How we work

What this site is

The Homestead Shelf reviews products that get sold hard and reviewed badly. The homesteading and preparedness market is full of sales pages with countdown timers and review sites that simply restate them. We think there is room for something plainer: what is in the box, what the sales page underplays, and who should not buy it.

How we research

• We read the actual sales page and vendor documentation rather than summarising other reviews.
• We verify credentials against primary sources. When a product is sold on someone's expertise, we check that expertise — and where other sites have it wrong, we say so and show the correction.
• We separate what we tested from what we researched. If we have not used a product ourselves, the review says so in plain language on the page. We do not imply trials we did not run.
• We mark uncertainty as uncertainty. If a fact cannot be verified, we leave it out or label it unknown rather than guessing.

How we make money

Some links on this site are affiliate links. If you buy through one, we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. That is how the site is funded, and we disclose it at the top of every page that contains one.

What a commission does not do is change the assessment. Our reviews include the things that reduce sales — the species that are hard to grow, the year-long wait, the cheaper alternative — because a review that omits them is not worth reading. Read the full disclosure.

On herbs and health

Several products we cover involve plants with long traditional or folk histories. We write about that history because it is genuinely interesting and it explains why these species are grown together.

Traditional use is not clinical evidence. Nothing on this site is medical advice, and nothing here is intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any condition. Plants can interact with medications. Talk to a qualified healthcare provider before using any herbal preparation.

Corrections

If you find something inaccurate, tell us and we will fix it and note the change. Accuracy is the only real asset a site like this has. Get in touch.