Welcome to Texas Homesteading

Gulf Coast Oil Spill Crisis How to help with the Mississippi Canyon 252  Deepwater Horizon Well leak off the Gulf Coast.	Ray Family Modern Homestead BLOG Join our family to see day to day modern homestead life. Hopefully you can watch us grow as a family as we go through the journey as Texas Homesteaders.	Preserving, Jams, Jellies and Drying Tips and techniques for preserving food by canning and drying.
Useful Texas Maps Texas Wine Growing Region Map	Buying Land in Texas Tips and tricks we have found with our search to purchase land for our homestead, or the "farm" as I like to call it. There is a lot more to consider than just the cost per acre.	Growing Fruits, Berries and Nuts Information about which cultivars grow best in North Texas, when to plant bare root or containerized cultivars, how to harvest fruit, berries, and nuts, growing tips and more.
Vermacomposting Ever wanted to know how to compost with red wigglers. I have always liked worms so this was something we just had to try.	Texas Wine Growing and Wine Making Texas Wine Grape Network- An AgriLifeExtension (Texas A&M) and Texas Tech University website- provides information about growing grapes, wine making, research, weather, educational opportunities, Texas prospective wine grower workshops, supplier lists, and viniculture job postings. Growing grapes in Collin County-Texoma Wine Growing Region	Designing your homestead How to estimate home remodeling. How to hire home remodeling contractors. Building a greenhouse or sunroom addition.  Home remodeling Plans.

Free Texas Resource Guides

You can never do too much research or try to be too prepared.  Sometimes its difficult to find reliable Texas specific information for homesteaders, small farmers and sustainable living.  So as we find new resources we will post them here.  Most of the "guides" are web based so you do not need any special software to read them.

Growing Fruits, Vegetables, Nuts, Grains in Texas Guides

Texas Vegetable Crop Guide-includes information about Asparagus, Bean: Green/Snap, Bean: Pinto, Beet, Broccoli, Cabbage, Cabbage: Chinese, Cantaloupe/Muskmelon,Carrot, Cauliflower, Celery, Cilantro, Collards/Kale, Cucumber (Pickling), Cucumber (Slicing), Eggplant, Garlic, Honey Dew
Kohlrabi, Lettuce,Mustard Greens, Okra, Onion, Parsley, Pepper: Bell, Pepper: Jalapeno,Potato, Pumpkin, Radish, Southern Pea (Cowpea), Spinach,
Spinach (Processing), Squash, Sweet Corn, Sweet Potato, Swiss Chard, Tomato, Turnip Greens, Turnip Roots, Watermelon, Watermelon: Seedless
Suggested Varieties for Texas, Water Requirements.

Texas AG Pesticides Crop Briefs-Cantaloupe, Corn, Onion, Rice, Carrots, Cotton, Peanuts, Sugarcane, Citrus, Grain Sorghum, Pumpkin, Watermelon, Wheat.

The Crops of Texas- published originally as Department of Soil and Crop Sciences Technical Report SCS-2005-01-by Drs. Dudley T. Smith and Juan L. Anciso. Includes: Forward and Acknowledgements, Introduction,
Highlights and Overview, Root and Tuber Crops, Bulb Crops, Beans and Vegetable Legumes, Brassica/Cole Crops,Leafy Greens and Petioles,
Fruiting Vegetables, Cucurbits/Melon Crops, Citrus and Subtropical Tree Crops, Tree Fruit Crops, Berry and Nut Crops, Grains, Fiber and Oilseed Crops, Forage Grasses, Forage Legumes, Herbs and Spices, Miscellaneous Food Crops, Non-food Crops, Commercial Seed Production, Green Industries,
Appendices -Appendix 1 - Geographic Regions, Appendix 2 - Crop Pollination,
Appendix 3 - Fertilization, Appendix 4 - Pesticide Application, Appendix 5 - Health Benefits, Appendix 6 - References, Appendix 7 - Contributors.

Growing Specialty Vegetables in Texas-Amaranths(Chinese Spinach), Celeriac (Celery Root), Chayote, Chinese Beans (Yard-long, Adzuka, Fava), Chinese Cabbage (Pe-tsai or Won Bok or Nappa), Chinese Mustard (Bok Choy, Pak Choi), Chinese Kale (Kailaan), Chinese Okra (Dishcloth Gourd, Luffa), Radish
(Daikon), Cilantro (Chinese Parsley, Coriander), Edible Flowers, Edible Podded Peas (Snow Peas and Sugar Snaps), Edible Soybeans, Japanese Eggplant, Endive, (Chicory and Witloof Chicory), Ginger, Globe Artichoke, Horseradish, Jerusalem Artichoke Jicama (Yam Bean, Mexican Turnip), Kohlrabi, Leeks, Melons (Bitter Melon, Casaba, Crenshaw, Winter Melon), Mushrooms (Enoki, Pleurotus, Shiitake), Parsnips, Pigeon Peas, Rhubarb,
Rutabaga, Salsify, Shallots, Spaghetti Squash, Taro, Tomatillo.

Commercial vegetable Growers Handbook- Texas Agricultural Extension Service

Texas Commercial Organic Vegetable Production Guide-
(BIG or SMALL - Things you should know for success)
By Frank J. Dainello, Extension Horticulturist- Commercial Vegetable Crops, Department of Horticultural Sciences, Texas A&M University.
Includes: Introduction, Key Factors in Vegetable Production, Certification, Organic Certified Requirements, Organic Crop Production Requirements,
Managing Pests, Summary, Useful Sources for Information, Appendix of Useful Tables, Literature Cited.

A Guide to Marketing Organic Produce -
Includes: Introduction, Marketing Alternatives for Texas Organic Fruit and Vegetable Growers, Market Characteristics, Organic Certification, ORGANIC STANDARDS AND CERTIFICATION, Texas Admin. Code, Title 4, Part I, Chapter 18., Planning Procedures for Marketing Organic Fruit and Vegetables
Information Sources.
Prepared by Charles Hall, Extension Economist Horticultural Marketing
Richard Edwards, Extension Economist Agribusiness
Jeff Johnson, Project Assistant

Harvesting and Handling Vegetables- online guide provides information about lots of different vegetables grown in Texas and when and how to harvest them.

Food Processing in Texas Guides- Food manufacturing in Texas Guides

Food Processing Information- Trying to make yourself or have your family products or recipes made and sold.

Selling Food Products- A business from your home guide (PDF)

Considerations Before Starting A Small Food-Processing Business
Guide by Mississippi State University Extension Service.

From a Chef's Kitchen to the Frozen Food Aisle - Business Week Article.