Over the past several months, I personally, but I also think collectively, we have considered a more self-sufficient life.
Homesteading is a new/old idea that imagines a life where we aren’t dependent on the grocery store aisles, the supply-chains, or government stimulus.
Many more people started gardens in 2020, and many are referring to their gardens as “victory gardens” which references back to WW2 food shortages. Are you interested in gardening or homesteading? Here are a couple tips to help you get started.
Homesteading basics:
Set some goals for yourself and think small. You may think I meant to say, “think big” but no, I meant think small. Often people (myself included) get overwhelmed with a garden that is too big, or too many seedlings to be able to grow in your basement.
My goals for my first year of homesteading (2021) are:
1. Set up a growing area in my basement that will be able to move outside in the greenhouse I plan to set up in March. Living in NE Ohio means a greenhouse won’t last through the winters without heat, and I didn’t have a heat source.
2. Build swales on contour (on my hillside) to slow down water and prevent top soil erosion. Plant a fedge (food hedge) in Zone 3 along the swales this spring.
3. Plan my kitchen garden and herb spiral prior to spring. Years past I have just shown up at the nursery and purchased whatever they had. Not a great plan. This year, I am actually making a physical garden plan (drawing) and choosing ahead what I’ll plant and purchasing seeds. These are Zone 1 gardens, right outside my back door.
4. Buy chickens at the spring festival nearby. Create a coop/space for them prior.
4. Create habits or traditions around getting my teens involved in harvesting and preserving food.
I am getting certified in Permaculture Design so you’ll probably hear me refer to zones, that’s a permaculture strategy. Zone 0 is the home, to Zone 5 which is free Nature and the more you’ll use the space, the closer to the home it is.
Thanks for checking our my blog,
~Amy