Next week we will be starting a new series of posts to fill both an information need that has been expressed and our currently empty Friday writers slot. The series will be called Homesteading 101. We will try to explore some of the challenges people face when starting out on a homesteading adventure or when adding new skills to their lives. That doesn’t mean that we think we have all the answers. WE DON’T! But, collectively, we have tried (and, at least in my case, messed up) a lot of different things. Many of them haven’t worked, and we will try to share those things too. We hope this becomes a great conversation, with readers and guest writers filling in the bits we have no experience with. We also hope it becomes a resource for folks who are just starting out and for those of us looking for new ideas.
Some of the topics we will be discussing include
Food Storage
Canning
Home Heating
Rain Catchment Systems
Livestock Basics
We would love to hear what you would like to see in this series.
Great idea! I’d love to see techniques for season extension and root cellaring.
I would love to see some info on pressure canning.
I would like to see information on urban and semi-urban adaptations.
Composting
Container gardens
Dehydrating (and then using) food
Those are some great ides you guys…can’t wait to see what every one come up with!
Sounds exciting! Can’t wait to read the posts.
Looking forward to Homesteading 101 posts and ready to soak it all up for future use. I’ll add to the comments where I can – as far as my own experience will take me anyway.
Very interesting. Can’t wait to see what others are going to share their knowledge of.
Sounds fantastic! I can’t wait to read what you (and others) have learned about it all!
Living in WI I would love to see how others have extended their growing season.
I would love to know more about the financial aspects of homesteading. What ways have homesteaders been able to make money from their activities? I’d like to know if its possible to at least cover the costs of homesteading by selling wares/knowledge/services from the farm.
Your website is a wealth of information and inspiration, and I look forward to reading much more on this topic!
(Great lead-in, Trisha, I think that any farm product sales would be as regional and market-driven as costs are regional and market-driven, but it would still be helpful to know how much time and feed it takes to raise an animal to market weight/age, what it costs to have them butchered, as a basis to compare – if that’s worth a homesteaders’ time to DIY, etc.)
Thanks so much for offering the information!