Homesteading

[fastbilly1]

Homesteading is simply living a lifestyle of more self-sufficiency than you use to. Be it by having a home garden to grow vegetables and fruit, making your own textiles, or living in a tiny house off the grid. This is not to be confused with the homestead act that allowed people to obtain unused federal owned land for a fee (before you look it up, it was abolished in the 70s). Like the word itself, view this topic as a catchall for gardening, tiny house, and oddball things like making bricks or spinning wool.

My wife and I live on 1.18 acres in somewhat rural Tennessee, and operate a 150 acre horse farm that she grew upon in very rural Tennessee with her parents. About 1/5th of our property is used for a garden which we grow most of our vegetables for the summer and early winter months on. Last year we had three raised beds and about 10 pots of various sizes. This year we will have six raised beds, 12 pots, and hopefully will be storing enough food that we can get through next winter. Gardening is something that ANYONE can do, aslong as they are ok failing at it the first few times. It is not instant gratification, it takes work and time. We average about 30 minutes a day on the garden during season, between weeding, harvesting, repairing, and watering (obviously with more time spent at the beginning and the end). Last year we pulled out almost two tonnes of food, more than we could eat or can so we traded alot of it, this year we are going for six tonnes - 6000 kilos for our metric friends.

When we first got married we lived in a 300ish sq foot house that she was renting (would fit inside a standard 2 car garage). I could lay on the couch and cook on the stove. After that, I have no desire to move into a tiny house, despite my infatuation with them. There is an excellent documentary about tiny houses on Netflix entitled TINY: A Story About Living Small if you are interested in the movement. Having been there, I can see the appeal to some people but there are plenty of problems with the micro houses (Building codes, utility hookup, zoning, etc). But one of the people in film made the most pressing point about the subject I could think of. The Tiny house movement is not about everyone moving into sub 200 sq foot houses. It is however about maximizing your home use efficiency. A Tiny house for someone living in 6000 sq foot palace, might be a 4000 sq foot house. The same as someone living in 1400 might be 200. When you think about it that way, it makes you really have to rethink what you are doing.

We are actually looking into downsizing our 2200 sq foot house to a 1400 one next year, partially because of the movement, but mostly because we have been offered almost double what we paid for it. When we do move, it will be to a property with atleast 20 acres, four of which will become our garden/orchard. Near the house we will have a greenhouse with an aquaponic setup inside. After reading this book:
http://ibcofaquaponics.com/
And operating a small scale version, I am convinced that this is the way to solve world hunger.

[Blu]

I will be following this thread very closely.

For one, when we have our own home, I think we'd like to be somewhat removed and have our own little place with some land. The garden is certainly a given, and being able to have a plethora of our own fresh food would be quite incredible!

The advanced things like raising some livestock and spinning wool would be neat lessons towards self sufficiency also!

Edit: I don't know that I'd be down with an IBC type of dispersal system. The cheap, thin plastic I worry would leech BPA's or other harmful chemicals onto the food that we'd eat. Are there methods around that at all fast?

[fastbilly1]

I will be following this thread very closely.

Glad to hear it. Through my travels and side jobs I have done alot of oddball things, and I always like learning more. Im trying to weld now, but end up burning myself more often than actually getting the metal to touch.

For one, when we have our own home, I think we'd like to be somewhat removed and have our own little place with some land. The garden is certainly a given, and being able to have a plethora of our own fresh food would be quite incredible!

What part of MI are you in? You will be 6a-4b depending on the area on the mainland, and 4b-2b in UP. If you are UP I would highly recommend building a greenhouse or growing inside. Even if you just build hotboxes or magic tunnels for the spring and fall. On the mainland, at worst you have about three good months of solid grow time. 6a is very similar to where I live in 7a so you should be able to grow what I do in roughly the same time frames.

The advanced things like raising some livestock and spinning wool would be neat lessons towards self sufficiency also!

Rabbits are probably the best starting point for livestock - since they are usually kept as pets. Then you can move into something more fun like Chicken, Ducks, or Goats. The hardest part of any livestock raising is killing it when it is time. But having a friend or neighbor who is a hunter and likes fresh meat is a good way to handle that.

Edit: I don't know that I'd be down with an IBC type of dispersal system. The cheap, thin plastic I worry would leech BPA's or other harmful chemicals onto the food that we'd eat. Are there methods around that at all fast?

Many people use IBCs that were only used for water or glucose and bury them as a sump tank or fish, then use metal barrels or bathtubs as the growing areas. Mostly because they are cheap, if not free. I have obtained five of them over the years for the farm, just by stopping when I see them stacked up at a property - It never hurts to ask. Really the sky the limit in how you want to build it. You just have to have atleast two tanks - one for fish and one for growing. The IBC book is just the best way to explain everything about the process in a compact notion. Personally, I plan on following the advice set by this guy:
http://www.bigelowbrook.com/
His build log is here:

I found his build log when looking into Geodesic domes about two years ago. I had no idea what aquaponics was at the time and actually scoffed at his idea. But he sold me on the whole concept - Backyard Aquaponics and the IBCs book just cemented it.

[samsonlonghair]

Awesome thread.

I grew up in a city, so I naturally started a little ignorant regarding this kind of stuff. Over the past three years I have been gradually remedying myself of that ignorance.

I raise up a goat every year. I buy a kid in the spring, let him graze all summer, and slaughter him after the first snowfall. I'm not going to lie; it was slightly traumatic the first time, but I think it's important to understand where my food comes from. Also, I have some relief knowing that my goat lived a simple, happy life without abuse. He was never mistreated; he never went hungry; he was never fed anything unwholesome; he was never shot full of antibiotics. In case you're interested, goat tastes a lot like venison. A few hours in the crock pot makes the meat nice and tender.

Raising goats is not without its hassles though. My goat ate up my raspberry bushes and all my flowers. He tried to break into the house numerous times too. Over time I have found that bottle fed kids grow up to be more troublesome than their tit fed counterparts. Now I know better than to bottle feed my goats. This last year my goat was much easier to manage because I learned to avoid certain pitfalls.

[fastbilly1]

We have a herd of goats at the farm, 50 or 60 of them now. Two (a billy and fillie) were born last year on the coldest day of the year and we though they were going to die. But my father inlaw saved them and bottlefed them alittle to long. Now when you go anywhere, they want to follow you. If you sit in a chair they hop into your lap, all 60 pounds. So they both got their horns cut all the way down. They are just like giant dogs with funny eyes now.

The rest of the goats keep a oddly shaped 10 acre hillside clear. It is not a place where we could put horses, so its perfect for the lawncare herd. If I can get some replacement pads for the bulldozer this year, I will be clearing the top of the hillside, fencing it, and growing grapes there. But I fight deer, so that fence has to be 8 foot.

[samsonlonghair]

How high of a fence do you need to keep your goats out of your produce?

[fastbilly1]

For goats, I use 3ft of pagewire at the bottom and two to three rounds of barbwire above that. So about a 4ft fence. The barbwire is there for two reasons:
1. Occasionally we need to drydock a horse, so we put them in one of the goat pastures. Horses need the deterrent
2. It stops the goats from jumping on the pagewire, most of the time.

[samsonlonghair]

Only four feet? I have a four foot farm fence (simple metal wire) but that doesn't stop the goat from jumping the fence. I guess barbwire is what makes the difference.

[Blu]

What part of MI are you in? You will be 6a-4b depending on the area on the mainland, and 4b-2b in UP. If you are UP I would highly recommend building a greenhouse or growing inside. Even if you just build hotboxes or magic tunnels for the spring and fall. On the mainland, at worst you have about three good months of solid grow time. 6a is very similar to where I live in 7a so you should be able to grow what I do in roughly the same time frames.

At the moment, we're in Southeast Michigan. We're renting, so I mean I'm likely to pocket a bunch of ideas and more or less "pin" them for the future. In a perfect world, where we'd be able to secure employment in the UP, that'd be where we'd go.

Rabbits are probably the best starting point for livestock - since they are usually kept as pets. Then you can move into something more fun like Chicken, Ducks, or Goats. The hardest part of any livestock raising is killing it when it is time. But having a friend or neighbor who is a hunter and likes fresh meat is a good way to handle that.

Yeah, I don't know if I could send the lovely livestock to the slaughter. Is there a sustainable way that you've found or others have used to raise ducks or chickens, and use a lot of their manure or waste as fertilizer, etc? Does the feed necessary outweigh their benefit? That's what I'm curious about. I'd just like a few ducks to run around and gently quack at me. Chase the kids around a bit.

Many people use IBCs that were only used for water or glucose and bury them as a sump tank or fish, then use metal barrels or bathtubs as the growing areas. Mostly because they are cheap, if not free. I have obtained five of them over the years for the farm, just by stopping when I see them stacked up at a property - It never hurts to ask. Really the sky the limit in how you want to build it. You just have to have at least two tanks - one for fish and one for growing. The IBC book is just the best way to explain everything about the process in a compact notion. Personally, I plan on following the advice set by this guy:
http://www.bigelowbrook.com/
His build log is here:

I found his build log when looking into Geodesic domes about two years ago. I had no idea what aquaponics was at the time and actually scoffed at his idea. But he sold me on the whole concept - Backyard Aquaponics and the IBCs book just cemented it.

I really like his build. I jumped around in the series a bit, but is there a specific amount of yield he's looking to get out of a building that size? I mean that looks like quite an extensive investment, especially when he went off the grid with the solar panels. Does he cover what his total costs for this bad boy? Really quite awesome though! Question, what's the purpose of the koi and fish tank? Adding nutrients to the soil?

From his tour though, doesn't look like he has much growing.

[samsonlonghair]

Another dream is building my own home. I don't actually know the first thing about wood working, so I'm woefully ill prepared for this, but maybe in five or ten years I'll be able to get started.

I grew up in South Florida, so I'm familiar with cement dome houses. They're as close to "hurricane proof" as any house can possibly be. I think a house should be designed with the environment in mind, especially regarding disaster preparation. For instance, in California all new structures must be able to resist earthquakes. Makes sense, right? Where I live now, we see floods in the valleys every spring, yet there's practically no regulations regarding flood-proofing a house. If I'm on a floodplain, I would want to build my house like this:

The garage is the only part on ground level, and the rest of the house is elevated above the flood lines. I also really love wrap-around porches. I'm a southern boy at heart. I don't really need a house that big though. A simple cottage elevated above a one car garage would suit me well, especially with a wrap-around deck. Sometimes these are called "mother-in-law suites".