Issue №14·LATE SPRING·MAY 2026 ✦ 32 field guides · 13 product reports

From the cover

Make your yard actually useful.

Practical guides and honest product reviews for growing food, keeping chickens, and making the most of your outdoor space. Researched in depth, written in plain English.

Browse the field guides → — Compiled May 2026

In this issue → Deep Pantry List: What to Actually Stock (and What to Skip) beginner · Moderate–High

Explore by Topic

16 field guides across 4 growing pillars

Preparedness & Self-Reliance

New

Storing food, keeping the power on, and securing clean water. Practical, tested ways to depend less on fragile supply chains and rising bills.

Food Storage

4 guides

Backup Power

4 guides

Water

4 guides

Section №02 ·The field notebook — Updated weekly

Latest guides.

Fresh field notes for small-property gardeners. New entries every week.

Food Storage

Deep Pantry List: What to Actually Stock (and What to Skip)

— By Tom Bennett · Burlington, Vermont · May 30

A real-world deep pantry list: the staples that earn their shelf space, quantities for one adult, what to skip, and how to rotate it all so nothing expires.

Read the guide →

№ 02

Freeze Drying vs Dehydrating vs Canning: Which Is Right for You?

— By Tom Bennett · May 30

A side by side comparison of freeze drying, dehydrating, and canning, with a clear recommendation for where most people should start.

beginner · Low–Major

beginner · Low–Major № 03

How Much Food to Store Per Person (and How Long It Lasts)

— By Tom Bennett · May 30

Calorie-based food storage math with per-person tables for 3-day through 1-year supplies, plus how much water to store and how to build up affordably.

beginner · Varies by tier

beginner · Varies by tier № 04

How Much Water to Store Per Person (and How Long It Lasts)

— By Tom Bennett · May 30

How much water to store per person, with per-person tables, the drinking and hygiene split, adjustments for kids, heat, pets, and how long stored water keeps.

beginner · Low–Moderate

beginner · Low–Moderate № 05

How to Filter Rainwater to Make It Safe to Drink

— By Tom Bennett · May 30

Rainwater off your roof is not safe to drink as collected. Here is the full multi-step process to filter and disinfect it properly for home or emergency use.

intermediate · Low–Moderate

intermediate · Low–Moderate № 06

How to Keep Your Fridge Running During a Power Outage

— By Tom Bennett · May 30

A practical guide to keeping your fridge cold when the power goes out, covering food safety timelines, real wattage numbers, and how to pick between a battery power station and a generator.

beginner · Moderate–Major

— Browse all 32 field guides →

Section №03 ·From the stack

More guides & editor picks.

Older issues

№ 07

How to Store Food Long-Term: The Complete Beginner's Guide

Food Storage · beginner · Low–High

№ 08

How to Store Water Long-Term Without It Going Bad

Water & Filtration · beginner · Low–Moderate

№ 09

Rain Barrels for a Small Yard: Setup, Legality, and Safe Use

Water & Filtration · beginner · Low–Moderate

№ 10

Small Home and Homestead Solar: A Beginner's Guide to Backup and Off-Grid Power

Backup Power · intermediate · Moderate–Major

№ 11

Well Pump Backup Power: Keeping Water Running When the Grid Goes Down

Backup Power · intermediate · Moderate–Major

№ 12

What Size Power Station Do I Need? (Watts, Watt-Hours, and Real Examples)

Backup Power · beginner · Moderate–Major

The editors' bookshelf

Tom Bennett recommends

— Burlington, Vermont

This week I'd start with the chicken coop guide. It's the one I wish I'd had when I was building ours — sizing, predator-proofing, and the small details that aren't obvious until you've cleaned a coop in February.

Sam Garrett recommends

— Asheville, North Carolina

The eighth-acre layout guide does the most work on this site. If you've never planned a small food garden, start there — every other Gardens piece builds on it.