The Texas Roots Almanac

Soil, propagation, pots, and the craft of keeping plants alive.

9 min · Growing & Soil

How to Test Your Soil (Without a Lab, and With One)

Your soil is the whole game. Here's how I read it by hand, what a real lab test tells you, and how to fix what…

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10 min · Growing & Soil

How to Clone Plants: Turning One Plant Into Ten

Cloning is just taking cuttings, and it's the cheapest way to multiply a garden. This is exactly how I propaga…

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7 min · Growing & Soil

Which Pots Are Best? Why I Grow in Organic Cloth

After years of trying everything, I grow most things in non-bleached cloth pots. Here's the honest rundown of …

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11 min · Growing & Soil

What Grows Best in My Area: A Texas Gulf Coast Planting Guide

Knowing your zone and your real seasons is worth more than any fancy technique. Here's how to figure out what …

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Acre plans, buying land, water, and building toward self-sufficiency.

13 min · Homestead & Land

The 1-Acre Homestead Plan: Feeding a Family on a Single Acre

One acre is enough to feed a family most of what they eat if you lay it out right. Here's a full zone-by-zone …

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10 min · Homestead & Land

The Half-Acre Homestead: Maximum Food in Minimum Space

You don't need acreage. On a half-acre — even a big suburban lot — you can grow serious food. Here's how I'd p…

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9 min · Homestead & Land

Best Use of Land Per Acre: Matching Plan to Property

The best use of an acre depends entirely on what you've got. Here's how I'd think through allocating land from…

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12 min · Homestead & Land

How to Buy Land: What I'd Check Before Signing Anything

Buying rural land is full of expensive surprises. Here's the checklist I'd walk through before buying any prop…

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Victory gardens, calorie crops, and growing through hard times.

14 min · Survival & Food Security

How to Grow a Survival Garden (a Modern Victory Garden)

In WWII, victory gardens grew 40% of America's produce. A survival garden is the same idea: growing real calor…

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9 min · Survival & Food Security

Food Preservation Basics: Keeping the Harvest

Growing food is only half of food security. If you can't store it, a glut in July does nothing for you in Janu…

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Chickens, small stock, and working animals into the system.

11 min · Animals & Livestock

Raising Backyard Chickens: The Beginner's Livestock

Chickens are the gateway livestock — eggs, meat, pest control, and fertilizer from a small space. Here's every…

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Catching water, closing loops, and running a farm that feeds itself.

10 min · Water, Energy & Systems

How to Capture Rainwater: Free Water From Your Roof

Every inch of rain on 1,000 square feet of roof is about 600 gallons of free water. Here's how to catch it, st…

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12 min · Water, Energy & Systems

How to Build a Self-Sustaining Farm: Closing the Loops

A truly self-sustaining farm is one where the outputs of each part feed the inputs of another. Here's how the …

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Fixing your own equipment and the right to do so.

10 min · Machinery & Repair

Farm Equipment Repair Basics: Fix It Yourself

Equipment always breaks at the worst time. Learning to diagnose and repair your own gear saves money and downt…

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9 min · Machinery & Repair

The Right to Repair for Farmers: Why It Matters

Modern farm equipment is increasingly locked down with software that prevents owners from fixing their own mac…

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Shared gardens, local rules, and growing with your neighbors.

12 min · Community & Zoning

How to Start a Community Garden in Your Town

A community garden turns vacant land and willing neighbors into food, friendship, and resilience. Here's the s…

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9 min · Community & Zoning

Understanding Zoning: What You're Allowed to Grow and Raise

Before you build that coop or roadside stand, know your local rules. Here's a plain-language guide to zoning, …

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