About Wild Hearth Life
The story behind the blog, the garden, and the homestead dream.
Hi, I’m Anthony. Welcome to Wild Hearth Life!
Welcome to Wild Hearth Life! I started this blog because I believe that anyone can live a more intentional, connected life, even if you are working with a small backyard, a busy schedule, and zero farming experience.
What began as a tiny herb garden on my back porch grew into a full vegetable garden, then chickens showed up, then the canning jars multiplied, and before I knew it, I was living a version of the homestead life I had always dreamed about, right in my own backyard.
What You’ll Find Here
Wild Hearth Life is where I share everything I am learning along the way, the successes, the failures, and all the messy, beautiful stuff in between. You will find practical guides on gardening, raising backyard chickens, preserving food, simple DIY projects, and creating a home that feels warm and welcoming.
I believe in keeping things real. I am not a professional farmer, but after years of hands-on experience, growing vegetables across multiple USDA zones, raising a small flock of backyard chickens, canning hundreds of jars of preserves, and building garden beds from scratch. I have learned what actually works and what does not. I have made every beginner mistake in the book so you do not have to. With over 140 published guides on this site, I share the practical, tested advice I wish I had when I started.
The Wild Hearth Philosophy
Start Where You Are
You do not need 40 acres to start homesteading. A windowsill herb garden counts. A single tomato plant counts. Just start.
Progress Over Perfection
My garden is not Instagram-perfect, and that is okay. What matters is that you are growing, learning, and enjoying the process.
Slow Down
In a world that is always rushing, there is something radical about choosing the slow way, growing from seed, making by hand, sitting on the porch.
A Little More About Where I Garden
My family lives on a small property in Exeter, Rhode Island, which sits on the line between USDA zone 6b and zone 7a. Last frost lands somewhere around May 10 most years, first frost around October 15, and we get roughly 150 frost-free growing days. I share that detail because zone shapes everything. The seed varieties I recommend, the canning calendar I follow, the timing of every garden task on this site is tuned to that climate. If you are gardening in Florida or Minnesota, the principles still translate, but the dates need to slide.
I am married, with two kids, and the homestead is genuinely a family operation. My wife runs the herb garden and most of the kitchen preservation. The kids handle chicken chores and pick the strawberries (and eat half of them on the way to the kitchen). We grow vegetables in raised beds and a larger in-ground plot, plus berry canes, dwarf fruit trees, and a year-round herb spiral by the back door. Our flock is twelve Rhode Island Reds we have raised from chicks since 2016. They free-range the back acre most days. We put up hundreds of jars of preserves a season, mostly tomato sauce, salsa, jam, pickles, and applesauce.
What I’m Not
I am not a master gardener with a horticulture degree. I am not a certified food safety instructor. I am not a veterinarian. When you read a guide here on canning low-acid vegetables, I cite the National Center for Home Food Preservation. When you read a guide on chicken health, I name the specific symptoms I am seeing and link to extension service resources for the actual diagnosis. The reason for that is simple: I want every reader to leave with the right answer, not just my answer. So you will find a lot of “here’s what worked for me, and here’s the official guidance to verify it against.”
Every guide is something I have actually done. If a recipe says “this jam takes 30 minutes from picking to processed,” I picked it, weighed it, made it, and watched the timer. If a guide says “raised beds eight feet long and four feet wide,” I built one. The site has over 170 guides at this point, and they are all written from the same angle: this is what I tried, this is what worked, this is what I learned, this is what I would change. No fluff, no theory beyond what is needed.
Let’s Connect
I love hearing from readers! Whether you have a question, a suggestion, or just want to say hi, you can reach me at hello@wildhearthlife.com. You can also find me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook.
If you are new here, the Start Here page is the best place to begin. And if you want weekly homestead inspiration delivered to your inbox, join the email list. I would love to have you along for the ride.
Thanks for stopping by Wild Hearth Life. Now let’s go grow something together.