What homesteading or gardening things do you wish for this Christmas?
Yes, that time of year is fast approaching!
I was doing some thinking and wondering about unique gifts in the farming/homesteading/gardening/self sufficiency/etc. categories. I am interested in sources not only from my country, but also beyond...thinking outside of the box.
So, what are your favorite companies to order from in your country in each of these categories?
Is there any international company that you would like to try something from but have never bought from?
What are some useful items that you are desiring (maybe that you haven't had before or even want to replace)?
Do you know of a private maker (say on Etsy, for example) that you admire that creates things in these categories?
Do you have a link? Don't forget the links!
Are there any related book titles or games(?) that you are salivating over? haha
I am looking for ideas for adults and children alike.
Lets keep this on topic. Thanks!
Comments
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Everything I would like to get is probably too expensive to be a gift outside immediate family. :-)
The items I'd most like would be an All-American pressure canner and a portable 1500W commercial electric burner to use with it, since my glass top stove is not designed for pressure canning.
I've been researching portable electric burners, and the Cadco PCR-1S Professional (about $130 - $140 on Amazon US) has been recommended by some sources as a heat source for pressure canning. The burner might be a good gift.
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@LaurieLovesLearning I would LOVE a dehydrator!!! (and some good links)
As far as everyone else, I'll have to start thinking about that!! lol (Thanks for the reminder)
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@water2world Owning a full stainless steel Excalibur is a dream of mine.
I have been wondering about these newfangled freeze dryers some of you have talked about, but that also looks way out of my price range.
Now, I plan to get the Wildcraft! game created by Learning Herbs/John Gallagher, this year once it goes on sale. Not only for the kids, but also kind of selfishly for me too.
I also have a few foraging (for my region) & herbal books in mind.
I am tempted to check out some homesteading supply places as well. I like to find unique items at those places. We found some of these stainless 3 gal. containers (second picture) at a place called Uncle Wieners. They were a bit pricey, but we figure they should last a long time. We bought two. One has white flour, which we don't buy often, and this one holds white sugar. Over time, we hope to get more to put some staple ingredients in so that we can cut down on breakable jars & plastic pails. We also really like our stainless 1 gal. milk jugs (1st picture). They are awesome.
I was just thinking. What I really want this year is a soapstone bedwarmers.
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@LaurieLovesLearning Loved reading your links while I have my feet propped up in front of a heater!
WOW, what a difference in price! lol I have now added a soapstone bed warmer to my list!!!
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My favorite site to buy seeds from is trueleafmarket.com. I am a beginner/ newbie homesteader with limited space, so a tiered planter is something that would be on my wish list. Or something that I can keep in a windowsill. Also, I would love to get my kids interested and involved, so any ideas for them would be great =]
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Welcome to TGN's forum @Elly Clement.
When you get a chance, we have an Introductions section where you might be able to connect with others in your general area. Let us know what your growing zone is.
And, if you haven't already seen it, there is also our "Front Porch Welcome" section.
@LaurieLovesLearning (and others) have started several posts with lots of info about resources for kids in the Growing Resiliant Kids in the Personal Journals category; games, books, educational resources, etc.
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I always want more seeds ( I can never be disappointed in that gift lol)! Plus when I plant them it is kind of like re-gifting myself more seeds + the food! I also want the Egyptian Walking stick onion (on rareseeds.com).
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Garden scissors or pruning scissors! Sooner or later they all break, or get lost 😉 so I am always glad when I get a new pair.
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@LaurieLovesLearning it’s always interesting to find out what different countries have on offer. I’ll try to include some that I use. Remembering that dried herbs and some seeds are not always easy/ illegal to purchase from overseas.
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@JodieDownUnder You are correct, but it can still be fun to see what other countries have. Also, most gardening supply places sell more than seeds. 😉
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Two favourite companies for unique gifts:
Berry Hill Ltd. This company has all things for homesteading. Great place to find non-electric equipment.
Lee Valley Tools. This company has some really high quality tools for a variety of woodworking projects but also has kitchen equipment & gadgets, gardening tools, books, toys & games, etc.
I can't get the website to load properly here but you can just type in Lee Valley Tools into your browser and it will get you to a link for the home page.
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I was looking at one of @JodieDownUnder's seed company links. There was a propagation station that I really liked there. I didn't even know they were a thing! I generally use whatever extra jar/cup/container I have on hand for this purpose. I think that the globular ones are the most beautiful and would be beautiful as a table centerpiece vase if you weren't propagating anything. I ended up looking on Etsy Canada for a maker/reseller and found some similar ones.
@Merin Porter a few choices of propagating stations could be really cool to have in the store. TGN's label could easily be woodburned/branded into some of these too. Could a member make these, I wonder? They look simple enough.
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I agree that Lee Valley Tools is a great place to find a wide variety of interesting & useful products. I've been in one of their stores only about 3 times and it is a fascinating place.
I checked the link below. It works even though it appears that it might not.
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I forgot grow lights. That way I could grow more inside over the winter!
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@Cornelius I am looking into that myself! I have a space that I could have a shelf installed and put up a light. It is an odd space in a way, being under an upper china cabinet. The space has an old wooden desk and a buffet both back to back underneath, helping to divide our kitchen & dining room. There is an old florescent underneath, which we don't use.
I figure that space could be perfect for growing fresh herbs and would be pretty handy, considering. And as you well know, you can never have too many plants with a purpose, especially indoors!
I started a thread about it recently if you want to see a picture of the space.
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I ordered my garlic and strawberries from this company this year and they were beautiful when they arrived. They have a full line of garden tools also - made in the US - though I have not tried them yet.
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This is the best! I loved reading all of these. There are so many that I too would love and so many that I have already been blessed with. I am planning to get more homeopathy for myself/ family and a popular mechanics subscription for my older homeschooled kids. My husband said that would be good for them. It has so much more than just mechanics.
I've been thinking of getting stuff to add to or upgrade the kids buggout bags for their Christmas gifts.
The other things I'm looking at are non electric tools for working around the farm.
Sorry, I don't have links because it's more generic things I'm looking at.
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Another thing I've considered are high quality garden tools, like the ones available at easydigging.com.
We have a basic short-handled shovel, soil rake, and a basic hoe, but getting really solidly built, long-lasting hand tools would be a good investment. Most of what we have now I inherited, not bought.
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I have a list that I am slowly working on but I think the main one for this year is a new freezer.
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@Lisa K We also could use another.
We tried to go through & empty our many freezers for incoming meat and it is hard! All the berries are now concentated into sugar syrups (and my carpal tunnel is now horrible as a result), but that saved only a little space. We were able to eat some food, but honestly, those freezers are packed with current & good food we will be needing until everything produces once again.
We are also wondering how to fit the usual holiday baking in.🤷♀️ I guess we will see how that goes. I suspect that we will most likely eat most of it as we make it.😋 I will try to stash a little away for the big events of Christmas Eve, Christmas and New Years.
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@LaurieLovesLearning I actually cleaned out the garage and tried to buy or at least order one last year but no one had any since most of the major brands come from China. So going to try again this year!
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I'd like a camp stove, dual fuel or butane. And an air rifle.
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Heirloom and open pollinated seeds are always welcome. I get most of ours from https://sowtrueseed.com/
https://www.rareseeds.com/ or https://www.johnnyseeds.com/
I would love some good garden tools instead of all the cheap stuff we currently have. Have a hard time finding locally sold good ones that I can afford if I can find them.
We just bought a new freezer. Would love to have a freeze drier but would have to get electricity first. We are off grid at this point, but considering saving up to get electric, hopefully in the spring if we can save enough by then.
Would love to be able to have time and money for more herbal studies and homeopathic studies. As well as purchasing the homeopathic remedies and the herbs and wild things I cannot grow here.
A good stove that can handle more than one of my All American canners at the same time would be fantastic. On a much larger and expensive scale... a small tractor with a bucket for moving dirt and compost (and many other things) on the property.
Even a helping hand to get a space cleared and raised beds built for a big garden would be great. We both have been staying so busy that most of our gardening has been done in temporary areas.
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@vickeym You have an awesome list. I really like it. 😄
I find it interesting that you want electricity and lots here want to go off grid (some with some exceptions). I know off grid is very difficult. I'd be one that would want somewhat of a mix or something to keep some things easier.
It would be great if we could all converge on your space & fix it up for/with you! If only that was a possibility. It could be a lot of fun!
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I think most people who currently live on the grid and dream of going off it don't realize just difficult it will be. There's a reason why the grid has been extended onward through most rural areas of first world nations.
Going off-grid means either a radical lifestyle change that requires a lot more work and a lot less convenience, or an expensive and complex system to provide your own electricity in the quantities that the grid supplies.
Personally, I would never return to a nineteenth century lifestyle if I had any choice in the matter. And I doubt I could afford a private electrical system that could keep my house running!
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@vickeym a freeze dryer is also one of the things on my list but probably next year, also next year will probably be a pressure canner.
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I'm kind of thinking about an insta-pot. Or a stainless steel pressure cooker. The last pressure cooker I had was aluminum so I got rid of it years ago. But I really did like using it.
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Originally wasn't going to get an instapot, but found a brand new one in a thrift store. Best $20 I have spent in a long time. It's gets a lot of use.
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@water2world I recommend the excalibur dehydrator. It's an investment but for me has been well worth it. I've had mine over 20 years, never had any problems with it and it still works as well as when I got it.
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The Herbal Academy just posted a list of 15 gifts to give this year. Some are their promotional merchandise items and books but there are a couple of goodies.
A wooden herb stripper. That looks like something I could use. But I'm going to send a pic to my daughter who loves doing wood work and see if she can make one for me.
Bath salts. Not for me, cause I usually prefer showers but this is one I will make as a gift for a friend.
The eye pillow would make a great homemade gift, too. There are days when I would use this.
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