Free Resources for Homesteaders & Gardeners

While our ancestors handed down the knowledge of how to grow, harvest and preserve foods from one generation to the next, the last several generations of people have lost those skills as grocery stores have replaced backyard gardens and we can purchase a tomato or cucumber, or even a tropical fruit like pineapple year round despite their inability to grow in the winter in much of the populated world. For homesteaders looking to raise animals for food sources, the same is true- what was once common knowledge and a part of everyday life for most people is now foreign and unknown to the masses. But luckily for us, the technological advances in our world have also made it easier for us to share this knowledge with each other and relearn many of those lost skills. Websites galore exist and are updated regularly that can teach you how to grow a bell pepper plant in a pot on your back porch regardless of where you live, or how to provide emergency medical care to a goat sick from bloat. Listed below you'll find some of my favorite free resources across the web that can help you grow along your journey to becoming more self sufficient and healthier. 

Finding Your First and Last Frost Dates

Quite possibly the most important piece of information for any grower to know is the average first and last frost dates for your area. This information is going to dictate when it is safe to transplant seedlings from indoors to your outdoor garden and when you can direct sow other seeds. The first and last frost dates you will find online from any source will always be averages, as the weather varies from one year to the next, so keep in mind that these dates are not written in stone.

Knowing the last average frost date in Spring and first average frost date in Fall will guide you on when to watch the long-range forecast closely so you can determine when it is safest to move your tender seedlings to the garden. For many warm weather crops like tomatoes, you want to see temperatures staying at 50* or higher overnight. But keep in mind that the weather can be unpredictable, and a late Spring frost or early Fall frost is always possible, even after the long range forecast looks safe! It's always a good idea to have a way of protecting your outdoor plants from those erratic temperature swings in case your South Georgia garden were to see an overnight temperature of 35*F in the last week of April! 

One very easy way to find your first and last average frost dates is to do a simple online search- type "first and last average frost dates" and either your city and state or zip code into your browser search bar. But I'm also sharing my favorite source of this information simply because it is explained so well and is a perfect jumping off spot to a wealth of other gardening information from trusted sources: The Old Farmer's Almanac. 

The Old Farmer's Almanac book image

Finding Your Plant Hardiness Zone

The plant hardiness zone, sometimes referred to as the growing zone, is something we are always told to look for as new growers or gardeners, but really this isn't nearly as important to new growers who are looking to start their first annual vegetable garden. So what's the point of having plant hardiness zones and knowing yours?

This piece of knowledge is much more relevant to perennial plants such as berry bushes, fruit trees (or any tree really), many vining fruits, most herbs and perennial or biennial vegetables such as artichokes, asparagus, rhubarb, sweet potatoes, celery, carrots, kale, and Swiss chard to name a few. These plants that live for multiple growing seasons all have a minimum temperature that they can withstand before the cold will kill them. Knowing your hardiness zone tells you what the coldest temperatures your area generally sees and helps you to determine which plants or which varieties can tolerate those coldest temperatures. 

The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map is the standard by which gardeners and growers can determine which perennial plants are most likely to thrive at a location. The map is based on the average annual extreme minimum winter temperature, displayed as 10-degree F zones and 5-degree F half zones. You can follow this link to take you to the map, and then enter your zip code in the search bar at the top of the map to find your hardiness zone: 2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map

2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map

Seed Starting Date Calculator

Starting your garden plants from seed is a way to open up your potential veggie harvest beyond the varieties that your local big box store garden centers carry, which is probably the most popular reason for gardeners to start seeds indoors. Also, if you plan on planting multiple plants of the same variety, starting them from seed indoors can greatly decrease your overall cost as a packet of seeds is generally about the same cost or less than the cost of one starter plant from your local nursery and the supplies needed to start those seeds don't have to cost an arm and a leg (although they can if you have the money to spend!).
For those who want to start garden plants from seed indoors before transplanting to the garden, it's a good idea to know when to tackle this task. Starting seeds indoors too early can cause multiple issues that can lead to transplant shock and stunted growth, or possibly even dead plants after your weeks of nurturing seedlings. Starting seeds indoors too late can mean a smaller, weaker plant is being transplanted to the garden which could be more susceptible to pests and diseases, or for those who live further north with shorter growing seasons, the shorter growing period leaves less time for the plants to grow to their full potential, with can lead to a smaller harvest over the season.
Luckily in this age of technology, this information is literally right at your fingertips, whether you're holding your smartphone or the packet of seeds! All you need is your first and last frost dates, which you should know from the first resource I provided, and a calendar or search engine to count forward or backward to calculate the ideal time to sow your seeds based on the specific plant needs. If you purchase your seeds online, some seed suppliers provide a seed starting date calculator on their website, such as this one at Johnny's Selected Seeds, or some gardening advice websites/blogs have their own.
I can't say one is better than the next, but I am going to link again to The Old Farmer's Almanac simply because it is so thorough, showing the windows for sowing seeds that will be started indoors as well as when seeds can be direct sown. Many plants can be started early indoors or direct sown in the garden, and some calculators ignore this aspect of seed starting. I also love the extensive list of vegetables included in the list, and that it shows when to start seeds for both the Spring AND the Fall season, the last day to plant in Spring to have a Summer harvest, and for Fall-sown seeds, it shows which plants are frost hardy, frost tolerant or tender so you know how those plants will hold up against the first frosts of the season (frost will kill most tender plants, but can improve the flavor of the frost-hardy plants). 
The Old Farmer's Almanac book image

Growing Guides


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