Homestead
BDN’s Homestead section is a celebration of rural life. Our writers cover small farms, animals, DIY solutions and fascinating Maine people who find unique ways to live simply. Read more Homestead stories here.
When you’re homesteading or gardening, it can feel like you never have enough time or resources. Every task takes longer than you think it will, and everything you need costs more than you want to spend.
Thoughtful holiday gift-giving is one way to reduce that stress. A good tool to make a job faster or less physically demanding, extra money to spend on supplies or effective food storage helps a homesteader enjoy life a little more — and what’s a better gift than that?
Gift ideas for homesteaders and gardeners generally fall into two categories: creating more work (a surprise cow, a beehive) or making less work (an efficient tool, a nice cart). If you aren’t completely sure that they want to take on something new, lean toward the less-work side.
Here are our best ideas to get you started, some to make yourself and others to purchase.
Foolproof choices
A gift card to a hardware store, online supplier, feed mill or seed company is a safe bet. To make it more personal, choose one specific to their interests: a rare seed supplier, a farm tool company, a heritage poultry breeder or a quality ax maker.
If they’re readers, put together a bundle of books or give a year’s subscription to a magazine like Backwoods Home, Small Farmer’s Journal, Rural Heritage or Mother Earth News. The University of Maine Cooperative Extension has webinars on demand for homesteading topics, and online gardening or homesteading personalities often offer platforms with extra content for subscribers.
A pair of nice wool socks, a headlamp, a good knife, a heavy-duty hand cream or a warm sweater are classics.
Getting started
Sourdough and kombucha starters are gifts for newer homesteaders that can literally keep giving forever. Make a fermenting gift basket by adding supplies for cheese or yogurt (think rennet, cheese culture or kefir starter).
Indoor growing lights or trays will help them start the growing season earlier. A cold frame or other season-extending materials keep a garden going in winter. “Soil blockers” are also getting attention lately: handheld devices that make cubes of soil to start seeds, without plastic cells.
If they have chickens, look into an automatic feeder and door opener/closer to save a trip outside.
Preserving the harvest
Fruit are easy to dry because they don’t require much preparation, whereas most vegetables require blanching before drying, and meat is typically marinated and salted before being placed in a dehydrator. To check for dryness, rip a dehydrated piece of fruit in half and squeeze it between your fingers. If no moisture beads to the surface, it’s dry.
Trail food (for BDN Maine Outdoor magazine)
A dehydrator is a versatile way to preserve food that’s less labor-intensive than canning. Still, more canning supplies never hurt anyone. If they’re into fermenting, find a nice new stoneware crock or two.
For someone who doesn’t have time and space to garden but still likes to eat locally, consider gifting a CSA membership of weekly shares of produce, or offer membership to a bulk buying club.
Making things easier
A “pocket chainsaw” is a portable way to clear brush, or a handheld scythe can speed up harvesting. Simplifying tools are especially good options for homesteaders who are getting older.
Check out weeding tools used standing up, such as a corkscrew weeder or “garden weasel.” There’s the “compost screw,” which gives a compost pile its regular turning with a hand crank instead of requiring shoveling. Supply companies sell garden stools with wheels, or find a cart for transporting firewood.
Raised beds are a popular option for physically limited gardeners. There are many materials and layouts available, so you could offer to make or buy whatever beds the person would like.
Make it yourself
A wooden crate or box can be transformed into a seed packet library with a coat of paint or stain and some dividers. A rack for hanging tools is another simple wood project.
If you’re crafty, make wool insoles for boots, buy a beaver pelt to cut into warm squares to line pockets, hats or gloves, or carve a custom stamp for their homestead.
Make simple weeding tools with wire and repurposed handles — check out this guide from the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association. Or look into Farm Hack, a site with open-source designs for projects including irrigation control, a pasture monitoring system and a heated growing table. The UK company Real Seeds offers plans for a seed cleaner to help save seeds.
For people with livestock, offer to farm sit so they can take a trip.
Just for fun
Fun, practical gifts include “garden sleeves” to prevent sunburn, a nice kerosene lamp for power outages, an entertaining “chicken swing” or poultry picnic table, a garden apron with big pockets for carrying vegetables or a mushroom growing kit.
Finally, you never know what you’ll see and didn’t realize they needed on Facebook marketplace, Craigslist or Uncle Henry’s. On the first “animals” page of Uncle Henry’s this week, we found 13 Ukrainian pigeons, 10 livestock feeders and a tractor umbrella.
