Living the Country Life

Make the most out of your small farm or acreage with tips and resources from Living the Country Life. This section contains information on raising animals, gardening tips, machinery maintenance, improving pastures, and maintaining ponds.

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Sheet composting

Create a new garden bed by layering organic waste. Sheet composting requires no digging and results in a healthy environment for all plants.
Audio

Make your own yarn

Hand-made clothing is a treasure, especially if the fiber comes from your animals. Spin your own yarn with a bit of practice and a couple of tools.
Audio

Putting signs on your land

If you don’t want people on your land, let them know with no trespassing signs. Post your signs in places that are easy to see and make your intentions clear.
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Successful Farming TV Show

RARE IH 7288 and 7488 Tractors

By Successful Farming TV Show
Dave Mowitz heads to Marshalltown, Iowa, to check out Gary Ballard’s 7288 and 7488 tractors
Video

All Around the Farm

Retractable shop stairs

By All Around the Farm
Easy access to overhead storage and more room on the floor to park equipment are options with stairs that store close to the wall.
November 2020 IOM image
Article

Machinery Insider

The reverse engineered tractor

By Machinery Insider
Interesting Iron takes a look at tractors that were re-engineered to serve a new role.
Article

Septic system turf color

It's not always necessary to dig into the septic system to look for trouble. The color of the turf on top can tell you what's going on underneath.
Audio

Household ant control

The ants come marching one by one. Sometimes, it's more like a-hundred by a-hundred. It might seem like a huge fight, but you can get rid of ants invading your home
Audio

Winter rose protection

There aren’t many plants more fussed over when going into winter than roses. Roses need protection from the freezing cold, but some need a thicker blanket than others.
Audio

Eliminating nuisance firewood insects

As you bring firewood inside this winter, there may be hitchhikers tagging along. Most insects living in the wood are only a nuisance, but there are ways to keep them out.
Audio

Last tomatoes of the season

Save those last precious tomatoes on the vine. Even if they’re not ripe yet, there’s a lot you can do with green tomatoes.
Audio

Why leaves change color

Sunny days and cool nights trigger the trees to go from summer to winter. This transition allows us to enjoy the beauty of fall color.
Audio

Tip of the Day

How to organize chains

chain tower Beginning with an old 8-inch-diameter 6½-foot-tall metal pipe, I built a chain tower. To keep it from falling over, I used a worn-out disk... read more

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