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Homesteading – Page 40 – Homesteader Depot

Homesteader Depot

Category: Homesteading

  • Homesteading on a Budget

    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 started with a relatively small amount of money. Here are some tips that will help you.

    First, stay out of debt. Do not buy things that you cannot afford and then try to pay them off on credit cards later. If you are in debt nowt, pay that off and you will find that you can start to save quite a bit more each month. You can put that toward your homesteading, or just put it into your savings. Also, buy used items rather than new items. This way, you can pay cash for them, and this will help keep you out of the credit card debt mentioned earlier.

    Make sure you become a DIY lover. Learn how to do repairs around the property on your own rather than hiring other people to come in and do it. You will find that this can save you a substantial amount each year. Of course, you do not want to be so stubborn that you end up causing more damage than if you were to hire a pro. If you do not know how to do something, by all means, have someone in the know help you.

    Just because you have a small budget does not mean you can’t be a successful homesteader. Find other ways that you can save money each month and you will see it is easier than you might have thought at first.

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  • Mother of Four Builds House From YouTube Video Instructions

    Mother of Four Builds House From YouTube Video Instructions

    These days, we all rely on the internet for literally everything. I personally believe that YouTube instruction videos are one of the greatest inventions of all time (seriously!). It is such an incredible thing to be able to search for a video to help you out with a confusing or intimidating project, and homesteaders know this better than anyone! Whether you want to learn how to build cold frames, shear a sheep, or birth a baby cow, YouTube has videos for pretty much everything.

    Still, it might surprise you to learn what this incredibly ambitious mother of four did, using YouTube videos. A few years ago, single mother Cara Brookins was trying to rebuild her life for her and her four children after escaping an abusive marriage. She didn’t have enough money to buy them a house, but she could afford a small plot of land.

    Determined to provide her family with a home, she and her children got to work. Using YouTube videos as a reference, they mixed their own cement, lay the foundation, raised the walls, and built their own house, all by hand.

    Such an incredible story! Now Brookins and her four children have their own home, and are the picture of independence.

    Check it out!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyP28vNviKk

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  • Ways to Recycle Sawdust

    Ways to Recycle Sawdust

     

    Woodworking projects and home repairs top the to-do lists of many homesteaders, but they generate a copious amount of a largely unwanted byproduct: sawdust. Before dumping your next shovelful of sawdust into the trash, take a look at this list of creative ways to make good use of it:

    • Use for traction when you’re stuck in the snow. Sawdust is traditionally used by logging truck drivers to prevent slipping and getting stuck in harsh winter road conditions. Keep a sealed bag or two of it in your trunk to spread around your tires for extra traction if you get stuck.
    • Keep on hand as a spill kit must-have. Sawdust is a very absorbent material and can quickly contain any spills such as oil or paint. Once the spill is soaked up, the sawdust sweeps up easily and with minimal dust.
    • Decorate with fake snow. Mix with white paint (acrylic or whatever is on hand) and glue to use for seasonal arts and crafts.
    • DIY firestarter bricks. Melt candle wax in a nonstick pot, add sawdust to achieve a thick consistency, pour into an ice cube tray or egg carton, and cool, and store with your camping gear or fireplace items. Use just like storebought firestarters.

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    • Keep weeds under control. Walnut sawdust has natural weed-killing properties. Sweep into the cracks of your driveway or walkway to prevent weed growth.
    • Use as a cement additive. Sawdust mixed into mortar aids in bonding building materials together. It also makes for a good recipe for casting moisture-loving planters.
    • Create a decorative garden path. Spread and tamp sawdust into a dirt walkway to curb erosion and create a soft, fragrant path through your garden or wooded lot.
    • Compost and fertilizer. Mix a little bit of sawdust with manure or a nitrogen source like blood meal. This both fertilizes plants and aids in water retention.
    • Mix with wood glue to fill cracks and holes. Mixed into a putty consistency with wood glue, very fine sawdust is often used by flooring professionals as a cheap, stainable wood filler.
    • Clean concrete floors. Lightly wet a small pile of sawdust with water and use a push broom to spread it around the concrete floor of any workspace. The wet sawdust will bind and absorb grime and hazardous fine dust.

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  • Five Must-Have Cast Iron Pieces

    Five Must-Have Cast Iron Pieces

    When first making the switch from toxic nonstick cookware to cast iron, you may have a few reservations about the care or cost, especially if you run your homestead on a tight budget. The good news is that cast iron cookware outlasts its nonstick and other counterparts by decades, even centuries; you won’t be replacing cheap pots and pans every few years. This coupled with a good grasp of the simple process of caring for your cookware, leaves no reason not to take the plunge! If you’re ready to start your cast iron collection, check out these essentials first!

     

    • Dutch oven: A good, high capacity dutch oven is a staple in any cast iron stash. Use this for baking bread, cooking soups, grains, legumes, and hearty casseroles.
    • Skillet: Skillets come in all shapes and sizes for use in almost any type of cooking. Get started with a standard 8- or 10-inch.
    • Grill pan: Ditch the bulky countertop grill and make restaurant-quality burgers and steaks with a grill pan. Great for use during the winter months when you want the perfect steak without cooking out in the cold!
    • Pots: Cast iron pots are a healthier alternative for boiling and steaming. From a multi-gallon stockpot to a cute little teapot, there are plenty of options available.
    • Baking dishes: Whether you’re whipping up a batch of cookies, a pan of cornbread, or a deep-dish pizza, there are myriad different styles and shapes of pans to get the job done. Artisan cast iron makers even offer dishes in novelty shapes such as states or animals.

    There’s no need to break the bank or clutter up the kitchen when becoming a cast iron convert. Yard sales, thrift stores are great places to find vintage pieces. Even big-box retailers are tapping into the growing market and offering affordable cookware selections. It’s easier than ever to start a great collection, but be careful- it can be addictive. But with cast iron, there’s no such thing as too much!

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  • DIY Udder Balm for Goats or Cows

    DIY Udder Balm for Goats or Cows

    When you have a milk-producing goat or cow, their udders might get a lot of work. They can get sore or irritated, so it’s handy to be able to have a balm to soothe them on hand in case this happens.

    However, unfortunately, most storebought balms are petroleum-based and expensive, and, if you live in the country, might be far away!

    Today, we’ve got a very simple DIY udder balm recipe that can be used making the same ingredients we recommend for a lot of our homemade remedies.

    What you need: 

    • 1/2 ounce beeswax
    • 1 ounce shea butter
    • 1 ounce coconut oil
    • 3 ounces calendula infused oil (optional, see directions below)
    • 2 drops lavender essential oil (optional)
    • 2 drops tea tree essential oil (optional)

    Calendula infused oil

    If you do not have any on hand or would like to make your own, this is a great item to have for any skin-soothing remedy, and can be used straight on sore muscles and general aches and pains.

    To make it, you will need dried calendula flowers. Fill a small jar with almond or olive oil, and leave in the sun for a week or so, shaking daily. Alternately, you can heat up in a very low oven (around 200 degrees) for about 20 minutes, in a glass, oven-proof bowl or jar.

    How to Make Udder Balm

    1. Combine your beeswax, shea butter, coconut oil, and calendula oil in a jar and place in a small saucepan filled with water.
    2. Place the pan on the stove over very low heat.
    3. As the water in the pan warms up, everything will melt and blend together.
    4. Once fully melted, remove from heat, stir with a popsicle stick, and allow to cool for a few minutes.
    5. Add your essential oils, if using, and cover the jar.
    6. Store inside (keeping outside will make it too cold to use)

    You can use this by taking with you when you go to milk your goat or cow, and applying after each milking as needed.

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  • 5 Ways for Your Chickens to Earn Their Keep

    5 Ways for Your Chickens to Earn Their Keep

    Chickens are more than just egg producers, if you utilize them correctly, they can be a vital part of a smoothly running homestead! They are excellent additions to any gardening effort, and can even be useful with raising larger poultry as well!

    Here are some ideas for how to get the most out of your chickens, and as all these ideas utilize what chickens are born to do, your hens are guaranteed to be more happy as well! And happy hens means more eggs. It’s a win-win for everyone!

    1. Prep garden beds

    You will probably want to keep your chickens away from your vegetable garden most of the time, but when you’re preparing a new bed or digging up an old one, they’ll love to help you out! As they scratch and peck, they will turn the soil and also contribute some valuable manure. The bugs and scraps of roots and leaves they’re sure to find are also wonderfully nutritious for them, which makes for delicious and healthy eggs!

    2. Turning your compost

    So they’re not exactly going to help turning over your whole compost pile, but they’ll definitely still help in the same way they will your garden bed. Let them hang out when you’re turning your compost pile, and they’ll help break it down faster by gobbling up the creepy crawlers and many scraps of organic waste that are still intact.

    3. Fertilizer

    For both 1 and 2, chickens will contribute to your garden and compost pile by producing manure in the process of pecking and scratching through that will add valuable nitrogen to your soil or compost. But you can also collect it right in their pen to add to your compost pile or garden for regular fertilizing or making a quick compost tea.

    4. Grass and weed control 

    Chickens can’t exactly mow lawns, but they can help with seriously fast growing weeds or grass. If you have tough-to-reach parts of your lawn that require more than simple mowing, let your girls at it!

    5. Waste disposal 

    Finally, and probably my personal favorite, is how quickly your chickens can turn kitchen scraps into nutritious eggs and valuable fertilizer for your garden. Fruit and veggie scraps and any leftover grain products are absolutely delightful treats for any self-respecting chicken. Just keep a container with a lid on your counter and bring to your chickens with their evening meals.

     

    Chickens are awesome in so many ways, and with these simple tips, you can really get the most out of your girls (and your rooster too, he’ll love to help!)

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  • DIY Mason Jar Beehive

    DIY Mason Jar Beehive

    Just when you think you’ve seen it all! I am slightly freaking out right now because this is just about the coolest thing I have seen in a VERY long time. You can, in fact, make a beehive using mason jars as the hives, and the bees will produce honey right in your jars! How cool is that?

    Here’s what the finished product looks like, to give you an idea:

    Want to give it a try yourself? Here’s what you need:

    Supplies:

    • 2 pieces of 2″ x 12″ x 6′ wood
    • 2 pieces of 1″ x 1″ x 6′ wood
    • 1 piece of thick plywood, cut to 16″ X 20″
    • 1 bottom beehive kit (you can find a DIY for this as well, or buy your own from a beekeeping supplier)
    • 12 big mouth quart sized mason jars
    • 1 box of wood screws, size 1″
    • wood stain or paint of choice
    • Bees

    Directions: 

    1. Cut two pieces out of your 1 of your 2″ x 12″ x 6′ pieces to 22″
    2. Cut two pieces out of the other 2′ X 12′ X 6′ to 18″
    3. Drill 12 holes in your plywood piece for the mason jars, by tracing the mouths of the mason jars. This will work best with a hole saw. Troubleshoot as you go, making sure your jars will fit snugly inside. If you want to make them a bit wide, you can glue the lids to the plywood around the holes to screw the jars neatly in place.
    4. With your wood screws, screw your two 22″ and two 18″ pieces to the plywood to make a box.
    5. Place the box over the bottom beehive kit, and let your bees get to work!

    You can put some starter combs in your mason jars and the bees will fill them with honey. We’ll have to do a follow-up on getting a hive started for this one, so stay tuned!

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  • Back to Nature Garden (Video)

    Back to Nature Garden (Video)

    This is a super cool concept that I’ve often wanted to try myself. The folks at Deep South Homestead, one of my favorite YouTube channels, have tried the “Back to Eden” gardening method, without much success. Back to Eden is the gardening method that was shown in the film by the same name, that involves layering wood chips and manure that sit for a season. The idea is to mimic the natural formation of soil in the forest.

    Danny from Deep South Homestead explains in this video that because of termites infesting their wood chips, that Back to Eden did not work for them, so they tried their hand at their own method, that they call “Back to Nature”. They decided to mimic what was happening to the soil in the forest on their homestead, by layering oak leaves and rabbit manure, turning it with a tractor and leaving it for a season, to plant their tomatoes in in the spring. You can see how he set his up and hear more about his plans for it in the video below. Enjoy!

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