For gardeners & small farmers

Grow it. Raise it. Preserve it.

Practical, honest guides on growing vegetables, raising livestock, building soil, and storing the harvest. Written by people who have made the mistakes, so you do not have to.

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What this field guide is

Answers for the questions that actually come up in the garden and the barn.

When to plant, how to fix yellow leaves, which breed to start with, how to store a harvest. 395 guides published, 84 topics, checked and dated.

Free tools

Calculators that save you the guesswork.

Precise, source-backed calculators for your exact ZIP code and climate — no sign-up, no email, free forever.

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Planting Dates by ZIP

Your last frost, first frost, and a 37-vegetable planting calendar — computed from 30 years of NOAA climate data for your exact ZIP code.

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Soil Amendment Calculator

How much compost, lime, sulfur, or fertilizer for your beds — by size and soil type, from university extension rates.

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Canning Times & Pressure Chart

Safe water-bath and pressure-canning times for 40+ foods, with automatic altitude adjustments from the USDA guide.

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Topics

Eight families, 84 growing topics.

Vegetables & Garden Crops

12 topics: Root Vegetables, Leafy Greens, Brassicas, Tomatoes & Peppers.

Gardening Methods & Systems

12 topics: Raised Bed Gardening, Container Gardening, Square Foot Gardening, Vertical Gardening.

Soil, Compost & Fertilizers

8 topics: Soil Health & Testing, Composting, Worm Composting, Fertilizers & Plant Feeding.

Fruit, Herbs & Specialty Crops

9 topics: Berries & Small Fruit, Tree Fruit & Orchards, Culinary Herbs, Medicinal Herbs.

Plant Care & Problem Solving

8 topics: Garden Pests, Plant Diseases, Nutrient Deficiencies, Weed Management.

Livestock & Poultry

12 topics: Backyard Chickens, Ducks & Waterfowl, Turkeys & Game Birds, Goats.

Homesteading & Food Preservation

11 topics: Canning & Preserving, Fermenting & Pickling, Dehydrating & Freezing, Sourdough & Baking.

Farm Business, Equipment & Rural Living

12 topics: Tractors & Machinery, Hand Tools & Equipment, Fencing & Structures, Farm Business & Accounting.

Compare alpaca and llama care costs, space, fencing, shearing, and temperament. Get practical advice for choosing the right camelid for your homestead.

Aug 22, 2026

Why these guides

Written for people with dirt under their nails.

Fact-first, no fluff

Every guide answers one concrete question: when to plant, how to fix it, what actually works in the field.

Checked and dated

Planting dates, prices, and realistic yields, reviewed and dated on every guide. No recycled content.

Built for every crop

84 topics, from tomatoes to turkeys, organized so you land on the answer fast.

Who we write for

You, in the garden or the barn.

If you grow food, raise animals, or want to, you face a specific set of practical questions: when to plant, how to improve the soil, what to feed the flock, how to store the harvest. We answer those questions with concrete, current information, checked and dated on every guide.