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Everything on this page earns its spot the same way: we bought it, used it on this homestead, and would buy it again. Nothing is listed because it pays well; plenty of things that pay well aren’t listed. The page grows as posts publish – when a build or a Field Report says “what I used,” it lands here, grouped by category below.
Automations & farm tech
Omlet Autodoor – opens and closes the coop on a schedule; the piece that actually gives us mornings back. Omlet Waterer and Omlet Feeder – keep the flock fed and watered without a daily trip. All three run the duck side of this place; the full story is in Automating Duck Care. Buying in this order for your own setup? Start with The Farm Tech Starter Stack.
Tools & workshop
This section grows as builds publish and the “what I used” lists accumulate.
Where we buy plants
Stark Bro’s – a large share of the orchard came from here. Etsy – for oddities like walking onion bulbils; sellers rotate, so search and check recent reviews.
Books
Food forest and permaculture design: Edible Forest Gardens Vol. 1 and 2 (Jacke and Toensmeier) – the deep theory. Paradise Lot (Toensmeier) – proof it works on small ground. The Resilient Farm and Homestead (Falk) – whole-systems thinking we reference constantly. Introduction to Permaculture (Mollison) – start here before the Designers’ Manual.
Growing, soil, and season extension: The Living Soil Handbook (Frost). The New Organic Grower and Four-Season Harvest (Coleman). Perennial Vegetables (Toensmeier) – the book that started the walking onion situation. The Seed Garden (Seed Savers Exchange).
Homestead skills and livestock: The Backyard Homestead (Madigan). Pastured Poultry Profits (Salatin). Root Cellaring (Bubel). Homestead Builds (Rhodes and Slattery).
The systems shelf: Building a Second Brain (Forte) – not a garden book, but it’s why the orchard has a database.
Education & informative sites
permies.com – the permaculture community we lurk on more than we post on; deep, opinionated, and worth the scroll. Miracle Farm – orchard videos that shaped a lot of how we think about our own layout.