How to start a homestead in 2021
If 2020 taught us one thing, It taught us that learning how to be self sufficient is crucial! Many of us, including myself, spent months at home.
Looking back I’m so thankful that in 2019 I decided to start my backyard homestead. I want to walk you through some things you can do to gear up this spring to make meaningful changes in your life and how to start a homestead in 2021.
Self sufficiency
This is the end all goal. However, with our careers, our kids, our homes, and mostly our habits we are not inclined to making our own butter.
That is ok!
The importance of learning self sufficiency is really learning a new mindset. It’s being knowledgeable that eggs don’t come from a grocery store, they come from a chicken. It’s learning what a tomato plant looks like or how to amend your soil for plants to live.
By developing a self sufficient mind you are well on your way to a self sufficient lifestyle.
How to start a homesteading garden
A garden is a wonderful place to start. It doesn’t require a ton of attention and it can be fairly inexpensive. Starting a homesteading garden doesn’t require acres and acres of land, although how wonderful would that be?
You can start a small backyard garden like I did, or a patio garden in containers, or even a windowsill herb garden.
The main thing is don’t compare yourself to others. On this blog, we are celebrating finding fulfillment in where we are at.
My best advice for starting a garden of any size is doing your research. Before you buy seeds or plants from the nursery, do a quick google search and figure out what your gardening zone is. I’ll link a helpful website here for you to find that out.
Your gardening zone is going to tell you what your growing season is and how long you have to get a seed to a fruit. It will also tell you how hardy a plant has to be to survive your temperatures and weather.
How to start a garden from scratch
Let’s assume we are starting in a backyard. For vegetables and fruit to grow you need to have your garden in full sun, which technically is 6 or more hours of direct sunlight. if you’re not sure, spend the day periodically walking the yard and taking note of the best spots.
Next you’ll need to prepare your soil. Dig out a patch of earth that is manageable for you and measure. Measuring your prepared area is going to give you a really helpful template for how many plants you can realistically grow in that area.
Compost, compost, compost!
Your soil needs to be healthy and nutrient dense to feed hungry plants. Your first year gardening is mostly experimental, but if you want to spend a little extra try investing in a soil test. Most garden stores carry them locally and you can even find them on Amazon.
You most likely at this point don’t have a compost station or animals just yet so pick up bags of garden amendments from any local garden center.
Start your own seeds
Lastly, if you’re reading this now, now is the perfect time to get seeds started indoors. I decided this was something I planned to get into for the long haul so I invested in grow lights. Starting plants indoors is a great way to get a head start on the growing season and in the end can save you hundreds of dollars per season by starting your own versus buying individually from a nursery. I’ll go into more detail on starting your seeds indoors here.
I created this seed packet collection pictured below. I love having my precious seeds stored in something unique and illustrated. Currently they are available for digital download on my Etsy shop!
How to start a homestead in 2021
Ready to add animals to your backyard homestead?
The easiest animal in my opinion to start out with are chickens.
Chickens are easy to acquire, inexpensive, and are great for a beginner experience level. Before buying birds it is so important, I can’t stress this enough, to get their permanent chicken coop structure set up. So often, people go to a feed store, buy chicks and wait to get the bigger coop.
Most feed stores and hatcheries are in full swing of chick season (February- April). To get the breeds you want you’ll want to make this a priority if chickens are something you want to add this year.
With the price of wood where it is at, you may want to hop on Craigslist or market place and see what people are selling. I can’t tell you how many rabbit hutches I’ve picked up there.
If going used is not for you, there are many wonderful building blueprints out there to build your own coop.
Raising chickens on your homestead
Chickens like I said earlier are an easy addition to your homestead in 2021. Chickens are going to be a great way to replace buying eggs, if you do start a garden they will provide a compost additive, and they will teach you about animal husbandry.
Want to find out more about raising poultry on a small backyard homestead? Check out this post!
Start a compost station
Starting a place to compost is going to really pay off through your homesteading journey.
Originally I made the mistake of literally just starting a pile in the back corner of the property and I quickly realized that my ducks and chickens loved digging through it.
I suggest building a three walled structure that will be easy for you to turn it over and mix it all together.
Overtime, this will allow you to save money and put your kitchen scraps, garden rubbish and animal bedding to good use.
How to start a homestead in 2021 and be successful
Make a plan!
Trust me when I tell you that planning out your year is so important.
Too often we get so caught up in the excitement of starting a homestead or a garden that we get carried away.
I remember putting way too much pressure on myself to have the perfect garden, the perfect animal housing and all the time in the world to make it so.
Give yourself realistic things to focus on and make a plan to become knowledgeable in at least one area of your new homestead this year.
I’m incredibly excited for you to make your dreams a reality and develop a self sufficient mindset moving forward.
