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Hello all. My name is Linda, and I live in Georgia. My husband and I are trying to learn all we can about homesteading. I especially am interested in it. What I am looking for is information on what to do to get started homesteading. My husband will not be able to quit his job right away (mortgage). We have a small house and 3 acres of land. I've never even had a garden, but I really need to find a way to cut our living expenses in a MAJOR way!! I love the idea of being totally self-suficient (although hubby is not as crazy about it as I am). I would even love to go as far as having no-electric (or at least solar or wind powered electric). I guess what I am really asking is for advice on things that I can do (by myself for awhile). I would love to have a garden, chickens, goats, etc., but I just don't know where to begin. I have no idea!! I need help! Thank you!

-- Linda (botkinhomeschool@yahoo.com), June 15, 2000

Answers

Do you get the countryside magazine? That is a big help for anyone! Don't jump into anything without looking at it at all sides first. A garden is pretty simple, depending on the size of it. Go back and read alot of these posts- they'll help in alot of areas.

-- Pat (pmikul@pcpros.net), June 15, 2000.

Well, I have been reading up on different things for a couple of years now. I am sure that this is where I want to be, like I said, I just don't know what to start with. I guess I should start with a garden, and this may be a dumb question, but is it too late to plant anything this year? I know that there are some things that it is too late for, but is there anything that I can still plant and expect to get anything from?

I have one issue of Countryside that a friend gave me, and it is about to fall apart from me reading it so much...lol. As soon as we have some extra cash, I am subscribing!!

-- Linda (botkinhomeschool@yahoo.com), June 15, 2000.


Read Countryside on the web. Also - here's a web ring (a list of related web sites) all about homesteading: http://www.mcsi.net/ssp/homesteaders/

And here's one on living simply: http://www.simpleliving.net/

Follow the links and explore.

My two cents worth (based on my reading - I'm still stuck in the city) - GO SLOW and be patient with yourself. Realize mistakes are a learning experience. Read everything you can get your hands on. You've got plenty of space to get started. If it's too late to plant in Georgia (I really don't know, but it shouldn't be), get the garden turned and ready for next year. Build a compost pile. Unplug as much as you can get away with. Sell the stuff you don't need (microwave, bread machine, . . .)

Good luck and you've found a wonderful group of people to help.

-- Deborah (ActuaryMom@hotmail.com), June 15, 2000.


Get Carla Emery's book "Encyclopedia od Country Living". It's a great resource. Available in the backs of most homestead type magazines, or you can have a local book store order it for you. Last time I looked it was around $25.00. Well worth every cent.

-- Les (lvaughn@suntransformer.com), June 15, 2000.

Linda, it is hard to know where to start. A garden is probably the best place for you to start right now. It isn't too late to have a garden, you'll need to water well since the young plants will just be starting in the heat of summer.

At the same time you can prioritize future projects-if you have your heart set on chickens, build a coop. If you want goats, start fencing. Take your time so you don't get over-whelmed, and have time to scrounge what you can, or at least buy on sale.

Check your library and the internet for ideas on saving money, basic home and car repair help and other things that will both help you save money and get you started learning some of the skills you'll need to homestead. Good Luck Gerbil

-- Gerbil (ima_gerbil@hotmail.com), June 15, 2000.



Start with one thing atr a time and go slowly. Try buying crates of produce at a discount and learn to preserve, or can, them.

If you want to start with animals, try a few hens (3) in a small enclosed place before ordering 25 or more. You can learn on the few and decide if you want more.

Plant things now, it most likely is not too late. Just start slowly. Six tomato plants, 3 zuchinni plants, and cucumbers will be rewarding as they are prolific and easy to raise.

The learning curve can be steep. Take your time climbing it and read all the books at the library on small sscale gardening.

Keep us posted.

-- Anne (HT@Hm.com), June 15, 2000.


Start with one thing atr a time and go slowly. Try buying crates of produce at a discount and learn to preserve, or can, them.

If you want to start with animals, try a few hens (3) in a small enclosed place before ordering 25 or more. You can learn on the few and decide if you want more.

Plant things now, it most likely is not too late. Just start slowly. Six tomato plants, 3 zuchinni plants, and cucumbers will be rewarding as they are prolific and easy to raise.

The learning curve can be steep. Take your time climbing it and read all the books at the library on small scale gardening.

Keep us posted.

-- Anne (HT@Hm.com), June 15, 2000.


Hi Linda, good for you!!! Being interested is the first big step. I live in East Tenn. I planted my beans about a month ago and one kind didn't germinate well. (got them from a neighbor!) So I just replanted some a few days ago. We have a long growing season and yours should be even better. Our puppy dug up most of my green pepper plants, urrrrr, so I went to the feed store and got new plants the other day. The're still selling plants around here. Just keep em watered real good. Alot of us folks around here grow fall and winter gardens too. Potatoes, greens, cabbage and cole crops, onions all kinds of stuff. The fall weather is better for some crops and not so many bugs. Really helps on the food bill! This forum is a great place to ask questions once you get started. Seems like there are folks here who can help on about anything and are very nice and patient. No question seems too small, so ask away. Like everyone else said, start slow, (gardening is good), and you'll be a pro in no time. Welcome aboard!

-- Annie (mistletoe@earthlink.net), June 15, 2000.

Hi Linda. I'm up here in Maine, and because the weather has been so wet and cold here, I haven't even got a third of my garden planted. We still had some frost, during some nights last week. So I'm pretty sure, you'll have time to grow a garden. Make it a small one, so you will be able to handle it. We started homesteading about 6 years ago, but didn't know it . We were really hard up, and so we decided, to raise a pig. But I wouldn't advise to start with something that size. Start with a garden, then a couple of chickens. Rabbits are pretty good for a start-up project, too. Carla Emerys Encyclopedia of country living will definitly get you going on anything you can think of, and then some. Knowledge is really important, I read her book, and remembered things later, as we got more into different things. 6 years later, we have right now 21goats ( dairy and meat ) 2 cows with their calves, 6 sheep, and some chickens. We have a garden every year, and are so pretty much away from the grocery store. Start slow, and you'll be picking up speed soon, good luck.

Karin

-- karin morey (wind_crest@hotmail.com), June 15, 2000.


Hi Neighbor!!!!!! we just moved to Alabama two weeks ago today, so i am learning homesteading in the South right along with you!!! Carla Emery's book is absolutley the way to go...I started by asking myself "How can we do this ourselves?" to every need: need to buy new blankets??Make them instead..you'd be quite surprised how simple it is ....want to buy fruit??? Get fresh and learn canning, then take it a step further and grow your own to eat fresh and then can the rest.Washing your windows??? Visit the forum and learn how to make up your own homemade window cleaner...make soap,dry herbs,bake bread every day during the Winter ( it's FUN)...don't have animals yet? (me neither)..find neighbors who do, buy from them and try your hand at butter, cheese,etc...I did all of these things for over 30 years living in the suburbs..you needn't wait that long!!! LOL..go ahead and try "doing it yourself" day by day.. it's a terrific way to live and before you know it, you'll be giving alot of good advice to some other newbie!!!! God Bless!

-- Lesley Chasko (martchas@gateway.net), June 15, 2000.


I agree that Carla Emery's book is well worth every cent, a great resource on thousands of little details. I have bought dozens of gardening books and the best for getting started, by far, is "Square Foot Gardening" by Mel Bartholomew. It has lots of concise, basic info and he gives you a method that makes it so easy to get started you can't help but get into it. Good Luck!

-- Rod Perrino (redjouster@aol.com), June 16, 2000.

The important thing is to just start. If you look at the whole picture it can seem too intimidating so just choose a couple of things to try and gain some confidence and then move on from there. Since you are in a hot climate and the season is moving along a bit, I would recommend that you plant some tomato plants. They are easy to grow, like the heat and at the end of the season you can start learning to can by canning your tomatoes. That way you learn two skills at once. Go to garage sales this summer to find canning jars cheap and a big enamel pot to can in. This will keep the cost down. If you are able to build a structure, or already have one, for safely raising chickens, I would try that as well by only buying a half dozen to start. They are inexpensive and you can learn on these rather than getting a whole bunch and losing them. They will produce plenty of eggs for you so they will return your investment. I also recommend choosing things that you are really interested in and think you would like doing. Don't buy a goat, or a cow or whatever if you don't particularly like them just because it is a "homestead" thing to do because you will find it is a chore rather than a pleasure. With animals, start small and go from there, but you don't necessarily have to raise animals. Raising vegetables can give you a lot of food as well and are less intimidating to start with.

Since you live in Georgia, you should also consider a fall garden where you grow spinach, peas, lettuce, carrots, etc., the cool weather crops by planting them in late July or August (check your local resources as to exactly when to plant for your area). This will give you some fresh food into the fall and winter.

The main thing is to have fun!!!

-- Colleen (pyramidgreatdanes@erols.com), June 16, 2000.


Linda, Everyone is right when they say go slowly. I got started canning beans. Before I knew it I had Country Living. We started with little changes. Now we've been working on living more simply for almost four years! It doesn't seem that long. Last year we started gardening with some friends (very experienced gardeners!) The wife hasn't been feeling well and they have no children. Our family provides the extra labor they need and we split the cost of plants etc. We made the garden a little bigger this year so there will be more than enough produce for all involved. We have learned so much in such a short time! I would highly recommend this method to anyone lucky enough to have such good friends! They are patient with us and really appreciate the desire to learn. One day I hope to have more land (of my own)to plant in and try some of the things mentioned on this forum and in Countryside. For now I am looking into getting containers ready to plant in next year. I'm a little more enthusiastic about being self sufficient than my husband. He's not much on physical labor so gardening is a really big step for him. He doesn't complain because he loves the taste of the vegetables. We decided just last night that one reason he may not be excited about working in the garden after spending a day at work is because he doesn't see the "putting up" process. I get such a sense of security and satisfaction to preserve the food we have grown. He's out of that link. I make sure I show him the freezer each day (Last night was cabbage and broccoli!) or the canning shelves. He has agreed to an Alladdin lamp for our living room and is actually excited about it. Now we just have to save up for it. We have come so far in a few short years. If you bite off too much at one time though it becomes overwhelming. This forum has so much interesting information. I can't use a lot of it right now, but I read it anyway so that I can have something to build on...who knows, maybe one day I'll have my dream farm and boy will I need every bit of infor I can get! Good luck and congratulations on your lifestyle choice!

-- Jennifer (KY) (acornfork@hotmail.com), June 16, 2000.

I'm new at this also. Over the last few years I have done alot of research and slowly made changes such as startinng a food storage system, finding ways to save money,and thinking about what projects I would like to do. Countryside has been very, very helpful and am very thankful for the quickanswers and wisdom I receive. I agree that taking things slowly would be the best approach but worry that these may not be the best of times soon ( gas prices, continual losses of freedom in this country). Ther is way more than I can accomplish in a year but have taken an accelerated approach. I started with 12 pullets and decided that they werent difficult so got 12 more 3 weeks later. We built 2 differnt coops from free and scrounged materials. I got 4 turkeys just to try and wish now I had gotten more of them. Next week I'm getting 25 meat chickens and am going to try a pen that gets moved each day for new forage. If it works out I'll start 25 more after that. I would also like to get a goat and some rabbits but am moving about as fast as I can at this point. May still get the rabbits this year and barter for fresh milk. Oh almost forgot, we started a garden. Just the basics like lots of tomatoes, green beans, green peppers and onions. But planted enough of each to learn to can this summer. I'm telling you this to let you know alot can be accomplished at one time. I'm just afraid we dont have the luxury of alot of time before at least some self reliance will be necessary because of some turmoil or another in this country. My husband will help build things but is not all that enthusiatic either. Denise

-- Denise (jphammock@earthlink.net), June 16, 2000.

If you are trying to cut expenses but are tinking about solar or wind power to make electricity, you are talking MAJOR $$$. If you already have electricity you might better look to how to conserve the use of it.

-- Hendo (redgate@echoweb.net), June 16, 2000.


Go to Amazon.com and order a copy of "The Have More Plan" and Carla Emery's "Encyclopedia of Country Living". Then, consider a copy of "The Tightwad Gazette" by Amy Dacyczyn. The first two are inspirational and the third will tell you how to save money on just about EVERYTHING.

Good luck!!!

-- Tracy (trimmer@westzone.com), June 16, 2000.


And before you go to buying all those books (which really adds up if you are on a tight budget) go to the library and see how many of them they have and can let you read for FREE!! Even if they don't have one there, they should be able to get it for you on interlibrary loan. You won't be able to keep it as long, but it will at least let you know if it is one you really need to own (though I would agree that all the above-recommended books are "must-haves").

-- Kathleen Sanderson (stonycft@worldpath.net), June 16, 2000.

Ditto on the above books!

I say start with a small garden and begin building any necessary outbuildings. They you will have a home for your animals and garden scraps to feed them.

One note on a fall garden: You need to buy your seeds now. Last year when we went to plant ours we couldn't find any seeds in the stores. You may be able to order from catalogs but local stores probably have sold-out or sent back what was left.

Start a compost pile. See: Organic Gardening Magazine (more info below)

Spend the summer getting the plot ready. It can be alot of work for a beginner with a never before plowed plot. Getting a soil sample from the Extension Office is a good idea so you know what kind of nutrients the soil may or may not need. Example: We planted a bed of strawberries and every last one of them died. Had the soil tested and it had almost no nitrogen but gobs of Phosp. and Potasium (enough for several years). So we had to fertilize with pure nitrogen (blood meal). Now our strawberries are looking good.

Read up on organic gardening methods. Look for Organic Gardening Magazine at the Library or visit them at www.organicgardening.com. They also have a very helpful book (one among many) - Rodale's Garden Insect, Disease & Weed Identification Guide by Miranda Smith and Anna Carr. It has helped us learn the good from the bad and the ugly.

Good luck and get busy living!

-- Vaughn (vdcjm5@juno.com), June 16, 2000.


I agree start slowly, with something that you are really interested in. I consider a garden the most important of anything, because in the case of a catastrophe dried or canned vegetables or meat are your means of survival. If money is tight, most of the things that you need to know can be found on the web. I dry all of my vegetables, because here in AZ when it's 125* outside for 3 mos. no one can afford to keep the inside of the house any cooler than 80-85*. That is too high of temp. for canned goods. If you are going to try to live without electricity, you will have to find some way to store your food. There are many frugal living sites on the web, and many gardening, and animal message boards. You just have to choose where you want to start. If pressed for money, many vegetables can be planted from the seeds out of the produce you bring home from the store. Not tomatoes and I forget what else. But peppers of any kind, squash of any kind, whatever you use. The ends of carrots with a little green leaf on the end, when you chop the end off to eat it, plant the end. You have a carrot to replace it, etc. If you normally leave a light on while you watch tv, or one watches and one reads, use an oil lamp for that. If you really think about everything you use you will become resourceful all on your own. It's like a snowball. And once your husband sees that you'r saving money he may come around.

-- Jill (AZ) (lance1_86404@yahoo.com), June 17, 2000.

Linda, I have been doing this lifestyle for most of my life. If you are interested in asking specific questions, email me at the address below and I will try to help you. Tell me which area of Georgia you live in so I can offer better advice on the garden. Don't buy any books yet. Do like Kathleen said and go to the library and look at books before spending money on them. For every one good homestead book there are a dozen that offer little real information. I would be glad to help you if you would like.

-- Green (ratdogs10@yahoo.com), June 17, 2000.

We got Carla emery's book for Christmas. I have a relative who always asks what I'd like and I told her. It was under the tree on Christmas morning. I said earlier that taking it slow was important, but after some reflection, I realize that we made many changes faster with the preparations we took on for Y2k. I wish we were keeping up the pace we set during 1999. Some things we still aren't ready for, but that catalyst sure got us moving on a lot of fronts.

-- Jennifer (KY) (acornfork@hotmail.com), June 17, 2000.

For equipment, I recommending going to auctions. Tools in paricular come up. Don't buy anything with an engine which won't run at the auction. Same goes for appliances. If you cannot see them work, don't buy. For something in really good condition, try to not pay more than 50% of new. Two catalogs I recommend are Stromberg's Chicks and Gamebirds Unlimited (218-587-2222) and Jeffers for supplies (800-533-3377). Prices at Jeffers beat the local farmers' co-op even with shipping.

-- Ken Scharabok (scharabo@aol.com), June 18, 2000.

I don't know about in Georgia, But here in Okla. we have a spring & fall garden. The fall garden requires more water & a good mulching because of the hot dry cond. of late summer when we put in our fall garden. I'm with everyone else on the reading thing. No matter how proficient you get you always need to take time to get new ideas.Every one always says to just start with one project at a time, but I recomend getting every thing up & running as soon as you can to end dependance on grocery stores & bought goods. you can learn about making repairs & maintennance of equip. from any library.

-- Okie-Dokie (www.tommycflinstone@aol.com), June 18, 2000.

You say you have 3 acres? You have the battle half won. They're all right. The garden's the best place to begin. But, I'm assuming you'll be mowing some grass on at least part of those 3 acres, if so you'd be wise to use a little elbow grease and rake up those grass clippings, put them in a pile and start that compost pile immediately.Look the whole 3 acres over. Maybe someone before you had animals of some kind. Take a bag or basket along with you on this venture then if you observe droppings (cow pies or such) deposit them in thatbag or basket (forgot to say you should be armed with a strudy pair of gloves), carry your find back to the compost pile and add your find to the pile. Wet it down a bit, wait a few days, stir well with a fork (pitch or spading, a shovel or whatever you can come up with. Now--you're on the way to a healthy garden. Next step is to learn to preserve what you raise, I agree with beans as starters, tomatoes are rewarding and you'd be astonished at how many quarts of carrots you can put away from just one row (what a package will plant) Atip, scatter a radish seed here and there along the way in that carrot row. The radishes will come up first, opening the ground and making it easier for the carrots to break through even if they don't make the grade as radishes. We've had a nice batch of radishes from the carrot row. Now that those are used, the real row of radishes is coming on and the carrots are doing nicely. I wish you the best. Know where you're coming from in the hubby department but you can still make progress if you stick to the "take it slow" policy, I,m almost to the 45 year with the same man point so can pretty much figure what you're talking about. Sounds like GA is a bit on the short side in the rain department, you may have to do a lot of watering. If you should choose to hunt up some old straw, hay or whatever for mulching, that would save alot of moisture.Good Luck. Clare

-- Clare Baldwin (clare_baldwin@hotmail.com), June 21, 2000.

Start small, or you'll burn out. And READ!! I like Ruth Stout's "No Work" gardening books. Out of print, but you see them in used book stores all the time. I've been planting the same open-pollinated staples ("Blue Ballet" winter squash, "Painted Mountain" corn, "Lipstick" peppers, several tomato varieties, "Yukon Gold" potatos, etc.) for years and saving the seeds. Plant them, keep them weeded for a month while they begin to grow, then put all the mulch you can find (leaves, grass clippings, hay, straw) around them. No more weeding, no more worrying about drought. Slugs may become a problem in all that mulch, but they're much easier to control than weeds. And the decomposing mulch and the worms it attracts will be continually improving your soil.

-- Brad (Rodent@worldpath.net), June 22, 2000.

The above advice has been great. One bit of advice on saving money since the others seem to be on gardening, is to hang your clothes instead of using a dryer. I cut $30 a month off my electric bill when I quit using mine. My husband put up a wooden bar in our shower to hang good clothes on hangers on and the rest we hang up outside on the line. This winter you can invest in a couple of wooden drying racks with the money you've saved this summer. But you've got the room, the southern location and the motivation to do it. Also, learn to cook a few easy, healthy, from scratch recipes instead of going out to eat. That pays back quickly.

-- Kathy6 (DavidWH6@juno.com), June 22, 2000.

Just wanted to say thanks for all the great advice that everyone has given!! I really appreciate it! I am going to borrow a tiller from a friend this weekend, and get a few plants in the ground. (Maybe I'll get a tiller of my very own for Christmas or something...lol) As soon as I get a garden going, I am going to clear some space out by the barn to build a chicken coop! I am so excited! I will also have hubby put me up a clothes line this weekend! Once all that is done, I'll check back in and let you all know how it is going! I will probably be back with more questions before it is all done though!! LOL Thanks again!

-- Linda (botkinhomeschool@yahoo.com), June 22, 2000.

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