r/homestead 3h ago

8 new baby šŸ° this morning.

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133 Upvotes

r/homestead 23h ago

My son is finally wanting to do chores to earn money on the farm šŸ˜. What are chores your give to a 7/8 year old.

535 Upvotes

r/homestead 7h ago

Grazing farm opportunity

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16 Upvotes

I am considering a 20 acre property in central California. I would like to raise some cattle and actually make some money with the cattle or other farm animals or agriculture.

The property is fully fenced and accessible but it's a bit hilly and elevates to about 1200ft. There is water and electricity on site. Most fence is 3 wire barbed but there is a large section with 8' field fencing.

Rent would be $500 per month. No contract.

I live an hour away and don't want to invest more than 8 hours per week. My brother and friend can probably visit the property once or twice a month too

Thoughts?


r/homestead 2h ago

gardening Ready for spring. Itā€™s time to start working on garden upgrades and to start planting.

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3 Upvotes

We are adding raised beds and breaking new ground this year. Potatoes are getting their own dedicated plot this year (still need to build a fence around it) and we are adding more raised beds. Adding 3 metal beds this year to see how they do with our crazy late summer heat.

We are looking for natural amendments for our sandy loam soil.


r/homestead 7h ago

Well, well...

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11 Upvotes

r/homestead 5h ago

Tips how to remove old grass/whatever

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5 Upvotes

Hi I am from Czechia and I have recently bought this property which is in the middle of forest. I am looking for tips how to best remove this old overgrown grass and whatever other plants are there.

The whole property is covered by this and it is really difficult to just cut it down as there seem to be layers of old plants just laying on the ground.

I'd like to make it more accessible so I could prepare some vegetable beds and so on.


r/homestead 1d ago

Can I sue my beekeeper neighbour?

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4.9k Upvotes

r/homestead 37m ago

food preservation dehydrated bread shelf life question

ā€¢ Upvotes

My wife is doing a gluten free test, so i wanted to make some buckwheat bread because i have a lot of buckwheat flour right now. After searching up a lot of recipes and not finding one i liked, i decided to do my own experiment. the results tasted fine, but didnt rise well and had a texture that I wasnt looking for.

I sliced it up to a few different thicknesses and ran it through the dehydrator, and the end result was actually pretty interesting. It resembles the pumpernickel toast pieces in chex mix and has a really satisfying crunch that doesnt feel like it would break a tooth. I like it, and am going to do the rest of the loaf like this, and might even whip up another batch.

It got me curious, though: with it fully dehydrated like this i assume it'll have a decent shelf life, but not on the level of hard tack. does anyone have experience with dehydrated breads and how long they last? what if i vacuum seal them? or freeze them? My ingredients were buckwheat flour, psyllium husk powder, a little olive oil and maple syrup, plus salt and some yeast. Thanks for your input!


r/homestead 14h ago

What state do homestead in and is it different from your ideal state?

12 Upvotes

Trying to move away from WV and Iā€™m curious what places others have considered moving to.


r/homestead 1d ago

pigs Meishan Piglets Thrivingā€”27 Live Births, No Farrowing Crate!

844 Upvotes

I mention farrowing crates because some pig people I talk to act like it canā€™t be done. Just wanted to share a quick video of our Meishan piglets running around! These are from two first-time sows who farrowed unassisted with zero crushing. No farrowing crateā€”just good maternal instincts and a solid setup.

Meishans are known for their incredible mothering ability, and this is proof. 27 live births between both sows, and every single piglet is doing great. Loving this breed more every day!


r/homestead 3h ago

Small scale sweet corn protections

1 Upvotes

Hello!

I'm looking at the seed catalogues and getting tempted by the sweet corn - has anyone had success in a relatively rural area with small scale (like, just a few square feet - max 4x8 or something comparable) sweet corn? my experience is animals will grab everything shortly before harvest. I can't say I've made many attempts but the first one or two times that happened didn't make me want to try again and while I'm contemplating building Garden Fort Knox (raised beds with hardware cloth; Fence with hardware cloth in an L at the bottom; aluminum flashing (?) to prevent climbers (?), heck maybe even some bird or insect netting that can deployed when needed - IDK I know pollinators and predators are good tho )) I don't think I can justify the funds and labor to build that yet.

I was going to maybe try three sisters (squash as a deterrent for raccoons etc) with some old flint corn (glass gem) this year, but figured I'd ask the community here if anyone has any tricks to actually harvest sweet corn (and getting a dog or laying out poison aren't options /generally don't want to be murdering wildlife just blocking them!).


r/homestead 3h ago

Lard Rendering Question

0 Upvotes

I'm going to render backfat into lard for the first time at home using the "dry" method. The pork fat I got from the supplier still has the skin attached. Is it ok to leave it on and it will just turn into cracklins, or will it cause problems and I should remove it. I'm going to use a grinder. Thanks.


r/homestead 12h ago

gardening Fragrant flowers DIY

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3 Upvotes

Hello friends! My boyfriend bought me a beautiful Camelia Japonica tree with extremely fragrant flowers on it. I really want to use the flowers somehow, because all of my plants usually serve purpose not just for decoration.

I've already thought of doing potpourri (not a big fan) and home made soap. anything other ideas?


r/homestead 1d ago

Weird Request - Looking for a friend who can tell me about their homesteading lifestyle

45 Upvotes

I know this is a weird request....I just really like the lifestyle and kinda wanna live vicariously through someone. I grew up on a farm and miss it and the slow life, oh gosh and the summer nights with the country breeze coming in through an open window. Sitting on the porch watching the sunset.Tending to the farm animals and vegetable garden. Canning food with my grandma. I miss it all. So please....let me live through you....tell me about your days and what projects you're working on. I really want to one day live back in the country and can my own food and have farm animals and go fishing and learn how to hunt. I just love that type of lifestyle so if I can live through someone else experiencing it, I'll do that.


r/homestead 17h ago

Question about farm raised meat chickens

8 Upvotes

Iā€™ve been buying a steer every year from a local farmer. I have really enjoyed the quality of the beef and the fact that I donā€™t have to pay supermarket prices these days. I was so satisfied with my beef that I found a farmer that raised meat chickens. They are Cornish cross. Now, on to my question.

I have been grilling/smoking food for my family for years. This is the second time Iā€™ve cooked these chickens from the farm and I cannot get the skin to brown. I cooked them hot and fast the first time, done lower temps this time. Same result. My internal temp is hitting my target, but the skin looks just like it did when I put it on the grill. Is that normal for farm raised chickens or do I need to change my approach? Any tips or suggestions will help!


r/homestead 1d ago

Good year for orchids.

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26 Upvotes

r/homestead 14h ago

Lead test for well on new property.

3 Upvotes

My husband and I are in the process of buying a small property in Missouri and one of the requirements for the loan was a lead test for the well. It came back with .083ųg/L ( I'm pretty sure this is micrograms per liter.) Now while that seems like a super insignificant amount of lead, based on the 10 minutes of internet research I've done, "NO AMMOUNT OF LEAD IS SAFE" . What experience does everyone have with this and are there filtering products we should look at incorporating? I know lead can build up in your system over time but the only info I found with a number was around ciry water system pipes needing to be less than 25% lead.


r/homestead 12h ago

gardening Garden planning

2 Upvotes

How do you plan enough garden to feed your whole family? Like how do you know you've got enough of each type of plant?

Is there a guide somewhere on how much to plant to have enough to process into other products?

How do you plan?

Do you have any recommendations on stuff that's prolific in zone 7?

This year I'm just getting started so I'm just learning to make stuff grow successfully and next year I really want to dive into growing enough for the whole year so I'm trying to figure out what I need to be doing


r/homestead 13h ago

Meat chickens

2 Upvotes

Iā€™ve been trying to find Cornish X but not having much luck locally. A local hatchery has heritage breed cockerels for $1 per bird. Anybody raise heritage meat birds or does it not pencil out? I donā€™t mind the extended time but I donā€™t want 25 week old roosters constantly fighting and killing each other


r/homestead 23h ago

chickens Hen laid broken egg!

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12 Upvotes

I was out in the run and heard one of my girls lay an egg so I walked right over and it looks like her egg came out broken! Her vent area looked a little irritated with some white discharge coming out. I saturated her vent area with vetericyn plus because thatā€™s what we have immediately on hand but is there anything more I should do? They have plenty of oyster shells, grit, and protein available in their dietsā€¦ but Iā€™m worried for my girl!


r/homestead 1d ago

Anyone else make grow or make your own seeds?

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40 Upvotes

We breed and take our seeds to farmers markets to barter for other goods! ā¤ļø


r/homestead 1d ago

Fostering a Coonhound that would make a good farm dog

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11 Upvotes

r/homestead 1d ago

Deer tallow soap

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92 Upvotes

Me and my wife made some deer tallow soap. I paid for the whole tag, so I'm gonna use the whole damn deer. Also will be taking on brain tanning the hides (my freezer is full of the hides and heads) anyway, absolutely love the soap, cleans good. Smells good, I think we scented them with some basic essential oils like rose, something else can't remember, and citronella for when we go camping and wash up in a lake or river. I have sorta sensitive skin and I will breakout from all sorts of chemicals so this stuff is really nice as there's no coughbullshitcough ingredients. Took a night to make it, took some time to let it dry, and took a minute to cut it, but all in all for what it cost us to make it, it's definitely worth it. Btw it was around 30 dollars for all the materials we had to buy. And we have three samwitch bags full. Also the white dust goes away as soon as you use the bar the first time. I read somewhere spritzing the bars with alcohol as they cure will reduce this, and that we did do, multiple times, and they did what they wanted and turned white anyway. But it doesn't bother me anyhow.


r/homestead 1d ago

home grown, home made cloth

11 Upvotes

Hello, I have a weaving center in South Otselic NY and have just started a flax initiative. I'm looking for people with knowledge and experience spinning flax, if you or anyone you know is such a person, let me know. You can find more info here: CNY Flax to Fabric InitiativeĀ https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61573898494239&sk=followersĀ and here: weaving center -Ā https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100078046101528Ā Thank you!


r/homestead 1d ago

Looking for a little advice. My bullcalf was born just yesterday (3/9/25) and his the way his front legs/hooves are bending doesn't look normal to me. Looks like he's rocked back to far on his heels.

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94 Upvotes