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Countryside Contributor

Guest contributors stop by from time to time to share insight into their homesteading practices. Take a minute and learn something new from one of our Countryside guest contributors.
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Articles by Countryside Contributor

Raise Meat Sheep Breeds to Boost Profits
March 13, 2019 · · Sheep

Add to Favorites By Dr. Elizabeth Ferraro – There is a growing trend today away from the very large sheep ranches specializing in meat sheep breeds toward an increasing number …

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Raising Sheep For Profit: A Cattle Man’s View
March 13, 2019 · · Sheep

Add to Favorites By Thayne Mackey – Sheep are a wonderful little beast. They provide food, fiber and all manner of agitation. This keeps the blood flowing and the arteries …

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Raising Sheep For Profit: How to Sell Raw Fleece
March 13, 2019 · · Sheep

Add to Favorites By Bonnie Sutten – When I first started raising sheep for profit, raw fleece sales were on the bottom of my priority list. I thought that if …

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Raising Sheep: Buying and Caring for Your First Flock
March 13, 2019 · · Sheep

Add to Favorites By Marvin R. Gray – So you’ve moved to the country and have been thinking about raising sheep on your five or 10 acres. Perhaps you have only limited …

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How to Grow Peppers and Varieties to Try
March 1, 2019 · · Growing

Unknown in the old world before Columbus, capsicums were brought to Europe by the Spaniards. Then their cultivation spread across the globe.

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How to Keep a Pumpkin From Rotting so it Lasts All Season
March 1, 2019 · · Growing

Add to Favorites By Drea Damara – I used to run a produce business and this time of year as people searched our stock for the pumpkins they chose to …

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How to Make a Cheap Greenhouse

Add to Favorites By Jay Rodgers – Two years ago I began to experiment with an idea that was spawned from the pages of Countryside and Small Stock Journal. Someone wrote …

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DIY Grey Water System for an Off-Grid Homestead
February 25, 2019 · · Growing

This simple DIY grey water system is such a great way to recycle precious water while saving lots of money! When I moved into my partner’s owner-built, off-grid homestead in the woods, it had an outhouse, a deep well with a hand pump, and a kitchen sink with no running water and a five-gallon bucket under the open drain.

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Rain Water Harvesting: It’s a Good Idea (Even if You Have Running Water)
February 25, 2019 · · Growing

Add to Favorites By Wayne Robertson – In my grandparents’ day, rain water harvesting was one of the best ways of conserving water. My grandmother collected rainwater in a barrel at the …

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The Benefits of Deep Mulch Gardening
February 25, 2019 · · Growing

Add to Favorites By Willene Overfelt – I got tired of having to wait for the ground to dry out to be worked in spring and decided to try deep …

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The Jersey Cow: Milk Production for the Small Homestead
February 19, 2019 · · Cattle

Add to Favorites By Ken Scharabok – For those who only need one or two milk cows for the family and aren’t interested in large-scale dairy cow farming, one dairy cow breed …

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Adventures with Miniature Cattle
February 19, 2019 · · Cattle

Add to Favorites By Betty Foreman Washington – About two years ago, I started reading about miniature cattle. I was impressed by their grass-to-meat ratios and the feed requirements; I was also swayed mightily …

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What to Feed Meat Rabbits

Add to Favorites By Charlcie Gill, Zodiac Rabbitry – I read with interest Mary Kilmer’s article “Gleanings from Woodland Rabbitry” (Countryside – Volume 88/2). I have been breeding and raising rabbits for meat …

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A Hand Spinner’s Primer Using Suffolk Sheep Wool
February 11, 2019 · · Homesteading

Add to Favorites By Leigh Dudenhoeffer – I’m a fiber artist who is educated in almost all of the needle arts. I’ve been spinning wool since I was about 10 …

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Why Teach Classes on How to Knit, Spin, Weave or Felt
February 11, 2019 · · Homesteading

Add to Favorites By Tim King – Teaching classes on how to knit, spin, weave or felt can be a way for the small flock master to develop markets and customers for …

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