You can plan your best homestead this year and have it for years to come. Learn to assess your land, improve your soil, start a garden from seeds, and more.
When it comes to creating your dream homestead, you will find that it helps to make a plan for the changes you want to make around your property. You may be satisfied with adding a few pots of herbs on the patio, but for some people who want to have a self-reliant lifestyle, that’s not enough.
Set a Goal While Planning Your Best Homestead
Before you get started, take time to dream about how you’ll use your property this year.
Make sure you understand what you envision for the future and be willing to take steps to reach that goal.
For some people, setting up a sustainable homestead will take more time than for others. Make sure to set goals that are appropriate for where you are in your life right now.
- Do you want to save money by preserving food?
- Do you want to grow your own food?
- Do you see yourself practicing sustainable living in an urban area?
- Do you dream of living on a self-sustaining property where growing your own food and raising livestock is a way of life?
- Do you live in the suburbs and dream of creating a sustainable yard?
Making a Workable Plan
After you’ve set those goals, it’s time to create a plan. Begin by looking at where you’d like to end at the end of 12 months. Then incorporate a longer view. If you’d like to be self-sustaining within five years, what do you need to do each year to prepare for that goal?
Decide what steps you will take and when. It may help to use a calendar or make a vision board of what you’d like to achieve. These can serve as visual reminders for your ultimate homestead goals.
Most importantly, don’t become discouraged as you are learning. When you’re making changes in your life, you’re bound to have some setbacks. Don’t let those setbacks keep you from realizing your final goals. Do the best you can and accept that it won’t be perfect.
Practice each year on improvement and remember that even small changes have big impact. You’ll be helping to secure the future of the planet with every good choice you make.
I’ve partnered with several of my homesteading friends to bring you free content to help with planning your best homestead in 2020.
These free pdf’s will work no matter where you live – from urban to rural or someplace in between – and will help you
- Create plant for preserving food (either grown or purchased)
- Assess and use your land to it’s fullest
- Start or add to a garden, choose the kind of gardening that’s right for your property
- Composting your waste to improve your property
- Raising chickens for pest control and sustainability
- Controlling pests on your property and in your garden
- Starting seeds to save money and add variety to the food you eat
- How to have the best soil to support what you want to grow
Starting Your Spring Seeds – Stone Family Farmstead
Kristi knows a lot about starting seeds from scratch. You’ll find this helpful as you begin to plan what you’ll grow.
You’ll learn about planting zone, how to choose that to grow, which seeds you can start inside and how to plant and care for them.
Secrets to a Weed and Pest Free Homestead – The Self-Sufficient HomeAcre
Lisa has the market cornered on how to prevent pests on her homestead!
This 29-page report takes you through maintaining your vegetables garden and orchard, putting poultry to work on the homestead, protecting livestock and preventing weeds and pests in your crops.
6 Bountiful Tips for Starting a Garden in 2020 – Rockin W Homestead
Have you ever found yourself in the garden section of the big box store wondering if you really need that extra broccoli or tomato plant? You are not alone!
If you are often swayed into buying more plants because you don’t have a clear vision for the things you want to grow this year – or where they will go in your yard, take heart and use these 6 tips.
How to Compost (with a printable cheatsheet) – Our Inspired Roots
There are many reasons to begin composting your kitchen scraps instead of tossing them into the garbage:
- Keep nutrients and organic matter out of the landfill and in your yard.
- Reduce your trash bill!
- Create rich fertilizer for your garden (for free!).
- Save money by creating your own compost instead of buying it.
- Make organic gardening incredibly easy.
How to Best Use Your Land – Flip Flop Barnyard
You don’t need to have acres of land to have planning be effective.
Jenna will take you through getting the lay of your land and setting up an infrastructure that works for your specific situation.
Make decisions about how to use the piece of property you own (or even rent) so you can make the most of it!
The Beginners Guide to Preparing Healthy Soil – Learning & Yearning
Susan is a master at creating lovely and productive gardens. In this 10 page guide, she’ll show you how to:
- Improve your soil fertility
- Decide where to build your garden
- Collect readily available materials to build productive soil.
Preparing Your Pantry for the New Year – The Purposeful Pantry
If you are focused on being as self-sufficient as possible, preparing your pantry for the upcoming year is on top of that list!
Whether you are a homesteader with huge gardens, or someone on a budget shopping grocery sales in a tiny rental apartment, it’s possible to begin to plan out your year of preserving and stocking your pantry now!
Your Chicken Cheat Sheet – Farming My Backyard
Kathryn at Farming My Backyard has a lot of experience with raising small livestock.
She’s my go-to-gal when I want more information about raising rabbits and chickens in urban and suburban settings.
Her report walks you through six questions to ask yourself before diving into raising chickens and also helps you know what to do when you bring them home.
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