Wild + Whole

What if I told you that out there in the world exists a bird that is so low to the ground that it often goes under the radar of the vast majority of homesteaders? It’s the same bird that allows folks in both rural and urban settings to explore several aspects of self-sufficiency while still often...

By now the benefits of incorporating native plants in your landscaping and vegetable garden are very well documented. Native plants require fewer inputs and less upkeep because they’re adapted to your local environment, they provide habitat for native insects and birds, and in some cases, they are a...

A tostada is essentially an open-faced hard taco. Crunchy, spicy, savory, and deliciously messy, this is a fun and easy meal to put together. This wild turkey version is made with turkey thighs that are braised with chiles, cumin, and garlic. Prepare the meat, beans, and fried tortillas ahead of...

It’s easy to get caught up in thinking that you must have a lot of space to make gardening worthwhile. But even with a small amount of space, you can actually produce quite a bit of produce by using the square-foot garden method. If you aren’t familiar with the concept of a square-foot garden, it’s...

Once the days grow longer and we start seeing little buds on trees and daffodils popping up around the periphery of the yard, it’s easy to want to get some plants in the dirt. And though we can’t grow a lot of the vegetables that require the mid-summer heat to thrive, there is actually a lot that we...

The season for oyster mushrooms can be long. We typically find them in spring and fall in Nebraska, when temperatures warm after winter and the weather begins to cool down again in the fall. Wild oyster mushrooms are always found on logs and dead timber and are usually pearl white, light brown, or...

Tomatoes were likely first bred from wild nightshade plants with tiny fruit about 7,000 years ago in Mesoamerica. The original wild fruits descended from a Peruvian and Ecuadorian plant that is similar to modern cherry tomatoes. Although tomatoes had been eaten by people in the Americas for...

Homesteading is whatever you decide to make of it, much like anything in life. But the more I talk with friends, family, and total strangers, the more I realize there are plenty of stigmas out there about homesteading. One person assumed I’m a hippy (only partially true). Another close family member...