A question we’ve asked ourselves several times over is “When is it the right time to start homesteading?” The answer to that question will be as different as the people who ask it. Everyone has their own circumstances and challenges that need to be overcome. It can be very hard to break out of the modern style of living and we are right in the thick of it! Breaking away from working a day job to buy the things you need so you can, instead, work to produce the things you need yourself is not an easy step to take at all. It still takes money and time. More importantly, it takes skills.
One of the ways we prepare to live a homesteading life is to use the time we have to learn new skills. When the time and land comes, we won’t have to muddle through how to preserve the food from the garden. We won’t have to learn how to fall trees, chop wood, and use it for heat. We’ll already know and be well practiced in foraging for berries, medicinal herbs and edibles – plus preserving them!
I asked my friend, Bobbi Peterson, over at Living Life Green for her take on when the ‘right time’ is to start homesteading. She came back with a list very similar to the one I had in my head. Of course, you can always add to it but this is a very good list to begin with. The best part? Many of these can be started right where you are now!
Is There a Right Time to Start Homesteading?
Do you dream of being a homesteader? Maybe a family member recently left you a piece of land in the country, or maybe you’ve considered getting out of Dodge for years to buy a farm and be self-sufficient. But in the modern nine-to-five world, you can’t just get a team of oxen and go, can you?
Is there ever a ‘right time’ to start a homestead? It’s a combination of sheer guts and preparation. However, there are a few things you need to self-educate on before starting a homestead.
Learn How to Store Food
Ideally, you will be growing food to keep year round. Therefore, it’s important to have a plan for food storage from the beginning.
Consider digging a root cellar, which is basically a basement for underground food storing. They’re often attached to houses for easier access. Cool temperature stability is reached close to ten feet under the ground. Wood shelving is preferred to metal because it keeps a consistent temperature. Food storage shelves should be placed one to three inches from the cellar walls to minimize the risk of airborne mold.
If your grandmother didn’t teach you how to can food at home, it’s time to learn this form of food preservation. The high water content of most fresh foods makes them perishable. Proper canning with good vacuum sealing prevents contamination from bacteria, yeast and other microorganisms. Eventually, you’ll be curing and smoking your own meat, too.
Get Green With Gardening Skills
It may sound counterintuitive at first, but you need to start planting your perennials before anything else. These often take years before producing. This is one area you want to work backwards from.
You’ll be growing your own produce and will likely also desire an herb garden to harvest for spices and medicinal purposes. When planning and planting your first vegetable garden, it’s normal to miss a few important details. For instance, your plants need at least six hours of sunlight, and it’s best to plant close to your house with the goal of expanding outward. When planning your medicinal herbal garden, you will also want to research how to harvest and create healing herbal concoctions.
It may seem expensive at first, but it’s possible to produce hundreds of pounds of food and many herbs with just a few packets of seeds. The real cost will be in the gardening equipment, depending on your goals and needs.
Be Prepared for Seasonal and Inclement Weather
Where will your homestead be located? What do you know about the climate? Research and talk to locals about how the weather changes and what to expect.
It’s important to be prepared for seasonal changes. For those new to homesteading, winter will be the biggest challenge. Of course, you’ll need to make sure the animals are safe and well-cared-for in winter and that the house is insulated. However, it’s easy to forget to do certain things, such as preparing your homestead equipment for winter.
Does the area experience any particular inclement weather? Creating an emergency preparedness kit in the case of an earthquake, hurricane or flooding is also necessary.
Have the Right Gear
Equipment to maintain a small homestead can be expensive without financial planning. From a washer and dryer to a hydraulics system for the garden, the equipment you need may surprise you. Though you’ll likely have someone tap underwater sources to comply to code, you can also create an easy DIY back-up well in the case of emergencies, with the right equipment.
Carefully analyze your goals for your homestead, and purchase equipment accordingly. You’ll want a good tractor, tiller and wheelbarrow for the willpower to complete the hard work a garden involves. A quality set of construction tools will help patch up your fixer-upper home, or you can build a tiny home of your dreams.
Make Certain Homesteading Is Legal
In certain areas, how and where you homestead may be against the law. Having goats or sheep in suburbia could be against noise and animal codes. Be wary of obeying laws of proper land use and avoiding taking adverse possession of land that may not even belong to you.
Is the homestead of your dreams capable of standing up to local laws and codes? You may have to alter your dream a little in order to achieve it. Research codes and speak with a lawyer.
Starting your homestead is a possibility within reach. The truth is that there is never a perfect time to do it. Balance between going for it and conducting proper research is necessary. Make sure you have a realistic picture of what running a homestead means and what is practical to achieve. Some aspects of your dream homestead may be better as a long-term goal than something that you do now.
A homestead does take a lot of planning and grit, and much of what you need to learn is done on the go. You adapt to the land and your changing needs, as your ancestors did. When the time is right for you, you’ll know it.
About Bobbi Peterson
Bobbi Peterson loves writing and regularly posts on her blog Living Life Green. She’s also a freelance writer, green living advocate and environmentalist. You can find more from Bobbi on Twitter.