Insteading
Homesteading & Sustainability
To say my daughter is a melon fan is a gross understatement. This child could live on melon alone, and left to her own devices, she probably would. Her favorite melon being the watermelon, we made it …
Continue Reading about How To Tell If A Watermelon Is Ripe →
“Oh, my! That’s an interesting vegetable. What is it?” I looked at the colorful display of greens and reds and purples that made up the market stand, admiring, in particular, the luscious glossy red …
Peanuts are one of the most familiar staples of American childhood culture, from peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to roasted peanuts at a ballgame. They are also notorious for causing deadly …
Garden fencing serves all sorts of purposes. Those needs might be practical, or you might just want a nice accent to mark the edge of your yard. This guide will help you choose the right material and …
So you have a fly problem. That is truly annoying—we’ve all lost sleep as a black fly buzzes around the bedroom. If it’s in the kitchen, it’s probably grossing you out. You’ve made dozens of swatting …
Just. One. Deer. That’s all it takes to undo hours and hours of painstaking yard work. Just one deer can wreak havoc on a beautiful garden. Those vegetables? Flowers? Uprooted. Well-raked planters? …
Asparagus has gone wild! Foraging for asparagus is easy and fun. When it’s asparagus season, you can dodge the high prices at the supermarket just by going out and harvesting some for …
Continue Reading about How To Harvest And Transplant Wild Asparagus →
Have you seen this plant in your garden? If you have, you probably have a lot of it. It’s purslane, one of the most persistent weeds in North America. Have you seen this leafy green in your salad? …
The black walnut tree is a part of the tree species Juglandaceae. While they’re native to some parts of Canada, you will most likely find black walnut trees in the United States. In the states, black …
Every gardener has that one plant that seems to have a never-ending thirst. You water it, tend to all your other plants, and next thing you know, the soil is all dried up again! Plants that like (or …
Cabbage, a dietary staple in cultures around the world, is a hardy, green leaf vegetable packed full of vitamins. Although it establishes itself easily, cabbage can be somewhat challenging to grow. A …
Experienced homesteaders suggest that if you want to attract birds, bees, butterflies, and wildlife to your rural homestead, plant and grow sage. Sage is a favorite in homestead herb gardens because …
Planning and planting an organic herb garden is a traditional part of the homestead lifestyle goal of self-sufficiency. Growing rare and beautiful culinary and medicinal herbs is a glorious gardening …
For homesteaders, the common house mouse is one of the most troublesome of pests. A small brown or gray rodent with little beady eyes, large ears, and a skinny three to four-inch long tail, house mice …
Continue Reading about 7 Ways To Mouse-Proof Your Homestead →
Dad climbed into the passenger seat. The children were already settled in the back. We were off to the orchard to pick apples, bring them home, and make some much-loved applesauce and apple pie. Dad …
Continue Reading about 9 Tasty Apple Varieties You Should Try →
If you’re a gardener, you’re probably familiar with finding colonies of tiny, gray insects and eggs clinging to the underside of a leaf. If you’re unlucky, you may have even taken a bite of a kale …
If you're getting through the long, dark days of winter reading the seed catalogs and dreaming of having your hands in the dirt, you may want to consider adding some new and visually exciting plants …
Carrots are an easy-to-grow, easy-to-store root crop. Valued for more than a thousand years, the humble carrot gives color, texture, substance, flavor, and life to a diverse array of dishes. Serve …
Many rural homesteaders faced with a continual problem of dealing with pet waste, ask "can pet poo be composted?" The answer is a resounding yes. Dog poop can be easily composted in a backyard …
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Of all the herbs, basil is by far my favorite. The sweet, subtle aroma washes over me like velvet. And the taste? It certainly embellishes many of my savory dishes with flair. The benefits of this …
Do geckos call your homestead home? Household geckos are said to bring harmony, good luck, and good fortune to the household. Killing a gecko invokes an unhappy chain of bad luck events of long …
Only one? I don’t think so. It’ll shrivel and die. It likes company. It likes to outshine its neighbors and cousins; the more the merrier. But be careful. There are some colors that really like to …
No matter if it is viral, fungal, or bacterial, plant disease can enter your garden in a diverse array of ways. Many plant diseases are difficult to identify or to even to determine if what is …
Continue Reading about What To Do When Plant Disease Attacks Your Garden →
When I was very young, my mom taught me how to can and pickle beets, and I have continued to do so since my husband loves pickled beets. I have always wanted to eat beets, but I’ve never been a fan of …
Continue Reading about Beets: From Growing And Preparing To Canning and Cooking →
Any experienced gardener will tell you that when it comes to plant diseases, regardless of how much you weed, water, and worry, certain problems are beyond your control. There are, however, several …
As the managing editor of Insteading, I get to learn a lot about farming and gardening from our writers as well as my own research. And every once in a while, I have the opportunity to attend …
We’re all familiar with onions, but with this tasty vegetable, there’s more than meets the eye. Read on to learn more facts about onions that you probably didn’t know! 1. Onions Played A Surprising …
Continue Reading about 14 Things You Didn’t Know About Onions →
Whether it's because they're an affordable option or they provide a rustic feel, pallets have become increasingly popular as a source of material for DIY projects. They can be adapted in the most …
Organic gardeners know that when ladybugs are abundant in the springtime, they can anticipate a bountiful harvest. Fortunate is the homestead blessed with an abundance of ladybugs. Ladybugs are …
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“You should be advised, sir,” the clerk advised my husband, “that when the blossoms die, it doesn’t mean the plant is dead. It does go through a dormant stage. And don’t over-water.” My husband …
Ever wonder about the differences between plantains vs. bananas? Which is more nutritional? Tastier? Easier to store? In the plantains vs. bananas debate, you no longer need to …
Are you tired of traffic jams and the fast pace of city living? Do you long to escape the rush and retreat to the quiet of rural living? If so, you are not alone. Each year, more and more people chose …
Continue Reading about 5 Questions To Ask Yourself Before You Become A Homesteader →
School gardens are a wonderful way to build a connection between students and the outdoors all while covering necessary subjects in a hands-on environment. A difficult part of running a school garden …
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The first heavy frost has just hit and the temperature has taken a nose dive well below freezing. The gardens are all tucked in their beds, well covered with leaves. Little nobs still poke their …
Continue Reading about Homestead Stories: Great Grandpa’s Rhubarb →
High fat is a term that often scares people away, I know. We've been told for decades that fat is bad for us, and because of ad campaigns and flawed science, there is a fundamental misunderstanding …
Continue Reading about High Fat, High Protein Vegan Snacks →
I first discovered Jerusalem artichokes about four years ago in Arkansas. I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me when I saw the 5-foot stalk with a yellow flower that looked like a miniature …
Frances Hodgson Burnett wrote a charming young people’s novel. First published in book form in 1911, “The Secret Garden” lures the reader into a world of discovery and possibilities, all in a garden, …
Fermentation is a time-honored tradition that dates back to the mid-1800's when the study of yeast first began. Since then, we have created recipes that ferment everything from milk to pickles. And of …
Baking helps make your house into a home and is a lovely way to show the people in your life that you care for them. And there is no better time than the holidays to start (or begin again) with baking …
Morning glory (Ipomoea lacunosa) is a flowering vine that is native to the eastern and southeastern United States. On the East Coast and in the South, it’s a well-loved and beautiful part of …
Roses are popular and beautiful flowering shrubs in many homestead gardens. However, starting a rose garden can seem like a bit of an intimidating challenge for new gardeners. It isn’t as hard as you …
Vegan cheese has come a long way in the two decades since I started eating it, and there are more options than ever for those of us that don't (or can't) eat dairy. Below I've detailed the most …
A member of the honeysuckle family, the common elderberry (Sambucus nigra subsp. canadensis), also known as American elder, wild elder, sweet elder, dwarf elder, hairy blue elderflower, European elder …
You know what’s perfect on a rainy day besides a good book and a roaring fire? Listening to the soothing sounds produced by a rain chain. There is something very zen-like about hearing the trickle of …
Ever wonder about the differences between cabbage vs. lettuce? Which is more nutritional? Tastier? Easier to grow? Easier to store? In this cabbage vs. lettuce debate, you no longer need to …
Continue Reading about Cabbage Vs. Lettuce: Important Differences You Need To Know →
Thimbleberry (Rubus parviflorus Nutt.) is a common bramble plant found growing in the wild on sunny, sub-alpine, mountainous slopes and avalanche tracks from Alaska to California. In fact, …
Continue Reading about Cultivating Thimbleberries In The Homestead Garden →
Storage benches may be one of the most versatile pieces of furniture we can own. For anyone needing to maximize space, they’re the answer to solving storage and seating problems. They can also serve …
When I lived in the city, I had the luxury of ignoring poop. If a neighbor’s dog left it on my tiny lawn, it was a rude, unusual inconvenience. Aside from what I delicately flushed into oblivion with …
Continue Reading about Why Manure Is The Unsung Hero of the Homestead →
I love my garden and I love working in it. Unfortunately, it’s a seasonal thing. Once winter approaches I do all I can to protect and preserve my garden for the next spring. Many people, myself …
Wind chimes have been used by many cultures going back as far as 1100 BC. Believe it or not, they weren’t created to irritate cranky neighbors, but in fact were thought to ward off evil spirits. …
