Food & Water
The two things a household runs out of first. Long-term food storage, rotating pantries, freeze-dried, canning and mylar — plus water filtration, storage, sourcing and treatment. The ground truth on what actually feeds and hydrates a household when the supply chain stalls. Plain reviews and honest taste tests, no panic.
Top picks in Food & Water
Curated by topic, not commissionAll curated
6 Day Camp in the Quetico with my Dog: Fish, Bugs and Bonding
Extended wilderness camping trip demonstrating backcountry navigation, shelter, foraging, and self-sufficiency with minimal gear.
Living Off Our Land | August Garden Tour | Zone 4A Minnesota
54-minute garden walkthrough showing vegetable production, preservation techniques (freezing, fermenting, freeze-drying), and season extension strategies for northern climates.
My Values Are Showing: The Quiet Power of a Home Well Lived
Explore how homemaking and homesteading work together to create a resilient home that reflects your values and sustains your family.
Bad Things Are About to Happen
Survey of emergency food storage options and radiation detection equipment for imminent geopolitical and economic disruption.
The Ultimate Guide to Emergency Water Off Grid
29-minute walkthrough of water storage quantities, container options, purification methods, and grid-independent systems from stored supplies to hand-pump wells.
Modern Chickens are Defective
Why modern commercial chicken breeds often underperform in homesteading contexts and which heritage or cold-hardy breeds suit self-sufficient food production.
Can't do what you want on your own land? Which Australian state says you can
Comparison of off-grid and self-sufficiency regulations across all eight Australian states, covering power, water, waste, food, building, and home education.
Our Everyday Homestead: Off-Grid Infrastructure and Food Forest in Zone 10a Florida
25-minute homestead tour covering off-grid solar expansion, rainwater harvesting, permaculture food forest gardening, and DIY infrastructure for subtropical self-sufficiency.
Canning Peaches with a Certified Master Food Preserver (Step-by-Step)
Five-minute walkthrough on safe peach canning techniques and equipment selection, with a certified Master Food Preserver.
Why Bare Soil Is a Bad Idea
How to build living soil using mulch, cover crops, and no-till methods instead of destructive tilling — critical foundation for growing reliable food.
5 Dangerous Water Purification Myths That Could Make You Sick
Learn the difference between water disinfection and purification, and understand what common treatment methods actually remove.
Heat + Drought + No Fertilizer = Crisis
Analysis of concurrent crop-threatening conditions—heat domes, drought, fertilizer shortages, floods—across major food-producing regions and their household food-security implications.
Is your dog prepared for an emergency? Don't let your pet become a liability.
Plan ahead for your dog's survival: food storage, canine first aid, and heat-stress prevention.
Homestead Projects Over a Few Months – Dirt Work, Planting, Screening Fence
Sixteen minutes of hands-on homestead improvements: site prep, landscaping, fence installation, and property management on a remote mountain off-grid property.
Bulk Food Store Prices
Twelve-minute walkthrough of current pricing at a Mennonite bulk food supplier, tracking food costs and availability for storage planning.
What Tractor Implements Do You Need
Overview of essential tractor attachments and implements for homestead food production, gardening, and property maintenance on rural land.
Could You Feed Your Family Without a Store? (Field to Table)
Step-by-step field dressing, butchering, and processing game animals for food: backstrap, tenderloin, quarters, zero waste.
Rainwater harvesting techniques and filtration
Practical methods for collecting and filtering rainwater for off-grid living and water storage.
Regenerative Design: Small Garden, Same Power As Big Farm
How to implement regenerative gardening systems at any scale, from raised beds to larger plots, to maximize food productivity with natural resources.
DIY Drum Smoker: Built From a Scrap 55-Gallon Barrel
Step-by-step build of a functional smoker from a scrap drum, covering materials, assembly, and food preservation for off-grid or budget-conscious households.
Starbucks new powder making people sick
Clarification on reports of illness linked to a Starbucks emulsifier powder: primarily workplace exposure among baristas rather than customer food poisoning.
Disinfect Water With Sunlight — And the Test Everyone Skips First
How to use solar disinfection (SODIS) to purify water with a clear bottle and sunlight, plus the clarity test that determines whether the method will work.
Composting Is The Secret Ingredient
How to build garden soil fertility through composting, kitchen scraps, livestock rotation, and chop-and-drop methods integrated into daily homestead routines.
Why your grocery bill is skyrocketing and won't stop soon
Structural analysis of food price inflation drivers and practical steps for building protein reserves.
Editor's note
“If you only have a weekend and $200, fix water before anything else — it's the prep with the highest ratio of survival impact per dollar. On food: most $400 emergency kits could be replaced with $120 of supermarket staples plus mylar bags. The expensive part of food prep is the marketing, not the calories.”
— Cockroach editorial
Keyhole Fire Cooking & Brown Sugar Bannock | Using a Carbon Steel Skillet Like a Dutch Oven
15-minute walkthrough on using a keyhole fire and carbon steel skillet to bake bannock and other foods in camp without carrying heavy cast iron.
Unexpected Encounter & We Finally Got Clean Water! | Homestead Update
Norwegian couple documents well installation and testing, kitchen renovation, potato cultivation, and establishing clean water access on their remote farm restoration project.
Don't Have a Garden? No Problem!
Food preservation techniques (canning, fermenting, dehydrating, freezing) for building seasonal food stores without growing your own.
How to Store 3 Weeks of Water in an Apartment
Practical water storage solutions designed for apartment dwellers and small spaces, covering stackable containers and creative placement strategies.
How to Grow Big Squash Plants
One-hour walkthrough on squash plant cultivation techniques for maximizing yield in a homestead garden setting.
4 Giants Control Supermarkets—Price Fixing Too?
How four major meat companies control US supermarket supply chains and the risk of price coordination in the cattle, pork, and poultry sectors.
July Garden Harvest — What's Ready, What We're Pickling, and What's Coming Next Week
Walk-through of a mature organic garden at peak summer harvest, covering trellis growing, variety selection, and preservation techniques with heirloom tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, and cucumbers.
How Much Food Does Your Family Actually Need?
Live walkthrough of calculating your household's year-long food storage needs based on meals your family already eats, with scaling methods from 2 weeks to 12 months.
Efficient Homesteading Isn't About Working Harder
How to design regenerative homestead systems that reduce daily exhaustion and create sustainable food production with intentional planning rather than constant reactive work.
Fermented Pickles Recipe
Step-by-step fermented pickle preservation: cucumber selection, brine ratios, herb seasonings, fermentation timeline, and storage—crunchier and faster than canning.
Overgrown Garden? Let the Goats Handle It
How to use goats to clear overgrown garden beds and turn a planting mistake into productive land management.
15 Grocery Items You Can Grow for Free! These Vegetables Save Us the Most Money
Walkthrough of 15 beginner-friendly vegetables to grow at home—from garlic to peppers—with preservation methods to extend the harvest and reduce grocery spending year-round.
The Prepping & Survival Purchases I'd Make Again | 15 Years In
15-year prepper reviews emergency gear that proved durable and useful: heaters, stoves, DC refrigeration, freeze dryers, power stations, battery systems, and home transfer switches.
The Ultimate SHTF Food Machine: Infinite Protein with Alumicoop
Hands-on review of a livestock housing system designed to simplify animal husbandry and protein production for homesteaders.
Water Systems & National Grid Compromised | Bear Brief 3AUG26
Analysis of vulnerabilities in US water infrastructure and electrical grid systems and their preparedness implications.
Russia Launches Major Strike: Food Supply Collapse Warning
Analysis of escalating conflict impacts on global grain supplies, fertilizer prices, and food security amid rising geopolitical tensions.
What's In Your Flour – Monday Night Fireside Chat No. 1448
Panel discussion on flour quality, sourcing, and storage for long-term food preservation and homesteading.
When to Pick Tomatoes for Maximum Flavor
Practical guidance on tomato variety selection, cultivation, and harvest timing to maximize yield and flavor in a home garden.
They're Pricing Us Out of Food
Analysis of food price inflation across retail and fast food, historical parallels to civil unrest, and strategies to reduce dependency on conventional markets.
Bone marrow and bacon the off-grid way
Prepare a nutrient-dense bone marrow breakfast with bacon and eggs using off-grid cooking methods.
What's Really On Your Vegetables: Produce Washing Techniques
Four-minute walkthrough on removing pesticide residues, wax coatings, and contamination from produce using a vegetable wash beyond plain water.
Why Soil Is Everything: Building Living Soil for Better Gardens
Why soil biology matters more than synthetic inputs: how organic matter builds water retention and plant germination for better harvests.
Tearing Down to Build Up on Our Off-Grid Homestead
31-minute walkthrough of off-grid renovations, stone wall work, bread oven restoration, and DIY drip irrigation setup with real-time troubleshooting of water pressure and tank issues.
3 Things Every Chicken Needs in Hot Weather
Learn three essential strategies to keep backyard chickens healthy, comfortable, and productive during summer heat.