beginner homesteading Archives - Homesteader DepotHomesteader Depot

The Best States for Homesteading

If you’re interested in homesteading – and we assume you are or you wouldn’t be here – you might be wondering where to start your homestead. It’s a good question. After all, some states are better suited to homesteading than others. You might already live in a state with a lot of homesteaders – or perhaps you live in a city and you want some advice about where to shop for a homesteading property. We’re here to help. There’s no one-size-fits-all answer, but we’ll run down our top picks and explain why we like them. Oregon Our first pick is […]

3 Basics for Starting Your Homestead

In our modern society, many of us dream of finding a way to get back to simpler times. We yearn for the days when people grew and preserved their own food and relied more on themselves and less on technology. If that sounds familiar, then you might want to start a homestead. Whether you already own a substantial tract of land out in the country or you’re renting a city apartment, there are things you can do right now to get things underway. Starting Small Do you live in a city or the suburbs? If so, you might not […]

Survivalist or Homesteader? (Video)

This is a great video from a popular homesteading and survivalism vlogger I really enjoy. He poses the questions: which will survive longer, a homesteader or a survivalist? Are they the same thing? Does one come before the other? I think this is a really great topic since, while homesteading and survivalism are not necessarily synonymous, there’s a lot of overlap. The ultimate goal of homesteading is self-reliance and independence, and survivalism is all about preparing for any number of scenarios in which you will not be able to rely on others to save or help you. If you’ve ever […]

The Reality of Homesteading: What No One Tells You

Homesteading is a noble pursuit, and we obviously strongly encourage everyone to try their hand at it! Growing your own food, raising livestock, and living off-grid are a wonderful way to enrich your life, get healthier, and truly embrace self-reliant living. But it’s not all puppies and sunshine! There are some harsh realities of homesteading that a lot of people won’t tell you. Here’s what you need to know if you want to face the music. You Will Make a Lot of Mistakes Homesteading is all about trial and error, and it is through these errors that you learn. It is just […]

Are You Ready for Livestock?

Raising livestock is one of the great appeals of homesteading. If you’ve just bought your own land or have plans to, or have considered raising goats or chickens in your backyard, you should be careful not to get too far ahead of yourself. The prospect of raising livestock is so appealing, the decision to dive into serious animal husbandry is no small consideration. Here are some important factors of making this big decision: Space Do you really have the room? A lot of animals need much more space than you’d think. Most animals simply won’t thrive if kept in a […]

Become a Better Homesteader Using These 4 Tips

When it comes to homesteading, there is no such thing as knowing too much or working too hard. Yet, many people want to get into this lifestyle without truly understanding what it means or by looking for shortcuts. Instead of trying to find the “easy” way to be a homesteader, you need to find ways that you can become a better homesteader. The life is not always easy, but it can be extremely rewarding. The following are a few tips that will help you to get into the right mindset and to make sure homesteading for the long haul is […]

5 Warnings for the New Homesteader

It might seem contradictory, but starting on the path to a “simpler” life can actually come with a lot of complications. In pursuit of all our hopes and visions for our homestead, we can become overwhelmed pretty quickly, or simply fail to anticipate common problems. Let me share with you a few key lessons I’ve learned over the years that will help to take the growing pains out of your homesteading journey! Realize that this lifestyle is “simple”, but it’s not easy. The best things in life come about as a result of plenty of hard work. If you’ve been […]

5 Mistakes First-Time Chicken Farmers Make

When it comes to homesteading of all kinds, trial and error is a great way to learn. However, when you’re raising animals like chickens, you probably want to reduce the possible mistakes you can make. If you’re considering starting your own chicken flock, you’ll want to do it right. We’ve got a list of five common mistakes people make when they first start keeping chickens to help you avoid making them yourself. 1. Not protecting against predators Like a fox in a hen house, many predators out there, depending on your region, will see your chickens as a delicious, juicy, […]

Dirt Cheap Foods for Homesteaders

Whether you’re an urban homesteader or full-blown, land-owning, farmer, you have probably come to a time in your life at some point in which you had to keep your budget tight. If you are saving up for land, land development, or simply trying to budget and spend in a smarter way, food is always one of the biggest expenses, and it can be hard to know how to cut back on food spending without going for less healthy, processed foods. Fortunately, there are many wonderfully healthy and nutritious foods out there that are not only good for you, they’re dirt […]

Money Saving Tips for Homesteaders

Homesteaders tend to like to save money, and they are always on the lookout for new and easy ways to keep a few extra dollars in their pocket. It isn’t because they are cheap; they are smart. They know that in many cases, they are throwing away good money on things that they could instead do themselves. Here are a few very simple tips that could help you to save some money as a homesteader. Take a moment to think about how much money you and your family spend on haircuts each year. Chances are, you spend several hundred dollars […]

Homesteading on a Budget

Many people spend a substantial amount of money on homesteading. They end up spending far more than they should on all the latest and greatest gear and equipment. While it might be nice to have all those things, you need to realize that it is certainly not necessary. Just because you do not have a lot of money, it does not mean that you can’t homestead. Think about it for a minute. The pioneers, the original homesteaders here, did not have a lot of money. They were self-sufficient, and that’s what you need to be as well. You can get […]

It’s OK to Make Mistakes Homesteading

Starting out with gardening, raising animals, or full-on homesteading can be very intimidating. There’s a lot of pressure to get it right, to come up with a good plan, choose the right crops, the right tools, the right animals, etc. And while we are very fortunate to live in a period of time in which we have a plethora of information at our fingertips, it also can set our sights pretty high, or make us feel like failures when we aren’t living off our own food and meat and still buying most of our groceries at Costco after the first […]

How Much Land Should You Get for Homesteading

If you want to live as a homesteader, you will probably be searching for some land that you can call your own. Of course, it is certainly possible to develop self-sufficient skills that do not require you to have a large homestead, or any land at all for that matter. Once you are ready to get some property though, you need to make sure you are getting the right land for how you plan to live as a homesteader. Many people have big plans and little knowledge when they decide that they want to homestead. They end up buying too […]

Realistic First-Year Homesteading Goals

If you are just starting out homesteading, planning for someday homestead, or trying your hand at urban homesteading, it’s it important to understand what is realistic to accomplish in your first year. Setting goals is a great way to plan for the long-term and motivate yourself towards completing a task, and knowing what’s possible in the first year of homesteading can help you set these goals. This isn’t by any means a list of everything you should do in a year, but rather, everything on this list is something you can feasibly get done in one year. Let’s begin! Grow herbs This […]

How to Cultivate the Homesteader Mindset

Let’s be honest. People like the simple things in life. They enjoy when things are nice and easy, and if given a choice between an easy path that leads to an average life and a more rigorous path that leads to true joy, people will take the easy path. They live the fast food lifestyle. Everything is instant. People gorge themselves on Netflix and never bother getting out and having real adventures any longer. They have forgotten how to do many simple things. It’s a shame. You do not have to live that way though, and since you are interested […]

Tips for Homesteading With Small Children

Homesteading with babies or toddlers can certainly seem intimidating, especially if you are off-grid in any way. Having babies and toddlers is intense enough in a house in the suburbs with running water and electricity; throw limited or no electricity and low-tech plumbing and that’s definitely many parent’s nightmares. While homesteading with small children can certainly be challenging, it’s definitely not impossible. Just think of all the pioneers and settlers throughout the ages that have raised their families under rough conditions. Here are a few simple tips to make raising little ones on the homestead slightly less intimidating: 1. Embrace […]

Getting the Kids Involved with Homesteading

If you have kids in the modern world, you probably know how quickly and easily they can become attached to electronic devices and the “easy” way of doing things. Of course, you can relate, as you are reading this on the Internet. However, you know how important it is for the kids to strike that balance. They can enjoy modern life, but they also need to learn some important skills that will last them a lifetime. The key to getting them interested with homesteading is to make it interesting for them. You can do this in many ways. Make the […]

Avoid Homesteading Mistakes

Whether you are new to homesteading, or you’ve been homesteading for years, you know there are always things you could do better and ways that you could improve. You also know that it is possible to make some costly mistakes if you aren’t careful. Let’s look at some of the biggest mistakes homesteaders make so you don’t fall victim to them. Not Having a Plan This is one of the biggest problems facing brand new homesteaders. They have the desire and they’ve started to acquire the skills, but they simply don’t take the time to put together an actual plan […]

Homesteading Myths-Busted! (Video)

Homesteading is hard work and takes experience, know-how, and sensibility. Homesteading has gotten very romanticized as of late, and a lot of people are diving in head-first with a lot of preconceived notions and misconceptions about homesteading. This is a great little video busting some of the common homesteading myths and explaining the reality of homesteading from a seasoned expert. If you liked this, you might also enjoy… Natural Healing Secrets You Can Master… Great Skills for Homesteaders to Have…

Great Farm Animals for Beginners

Everyone loves farm animals, and many people would love to raise them. But of course, while the benefits of raising livestock are many, it can be a bit intimidating at first to dive in head first to the wide world of animal husbandry. Here’s a few suggestions for easy farm animals that are perfect for beginners: Bees: Bees are a great option especially if you don’t have a lot of pasture or yard space. If you make sure bees are right for you, honey and beeswax harvests can be plentiful and they’ll provide wonderful support for your garden as well, after […]