Are you into homesteading?

thisfreespirit Level 1

August 18, 2017, 12:14 am

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Are you into homesteading?

These days it's trending to participate in homesteading... meaning that in some form you live a sustainable life where you grow some or your own food or raise animals for the purpose of providing food. Many people in our neighborhood have chickens so that they can have fresh eggs. Gardens can provide vegetables, fruits, and herbs. When you eat things that you've grown or cared for yourself, there is not only pride in it, but also a healthier means of eating because you know where your food has come from and the safety of it. We just started growing some of our own food this year and each year we hope to grow and preserve more. How about you, do you do any homesteading?

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Tronia

Tronia

I sadly don't do homesteading... well I only grow my own herbs on the balcony, if that counts? Haha. I would absolutely love to have my own garden again but ever since I moved into my apartment that just isn't possible. I live very close to the actual city so gardens here are rare. And I can't have any animals like chickens or cows running around.

However, my aunt and mother, both have big and beautiful gardens. They give me homegrown vegetables and fruit almost every week which I absolutely love - not only that it's healthy but it also saves me money. Aunt also has 5 chickens that she takes care of so they give her family daily eggs. Occasionally I get an egg or two as well but not every time that I visit

7 years ago

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thisfreespirit

thisfreespirit

Growing your own herbs on your balcony counts for something! At least you have a supply of tasty, fresh herbs to add to your meals. Your aunt and mother's gardens sound lovely, to be able to supply homegrown foods each week! We just started trying to grow some of our own vegetables this year. Only about half our plants have produced anything and our tomatoes are barely big enough to take a bite out of. We just moved into our home this past November and we were excited to learn it had several fruit trees already here. Unfortunately, we did not learn yet how to care for them, so we don't have much fruit this year. We have two peach trees which have produced a total of 2 peaches! Oh well, next year we'll try to get a bit better with our homesteading.

7 years ago

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jkeypad

jkeypad

If I have a lot of free space yes I'd love to do homesteading. We just have few growing vegetables, fruits, and few chickens at the moment but it's located in a few blocks from my home. It would be nice and fulfilling when you wake up and look at outside your garden and pick fresh vegetables for breakfast. I've been an urban gardener for 5 years now, I started from scratch and I want all to be natural. Seeing my plants growing healthy and make your own food from your harvest is a wonderful feeling.

7 years ago

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fishmonk

fishmonk

My home used to be into this. We reared our own chickens and grew vegetables in the garden. Now the only thing which is still growing is just the fruit trees. We are all too busy to participate in homesteading so it is no longer viable.

7 years ago

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peachpurple

peachpurple

I am living in a residential area where rearing chickens, ducks are not allowed because they will induce flu virus ( that is what the authories claimed) stench and noise ( cock crows and the ducks quacking). However, I do plant vegetables for my own consumption such as spinach, coconut tree, papaya tree, curry leaves plant, chives, spring onions, tapioca leaves and many more. There is a huge plot of empty garden in the yard of my house for plantation. So, consider mine semi- homestead.

7 years ago

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Authord

Authord

We used to rear both chickens,ducks,pigs and Turkey, and it was really stressful for me, because the work was too much for me to handle and take care of , and we also had a garden where we grew all kinds of plants, from vegetables to fruits. and that was one hell of a job for me and my siblings .
But when it comes to devouring and consuming the finished products and harvests we won't remember the stress anymore.
But now we have relocated from our former environment to a new domain and here they don't rear those things here anymore .

7 years ago

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thisfreespirit

thisfreespirit

I can imagine that caring for and raising all those animals would be very time consuming and stressful. My husband and I considered to get chickens so that we could have our own fresh eggs, but it just felt like too much work and commitment for us. I have already learned this year, being my first year to really try to grow some of my own food, that it is a bit more work and more time consuming than I first thought. I'm hoping over the years to get a bit better at it though and find some techniques to cut down on some of the work. For instance, I've learned about Ollas, which are a type of terra cotta put that goes into the ground. You fill it with water and plants naturally drink the moisture out of the ground that seeps from it. That way, they have all the water they want, and you water less often.

7 years ago

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ballyhara

ballyhara

Right now, i live in a very small apartment and I don't have a proper space to make anything grows. But my Dad has some patio/backyard, where he proudly grows fruits like papaya and lemons, veggies like cherry tomatoes and avocados, some herbs too. Is not like a whole homesteading, but he is just starting and it makes him feel good, specially when he shares them with neighbors and friends.

7 years ago

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DenisP

DenisP

Oh absolutely. I actually lived in New York City for most of my life, and I felt so trapped there. Surrounded by nothing but concrete and not a garden in sight, I always longed for a much simpler life that was closer to nature. After a couple of years of saving, I eventually took the leap and moved to a European country where my family is originally from, and am now living on a farm in a rural community. I honestly could not be happier. To be able to get up in the morning, and basically pick my breakfast from my own backyard, it is one of the greatest feelings on Earth. Having fresh vegetables, canning for the Winter, being closer to nature; it feels amazing and I wouldn't trade it for the world.

7 years ago

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thisfreespirit

thisfreespirit

Oh, I am both happy for you and envious of you! My husband and I dream of being able to move back to Europe. He is originally from Italy (though has lived in the US since a small child) and I was stationed in Sicily for two years with the military. We both very much prefer the European lifestyle and our dream is to be able to move to some quiet European town. It sounds to me like that was your dream as well and you have achieved it. It also sounds like it is ideally what you had hoped for. Congratulations and enjoy your homesteading.

7 years ago

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galegatling

galegatling

Oh we used to have some livestock animals when we were still living in the province. I remember I had different kinds of chickens and also ducks! We also had a couple of pigs, goats, sheep and cows and it was really a fun time back in the days. I would always feed the chickens and the ducks because I enjoyed doing it back then. After a couple of years later, we moved in the city and things began to change dramatically. Nonetheless, it was some good moments to remember and treasure.

7 years ago

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overcast

overcast

I never tried that experience. I think on that note you can see there is a lot to be learned from that experience. I have seen some of the folks making use of the livestock and sell items made up of them. Like milk products and fur etc. So lot of interesting experience there.

7 years ago

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JoeMilford

JoeMilford

I homestead, if you can call it that, as best as I can with my limited resources. I grow my own herbs and tomatoes--I actually grow the tomatoes in door, and they are not bad. I can and preserve every year. I go down to my mom's in Alabama once a year, and she has a big backyard garden, and we make fruit preserves and pickles and other storable items from the garden so as to try not to waste anything. Then I bring a big box of that delicious stuff back to Georgia with me where I live. So, I guess that counts as homesteading possibly?

7 years ago

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DarthHazard

DarthHazard

I don't do this and I doubt I would ever do this to be honest unless there was some sort of an apocolypse and we all had to become self-sufficient. A lot of people, especially ones that are living in cities just don't have the time nor space to do this. I mean, it would be amazing to grow your own vegetables and herbs but I just don't have the time or energy to do it. It's just much easier to buy them from the supermarket.

7 years ago

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Destiny00

Destiny00

Sadly, I don't have the space for a garden anymore, but I love the idea of homesteading! My friend keeps chickens and often shares the fresh eggs. They are amazing, the yolks are sooo rich - you can definitely taste a difference between fresh eggs and eggs you buy in a supermarket!

Chickens are also great because they eat ticks! By controlling the tick population, chickens can actually help to stop Lyme disease from spreading.

7 years ago

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overcast

overcast

I try to put a lot of things in my container garden. Though a lot of stuff is harder to grow. You can still for the mint, coriander and few other vegetables. Though if your apartment has rules on growing stuff. Then that would be harder to adjust with. And in such case I'd say stick with what's possible with container garden vegetables and herbs. I think if you can take a look at the online sites you can find a lot of information on that part. I only do as much as possible within my limited space.

7 years ago

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tinethoughts

tinethoughts

I love having my own garden at home, so when I finally got my own house I began Homesteading. I do have a mini garden which grows vegetables that I use primarily for cooking such as garlic, tomatoes, onion, ginger and many more. Homesteading does not have to be costly. I use recyclable materials as pots such as old water containers and even worn out tires. Now, I do not have to buy ingredients to saute, i already have them in my garden.

7 years ago

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cubo

cubo

Yeah, I like to plant different fruit plants and vegetables. I've planted corn, grains, passion fruits, lemons, orange, tomatoes, onion, peppers, soursop, banana, etc. I don't like raise animals to provide me food because I end loving them and I can't kill them later. I used to have a chicken and I couldn't kill it because it became my pet so I have to give it away to my aunt because she raises chickens.

7 years ago

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poingan77

poingan77

I've always wanted to do homesteading, we used to, when I was living in the province. We had our own lime tree infront of the house. We also had chickens. We had these Manggo and avocado trees. I miss living in the province. Someday, I'll go back to homesteading kind of lifestyle.

7 years ago

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saygorem

saygorem

No, but i love to live in an all organic place right in the lot of your own house, planting vegetables, raising your own cattles and poultry that is all organic. Its a lifestyle that i wish i can accomplish. I hope someday i can own a large lot or kand to make a big homestead.

7 years ago

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pizzalover

pizzalover

No, I don't do that and I don't think I will in the future. Homesteading is for someone who doesn't work or has a lot of free time because like everything you need to spend time doing that. I don't like my yard with plants of vegetables or some chicken.
I see that for people who live in farms or big houses far of the city because some neighbors wouldn't like to get up early because of the cock crow in the morning. I can't stand it. If you want to have animals to do homesteading you shouldn't live in the city.

7 years ago

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kellymh8

kellymh8

Homesteading sounds awesome. I really like the idea of it, but I will probably never pull it off. I don't have the space, and I'm not the best gardener. I don't think I could kill animals. I also just don't have the time. I can barely find enough time in my day for work, housework, and my family.

7 years ago

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nashi05

nashi05

Homesteading is really awesome, I loved planting in our backyard with different vegetable and trees. Sometimes I didn't go to market to buy vegetables, I just go to my backyard and harvest some of my plants or fruits from our trees.

7 years ago

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PedroP

PedroP

This idea appeals to me a lot but I can't implement it. I live in an apartment so it would be difficult to plant something or raise animals. Still, my grandfather has a small garden at the back of his house and raises chickens for eggs and meat. It's a great idea really. You get to save money and taste a higher quality home grown food.

7 years ago

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BelindaMT

BelindaMT

How I wish I can homestead since I have wide backyard. I'ts really nice to see your plants growing and become fruitful but having a life like me that travels a lot because of my work, so I end up buying meat and vegetables in the market. But sometimes when I am thinking of my retirement, I am also considering to homestead as my form of exercise and I'm pretty sure I could make money out of that.

7 years ago

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Judas2018

Judas2018

Absolutely not. I'm a city kid, I shop for all of my fruits and vegetables. I do shop locally though and support local businesses and merchants so, there's that. But I am not the type to be out there growing my own food, hoeing, raking, etc. Not unless a zombie apocalypse or viral pandemic strikes and I literally have no choice because everything is contaminated or the threat of leaving my property is just too great.

7 years ago

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jien0302

jien0302

Yes im into homesteading. I love to grow my own foods. I love to picked and harvest fruits, vegetable and cropses. It is also a chance of eating healthy, safer and organic food. It helps a lot in terms of saving money.

7 years ago

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AmieBotella

AmieBotella

I am into homesteading. My husband and I start planting easy to grow plants like tomatoes and herbs. We are also learning to make our own organic compost. We do not have a large area to plant but even in small spaces we can surely harvest a good amount of produce. We also find planting, gardening and tending to root crops are relaxing and rewarding at the same time. We are also learning to grow mushrooms.

7 years ago

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Pixie06

Pixie06

Yes I am into homesteading. I actually grow some vegetables and fruits on my field and this is definitely helping me to save some money. Some of the vegetables and fruits that I have grown include pumpkins, green beans, eggplants, ladyfinger, cabbage, cucumber, tomatoes, mangoes, starfruit, bananas, mandarin orange, longan and some herbs. Unfortunately, due to lack of space I can't really grow more vegetables.

7 years ago

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anor0428

anor0428

No. How I wish I am. I really want to try growing some veggies and fruits. The problem is that our place is prone to flood. My uncle used to have some plants on the backyard but he stopped planting when he became busy at work. Those times, our place has a good soil to plant to, but now some of those spaces are semented and is not enough for for the plants. So even if I want to,I cant.

7 years ago

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felabruno

felabruno

I would like to, but I don't have a good garden at home sadly. This seems to be something very cool to do, to grow your own fruits, veggies and plants. I'm sure that if I'd do this, I'd be very proud of myself about growing my own things. I hope I can get the chance some day of having a little garden with fruits and veggies. About having animals, I don't know, I'm an animal lover and I would never kill anything to feed myself.

7 years ago

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pandooh

pandooh

Before we're into homesteading since we lived in a province. We had some vegetables in our front yard. It was so cozy to think about it since we just have to pick what we want and cook it. Such a happy life. But now, we moved into the urban area. There is no enough space to homestead. I would love to grow some herb in just pots. There are some artists who are into homesteading and yet they plant them in a pot. I want to try that someday.

7 years ago

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mabhel

mabhel

It's in my bucket list to have my own garden and grow my own vegetable and fruits. However, due to my work schedule, all I can do for now is to grow some herbs and several kinds of vegetables. I wish I have more time to be able to plant some more. It's very helpful if I have my own source of food. Aside from being more practical, It's also safer knowing that I haven't used any chemical that may be harmful to our health.

7 years ago

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jaymish

jaymish

This is a really good idea. I'm not sure if it's a worldwide problem or only experienced in the country that I live.Food is becoming very expensive and it's not readily available. I think people are not interested in farming and are moving to towns.

I plan next year to start homesteading. I want to grow my own vegetables like kale, spinach, white and red cabbage, cucumbers, lettuce, and peppers. I also plan to grow my own herbs.

I feel this is the direction we all headed if we want to continue to eat healthy unless things change. This is also a good business opportunity for someone. Heads up to those who are always asking for business opportunities.

7 years ago

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tophew

tophew

Yes I like to have a homesteading like fruits some animals like chicken to hatch egg for food but my current apartment is just to small to fit all this things but I think I will try this one in my parents we have enough space to do all homesteading staff.

7 years ago

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vhinz

vhinz

I wish I could also do homesteading to make sure that the fruits and vegetables that we eat are safe and doesn't contain chemicals that could affect our health. It can save money and it is a great hobby. I think it is really great watching every day your plants grow. It could somehow relieve stress. If you have enough spare land, maybe you could grow fruits and vegetables more than your family needs and sell it to your neighbors so you could have another source of income.

7 years ago

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Happyflowerlady

Happyflowerlady

For most of my adult life, i lived out. In the country in a very rural setting, and I always had livestock, and raised chickens and rabbits, and grew a garden. It was not exactly a farm, more of just a home in the country, but there were not regulations about what animals you could have outside of the city limits.
Now, I live in a medium-sized city, and the only animals that are allowed are pets like dogs and cats. If it were allowed, I would at least have a few chickens for the fresh eggs, and i would also like having a milk goat again. We do not use a lot of milk, but fresh milk is much healthier that what is sold at the grocery store.
We don’t have a large garden, and mostly I do container gardening, which is easier for me to take care of and does not require all of the digging and rototilling that a regular garden has to have.

7 years ago

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Judas2018

Judas2018

I was raised on grocery store milk and still drink it to this very day. Also use it for cereal, tea, coffee etc. I've never had any problems physically. So I kind of think the myth that store bought milk is not as healthy as fresh farm milk is just that - a myth. I will admit though that I don't drink every brand of milk. I stick to two or three brands in particular.

7 years ago

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fishbate

fishbate

I've been doing it for quite sometime now. I started with some veggies like okra, cherry tomatoes and potatoes. Now i have some herbs and other veggies. It is a great way for sustainability, i don't have the calculations but i think i have saved a significant amount of money in the process of homesteading. And the fact that you eat what you grow gives you an assurance that you are eating healthy foods.

7 years ago

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Judas2018

Judas2018

Interesting to read you like okra. Everyone in my family loves the stuff, except me.

7 years ago

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fishbate

fishbate

Well at first i don't like them too...you know what try it fried dipped in batter and egg some kind of a tempura. I don't like it first because it's gooey and a little hairy. But when my mom cooked it deep fried its a different story . Of course i didn't know it was okra at first...

7 years ago

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coolavender

coolavender

My dream is to retire in a farm where we can grow our own food. I spent most of my early years in the countryside where we didn't have to buy vegetables and fruits because we have most of them in our garden. Neighbors willingly shared their harvests. Our grandparents raised animals for food. We always raised chicken for meat and not for eggs. Even then, I would bawl whenever a chicken had to be killed for lunch or dinner. I would weep whenever they have to sell a pig. Those were emotionally stressful moments for me. I know I'll never want to raise animals for food. However, I might consider raising animals for milk or egg because they can be like pets then. I'm currently living in an urban area where there's only a little space for a garden and none for farm animals.

7 years ago

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Bravosi

Bravosi

Yes, for sure!
Speaking from my own personal life experience, we sold our apartment in the city and bought a house in the rural area in our region. We despise civilization and especially the way it becomes even worse. We're afraid to what might happen to our kids. We can't trust them to this evil society.

We're like 2 weeks already living in the rural areas and enjoying it. It's quite sustainable way of life.

6 years ago

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