Sense Guidelines for Food Safety and Nutrition
Extreme Weather and Food Resilience, for Home Growers
From Weeds to WOW – The Weed Island
Are You Prepared for Peak Chicken?
Your Mental Edge – Trusting Your Intuition in the Garden
Homesteading – A Radical Re-Evolution
The Way Back
This site belongs to my partner in homesteading Matt Miles.
Three Years In: A Self-Assessment and the Work to Come
Romantic Rendezvous at the reLuxe Ranch
Merry Christmas – A Tale of Two Stories
Hog Killin’ at the reLuxe Ranch
re-Visions at the reLuxe Ranch
Silence of the Ducks: Thoughts on Raising, Butchering, and Eating Animals
Hanging Tomato Vineyard (Note – I don’t recommend hanging tomatoes unless you have serious blight issues. Too much watering is necessary! We now use the hanging garden structure as a kiwi trellis.)
