Homestead Life
Whether you are brand new to homesteading, a seasoned pro, or just dreaming of owning your own homestead one day we are here to help you where you are. We will meet you at the homestead with tips for gardening and preserving your harvest, caring for animals, being a better steward to our world and navigating parenting conundrums on the farm. All the advice your momma could give and more.
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How to Start A Homestead No Matter Where You Live
I get a lot of questions about homesteading from how to do it to how much land is needed. Today we are going to explore how to start a homestead no matter where you live. My husband and I started our homestead/farm almost two years ago and while we have learned a lot through trial and error, there are still so many things to learn. Early on into our adventure I researched everything I could. I wanted to know the ins and outs of homesteading, and while I found some useful information, I have found the best information has come from doing and failing. As you consider starting your homesteading…
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How To Plan Your Homestead Garden
It is that time of year again! January marks the start of planning your homestead garden for the coming spring. At least that is what we are doing here at Hackett Hill Farm!! Come along with us as we plan for our homestead garden and get some great inspiration for yours! Gardening is one of my favorite parts about homesteading. There is something so satisfying about knowing that I grew something from seed to feed my family. I also love the process of choosing plants to grow, planning a layout, and starting seeds. Each step along the way brings you closer to the earth your home is built on. Let’s…
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How to Care for Your Donkey – A Homesteader’s Guide
Whether for companionship or guarding a herd, donkeys are a great addition to any homestead or farm. This guide will walk you through how to care for your donkey and all the reasons why you need one on your homestead. When we purchased our homestead in 2020, I knew one thing for certain. I wanted a donkey. To be honest, I am not sure at the time if I knew why I wanted one. All I knew was they were cute little critters and once I set my mind to something, there is very little that will change it. So we started looking, and my husband found Archie. …
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15 Awesome Gifts Your Gardener Will Love (2021)
We all have a gardener in our life. Whether they grow a potted plant in their apartment, a box garden on their porch, or a full fledge garden in their homestead’s back yard, we have the gifts your gardener will love! The holidays are fast approaching and we know how stressful it can be to buy the perfect gift for everyone on your Christmas list. Never fear! Today we will be breaking down our favorite gardening items that are great for gifting to the gardener in your life. Gardening Books Your Gardener Will Love Books are a great way to amp up the confidence of new gardeners or used as…
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Preparing Your Vegetable Garden For Winter – A Homesteader Interview
The garden is the heartbeat of the homestead. It is the place you spend your entire summer tilling, planting, and weeding. Then fall hits and it is harvest time and you spend the next month picking, canning, and preserving. But what do you do after harvest? How do you begin preparing your vegetable garden for winter? Whether your plan is to have a fall/winter garden or close it down until spring, we are going to discuss it all with our homesteader Charis Scofield. Before we dig into the interview, let’s talk about some of the decisions you will need to make before you start preparing the vegetable garden for…
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Beginners Guide on How to Winterize Your Bee Hives (An Interview)
Today we are talking about bee keeping on the homestead and what you need to know on how to winterize your bee hives. We will talk with homesteader and bee keeper Cara Nitz and get her thoughts on keeping bees and how to prepare them for the long winter ahead. Bees and homesteading have gone hand in hand for well over four thousand years. The first kept hives consisting of little more than holes in rocky mountainsides or roughly woven baskets. Today’s beekeeping is much less crude and is quickly becoming a popular hobby around the world! Bee keeping can be a daunting task to undertake if you are…
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Benefits of Seed Saving and How to Start (an Interview)
Seed saving is an important part of any homesteaders or gardeners preparation for winter. As the garden comes to a close, it is important to be planful of the upcoming year and a new gardening season. Seed saving is at the heart of true sustainability and self reliance. All Photo rights in this post belong to Ashley at The Homestead Mother Today we are going to be talking seed saving. I will be interviewing Ashley from The Homestead Mother and we will cover everything you need to know to have a successful seed saving year as you prepare the homestead for winter. We will explore how Ashley got started in…
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How to Use Herbal Remedies on the Homestead (an Interview)
With cold and flu season upon us, what better way to prepare the homestead for winter than with Herbal remedies. These remedies are what our ancestors used before modern medicine came into play and continue to be a great way to keep your family happy and healthy on the homestead. Herbs are a multi purpose plant at the homestead. They can be used to make mouthwatering recipes, in cleaning, and as medicine for animals and homesteader alike. There are many different uses of herbs in medicine and wellbeing that we will talk about today. Before we meet our homesteader let’s learn a little more about herbs and their uses…
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Preparing for Winter on the Homestead- Dehydrating Food
This time of year is an especially busy one for homesteaders as they prepare the homestead. As winter closes in, there is a lot of prep work to make sure your family and animals have what they need for the coming months of cold weather. While supermarkets remain open, most homesteaders pride themselves in their ability to remain self sustaining through the long cold months ahead. Here at Hackett Hill Farm, we are partnering with fellow homesteaders to bring you a new series to the blog, focused on preparing the homestead for winter. This week we have Emily from Halfway to Homesteading joining us to talk about how her and…
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How to Care for Your Flock of Chickens
Chickens are a joy on the homestead. Their clucking, scratching, and funny antics bring so much joy and peace to the farm yard. They are also relatively easy to take care of and they serve a very important purpose on the homestead, supplying food! If you are new to chickens or just want some extra tips on how to care for your flock of chickens, you have come to the right place! We will walk you though at a high level how to take care of your flock and help them thrive. Chickens are perhaps my favorite animal on the homestead. Shhh, don’t tell the others! They are just so…
