Homesteading
Gardening
Most Popular Articles
Homestead Animals
Names Inspiration
Off the Grid
Cows
Landscaping
Vegetable Gardening
When to Pick Zucchini for the Perfect Harvest [Tasty + Tender!]
Polyculture Farming – What Is It and Why Is It Better Than Monoculture?
How Much Sun Do Tomatoes Need to Ripen? [No Splitting or Sunscald!]
17 Weird Vegetables and Fruits You Have to See to Believe
5 Scary Vegetables for Halloween You Can Grow at Home! [Growing Tips + Spooky Fall Decor]
20 Fruit Trees That Grow In Shade [They Will Surprise You!]
Preparedness and Self-Sufficiency
Chickens
Can Chickens Eat Timothy Hay? No… Here’s Why.
Do Raccoons Eat Chickens or Kill Them? [+ Coop Protection Tips!]
What Can Chickens Eat? Ultimate List of 134 Foods Hens Can and Can’t Eat!
How to Keep Chickens Warm In Winter Without Electricity
Raising Pheasants vs Chickens For Profit on Your Homestead
20 Chickens That Lay Colored Eggs! [Olive, Blue, and Pink Hen Eggs?!]
Beautiful Gardens
Lifestyle
Equipment
Vegetable Gardening
Pickle Fan? Grow Your Own With These 5 Best Cucumbers for Pickling!
Summer in the USA is just around the corner, and that means a number of things. It means long, lazy sunsets under the warm buzz of insects. (Or the blaring roar of…
5 Scary Vegetables for Halloween You Can Grow at Home! [Growing Tips + Spooky Fall Decor]
Scary vegetables for Halloween! Most people want their vegetable gardens to feel bright, warm, and welcoming. To have that rustic and chic feeling that comes from a lifestyle in tune with nature….
9 Best Tomato Plants for Hanging Baskets [Super Prolific Varieties!]
Growing a tomato hanging basket is a great way to make the best use of a cramped garden or homestead. Hanging baskets can be put outside a window or balcony, enabling everyone…
Best Gardening Apron With Pockets for Harvesting and Tools 2021
I realised today that I really need a gardening apron. I never wanted an apron for gardening, thinking it was just a little too “grandma” or I didn’t want to seem like…
The Best Wheatgrass Seeds – How to Spot Them
Growing your own wheatgrass is one of the easiest and most productive ways to get vitamins and minerals into your diet. Not only is it incredibly good for you, but wheatgrass also…
Greenhouse Gardening in Winter – the Best Vegetables for Winter Gardens!
Most of us think of the greenhouse as a summer gardening accessory, there to help our tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers flourish and produce an abundant crop. It is common to see greenhouses left sad…
5 Scary Vegetables for Halloween You Can Grow at Home! [Growing Tips + Spooky Fall Decor]
Scary vegetables for Halloween! Most people want their vegetable gardens to feel bright, warm, and…
Tools and Equipment
Milwaukee 2767 vs 2763 – M18 Fuel ½” High Torque Impact Wrench Tool Battle
Are you tired of having to plug in the air compressor and unwind the hose…
Best Whole House Generator (Expert Generator Reviews 2022)
This article contains my four top picks for the best whole house generator for those…
Ultimate Trenching Tool Guide [10 Best Shovels, Chainsaw Trencher + Handheld]
Digging trenches may traditionally be the toil of chain gangs! But thankfully, modern tool technologies…
Raising Goats
Goat Names That Are Bleatin’ Maaaarvelous for Baby and Pet Goats [137+!]
Inquisitive, intelligent, and friendly – goats are definitely creatures that need great names! They’ll respond to their name when you call them in for food or milking, so what better name to…
17 Fun Facts You Didn’t Know About Goats [Can Goats Swim or Climb Trees??]
Homesteaders have a healthy respect for goats and appreciate their hardiness, versatility, and ability to eat practically anything. That’s only the half of it, though. Goats are incredible beasts and have been…
Ram vs Goat – Do You Know How to Tell the Difference?
Do you know what really gets my goat? People who confuse rams with goats. True, both are kind of white and woolly with four hooves and a couple of horns, but there…
Here’s How Often You Have to Milk a Goat [Once vs Twice a Day]
If you’re new to raising goats, the excitement of seeing your first kids arrive on the scene can easily distract you from the more important task at hand – managing your doe’s…
17 Creative Lawn Mower Storage Ideas [to DIY or Buy]
Are you tired of tripping over the lawn mower in your cluttered garage? Perhaps your…
Outdoor Cooking & The Homestead Kitchen
300000 BTU Propane Burner – Biggest & Baddest High Pressure Burners
It’s hard to find a high pressure propane burner with a decent BTU output, which…
25 Smokin’ Hot Smokehouse Ideas [DIY Plans You Can Use for Free!]
Smokehouse ideas and designs! Fancy making your bacon or smoking your salmon catch? If that…
Pickle Fan? Grow Your Own With These 5 Best Cucumbers for Pickling!
Summer in the USA is just around the corner, and that means a number of…
Projects & DIY
The 6 Best Sewing Books for Beginners! Learn Sewing by Yourself!
Do you want to learn sewing by yourself? Then you need to read the best sewing books for beginners! That’s why we’ve researched the best sewing books that we recommend for homesteaders…
44 Free Chicken Coop Plans [Easy DIY Ideas You Can Actually Make!]
Can’t find the best DIY chicken coop for your flock? Then read our epic list of 44 DIY chicken coop ideas and plans! We’re about to list some of the best DIY chicken…
How to Build a Fence Gate That Won’t Sag [11 Easy Steps!]
Knowing how to build a fence gate that won’t sag is vital for your DIY fencing project. No other part of the fence gets looked at or used more. Needing to lift…
32 Backyard Stock Tank Pool Ideas – No Pool? No Problem!
Want epic stock tank pool ideas? Look no further! With temps skyrocketing everywhere, your top priority this summer is staying cool. But your poor window-rattler AC is wheezing. And to make matters…
How to Build a Smokeless Fire Pit [+ 5 Designs to Easily DIY]
Languid evenings spent outdoors around an open fire are a treat until we get smoked…
Chickens
Raising Pheasants vs Chickens For Profit on Your Homestead
Making a profit on the homestead is part of becoming self-sufficient, and we should all be looking for ways of making out homestead work for us. If you’re considering raising pheasants vs….
Why Do Chickens Stop Laying Eggs [10 Reasons With Easy Solutions!]
My chickens know more about ancient customs than I do! Every Easter, they promptly stop laying eggs, obviously respecting the medieval tradition that banned the consumption of eggs during Lent. Tradition aside, why do…
How to Keep Chickens Warm In Winter Without Electricity
After a surprisingly mild October, temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere are now plummeting, and it’s time to start thinking about how to keep your chickens warm in winter, ideally without electricity. To…
Inside 13 Amazing Chicken Coops [Pictures to Inspire + Coop Essentials]
It’s safe to say that chicken lovers can get a bit obsessive about their hens! There isn’t a day that goes by where I don’t spend a few moments watching our hens…
Off Grid Living
Can You Really Heat a Room With a Terracotta Pot Heater?
You may or may not be aware of all the DIY heater ideas out there, but there are a few circulating that are worth knowing how to execute in an emergency or…
Best Whole House Generator (Expert Generator Reviews 2022)
This article contains my four top picks for the best whole house generator for those sudden power cuts or going off-grid. Below, I’ll talk about the things you should look for in…
The Ultimate Checklist for Living Off the Grid [+ 20 Self-Reliance Tips!]
Ask anyone living off the grid – the path to self-reliance is about skills development, perseverance, and savvy planning. Moving away from the conveniences of urban living is both challenging and risky! A checklist for…
How to Build an Off Grid Cabin on a Budget
You’ve had it with city living. You want out! You’re aching to live off grid in a cabin you’ve built, in pristine natural surroundings, free of financial stress and unsustainable lifestyle patterns….
Hey, thanks for visiting Outdoor Happens! We’re a team of outdoorsy people, bringing you the best in self-sufficient living, gardening, homesteading (have you read our “Practical Homesteading Skills” article? It has 58 great homesteading skills you can start learning today!), farming, raising animals, tools and equipment, in-depth reviews, cooking, and just awesome outdoor living in your own backyard.
We live the homestead life ourselves – it’s not easy but if we stick together we can help each other. That’s our aim. We’ve scoured the earth for the most versatile group of homesteading writers. They are all amazing at many things, but most have a passion they’re an expert at and that’s what they’ll share with you in their articles.
Me? I’m your permaculture, survival garden, and edible plants chick. My husband’s your fix-anything mechanical guide, as well a whizz with irrigation systems, compost, soil tests, and fertilizer. We have Djordje the Knife Guy, Mike the Jovial Griller, and Nicky Goat Girl (she’s an expert at other farm animals too!).
Want to know more about us? Have a read of our About page, and we always appreciate your feedback – leave us a comment or send an email. Any specific equipment you’d like us to review, or topics you’d like to read about?