Welcome and Thank You for Stopping By!
Since we're out amongst the crops weeding and such, we are CLOSED FOR SEED ORDERS (see FAQs). Look to late August / early September for resumption of orders for fall-planted grains.
Before you go, be sure to check our NEW! High Summer with Great Lakes Staple Seeds Bulletin for Seed Wisdom, Garden Skills, and Kitchen Inspiration
Free Resources for the Self-Reliant Gardener
Whether you're beginning or advancing your self-reliant lifestyle, these practical, printable resources are here to help.
Great Lakes Staple Seeds partners with Indiana seedsman John Sherck to offer a diverse selection of regionally adapted, open-pollinated, untreated seed, each one savable and grown with care. Our varieties are chosen for resilience, nutritional value, and compatibility with ecological growing systems. From our Michigan homestead and John’s Indiana farmstead, we use regenerative practices that build soil, preserve biodiversity, and promote lasting sustainability. We're honored to be part of your healthy, self-reliant lifestyle; thank you for planting with us!
We've got a new look! Our ecommerce theme expired a while ago so this change is past due. Please forgive any "messiness" during the transition. Also - please reach out if you find something "off".
A Self-reliant Homestead
Food For Thought
- Calorie Crops, Carbon Crops and Staple Crops - a treastise by John Sherck
- For a Healthier Planet Eat These 50 Foods
- How Much Do I Need to Grow - Sizing Your Plot to Meet Your Food Needs
- Scaling Up - How Many Seeds Do I Need for My Plot?
- Predictive Yields for Small-scale Staple Crop Production in North Central States using Common Homestead Equipment and Minimal Inputs
- Our Outreach Presentations in the Community
Utility Crops, Feed Crops, and Crops for Alcohol Production
Core Skills
Homestead food production, specifically the growing of staple crops, is a straightforward yet multi-tasked process that is based on a focused set of foundation skills. This series presents an analysis of the core skills we've found necessary for successful cultivation of staple crops on our southeast Michigan homestead.
A work in progress...
The Core Skills
Weeding
Threshing and Winnowing
Crushing, Rolling, Grinding and Sifting
Let's Eat!
A Collection of Recipes to Inspire Using and Enjoying your Homegrown Staple Crops
Please check in routinely as we will continue to add to this collection.
Have a favorite recipe? Please get in touch - we'd love to include it here!
Recipes without a link are coming soon...
You'll find more recipe ideas in our Digital Resources for Download Collection.
Bean Family:
Akara - Cowpea Fritters
Baked Moin-Moin
Bindaeduk Cho Kanjang Recipe - Korean Mung Bean Pancakes with Dipping Sauce
Crispy Fried Tofu Recipe - from The Simply Staples Chef, John Sherck
Farinata Recipe - Chickpea Skillet Pancake
Squash Family:
“OOWISSIMAU'N NO'KIYA "Pumpkin Dough" Recipe - A Potawatomi Recipe
Edna Stonecipher's Moonshine Pickle Recipe
Grains:
Buckwheat
Buckwheat Flour Chocolate Cake Recipe
Corn
Classic Homemade Caramel Kettle Corn Recipe
Wheat
Multi-crop:
Dosas - Fermented Lentil and Rice Crêpe Recipe
Complementary Crops:
Scott's Fried Green Tomato Recipe
Okra Marshmallow Treats Recipe - Katrina Blair's Marshmallow Delights