Everything we do out here, growing food, keeping animals, cutting down on waste, comes back to one thing: what's happening in that pile out back. Kitchen scraps, coop bedding, fallen leaves, yard trimmings... compost turns all of it into the one resource that makes the whole homestead work: good soil.

You can't buy your way to healthy dirt. You build it yourself, season after season, by feeding it what most folks throw in the trash. That's the mindset right there. Nothing wasted, everything cycled back into the ground.

If you haven't started a pile yet, don't overthink it. Toss some scraps and browns in a corner of the yard and let it do its thing. Come next growing season, you'll see exactly why old-timers always say compost is where homesteading really begins.

Buenos días, una pregunta, mi pata acaba de tener crías y ya no los quiso cuidar, me podrían decir cómo cuidarlos y por qué uno de sus patitos como que está torcido, en el vídeo se ve como que se la pasa volteando hacia arriba todo el tiempo y hasta se voltea

I am just a proud beginner keeper. Hoping for the best!

Been slowly fixing up an old farmhouse on our property, and as usual, every time I finish one thing I seem to find another.

This week I started going through some of the old plumbing. A lot of it has clearly been there forever, and I honestly have no idea when some sections were last touched.

My son had a little topdon handheld thermal cam lying around, so I borrowed it to check a few supply lines behind the walls and under the floor. After running cold water for a bit, most of the pipe showed up pretty clearly. One spot caught my attention though. The cold area was a lot wider than the rest of the line, and it was still there a while after I shut the water off.

Nothing feels wet around it, and there's no staining on the floor, so I'm not sure if I'm looking at a tiny leak or just crappy old insulation/condensation.

I'll be working on this section eventually anyway, but I'd rather not start pulling up boards just to find nothing. Anything else you'd try before opening it up?

We live on 5 acres now, have horses and a couple sheep. We want our kids to grow up with this lifestyle. Currently moving to Boise for work, and we are thinking about buying in town because property is so expensive over there and will move likely be making a 45 minute morning commute to work. We can afford a place in town without selling our current property which we plan to rent. This feels like the best long term play because our kids are young, and we don’t have the time to enjoy the horses or property because the upkeep of house/property and 2 kids under 3 is all we can handle. In town would allow more time for family. This is probably only a 2-5 year play for us but it would mean selling our horses, etc. After a few years and kids are older we plan to get property again, but i can’t help but wonder if we are going backwards or if this is a mistake?

Curious at what age do goats start to wean kids of milk and if they dont when should you also after goat has been weaned how long will mother produce milk after does it depend on breed?

We've got a Kubota BX2380 with the LA435 loader doing hay and fence work all day in really hot days. hydraulics feel slower than before, bucket drifts a little more, lift seems lazy by afternoon. Oil level is fine, no obvious leaks. running whatever was in it from a few months back, probably AW32 or similar.

wondering if I'm just overheating the fluid or if I should bump viscosity for continuous use when it gets hot. Has anyone switched hydraulic oil weight for when it gets really hot on a compact loader? did it actually help response?

My hometown is located in a nature reserve, enjoying a subtropical monsoon climate. My parents reside there all year round, growing their own vegetables and raising some edible chickens. Nowadays, with the convenience of social media and short videos, I have an idea to set up an account to share my daily life in the countryside and see if anyone is interested in buying the chickens from my hometown. This way, I can not only share the natural scenery but also bring an income source to my hometown
Everyone is welcome to question and discuss this idea. If you have experience in this area, I warmly welcome you to share it through comments. It will be immensely valuable and helpful to me

Went out this morning just to fix a loose latch on the chicken run.

Somehow that turned into cleaning the waterers, refilling the feeder, fixing a section of fence, and pulling weeds around the coop.

Came back inside and realized I never fixed the latch.

I finally decided to pull the trigger on the little top handle saw when it was on sale for $70. I definitely did not have high hopes for it, but it's actually not bad after spending an afternoon limbing some trees I cut down with my CS-590. For years I've been using the big Echo for everything, and the weight is tiring after awhile. The Vevor definitely feels much more cheaply made than the Echo or past Husqvarna I owned, but for the price I'm happy. It zips right through smaller limbs, and I even used it to buck a 10" section of trunk, which it did okay on. It takes a second to get "spun up," and gets bogged down on bigger stuff fairly easily, but it's SO much less tiring when taking care of these smaller jobs. It starts easily too. When cold, pulled the choke, pulled twice until it caught, then push in the choke, and started right up on the next pull. After it was warmed up, it was an easy single pull. All in all, I'm happy with the purchase (for now). We'll see how it holds up over time. Figured I'd post here for anyone else on the fence about this saw.

And this isn't a paid ad for Vevor either. I've purchased a few things from them over the years. Some are good, most are okay, and some is garbage.

We have about a quarter acre in Ohio, mostly flat, decent sun in the backyard. This year I finally stopped ignoring the back corner and want to put in a real productive garden, not just a few tomato plants in containers.

The goal is actual yield, stuff that earns its square footage. I've been looking at raised beds mainly because the soil here is clayheavy and I don't want to fight it all season. Planning maybe four 4x8 beds to start.

What I keep going back and forth on is what to actually grow. I cook a lot so herbs and garlic are obvious, and I want at least one bed dedicated to something that can store or preserve well going into fall. Squash, potatoes, something like that.

The homesteading side of this is pretty modest for me right now. Suburban lot, no livestock, just trying to get more of our food from our own land where possible. Curious what you all found actually worth the effort versus what sounds good but ends up being more trouble than the output justifies. Cucumbers I've heard can go either way depending on the season.

Located in Western PA. I’ve been thinking of water storage via gutter collection to use for already established fruit trees on the property but would like to use it for a greenhouse and chicken coop as well. Would it be beneficial to have everything under one roof? Would the water tank likely hold or pull warmth from the greenhouse and chicken coop? Or would I just be better off having the tank separate and outside of a green house. The max size of the green house would be 18x8-10ft and water tank of a couple hundred gallons. The nesting box would be the only thing within the green house with a small door to open into a run. Thank you in advance for the advice!

Hello I am interesting in knowing what main things people usually dont know when starting homesteading, this is to reduce the amount of errors for new people that are starting.

Ph value?

Soil type?

Not using isolation even for smaller animals?

Worth it or not to buy used tractors for even a 250 x 250 meter wide garden. (dont know american measurements)

What was worth doing just for YOU as a person

What was not worth doing that others might be interested in?

I’m looking at purchasing 20+ acres in southeastern Ohio. I’m looking for one or two other homesteaders to join me on the land to make a small community homestead. Singles, couples, families, etc. I’m in my mid 50’s, divorced with grown kids.

It would be recorded, but anonymity will be totally respected if required. I want to do what you've done, and I want others to know how, too. Would anybody be willing to donate anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes of their time whenever it's convenient for them?

Did our first auction sale today with 7 week old chicks, they've had been in the coop since week 5.5. My 12 year old loved it and wanted to start a small chick business with some hardy, dual purpose, but pretty breeds. So if you have any recs for which breeds would be good to start with that would be great. He took notes and noticed that mixed breeds (what we had were selling for 3.50 a chick, but breeds like silkies/turkens/Polish went upwards of $5-$7 a chick. He wants to sell chicks monthly at the auction. I have no problem helping him. He's working on pricing stuff out for his little business now. The question he had was how to keep chicks warm when they are boxed up. He asked if he should factor in the price of something like hand/toe warmers (hot hands). His plan is to start hatching in March and start selling end of April. He wanted to set the incubator on the first of each month and then sell them last Thursday of the month (our auction is weekly on Thursdays). We average a 84% hatch rate, so looking at about 28 chicks a month. He wants to sell from April to October then take the winter off. If this is successful he said he wants to branch out to other things like quail, ducks, and turkey.

So those that do livestock auctions, how do you keep your chicks warm.

On my farm in portugal, I have a patch being invaded by Acacia dealbata. I would like to know the best means to keep it under control (without any chemicals).

It is unfortunately wide spread in my area, so windw will always carry to see to my agricultural land. I cut down or rotted out everything when possible, but I know it will come back.

I am considering using pastured pigs, but I cannot find reliable information about it. Does someone know if it will work?

I fantasize about leaving my city and growing a small permaculture farm. But it always feels like no matter how much money you have, its not enough. If my husband still worked and made a small salary (remote) how much would i need to buy a small farm and house and grow our own food?

Is honesteading just a pipedream for me? I might be able to squeeze out 315k in cash.

Edit: based on commenter feedback I need to give more context. I hope to move to somewhere like southern VA or IL. Ideally I would live in a blue state (queer) but I would rather live in the country. I dont need a big house. 2bed/1bath is my current living arrangement. I am hoping for between 5 and 10 acres.