Backyard Homesteading
Backyard Farming Guides for Chickens, Gardens & Homemade Food
Simple, practical advice for raising animals, growing vegetables, and preserving your harvest — free every Sunday.
Chickens, goats & backyard livestock
Vegetable gardens & herb growing
Canning, preserving & fermenting
Seasonal tips & homestead planning
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Browse guides by topic — from your first chickens to a full preserve pantry.
Latest from the Homestead
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✦ Editor's pick
Creating the Perfect Bluebird House Design
Transform your backyard into a haven for these beautiful songbirds with a well-crafted nesting box.
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Livestock
7 Reasons to Raise Guinea Fowl on Your Homestead
Gardening
Square Foot Gardening: Maximize Yields in Small Spaces
Livestock
Essential Tips for Building a Chicken Coop
Livestock
Pygmy Goats: The Ultimate Backyard Farming Guide
Gardening
How to Start a Vegetable Garden from Scratch
Gardening
Your Complete Guide to North Carolina Backyard Birds
Seasonal homestead calendar
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Spring · Mar – May
Start Seeds & Build Coops
Chicks arrive, first garden beds go in, start tomatoes indoors.
- Order chicks & ducklings
- Start seeds indoors
- Build or repair coops
- Plant cool-season crops
Peak garden production, canning season begins in earnest.
- Harvest & can tomatoes
- Water bath canning
- Freeze excess produce
- Manage flock heat
Final harvests, put up stores for winter, start ferments.
- Pressure can meats
- Start sauerkraut & kimchi
- Root cellar storage
- Winterize the coop
Seed catalogs, coop maintenance, and planning next year.
- Order seed catalogs
- Plan garden layout
- Maintain flock health
- Inventory your pantry