Network Bloggers – Homestead Bloggers Network

Jan Berry

Anni

I'm Anni and I love living in the wide open spaces of Kansas with my husband and our cattle, chickens, guineas, cats, dogs and horses. We love the Lord and all that he has given us. I love to help people learn how to garden and grow their own food. And did I say organic gardening? Don't understand using chemicals on my food so I never have.I am passionate about so many things so my blog is to share tips, hints, helps and my loves of living in the country!

Brandy Alford

I am pleased to meet you! I am Brandy affectionately known as Rzashida. My first plant was an avocado tree that I grew from seed at age 4. Over 30 years later, I continued on my gardening journey. Being a garden enthusiast is a major part of my life. The challenge of growing plants that are exotic to my region, or have some type of funky purpose is what keeps me going. The beauty of nature delights me and keeps me flabbergasted. God has blessed me with growing hands, and that's what I do. I love gardening and appreciate that the possibilities are limitless.

TheHippyGardener

One Grace Filled Life

I’m a free spirited home grown Georgia peach. G.R.I.T.S is not just an item on a big southern breakfast menu, it is a way of life for me! I was raised in the city, but always longed for greener pastures and fresh mountain air. So, that’s where God led me! I live in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia with my handsome husband and our critters on our farm, Grace Haven. I am constantly inspired by and in awe of the beauty that surrounds me, so you will rarely find me without a camera. After a long day in the garden or around the farm, I am at my happiest sitting on the front porch with my hubby, dirt under my nails and a dog by my side, watching our chickens scratch and peck in the front yard, and listening to our horses munch away at grass in the pasture. This makes my heart so full! Welcome to our little peace of heaven!

Making Shift

Karen Beaty has been increasingly making shift since about 2003 when she scavenged her first item out of the trash. Years of mental shift preceded that moment. She now strives to obtain more and more of what her family needs through reuse, recycling, thrifting, and self-production. In addition to practical homemaking and self-sufficiency, she is interested in creating community. She lives in Austin, Texas with her husband, three children, several pets, a flock of poultry, and a wonderful community of friends, family, and neighbors.

Homestead Alive

Bonnie is a wife and partner of 14 years to her adoring husband Kyle and mother of their two children. She is a newly minted homesteader but prepping is in her DNA. Her passion is natural cosmetic products, which she makes from her home 'lab' - When she isn't in the lab you can find her in the kitchen with her pressure canner and cooking meals from scratch... For her 3 dogs.

Alicia Zeltwanger

A true homesteader at heart, Alicia is on a journey to make life as healthy as possible for her family. As a mom to three silly kids, wife to a super awesome man and keeper of a really dopey dog, her days are never dull. She'd love nothing more than to share her triumphs and failures in gardening and healthy, simple living. You can find her writing at Walking Softly Upon the Earth.

I don’t know that I really “started prepping,” I really always have been. My mom and dad were avid gardeners/homesteaders, so I grew up in a semi self-sufficient lifestyle. I’ve always had the homesteader/preparedness mindset. I enjoy tinkering and building things, and I try to turn them into useful guides, whenever I think something I've built would be helpful to other people. Thanks for reading!

gregwymer

Opportunity Farm

Matthew, Michelle and five Farran children live at Opportunity Farm on the border between Victoria and New South Wales in the Snowy Mountains Region of Australia. On their 29 acre farm and 300 acre bush property they have self-shedding sheep, a variety of goats, some ponies, lots of chickens, some pigs, guinea pigs, fish and dogs. They attempt to grow much of their own food and are developing a business to share their knowledge of teaching, practical skills, homesteading and working with special needs students with others.

Kelly

I'm Kelly. Mama to a sweet, spirited toddler and married to my best friend. Writer, crafter, mushroom hunter, country winemaker, cook. I'm setting out on a quest for self-sufficiency in gorgeous, rainy Oregon.

Sandrine Ferwerda

Sandrine Ferwerda was born in Belgium, where she grew up between horses, dogs and assorted poultry. After getting a degree in sociology, she worked as a personal assistant in Amsterdam when she and her husband decided to pack their things and move to rural Spain. With the help of volunteers, they’re turning their olive & almond farm in the middle of nowhere into a self-sustainable permaculture paradise. When she’s not writing, Sandrine likes to watch plants grow, talk to her chickens and dream about her own herd of alpaca’s.

Travis Johnson

Sergio (The Greenman Project)

ColoredEggHomestead

Kristy Gonyer

Kristy and her husband Nathan write about their journey as they strive to build a simple life that values family, community, and the natural world. They hope to inspire others as they document their transition from urban homesteading and their journey to prepare for, buy, and eventually build a life on a mortgage-free, rural homestead.

Lindsey

I am a mother to two beautiful boys, a wife to an amazing man and a lover of the outdoors. On our little homestead we are taking small steps to living a more natural and sustainable life. Join us on our journey to self-sufficiency as we share tips and tricks to living simply in a busy world.

Erin Turner

Lindsey Hyland

Mary Jane

Organic gardening and natural living tips

Kimberlee Bastien

We’ve never milked a cow, mucked out a barn or even preserved a single food… We are a family of wannabe farmers on a mission to learn 52 homesteading skills in one year.

Jaymie Pierce

Living in the North Georgia mountains, my husband and I decided to give up suburbia and start a small farm. We are living our dream raising goats, chickens, ducks and Great Pyrenees. We raise some of our food and enjoy living a self-sustainable lifestyle.

Matt Hollingsworth

Kellie Phelan

Originally a country girl, now living in the city (Seattle!), Kellie is passionate about converting her lawn into an edible landscape. As a recent beginner gardener, Kellie was both amazed and frustrated by all of the different gardening resources out there. Kellie's goal with Backyard Roots is to capture all of that gardening know-how in one place and make growing food accessible to everyone. So dig in and start growing!

Jenn Dana

We are a family striving to live a simple life. We love hunting, DIY projects, growing produce, and enjoying our lives on the farm.

Lee is a writer and blogger spreading the word about self-sufficiency one post at a time through her blog, www.homesteadology.com.

Julie Sczerbinski

Lisa

Urban farmer, holistic nutritionist, blessed wife, stepmom, sis, and faithful servant living a zero-waste lifestyle.

Rebekah Baker

Hi, everybody!!! It’s me just talking about how to eat and live healthy. My goal is to help you in your journey to better health. It has always been a hobby of mine to discover better ways to live that is closer to nature and how God intended it . It’s so exciting to find something that will help my husband and kids not only feel better but will boost their immune system as well. I enjoy the challenge of seeing how much our family can save. We have learned to make many household cleaners and detergents that would otherwise overtax our budget if we had to buy them. These household items can be made inexpensively as well as allergen-friendly. This last year, I also began gardening. I have found that gardening is a wonderful way to relief stress. It seems crazy that having your hands in dirt would help anyone relax but it really works. My mission is to present alternative ideas to encourage a healthier you.

Emily Swezey

Emily shares her goofy, detail oriented approach to leading a life that's more self-reliant, in touch with the natural world and fulfilling on her website Life From Scratch.

homesteadingwife

I'm a cow milking, chicken chasing, wood stove cooking, garden growing mama to triplets. We live on a ranch in the beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota. Our journey to self-sufficiency is full of joy and trials. We live simply without conveniences like air conditioning, dishwasher, and microwave. Much of our food comes from our land or is bartered for. In the winter we use a wood cook stove for both cooking and heat. It's a hard life, but I wouldn't change it for the world.

Cathy Rehmeyer

Tana Mason

HI, My name is Tana, and I am from Moore, Oklahoma. Throughout most of my life I have lived in the City of Moore, but in my late 30’s that changed and decided to make a transition from a city girl to a country girl.

House.Barn.Farm.

I am a homebody,new to homeschooling, gardening, horseback-riding, goat milking, soap making, chicken whispering kinda girl, living on our family homestead with my detail oriented, electric fence testing, Mr. fix-it, partner in crime Mark and our 2 wild, loud, adorable and sweet kiddos.

Brianna Nash

Hey y'all! I'm Brianna. A veteran, loving wife, work at home mama to two wild children. I'm a transplant Mississippian by way of Louisiana. We started our homestead on family-owned land with a few baby chicks, dogs, and horses. Follow along for homesteading, homeschooling, from scratch meals and DIY projects.

Tina Layne

Bobbie Johnson

High Fantasy Homestead

We are a trio of do-it-yourselfers trying to carve out a self-sufficient homestead from a former junkyard!

Holly

I was born and raised on a dairy farm in southwest Wisconsin until I was 8 years old. I always had a strong connection with the environment and wanted to live off the land. At college, I met my future husband and together we have learned self-sufficiency skills and now have a country home, barn, and 17 acres where we can expand what we know and live more independently. Together we are passing down our knowledge to our 5 year old son who tags along with us in all of our adventures. Chickens, honeybees, a large organic garden (50 x 100 ft.), 41 fruit trees, and 53 fruit bushes complete our homestead and keep us busy. We are constantly adding on to our homestead and learning more ways to live self sufficiently.

MidnightSunHomestead

I'm Diana, together with my husband and last remaining child we're a family of 3 living our off-grid, off the road system homesteading dream in the bush of Alaska. We've been living this lifestyle for almost 2 years now and love every minute of it. We've learned, cried, shed blood, and dusted ourselves off countless times, but we're still going at it strong. Follow our adventure and feel free to share your thoughts, ideas, and suggestions.

Emelia Smith

Laura Tompkins

Shayna @ Fat of the Land

Howdy! I’m Shayna, mother, homesteader and blogger at Fat of the Land. My main goal these days is just to live presently with my family, and in constant gratitude and awe of the land and it’s bounty. The land really is fat with abundant gifts, and it is through homesteading and exploring nature that I actualize my dreams. My family lives on a small acreage homestead in Western Montana, where we grow fruits and veggies, milk cows and goats, raise a whole variety of free range poultry, and compost our little hearts out. We live naturally with nourishing ancient foods, herbs and traditional medicines. I reflect often on things like beauty, peace, relationships, parenting, and nature. Our homestead is a work in progress. We observe the natural forces that shape the land, and try our best to work within that framework as we plant orchards, cultivate gardens, and plan out fencing and grazing. There is always a project in the pipeline, a recipe being experimented with, or homestead home school breakthroughs to share!

Brenda Anderson

I am a christian and I am high functioning Autistic. I live off-grid very traditionally with my parents in the Northern Idaho Wilderness and I LOVE it. I look forward to sharing my adventures and stories. I can be found at MountainBoyJournals.com.

Jacquelyn

Stephanie Warren

Howdy! I'm a married mother to 6 awesome kiddos. I homeschool, cook from scratch, homestead, garden, blog, and help the hubby run our construction business. Loving the Inland North West life.

Laura Thorrold

I’m Laura. I live in a teeny tiny rural village in the rural New Zealand. I have a super sized vege garden, too many chickens and a super handsome farmer soon-to-be hubby My blog is all about our adventures trying to live a more simple life in the country. You will find recipes that are quick and easy, including a lot of homemade replacements for store bought items, and plenty of baking and desserts to satisfy your sweet tooth! I also ramble about life in the country, share the odd cow photo and blog about any travel we do. Welcome to my world!

Kristie Kohn

I am a homesteading, married, mother of 4 children (plus 50 chickens). I enjoy cooking, crafting, gardening, raising animals, and all things homesteading.

Daniel Gasteiger speaks enthusiastically about gardening and real food. His book, Yes, You Can! And Freeze and Dry It, Too, teaches how to preserve produce. He blogs about gardening at http://www.smallkitchengarden.net and writes about gardening and cooking for the Sunbury Daily Item, a newspaper in central Pennsylvania.

Tammy Curry

I am a single mom of two great kids and daughter to one amazing man. This makes up my family that I am dragging along on a journey to a more sustainable life. We have attempted this many times but ever since I became widowed in 2012 I have had to work harder and find more ways to save, become more self sufficient and more sustainable. Currently we are living in an apartment and using two small plots at a community garden to grow our own food. We take advantage of local Farmer's Markets and farms for things we cannot raise or grow ourselves. One of our biggest changes was downsizing to squeeze four people into a two bedroom apartment while I returned to school to become a nurse. My father joined the mix and has become my staunchest supporter and biggest cheer leader. This new life has brought many changes and a whole new outlook on life. Join us as we move through our first four year plan (we are already a year into it at this writing).

Louise Houghton

I am married to Jon. We live in Ceredigion in mid-Wales and have two boys nearly 9 and nearly 10. I just started to grow our own veg in May of this year. It has gone well some times and there have been failures but I am learning ALL the time and loving it, too. Check out my ramblings on my blog to see what I get up to in and out of my Poly House.

Laura Katzensteiner

Hi, my name is Laura. I love making things from scratch, whether that is food, beauty products, crafts or even cleaning products. Not only is it incredibly satisfying, it also saves money and teaches valuable skills. And the fact that I live in an apartment is definitely not going to stop me from being on this journey. So why should it stop you? I believe, it is never too early/late to take back control of the products you put in your body!

Virginia Enyart

Erin Harrison

HRed79

Allison Carns

I married a farmer in the fall of 2014. One of our goals is to create a green, eco-friendly home. While I'm still working the 9-5, I like to spend the remainder of my time working with my husband to create a self-sufficient homestead. My blog is to document our journey, all of the successes and failures along the way!

Julia

Julia is a Christian who blogs at Reform Stead about anything homesteading. Topics like taking care of chickens, milking goats, growing a garden or cooking a healthy meal, are some of her favorites and can be found on her blog.

Bexz Walker

A Kentish family living the homesteading lifestyle, in the middle of a town. Self sufficient as much as they can be & loving every minute of it.

Melissa Jones

Alyssa Craft

greatembini

Michael Cooley

Michael obtained his PDC via Geoff Lawton, PRI, in 2013 , and had been a student of Permaculture Design independently for a number of years prior to obtaining the PDC. His interest in Permaculture came through an interest in sustainable food production and a desire for nutrient rich foods. He is particularly interested in the value of food forests, perennial food production, and medicinal plants and herbs. Michael's experience as a licensed Financial Advisor and prior career in hospital administration and Human Resources have given him unique perspectives on the economics of Permaculture Design and the management of inputs. Michael is presently creating a demonstration site on acreage in the northern Shenandoah Valley of Virginia (temperate climate). He is also looking to work in Aid work situations worldwide to further his experience in varied climates. His ultimate goal is to teach the PDC at the collegiate level and in developing countries where adequate nutrition is not readily available. He is also functioning as a permaculture design consultant and speaker.

Heidi Nawrocki

Susan Sink

I am a poet and writer living on 80 acres in Central Minnesota. My husband and I and the two other families who live here have turned this old hog farm into a combination of gardens, furniture making shop, and restored prairie and wetlands. It is a habitat for humans, chickens, a dog, a pair of sand hill cranes, and birds, bees, Monarch butterflies and other insects too numerous to count.

Amy Coleman

Elisheva Weyers

Anja Koch

For as long as I can think I have been a plant enthusiast and I have been growing plants since I was a teenager. After finishing school I began a two-year apprenticeship as a landscape gardener in Germany. I was working for a large landscaping company for two years learning the trade as well as going to a school. During this time we were laying out and planting gardens for people. This taught me the fundamental basics of garden design, landscaping and gave me a practical and broad knowledge base of garden plants. My apprenticeship was followed by a professional program in Landscape Design in Germany and involved a thesis on Robinsonian Gardens in Ireland. For this I had to travel to Ireland to study the historical 'Wild Robinsonian Gardens'...and of course, we decided to move to Ireland after I finished with my professional program. In 1998 we moved to the South-West of Ireland and started a garden center. Running a garden center for over 19 years and dealing with amateur gardeners on a daily basis has taught me a lot about the problems that people have with growing plants and gardening. In 2013, I did a Permaculture design course and certificate with Geoff Lawton, one of the best and most impressive permaculture teachers around. This was truly an eye-opening experience that I can only recommend for anybody. Do it and it will change your life! We are since redesigning and integrating permaculture design principles into the garden. We also started to develop a small market garden operation as a sideline to our garden center. Producing healthy and tasty vegetables is our new focus.

Quiet Owl Farm

Rosie is working towards her goal of having a sustainable family farm and homestead. In her blog, Quiet Owl Farm (quietowlfarm.wordpress.com), you can follow her journey as she tries her darndest to transition from student-debt-ridden renter to small farm-owning homesteader.

Robbi Sullivan

Raising children, chickens, and an organic garden in Southern Illinois.

Autumn

Kristina Dahlin

Megan Richardson