What is a Homestead? – Homesteading for Beginners Part One
What is a Homestead?
This post is one of two that will talk about homesteading for beginners. We will cover the basics of what a homestead is and then dive into How to Start a Homestead. The most basic definition of a homestead is literally a house and the land surrounding it being occupied by a family. In U.S. history the term was once used to refer to public land granted to a citizen to settle and farm on it. Today homesteading is more about a self-sufficient and sustainable lifestyle.
One of the many great things about homesteading is there are so many ways to do it. For us, it is a garden, chickens and dairy goats. We also have grape vines, a berry patch, fruit trees and a flower garden. Some homesteaders are only in it for the garden and the chickens, some only have one or the other. There are also those that have multiple gardens, a variety of livestock and even have a composting area.
Another great thing about homesteading is that it is based on your goals and dreams. Grow what you want in your garden (or gardens). Raise livestock for what they can provide you. Grow flowers, have an orchard, grow fruit to make jams and jellies. Have bee hives for your own honey (and of course to help save the bees and other pollinators). Any of these activities can be mixed and matched to build your dream homestead.
Let’s talk about what resources are needed, that will be your roadmap to start your homestead journey.
Basic Amenities
The most obvious and important amenity is a home for you. Then of course, running water and power sources are necessities if you plan to have a garden or livestock (also for you). If you live in a drought-heavy climate you will be watering your garden regularly during the growing season. Animals need water too, and many times they will dump their water buckets or troughs or dirty them up. Your climate will also determine if your animals need heating or cooling amenities, which is why power sources are important for you and your homestead. Don’t forget a good septic system.
Land Requirements
In all honesty, you can start homesteading in an apartment. If you have a sunny window for plants to get natural light then you can have a garden. Even if you don’t have a sunny window, grow lights can do the job. There are many ways to utilize vertical space for gardening. While some plants may be out of the question in an apartment due to size, there are still plenty to choose from. Herbs would be a great option for small indoor spaces.
If you have a backyard, great! Even a small one is enough, I mean if you can homestead in an apartment surely there is plenty of ways to utilize a small yard, right? Right! We started our homestead on a quarter of an acre. As I mentioned earlier, we have a lot going on in our yard and still have plenty of space to just hang out when we want to without feeling crowded. We could still add some things (like my husband’s plans to continuously expand the garden), and this would still be true. It is all about being smart on how you utilize your space.
Tools & Equipment
There are a ton of options available for tools and equipment to make your homestead journey easier. However, they aren’t all necessary and they can be quite expensive. A lot of the DIY projects we have done for our homestead we used a drill and a jigsaw. Not even fancy ones, they were the cheaper and lower quality ones, but they did the job. These are the same tools we used when we were renovating the mobile home we lived in prior to moving to our quarter acre.
Renting tools and equipment can be an option for bigger short-term projects. We have also borrowed various tools from friends and family for specific tasks our tools couldn’t accomplish. We have a few key things we determine before deciding to make a tool purchase. One, do we really need this for this project or is there a work around that is just as easy? Two, will we use it for more than this one project? Three, is it a reasonable price for how much we will utilize it?
Spending a ton of money on tools and equipment isn’t necessary when starting a homestead or at any point during your homestead journey. It is very easy to give in to the shiny object pattern but stay strong and evaluate what you need to spend your money on.
Skills & Knowledge
The homestead lifestyle can very easily be a learn as you go. My husband and I had some gardening experience from helping our moms in the garden while growing up. We also knew the very basics of caring for chickens, the rest we had to research and learn through our own experiences.
When it comes to livestock, I encourage you to be thorough in your research on how to care for them. These are living creatures that will depend on you for survival and are a huge responsibility. Do the research BEFORE obtaining the animals so you can be sure you are prepared to keep them alive.
Are You Ready for the Next Step?
Check out my blog on How to Start a Homestead that is part two of Homesteading for Beginners. Be sure to grab this Roadmap to Starting Your Homestead Journey by clicking here. This FREE workbook will give you the steps to take to start planning for your dream homestead!
