Backyard Homesteading

A Beginner’s Guide to Providing Organic Nourishment for Your Family

Introduction

Every day in the news, we hear about GMOs (genetically modified organisms), the latest cancer causing pesticide, and how processed foods make us fat.  Sometimes it can feel overwhelming when you want to feed your family healthy all-natural food, on a budget.  If you are in charge of the food shopping in your home, you know the all-natural chains such as Whole Foods are extremely expensive and often the price exceeds the value.  But what other options are there?

Allow me to introduce the concept of a Backyard Homestead.  This is far from a new notion, though most people think back to the 1800’s when many hardy folks migrated West in search of a better life.  The Homestead Act was passed in 1862, giving land to anyone who wanted to build a life living off the land for a minimal filing fee.  Today, the homesteading movement is still a self-sufficient way of life, limiting the amount of products you purchase at the store.  Imagine doing a large portion of your food shopping in your backyard!  The extent to which you grow your backyard operation is entirely up to you.  In this book, I will outline the options available to you and choose what suits your lifestyle the best.

Whether you live in an urban or suburban area, you can create your own homestead by utilizing whatever space you have available.  Living in a rural area is not required to have a significant food source in your backyard.  There are some restrictions for what types of animals you can raise in an urban setting; however that leaves you with more options for the gardening side of homesteading.

Aside from what sources you can develop outside your home, there are many you can turn to inside the home that will save you money, and promote a healthier lifestyle for you and your family.  Making your own soaps and household cleaners (very expensive in the market!) to crafts and even sewing your own clothes can add more money to your bank account instead of spending it on over priced items in your local stores.  We will cover everything from gardening, options for egg and meat sources, to in-home opportunities with easy to follow steps and suggestions in creating a better quality of life.

Copyright 2015 by Shane Reece - All rights reserved.

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Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1 – Efficient Space

Chapter 2 – Creating The Garden Of Eden

Chapter 3 – Brown Eggs Are Local Eggs

Chapter 4 – Meat…It’s What’s For Dinner

Chapter 5 – Homestead In The Home

Chapter 6 - Turning A Homestead Profit

Conclusion

Chapter - 1

Efficient Space

Making use of whatever space you have may seem like a daunting task.  However, there are some really unusual and super cool tricks out there, no matter if you have 5 or 50 square feet with which to work.  I will cover the three main types of homesteading so you can grasp the big picture.  With each one, it requires a change in mindset, especially if you are a true city slicker.  Your old routines will become a thing of the past, especially if you sleep, wake up, go to work, come home, eat, watch TV, go to bed, and repeat.  Being a homesteader requires a little bit of ingenuity and work, but the benefits you reap will be completely worth it.

Apartment living can offer a simplicity that takes away the responsibilities of maintaining a yard, and worrying about home repairs.  However, you may have to rely on the laundromat for cleaning clothes, and the ease of grabbing take-out food makes it hard to always eat healthy.  Becoming a homesteader can not only be a great hobby, but help change your life for the better.

Some easy steps to get you started are listed below, and I will go into greater depth later in the book:

         Make use of your windowsills and create gardens! You can plant spices and small quantities of vegetables.

         If you have a balcony, create a wilderness of edibles! Container gardens are just as effective in growing vegetables as any other system.  There is nothing nicer than seeing a balcony loaded with beautiful plants.

         Make your own cleaning supplies.  The chemicals used in most in cleaning products can be harmful to the environment and your family.  By making your own, you save money and keep a healthier household.

         Give up the clothes dryer.  String a clothesline outside or if that isn’t possible, have a drying rack in your apartment for your clothes.  It will save money and energy.

         Learn food preservation.  All those goodies you grew on your balcony can last you through a winter by learning how to preserve them naturally. 

All of these steps can be implemented in your apartment, urban or suburban home.  Additionally, there are even more homesteading tips can be used in an urban home, with even a small yard.

In an urban homestead, you have an opportunity to utilize the small space efficiently to create a source of all natural food for your family.  Depending on the size of your space, here are some ideas you can implement with even the smallest yard:

         Vertical gardening is a huge space saver.  You may have seen hanging tomato plants, but pretty much anything that is a vine plant can be grown in a vertical garden.  Some examples are peas, beans, cucumbers, even melons!

         Beekeeping is a new trend for urban homesteaders because it doesn’t require a lot of space to care for the bees and harvest that delicious raw honey.

         Create a homesteader kitchen!  Learning how to make your own bread, cheese and other common products you normally purchase at the market will save you money and be very satisfying.

         Compost! This is a key to all natural and chemical free fertilizer.  Not only does making your own compost pile save you money, help grow gorgeous vegetables, but it also cuts down on waste at the landfill.  Use eggshells, coffee grinds, paper, leaves, grass cuttings and scraps from the table to create your very own compost.

The urban homestead options are a bit broader than the apartment choices, as there is a little more space.  However, if you live in a suburban setting, on even just a quarter acre lot, there is so much more you can do!

         Have an egg source – more cities and towns are allowing backyard chickens.  They are natural pesticides (they eat ALL the bugs!) and their waste is awesome fertilizer.  Check your local town/city codes for guidelines and permits for backyard chickens.

         A BIG garden! I am a fan of square foot gardens as they are easy to build and maintain.  In Square Foot Gardening by Balal Naeem, there are many tips on it as well as how to build your own 4’x4’ box.  The great thing about this is you can have as many as you want, depending on space and what other options you want for your homestead.

         Goats aren’t just for funny YouTube videos… They provide milk and you can make goat cheese (Mmmm!) Of course, goat meat is popular in the Caribbean, another option for your family too.

         Rabbits multiply like crazy.  I think we have all heard the expression regarding rabbit’s reproduction skills… Anyhow, they are a great source of meat for your family.  They are easy to breed, and they also require a fraction of the space that a cow or pig would require.

         Create a root cellar.  This is much easier than it sounds as you do not need a large space, just dig a hole.  If you plan to grow potatoes, squash, onions, carrots, or parsnips, this will help keep them for the winter.

As you can see, there is a plethora of ways to create your own homestead, regardless of size of your space.  In the following chapters, I will discuss in depth some of these options available to you.

Chapter - 2

Creating the Garden of Eden

Whether you are living in an apartment or on two acres, you can have a beautiful and bountiful garden.  I mentioned before the option of window box gardens, vertical gardening, as well as square foot gardening.  All of these are easy to create and after an initial set up, take very little time to maintain, which is excellent for someone with a busy schedule.

Window box gardens are pretty self-explanatory.  You can grow your own herbs, even vegetables such as baby carrots, lettuce, radishes, peppers, and shallots.  Do you love strawberries?  Plant those too!

Image courtesy of http://homemademothering.com

All you need to start your own window box garden is a window box (easy to make your own), potting soil, and seeds.  You will have virtually zero weeds to deal with and just ensure they stay watered and get the required amount of sunlight.

Container gardening is very similar to window box gardening, and is perfect for an apartment with a balcony or even in your small space outside your urban home.  The variety of items you can grow in containers is a bit wider than what fits in a window box.  The same set up is required and choosing containers for the correct depth as well as width for whatever you want to plant.  Terra cotta containers are an inexpensive option just be watchful of keeping your plants watered as the porous material of terra cotta may not hold water well.  Dark colored containers will absorb heat and therefore dry the soil faster.  Always make sure your containers have drainage holes to allow excess water to drain out.

Some examples of vegetables you can grow in containers quite successfully are beets, cauliflower, carrots, broccoli, peppers, green beans, and peas.  You can also grow small fruit trees in containers, such as lemon or lime.

Photo courtesy of http://vegetablegardenhub.com/container-garden

Vertical gardening is a relatively new method that is taking off, especially for balcony gardeners.  Essentially, it is planting your vegetables in a vertical manner, allowing draping or straight up growth.  Cool, right?

Photo courtesy of http://homegardenair.com/

There are a number of ways to create a vertical garden, as well as no limit to what you can grow in it.  You can use shelves, hanging baskets, trellises or a combination of all three for a gorgeous garden.

As with any gardening, the quantity of sunlight will determine what kind of vegetables you can grow. All seed packets denote how much sunlight the vegetable will need.  If you plant vegetables with vines, make sure you have good supports or a form of trellis for them to climb.  Some vegetables you can grow from a hanging bag or even a bucket, such as tomatoes or anything that grows on a vine.  Be careful of how much weight the crop will be, for example you wouldn’t plant watermelon in a hanging bag as it would break the stem when it became too heavy.

Image by Kathy Kimpel, courtesy of http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/

Chapter - 3

Brown Eggs Are Local Eggs

And local eggs are fresh!  You may want an egg source for your backyard homestead.  There are several options available, chickens being the obvious one.  Chickens are great egg sources as well as good meat.  When a chicken’s egg production decreases, it is a perfect candidate for dinner.  The benefits of having a small chicken flock in your yard is that they eat all the icky pests that roam your property and their waste serves as excellent fertilizer, especially when fed proper nutrients.  However, they can be loud and not every city or town allows chickens.

When chickens are not an option, quail can be a surprisingly great alternative.  Their eggs are almost identical in taste and composition as chicken eggs, though significantly smaller.  However, they are very quiet, and quail meat is very tasty.  They are also very inexpensive.  For a couple of dollars, literally, you can purchase a pair of mating quail to begin your flock.  They do not require much space either, just 1-2 sq. ft. per bird.  They also have a delightful disposition, being rather friendly.  They do require food and water at all times, and keeping them through the winter is not hard as long as they are protected from the elements.  If you have a garage, it would be an ideal place to keep your homestead animals in it for the winter.

Courtesy of www.attainable-sustainable.net

Geese and ducks are also another possibility, or if you have the room to do more than one type of bird, these are a great choice.  The feathers can be used to stuff pillows or make comforters, and the meat is so very rich and tasty.  Duck L’Orange anyone?  Ducks and geese are a little more expensive than chickens, but the net reward will be much greater than the initial investment.  Duck and goose eggs are a great source of protein though they do need more space than quail and tend to be a bit ornery.

The important thing to remember when raising fowl is to ensure you are following your city and town statutes.  The last thing you want is a nosy neighbor complaining about the roosters squawking at sunrise!  Again, space is always a factor to how many birds you can keep and which types.  For example, you could keep quail right on your apartment balcony; however geese will not be an option for an apartment dweller.

Courtesy of cottage_rose_birdsnblossoms.webs.com

If you have the space for a coop, it is ideal to make it mobile.  This will ensure your fowl are “free range” even though you keep them in a cage.  Move them every day when you collect their eggs, feed and water them and you will not only have a pest free lawn, but the eggs and meat produced will be better quality because of the minute change in location.

Having a natural, home-grown source of eggs for your family has many benefits.  You control the food your fowl eat, so you know the eggs produced are the highest quality.  You eliminate any potential for growth hormones or other unwanted additives in the food you serve your family.

Chapter - 4

Meat… It’s What’s for Dinner!

Raising cattle is generally not an option for most homesteaders.  There are many alternatives to beef for a meat source for your family.  We discussed chickens earlier as an egg source, and they are also a great meat source.  Rabbits, the other OTHER white meat, are a great and fun alternative.

Raising rabbits is one of the easiest and simplest homesteading options you can implement.  They require very little attention and work, and as long as you monitor their reproduction, just three rabbits (one male and two female) can net you 180lbs of meat per year.

Courtesy of www.homegrown.org

There are many varieties of rabbits, but be sure to stay away from the fancy types such as Angora.  Medium-weight breeds offer decent meat quantities and are inexpensive to feed.

There are many cultures who love goat meat, with its lean and high protein quantities; there is an increasing demand for it in the health food demographic.  Goats eat a multitude of plants from brush to cane, and even poison ivy.  Housing them is not difficult either though you will need space.  They need to be kept dry and out of drafts, that’s it.  Like rabbits, there are many breeds to choose from and for the purpose of meat and milk, the kinder goat is a great option.  While they are smaller than most goat breeds, they eat less and require less space.  For meat purposes, the net meat you can get from a kinder goat is about 60%.  Milking is also easy with these smaller goats because they are more manageable to handle.

Having a viable meat source will not only save you money in the long term, but you can also turn a profit on it, especially with the demand on goat meat.  I will discuss the profits to be made for goat meat later, and keep in mind it is all your choice.  Your investment is best used to fit whatever time and effort you and your family have to give to the homestead.

Chapter - 5

Homestead in the Home

Aside from the backyard opportunities you have for homesteading, there are so many to tackle inside as well.  Especially in the winter months, when there isn’t much to do outside, you can keep the homestead effort running by making household products.

Soap, toothpaste, cleaners, and shampoo can all be made with organic ingredients right at home.

Here is a simple home soap recipe for you to try, courtesy of www.diynatural.com:

              2/3 cup of coconut oil

              2/3 cup of olive oil

              2/3 cup of grapeseed oil or sunflower oil

              ¼ cup of lye

              ¾ cup of water              

              Essential oils or herbs for fragrance of your choice

Cover your work area with newspaper. Put your gloves and other protective wear on. Measure your water into the quart canning jar. Have a spoon ready. Measure your lye, making sure you have exactly ¼ cup. Slowly pour the lye into the water, stirring as you go. Stand back while you stir to avoid the fumes. When the water starts to clear, you can allow it to sit while you move to the next step.

In the pint jar, add your three oils together. They should just make a pint. Heat in a microwave for about a minute, or place the jar of oils in a pan of water to heat. Check the temperature of your oils – it should be about 120° or so. Your lye should have come down by then to about 120°. Wait for both to cool somewhere between 95° and 105°. This is critical for soap making. Too low and it’ll come together quickly, but be coarse and crumbly.

When both the lye and oils are at the right temperature, pour the oils into a mixing bowl. Slowly add the lye, stirring until it’s all mixed. Stir by hand for a full 5 minutes. It’s very important to get as much of the lye in contact with as much of the soap as possible. After about 5 minutes, you can keep stirring or you can use an immersion blender. The soap mixture will lighten in color and become thick. When it looks like vanilla pudding it’s at “trace” and you’re good to go.

Add your herbs, essential oils or other additions at this point. Stir thoroughly to combine. Pour the mixture into mold(s) and cover with plastic wrap. Set in an old towel and wrap it up. This will keep the residual heat in and start the saponification process. Saponification is the process of the base ingredients becoming soap.

After 24 hours, check your soap. If it’s still warm or soft, allow it to sit another 12-24 hours. When it is cold and firm, turn it out onto a piece of parchment paper or baking rack. If using a loaf pan as your mold, cut into bars at this point. Allow soap to cure for 4 weeks or so. Be sure to turn it over once a week to expose all the sides to air (which is not necessary if using a baking rack). For a DIY soap drying rack, I took an old potato chip rack and slid cardboard fabric bolts (from a fabric store) through the rungs.

When your soap is fully cured, wrap it in wax paper or keep it in an airtight container. Handmade soap creates its own glycerin, which is a humectant, pulling moisture from the air. It should be wrapped to keep it from attracting dust and debris with the moisture.

Be cautious using lye as it is a caustic and can burn skin or clothes.  It does product fumes, but they typically only last for about a minute or two.  The lye becomes non-existent through the saponification step.

One of the most important steps for indoor homesteading is food preservation.  Remember all that food you harvested from your Garden of Eden?  Now it is time to make it last for the winter, offering fresh, all natural food for your family all year long.

Canning and jarring vegetables is the most common option for most of your produce.  Also, for vegetables that will hold for months, a root cellar which can be a trench dug in your basement or similar area to keep them fresh.  It is considered the old world refrigerator!  Meats can be cured or frozen to last the winter, taking out whatever is needed for each meal.

Photo courtesy of https://farmlet.wordpress.com/2011/09/

There are also home remedies that you can easily prepare for your family, which can be more effective than prescription medication, especially preventative medicine.  Drinking warm lemon water in the morning, swishing coconut oil for 10 minutes every day, and drinking cinnamon tea with honey are just some of the things you can do for your family to keep in great health.  The list is endless and a quick Google search can net you numerous tasks to indoor homesteading.

Chapter - 6

Turning a Homestead Profit

One of the many benefits of having your own homestead is making money from it.  Especially if you are a single income family, this is a great way to earn a little extra cash while reaping the rewards of eating healthier.  There are so many ways to turn your homestead into a profitable business, you can literally and figuratively cherry pick which ways fit your family best.  The demand for healthier, non GMO, all natural and organic foods is high and only increasing and here are some ways for you to take advantage of it.

Organic produce can be sold in small quantities at farmer’s markets.  Check to see if your city or town has one, or where the closest one is located.  Typically they operate on the weekends and often charge a small fee for space.  You can sell anything from fruits and vegetables to raw honey, homemade soaps, eggs and anything organically made by you and your family.

Photo courtesy of www.fnec.cornell.edu

Whatever your meat source choice is for your homestead, there is money to be made from it.  Rabbits have lovely pelts that can be sold, and wholesalers are easy to find online.  Goats will produce a significant amount of milk, and perhaps if there is enough meat for you and your family, you can sell the excess.  There is a high demand for goat meat, and most that is sold in the US is imported, leading to higher prices.  You can sell yours cheaper and still make a profit.

These are just a few examples of making a little extra money for your family, which can be used for the next season of vegetables and feed for your animals.

Conclusion

As you can see, homesteading is so much more than just owning a garden.  Between raising chickens or quail to goats and rabbits, it is a great family lifestyle that can teach your children the value of hard work and the benefit of healthy eating.  You are helping the environment by cutting down on waste, and keeping chemicals out of your home that can lead to health problems down the road.

All of the projects are inexpensive to start, with low investment.  Can you really put a price on your family’s health?  It is not a simple undertaking, but I feel that all the good that can come of homesteading greatly outweighs the hard work.  Not to mention, most of the tasks are simple and certainly not complicated.  It’s not rocket science, it IS biology.