Homesteading Wherever You Are » New Life On A Homestead If this post inspires you, please consider clicking the google +1 button above. Thanks so much for your support! The Dervaes Family’s Urban Homestead I think a lot of people have common misconceptions about what the term ‘homesteading’ means. There are common characteristics between all homesteaders, no matter where they live. We want to learn how to live without depending on others to take care of us, in every way possible. There are so many things you can do to homestead wherever you are. How To Homestead Wherever You Are Learn to grow your own food and herbs. So, whadya think? And what other things can we add to this list? A Mad Scientist's 50 Tools for Sustainable Communities - Leah Messinger - Life Marcin Jakubowski's plan to create low-cost, open-source machines that can make everything you can find in a Walmart The "Liberator" Compressed Earth Brick Press, designed by Open Source Ecology. Courtesy of Open Source Ecology In the middle of rural Missouri there is a physicist-turned-farmer looking to redefine the way we build the world. The organization's final goal? As Valentine points out, "Every single one of [the machines] already exist in real life. All of the machines, from the tractors to the laser cutter to the backhoe to the cement mixer, are designed to be modular, require only one engine, and be built with interchangeable parts so that a single machine can perform multiple functions. But there's more. "Marcin is a mad scientist," says Severine von Tscharner Fleming, a farmer in New York's Hudson Valley who also promotes the open-sourcing of agricultural and rural hardware. That appeal is one reason Open Source Ecology's followers have recently been growing in number.
Designing Your Ideal Homestead by Fred Wilson A homestead is neither a farm, nor a rural residence; therefore, it presents design challenges that are different from the others. A rural residence is basically nothing more than a suburban house plunked down on a larger lot, and any outdoor design will be largely concerned with landscaping, with appearances. A farm, on the other hand, is more like an industrial complex. Depending on its type, it will involve several or even many buildings-it must make accommodations for the passage and maneuvering of very large equipment and the handling and storage of many tons of products that might range from seed and fertilizer to hay and grain to milk or meat. Everything You Need to Know About Composting With Worms Following my recent blog post on the Do-It-Yourself Vermipod, I’ve been receiving a ton of questions from folks who built Vermipods and are looking for information on how to manage and maintain their new pets. So here’s a compilation called Everything You Need To Know About Composting With Worms… Common Worm Species Eisenia fetida: Pronounced “iSEEnee a FETid a”, is a worm that can process a large amount of organic material in their natural environment. They tolerate large temperature, moisture and pH ranges and can also tolerate handling well. Eisenia andrei is closely related to the Eisenia fetida and is known as the “red tiger”. Lumbricus rubellus is another worm that can be used for vermiposting. Bedding Materials Worms, like you and me, need both protein and carbohydrates to get a balanced diet. Environmental Conditions Composting worms originate from warmer parts of the globe, typically in wet regions. These are the conditions that the worms thrive in. How Much do They Eat? Amendments
No Regrets: 10 Key Things To Consider Before Moving To The Country | City To Country | How to Homestead The country lifestyle is not for everyone. Every day I commute into my job in the city I hear at least one fellow commuter complaining about the ferry service. Or about logging on the local mountain. Or the weather. Which always leads me to wonder, “What did you think it would be like when you moved somewhere you can only access by ferry/has a long history of logging/where it rains a lot”? It’s all about preparation. Here are a few things to ponder before committing to the rural lifestyle: Income – What will you do for income? There are a lot of questions you need to ask yourself before changing your lifestyle so dramatically, but these 10 will help you get some clarity around whether or not a life in the country is for you. Victoria Gazeley lives and works in an 80-plus year old restored heritage log cabin on the wild west coast of British Columbia, Canada. Related Posts:
Index Homestead Land: What To Look For When Buying Land HOMESTEAD LAND: Introduction to Buying Land for Farming When we were looking for our own homestead land we had a list of what we wanted. The farm had to have a lovely view, a stone farmhouse with potential, not too far from town but not where we could still hear traffic, the elevation had to be low enough for growing olives and the soil good enough for growing grapes. Where no place may tick all the right boxes, and you will probably need to make some compromises, the bare minimum of what we wanted was a good view, good soil and water. BUYING HOMESTEAD LAND: Know What you Want Before your Buy! Buying good homestead land when homesteading today is the most important purchase you will make and there are lots of considerations to take into account before you make the decision to purchase. When buying rural land never buy land with your heart. There are many other aspects that need to be taken into consideration when buying farm land: Do you want the land to be virgin land or developed land?
Prepper.org Buying Country Acreage & Rural Properties - To Buy Or Not? Are you looking for country acreage? Looking for homestead land to live the dream? Buying Country Acreage is a huge step to take, with lots of things to think about. Author: Jody Hudson Almost anyone can become a rural property owner; if you are willing to set goals, establish what your purposes are, plan ahead and set targets that are all aligned toward the same result. There is no more $50-an-acre land; unless you count some of the inaccessible and unusable properties that are sometimes available in blocks of 10,000 acres or more; and even these properties are rare. If you are in a big hurry to find rural property, you will likely not be able to find what you are looking for. If the property really is a bargain it is gone with one of the first ten phone calls the seller makes. Many folks soon discovered that the so called contract had fine print and clauses that were all in favor of the chicken plant and none in favor of the chicken grower. Location: is paramount.
"The Unsung Benefits of Homesteading" by Sheri Dixon Oh sure, we all know the perks of growing our own food, supplying our own energy and being as self-sufficient as we can be, but what about the benefits of homesteading that AREN'T touted from the cover of the latest Men magazine? Back when I lived in Wisconsin, Thanksgiving dinner was taken with my husband's family. They had a tradition that right after dinner, everyone gathered around the TV and they all watched Pay-Per-View "Wrestlemania". As touching a scene as that was, with the little people all hunkered down in front for the best view, I just wasn't into it. Somehow, I suffered through it. When something breaks or otherwise needs mending around the place, city folk get into the SUV and head for the Home Depot for the proper parts and the proper tools for the job. Homesteaders take multitasking to a level unheard of by most folks. There are a number of companies who provide home security. And speaking of romance: forget the Dinner and a Movie nonsense. We are strange. Not normal.
What Is ‘Modern Homesteading,' Anyway? A few weeks ago a particularly ornery guy called me a ‘poser’ on my Facebook page. And then he went on and on an on in post after post about how I wasn’t really ‘homesteading’ and I should call my page something else. Sure Mr. Grumpy Pants. Thankfully, a bunch of awesome people came out of the woodwork and told him a thing or two about what it is we do there. Thing is, I’ve never put myself out there as an expert at this gig. But back to the question – what exactly is ‘modern homesteading’ anyway? I asked the question on our Facebook page and here are some of the responses - I think you'll find them illuminating: • "It means "home". • "Each family is in a different place in their journey and has different homesteading goals. • "Living a simple life and treading as lightly as I can on mother earth." • "It's just a lifestyle - we all have our different path, but it does not mean we are lost. • "It is a journey, a process, not an event or a place. • "I've thought about that a lot too.
U.S. Homesteading Vs. U.K. Smallholding U.S. Homesteading Versus U.K. Smallholding Since joining MOTHER EARTH NEWS blogging community as one of the ‘Happy Homesteaders’ I have been musing about the term Homesteader as it is not one that is in use here in the UK. I love the term hugely as it feels so accurate in describing the lifestyle we have decided upon which strives to make home the heart of everything we do and therefore is a place we long to spend time and energy in rather than wanting to escape from it when we have spare time. Here in the UK I think the closest term to describe a similar way of life to that of a homesteader is ‘smallholder’ but to me this has quite different connotations. A smallholder is officially a farmer with a small agricultural holding in order to raise animals and/or vegetables and fruit but for me, the word doesn’t evoke the associations of home spun crafts, cottage industries, food preservation, thriftiness that ‘homesteading’ does. From Wikipedia Homesteading Definition
9 Strategies For Self-Sufficient Living When you grow your own food, generate your own energy, and work from a home office or farm for your livelihood, the so-called “costs of living” largely disappear. You become untethered to the work-earn-spend consumer economy and thrive, instead, in a more locally centered, self-sufficient economy in which monetary income is less essential for a rich life. Making this self-sufficiency dream a reality has been our goal since my wife, Lisa Kivirist, and I moved to our 5 1/2-acre farmstead in southwestern Wisconsin in 1996. Self-reliant living can take many forms. You can provide your own food and energy and be your own barber, repair person, home-school teacher, house cleaner, painter, and child care provider. By running a home-based business, you can generate the money needed to obtain essential products or services you’re unable to produce for yourself. Transitioning to self-sufficient living requires research and planning. The Journey to Self-Reliance Begins 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.
Scale Models, The Secret To Great Homestead Construction If you’re setting out to build a cabin or building a shed, take the time to create a scale model first. It’s the single biggest advantage you can give yourself when it comes to saving money and getting a great finished result. The purpose of scale modeling is three-fold. I built my first scale model in 1988. There are two main approaches to building a scale model. To learn more about scale model methods that might help you, check out Steve Maxwell’s video at