/r/homestead
Ponds, barns, livestock, gardens, food preservation, fishing, hunting, tractors, pigs, chickens, cattle, worms, 4H, permaculture, organic, grazing, canning, aquaculture, trees, woodland, farmers, agriculture, agronomy, horticulture, wwoofers, bees, honey, wildcrafting, dairy, goats, nuts, berries, vegetables, sustainability, off grid, wood stoves, chainsaws, wood heat, tools, welding, green woodworking, farmers markets, composting toilets, straw bale homes, cob building...
Homesteading is... ponds, barns, livestock, gardens, food preservation, outdoor kitchens, fishing, hunting, shop projects, tractors, bush hogs, pigs, raising chickens, cattle, worms, 4H, permaculture, organic practices, cast iron skillet, neighbor relations, frugality, 5 gallon buckets, crops, grazing, fences, lumber, canning, aquaculture, trees, woodland, diatomaceous earth, farmers, root cellars, smoke houses, mason jars, agriculture, agronomy, horticulture, critter shelter, farm interns, wwoofers, bees, honey, wildcrafting, dairy, goats, raised garden beds, paddock shift systems, nuts, berries, vegetables, growing sweet potatoes, self sufficiency, permaculture design course, off grid, alternative building, alternative energy, wood stoves, chainsaws , wood heat, tools, welding, woodworking, green woodworking, joel salatin, red worms, sepp holzer, masanobu fukuoka, ianto evans, art ludwig, farmers markets, animal husbandry, cottage industry, outhouses, composting toilets, septic tanks, ferro cement, straw bale construction, cob building...
Thanks for stoping by and happy homesteading!
/r/homestead
Wondering if I didn't wrong. Has a slight tinge of tan color.
Smells a little porky as well. Would love some thoughts.
My husband says I need to stop hoarding the feed bags. Today I showed him that it was aaaaall worth it!
Experienced gardeners, what are your go-to products for insulating raised beds and containers for fall and winter? Are there any covers, fabrics, or tools that have worked best for you?
I am trying to grow microgreens for the maximum health benefits (without oxalates). Please let me know which of the following to exclude? I only want to grow the healthiest varieties:
I've considered growing them because they're just overall very cute and interesting, what has stopped me from trying to grow them is that I have no clue what to do with them. I've heard that you can basically grow them anywhere which would be nice because the weather can be pretty unpredictable here. I'm in zone 6a. I think they're supposed to be pretty good for you and I'm on a quest to eat healthier. I've seen that they can be made into pickles and used in salads, but I can't imagine that's all you can do with them. Please share your favorite cucamelon uses and recipes! I'd love to give growing and eating them a try!
I started out with sunchokes earlier this year and today I finally pulled two of them to see how they'd performed. This entire bowl is less than a quarter of the tubers off of those 2 mature chokes with several being larger than my fist. I replanted dozens more in my vacant raised beds for next year to really let them take off. I originally planted these to feed to my rabbits, the stalks, leaves and tubers are extremely nutritious for them and they've absolutely thrived with the addition to their diet. The Inulin will absolutely give you the shits until your gut adapts but they're quite tasty I think
I recently cleared about a half acre of woods, to build a goat pen. I plan to get 3 dwarf goats in the spring in this pen, and they will be our families brush-clearers/pets.
I planted winter rye in this area to make sure there is something covering the ground in the spring. In the spring, is there any grasses or plants you would recommend for inside this goat pen?
Couple factors- they will be wethers, which it sounds like they shouldn’t eat much legumes. We live in northern Wisconsin. Ideally, I’d like something not super tall. Mosquitos love to hide out in the taller grass for first half of summer here. Something that is good for the soil, something the goats like, and doesn’t grow out of control is something I’m looking for. Bonus points for native to the region. Thanks!
Thanks!
Charlotte got meaner !!!
I'm looking for a quality countertop water filter dispenser to order online in Canada in the $200-300 range. Which brand name has the most consistent reputation for quality? I've heard bad things about Berkey and can't seem to find any real alternatives on Amazon. Where else should I look?
What do you think of the following two options:
For those in the know. 👍
I found an industrial sized wood shaving machine on alibaba for $840 shipped, which seems a little too good to be true. Maybe I'm misunderstanding something, like it might not come with an engine to drive it? That wouldn't be a dealbreaker, since I can get diesel engines on amazon for pretty cheap.
I wanted to get someone else's input before ordering it. Thanks, all.
I have questions about what to do next with a sand point well. I need some help from those of you who have experience using/installing/maintaining a shallow sand point well.
I installed a sand point well that is 28 ft deep. The hand pump after 2-3 pumps is almost impossible to push down. Too much suction or pressure. I’m assuming this is because the sand point is down in a layer of clay. I’ve measured and I know there is water 10-15feet down. I just can’t draw it out with this pump.
Money is tight so I need to know my next step will work before I commit to it. The question I have for all of you is , what the heck do I do next…? Would an electric pump work? It would need to be solar. Or is this well a lost cause..? Any help is appreciated.
I'm having a mouse problem and am trying to fix it within the next 1-2 weeks so that I can plant my garlic in time. Never had a problem until this year but they're digging under my beds and up through the soil and have been eating them all year. I'm in Southern Ontario - zone 6b.
I've tried using human hair and cayenne pepper and cinnamon but nothing is slowing them down so I'm looking at creating some type of barrier. Cats aint doing their job lol.
The beds were created with hugelkultur which I believe might be part of the problem since they get to bed in all the wood logs at the bottom. I'm debating if I should remove the logs so that I can create a deeper bed. I'm using birdie beds which are 29 inches tall but only ~12-14 inches of soil. I've dug out the soil to the wood layer. So I'm looking for suggestions on what to do now.
I figure I can either add a layer of fine crushed and cleaned gravel. Or add a "fencer wire" that is either 1/4th inch or 1/8th inch. Or do a combination of both. This is the product I'm looking at at the moment. https://www.homedepot.ca/product/fencer-wire-1-8-inch-x-2-ft-x-100-ft-27-gauge-hardware-cloth/1001469454
I also want to make sure earthworms are still able to dig through the mesh/gravel (unsure if they can get through gravel), can earthworms get through 1/8th inch holes?
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
What's the best way of financing buying land and building a barndominum? Im located in texas and plan on building. I was going to buy land first and then get the loan for construction later but someone told me it was easier to do it all at once.
I have a chicken that secretly went broody (don’t they always 🫠) when I found her I candled her 14 eggs & 11 of them have chicks in them. It’s getting cold & I’m afraid once they hatch & grow they won’t fit under her. We have always used the standard red light heat lamp for our chicks that we took care of, but has always made me a little nervous. Has anyone ever used one of the ceramic heat emitters in their lamps? I’ve looked it up but just found lots of mixed reviews.
I made strawberry jam today, and I don't think it is going to set properly. It is thick enough that I'm happy to eat it like it is, I'm just wondering if it is adequately food safe. It's 50/50 sugar and berries, and water bath canned for 10 minutes. Obviously the shelf stability comes from the sugar binding with the water to reduce free water to safe levels. If I have not boiled sufficiently for it to set does that mean I have too much free water?
Hi, I am moving onto my family’s compound soon. This will make up 3 households on 20 acres. I am looking for ideas for us to pool resources and cut costs from each household through sharing. Some ideas I have so far:
-My brother will get a chicken coop for all of us to have eggs -I will get a greenhouse for herbs and produce to share
I make a higher income than the other households so I am also interested in ways that I can help move some of my money to help the other households in a fair way, or make larger purchases to benefits all of us. (Solar panels? )
Thanks for any advice and ideas!
👋 Hello Friends So..... I'm a huge tomato pasta sauce lover, but for the life of me, I cannot make the sauce from scratch. I've tried so many times, and the taste and consistency doesn't match up to the store bought ones. I'm thinking I'm missing something or the tomato 🍅 God's have cursed my tomato sauce making ability.
Anyways..... my question is, what secret ingredient or recipe do you use to make perfect tomato pasta sauce?
😆 Yes, I'm looking to make the perfect pasta sauce.
Thanks in advance DM
I just need some perspective on what’s normal. We have a bunch of animals and so far we have lost 8 chickens (racoon, hawk, pure stupidity once or twice, etc…), one goat (got his foot and head stuck and broke his neck freaking out), one cow (fell over and couldn’t get up - no vet would even come try to help), and now possibly one cat that I haven’t seen all day when he is usually greeting me in the mornings.
The neighbors down the road have a whole flock of chickens free ranging, and they seem fine. Why are mine an all you can eat buffet for predators? Is it normal to have so many animals die the first year? I have lost more animals since March than ever before IN MY LIFE! Am I just a bad owner? I thought the coop was fixed, I called every vet, we fixed the goat pen so idiots couldn’t die on it…
It feels like m farm is just a really pretty death trap.
Greetings, I am looking to buy some goats this spring primarily to keep my grass and brush at bay.
I have about 9 acres and 2 of those acres are pasture. My yard is extremely steep in some places and cutting the grass is a pain. If i do not cut the grass weekly the grass and also brush (ie random poplar saplings, various bryers etc.) will explode. In order solve this problem I would like to get some goats. What breed would you recommend?
Some things I am looking for in a goat: Preferably kid safe. I live in the mountains and the summer temps here are 70-85 while the winters can range from 0-40 degrees F so it would be good if the breed were cold tolerant.
Hello everyone!! Hope everyone is having a good day. I am in desperate need of some privacy ideas and I’m sure you great folks know of some.
Neighbor decided to ruin our front yard view and is building a house and placed his big ass RV on the edge of his property line… which borders our front yard (despite there being several other building locations)
Anyways, I was thinking of either uprooting some smaller/medium sized trees and skirting them around our property line or putting up a white farms house style fence with hedges but the problem with planting trees directly up front might cause issues with our water well lines that lead to the house.
What do you guys think? Thanks for taking the time to read this!
**Red line in picture is the property line
3 cord all piled up and waiting for its new home.