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What Is Urban Homesteading?

When most people think of homesteading, they consider a farm on vast tracts of land in a very rural setting. Most people believe that homesteading will require a couple of acres, but that’s not the case. Many who live in rural areas and homestead, can do it on relatively little land, so long as they are smart with their space. In fact, many people who live in cities have even started homesteading. Whether they live in the suburbs or the concrete jungle, there are things they can do that will help them to become more self-sufficient. You will find that […]

The Easiest Gardening Method You’ll Ever Try

A thriving garden is the beating heart of the homestead. For many people, though, keeping a garden can be a challenge. Traditional methods require heavy machinery for soil preparation, questionable chemical fertilizers, all adding up to a prohibitive upfront cost. A great and easy method of gardening that has a very low financial demand is the “lasagna garden”. It was given that name because the method involves developing arable soil by composting an existing plot with layers of organic matter. You create the layers in the fall, to be ready for planting in the spring. Here’s a quick guide to […]

Homeschool on the Homestead

If you’re an avid homesteader, you already know the value of a self-sustaining lifestyle. However, you may be one of thousands of families who just isn’t sure if you’re up to the task of in-sourcing your children’s education in addition to everything else you do in your homestead. Let me challenge you on that. If you’re already bold enough to get your food from your farm or garden and not the supermarket, you’re bold enough to educate your children. If you’re intelligent enough to learn the basics of permaculture or architecture and apply them to your property, you’re intelligent enough […]

Choosing Vegetables For Your Winter Garden

Stop digging up your garden after fall harvest and start planning your winter crop! If you’re blessed enough to live in a climate where the winter months don’t come with a thick blanket of snow and sub-zero temps, you can have a successful winter gardening season. Seasonal favorites include most root vegetables such as beets, onions, turnips, and parsnips. Hardy leafy greens such as kale, spinach, and baby beet greens keep salad on the menu (try them in soups, too!) Spice up your winter selection with exotic veggies like gai lan or kohlrabi. Check out your favorite heirloom seed […]

Preparing Your Homestead Vehicle for Emergencies

For the average homesteader, one of the biggest and most undeniable benefits of the self-reliant lifestyle is the security of a constant, sustainable source of food and fuel, especially in our fluctuating economy. Security and preparedness around your home are incredibly important, but you could be one of many people who leave out a key location when it comes to securing yourself and your family, not just your home: the car. Here are a few simple points to consider when building the right travel survival kit to meet your needs: Seating Capacity: How many people you vehicle can seat […]

How To Convert the Homesteading Skeptics In Your Life

Have you ever gotten a confused stare in response to mentioning your homesteader lifestyle? Maybe even a disapproving scoff or an insult? You’re definitely not alone. While the revival of the homestead lifestyle is definitely gaining steam, the minds of many people in our modern world boggle at the thought of working toward self-reliance and living off the land. For those of us still attached in one way or another to contemporary society via work, church, or family, justifying something even as small as keeping a compost heap or a dozen chickens is a source of constant frustration. My […]

Common Mistakes When Going Off-Grid

Getting off-grid and energy independent is really appealing, but can also be pretty intimidating. It’s hard to know where to start when you’ve lived your whole life reliant upon a municipal grid, and as I wrote recently about homesteading in general, it’s OK to make mistakes. But, you can always learn from the mistakes of others! There are common mistakes a lot of people make when first getting off the grid, and here are some of those mistakes and how to avoid them. 1. Aiming too high Now, don’t get me wrong, it’s great to have goals and aim for […]

What to Do When You Can’t Raise Animals for Meat

I posted earlier about a great video showing the complete process of butchering a cow. This is one of the big draws of homesteading-raising and butchering your own meat. Having a reliable source of high-calorie sustenance like animal protein is one of the cornerstones of self-reliance and sustainability. However, getting yourself in the position to raise animals for meat is no easy feat. It requires a lot of resources, resources you might not yet have access to, like pasture, shelter, feed, proper equipment, etc. Whether you are an urban homesteader, aspiring homesteader, or just getting started and aren’t yet in […]

Never Pay a Butcher Again! (Video)

Now, this is what homesteading is all about. Take warning: this video is NOT for everyone, and you’ll have to have a strong stomach. But if you’re weird like me and greatly enjoy learning all about cleaning and butchering an animal, you’ll love this video as much as I did. You get to see the entire process of a cow being butchered, from the moment it’s slaughtered, to packing it up for the freezer. Butchering a cow is definitely no easy process, but the reward is a full freezer and many healthy, nutritious meals to come. One of my biggest […]

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 […]

Herbs for Hens

There are so many great medicinal herbs out there, and humans don’t have to be the only ones who benefit. Your hens can greatly benefit from herbs as well! One of the big reasons commercial eggs are so unappealing these days is that the chickens that produce them are usually pumped full of antibiotics, as they typically live in close quarters, to protect them from illness and disease. This of course means there are antibiotics in the eggs, and it’s far from healthy to consume antibiotics you don’t actually need. It messes with your immune system and gut flora, which is […]

The Coin in the Freezer Trick

Have you ever suffered from a long-term power outage or been evacuated from your home due to a natural disaster? In the event that nothing catastrophic ends up happening to your family, you will probably end up in a frustrating situation that many find themselves in after power has been out for a prolonged or unknown period of time: You don’t know how long the food in your freezer has been sitting in a freezer without power. So, the reason this might be relevant to homesteaders is if you are working on getting off-grid or already living this way, live […]

How to Can Beef Soup (Video)

I recently discovered that a really great homestead blog, Homestead Acres, has a YouTube channel that is packed with great videos on this homeschooling, homesteading family sharing their experiences on their thriving homestead. This is one video on a series on homesteading, and I think it’s a really useful recipe for one who is trying to build up a good stockpile for your home or homestead. What’s cool about this recipe is that you start baking broth out of beef bones, which is not only a really economical way to store calories, it’s also insanely nutritious. The beef soup is canned […]

Outdoor Games for the Kids on the Homestead

In today’s world, most kids spend far too much time inside. Many youngsters prefer sitting in front of the television watching shows or playing games, or zoning out on the Internet instead of getting outside. While it is smart to understand and to keep up with technology, it is just as important to make sure the kids get outside and learn to enjoy everything that the outdoors can offer. It’s Not All Work Yes, kids that live in a homesteading environment will have chores that help the rest of the house and farm. They will be expected to do these […]

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 Conquer Winter on the Homestead

When the winter comes, it can start to feel lonely and overwhelming on the homestead. You have plenty of extra things to think about, worry about, and do to keep the house running properly and to make sure that you and the family stay warm, healthy, and happy through those long winter months. Whether this is your first winter in the home or you have been doing this for years, it can feel oppressive at times, especially when things seem to go wrong. You are a homesteader though, and you can handle anything. Let’s look at some tips that can […]

Are Fish Antibiotics Safe for Humans? (Video)

Fish antibiotics are a really popular item for preppers who want to stock up on crucial, life-saving medical supplies. Antibiotics can be incredibly crucial when disaster strikes, and might be particularly appealing for homesteaders, especially those that live in rural areas who might get caught with an infection, miles away from the nearest hospital. For this reason, it’s worth looking into whether or not fish antibiotics are a viable option for you. Being concerned as to whether or not fish antibiotics are safe for human consumption is a reasonable concern, so this video from one of my favorite YouTubers, Patriot […]

Cheap Bio Ethanol Fuel at Home (Video)

This is something I’ve always heard about and wanted to try. It’s pretty amazing how cheap the ingredients are to do it, and any homesteader might find the idea appealing, if you’ve got equipment that could be modified to be fueled with bio-ethanol fuel. Check it out! I’m pretty impressed. If you liked this, you might also enjoy… What Are the Signs of the End Times? Learn Natural Healing Secrets From the Masters Preparing for the Bubble to Burst

Understanding Garden Zones (Infographic)

Understanding garden zones is so important if you want to have a hearty garden. Some plants will thrive in one area and completely fail in others! Also, when you are buying seeds, they will usually come with indications as to what zone they will work in. When you get started gardening, figuring out your first zone is the first step you should take. That will dictate the research you do, the kind of seeds you can buy, when your growing season is, when you should start your seeds, and so on. You can find online forums specifically for your zone […]