Welcome. I can only imagine you’re here because you want to lead a homegrown, handmade, healthier lifestyle for your family but don't know where to start?
I’ve got you covered. Look no further than this recommended resource library as the ultimate resources for all things homesteading.
People often ask me how to start homesteading? I always reply with, right where you are! There’s so many things to learn and do when it comes to homesteading. But really it’s just about slowing down while hustling to enjoy a simpler less modern living for a richer life.
I get tons of questions asking where and what I purchase in order to keep my homestead, farm, and blog running as smooth as possible! Everything listed below are things we actually use, love, recommend, or have on our wish-list.
There’s gardening resources, preserving food, natural remedies, raising animals, and so much more to scroll through.
This is the best list of resources for beginner homesteaders just like you.
Please know: The links below are affiliate links meaning, at no additional cost to you, I may get a commission if you make a purchase. This commission keeps the blog and homestead running. Thank you for your support. Now on to our homestead resources!
HOMESTEADING FOR BEGINNERS COMPLETE RESOURCE GUIDE
It doesn’t feel that long ago that we started as homesteaders. My husband and I always dreamed of having acreage and a family together, and with hard work and some tears that dream became a reality. But it didn’t take long to realize that homesteading isn’t just something you do.
Experience and a few key resources have really helped us get to where we are now. Keep reading to discover my top three free resources you’re going to love!
In this guide I share with you the best resources to help you grow and develop as a beginner homesteader. To develop your skills and grow in more ways than one as you really jump into it.
I’ve gathered my top resources for homesteading that I know, trust and love! These resources has been a huge help, guidance and valuable tools in my toolshed as we’ve built our homestead over the past five years and counting.
You don’t need acreage, tons of money or lots of time to learn homesteading skills. Just a love for learning and trying something new.
HOW DO YOU START AS A BEGINNER HOMESTEADER?
Before diving into any exciting projects and getting your feet wet, my very best tip for all beginner homesteaders is to make a plan. I know that for most, this can be daunting and confusing. When you’re new at anything it’s hard to know when and how to start.
That’s why I’m so excited to offer you my top recommended resource, The Happy Homestead Planner.
Before you dive head on into the contagious world of homesteading, setting clear goals and making a plan will help you turn that goal and dream into a reality sooner. And much cheaper.
This homestead planner is not like the rest of the printable planners out there. This is different. You’ll learn how to set goals that make sense and plan your homestead and days according to the seasons.
The Happy Homestead Planner
BEST BACKYARD VEGETABLE GARDEN RESOURCES FOR BEGINNERS
The garden is my oasis in the summer time! I love creating a new fresh annual vegetable garden that changes with the seasons and provides an amazing amount of goodness for my family. It always amazes me what can come from a tiny seed…
In this first section of the resource guide you’re going to find the best ebooks, online courses, printables and more for your backyard vegetable gardening.
Ready to learn how to grow your own food with less time and energy even if you only have a tiny balcony space or backyard plot and no experience what so ever? These resources are ideal.
Veggie Garden Workbook
BACKYARD VEGETABLE GARDEN PLANNER
Grab our Vegetable Garden Planner designed to help you plan for the best garden yet.
GET THE VEGETABLE GARDEN PLANNER HERE
This ebook was a total game changer for me this past gardening season!
I finally knew when to start harvesting and when to plant my fall garden. The seasonal seed starting chart to complete for your frost dates makes all the difference for planning your garden and succession planting.
When planning our homestead year, this made a huge difference to my garden!
GET THE GARDENING NOTEBOOK HERE
UNDERSTANDING YOUR CLIMATE Gardening Ebook This ebook is a must because once you understand your climate will also save you time, money, and frustration because you will be planting based on your climate and not just one metric of your climate.
GARDEN TOWER : The ultimate tool for vertical gardening in small spaces, plus a composter all in one! You need to check this one out.
RAISED GARDEN BEDS : Learn the benefits and the downfalls of having raised garden beds, an important read for beginner gardeners considering all options.
CONTAINER GARDENING: It's amazing what you can really do with just containers. You’ll be surprised.
FALL GARDENING: If it's the middle of summer and you’re reading this thinking you’ve missed the boat this year its not to late to put in your fall garden. Learn more about the benefits of a fall garden bed with this easy read.
Gardening Success Ecourse Do you feel like you just don’t have enough time for gardening? Well this course will teach you exactly how to put your garden on auto-pilot without the overwhelm of weeds & bugs.
LEARN HOW TO START GARDENING SUCCESSFULLY!
HOMESTEAD LIVING
Homesteading is a lifestyle for anyone, no matter where you live! Learn how to to homestead in your apartment, urban backyard, on acreage or go completely self sustainable with an off grid homestead!
These resources will help you achieve your homestead living goals, no matter what they are!
Off Grid Living ; Teri Page of Homestead Honey is the girl for learning about off grid living and raising a family at the same time. Learn some amazing project ideas in her popular book and read her interview here.
BUILD A ROOTCELLAR
Brian and Teri are Off Grid building experts! Their projects and plans are beyond amazing and helpful. One thing on our list of projects is to build a root cellar to keep our produce fresh longer over the winter months. If you’ve considered having a Root Cellar, then this is the resource for you!
LEARN MORE ABOUT BUILDING A ROOT CELLAR HERE
HANDMADE DIY CRAFT IDEAS FOR BEGINNERS
Learning handmade skills to create, mend and make do is a not only a huge time and money saver but it’s also a great mental health perk of homesteading. Forget tv and start embracing a creative life. Creative hobbies are often the first habit to go when life get’s busy.
Make time for handmade, check out our popular list of creative hobbies for homesteaders here!
Have you ever wished you knew how to do just a few basic hand stitches? Maybe you need to hem a pair of pants or want to put decorative trim on the edge of a fleece blanket? Nothing fancy, just a basics.
Learn Basic Hand Stitches is a video based ecourse. At the end of the course you will have learned….
HANDMADE WOODEN GAMES
Have you ever wished you could make heirloom wooden games for your family or to give as gifts?
Well, you can. This family started making handmade gifts many years ago and every year someone decides to make a game as their gift. Needless to say, we’ve amassed quite a collection of handmade gifts. It’s a good thing, too, because we love playing games together.
HERBS AND NATURAL REMEDIES
SIMPLE REMEDIES FOR COLD AND FLU SEASON : Create simple remedies for cold and flu season with these recipes and helpful course to help keep your family healthy and at its best. Curious? Learn more here
The Wellness Notebook is a printable notebook that has health forms and medical records for each member of your family. But, it’s not just for organizing what has already happened, it’s also for organizing all the things you are learning about your family’s heath. There is information for those who use conventional care and those who use alternative care. GET IT HERE
HERBAL ACADEMY COURSES: All of these courses are well respected and loved by many online students. Below I share my very favourite two.
HERBS FOR ANIMALS: This course is the perfect way to learn how to help care for your pets and farm animals and saves you a ton on expensive vet bills.
BECOMING A HERBALIST MINI COURSE: I loved this course, a great way to learn more about traditional herbalism and what herbs can offer you on your homestead and as a business.
RAISING LIVESTOCK
Learning how to raise animals for profit on your hobby farm as a beginner is not easy. We tried raising almost every animal our first year without any experience and it was not a good idea!
In the “Make Money Homesteading” Ebook I teach you how to only choose a few niches to help you be more successful in this area.
Read this post for more information about raising different livestock as a beginner homesteader.
RAISING FARM ANIMALS FOR BEGINNERS
FROM SCRATCH COOKING
Baking from scratch is my favourite task to do around our homestead. I’m always sharing our families recipes that have been passed down from my Nana, Great Grandmother.
SEE OUR FROM SCRATCH RECIPES HERE
THE ART OF SOURDOUGH VIDEO COURSE
Have you ever had a recipe fail, even though you followed all the directions? Do you long to bake perfect sourdough products? Do wish you could learn from someone who actually knows what they are doing? Many people feel this way! You are not alone and we are here to help! LEARN MORE HERE
HOMESTEADING SUPPLIES
Homesteading supplies can be hard to come across if you live in the city or far out in the country. Shop online and get all of your homesteading supplies shipped straight to your doorstep with the following homesteading supply stores you’re going to love.
RAKUTEN – Get Cash Back from thousands of shops you’re already shopping at. Use my link here to get $25 free on your first big fat cash back cheque.
HIERLOOM SEEDS – Variety is the spice of life, well the same can be said for heirloom seeds. Go check out the fun selection and free printable seed starting guides here.
NURSERY for Fruit Trees, perennials and annuals.
AMAZON PRIME 30-day free trial of Amazon Prime, a huge timesaver for busy homesteaders with 2-day free shipping + many more benefits! <– I can’t believe the amount of cool stuff they’ve started carrying now for backyard growers like us. Plus they have Biggest Little Farm which I am currently loving!
PRESERVING FOOD FOR BEGINNERS
Preserving is my favourite part about homesteading. Honestly, hearing the seals pop on jars full of produce that you grew, raised, foraged etc for your family and storing it on the shelf is a huge moment of celebrations and joy for me!
Learn more about how to preserve your apples in one weekend in this popular post and my favourite canning recipes here.
PRESSURE CANNING: Are you interested in learning more about pressure canning? This quick start guide walks you through the entire process, step by step, and in great detail. It also includes a checklist so you never miss a step!A must have set for any one who wants to learn how to pressure can!
HOT WATER BATH CANNING: Quick Start Guide to Water Bath Canning is an amazing resource for inexperienced canners like myself. I loved it!
Homestead Business Planning
Make Money Homesteading :There are plenty of ways to turn your homesteading passion into a business for your family. Not only did we start our homestead about five years ago, we also dove right in on learning how to make money from those efforts.
HORSE BOARDING CONTRACT FOR PROPERTY OWNERS
WHAT RESOURCES OR ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR BEGINNER HOMESTEADERS?
There you have it, my list of resources that I know and trust will help you create the best homesteading experience ever. All of these resources can be found online from the comfort of your own homestead. Go ahead and print, take online courses and shop online from the shops mentioned.
But before you go, there are three resources that I have to share with you before I forget that are just as important if not even more helpful than what I’ve shared here in this post.
- FAMILY: From asking your family for physical help, babysitting your kids so you can work on a project or spending quality time chatting about the old days with your grandparents there is so much to learn about simple living from your family. If you don’t currently have family around that you can reach out to why not try a neighbour
2. LIBRARY: You’d be amazed at some of the old books you can find in the library on raising animals, old fashioned baking hacks and more. Dust off those covers and take a peak inside. In fact you might actually find them online through your local library.
3. ANTIQUE SHOP: We have a recent hobby around here, thrifting for some amazing old homestead antiques. You wouldn’t believe what will inspire your homestead journey.
Homestead Blogging Resources
This blog also serves another purpose. It's one of the ways we earn an income from our homestead. In fact it's one way a lot of homesteaders earn money at home. If I can do, so can you!
You might have noticed that this list has several recommended resources written and taught by some of my homesteading friends that I’ve learned from and admire. The online world from forums to Facebook groups are a great place to also learn as a beginner homesteader.
If writing a homestead blog is something you do or are interested in, here are the resources I recommend to you!
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Let's Chat!
MOST IMPORTANTLY, I try to choose content that is relevant to our current homesteading journey here on the ranch, but also what seems to be the popular questions homesteaders have. The best way I can build my blog around homesteading is to hear from you! Please comment on posts and or shoot us a reply email when you subscribe to our mailing list about any burning questions you might have. I'd love to hear from you.