Hobby Farms Magazine - January - February 2025

In this issue

Free-Range Gardeners
Get your chickens to work in the garden.
by Amy Grisak

Winter Survival
Keep land, animals and yourself in good shape.
by Jesse Frost

Cut Flower Farming
Brush up on these key things for successful selling.
by Austin Graf

FREE-RANGE GARDENERS

Put away the rototiller and get more nutritious eggs by allowing your chickens to work in the garden.

3 mins

Mustard Greens

I’ll be honest right from the start: I’m writing this column to myself. That means I’m not approaching the topic as “you should be growing mustard greens,” but rather, “why wasn’t I growing mustard greens until now?”

2 mins

Barn Improvements

Days are never long enough for a farmer. From dawn to well into the night, tasks arise that often require immediate action. Having to search for tools or equipment is an enormous time waster and incredibly frustrating when you can't find what you need, especially when you know you have it.

3 mins

Year-Round Lettuce & Salad Mixes

It's easy to think of salad greens as just a spring- or fall-garden crop, but it's possible to enjoy freshly harvested lettuces, mustards and more from your own garden year-round.

6 mins

Soil Conservation

Often, outside of having a specific problem that needs to be addressed, soil conservation isn't something every farmer readily thinks about. Yet conserving the soil should be at or near the top of every farmer owner or manager's list of concerns because absent the prevention of soil erosion, we have the opportunity for another dust bowl.

4 mins

Preconditioning CALVES

Follow our step-by-step guide to get more money for your calves.

7 mins

FARMER'S GUIDE Berries

Set the stage for tasty strawberries, blueberries and brambles with these soil-boosting garden tips.

6 mins

COVERAGE CONCERNS

Avoid common insurance mistakes for rural and hobby farm businesses.

7 mins

WINTER Survival

Keep your land, animals and yourself in good shape this winter with this helpful advice.

5 mins

CUT FLOWER Farming

If you're considering growing flowers for sale, brush up on these five key things to know before diving in.

3 mins

LIVESTOCK Health

Prepare yourself for how to spot symptoms of illness in your farm animals so that you can get them help before it's too late.

6 mins

The RISE of Opportunist WEEDS

Be prepared to see increasing changes in weeds we fight, such as poison hemlock and poison ivy, and in the crops we grow.

3 mins

Read all stories from Hobby Farms

Hobby Farms Magazine Description:

Whether for sustainability or profitability, Hobby Farms celebrates the challenges and accomplishments of creating and maintaining a successful low-acreage farm, garden or orchard.
Hobby Farms magazine helps readers realize their farming goals with expert articles on subjects such as livestock husbandry, sustainable agriculture, equipment purchasing, irrigation, pest control, new technologies, and more. Hobby Farms also addresses core information for newcomers and advanced how-to information for seasoned farmers.
With well-executed articles and photos, Hobby Farms embraces the growing population segment returning to farm life in search of self-sustainability.