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Melissa K. Norris

Melissa K. Norris

Simple Modern Homesteading for a Healthy & Self-Sufficient Life

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Raising Your Own Food

woman stacking firewood in field to dry

Essential Homestead Skills

Read moreEssential Homestead Skills
Scottish Highland Cow grazing in a field with a woman by a truck throwing out feed.

Scottish Highland Cows: A Unique Cattle Breed

Read moreScottish Highland Cows: A Unique Cattle Breed
A woman pruning an elderberry bush with loppers.

How to Prune Elderberry Bushes for Maximum Growth

Read moreHow to Prune Elderberry Bushes for Maximum Growth
A woman cutting an elderberry cutting from an elderberry tree.

Growing Elderberry from Cuttings

Read moreGrowing Elderberry from Cuttings
two week old seedlings in egg cartons ready to be transplanted

Gardening in February (Garden Tasks by Month)

Read moreGardening in February (Garden Tasks by Month)
A colander with Brussel sprouts and carrots harvested from the garden.

Gardening in January (Garden Tasks by Month)

Read moreGardening in January (Garden Tasks by Month)
Green tomatoes in a basket.

Storing Green Tomatoes for Fresh Eating

Read moreStoring Green Tomatoes for Fresh Eating
A garden in winter with much of it dead, and a mountain with snow top peaks in the background.

Gardening in November (Garden Tasks by Month)

Read moreGardening in November (Garden Tasks by Month)
Dirty freshly harvested carrots on the ground.

How to Save Carrot Seeds + Understanding Pollination

Read moreHow to Save Carrot Seeds + Understanding Pollination
Four American Guinea Hogs eating.

5 Tips to Raising Livestock for Food

Read more5 Tips to Raising Livestock for Food
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A woman in the kitchen with jars of home canned food.

Howdy, I’m Melissa!

I’m so glad you’re here. This is the place for all of us who loved Little House when we were young and thought Laura was our best friend. It’s where we grow dinner in the backyard and think everything looks and tastes better when it comes from a Mason jar. Here, you’ll find my favorite from-scratch recipes, herbal remedies and tutorials, and all my gardening tips from my 20+ years of growing and raising our own food.

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My Most Popular Posts

homegrown ripe paste tomatoes in a wicker basket on the grass

How Much to Plant Per Person for a Year’s Worth of Food

A woman inspecting the apples on an apple tree.

How to Grow Fruit Trees

Vertical container planter with strawberries on cement patio

Small Space Vegetable Gardening Urban Gardening Tips

Baby meat chicks hanging out in the grass.

Raising Baby Chicks – Beginners Guide for the First 6 Weeks

A steak on a piece of butcher paper on a counter.

When Butchering a Cow the Best Cuts of Meat to Get

Chickens in a portable coop.

Integrating New Chicks to Existing Flocks Q&A Chicken Raising

Want to grow a year’s worth of food?

Know exactly how many plants per person you need to plant with my easy worksheet and chart!

Summer Canning Recipes

two jars of strawberry jam sitting on a tabletop with fresh strawberries around it.

Strawberry Jam Recipe without Pectin and Low Sugar

homecanned green beans in jar on counter

How to Can Green Beans the Easy Way – Raw Pack

How to Make Mustard Pickles – Great-Grandma’s Recipe

homemade cherry pie filling in mason jars on white towel

Cherry Pie Filling Recipe (Canning Instructions)

placing dill in mason jar crunchy dill pickles on table

Best Homemade Pickles Recipe (Garlic Dill Pickles)

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Melissa K. Norris

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Articles

  • Gardening
  • Homesteading
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Podcast

Homestead Security: Why Community May Be Your Best Defense

Farm Dog Breeds (Which is Best for You?)

Time Spent to Grow a Year’s Worth of Food

Fruits and Vegetables in Season by Month and Tips for Preservation

Books

  • Everything Worth Preserving
  • The Family Garden Planner
  • Handmade
  • The Made from Scratch Life
  • The Family Garden Plan

Education

  • Organic Gardening Workshop
  • Home Fruit Preservative Canning e-course
  • Home Canning With Confidence
  • Homemade Bread & Baking Class
  • Natural Homemade Bath and Beauty
  • Pioneering Today Academy


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Melissa K. Norris and Pioneering Today LLC is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

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