Lehman's Country Life 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.
MODERN HOMESTEADING A Plan for Food Self-Sufficiency Planning a garden in advance can help you enjoy local, homegrown food year-round! Estimate how much to grow or buy and learn how to achieve food security with these guidelines. Backyard Chicken Facts - 5 Things No One Told Us A few facts that might help you decide whether or not to get chickens for your backyard. Best Guard Dog for Your Homestead Read guard dog training tips and advice on guard dog breeds best suited for your needs. Build This Predator-Proof, Portable Chicken Coop Our newest low-cost portable chicken coop plan makes raising backyard chickens easier for just about anyone. Deep Litter Chicken Manure Management Learn about the advantages and disadvantages of the deep litter system and how you can manage a small flock’s manure easily and efficiently. Home Cheesemaking: From Hobby to Business Artisan cheesemakers who aspire to make their passion a profession will face many challenges on the way to establishing a successful business. Live on Less!
Homesteading & Country Living 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:
Start a 1-Acre, Self-Sufficient Homestead - Modern Homesteading Everyone will have a different approach to keeping a self-sufficient homestead, and it’s unlikely that any two 1-acre farms will follow the same plan or methods or agree completely on how to homestead. Some people like cows; other people are afraid of them. Some people like goats; other people cannot keep them out of the garden. For myself, on a 1-acre farm of good, well-drained land, I would keep a cow and a goat, a few pigs and maybe a dozen hens. Raising a Dairy Cow Cow or no cow? On the other hand, the food that you buy in for this family cow will cost you hundreds of dollars each year. 1-Acre Farm With a Family Cow Half of your land would be put down to grass, leaving half an acre arable (not allowing for the land on which the house and other buildings stand). Grazing Management At the first sign the grass patch is suffering from overgrazing, take the cow away. Tether-grazing on such a small area may work better than using electric fencing. Intensive Gardening Half-Acre Crop Rotation
Sustainable Food Center - Austin, Texas The Owner Built Home & Homestead Ken Kern, author of The Owner-Built Home and The Owner-Built Homestead, is an amazing fellow and everyone interested in decentralist, back-to-the-land, rational living should know of his work. Back in 1948 he began collecting information on low-cost, simple and natural construction materials and techniques. He combed the world for ideas, tried them and started writing about his experiments. Eventually, Mildred Loomis started publishing Kern's articles in The Interpreter, Way Out and Green Revolution. This installment of Ken's work is taken from The Owner-Built Home. The Homestead Building Site: Introduction to Building I am intending this to be a how-to-think-it as well as a how-to-do-it book. Everyone in the building industry appears to be busily engaged making "improvements" in his personal area of concern. Tracing these causes to their sources has helped me to view the problem in perspective—comprehensively. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Thoreau said:
The Self Sufficient Blog The Self Sufficient Blog is my mini-journal about self sufficent farm living. It... -- keeps you up-to-date on new information and what others are doing to become more self sufficient. ---New methods and creative approaches to farm living. -- keeps you up-to-date with other postings or news about self sufficient farm living --Join my blog and become more self sufficent by clicking on the orange button to subscribe. Self Sufficient Living There is nothing like the feeling of self sufficient living. Continue reading "Self Sufficient Living" The "Ah ha" Moment Here I am, 54 years old. Continue reading "The "Ah ha" Moment" Aquaponics Systems Aquaponics systems, simply put, is an agriculture ecosystem where plants and animals co-habitat in a cultivated water environment. Continue reading "Aquaponics Systems" Homemade Solar Panels People are successfully making homemade solar panels that perform and look better than manufactured panels. Continue reading "Homemade Solar Panels" Farms R Us
Homesteading resources Don’t put it off any longer! Here is a list of homesteading schools that can help you learn the skills you need to be self-sufficient. We have the bases covered; below are contacts to assist you in everything from growing your own food to building a cozy home. Plus, use the map at the bottom of the page to locate all the homesteading schools that are in this list, plus other places where you can learn homesteading skills. View Larger Map Aprovecho Education for Sustainable Living 80574 Hazelton Rd. EcoNest 1131 Paradise Lane Ashlad, OR 97520 EcoVillage Training Center 184 Schoolhouse Road P.O. Emerald Earth SanctuaryP.O. Fox Maple School of Traditional Building P.O Box 249, 65 Corn Hill Road Brownfield, Maine 04010 207-935-3720 Great Lakes School of Log Building 1350 Snowshoe Trail Isabella, MN 55607 House Alive! Mendocino Ecological Learning Center 4651 Bear Canyon Road Willits CA, 95490 707-456-0779 Permaculture Institute P.O. Homesteading John C. Brasstown, NC 28902 828-837-2775
Surviving The Middle Class Crash Plan the Perfect Homestead Ever since 1970, when MOTHER EARTH NEWS was founded, readers have been writing in with questions about homesteading and stories about their own experiences with rural living. We get calls and e-mails every week confirming that thousands of Americans still dream of going “back to the land” to learn to grow their own food, build their own homes, generate electricity from renewable sources and live a self-reliant lifestyle. Often, people ask us “What should I do first? How can I learn what I need to know?” Where to Start Although many people dream of buying several acres in the country, you can start homesteading wherever you are. In fact, many aspects of homesteading work as well in the city or suburbs as in the country. Whatever your homesteading plans, Hunt says it’s important to focus on your priorities. Making Ends Meet For many people, the homesteading dream is to buy a few acres and earn a living from their land. Finding Your Place Home Building and Beyond Renewable Energy Radishes.