The following index is a list of all the courses available in Pioneering Today Academy (PTA). Once you're logged into PTA, just click on a link as listed below and you'll go directly to that lesson.
Below has each overall category and then the subcategories to help you navigate and find courses for which you are interested.
Live Video Rebroadcasts (includes monthly Q&A's and Monthly Gardening Tasks)
You can jump to each topic by clicking below
Gardening
Growing Fruit
Home Canning
Dehydrating (includes freeze drying)
Seed Saving
Raising Livestock (includes chickens, pigs & cattle)
Homesteading Skills (includes bread making, grinding flour, cast iron, outdoor & woodstove cooking, kombucha, other kitchen skills)
Herbal Deep Dive & Natural Medicine
Pantry Cooking
Fermented Dairy & Cheesemaking
Fermented Vegetables
Growing Your Own Fruits & Veggies
Planning & Seed Starting/Planting & Season Extension
Planning Your Garden
- Garden Planning Worksheets & Charts
- How to Identify Micro-Climates
- Picking the Best Location for Your Plants
- How to Prepare a Soil Test Sample
- How to Amend Your Soil & Signs
- Companion Planting Guide
- Crop Rotation Guide
- Raised Bed Gardening 101
- Raising Food for a Year Masterclass
- Create Your Fertilizing Plan & Recommendations for Your Garden
Seed Starting
- How to Start Seeds Indoors
- Seed Starting Containers and Light Options
- Introduction to Winter Sowing
- How to Winter Sow Seeds
- How to Start Onions from Seeds
- How to Trim Onions & When to Transplant
- How & When You Need to Cold Stratify Your Seeds
- Planting Cold Stratified Seeds
Planting Your Garden
- Direct Sowing Tips
- Transplanting Tips for Success
- How to Fertilize Container Plants
- How to Plant Potatoes
- How to Mound Potatoes to Increase Yield
- Garlic and Onion Planting
- How to Make a Teepee Trellis – Vertical Gardening
- Vertical Gardening – How to Grow More in the Same Amount of Space
- Container Gardening – Spacing, Number of Plants per Pot
- Succession Planting and Intercropping
- Create Your Fertilizing Plan & Recommendations for Your Garden
- Setting up a Hog Panel Trellis
- Picking the Best Watering System for You
- How to Use Grow Bags in Small Spaces with Kevin from Epic Gardening
Crop Extenders & Cold Frames
- Crop Extenders to Grow Earlier in the Spring and Later in the Fall/Winter
- How to Construct a Straw Bale Cold Frame
Fall Gardening
- How to Plant a Fall Garden
- Fall Gardening Tips to Improve Your Soil and Frost Protection
- 3 Reasons Cover Crops are a Gardener's Secret Weapon
Grow Greens Indoors All Winter
- How to Grow Microgreens in Small Places
- Troubleshooting and Harvesting Microgreens
- How to Grow Sprouts (Grow Food in Just 3 Days INDOORS)
Fruits
Pruning Fruit Trees & Berries
- How to Prune & Trellis Summer Bearing Raspberries
- How to Prune Autumn Bearing Raspberries
- How to Prune Blueberries
- How to Prune Fruit Trees
- How to Prune Older Trees & Diseased Branches
- How to Prune Grapes
- How to Summer Prune & Advantages
Fruit & Berry Planning & Planting
- Fruit Self and Cross Pollinating Factors
- How to Plant Fruit Trees
- Planting Berry Plants
- How to Plant Raspberries
- Why and How to Mulch Blueberries
- Mason Bees the Solution to Pollination
- How to Plant a Fruit Tree Guild (Food Forest)
- Trap Apple Maggots Naturally
Fruit Tree Management
- Care of 1 to 3 year old Fruit Trees at Blossom Time
- How to Thin Fruit & Why You Should
- How to Organically Protect Fruit from Flying Insects
Veggies
Growing Tomatoes
- How to Plant Tomatoes for Disease Free Success
- Best Watering Practices for Successful Tomatoes
- How to Prune Tomatoes and Troubleshooting Blossoms Not Setting Fruit
Other Veggies
Harvest & Curing Tips
Pest and Disease Management, Soil Amending & Fertilizing
Natural Pest & Disease Control
- Organic Pest Control for Most Common Insects
- Using Copper Spray (organic disease control)
- How to Organically Protect Fruit from Flying Insects
- Natural Solutions to Common Problems in the Organic Garden (Anna from The House & Homestead)
- Trap Apple Maggots Naturally
- Keeping Slugs and Cabbage Moths off Plants
Composting
- How to Build a Compost Pile
- Compost Temperatures & When to Turn Your Pile
- Types of Composting & Which is Best for You
Soil Amending & Fertilizing
- How to Fertilize Container Plants
- How to Amend Your Soil & Signs
- Fertilizing Plan & Recommendations for Your Garden
Home Canning with Confidence
Intro to Canning & Safety Rules and Tips
- Welcome to Canning!
- Canning Equipment and Terminology
- Canning Safety Rules
- Troubleshooting & Safety Q&A
- Headspace, Siphoning & Pressure Canner Operating Questions
- Using an Outdoor Canning Kitchen
- Pressure Canner Operation Safety and Confidence Tips
- How You Can Safely Alter Canning Recipes
- How to Safely Handle Suspected Botulism or Broken Seals
Water Bath Canning
Tomatoes
- Tomato Canning Safety & Removing Skins
- How to Can Salsa, Recipes & Safety Tips
- How to Can Tomato Sauce & Peeling Tricks
- How to Can Tomatoes with Acid Chart
Pickling
Fruits
- Pie Filling & Recipe Book
- Fruit (Syrup Recipes & Processing Time Charts)
- Applesauce Using Reusable Tattler Lids
- Fruit Juice & Syrup
- Apple or Pear Sauce in the Instant Pot
Jams & Jellies
- Pectin Sources for Jams & Jellies & Recipe Book
- 3 Tests to Check the Set or Gel of Jam and Jelly
- 3 Ingredient Strawberry Jam & Troubleshooting Tips (no store bought pectin)
- How to Can Fruit Butter with Recipe book including variations
- Sugar Free Jams & Jellies and Using Pamona's Pectin
Steam Canning
Pressure Canning
Vegetables
Meat, Dried Beans, Broth & Soup
- Dried Beans/Peas & Pork and Beans Molasses Recipe
- How to Make and Can Bone Broth
- Meat & Smoked Salmon Canning Tutorial & Recipe
- Combination and Soup Recipes
Seed Saving
- Heirloom Seed History and Sources
- Self-Pollinating Plants
- Cross Pollination Guide
- How to Hand Pollinate Squash
- How to Save Tomato Seeds When You Need to Ferment
- How to Save Bean Seed & Tips for Avoiding Contamination
- How to Save Carrot Seed – Biennials
- How to Store Your Seeds and Shelf Life
Raising Livestock
Chickens
- Starting Your Chicken Flock
- How to Hatch Out Chicks at Home (even without a rooster)
- Chicken Feed Options & Do Not Feed List
- Best Bedding Options for New Chicks
- How to Raise Meat Chickens & the Night Before Butchering
- How to Butcher Chickens at Home
- Raising Chickens in Winter Without Electricity/Heat in the Coop
- Bringing Chicks Home – Your Care Guide & Checklist
- How to Prevent Chickens From Being Picked On
Pigs
Cattle
Pasture & Land Management
Homesteading Skills
Cast Iron, Outdoor & Woodstove Cooking
- Intro to Cast Iron Cooking
- Cleaning Cast Iron
- Seasoning Cast Iron & Restoring Older Pieces
- Intro to Outdoor Dutch Oven Cooking & Fruit Dumpling Recipe
- Intro and Basics of Cooking on a Woodstove
- Cooking on a Woodstove
Food Skills
General
- How to Render Lard
- How to Make Cinnamon Ornaments
- How to Make Homemade Chai Tea Concentrate
- How to Freeze Eggs for Year Round Use
Broth
- Bone Broth – Best Practices for Storage & Roasting…and which is right for you
- Why & How to Prepare Chicken Feet for Broth
- Instant Pot & Best Practices for Reusing Bones
Bread & Pastries
Grinding Flour & How to Use Fresh Ground Flour
- Types of Grains & Which are Best for What (terminology, places to buy)
- How to Grind Flour at Home & Choosing a Mill
- Ancient Grains – Spelt – Converting Recipes & Baking Rules
- Ancient Grains – Einkorn – Baking Guide & Recipes
- Ancient Grains – Flaky Pie Crust with Fresh Ground Spelt, Einkorn, and Lard
- Perfect Sandwich Loaf with Hard White Wheat
Gluten-Free Fresh Ground Flour & Baking
Bread
- Intro to Homemade Sandwich Bread
- How to Make Perfect Sandwich Bread with All-Purpose Flour
- How to Know Dough is Kneaded Enough (Window Pane Test)
- Best Dough Rising Tips
- How to Form Bread Loaves
- How to Know Loaves are Ready to Bake
- Best Baking Tips for Perfect Loaves & How to Tell When it's Done
- How to Slice & Best Bread Storage Options
Master Dough
- Master Dough Recipe
- Master Dough Artisan Loaf
- Master Dough Hamburger Buns
- Master Dough Cinnamon Rolls
- Master Dough Pizza
- Fresh Ground Flour Master Dough Recipe
- Sourdough Master Dough Recipe
Pastries
- How to Make a Perfect Flaky Pie Crust & Freezing Options
- How to Make Croissants – Part 1
- Croissants – Part 2 – Lamination Process (creating the layers)
- Croissants – Part 3 – Forming the Rolls & Baking
- Croissants – Part 4 – Other Uses for Dough & Pain au Chocolat
- How to Make Homemade Flaky Biscuits
Sourdough
- Sourdough History & Health Benefits
- Sourdough Bread Terminology & Tools
- How to Make Sourdough Starter
- Starter Care Options & Discard Pancake/Waffle Recipes
- How to Troubleshoot & Test if it's Strong Enough for Bread
- Sourdough Starter Maintenance Using the Fridge
- How to Convert Recipes to Sourdough
- How to Make Sourdough Sandwich Bread
- Gluten-free Sourdough Sandwich Loaf
- Sourdough Brownies
- Sourdough Artisan Loaf with All-Purpose Flour
- Sourdough Artisan Loaf with Fresh Ground & Ancient Grain Einkorn
- Sourdough Artisan Loaf Gluten-free & Baking Loaf without a Dutch Oven
- Sourdough Master Dough Recipe
- Sourdough Muffins and Quick Bread
Cooking From the Pantry
Dehydrating
General
- Dehydrating Equipment & Temperature Chart
- Using a Solar Oven for Dehydrating
- How to Blend Your Own Teas from Dehydrated Items
- Best Options for Storing Dehydrated Food (How to Know When it's Done)
Freeze Drying
- Intro to Freeze Drying Food at Home (What You Need to Know, Set-up, and First Run)
- Machine Care for Your Freeze Dryer
- How to Freeze Dry Berries
- How to Freeze Dry Raw Eggs
Vegetables
- How to Dehydrate Zucchini (including zucchini noodles)
- How to Dehydrate Kale Chips & Using a Solar Oven for Dehydrating
- How to Dehydrate Carrots (2 Ways)
Fruits
Herbs & Flowers
Fermenting Vegetables
- Fermenting Equipment and Intro
- How to Ferment Cucumbers (Pickles) & Recipe
- How to Make Traditional Sauerkraut
- How to Make Spanish Sauerkraut Curtido
- How to Make Raw Apple Cider Vinegar
- Intro to Kimchi & Daikon Radish Kimchi
- Smoked Kale Kraut Tutorial & Recipe
- Traditional Kimchi Recipe & Tutorial
- Best Fermenting Practices
Fermenting Diary
- Welcome to the Fermented Dairy Course
- Fermented Dairy Supplies Needed
- Best Milk Choices
- How to Make Yogurt
- How to Make Greek Yogurt
- How to Make Cultured Buttermilk
- Cultured Buttermilk Using Dehydrated Culture
- How to Make Cultured Sour Cream
- How to Make Kefir
- Flavoring Kefir with Fruit – Second Ferment
Cheesemaking
- Intro to Beginning Cheese Making & Supplies Needed
- Rennet Types: Pros & Cons
- How to Make Yogurt Cheese
- How to Make Cottage Cheese
Kombucha
- Kombucha Intro, History & Supply List
- How to Make Kombucha
- Kombucha 2nd Ferment & Flavor Recipe Guide
- Continuous Brew Method
Pasta
Herbal Deep Dive & Natural Medicine
Medicinal Herbs
Chamomile
Holy Basil
Marshmallow
Wood Betony
Stinging Nettles
Natural Health & Medicine
Foundation & Preventative
- Herb Course Materials & Supplies
- Sourcing & Storing Medicinal Herbs
- Understanding How to Use Herbs Effectively & Identifying Energetics
- Using Herbs as a Preventative vs. Acute Symptoms – Protocol Chart
- How to Make Elderberry Syrup
Herbal Safety
- Herbal Dosing
- Herbs with Pregnancy, Breastfeeding & Children
- Using Essential Oils vs. Herbs + Safety
- What You Must Know About Using Elderberries
Herbal Tinctures
- How to Make Medicinal Tinctures
- Which Alcohol Strength to Use & Substitutions
- Astragalus Root Tincture – Preventative
- How to Make First Signs Tincture
- How to Make Glycerin Tinctures & Choosing Your Tincture Liquid
- How to Make Echinacea Tincture
Cold & Flu Herbal Remedies
- How to Make Fire Cider for Cold and Flu Season
- Hot Herbal Infusions & Temperature Tamer Tea Fever Protocol
- How to Make a Custom Immune Boosting Tea
- Medicinal Teas for Headaches & Earaches
- Herbal Cough Syrup
- How to Make Herbal Steams
Salves & Body Products
- How to Make Herbal Infused Oil (Hot Infusion) with an Instant Pot or Slow Cooker
- How to Make Herbal Salve (Warming Sore Joint/Muscle Recipe)
- How to Make Herbal Infused Lotion Bars
- How to Make Herbal Infused Lip Balm (+ tinted lip balm)
- How to Make Whipped Body Butter
Herbal Extras
- Best Perennial Kitchen Herbs & Growing Tips
- Wild Edibles- Stinging Nettles for Food and Natural Medicine
- How to Divide, Prune, and Propagate Your Herbs + Rosemary Hair Rinse