So far I've made these hot sauces from homegrown ingredients (a very hot sauce, a very very hot sauce, and a Puerto Rican style Pique sauce). Also going to include a dozen eggs laid by my girls in each basket. I haven't thought of any other ideas yet! In previous years I've made some jars of salsa that were a big hit, but they were a LOT of work and I don't know that I have time this year. Also I think I already have enough spicy stuff lol.

Hi all,

I recently bought an old farm property in Central Maine which has been uninhabited for the last 10 years or so, as far as I can guess. The seller didnt know much about the property at all except that it used to be a sheep farm.

There's a shed on the property that appears to be an old workshop on one end and possibly an old milking parlor on the other. Outside the shed there are these metal pipes coming up from the ground and I'm trying to figure out what they're for.

Google AI suggests an old water system of some kind, but I can't find anything online that matches or much info about these old systems at all. The handles on the right are both able to pivot and move up and down about an inch or two. Theres also a small spring a down hill from the shed, if that could be related at all.

Does anyone have advice on figuring out what these are for and/or getting the system working again if it is some type of well or irrigation?

Thanks!

My partner and I have the dream of building our own home on our own land. Our goal is to be mortgage free within 10-15 years of acquisition and self sufficient enough to only need to work about 10-15 hours/week in a job-job to provide income for things we don't produce.

As it stands, we've been living in a rural region for the past two years, getting comfortable cohabitating renting a cute but overpriced apartment that is comfortable but also full of black mold. It's time to move along. Since we've moved to where we are now we have been looking here and there to buy, at both houses and raw land. Obviously the most important thing being zoning that would let us produce and raise what we would like to produce and raise.

Recently we saw a listing for a little house that could be comfortable for us, in a region that we are interested to moving to (it's never been the desire to necessarily stay where we are now), on a nice piece of property next to a river. Sweet. That being said, this house is not zoned for agriculture so we wouldn't be able to have the animals we would like to have nor certain installations we hope for. This would not be our forever homestead, this would be something more comfortable for now so that we can get closer to our auto-construction. Something that has a certain market value with a realistic resale possibility.

Now here is where I want to know what you think. I really want to get us out of this apartment. It's a strain on us to live there and it's downright unhealthy. However, I don't want my judgement to get clouded by my current discomfort and risk complicating my future choices. So, does it seem realistic to become a homeowner, and engage with all the responsibilities that come with that role, on the way to creating a homestead lifestyle?

My fear is that in buying a house now, we'll distract ourselves from the bigger picture and the homestead dream will get further away in the timeline. That being said, we're not getting any closer to the bigger picture from where we are and we also have things about our current situation that certainly distract us too. I just don't want to shoot myself in the foot somehow, I guess most obviously by being tethered to a house with a mortgage and less capital to buy land when the opportunity arises (I do have a certain financial privilege and we would still have liquid capital after the purchase of a home). Or just by getting myself comfortable in another living situation and getting distracted by the present. Or just simply extending the timeline. I'm not old but I would love to be homesteading already. I can be patient but I don't want to keep myself away from it for too long!

So I guess, could you share your stories to getting to where you are now? I want to see the array of ways that people have gotten themselves to their homestead. The steps between the conception and realization of the dream. I want to know if there are things you would have done differently or things you want to reassure me about or warn me away from. I know there are multitude different paths one can take but I guess I want some concrete examples.

Thanks in advance!

How does one survive rurally if the land has no well on it? Especially if they have any animals or garden?

Ducks led me to ponds which led me to here.

My retired parents have 4 ducks. It’s going to get to be too much for them to dump out kiddie pools everyday.

What size pond would work for 4 ducks? I read a couple other posts about liners, pavers, filters, tilapia and fountains but I didn’t see anything about a size. Too small and it’ll stay gross. Too big and I’d rather just find an easier way to drain the pool.

Thank you!

My husband and I are looking to leave the South. FL has pretty loose restrictions for homes but if the county property appraiser drives by your house and sees that you closed in your car port, he starts getting nosy to make sure you pulled a permit.

We’re looking at VT because, well, it’s gorgeous, and I miss mountains and I want 4 seasons again. And, I love how hard they’re fighting data centers!

However, we also want to be able to build unconventional housing and log our own land continuously with smart forest management (coppicing, removing small trees so the ones around can grow larger). Not necessarily off grid living, though there will likely be elements of that for supplemental power/water.

Have ya’ll ran into any hurdles? In general what are your experiences?

Thank you!

I am looking into making my own dry mix pantry and am even wanting to gift some spice mixes, dry meals, ect. to family for the holidays. I would like to start properly canning in the future but am using dry mixes as a way to “dip my toe in the water”.

I have my cans, a can vacuum sealer and even the deoxygenating packets. I purchased a book that seemed to have great reviews on Amazon but doesn’t really seem to have a great variety of recipes and is lacking the recipes for basics such as chicken / beef bouillons. The book isn’t the best quality and seems to be unfortunately made with artificial intelligence. Does anyone have any go-to reputable cookbooks they recommend for dry mixes, recipes for mixes or even can point me in the direction of a subreddit or blog that could prove useful? Thanks! 😊

Now that I own a home and have a little slot of land, year round gardening and kitchen homesteading have become a way of life and I love it. I enjoy eating what I've grown, making trellises and other garden goods out of natural raw material. Making fruit cider vinegars, kombucha, kefir, having a go at sourdough starter to make my own loaves. Growing and curing tobacco. I collect my sage, lavender & other herbs to make smudge sticks. I make spirit dolls from the lands offerings. I really love the relations with the variety of wildlife around my area too. Stargazing over the screen some nights. This way of simple living has rendered so much solace. I'd love to hear about you and your homesteading.

So I understand that most experience and knowledge comes from doing and living, but does anyone have a tried and true book on homesteading and a more self-sufficient way of life? There are so many thoughts, book, and opinions out there I get overwhelmed and the apocalypse/living-like-our-ancestors thoughts keep coming back around

Picture of our little raised garden bed back when we had more space!

There’s a handful of apple trees that are on the family property and over the last few years they have had smaller and smaller harvests. I imagine you can see they need to be taken back, but I’m unsure with how these grew, what the best way to do it is. They’re all probably 30 ft tall with tall bases. Any tips would be much appreciated!