It’s just the right time to plant blueberries, but what if you don’t want to spring for some starts? Or perhaps you’ve left a box of blueberries in your fridge for too long and are wondering if you can find some way to use them?
You’re in luck. This video walks us through a very useful and easy technique to harvest the seeds from leftover blueberry plants so you can grow some yourself this year!
Check it out:
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Have you ever thought about eating roadkill? Now, before you start to think the idea is crazy, we aren’t talking about stalking the roadways and searching for animals that have been hit. Instead, you can get on a road kill list. This type of list is often available through park departments and highway departments, and it works very simply.
Animals in rural areas, along the highways, and even in the suburbs tend to cross roads during their travels. This applies to all animals, but the ones that can be most problematic tend to be deer, and in some areas in the northeast, moose. They might be going from watering hole to another, or they could be foraging for food. With the sheer number of roads today, many animals are struck and injured or killed. When this happens, the animal needs to be removed from the road, as it can be a danger to others.
The parks department or the highway department goes out and clears away the carcasses. In cases where the animal is recently dead, there tends to be a substantial amount of good meat left, so many areas allow residents to sign up to roadkill lists. The first person on the list will be notified when there is a recovered animal they can have. They will generally be the ones responsible for butchering the animal. The next time it happens, the call goes out to the next person on the list, simple as that.
If you have been looking for a way to help supplement the meat you have in your freezer, this could be a good option. You will want to consider the options in your area regarding animal control, the department of wildlife, and highway departments to see if any of them feature a roadkill list. Even though many areas have this option, keep in mind that your area may not. It can be a good option for homesteaders always looking to find ways to supplement their food.
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We recently posted an article on the tiny house movement, and I wanted to elaborate a bit more on what it takes to actually build yourself a tiny house.
This is one of the biggest appeals of tiny houses, of course, that the initial building materials can be cheap, the construction easy. Many people are able to do it themselves, even if they don’t have a whole lot of construction experience. You can use foraged, repurposed, or discounted materials, and make it your own. All these factors contribute significantly to reducing the overall cost of a tiny home, so it’s a great option for homesteaders, so you can put your funds into other homestead efforts.
Where to build?
The first step is, of course, finding a place to build your tiny house! Most people either do so on small lots in cities or suburbs or buy their own land in the country. If you would like to build a tiny house on your homestead, and your ultimate goal has more to do with living off the land than building your dream home, buy land that suits these needs. Another great appeal of a tiny house is that even on an acre or so, with a smaller house, you’ll have more room for farming and raising animals.
Zoning and coding
Next step will be checking your local law. If you are buying land that doesn’t already have a house on it, you’ll have to make sure the land itself can legally have a residence built on it.
Secondly, you need to make sure the structure you build will be in compliance with local building codes. You can get huge fines if this is not the case. These will dictate not only the size and height of the structure but also sometimes who does the work. So, for example, you might be able to build the structure yourself, but will have to hire a certified electrician to wire it. It varies state to state and county to county, so find out what pertains to your area before you spend any money on building materials.
Planning
Once you know where you will be building, and your local building codes, it’s time to get planning! You can design your own, or look online for resources. In most cases, you will probably need a contractor involved with this state to some degree. They will need to sign off on your floor plan before you can begin construction.
You can hire a contractor to oversee the whole project or simply to help with the planning, it’s up to you (and what’s legal in your area).
When designing the floor plan, you will need to think about this very carefully. Since it’s a tiny home, you will need to use your space very efficiently.
At this stage, you will probably want to spend lots of time watching videos or reading articles about other tiny homes (fortunately these days there’s a lot of documentation of successful tiny homes since they’re very popular, so Pinterest and YouTube will have a wealth of resources for you).
Building materials
Next step will be choosing your building materials. While you will probably be
wanting to go as low-budget as possible, quality is also of the utmost importance. This is a house, and you’ll want it to last. Always opt for quality over thrift, wherever you can.
If you are using reclaimed or repurposed materials (such as a building container, a very popular tiny house feature), make sure it is in good condition, of high quality, durable, and sturdy.
The building phase
When it comes to the actual building, you will probably want some helping hands, at the very least. Doing it all yourself isn’t impossible, but it will be much easier with help. It is no small feat to build a house, even a tiny one!
If you are only a novice when it comes to construction, you will probably want to seriously consider hiring some help. There are many options out there for companies you can hire who will help to some degree. You can still be very involved in the building yourself, but some professional help can really go a long way.
There are construction companies who would be happy to help with building a small home, as well as those whose specialty is tiny homes. Check your local listings to see what’s available in your area, or, even better, ask friends and family for referrals.
A great option would be to find a local homesteading or tiny house group on Facebook and ask around. If you are going to hire someone to help with construction, nothing is worth more than a personal recommendation with plenty of references and examples of their work you can see yourself. Interview and compare a few different contractors or companies if you’re able since it’s a pretty big decision.
Whether you build your tiny home yourself or hire someone to help out, it will certainly be a great experience! There’s nothing quite like the reward of building your own home with your own hands.
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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 small cage for their entire lifetime, and that would defeat the whole purpose of raising them yourself. Whatever animal you are considering raising, make sure to look into how much space they need, and take into account whether or not you will want to expand your herd or flock one day.
Cost
Obviously, this is a big factor. Animals cost more than simply the initial set-up cost and feed. You never know when you might need to repair their dwelling, or have a surprise medical cost, unexpected babies, etc. You need to factor in not only the costs of their basic needs, but unexpected costs too. If you’re living paycheck to paycheck and have no spare income, you might not want to take on any livestock.
Local Laws
Another restriction on your animal husbandry dreams might be your local laws. You will want to look into laws pertaining to the animals you want to raise, as well as zoning laws that might restrict where you can raise them. If you plan on selling them or their products, or breeding, there are laws that might pertain to this too, so do your homework.
Unwanted Guests
Something else a lot of people don’t realize about raising animals is that they sometimes invited unwanted critters. Animals attract both pests and predators, such as fleas and vermin, as well as foxes, coyotes, wolves, possums, skunks, etc.
Free Time
Of course, probably what any seasoned farmer will tell you about livestock is they make travel, even day trips, very difficult. They require constant care, feeding, milking, egg collection, being let out to pasture, etc. They don’t have holidays or weekends off! You will need to arrange reliable, knowledgeable care for your animals if you go out of town.
When successfully raising animals, it’s important to simply be around your animals a lot. You need to be able to observe them frequently, so you know if they are knocking over their water dish, or getting caught in fencing, trying to get out, possibly feeling sick, etc.
Raising animals is a big responsibility, but don’t let this info scare you off! Proper planning and management can take you far, and if you’re up for the task, it can be incredibly rewarding. Just make sure to have your bases covered before you commit!
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Dandelions are so useful! You can use the leaves, flowers, and roots for all kinds of nutritional and medicinal benefits. However, it’s not all leafy greens and home remedies! You can make a deliciously sweet jelly with it, too, that’s great to use in place of jelly, jam, or honey to top toast or sweets.
The first step is to collect your dandelions. You will need 4 cups of just the flowers, so it’s actually easiest to simply pick the flowers off the stems when gathering them, rather than just cutting the whole stem and having to go through the arduous process of removing the stems later.
So, once you’ve gathered up your dandelion flowers, you can proceed with the recipe:
Ingredients
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Equipment
Directions
That’s it! This makes a delicious gift for family and friends, or you can keep it all for yourself. Enjoy!
I have been hearing so much hype about the Instant Pot lately, and I wanted to see what all the buzz was all about.
I have got to tell you, I’m itching to get one of these myself after watching this video! Slow cookers are great, especially for things like bone broth or chili, but Instant Pots can cook both quickly and slowly, which is super cool.
Regular pressure cookers are great, especially for off-grid energy situations, so I could see an Instant Pot being a real boon to many homesteaders! Check it out, I bet you’ll want one too:
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The ultimate goal of homesteading for many is to be completely self-sufficient, and entirely food independent. There’s nothing as empowering as growing and making your own.
While getting 100% of your food from your own land might be setting one’s sights pretty high, there’s nothing wrong with aiming for it! The thing is, while most people will always rely on at least some outside sources for their food (even homesteaders back in the day did, too!), any degree of self-sufficiency you can achieve is a step in the right direction.
If you are wondering what would be involved in having a completely self-sufficient food source, we’ve put together a list of goals to aim for. Again, it will be very difficult to achieve all this, especially if you’re a new homesteader. However, getting an idea of what it would take can help you plan out your homesteading goals, what is realistic, and what some solid long-term plans for your homestead might be.
_ Grow all your own vegetables
_ Grow all your own fruit
_ Grow all your own nuts, seeds, etc.
_ Preserve and process your produce, nuts, seeds, etc.
_ Plant crops from your own saved seeds
_ Raise the animals all your dairy comes from (eggs, milk)
_ Make all your own dairy products (cheese, butter, yogurt, etc.)
_ Raise the animals all your meat comes from
_ Breed your dairy and meat animals
_ Slaughter and process your own meat
_ Grow your own grains
_ Process your own grains
_ Have established food storage facilities (e.g. root cellar)
_ Have extensive knowledge of, experience with, and equipment for canning, salt brining, drying, freezing, fermenting, etc.
_ Preserve food to last you through the winter
_ Preserve food to last through a bad growing season
_ Hunt and fish in your region, skillfully and knowledgeable
_ Know where to forage for wild food, on your property, and in your region
Again, these are lofty goals, and there are few people living in the US today who could confidently check off everything on this list. Even very self-sufficient homesteaders still happily buy goods from neighbors or other farmers in their community, and there’s definitely nothing wrong with that! A community is very important, and you should definitely try to establish these kinds of relationships with the people in your community for the sake of long-term sufficiency and survival.
But sitting down and thinking about what it would take to support yourself entirely is simply a smart practice and a good way to begin to think about how you can have a more sustainable relationship with your own food source. There are so many ways you can improve this relationship, and close the gaps that our modern, globalized world create, gaps that would quickly close if there were any kind of national or global mass crisis or disaster.
Having control over your food sources, learning to plan for the long term, taking account for every morsel of food you consume and knowing where it comes from, how it was grown, processed, packaged, and preserved, is incredibly important for your health and well-being, as well as your independence.
Use this list as a guideline for how you can start to be more conscious about what you consume, and how you can start to grow your own and do it yourself. You’d be surprised how much you can achieve, simply by thinking about your food sources!
Related Article: “Tips to Stockpile Food for the Winter Months”
For example, when you start to raise chickens, you don’t have to buy eggs anymore. You can try to center more of your family’s meals around eggs, and save money, as well as eat healthier. Then, you can expand your flock enough to have a steady flow of fresh chicken to consume. Over time, you can begin to freeze it, or even can the meat, so you can stock up a nice supply of meat. Think of the money you’re not spending on feedlot-raised chicken shipped from across the country!
This brings up another important point: self-sufficiency is not about growing all the food you currently eat on your own homestead. It’s about using what you’re able to grow yourself. Your diet, recipes, and lifestyle, will, and should, change according to what’s available. Just as it’s healthier and more affordable to eat produce in season from your local grocery store, it’s more sensible to eat whatever you’re able to grow on your own homestead. You might be eating a lot more chicken if you’re raising lots of chickens, or eating lots of venison in the winter if the hunting is good and you’re able to preserve the meat.
Suggested Article: “5 Simple Methods to Preserve Food”
This is exactly what self-sufficiency and food independence is all about! Our modern diets are centered entirely around what’s available to us, which is often overly-processed foods that have been grown in less-than-appealing conditions and shipped from all around the world. Whereas food that you’re growing, raising, and hunting yourself is much healthier and more natural to eat. You don’t have to process it like crazy so it will taste better, it’s fresh and local so it will already taste amazing!
It’s always possible to become more food independent than you currently are, and we hope this checklist will inspire you to plan for a more self-sufficient future for your homestead and family.
The tiny house movement, which has gained a lot of traction among those wishing to live more simply, self-sufficiently, or simply economically.
It is essentially exactly what it sounds like. More and more people are opting to live in small, or rather, tiny houses, often off-grid or on a homestead as well.
The idea is simple. Less stuff means less energy cost, a more minimalist lifestyle, and a simpler life. Sometimes, owners are motivated by the incredibly cheap building costs, often constructing them by hand, other times, it’s the cheap energy costs of powering, heating, and cooling a significantly smaller space.
They are a popular option for first-time homesteaders, who want to put their money into developing their land for animal husbandry and agriculture, and need a simple, affordable, sustainable dwelling.
The tiny houses can often be powered with solar power, or heated with a small woodstove. They have compact, efficient kitchens, and clever ways to hide away beds, storage, closet space, bookshelves, etc.
If you are considering a tiny house for your family, there are a few considerations you’ll want to take into account. The biggest, of course, being space. For a single person, couple, or family with only one child, a tiny house will often be a great option. But for larger families, while you can still absolutely minimize floor space and build a simple, self-sufficient dwelling, more people will simply mean more floor space, and more storage, required. This doesn’t mean big families can’t participate in the tiny house movement in their own way though!
The spirit of the tiny house movement is applicable to many types of living situations. Wherever you are, you can still live more minimally, find ways to reduce your energy costs, and try to reduce your belongings down to only what you need. It’s simpler than it sounds!
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