Homestead skills: guides and how-tos

What this section covers

A pantry runs down. A garden, a laying flock and the skill to put up a harvest keep refilling it. This section is for households that want to produce some of their own food, whether that is four raised beds behind a suburban house or a few acres with goats.

We start with what pays back fastest in calories and effort: potatoes, dry beans, squash and the other storage crops that carry a family through winter, and the open-pollinated varieties whose seed you can save and plant again. Laying hens come next, because a small flock turns kitchen scraps into protein every day with little equipment.

Preserving is where homestead skills meet the pantry. Pressure canning low-acid food like beans, meat and most vegetables has to follow tested times, and the National Center for Home Food Preservation publishes them. Water-bath canning, dehydrating, fermenting, curing and smoking each have their own rules, and we say plainly which shortcuts are dangerous.

The root cellar, the springhouse and the cold room belong here too: storing a harvest without power, the way most American farms did before rural electrification. Each guide says what it takes in money, space and hours a week, so you can decide what fits your place and your back.

Common questions

What should I grow first for food security?

Calorie crops that store without power: potatoes, winter squash, dry beans and corn. They feed more people per bed than salad greens.

Do I need a pressure canner?

For low-acid foods like meat, beans and most vegetables, yes. A boiling-water bath does not reach the heat needed, and the NCHFP publishes tested times for each food.

How many chickens does a family need?

It depends on how many eggs you eat and the breed. Each guide works it out from laying rates rather than a single rule of thumb.