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Todd Brock
Todd Brock is a television writer and producer whose work includes PBS's Growing a Greener World, DIY Network's Fresh From the Garden, and HGTV's Ground Breakers. He is the coauthor of Building Chicken Coops For Dummies.
Articles & Books From Todd Brock
Article / Updated 09-02-2019
Bottling homebrew isn’t a difficult procedure, but many brewers often deride it as one that’s tedious at worst and boring at best. But for millions of people who brew their beer at home, bottling represents the only option for packaging their finished brew, making it a mandatory step in the homebrewing process.
Article / Updated 09-02-2019
Pickling is used for a wide range of foods, including fruits and vegetables. Although pickling isn’t practiced much today, don’t overlook this rewarding process for your backyard homestead. Pickling is a great way to preserve some of your garden's harvest.This article gives you an overview of pickling, describing the ingredients, the utensils, and the methods used.
Article / Updated 09-02-2019
Making candles can be a relaxing and rewarding hobby, but for backyard homesteaders, it's also a natural extension of their desire for increased self-sufficiency. Nothing quite compares to the feelings of pride and pleasure that come from looking at a beautiful, burning candle and knowing that you created it with your own two hands.
Article / Updated 09-02-2019
As a backyard homesteader, you’re already eating the fruits of your labor that come out of your garden. Why not bring that same do-it-yourself mentality to something you enjoy out of a glass, too? Homebrewed beer can be every bit as good as — if not better than — a lot of commercial beer, with more flavor and character than most.
Article / Updated 09-02-2019
A backyard homestead opens up opportunities for sharing your farm with other types of animals that you may not have thought to add to your homestead. Besides the flock of chickens you maintain for eggs and maybe meat and the bees you keep on-site for honey and pollination purposes, you may want to have other animals around as residents of your homestead.
Article / Updated 09-02-2019
For many, adding a flock of chickens is what truly turns a gardener into a homesteader. You’re suddenly caring for a group of animals on your property and, in turn, feeding your family with what they produce. You’re practically a farmer! While raising a flock of backyard chickens is one of the most enjoyable parts of homesteading for many, it’s not a commitment to be taken lightly.
Article / Updated 12-13-2021
For many homesteaders, the drive to become increasingly more self-sufficient is strong. Learning how to make soap often becomes a natural "next step" (after gardening, harvesting, and animal husbandry) in homesteading.The technique you use to make your own soaps determines the amount of time you invest in your hobby (or product).
Article / Updated 09-02-2019
A thriving vegetable garden is essential for most backyard homesteads. Like more traditional homesteaders, you need food storage that doesn't rely on preservatives and electricity. Cold storage is the answer, but not all foods are suitable for root cellars and other storage options.Foods that store well are generally the less juicy and delicate things, such as root vegetables and firm fruits.
Article / Updated 09-02-2019
When your ancestors were homesteading in the days before refrigeration and artificial preservatives, cold storage was the way to go if they needed to store produce over the winter. The basic idea behind cold storage is that you can prolong the shelf life of both fresh and canned produce by keeping them in a cool, dark place under just the right conditions.
Article / Updated 09-01-2019
A lush, bountiful vegetable garden is the centerpiece of any backyard homestead. Everyone loves good food. And what better way to have fresh, tasty, and nutritious food than to grow it yourself? You don’t have to be a farmer to do so either.When considering where to plop down your homestead's garden plot, think of these three main elements, which are necessary for the perfect spot: site, sun, and soil.