The Homestead Guru
We share what we are passionate about.
We help you unleash the guru, inside you.
The Homestead Guru was a project born by people who love talking about and trying practical solutions. We have hundreds of articles on all things practical and have built a sort of community over the years for those who want to learn and grow along with us.
Here we aren’t here to be your gurus. We are here to help you learn how to be your own guru, while we become our own gurus. Thank you for being here.


Years of Growth


Featured Posts
The Latest and Greatest

Couple Builds Amazing Cordwood House for Less than $5,000
Build your own home! Doing it yourself is always the most rewarding way to do it! Especially when you can build your own home with

Innovative Bike Powered Washing Machines, Wash Your Clothes Off The Grid!
The Bike Washing Machine, a sustainable power combo created by college students at the Dalian Nationalities University in China. This cool invention does exactly what

Neem: Your Secret Weapon Against Plant-Eating Garden Bugs + Many Health Benefits
As an organic gardener, neem has been a part of my arsenal since the beginning. I first heard about it from my Mom, an ornamental

Strawberries Hate Potatoes: Secrets of Companion Planting + Popular Planting Combinations Part 2
Companion planting in gardening and agriculture is the planting of different crops in proximity for the benefit of both plants such as pest control, pollination,

Study Claims Plants Can Feel When They Are Being Eaten and They Don’t Like It!
A ground-breaking new study has found that plants can feel when they are being eaten, responding at times with defense mechanisms. The study, titled, “Plants

Take Only Memories, Leave Only Footsteps: 5 Quick Tips to Help You Leave No Trace
How To Leave No Trace Too often campers, hikers, and even everyday park dwellers are careless, and leave trash behind. No one knows exactly how

No Sun? No Problem! 10 Shade Tolerant Herbs
When living in urban areas it can seem like an impossibility to have the garden you have always dreamed of, but it is good to

The Homestead Guru Visits Moorhead’s Blueberry Farm and Picks Fresh Berries
Join Catherine and the kids as the go pickin’ at the farm!

Why You Should Use Eggshells to Start Seeds
We’ve all seen the cute pics on Pinterest of seedlings in eggshells–but aside from cuteness, what’s the point? Eggshells as seed starters are actually really

Learn the Mosquito Magnets: Blood Type, Pregnancy, Clothing, and How To Repel Them!
New research has proven mosquitoes prefer to bite some people more than others. In a feature by WebMD, Jerry Butler, PhD, professor emeritus at the

Six Steps to Protect Your Baby from Illness this Winter
As Winter approaches, many families worry about how to keep their new baby free from illnesses and viruses. Here are 6 commonsense things you can

3D Printed Living Tattoo
Scientists at MIT have pushed the boundaries of 3D printing by creating interactive living tattoos. Well, temporary living tattoos anyway. They are stuck to the skin

Most Popular Posts
Our Greatest Hits

BioIntensive Gardening – How to Double Dig, Make Compost, & Companion Plant
Biointensive gardening is an organic method designed to creative highly productive gardens with long term sustainability at its core. What is so great about this

IT’S ALIVE! Living No-Turn Compost: BioChar
Maybe you wanted to start composting this Earth Day, but you’ve heard it’s tricky to get right. I understand–nobody wants a stinky mess out back

The Tropical Fruit Tree Americans Forgot: The Pawpaw Tree
What if I told you that North America has an easy-to-grow native tropical fruit tree that you’ve never even heard of? The Pawpaw is our

Tomatoes Hate Cucumbers: Secrets of Companion Planting + Popular Planting Combinations
Did you know that tomatoes hate cucumbers? Consider companion planting. While they might taste great together in a salad, tomato plants dislike growing in close

How To Start a Kitchen Scrap Garden
How to Regrow Kitchen Scraps Feel like you never really get your money’s worth of lettuce or celery at the store? Why not grow another

This is Why Your Compost Stinks
You started out with good intentions–wanting to create richer soil for your garden and reduce your waste. Maybe you even bought the pretty compost crock