homesteading/doing it ourselves

[LunaWalks]

I live off the grid. Have for a number of years. Am slowly rebuilding my garden after flooding and storm damage in past years. I home can most of our food. Hubby is a trucker, so I home can meals for him to heat up while gone.
I love the lifestyle and it helps me not get triggered as often. I buy as much of my purchases online as possible to avoid going off our homestead. In a way, I can see I am isolating myself, but the anxiety and ptsd issues I face away from home aren't worth changing.
I hope to get some chickens next spring. Our last flock became coyote food when the chickens were free ranged. Have to build a new coop with a protected area outside for them before getting more.

 

[knuckles]

We like to can stuff, dehydrate it, freeze it, and share it. I like to share my home made/home grown/home crafted goodies with folks as a tip rather than cash, at times, as well as paying them forward as gifts and/or donations.

I also like to do this. I help others out when I can, and sometimes I need a hand at something. Being able to give a little something homemade back makes me happy - and will often be accepted with a smile where money would be flat out rejected.

I like the idea of foraging in nature, but lack the knowledge - besides the obvious fruits, berries and nuts. Have caught on to a few wild plants/herbs though and like to nibble on leaves/flowers when out walking with the dog. Have thought about trying to dry and store some peppermint for tea.

Thank you for your post @Tornadic Thoughts. It spurs me on and inspires me to learn of what others do.
I have tried a little fermenting; only grated carrots/ginger, and have bought some kefir grains last year and make kefir for myself and my dog and cats. It's amazing the variety of products you can make at home. I am only myself and I tend to prefer routines over variety, so I don't make a lot of different products. Partly because I only have so many jars/cans/containers, so I have to think about how and what I want to keep. A bigger freezer would be a bit help though, as I could store food and prepare smaller portions as needed.

 

[Fadeaway]

I did for about 7 years. I wasn't fully sustainable and I had advantage of having a home I didn't have to make payments on. Now, that I live somewhere with a yard again I don't have the physical health to even garden, although I dream about it. I can share tips. Don't ask about vermiculture though, I failed at keeping my worms alive.

 

[FauxLiz]

I grew up on a family farm with a grandmother that taught me how to cook and can my own food. I joke that I have a black thumb as I can't seem to grow anything but roses but I am fortunate that I live in an area with a lot of food/agriculture production and can usually either afford to purchase or somehow barter for fruits, berries and vegetables. Meat I have to purchase but I get it from a Cooperative Share Agriculture (CSA) farm which means I help pay to raise the animal and get a share of the harvest that results.

I sometimes think that I was born a generation late as I have continued the basic life skills that homesteading requires including: cooking, canning, sewing, knitting, darning (socks, denim repairs etc). I am not off the grid I know that I would become way too isolated and hermit like if I made that transition but it is nice to know that I can take care of myself and my family and provide homemade gifts to family and friends.

 

[Invisible Fire]

I like to grow a vegetable garden and I have grapes and strawberries. I would love to homestead. We are going to try fishing this year and learn how to fillet and prepare the fish. I have a book called “Country Living” that has a lot of great ideas in it. I got it off of amazon. Fermenting sounds interesting. Thanks for the topic:)

 

[Fadeaway]

Sauerkraut is one of the easiest things to ferment and it makes for a great starter for other vegetables. Garlic can be put in apple cider vinegar. The turquoise color is normal, it is just copper.

I pleasently discovered mint growing in my yard today. I love chewing on raw leaves and it is easy to dry.

Does anyone do seed saving or composting? Soil quality is so important.

 

[knuckles]

...I hope to get some chickens next spring. Our last flock became coyote food when the chickens were free ranged. Have to build a new coop with a protected area outside for them before getting more.

I built a small run in connection with the chicken house/coop, but they are free to go where they like. Part of the property is fenced in, so I can contain them if I want to - they don't fly (I think they are too big) - but mostly the garden gate is open during the daytime. We don't have foxes where we live, but birds of prey have taken a few young chickens. The single chicken hatched last week disappeared yesterday - I think a bird snatched it. Hopefully next time I can have more than one hen taking on the mothering role - better odds for the little ones I hope. And I need to figure out which one of the young hens eats the chickens as they hatch - lost three eggs/chickens before I realized the threat was not from outside the house.

I also prefer to do my shopping online. It's easier for me to think things through and make decisions that way, as I often shut down when having to make decisions in the store. As for regular grocery shopping I make a list and stick with it - and I go to the store early in the day to avoid too many people. I prefer to think of it as "management" rather than isolation (but I have had those thoughts as well).

 

[knuckles]

I did for about 7 years. I wasn't fully sustainable and I had advantage of having a home I didn't have to make payments on. Now, that I live somewhere with a yard again I don't have the physical health to even garden, although I dream about it. I can share tips. Don't ask about vermiculture though, I failed at keeping my worms alive.

Knowledge and input is much appreciated @Fadeaway

 

[knuckles]

...I sometimes think that I was born a generation late as I have continued the basic life skills that homesteading requires including: cooking, canning, sewing, knitting, darning (socks, denim repairs etc)...

I wish I knew how to mend clothing. I can sew on patches, but that's about as adept as I am. My former neighbour has knitted socks for me and a scarf. I think I tried to learn knitting once, long ago, but I never got the hang of it. Tried learning to crochet a few years back, but failed at that as well. I couldn't concentrate. I tend to favor a few items of clothes and wear them till they consits of more patches or holes than original fabric.

 

[knuckles]

...We are going to try fishing this year and learn how to fillet and prepare the fish...

That sounds great @Invisible Fire. I remember as a kid I had a friend who liked to fish. A few times I went fishing with him, and as I recall I liked just sitting there with the fishing rod waiting for the fish to bite. He also taught me how to clean the fish - quite easy if I remember correctly. Hope it goes well for you

 

[EveHarrington]

I pleasently discovered mint growing in my yard today.

Be careful. Mint takes over everything!

 

[Fadeaway]

The area of mint is about 8x8 ft. There is so much stuff to forage in my yard. I noticed grape vines, plenty of red clover and wild violet. I wasn't quick enough with the dandilions though, leaves aren't tender anymore.