

Pioneering Today Podcast - Homesteading in a Modern World
Melissa K Norris
Pioneering Today is all about getting back to basics, simple living, and self-sufficiency with old-fashioned skills and wisdom in a modern world. With heirloom gardening, canning, preserving the harvest, from scratch cooking, raising your own food, including livestock (backyard chickens, pigs, and cattle), natural medicine, herbs, DIY like soap making along with living a simple self-sufficient life, no matter where you live. Hosted by 5th generation homesteader, Melissa K. Norris, author of The Made-from-Scratch Life. This podcast brings you the conversation from MelissaKNorris.com and The Pioneering Today Academy, with Q&A's, teaching, tutorials, and always giving you practical ways and tips to live the simple and self-sufficient life.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jan 31, 2020 • 37min
Herbal Medicinal Tea Guide How to Make & Blend Your Own
Using herbs medicinally isn't something I was raised with, but over the years, I turn to my natural medicine cabinet first but one needs to understand how to brew a medicinal cup of tea differently than just a regular cup of tea. Learn choosing the correct herb, medicinal herb sourcing, how to brew your tea medicinally & growing your own. Resources & links https://melissaknorris.com/236 Get on the waitlist for the Pioneering Today Academy https://melissaknorris.com/waitlist

Jan 29, 2020 • 18min
Best Location for a Vegetable Garden - Choose the Best Position
Picking the best location for a vegetable garden, herbs, or fruit trees depends on your growing climate and land. I walk you through the steps I take when putting in any new plants, beds, or moving ones that haven't been thriving so you can choose the best position for your garden with the 4 basic microclimates every yard has and how to identify microzones easily in the winter months. Resources at https://melissaknorris.com/235 Get the Family Garden Plan for step-by-step planning, growing and harvesting a year's worth of food http://familygardenplan.com

Jan 24, 2020 • 58min
Breeding Chickens Naturally: Selective Breeding for Eggs & Chicks for a Homestead Income
Breeding chickens naturally using selective breeding for eggs and chicks, either to build up your own flock or to create a homestead income from your chickens. What you need to know about heritage breeds, picking a breeder, where to get started with your flock, and how to create your breeding plan, either for your own flock or business, with best tips for pricing, shipping and more! Get links here https://melissaknorris.com/234 The Pioneering Today Academy only opens for new members a few times a year, get on the waitlist for exclusive goodies https://melissaknorris.com/waitlist

Jan 22, 2020 • 23min
Easy Crop Rotation in the Garden Based on Plant Families
Crop rotation is one of the easiest ways to make a big difference in your garden's health and decreasing disease, but people often get confused on how to implement it. I walk you through the 4 main vegetable families so you can easily use crop rotation either yearly or seasonal, based on your garden space and crops. Resources for today's episode https://melissaknorris.com/234 Get on the waitlist for the Pioneering Today Academy https://melissaknorris.com/waitlist

Jan 17, 2020 • 43min
No Till Gardening benefit's & Getting Started + Growing Tomatoes in Containers
Learn how to get started with no till gardening (including the pro's to this method) with Jo Lamp'l. Why you should consider no till gardening methods for healthier soil, including less weeds, and easy tips to transition existing beds to this method. Plus, excellent tips on growing tomatoes in containers successfully including some fun new varieties and how to use these tips for other container plants. Resources and links https://melissaknorris.com/232 Your step-by-step tutorial to raising a year's worth of food The Family Garden Plan http://familygardenplan.com

Jan 15, 2020 • 27min
How to Plan Your Homestead Year with Budget & Time Restrictions
I share how we plan our homestead year based on what we need to produce from the homestead and how that works into the calendar year. How we evaluate what and how much to raise for meat and adding in or adjusting infrastructure to make sure that happens, including how we phase things when budget and time is an issue. Links and resources at https://melissaknorris.com/231 my step-by-step plan and guide for raising a year's worth of vegetables & fruit in The Family Garden Plan http://familygardenplan.com

Jan 10, 2020 • 24min
How Many Fruit & Berry Plants Per Person Do You Need for a Year's Worth of Food
Just how many fruit and berry plants do you need to grow a year's worth per person in your family? I break down how many fruit and berry plants we have per person, how to choose which options are best for you based on your climate and space, and average yield amounts. Get the chart and info in the blog post at https://melisskanorris.com/230 and snag your copy + bonuses of The Family Garden Plan http://familygardenplan.com to grow a year's worth of food for you family

Jan 9, 2020 • 30min
List of Heirloom Varieties to Grow in the Garden This Year
The exact list of heirloom varieties I grow in our garden each year. These are my tried and true must-have every year. I also share how much of each variety I plant to take us through an entire year. Get The Family Garden Plan for all the resources and charts to help you grow a year's worth of food here http://familygardenplan.com/ for the written list visit the blog post at https://melissaknorris.com/229

Jan 3, 2020 • 27min
Where I Buy Heirloom Seeds & Why You Should Use Heirloom Seeds Too
Find out where I buy heirloom seeds and why you should be using some heirloom seeds in your garden if you're not. I also break down the difference in heirloom, hybrid and what GMO means for backyard gardeners as I still see a lot of WRONG info on what GMO seeds actually are. Grab my favorite sources and get your garden planning going with me! Resources & links at https://melissaknorris.com/28 Grow your best garden ever this year with less work and higher yield with the Family Garden Plan http://familygardenplan.com

Jan 1, 2020 • 22min
Seed Packet Information - How to Read Seed Packets for Gardening Success
Learn how to read seed packet information to help you pick the best varieties for your garden. What you must know about days to harvest and germination, spacing, and descriptions that turn in to your secret weapon to growing more food for your family in the same amount of space! For links and resources go to https://melissaknorris.com/227 get signed up for the free worksheets and charts in the garden planning challenge https://melissaknorris.com/mybestgarden


