Homesteading for beginners, sourced and cited

This week on the homesteadEarly October

First frosts are arriving across much of the country. Here is what is worth doing before the cold settles in.

A shallow harvest tray of green, blushing, and red tomatoes on a kitchen counter
Gardening

How to Ripen Green Tomatoes Before the Frost

Plain pumpkin puree in a ceramic bowl beside two small cooking pumpkins
Kitchen

How to Make Pumpkin Puree and Freeze Useful Portions

Dried apple rings in a ceramic bowl beside fresh apples on a wooden counter
Preserving

Dehydrating Apples: Slices, Dryness Checks, and Storage

Mid-30s °FThe forecast low at which to start covering tender crops.Iowa State Extension
65 to 70 °FThe room temperature that ripens mature green tomatoes best.Oregon State Extension
Up to 1 yearHow long measured pumpkin puree keeps in the freezer.Nebraska Extension

Browse by what you are working on

A late summer garden bed half cleared and half replanted with young greens

Gardening

From a first container to full raised beds, whatever your zone.

Jars of golden applesauce with a small serving bowl and fresh apples on a kitchen counter

Preserving

Canning, freezing, drying and fermenting, following tested methods.

Easter Egger hen with feathered muffs and beard in a backyard run

Chickens

Breeds, coops, feed and the honest costs of a first flock.

Fresh homemade butter on parchment beside a bottle of non-homogenized milk with a visible cream line

Kitchen

From-scratch basics, pantry staples and swaps with exact ratios.

New here? Pick the thing you want to try first.

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Your first garden

Start with nine forgiving vegetables

You do not need a big yard. A few containers and the right crops are enough for a first season.

Read the guide
Your first flock

Choose breeds that suit beginners

Calm, hardy hens make the first year easier. See which breeds lay well and tolerate mistakes.

Read the guide
Your first jar

Learn jar prep before your first batch

What sterilizing actually requires, and the steps you can stop worrying about.

Read the guide
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Five printable pages that take the guesswork out of a first season, plus a short email every week or two when something is worth planting, picking, or putting up.

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  • A seed-starting and planting calendar
  • A harvest log to track what really produced

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Latest guides

Guides and printables

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The Complete Garden Planner cover

The Complete Garden Planner

A 30-page printable planner for a real growing season.

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Backyard Chickens Starter Guide cover

Backyard Chickens Starter Guide

Everything to decide before the chicks arrive.

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Beginner's Canning eBook cover

Beginner's Canning eBook

Water-bath canning from the first jar to the last.

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Every safety number has a source

Canning times, temperatures and storage limits come from NCHFP, USDA and university Extension pages, and each article links to them.

Written for people starting out

In Homestead is written by Soufian, an independent researcher, for readers with a backyard and no farming background.

Honest about what we have not tested

Where a guide relies on published research and not our own kitchen or coop, it says so.