As a nerd who homesteads, let me share the data I have gathered!
First is my megalistĀ of homesteading-related links Iāve gatheredĀ over the years. Iām a mod over at r/homesteading and this is where Iāve put a lot of good sources (not all, admittedly some are still sitting in my bookmark folder waiting to be added). The search function at reddit is wretched, but thereās also been lots of good things Iāve shared there too. Please note that many of these sources are not actual webpages, but PDFs. Thatās not an accident, PDFs are where you find the really good in-depth stuff.
Many of my sources are from the Extension Service. They wonāt try to relate to you based on your lifestyle or sexual identity or religion or whatever, but due to that, they also wonāt be alienating you either.
The CooperativeĀ Extension ServiceĀ (US only) exists in all 50 states and in most counties. It is taxpayer funded. The Extension Service exists to help people become more self sufficient, for farmers to be more successful, for people to be healthier, for kids to be well adjusted, to figure out how to grow the best plants in your area, etc. Some county offices even offer cheap classes in things like gardening, canning, soap making, and theyāre taught by people with training in these areas (I once heard a great talk on composting from a soil scientist that way). Do you want to know what type of plant something is? Do you need help figuring out a plant disease or pest issue? You can now contact them online and get great info.
I HIGHLY recommend checking out your stateās extension service website, because they do offer different types of information, depending on what is grown/raised where you are (and how well funded they are). My county extension puts out a monthly gardening newsletter, which includes a helpfulĀ āthis is the time of the year to do ā-ā part.
Hereās an example from North CarolinaĀ - check out that left sidebar
Hereās an example from California - this website is HUGE so dig around
Hereās an example from New YorkĀ - they have a calendar at the bottom, showing how they have things like hydroponic and urban agriculture workshops coming up.
Interested in raising animals? Penn State Extension is really really good. They have tons of free materials and courses available online, some I pulled for my megalist at the top of this.
National Center for Home Food Preservation - they cover the important aspects of food safety, and also have some recipes. Many state Extension Service websites will have lots more recipes.
If you have kids, check out 4-H programs for them. Itās part of the local public school system here. If youāre homeschooling, you can also purchase their science-filled educational and self sufficiency materialsĀ (materials are divided by age ranges - Cloverbud Member: ages 5-8, Junior Member: ages 9-13, Senior Member: ages 14-19). One of my coworkers is in 4-H, sheās still in high school, and last year she raised an award-winning heifer.
Congress grants the money for funding these programs, and theyāre connected with various universities. Thereās a level of cutting edge scientific knowledge and academic rigor you donāt find in blogs or even most books. Thereās LOTS of homesteading books filled with outdated information likeĀ ātill the earth every yearā hell I still have older coworkers who do it and Iām trying to figure out how to gently tell them that theyāre destroying their soil that way, and that thereās better methods now, methods grounded in science.
Knitting - try this youtube series
DIY Crown - hereās a youtube video on how to make a mermaid crown
Hope this is helpful to someone out there.
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