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The off-grid homesteading
Blog
Welcome to our blog!
Lessons learned on the journey toward independence
In our blog is a wealth of knowledge that we've accumulated over many years of off-grid living, as well as the lessons we've learned through trial and error. Our experience in the School of Hard Knocks has taught us valuable lessons that we are excited to share with you. In addition to our own expertise, we've also hand-selected a group of guest contributors who are experts in their respective fields. Their contributions provide even more valuable insights into homesteading, off-grid living, and emergency preparedness. We hope you enjoy learning from their knowledge and experience as much as we have!
Blog Categories
Power
This section covers how to make your own electricity off the grid using solar power, hydro power, batteries, inverters, charge controllers, and more.
Gardening
Learn to grow your own food with tips on starting a homestead garden, including vegetable gardens, fruit orchards, small fruits, composting, and more in this section.
Canning
Learn to grow and preserve your own food with tips on starting a homestead garden, composting, canning, dehydrating, and more in this section.
water
Choose the best water source, pump, and system components to secure life's most important necessity with tips from this section.
Safety
Prevention and preparation are key to ensuring safety, covering physical security, home fire protection, wildland fire preparedness, and more in this section.
Communication
Communications is an often overlooked part of preparedness and homesteading. Learn how to stay in touch while living in a remote location as well as during emergencies.
most recent posts
How to Plant Potatoes
Potatoes are one of the very first crops that can be planted in early spring. It’s best to plant seed potatoes 2-3 weeks before the typical last frost date in your area. Potatoes are one of the most valuable and versatile veggies you can grow. Each potato piece...
How To Squeeze More Power From Solar Panels
If you'd like to get more power from your solar panels, without any additional cost, this is for you! And this tip especially helps in winter months when the weather causes your solar array to be less productive. Here we go... The Theory When the sun's rays arrive at...
The Story of our Solar System!
Hmmm... Where should I start? We purchased our current home nearly 6 years ago. It had been sitting empty for quite a number of years and it has needed a lot of 'elbow grease'. One area that was desperately needing an upgrade was the power system. The solar array was...
Our ‘Inherited’ Worm Farm
Backstory: I had started some Meyer Lemon plants from seed several years ago, and had to transplant them into some new pots. I’m a very frugal person (translation = miserable penny-pincher) so I used dirt from our property. Fast forward to a couple of months...
Income in the Country
The picture above is from our living room window -- we call it our million-dollar view. But in order to have our million dollar view with a less than a bare-bones budget, it means that our commute to town is rather lengthy. It's an hour or more drive to town. And I...
How To Make 2 Years Of Applesauce In A Few Days
Last month we were pretty hard-up and did the unthinkable... We had to buy "applesauce" from the store. And what is worse...we were actually eating it! Yes, we don't put much stock in the nondescript, store-bought, beige colored substances that loosely resemble...