Homemade weed killer sprays not only help you kill all the bad weeds in your garden, they also save you money - and without the use of toxic chemicals. While some weeds can actually be very good to have in and around your garden, many will steal nutrients from the soil that your crops, herbs, and medicinal plants need in order to thrive. Pulling … [Read more...]
Top 5 Birds To Raise On Your Homestead
Poultry birds are essential to the sustainability of a homestead. It is simply the most economical way to provide protein for the kitchen table in both good times and bad. While a chicken surely cannot provide the same amount of meat as a cow or even a goat, they are far cheaper to both purchase and raise. I love raising cattle, but we have a … [Read more...]
15 Best Goat Breeds for Homesteaders
Keeping goats on the homestead can provide the family with both a steady supply of milk and protein-rich meat. Goats are exceptional foragers, or “browsers,” and will gladly take over your brush clearing and mowing chores. Choosing the right breed of goats to keep on your homestead is vital to the success and longevity of your survival livestock … [Read more...]
10 Best Dog Breeds For Guarding Your Livestock
Livestock guardian dogs can protect your livestock from both four-legged predators and two-legged threats both now and especially during an SHTF scenario. The dedicated canines will alert you to potential threats and fight to the death to protect their barnyard wards. While most any breed of dog will bark and attack when they sense a threat, … [Read more...]
How To Protect Your Homestead From Intruders
If the SHTF tonight, how could you protect your home? Remember, calling 911 and hoping local heroes in blue arrive in time to save you and your loved ones will not be an option. Even if you have copious amounts of weapons and ammo, that won't be enough to thwart the panicked marauding hordes coming your way. Let’s take this scenario one step … [Read more...]
How To Homestead On Less Than An Acre
Sustainable survival homesteading is possible on less than an acre. While you can't raise a herd of beef cattle in your backyard, you can still raise your own meat and eggs and grow your own groceries. The space you have to work with of course matters, but how you use that space matters more. The first thing you have to do is set priorities. … [Read more...]
20 Pet & Livestock First Aid Supplies to Stockpile
Homestead pets and livestock can become ill or injured at the most inconvenient times. Even before an SHTF scenario, you might not be able to get a vet to come save an animal in time. Learning how to handle minor or even life-threatening livestock emergencies could save not only your meat, egg, and milk producers, but the lives of your family who … [Read more...]
5 Off-Grid Water Sources and Systems
A dry homestead, or one that relies on municipal water lines, is not a sustainable homestead. When creating an off-grid water system, whether it is for primary or backup use, it is wise to set up multiple options in order to maximize your self-reliance. Rural homesteaders and preppers have more options for creating an off-grid water system and … [Read more...]
How to Cook on a Wood Stove + 9 Cooking Tips
Cooking on a wood stove requires a bit of patience at first, but the delicious rewards make the learning process well worth it. Having a wood cook stove or a wood burning stove will allow you to heat your home and cook food during a disaster where the power grid fails. You can cook food or boil water on either type of wood stove, but there are … [Read more...]
5 Things I Wish I Had Known Before Starting a Homestead
When it comes to homesteading, learning to expect the unexpected is crucial. No matter how many self-reliance skills you possess, things will run awry and epic failures will occur — far more often than some homesteaders are willing to admit. If I could go back in time a few years, I wouldn't change our decision to purchase a fixer-upper 56-acre … [Read more...]
12 Best Rabbit Breeds for Raising Meat
It's been said many times that meat rabbits and goats are a poor prepper’s cows, but I don’t think that mantra is quite right. Don’t get me wrong, cows are great — although they intimidate me a bit, which is insane because I love horses — but not everyone has the space, equipment, or skills to raise and butcher cattle. Meat rabbits (as well as … [Read more...]
Feed This To Your Chickens and They’ll Produce Tastier Eggs
The foods you feed to your chickens have a huge effect on their overall health and the quality of their eggs in both taste and durability. The old adage, “You are what you eat,” definitely holds true when it comes to poultry flocks. Chickens, just like people, require specific amounts of fiber, protein, and vital nutrients in their diets to … [Read more...]
10 Best Goat Breeds for Off Grid Living
The best goats for off-grid living are not only great weed eaters, but also hardy enough to survive on low-quality brush and rugged terrain while still producing quality meat and ample milk. Before you whip out your wallet and start buying goats to cultivate a herd, you must decide which of the benefits of goat ownership are the most important … [Read more...]
21 Hand-Powered Tools You Need to Live Off the Grid
Preppers need tools, lots and lots of tools - of the manual variety. It would be unwise to expect to use power tools during a long-term disaster, even if the inciting incident had nothing to do with an EMP or cyber attack on our electrical grid. Sooner or later, your fuel stockpiles and spare chainsaw blades will run out. When they do, you must … [Read more...]
Protect Your Livestock from Deadly Diseases – Part 2: Mammals
This week we continue our two-part series on protecting livestock from deadly diseases. (Click here to read part one.) Keeping livestock healthy in order to provide meat and dairy for the family table is a top priority for all homesteaders. There won't always be time to wait for a veterinarian to arrive and treat an injury or deadly illness. … [Read more...]
Protect Your Livestock from Deadly Diseases – Part 1: Birds
Protecting your livestock from disease ensures not only their health and longevity but yours as well. Some poultry illnesses spread quickly and go undetected by keepers who have not yet learned how to detect the signs of infection or injury. Early detection is essential to not only saving the life of one bird but the entire flock if the illness … [Read more...]
Top 10 States for Living Off the Grid
You can live off the grid just about anywhere, but some locales are more suited for a self-reliant lifestyle than others. There are many “best places to live off grid” lists floating around on the internet, but the majority of them focus on just one key aspect of setting up an off-grid homestead: weather. Yes, weather and climate are very … [Read more...]
