canned goods on a brown shelf

Homesteading Skills

Homesteading is not new, by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, the way most people live is the new way. Homesteading is just the term we’ve given to the way people used to live. There are growing numbers of people who recognize the need to get back to what used to be basic skills and living the homestead lifestyle. Beyond the health benefits, the basic knowledge is an invaluable asset to any household.

In this post, I’ll lay out the top 5 homesteading skills that everyone should have, no matter what you plan to do.

Gardening

Having a garden and the ability to grow your own food is an essential skill that everyone should have. It’s not always as easy as it may seem and being able to provide for yourself and potentially your family could mean the difference between life and death.

Not everything will be that extreme, but the peace of mind that comes with knowing that you CAN if you had to is an amazing feeling.

garden planter with pinto beans
The glory of gardening: hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heart with nature. To nurture a garden is to feed not just the body, but the soul.

-Alfred Austin

quinoa plants

I learning how to garden, you need to know a few basics to get started. Most notably, learning how to create the soil your garden needs will be the first step. Without good soil, your garden won’t grow well. Believe me on this one…I struggled for years and years until I learned how to test my soil and fix any issues. I even made a post all about how to create the best soil in your garden.

Next, you need to know what plants to grow and when. What you grow will greatly depend on where you live. Some areas are great for growing corn and watermelon while other areas will be better for growing snow peas and winter squash. The USDA has a great map for determining what growing zone you’re in. Use this map to help you decide what to grow and when. You can also check out my page on choosing the best plants for your garden.

Seed saving is a great skill for long term sustainability. Rather than purchasing new seeds every year, you can save seeds from heirloom varieties of the plants you already have in your garden. Always keep a seeds from several years in a row to ensure that your crops will continue to sustain you. If one year becomes compromised for some reason, you can always revert back to the year before and start again.

brown and white Nigerian dwarf goat on a garden table
baby goats in a bucket with hay
chicks in a wood box

Raising Animals

Even if you don’t plan to eat the animals you raise, you should know the basics of raising animals. Chickens will give you eggs and goat will give you milk. During very difficult times, having these few items can make a big difference.

Chickens are rather low-maintenance and will give you a steady supply of eggs, depending on the time of year. You don’t need a rooster and each hen will lay one egg every day. As they get older, their egg production will slow down and eventually stop, but she’ll give you tons of eggs before then.

Small livestock like goats and sheep will give you endless hours of adorable entertainment as well as milk. That milk can be used to make yogurt, cheese, pudding and so much more. They are more work than chickens, but the rewards are also higher.

Large livestock will be the most difficult for most people. They require a lot of space and food, but if you plan to eat from your land as much as possible, large livestock is the way to go.

Preserving Food

Dehydrated onions in wood bowls on a cutting board
herb basket with mint, oregano and lavender

Herbal Medicine

The plants around us have amazing healing powers that have been largely forgotten. Did you know that stinging nettle is a powerful antihistamine? Or that marigolds can help skin irritation?

Learning the basics of herbal medicine and how to use the common weeds in your yard can help reduce your dependency on the pharmacy. Many times, plants will provide the same level of relief without any of the serious, potentially harmful side effects of the stuff you’ll find at the pharmacy.

Basic herbal medicine is a must in my opinion. I’m sure that once you start to learn what these amazing plants can do, you’ll be as enthralled at the idea as I am.

Soap Making

The final skill on my list of skills you need to learn is soap making. Just the thought of amount of chemicals we are constantly exposing our skin to makes me want to take a shower. What is advertised as soap and considered good for our skin is anything but. The manufacturers have led us to believe that all germs and bacteria on our skin is bad and we need to destroy it all. I strongly disagree with this and I actually encourage the “good” germs. Of course, I wash my hands when I get home and before preparing a meal. But my goal isn’t to destroy all bacteria on the surface of my body.

Have you ever needed to go on a strong antibiotic? I used to get sinus infections frequently and had one spread to my brain. As a result, I ended up in the hospital and on one of the most powerful antibiotics they make. It did the job and killed all the bacteria, but it also killed all of the good bacteria in my body. I never felt so drained as I did for those ten days that I took the antibiotic. It turns out, our bodies need bacteria to function properly. Our skin is no different. While too much bacteria is not good, not enough bacteria is also a bad thing.

Having a natural soap will help balance the good and bad bacteria on your skin and will do wonders for your overall health. For this reason, I recommend learning to make your own soap. I have a stockpile of dish soap (yep, a bar of dish soap), hand soap, body soap and even shampoo (also bar soap). It’s nice to know that I can make whatever scent I want, using essential oils) and I have full control over what I put on my skin.

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