Homesteading Skills

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I made another thread about buying a house with some land or at least a big backyard recently. I really like the idea of some self sufficiency, mostly in the way of producing some of my own food. I have a few ideas which i will list below, but im hoping others can add. You can add something you do or are hoping to try.

So far my list of things i think i can do includes:
-Vegetable gardening
-Hunting
-Raising chickens/quail/ducks for eggs and meat
-Making maple syrup
-Bee keeping
-canning vegetables
-turning meat into jerky

Anyone ever kept a sheep or goat on a relatively small plot? How much space does it take?

Any other skills you can think of that fall within or outside of producing your own food?
 
I've been working on edible landscaping. Blueberry bushes instead of ornamentals. Raspberries and grapes. Smaller sized fruit trees because we're limited on space. We have chickens and a garden but it is more supplemental. I doubt in our situation we could grow all of our food. I've added some nut trees in wooded areas near the house. Not sure how that will work out but if you have the space I'd add Chinese chestnut and other nut trees.

I have a neighbor that has a few goats. They seem to be more work than I thought they would be.

Any ponds or lakes nearby for fishing?
 
Fishing is a good addition i think, but i cant stand fish.

I fish recreationally every summer but the only fish i keep are the ones too weak to swim away and i distribute to those outside my household.

Nut trees and berry bushes in lieu of ornamentals sounds right up my alley. Ive always wanted an apple tree or some other fruit tree too.
 
Oh, this is going to be a fun thread. We are trying hard to retire before we 58 years of age. A big part of our retirement plan is to enjoy a simpler life. Why? Because I hate this modern world. Social media blows. Most people blow. Quite frankly, we have forgotten what is really important in life.

We started canning food about three years ago. I can everything. Full meals, beef, vegetables, soups, venison, fruit, you name it, I probably will can it.
We dehydrate stuff too. I am still trying to figure out how effective it is.
I pickle things like eggs, and pickerel.
Ya, I fish. We eat crappie or perch at least once a month. And pickerel for pickling. If you have not tried this, you should.
I hunt. We love venison. Not only do I hunt but I am willing to grab a freshly hit deer. Just grabbed one this week. It was nailed on my street Wednesday morning at 6am. My wife was driving to work and called me to grab it. I dressed by 7am. It is already butchered. Fresh batch of chili was just made for the game tonight.
We recently started gardening. It is not easy and it is time consuming. But we need to learn.
I butcher my own game. Make sausage, steaks, stews, chilis, etc.
We cure and smoke meats. Simple stuff for now, like bacon, pastrami, corned beef and cured pork tenderloin. I need to build a curing chamber to kick it up a notch.
I reload for all of my calibers.
We plan to move to Montana in four years or so. Want a minimum of 20 acres of land. Will build a small but very energy efficient house. We are shooting for a net zero home. It will have a huge kitchen. Actually, it will basically be one big kitchen with a couple of bathrooms and bedrooms; and a big ass barn.

I love this way of life. It is just fun. What a great way to spend one's retirement years. Pete
 
We've taken a few edible foods walks. I try to leave edible greens to grow in the yard. Dandelions, sheep sorrel, lambs quarter and purslane are good in salads. Young Hosta shoots and day lilly flower buds are edible and eaten in Japan. Maple tree seeds are edible as well as acorns if you flush the tannins out. Good stuff to know JIC.

I also have a small herb garden. I dig up the rosemary and sage and bring them inside during the winter. Chives. oregano and thyme come back on their own each year. Asparagus is also nice. Once the bed is established it comes back each year with little work. Garlic is easy. Plant it in the fall and it's usually ready mid to late summer.

So far the Paw Paw trees have worked really well because no animals bother them. Deer like to eat the apple trees so I'm covering them this winter.
 
When I was growing up my dad had the complete set of the Foxfire books.
I used to love reading those.
Like a lot of people, I do can a bunch of stuff having grown up on a farm with animals, gardens, fruit trees, fish pond, hunting, trapping and slicing and dicing.
I used to can with my mom; tomatoes, peaches, and lots of pickles too. Sadly, living here in suburbia, my kids will lack in those areas - other than shooting, hunting and fishing.
 
I have studied and grown plants all my life. I started a small herb farm twelve years ago.
I specialize in native edible and medicinal plants. You’d be amazed at what you can eat out there.
I now teach classes and take people on edible and medicinal walks year round.
I have goats and chickens.
I’m on a little over six acres.
Most people I meet think I’m nuts. I’ve seen sane and I’m ok with being nuts. Homesteading is a way of life and the longer you do it the less you will “fit in” with civilization.
 
I have studied and grown plants all my life. I started a small herb farm twelve years ago.
I specialize in native edible and medicinal plants. You’d be amazed at what you can eat out there.
I now teach classes and take people on edible and medicinal walks year round.
I have goats and chickens.
I’m on a little over six acres.
Most people I meet think I’m nuts. I’ve seen sane and I’m ok with being nuts. Homesteading is a way of life and the longer you do it the less you will “fit in” with civilization.

@Medicine Man I have toyed with the edibles but have not had much luck yet. I started mushrooming a couple of years ago. I have chicken of the woods, hen of the woods, bearded Bears tooth and oysters under my belt so far. You should post up when you are teaching a foraging course. I bet many of us would love to go. I really wanted to find fiddleheads last year but no luck. Pete
 
@Medicine Man I have toyed with the edibles but have not had much luck yet. I started mushrooming a couple of years ago. I have chicken of the woods, hen of the woods, bearded Bears tooth and oysters under my belt so far. You should post up when you are teaching a foraging course. I bet many of us would love to go. I really wanted to find fiddleheads last year but no luck. Pete

Pete,
Mushrooms are great. Black trumpets are my favorite. All mushrooms (even the ones at the salad bar) should be cooked. The only exception is beefsteak.
Fiddleheads are everywhere. The greatest lesson I’ve learned is to walk the same woods every day. It affords an opportunity to see plants go through their whole cycle. After a while you learn what they look like at different stages and who they like to hang out with.
I contemplated posting a different common edible/medicinal plant here each week in a thread. Maybe I will now that I’ve seen some interest.
Perhaps a NES walk is in order too.
 
I also intend to get a move on with buying land and growing crops after I pass the bar. Goals:

*Grow corn, oats, apples, and berries
*Harvest maple or birch syrup
*Ferment hard cider and maybe beer
*Hunt deer and small game
*Fly fishing
*Beef cattle
 
Homesteading is a way of life and the longer you do it the less you will “fit in” with civilization.
I dont have any illusions ill leave society. I just really want to maximize the space i wind up with. Im alright going to the grocery store every week and keeping my job, which i actually enjoy.
 
I have studied and grown plants all my life. I started a small herb farm twelve years ago.
I specialize in native edible and medicinal plants. You’d be amazed at what you can eat out there.
I now teach classes and take people on edible and medicinal walks year round.
I have goats and chickens.
I’m on a little over six acres.
Most people I meet think I’m nuts. I’ve seen sane and I’m ok with being nuts. Homesteading is a way of life and the longer you do it the less you will “fit in” with civilization.
Do you ever find chaga? I live in a huge forest with numerous birches but the chaga is very scarce.
 
Learn to garden. But to have a good garden you need the right location, which means buying the right piece of land. Pay attention to sunlight, soils, water, etc..
 
How about figuring a way to pay your prop. taxes after SHTF?
If you think .gov is going to stop collecting in that scenario you’re kidding yourself.
No one will have a job but I’ve never seen that stop .gov in the past?

You’re going to have to fight .gov and everyone else.
Not going to be pretty.
.gov has more ways to keep itself together than the best prepper.
They actually have a very detailed plan to do just that, it’s called "continuity of government".
 
When I was growing up my dad had the complete set of the Foxfire books.
I used to love reading those.
Like a lot of people, I do can a bunch of stuff having grown up on a farm with animals, gardens, fruit trees, fish pond, hunting, trapping and slicing and dicing.
I used to can with my mom; tomatoes, peaches, and lots of pickles too. Sadly, living here in suburbia, my kids will lack in those areas - other than shooting, hunting and fishing.

There's no need for your kids to lack gardening or canning skills. In a 12x12 sunny spot with some well amended soil you can grow more tomatoes and pickling cukes than you could eat fresh.
Small batch canning is fine for learning the skills.

Put out 6 good tomato plants and 8 National Pickling Cuke plants and you'll have plenty to can.

Hundreds of youtubes on canning.
 
I made another thread about buying a house with some land or at least a big backyard recently. I really like the idea of some self sufficiency, mostly in the way of producing some of my own food. I have a few ideas which i will list below, but im hoping others can add. You can add something you do or are hoping to try.

So far my list of things i think i can do includes:
-Vegetable gardening
-Hunting
-Raising chickens/quail/ducks for eggs and meat
-Making maple syrup
-Bee keeping
-canning vegetables
-turning meat into jerky

Anyone ever kept a sheep or goat on a relatively small plot? How much space does it take?

Any other skills you can think of that fall within or outside of producing your own food?

Fixing/maintaining your own tools and equipment.
Cutting your own firewood.
Building your out buildings.
Learn to weld
Learn to salvage and repurpose items.
Learn to compost in large quantity.
Learn how minimize soil erosion.

There's plenty of info on raising sheep and goats and the required space for each.
 
Do you ever find chaga? I live in a huge forest with numerous birches but the chaga is very scarce.
Chaga is interesting. It’s the only mushroom I know of that we use the mycelium instead of the fruiting body. It is parasitic and will kill the tree.
I find chaga in RI and have a source for it from upstate NY. Try yellow birch or sweet birch. I find the grey birch gets taken over by birch poly pore and it’s too anti fungal to allow any other mushrooms to grow.
I drink chaga tea mixed half and half with coffee. It’s fantastic.
 
It sounds simple but after a couple of seasons I still struggle with seed preservation and starting a new crop in the spring. I want to get good at it. If our lives depended on me being successful we'd probably be better off just eating the seeds, lol.
 
My wife and I attended a class @ the Petersham Gun Club back in 2012. It was great, thanks again Twigg.

I learned right from the Ball Canning book and two youtube videos and have canned a few thousand jars of food over the past fifteen years.
Last year alone I did almost 600 jars between tomatoes, pickles, relish, beans, pickled beets, chicken and beef.
 
It sounds simple but after a couple of seasons I still struggle with seed preservation and starting a new crop in the spring. I want to get good at it. If our lives depended on me being successful we'd probably be better off just eating the seeds, lol.

What issues are you having?
 
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