Start with.....what?

[B00kW0rm]

What do you think are the most important things for a homesteader, to start off with, to begin to build a self-sustaining home/farm?

We are totally new to this and neither one of us have ever raised animals...other than a dog or two :).

Our primary goal, to begin with, is to decrease our food costs by supplementing with foods that we grow. I'd also like to start with 6, or so, laying hens....no rooster because we're not particularly interested in hatching dibs right now.

Neither one of us were raised on a homestead/farm and we'd rather start off small and learn (and gain confidence) as we go....rather than jump in over our heads. ::)

Thanks for any and all advice/suggestions! It is very much appreciated ;D

[WileyCoyote]

Chickens are a good source of eggs. Roosters are a good source of meat. The "dibs" (What a cute word!) will be both and will replace the hens as they either slow laying, get ill, or die off. I always had a rooster even when I ate the eggs - just in case dogs or varmints got into the coop, I had a chance to raise more. Chickens are also a good manure addition to the compost pile; make sure you let it mix with other things (don't use it straight!) as it has a lot of ammonia.

If you are a meat eater, you have to be sure that you have the stomach for killing those extra roosters. Some folks find it hard to kill animals they have made pets out of... or, once they kill them, let the blood drain, pluck them, clean them, etc, find they simply cannot eat them. My DH cannot kill animals, so I am the one who does it, as well as the one who cleans them. I try not to develop a personal friendship with them, but sometimes that is difficult!

Check the regs in your area, if you can have chickens or roosters, if there is a limit, etc. Then the fun is deciding what kind you want, what suits your purposes best. I had Dominickers to start, big brown eggs and heavy-bodied chickens, then a pack of dogs got into the coop. Then I had banties - bantam chickens, that laid small white eggs. The local gov ordinanced them out. Now I live where I can have whatever and how many I please, and I chose Barred Rocks; because they lay all winter, are cold-hardy,big-bodied but not to the point where their legs collapse from the weight, and lay the big brown eggs I love. I got ten hens and ten roosters; will save out two roosters for the hens, and raise the rest for meat. I use a lot of eggs, esp in the winter. Research what breeds will do well where you live, what your neighbors have, what eggs you prefer and how many. Also know that home-raised chicken flesh is a far cry from the store-bought chicken; it is not as soft and wobbly as store bought chicken because home raised and free range get exercise.

Have you thought about rabbits for meat as well? They take up very little room and breed prolifically.

Have you thought about a goat or a small cow for milk and cheese and even butter? OK, OK, that comes later; but it is another thing to think about. However, the cost of keeping a cow and having calves may be something you need to think about for the future; even a goat or two will keep your property mowed and provide milk for cheese. Take your time and think about it, what would best suit your acreage and needs. And goat's milk as well as straight cow's milk is VERY different from store-bought, make sure you can tolerate the taste. (I dealt with goats on a farm I worked on and now can't stand the little beasts, nor their milk, so there are
probably people on here better to advise you than I on that topic.)

Chickens are a good start, as is the vegetable garden. Plant what you love to eat, and what you WILL eat. I can't eat corn and we don't eat peppers, but a few tomatoes, squash, and LOTS of green beans are just fine with me! I also grow pumpkins, onions, radishes, and greens like mustard and spinach, and am working on a watermelon patch. Remember you can freeze as well as dehydrate and can things to preserve them. Don't forget fruit; either bush, tree, vines, or plants that will do well in your area, that make a pretty accent or row along a side or across a front of a house with their flowers, and give you fruit, too. I've had blackberries and strawberries mixed into flower beds, and sand cherry bushes with daffodils underneath, and a line of peach trees that marched down the side of the house. Since you are starting with a clean slate, you can plan where things will go right now, instead of fitting them in around things later! What fun!

[tomato204]

Another approach is to not keep any animals at all the first year and concentrate instead on getting your plant situation in order. Veggie gardens, fruit trees/bushes/vines etc.
Maybe you can plant a patch of alfalfa or corn or whatever you will feed your animals when you do have them. Save a ton of food for them where it's dry and save a bundle of cash in the process.

[Anon001]

What do you think are the most important things for a homesteader, to start off with, to begin to build a self-sustaining home/farm?
The biggest thing is good sturdy fences.

As far as everything else, it all depends on how many acres you have as to what you can do. The smaller the acreage, the less you can do and if the acreage is really small, you have to learn alternatives to take advantage of the larger yeilds in smaller spaces.

Have a good rear-tine tiller (if you have a large traditional garden), a good hoe (cotton hoe), shovel, basic hand tools and fencing supplies.

[CarolAnn]

BOOkWOrm,
If you haven't gardened before, you need to be ready to deal with critters - rabbits, garden bugs and the like. I had a friend on this forum who had ideas about gardening that weren't rooted in experience. He lost a lot of his first crop of corn to ear worms and the rabbits got the tender stuff like peas and lettuce. Don't be surprised if you grow too much of one or two things and not enough of something else - it takes a while to figure out how much, and when!

Your idea of starting out small while learning is excellent! ;D

[huckelberry]

fenceing seems to be the biggest single expence,the more the better....chickens are easy and so are turkeys and geese,turkeys and geese will reproduce without much worry on your part...craigs list is my new best friend....animals, fence post,free stuff....manure for the gardens etc. it all is there and way cheap...good luck :)

[jonvee]

I would suggest starting with a plan. Even before the gardens, animals, fences etc. Decide what you and the family want on your homestead, map it out on paper, then break that down into major and minor projects or yearly/quarterly projects. Think about all the things the new project will entail. Having chickens isn't just about buying chicks. You have to think about the coop, feed, water, predators, etc. before you bring the chicks home.

I do agree that if gardening is on your list planting fruit trees, berry bushes, grape vines even artichokes or asparagus first is a good idea because they take several years to produce.

If you try to do it all at once you'll overwhelm yourself and that can be discouraging. It's hard, but try to be realistic about what you can accomplish or afford to do each year.

Huck's right. Craigslist is great especially for free stuff. Think outside the box. My friend got an old outhouse for free that she turned into a chicken coop. All she had to do was put in the nesting boxes. It's perfect for her 6 hens.

What an exciting time for you and the family. Good luck, and remember there's lots of experience here so ask lots of questions. :D

[firegirl969]

You have gotten good advice thus far. *

If I were in your shoes, I would:

#1-Make a written plan. *List short-term and long-term goals.
#2-Get a copy of Carla Emery's book Encyclopedia of Country Living and a copy of the Ball Blue Book (for canning) and start reading and learning. Start acquiring jars, lids, and rings for canning from Craigslist, freecycle, relatives, friends, etc.
#3-I would plant fruit trees and bushes, an asparagus bed, garlic, strawberries, blueberries, etc due to them taking often several years to produce.
#4-Plan and plant a vegetable garden. *Consider raised beds as they are easier to maintain. *If you plan raised beds, get a copy of Mel Barthalamew's book Square Foot Gardening. Plant an herb bed also. I grow several perinniel (sp) herbs such as Rosemary, Oregano, Peppermint, Spearmint, Garlic and onion chives. I add parsley and dill to it in the spring.
#5-Build a chicken yard and coop. *Put some wire around the bottom of the inside of the pen and attach it to the bottom of the standing up fence wire to keep predators from digging in. *Make sure your pen is 6 feet high to keep predators from climbing over. *Make nesting boxes. *Mine are milk crates with one side cut down so that the hens can easily get in them. *Put hay in them. *I feed my chickens the cheapest hog finishing mash that I can buy. *It does not contain additives that I don't want in our diet. *They lay really well on it also.
#6-Consider raising rabbits. *They are easy to raise and they provide great manure for those raised beds and gardens that can be put directly on plants and will not burn them. You can pick a variety of bushes and grasses and feed them for most months out of the year here in the south.
#7-Consider dairy animals if you have the acreage to maintain them. A small breed dairy cow or 2 goats should be sufficient. *You can feed out their babies for beef for the freezer or eat or sell the goats.
#8-If you have room, consider a steer and/or a pig. *We have sufficient pasture to feed out our steer, and we will butcher him in November so that we don't have to feed him over the winter. *We slop our pig. *That means that we feed him leftovers and scraps from the garden and canning. So our pork will cost us roughly $30 this year for about 160 lbs.

[flatwater]

Good common since and a good attitude and the willingness to work as a teem , the rest is all gravey. AH yes one more thing , There are no failures just learned lessons to do it a better way next time

[bookwormom]

all I can add is 'Amen'.

[backlash]

Good common since and a good attitude and the willingness to work as a teem , the rest is all gravey. AH yes one more thing , There are no failures just learned lessons to do it a better way next time

I'll second the learned lessons.
My wife and I moved to a 2 acre place and we are learning that we don't really know much.
Last year we planted a small garden and this year it got bigger.
However due to a very generous neighbor we got way to much free compost. It seemed like a good idea at the time.
Next year should be better.
:)
backlash

[Terri]

Just FYI.

6 hens of a laying breed will give you up to 3 dozen eggs a week, and they will eat perhaps 60? pounds of laying pellets a month. We pay perhaps $8 per 50 pound bag for the pellets.

You can decrease the cost a little by giving them the table scraps, and if you dare to let them run loose (varmints like chickens) they will eat bugs and greens as well, which will also decrease the feed costs.

Chickens are WICKED fun, and I enjoy having them!

[B00kW0rm]

My thanks to everyone of you ;D! I am making notes and compiling lists from all of your responses and will definitely keep you updated as to our progress. Thanks again:-).

[Teg]

If you plan on doing much in the way of farming I'd suggest you look up your local extension agent, they can be pretty helpful.

[B00kW0rm]

Thanks, Teg. I've been looking around the local extensions website and they will be very helpful. Thanks for the reminder:-).

[Mom5farmboys]

For your first year I would simple concentrate on a garden and planting perennials, like fruit trees, apple and pear especially, and grape vines, and an asparagus bed. You will need to tend to these plants for a few years before you will have to deal with a harvest. Plenty of time to get some experience.

For a first year garden if you break sod and plant you can pretty much expect it to do poorly. Potatoes do well for breaking up sod. The second year will produce much more, but again this gives you time to learn some stuff so don't be discouraged. Don't forget the garden will need attention all summer, weeding, watering, then later harvesting and preserving (canning, freezing, or dehydrating). You will also need to pay attention to the weather in early spring (depending on how far north you are) for frost warnings.

Start garagesaleing and accumulating canning jars, learn how to check the rims for cracks and chips so you know if they are usable or not. You will also need rings and lids, jar shaped tongs are nice for removing jars from a canner, a large holed canning funnel, and a large kettle with a rack for hot water bath canning. Which is only high acid foods (usually fruits, jams, and pickels) For anything low acid (meats, and veggies) You will need a pressure canner.

I have learned that a wonderful resource is someone you know or know of that is older and doesn't can anymore. When I started canning I had several "little old ladies" who were in their 70's and friends of my husbands family. They gave me lots of equipment and they were excited to do it. Also don't overlook the fact that these same ladies are a wealth of information and are equally as excited to share their knowledge and experience with you too.

Winters are a great time to start studying up on the next phase of whatever you want to start. The internet, people you know (who have similiar interests) and books are good places to start. So by spring you should have an idea of what you need to get started on. Only start 1 new thing a year (or season) so you don't get overwhelmed. You will also learn more this way too because your focus is only on one thing. It can get really overwhelming if you try to do too much to soon, you may end up discouraged.

You can do this!!

[NCLee]

Lots of excellent advice above.

Since you asked "start with.... what?, here's some of my thoughts, FWIW.

Start with your home, then whatever accessory buildings you need. If you're already settled in, this may not apply. If you haven't moved in yet, make getting settled in your first priority. This is more than just moving in your furniture. If there's maintenance to be done, go ahead and and do it now, before you get caught up in all the other things associated with homesteading. There's nothing much worse than having to do some type of maintenance with the weather fighting you every step of the way. (Exterior caulking ahead of a snow storm - roof repairs before a hurricane hits, etc.)

Since we're getting into the heat of the summer, right now, isn't the time to be planting trees, perennials, etc. Use this time, instead, to work on accessory buildings, if you don't have them. What you'll need depends on your overall plans for livestock, gardening equipment and supplies, hay/feed storage and more.

Since you mentioned chickens, go ahead and build your chicken coop, chicken tractor or their run. And, don't build too small. If you build just room enough for 6 hens, you may want to kick yourself later. As your hens get older, you'll need room for replacement stock to settle in as you cull the older stock. You may find that you want a dozen hens so you can sell the eggs to help make your hens self-supporting.

And, what may be more important, the more space you have per hen, the healthier they'll be.The demands on you to keep bedding clean and dry will be less. Too little space and they'll foul the area very quickly.

Once you're settled in, have a place for your animals, and have storage for all the things associated with them, next consider your garden.

First and foremost is placement. If you have a choice, place it where the growing conditions are the best on your property. Away from trees -- good drainage -- near a water source. An ideal location will also be one where you can expand your garden, if you decide later to grow space hungry items like corn, pumpkins, watermelons and such. And/or if you'd like to sell produce at the local farmer's market.

If you've clearing land for a garden, assuming you don't have to get rid of large trees, now is the time to use Roundup on perennial grasses and weeds. Tilling the soil won't get rid of quite a number of them. Bermuda grass, Johnson grass, honeysuckle, and poke are a few that come to mind. Spray, wait about 10 days, spray again to get what you missed the first time.

Then, if possible, have someone with a tractor to till your garden space for the first time, even if you plan to keep it cultivated yourself in the future. If you plan on a large garden, this will save you hours of back breaking work. Work that can be better utilized elsewhere on your homestead - fences, chicken coop building, etc.

BTW, a tractor can pull up small trees which is better than cutting them, as you don't leave a stump in the ground. Even a fairly small farm tractor can pull up trees larger than you may think. The key is to put the chain as high in the tree as possible - that has a similar effect as the wind trying to blow it over.

Let your new garden space lie fallow for a while. This gives time for all the plowed under vegetation to start to decompose. It allows you time to spot spray any of those weed pests that have still survived the your war on them.

During this process, plan for your next season crop. Start seeds for transplants, if that's applicable. Here in NC late summer/early fall gardens can be started as late as August 1st for some crops. And, some things can be planted for winter carryover.

Depending on what else you have to do, it may be better to prep your garden for next spring's growing season. Till in lime, if soil tests indicate you need it. Lay out your raised beds, if they are in your plan. Start your compost pile, including shredding as many leaves in the fall that you can get your hands on. Either compost with other materials, or spread directly on the garden.

Fall is the best time, in this area to plant trees, perennials and such. Over the winter, they can develop good root growth to be better able to withstand the heat of the following summer.

Hope some of these thoughts are helpful. Good luck with your new homestead.

Lee