Weeds and Trees: Free Super Soil Builders

This is another segment on how to restore depleted soil on your homestead. Search our blog for numerous related stories. It’s a big topic because most soil now is depleted of nutrients, and of course, plants are only as nutritious as the soil they’re grown in. The cost of depleted farmland is typically far below the cost of rich bottom land, so this soil building technique can save many thousands of dollars when buying land.

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Best Places to Live: Scenic Byways

Nebraska Highway 20 scenic byway
Nebraska Highway 20 scenic byway

As a young man, I traveled across Nebraska on Highway 20 that parallels the main east-west interstate across the state. It’s very beautiful country. The scenic byway was far more interesting than the interstate which I had traveled many times going back and forth to Colorado on vacation. Places like this would be a great place to homestead.

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Small Kitchen Cooking Video Series

This is an overview of the general goals and what to expect in a new Tiny House Cooking series of videos. Ariel has quite a few interesting videos that show every aspect of living in a small house including storage, using a small wood stove, living in a cold climate, etc. In this case her kitchen is only 50 sq. ft. but as you’ll see it is very well designed and efficient.

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Is Colorado Too Cold for Homesteading? Search for Warm Microclimates

Ranch country near Walsenburg, Colorado has fairly mild weather in comparison to most parts of the state.
Ranch country near Walsenburg, Colorado has fairly mild weather in comparison to most parts of the state.

A reader left a comment the other day about how they love Colorado but said it’s too cold to live there. That comment was the inspiration for this blog post, which is about finding relatively warm areas in a cold climate.

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The Natural Farmer – Healing Damaged Land


Our Natural Building Blog covers various topics including ways to restore degraded land for growing food and homesteading. The Natural Farmer shares a good story about Peter Ash of Embracing the World who helped restore some highly contaminated land in India. The main story is from 1:57 to 5:41 in case you’re in a hurry.

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Small, Simple, Slow and Steady

Blowdowns can be turned into beautiful furniture
Blowdowns can be turned into beautiful furniture

Many people are seeking a quick fix, ‘silver bullet’ solution to their housing situation and life in general. Just look at all the people who buy lottery tickets or go on crash diets for instance. In my experience things in the real world are not quick and easy. Everything of value comes at a cost of time and effort – building a home, homestead, good education, good relationships.

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