About
Welcome to Earth, Nails & Tails. My name is Phil and I am a backyard homesteader. I live on 1/3 of an acre in southeastern Virginia where I have a 1000 sqft Garden, 10 chickens, and an ever expanding collection of plants, fruits, and vegetables. I am a self taught gardener and chicken owner who had aspirations of becoming more self sufficient and sustainable. I absolutely love gardening for the chance to be outdoors but the pride of creating things for myself and providing nourishing food for myself, my family and friends just hits home. There is nothing sweeter than fresh vegetables from the garden!
I am a gardener that utilizes in ground and above ground beds and pots to maximize my production and efficiency. The name of the game on my plot is biodiversity. I have a variety of plants to attract a large range of insects and animals to help keep the garden healthy. I use NO pesticides or herbicides, only natural fertilizers, locally bought organic compost and compost that is made on site.
I consider myself a jack of all trades and I have a voracious appetite for learning. I am an engineer by trade and I apply various techniques and skills that I have learned over my career into my gardening methods. I test and retest until I find the best results. I want to find the best and most efficient methods for growing vegetables and maintaining the garden while still having fun! I love to build things around my property to keep myself engaged but I also build these things for the value they provide in homesteading efficiency. Being a homesteader is really a balanced mix of agriculture, livestock and DIY.
GIY, RIY, and DIY! (Grow it yourself, Raise it yourself, Do it yourself)
I have created Earth, Nails & Tails to bring you on my journey of learning how to become the best gardener and backyard homesteader I can be and show you how you can implement these methods in your own lives. I strongly believe that everyone should have the knowledge to grow their own healthy and delicious foods without dependance on grocery stores. I want to help you create your own food freedom!
The benefits of having a garden are seemingly endless, but here are the ones I truly believe in
- Being outside in mother nature
- Continued learning on a topic that truly matters, everyone has to eat!
- Create something from your own two hands
- Minimize your dependance on grocery stores
- Minimize waste from big business
- Creating your own sustainable life cycles with agriculture and live stock
- Knowing where your food is coming from and everything that has went into it
- Feeding your family fresh, nourishing food
I can go on and on but these are the main reasons that I feel so passionate about gardening.
Now don’t get me wrong, gardening is no simple task and it is sure not a set it and forget it kind of life style. However, once you master one crop you will be able to start growing the next one with even more confidence and success! But what are you so nervous for? Don’t worry, we are here to show anyone how they can become a successful gardener with some time, patience and lots of motivation!
Our site has various methods of learning and provides a little something for everyone. For those that like to read, watch, or create.
Most of our information on gardening will come from how to videos that you will be able to find on our YouTube channel.
You can also follow us on Instagram for the latest content around the homestead and see what’s coming in the future.
Check out our projects page to find various builds that we have completed around the homestead and even Free DIY plans for some of the projects. Always more in the works!
And read our monthly blog post, Whats Pekin’ for tips on raising chickens.
We truly hope that you can find what you are looking for here at Earth, Nails & Tails and if you ever have any comments, questions or recommendations feel free to reach out to us HERE.
Now, lets build and grow together!
