For New Homesteaders

Are you Mooooooo-ving? This video is great! If you don’t like watching adorable animals and farm life, skip straight to minute 13:00 for his advice on beginning a homestead venture. Honestly, if you’ve never done this before you will need as much advice as you can get. And most of it you’ll want to follow!

For hopeful new homesteaders I would suggest the following (after enjoying this video): Start with an ambitious veggie patch. Add fruit trees and perennial herbs if they are not already planted. True fact: Lots of different plants growing organically (without pesticides) will help to keep down pest populations in your yard. Hint: You are doing it right if you have amphibians (frogs, salamanders, etc) and reptiles (like a garter snake) show up in your garden. Don’t be afraid of these critters, they are helping you with pest control.

Dragonfly and damselflies (with four separate wings) are top insect predators, and very picky about pesticides. If you have these flyers visit, it is high praise for your very “clean” garden. Wash your freshly picked veggies anyway.

All this planting and planning will give you time to get to know your new property. Each site has its own micro-climate which changes through the seasons. This spot is always shady, that spot never gets water, it’s always windy over there… important stuff you won’t find in a garden guide, even one written for your locale. It takes time and experience to grow a garden. That’s why starting now is a good idea.

After you have secured fruits, herbs, and vegetables think about adding animals that aren’t considered livestock, like chickens and/or honeybees. But only one at a time. Each new animal addition to your “farmily” will have its own maintenance schedule of daily feeding, grooming (yes, even chickens need a bath sometimes,) and visits with a vet.

Some animals are higher maintenance, like dairy goats, and some are easier, like fiber goats. Do your research and think carefully about the value each new animal brings to your homestead. Make sure your property is zoned for livestock before you make the purchase, and double check HOA rules before putting that veg patch in the front yard.

Homesteading is important. Everyone should be connected to their food production this way, and not long ago most of us were – but it’s hard work. The idyllic moments of watching the cows mow the lawn ARE the reward. You will be fit and tan, and tired long before the work is done. It’s worth it.

But if you just like the way cows look standing in someone else’s field, maybe watching them on YouTube is the way to go. 😉