Seeking happy farming/homesteading blogs
April 11, 2014 2:08 PM   Subscribe

I am looking for blogs that deal with small-scale farming, homesteading, and sustainable living.

My favorite two are Wayward Spark and Sugar Creek Farm. I like their practical, down-to-earth tone mixed with personal anecdotes and content that gives really detailed information about the day to day lives. Gorgeous photos are a plus! I need a vicarious "out" from city living.
posted by jschu to Computers & Internet (19 answers total) 61 users marked this as a favorite
 
I worked for these folks, in Kentucky, one of whom also writes at this blog, and I always head there when I'm feeling nostalgic for the country and need some pretty pictures, but also, reminders of how hard they work.
posted by ITheCosmos at 2:23 PM on April 11, 2014 [5 favorites]


soulemama seems like it would be right up your alley.

Lately, I've been digging barnacle bags, which is about living on a tiny island in the Pacific NW.
posted by umwhat at 2:25 PM on April 11, 2014


I just read the book Chickens in the Road which was enjoyable and meets your requirements; looks like much of it was initally written for her blog. I know you're asking for blogs, but if you're interested in books, I also really recommend The Bucolic Plague.
posted by stellaluna at 2:26 PM on April 11, 2014


Walter Jeffries has been running Sugar Mountain Farm in Topsham Vermont and the associated blog for quite a while. He's interested in sustainable farming and also legal/political issues surrounding small farms. He's been raising pigs lately so not for you if you're just looking for gardening-farming types of things.
posted by jessamyn at 2:27 PM on April 11, 2014 [3 favorites]


I like Throwback at Trapper Creek. I also bookmark lots of things from Diary of a Locavore, although it's really more in the cooking/gardening/visiting farms vein rather than full-on homesteading.
posted by bcwinters at 2:28 PM on April 11, 2014


Pioneer Woman?
posted by radioamy at 2:44 PM on April 11, 2014


The ones I currently read:

Clean - a farm in WI, beautiful photos
A Farmish Kind of Life - farm life in MN
posted by belladonna at 2:49 PM on April 11, 2014


Also strongly suggest Whole Larder Love (related book is great too) for the ongoing diary of a guy doing this in Victoria Australia. It's more foraging and less farming but really into sustainability, a lot of great pictures and the guy has a great personality. "This blog documents my cooking, hunting, fishing, harvesting from my patch and of course daily life with my little family living in our historic region situated in Victoria, Australia."
posted by jessamyn at 2:51 PM on April 11, 2014


http://www.permies.com/ is more a forum, but with anecdotes, photos, and detailed information, it might still scratch that itch.
posted by aniola at 3:21 PM on April 11, 2014


My Farmette is written by an Australian woman who lives alone on a small farm.
posted by third word on a random page at 4:11 PM on April 11, 2014 [1 favorite]


Jenna at Cold Antler Farm is just what you're looking for.
posted by youcancallmeal at 5:42 PM on April 11, 2014


For shear delight I suggest the River Cottage UK series, a lot of solid thinking in that show, good stuff. And where else would you find Hugh Christopher Edmund Fearnley-Whittingstall?
posted by Freedomboy at 7:03 PM on April 11, 2014 [3 favorites]


The archives of Farmgirl Fare have lots of good details.
Grass Punk is also pretty good.
Seconding Throwback at Trapper Creek. That blog is amazing!
posted by bluebelle at 8:13 PM on April 11, 2014


A college classmate currently runs Dog Island Farm with her SO, and one of their adventures they posted online was a year without groceries, in which they tried to live off of their own land to the extent possible.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:47 PM on April 11, 2014


You might be interested in http://www.verticalfarm.com/blog. He also just started a podcast with Vincent Racinello (sp?).
posted by kathrynm at 9:20 PM on April 11, 2014


And Here We Are is just about the happy country life I aspire to.
posted by weeyin at 9:53 PM on April 11, 2014


I thought I had a few good suggestions, but it turns out that most of the ones I read are urban(ish), and a lot are less active than they used to be. On the off chance that one or more of these might do it for you:

Novella Carpenter - Ghost Town Farm (possibly archives will be better for you - she's gotten busy/new baby and blogs less now).

Kelly Coyne and Erik Knutzen's Root Simple.

Apron Stringz - and check her blogroll for other good ones

Down To Earth - a blend of her talking about what's going on in her own garden/house and a more crafty/advice-y/how-to sort of thing

farmama was lovely, but she stopped blogging a few years ago and I'm having a hard time finding just her old blog in a normal format, but if you can find it, you might like it.
posted by you must supply a verb at 2:37 AM on April 12, 2014


My favourites are http://longestacres.blogspot.co.uk and http://www.cinnamongirlofmaine.com/ who both also have lovely instagrams.
posted by Dorothea_in_Rome at 3:50 AM on April 12, 2014


There's my blog, http://MockingbirdAcres.blogspot.com, where my husband and I bought 10 acres of abandoned forest with no utilities or nothing... it's our story of how we built our house ourselves (mostly), started a garden, raised some chickens & guineas, and talks about plans for the future. We also have links to other similar blogs.
posted by ChefJoAnna at 11:47 PM on April 12, 2014


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