MONTH BY MONTH
Off-Grid Calendar: Monthly Homestead Checklists
Every month has its own jobs around an off-grid home. Pick temperate if you get four seasons and a cold winter, or the tropics if it is warm all year with a dry season and a rainy season. South of the equator the seasons are flipped, so read the month six months on: in April, read October.
Temperate climate
Four seasons, cold winters: most of Europe, North America and temperate Asia.
- JanuaryJanuary garden jobs and a homestead checklist for off-grid homes: a garden plan, fruit tree pruning, batteries in the cold, firewood and frozen pipes.
- FebruaryWhat to plant in February: onions, peppers and cabbage indoors, potatoes set to sprout, plus February garden jobs for seeds, tools, roof and water.
- MarchMarch garden jobs for an off-grid home: what to plant (peas, potatoes, onion sets), cutting back and pruning, clean panels, gutters and spreading compost.
- AprilApril garden jobs for an off-grid home: harden off and plant out, what to plant in April, catching spring rain, the well check and turning the compost.
- MayMay garden jobs for an off-grid home: what to plant in May, tomatoes and hanging baskets, strawberries, a full battery, full tanks and the septic.
- JuneJune garden jobs for an off-grid home: what to plant in June, early potatoes, deep watering, drip lines, mulch, thinning fruit and damp compost.
- JulyJuly garden jobs for an off-grid home: what to plant in July, picking and freezing berries, pruning canes, greywater, cool batteries and compost.
- AugustAugust garden jobs for an off-grid home: what to plant in August, safe canning, drying herbs and fruit, low wells, a fire-safe yard and reused jars.
- SeptemberSeptember garden jobs for an off-grid home: what to plant in September, digging and curing potatoes and squash, saving seeds, stacking firewood and blight.
- OctoberOctober garden jobs for an off-grid home: what to plant in October, harvest storage, cold battery care, the chimney sweep, frost-proof water and leaves.
- NovemberNovember garden jobs for an off-grid home: what to plant in November, fruit tree grease bands, loft insulation, draining outdoor taps and the root cellar.
- DecemberDecember garden jobs for an off-grid home: what to plant in December, stored fruit and vegetables, hot clean fires, CO alarms, frozen pipes and wood ash.
The tropics
Warm all year, a dry season and a rainy season.
- JanuaryWhat to plant in January in the tropics, plus the dry-season jobs: bank the sun, keep batteries cool, water at dawn and keep the compost damp.
- FebruaryYour tropical garden in February: what to plant in the dry season, how to stretch tank water, wash dusty panels, mulch the soil and feed the compost.
- MarchWhat to plant in March in the tropics, plus the late dry-season jobs: clean hot panels, ration water, rest at noon and keep flies off the compost.
- AprilWhat to plant in April in the tropics, from seedling trays to sweet potato cuttings, plus the roof, gutter, tank and generator jobs before the rains.
- MayWhat to plant in May in the tropics as the rainy season starts: corn, beans and sweet potatoes, plus filling tanks and stopping mosquitoes.
- JuneWhat to plant in June in the tropics: fast rainy-season greens in raised beds, plus the June jobs for battery, rainwater, storms and septic.
- JulyWhat to plant in July in the tropics: greens, eggplant, okra and sweet potatoes, plus weeding, tanks, drips and panel shade in a mid-season dry spell.
- AugustWhat to plant in August in the tropics: greens, okra, eggplant and sweet potatoes in well-drained beds, plus drains, floods, battery and typhoon prep.
- SeptemberWhat to plant in September in the tropics: yardlong beans, sweet corn and cucumbers, plus mould, river, flood and septic jobs for the wet season.
- OctoberWhat to plant in October in the tropics: cherry tomatoes, Chinese cabbage and watermelon, plus grain drying, tank, mosquito and storm jobs.
- NovemberWhat to plant in November in the tropics: cherry tomatoes, watermelon, beans and greens, plus sealing grain, rinsing dusty panels and a dry-season water plan.
- DecemberWhat to plant in December in the tropics: beans, sweet corn, cucumbers, Chinese cabbage, watermelon and tomatoes, plus solar, water and repair jobs.