Self Reliance Archives - Page 6 of 11 - 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 […]

Do-It-Yourself Worm Casting Methods for Compost

If you’re a homesteader, you probably know all about composting. Composting kitchen scraps are one of the best ways to fertilize your garden without chemicals and pesticides. Some of the most effective composters use worms to break down food. If you have a worm composter, then you might not know that worm castings – the black waste that worms produce – is arguably the single best fertilizer known to man. The challenge is finding a way to harvest the worm castings – also known as black gold – without disturbing or harming your worms. You also want to make sure […]

5 Simple Methods to Preserve Food

As a homesteader, you know that it’s important to know how to preserve food. Very few of us live in a climate where we can grow food year-round. During the colder months, true self-sufficiency requires a working knowledge of food preservation methods. That’s why we’ve put together a list of methods you can use to preserve food. Whether you’re looking for methods to preserve fruits and vegetables from your garden, items you’ve foraged, or animals that you’ve caught while hunting or fishing, we’ve got you covered. Method #1: Canning Canning is probably the most popular form of preserving food. It’s […]

[DIY] Simple Venison Jerky Recipe

When you’re stockpiling for an emergency, some foods are easier to preserve than others. Vegetables and fruits can be canned or dried. But what do you do to preserve meat? Freezing is effective for regular use, but it won’t help you if there’s no power. One of the best and most effective ways to preserve meat is by making jerky. Jerky is easy to make, healthy to eat and has a long shelf life. Making it can extend the life of venison and provide you with a healthy, protein-packed snack to get you through hard times. Preparing to Make […]

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 […]

5 Questions You Need to Answer When Choosing a Handgun

Choosing your first handgun can be both exciting and overwhelming. Just like choosing your first car, there are a number of models, sizes, and budgets available. Not to mention new versus used, ease of maintenance and the cost of the ammunition required to use with it. To make the process of taking this big step a little easier, we’ve compiled a list of questions that will help you determine a course of action when making this important purchase. Why Are You Making This Purchase? Knowing why you are buying a handgun will help you decide what type. Do you intend […]

Solar Energy Options for Homesteaders

You want to live off the grid, but that doesn’t mean you don’t need electrical power to operate your lights and appliances. You can use a generator, but generators require gasoline. A generator is a good backup solution for people who are on the grid when they lose power. However, if you want to be independent, the best way to do it is to invest in solar energy options for your home and property. It used to be that solar panels were prohibitively expensive. That’s no longer the case. In this post, we’ll detail some of the solar energy options […]

Simple 5 Step Homemade Salsa Recipe

One of our favorite things about homesteading is that it has allowed us to reconnect with food in a new way. Let’s face it, a lot of the fruits and vegetables we buy at the supermarket are grown using chemicals and harsh fertilizers. They’re harvested before they’re ready, as a result, they don’t have the rich, delicious flavors as they do when fresh. By contrast, home-grown produce is bursting with flavor. Once you’ve tried growing vegetables and cooking with them, you’ll never want to go back to boring supermarket produce again. Are you looking for ways to use the vegetables […]

4 Excellent Ways to Generate Your Own Electricity

Your goal as a homesteader is to become self-reliant. You want to grow your own food and preserve it for future use. You want to know that you and your family can survive even if disaster strikes. One of the most persistent challenges faced by a homesteader like you is generating electricity to power your home. Most people rely on public power sources – more commonly known as the grid – for the electricity they need. Homesteaders tend to live in rural areas where the grid may be less reliable. For them, finding alternatives is desirable and cost-effective. With that […]

Super Simple DIY Fishing Net

Time is always scarce on a homestead so spending days on end catching 1 fish at a time is not the best use of your limited time. How can you catch crazy amounts of fish in a short amount of time so you can get back to doing other necessary things on your homestead? If you use fishing and fish as a regular food source, a net is basically a mandatory piece of equipment. If you find you need a larger net than you want to spend your hard-earned cash on, you can DIY it for a fraction of the […]

Tips to Stockpile Food for the Winter Months

Growing up, one of my favorite things to read were the Laura Ingles Wilder books. Not only were they entertaining, but she also went into great detail on how their food was grown or raised, butchered or harvested and then processed to keep all winter long. Thanks to modern conveniences, most of us don’t really need to take these steps to ensure a comfortable winter, even on a homestead with electricity and appliances. However, it doesn’t hurt to prepare for a worst-case scenario to ensure you won’t get caught during a bad winter storm or power outage. Fortunately, when proper […]

5 Ways Pigs Are Valuable Beyond Just Meat

When you are living off the land, owning animals that can provide you with food can be extremely beneficial. You may grow plenty of crops and fill your pantry with canned vegetables, but if you aren’t getting enough protein, you won’t have the energy to tend to your farm and home. While there are some homesteaders who don’t want to commit to raising a large farm or a herd of cattle, there are plenty of other animals such as chickens or turkeys that can ensure you have meat and eggs throughout the year. They are also low-maintenance so that […]

Felling Trees for Dummies

Removing trees from your property is a great way to clear out space for other use, or to gather up firewood for the winter. If you plan to cut a tree down on your own, it’s important that you understand how difficult, and dangerous the task can be. Especially if you have never attempted to cut down a tree in the past. Here are a few safety tips that will help you cut down trees without putting yourself in danger. Use the Right Equipment Failure to use the right equipment could result in a serious accident. Be sure that you […]

4 Weird but Effective Ways to Avoid Deadly Bacteria

The primary reason we need to stay clean is to maintain control over the harmful bacteria that can manifest itself in all the crevices of our body that make us smell bad and breed disease. The easiest way to accomplish this is to focus on the areas with the most potential for bacterial growth and go from there. What areas are those? Just follow your nose. It’s no coincidence that the areas that provide our embarrassing body odor are the areas we most need to target. Just like a clogged kitchen drain or backed up sewer system, if the smell […]

5 Step DIY Soap

Making your own soap can be a fun and creative experience. You have the advantage to create a product that is safer than those available in stores and something that is free of perfumes or chemicals. You can also save money over time by making your own soap when compared to products in stores that contain the same natural ingredients. Need another good reason? You can sell it and make a reasonable profit to help you buy the things you need. If you are creative with making soap, you can use molds to make natural skin care products into tiny […]

5 Natural Medicines You Need to Know

More and more people are turning to natural remedies, especially for day-to-day injuries and ailments. The concept of antibiotics goes back well before the discovery of penicillin. In fact, some of the natural medications used most have good antibiotic properties. Whether you are suffering from a cut or scrape, or a classic cold, flu, earache, or UTI there are remedies that can assist your body in getting rid of it and getting you back on your feet. Natural Aspirin The most commonly talked about Salicylic Acid, or natural aspirin, is Willow Bark. Used for thousands of years, modern-day aspirin was […]

DIY Plant Propagating

Plant propagating is a common process among homesteaders where new plants are created using various sources. Seeds, bulbs, cuttings, and other plant parts are put together to regenerate a garden. This branch of horticulture deals with the production of new plants using what is referred to as “starter materials”. Some people look at it as a form of recycling while others place the seedlings in small containers for décor and display uses. How Does Plant Propagating Work? Plant Propagating uses totipotency, which allows the cells to regenerate all the missing parts which leads to creating an entire new organism. Totipotency […]

3 Effective Sheep Shearing Techniques

Despite some claims from animal rights groups, shearing is necessary to maintain the health and comfort of your sheep. There are 2 main reasons you need to have your sheep sheared once a year. If the sheep’s thick wooly coats are not removed before the summer months, they can become very uncomfortable. Additionally, the amount of dirt that can amass and become matted to their bodies could develop into a health risk. The wool from certain breeds is a valuable commodity and a good source of annual income. When raised correctly with a proper diet, a single sheep can grow […]

Can Rabbits Contribute to a Homestead?

Not just for pets, including rabbits on a homestead can be a great way to contribute to your food supplies, both as a food source and a natural fertilizer for your garden. If you’re into fiber arts or want some extra money, angora rabbits give an additional benefit just by growing their fur. Rabbits for Manure A single rabbit can produce approximately a pound of dry manure each week. That’s roughly 50 pounds a year. This high-quality soil conditioner is usually low in weed seeds thanks to the prepared foods typically used to feed them. It also contains an excellent […]

7 Steps for Easy Canning

If you decide to get into the wonderful world of canning, be prepared to experience some of the more flavorful food you’ve ever experienced at a fraction of the cost. Canning allows you to pick or buy produce when it’s at its peak maturity and preserve that flavor year-round. The simplest canning process is Water Bath Canning. To get started you’ll need a few inexpensive basics, many of which you may already have, or be able to find at your local thrift store or flea market. The absolute essential musts are: A pot that holds enough water to cover any […]