Just a suggestion from an older homesteader. Design for your old age. Make things close, convenient, and easy to keep. This includes loading and unloading feed and supplies. Metal and plastic over wood, reduce oiling or painting, or just simply don't have to do it at all. Reduce any accident potential. Feeding animals should be arranged close to feed storage, no walking miles from the barn to feed bins, same with watering. Get waterlines in FIRST with frost-free spigots hopefully gravity fed from storage tanks (non-electrical dependent ). For both gardens and livestock. You will find that off-grid is NOT simple, you can spend just as much on infrastructure as it would be to be grid-connected in some areas, so look very closely into what will be most cost-efficient in the long run. Heating...get in-floor heating supplied by solar water heating panels ( which are really filled with the anti-bacterial gel ), and use building materials like ICF-insulated concrete forms. Our hot water is also supplied by a solar panel supplemented with a propane hot water heater. We built a home with both of these and we truly live "eco" using only propane for cooking and cleaning and wood stove heating and cooking when we want to. The house is very comfortable and our bills are very low. Good luck youngsters, take your time to do it correctly, not just "get it done".
@Homesteadyshow
Жыл бұрын
Great advice. Thank you!
@JNPummill
7 ай бұрын
Wow! Great advice! Many thanks (from future homesteaders here)!
@drironmom6815
4 ай бұрын
Thank you! We are grandparents just starting our homesteading, so this advice is especially on point!
@klsimon4
11 ай бұрын
If we were to start over, i would want an outdoor kitchen to handle food preservation. The amount of space in every kitchen we've had has been inadequate for the kitchen tools and workspace. Indoor kitchens didn't used to be large, they did big projects outside. A plus for clean up too. Add an outdoor pole style picnic structure for BBQ's and gatherings and it would be even better. Big gatherings in the house are stressful
@hollandspinehaven2634
Жыл бұрын
We are off grid almost 7 yrs. We did not have a well and worked only with rain water for 3 years.. At some point it will stop raining enough and you will run out of water. It happened to us. A well was a must have at that point. the well is our back up system now.
@Homesteadyshow
Жыл бұрын
Yep! Definitely planning on backup systems
@Alpha1Farms
Жыл бұрын
Planned System Redundancies are what I would have done differently. Sustainability requires to have the flexibility of: if option A fails, option B or C will sustain until option A is functional again. For instance rain water. You have had success with using a very large barn roof but are planning to go to a small home. It would be a good idea to at least know a local that has water available or a stream nearby with a proven ram pump ready to go… just in case you go 6-8 weeks without rain. Really excited for you guys and to see this new chapter.
@chriswhinery925
Жыл бұрын
Yeah that's more or less what I was thinking. Where I am in Texas we can easily go 2-3 months without ANY rain whatsoever during some parts of the year. Rain catchment alone wouldn't get the job done, I'd still want a well for redundancy even though it's going to occasionally require calling experts out to fix stuff. Better than being caught with no water and in my case just the anxiety that not having the redundancy would cause is not worth dealing with.
@tealkerberus748
8 ай бұрын
@@chriswhinery925 Where I am in Australia 2-3 months without rain is a normal summer, and 6 months is a bad one, although if you get a frost on the roof and the sun melts it gently that will give you a useful bit of runoff in the early morning. A big enough set of tanks will get you through - you don't want a single big tank because one dead bird on the gutter will pollute the whole lot, and then you have to dump out the whole lot and buy in water. But a dead bird in the gutter of one tank of four or six leaves you three or five tanks of clean water and one tank you use for subsurface watering. A big shed roof gives you a sweet bit of catchment, but if your tanks themselves have gutters they'll add a surprising amount to your total water supply.
@sarahharvey7844
Жыл бұрын
I’ve been homesteading for 2 years and I wish I did have a barn! Not a huge barn but somewhere to put all my animal feed and somewhere warm for my baby animals to be born and live. I bought 6 acres of raw land so I had to build my house, bring electricity, dig a well etc. it’s my dream to have a small barn.
@valerieforsyth8278
Жыл бұрын
When we bought our property last year(30 acres) we planted our garden first and stayed in a travel trailer. We built the root cellar the first fall to store all our veges and preserved food and rented nearby that first winter. We had some old infrastructure in the form of 2 old outbuildings and some odd farm implements. We plan to build a small house in the spring. Winters are long and cold in Edmonton, Alberta and our time for developing the property is limited to 6 -7 months each year. Old farm sites are great!
@scotthaley9303
Жыл бұрын
You should look into home biogas systems. With your livestock you could easily add an anaerobic digester to further process manure to harvest the gas from it, which can be compressed into propane bottles and used for heating, cooking or electric via a generator.
@kingscairn
Жыл бұрын
Agreed
@allentowngal4769
Жыл бұрын
also... geothermal piping for more consistent water temp- easier to heat& cool.
@Homesteadyshow
Жыл бұрын
Oooohhh…. Yes! Love that idea
@brianskee
5 ай бұрын
Oh someone suggested this lol. Tho one important note, methane doesn't liquify at the same pressure that propane does. Use plastic gas bags and a pump to store large quantities of methane.
@virginiajorda4226
Жыл бұрын
"I prefer cleaning a barn to cleaning a house." 🙌 YESS!
@abelvalleyfarm55
Жыл бұрын
We live in amish country. They have large two story homes and heat it all by firewood. Very efficiently... they have wood stove cooker and also kerosene cookers and lamps for lighting. Just some thoughts to think of in ur plans. The amish are off grid. Super efficient. I would be talking to some.
@abelvalleyfarm55
Жыл бұрын
They also have cisterns under there homes, but doug and stacey have a nice set up for water ketchment that you could see on youtube. They also are offgrid small, simple, good people to glean from!
@abelvalleyfarm55
Жыл бұрын
Texas county missouri... great place to homestead, lots of freedom (no regulation on offgrid or building codes) amish, winters are nice.. july is hot hot hot... but the rest of year is amazing. Just saying. Lol 😂 we moved here 2 years ago from Washington state
@Homesteadyshow
Жыл бұрын
Yes! We’ve been watching Doug’s videos on water, so helpful!
@allnaturalhomesteaders
Жыл бұрын
A greenhouse is great for overwintering your animals, of course use thick bedding so you can put the bedding on your garden in the spring, it compost in place too. And of course the greenhouse you can plant in all spring and summer and it's fertilized from the animals over winter. So without a barn, when an animal gets sick, where will you put them until they heal? I'd have at least a 2 stall shed. Just for quarantine reasons. Just a suggestion of course.
@CK-solutions
Жыл бұрын
You guys are so funny as a couple. But great how you always arrive at a solution, you're both comfortable with. As a solar radiant option, you can always have a small house you heat with wood, but if you build a greenhouse off the side as a lean-to, the sun will heat it naturally. So on the days the sun is out in winter, you'll have that option for the kids to have a covered area to escape to - or the parents for coffee. As there is dirt in the beds, it's not really an issue to "clean". At least not to a standard a house demands. If you put a stone floor or paving down, it adds to the radiant heat, and a blower on low setting would have the paths clean in no time.
@deserttrailshomestead
Жыл бұрын
I also totally feel K on the cleaning house thing 😅 I would love the make my house magically smaller haha
@soozekuzyk8020
Жыл бұрын
I have JUST a touch of OCD *cough cough* and when my house is in disarray, it causes chaos in my mind, which negatively impacts my mental, emotional AND physical well being. I understand fully what K is talking about. I could stand to have fewer things. Probably. LOL I'm excited for you guys!
@sharonswisher7274
Жыл бұрын
We have 4 acres. Small barn with attached chicken coop. 12 goats, 9 chickens and 6 ducks (we've butchered our pig and turkeys). 1 large garden (20' x 60') 3 small gardens (5' x 10') each. Small orchard (apple, grapes, pear, peach, plum and cherry). I can, dehydrate, ferment and freeze. My husband is the same way about tools everywhere. I swear half of our garage is either in our house or barn. We heat strictly with wood. Our house is 2400 sq ft., we only live in 1800 sq ft of it with the upstairs being blocked off due to heating costs. We live in the lower mitten state in the snow belt area. Excited to see what's in the future for your family.
@joduval
Жыл бұрын
That’s super cool!
@homesteadorbust
Жыл бұрын
That sounds almost exactly like us lol but no goats yet and a few more birds
@WickedAwesomeGardening
Жыл бұрын
So excited for your new adventure!!!!!!
@thelocdwanderer
Жыл бұрын
your relationship seems so fun, y’all are hilarious together.. thank you for sharing with us 🥰
@dc4692
Жыл бұрын
Looking forward to this new move! So glad yall are taking us along! I would love to hear more about pig vs pig.
@nataliesmith4778
Жыл бұрын
Looking forward to see u guys live Ur dream and start a new adventure and watch it come 2 fruition
@SwampyAcresHomestead
Жыл бұрын
Thanks for sharing your journey with us have a blessed day
@cobbfarms5656
Жыл бұрын
Y’all are an inspiration for all us small farms out there.
@sfc334
8 ай бұрын
I have yet to homestead at all, but 2 things on the must-do list are a humanure set up and a plastic to Diesel fuel recycling system.
@rickiests
Жыл бұрын
That was EPIC! LOVED IT!
@elizabeththequeen943
Жыл бұрын
Not all breeds are able to live outside all of the time, particularly deep winter. I live in Vermont and there is a law stating that you need cover for all animals from 11/1 until 4/1. I guess Pennsylvania doesn't have that law and very hearty animals! Outside also leaves them subject to predators in the winter when they are at their most vulnerable. If cleaning your barn was such a chore, you should have used it seasonally from the beginning: animals outside from spring through fall.
@hargersadventures
Жыл бұрын
Yep, simple, sustainable, cheap, and easy is way better.
@HeatherNaturaly
3 ай бұрын
GOOD FENCES!!! The most important thing in homesteading is good fences so you can rotationally graze and pasture your livestock. YOU can live in a tent and the animals need minimal shelter, but if you start with good fences, you can add the rest of the infrastructure as you progress. Then easy access to water. Button those 2 up and you life will be smooth sailing most of the way.
@maryloomis8075
Жыл бұрын
There is an earth ship building in Blue Rock, Ohio that does tours. Also, have you thought of building a cord wood home?I'm 65 and my husband is 70. If there were something I would do differently, it would be to force my hubby to move out into the country and be self sufficient. We've raised chickens, had pet rabbits, dogs and cats, but nothing bigger than that as we live in the city. I garden and he builds my garden boxes. We are as self sufficient as we can be where we are. But...I want the freedom and quiet of nature, and something I can give to our children and grandchildren. I'm intrigued by your plans and can't wait to see it come to fruition. Do you think two old codgers like us can make it out there. You inspire me anyway. Good luck!
@MultiDigre
Жыл бұрын
The project you are planning is basicly my dream. And I truely look forward to follinwing you build the dream on KZitem.
@Bassanova100
Жыл бұрын
Learning a lot from your adventures, even if I just started watching a few months ago. You're just regular people learning as you go, and you're passing that knowledge on to us. You guys are great.
@promisedjubileedaniels
Жыл бұрын
Wow, Luna's bullcalf is gorgeous.
@stuffnsuch631
Жыл бұрын
I toyed with off-grid power and came to the conclusion it's not cheaper and harder to manage. Even off grid, your still dependent on the supply chain. Having the ability to freeze large amounts of foods fast is handy. Lights hardly use anything for power now with led. A good generator with a battery bank to me is more off grid. We heat our 2000ft house w wood in Canada , takes about 12 facecord. Anyways cheers, very generous of that no rust suburban, can I buy it haha
@promisedjubileedaniels
Жыл бұрын
Also, we LOVED our composting toilet (the cheap kind with a bucket and wood shavings). It smelled SO GOOD.
@Homesteadyshow
Жыл бұрын
Oh awesome!
@8dreamersfarm
Жыл бұрын
@Promise Daniels Can you please share deets?!
@promisedjubileedaniels
Жыл бұрын
@@8dreamersfarm and we got our wood shavings for free from a local pallet factory. We just pulled our truck in there and said, "can we take some of this off your hands?" I also read the Humanure book so I knew what I was looking for with moisture content, etc.
@Maggieroselee
Жыл бұрын
Seems like to save enough meat for your family, the amount of power needed for freezers will be a major part of your planning. Plus, over past few years the country had more summer drought, not sure of the impact of that for your family and animal needs. I live in Eastern Pa and for the first time EVER this summer had months of no rain and lost hardy hrubs I planted over 25 years ago. Plus laundry/washing up for a family with young kids and milking. As others mentioned, have nearby and immediate back up systems may help.
@dianeb5380
Жыл бұрын
I saw a video of a home in France that had a huge hot water heater that ran off it's own dedicated roof solar system. It made great sense to me.
@nataliesmith4778
Жыл бұрын
Me to - I get overwhelmed by too much stuff - thank u for making me feel normal. Everyone I know want big newer better and for thm that make thm happy - me learning to live with less an more off the land makes me happy
@Porkins69
Жыл бұрын
My wife and I are 50-ish trying to set up sustainable self-sufficiency for the rest of our years. Do you think this new plan will carry you through the remainder of your lives or will you make more changes in your later years?
@Sam89365
Жыл бұрын
This video came to me at the absolute perfect time, the adds are still playing right now but I 100% will be watching the whole thing.
@Sam89365
Жыл бұрын
I’m really looking forward to future rain water catching videos 👌🏽
@kaylavillalobos1779
Жыл бұрын
I love this so much! We’re a fam of 6 who is just about to list our (tiny 700sq ft) house in the city. We’ll be taking a RV across country ISO our homestead and Lord willing building our home. We love regenerative ag and living simply. We’re definitely considering an earth ship too! I love that we’ll get to follow along with this very relevant to us series! I need all the info on collecting/filtering/storing rain water! Ps I wish we could be friends.
@ScorpioR1sing
Жыл бұрын
Oooo I’m excited for your new adventures. Getting caught up on videos. We just started buying raw golden Guernsey because our friend’s Jerseys are preggo and not producing as much. Yes it’s like buttah as we say in Maine. We have a wood cook stove and outdoor wood boiler which requires some power for the pump so we’re inching closer away from utilities, step by step.
@mariag5594
Жыл бұрын
I'm right there with you on less stuff!! I look forward to seeing how you navigate alternate energy sources.
@lindaferguson593
Жыл бұрын
Love your little dark A2A2 bull!!
@caka8662
Жыл бұрын
Hey guys, interesting reasons for changing things both with the new property and the animals! Would love to see a comparison video om the pigs!
@dhesyca4471
Жыл бұрын
I get overwhelmed with Stuff, too!!! Also, I'm starting to be more self-sufficient by starting to garden as of this spring (including research I started this winter). I'm so excited to grow food!
@karensmith4336
Жыл бұрын
A cow port instead of a car port!
@kristinreynolds577
Жыл бұрын
Hey guys!! I wanted to tell you that we’d love to see a video about the pigs!! What do you think about the different breeds, which breed would you recommend someone start off with, how hated are the different breeds on your land, and which breed is tastiest? I’d love to hear anything else you have to offer! Thanks Austin and Kendra!! I’m so excited for you and your new venture!! Much love from Oklahoma 💗💗💗
@b0ard97
Жыл бұрын
I think it’s important to touch on minimum land requirements for the herd animals.
@corabowe2150
Жыл бұрын
K I am 💯 with you, smaller home, way less stuff! With the much smaller house the only thing I was struggling with was pantry space but planning to do nice root cellar
@wendyjennings1502
Жыл бұрын
100% agree about the barn! We don't have a barn. Find a free pallet source for your shelters in the pasture. Less is More 🥰 yorkshire pigs escaping very stressful! Permanent fence for sure!
@bch5513
Жыл бұрын
Amen on the big house. I had THE right setup and unfortunately had to move to work and ended up having the best option for land and house (very limited where I went) honestly being way to large. But wasn't about to build during the COVID BS.
@thomasreto2997
Жыл бұрын
Great mindset as far as building skill sets as it pertains to homesteading. Chickens, gardening, canning, buying a small solar set up for tools, hooking up a small water catchment to one of your downspouts…That can be done here and now.🌈😃🤙
@femalecrusader8389
Жыл бұрын
I really like where your going with the minimize life style.
@masonh2260
Жыл бұрын
Jerseys and Normandy cows are awesome cattle. They are pretty resilient and relatively easy to work with.
@vttsantana
Жыл бұрын
I agree right now we live in a 4 bd, 2 bath 1700 sq ft house and that to big. It's just my husband and I. We are thankful with the extra room for when we have guess.
@donnaA1000
Жыл бұрын
Pardon me if I am ignorant, I've never been a homesteader, but man everything looks just so perfect here!
@minimoowilson5330
Жыл бұрын
We run miniature beef cattle and the 1 thing I would change is having a good efficient handling set up for when we give shots and things safely even if I am by my self.
@BearMeat4Dinner
Жыл бұрын
I got 14 acres in January of 2020 in Upstate NY because of a hail storm that made me miss snow so much! So afterwards I realized I want to make my whole homestead / farm up there! I will be building up 100 % of the info structure n everything...
@lauralane586
Жыл бұрын
I relate to getting overwhelmed by stuff!
@colorsinthegarden2032
Жыл бұрын
I downsized a year ago from 2 acres to 0.5 acres and here are my thoughts: - I agree with downsizing the house and reducing the number of animals. I'm a single woman and I can't handle more than chickens, ducks and rabbits. - Off grid is a great ideea, especially when it comes to elecitricy and heating. I have solar panels and a water heating panel on the roof and on my small shed. I use a furnance that works with sawdust bricks (very popular in Europe) for heating the house. - No well is a VERY bad idea. Rainwater is good for watering a garden, but your animals and yourself you should get fresh water. I don't know why you find it hard to maintain a well, I'm a woman and I've done it since I was 16. You just need to change the pump ocasionally. Good luck!
@HickorycroftFarm
Жыл бұрын
big changes for sure. Moving a homestead even a short distance is quite the task (we know from experience). One of the things we would certainly do differently if we moved again would be to try and buy a piece of property that is square vs rectangular if at all possible. A long narrow property is not the easiest to or cheapest to fence pending on what animals you have.
@virginiajorda4226
Жыл бұрын
Ps...I highly recommend Homesteadonomics channel. That guy is brilliant with water catchment. Brilliant in general. He's out here in Arizona but I imagine his videos would be helpful anywhere.
@dianeb5380
Жыл бұрын
Lumnah Acres seems to be killing it on the off grid lifestyle. I love their solar system and heating system.
@fsbjewellery
Жыл бұрын
I’d 100% love to have a huge barn, would be so handy for bad weather. I hope you will at least be doing good paddock shelters? To make things easier for you and the animals.
@way-cute
Жыл бұрын
Solar is an absolute joy to have. We put it in a year ago and its been so nice to see $0 on our electric (still connected, as its mandatory in my state to stay connected).
@roberto.peterson9917
Жыл бұрын
Rain catchment is not a guarantee solution still depends on rain (weather) while good to reduce demand on well system suggestion watch Doug and Stacy off grid they are 100% rain water and off grid
@kalilafischer2915
Жыл бұрын
This is so exciting! I think there's a few things I'd do differently with our homestead already (and we've only been here a year and a half). I'd love to go off grid and be and to be entirely self sufficient and have a smaller house and a little more land with more trees. (We have 6 acres and it's mostly just flat grass with farmland all around). And after watching this video I'm wondering why we're in the process of building a 24' x 40' barn when we could have just built a cow shelter and maybe a milking shed or lean-to off the house! I guess we'll make the best of it and try not to clutter up the barn and become hoardsteaders. 😅
@1965gracebug
Жыл бұрын
I too get overwhelmed with stuff. I think for me everything has a place and organization. 2 and 1/2 years ago we sold everything and lived in a camper/rv. In April this year we bought a 5 acre farm, big red barn, two garages and 3 bedroom 3 bathroom home. I love it all but honestly I miss the simplicity but it wasn't easy. We did buy a lot of propane. We used candles and oil lamps a lot and went to bed earlier (according to sunset). We did this so we could have our granddaughters over more often and we were living on other peoples land.
@SimplyJanHomestead
Жыл бұрын
We would have some solar set up to run things when the power goes out. And some hand pumps for water.
@journeywithnichole986
Жыл бұрын
I have been able to fit everything I own in a van for approximately 8 years, living in different places. 1 plate, 1 mug, 1 glass etc. Last year I learned food preservation skills, when realizing having only 2 days food in house is not smart. I now have a year’s worth of my favorite foods. The only draw back, I have more food than all of my other possessions combined. It’s been challenging learning to be organized with items that have not been a part of my minimalism. A solid balance is key I think. Best wishes to you ❤
@BarnGeek
8 ай бұрын
Should work out great 👍 Love it!
@ArdenAngel
Жыл бұрын
We are in WV. We currently grow and preserve about 70% of our food (vegetables and fruit.) We are looking to move to a more remote location staying in WV. We would like to continue to use raise beds, well water, and septic. We would like to return to wood heat (currently have free gas so we have a gas furnace), add a high tunnel, and add some animals. Remote location, cell/internet service, water source, and a usable lay of the land with a combination of cleared and wooded land are on the must have list. Hubby would love to find another place with free gas but not a must to have.
@alisie2487
Жыл бұрын
"Drilling session" K I absolutely adore you! That was too cute😂
@dreamingtreefarmstead
Жыл бұрын
Oh man so many things here! We moved onto bare land (house, but no other infrastructure) so I'll be looking forward to your adventure. I'm a barn girl but it's just not in the budget. I'm thinking of doing a simple hay shed type structure and building a couple stalls/paddocks off of it in case someone needs to be brought in, park the tractor, keep hay, etc. Trying to figure out fencing, but it's also not in the budget right now. I want to do a wire perimeter fence and use electric within it, but I can't believe what just that will cost! Glad you're ditching the highlands. That hair is a huge turn off for me. It's just not practical. I can't wait to hear where you're going! I didn't realize you were moving AWAY away. We just moved to TN from IL and it has been a dream come true. Winter ain't no big deal here!
@auntlouise
Жыл бұрын
I tore my old barn down and sold the wood. I'm been caring for critters under an overhang on my garage, and that is not fun in the winter cold. So, I'm going to build another, much smaller, barn. I also have three wells, but they are backup to my water catchments (which seriously need expansion). I also need my new barn roof to catch water for me.
@ALWilde-LibertyTree
Жыл бұрын
Have y'all looked into wind power you can build a basic wind generator with a old car alternator but that depends on your area's winds
@promisedjubileedaniels
Жыл бұрын
Guys, off grid in question: we lived in a renovated school bus with no running water or electricity (my husband modified a backpack weed sprayer into a dish sprayer to wash dishes) and all our appliances were natural gas. For two years. We had 4 kids at the time. Was it hard? Yes. But MOSTLY because we had to haul a family of 6's worth of laundry off-property to do the wash. That ONE thing, besides my in-laws trying to control every thing we did with the land, was the thing that broke this camel's back. Otherwise, we would still be doing it, and are looking forward to doing it again when we find the right property. Every single kid in our family would tell you that was their favorite place to live.
@Limogi
Жыл бұрын
wear the same clothes everyday.
@promisedjubileedaniels
Жыл бұрын
@@Limogi Myeah, no thanks. It was worth it for me 🤷🏻♀️ exasperating, but worth it.
@karencfromcanada8589
Жыл бұрын
You might enjoy the vlogger Gridlessness set in N.Canada-B.C. all off grid with his daughters and wife who started their place from total scratch.
@Homesteadyshow
Жыл бұрын
Yep! We interviewed them a few years ago for our podcast.
@dshobe720
Жыл бұрын
Auto light switches motion sensored with a switch to make it stay on when you want. At your new place of course
@fullybelly.farm2023
Жыл бұрын
Solar hot water heater with radiant flooring. Is another heating option Cordwood house are super beautiful and normally have them. Vermaculter toilets. They flush but compost. The one thing that I would do differently. If you end up on vacant land, be on the land for months before you choose a house seat and put in permanent structures because you will end up moving stuff and/or wishing you could. And always have more than one option for each system. Power, water, heat. Just know off griding is hard. It will feel like You'll take one step forward and 2 back
@joanneganon7157
Жыл бұрын
I'm so happy your Dreams are coming to fruition 🐦💝. You've both come so far, and figured what will make Life Better 🙌. Only what if it doesn't Rain 😨? Good luck ,I Love yah 🙏 and 😊. JO JO IN VT 😆💕
@jesikaglenn4561
Жыл бұрын
We want to badly to just JUMP!! We have 4 kids, (and wouldn't' be opposed to another) and as their mom I feel like most of my time now is spent moving our STUFF from one spot to another lol, it's madness. I love the simplicity aspect of your goals.
@javier0304
Жыл бұрын
Definitely learned a lot from this video. Being self sustaining is the best way to go. One thing I recommend about leaving lights on is you can always install timer switches or motion sensor. I’m in California and we don’t get much rain but having a rain system as a back up is not a bad idea. I just read that people in California with wells will soon be getting taxed. One way or another this government in Cali will screw us Americans. I’ve also did some research on source water company that are solar powered water generators. Then again it’s an over priced humidifiers. Good luck on your future endeavors
@tealkerberus748
8 ай бұрын
As well as being a big catchment for rainwater, a big roof is a big unobstructed sun-facing area to put solar panels on. With enough insulation and enough solar panels your house should maintain its interior temperature all year around.
@roberto.peterson9917
Жыл бұрын
Add more self contained solor light and or sky lighting in whatever structure have future
@jej7117
Жыл бұрын
Come to Northern maine and do it with us. Land is crazy cheap per acrea and it's smack dab in a huge agriculture hub. You can be in the cut within minutes but also have what you need for supplies and wants near by
@suzanneburns6130
Жыл бұрын
Highlands really need a pond for cooling off in the summers.
@raybornclark8617
Жыл бұрын
I would certainly consider having some type of water source other that rain collection. if you have animals that consume a lot of water (especially cows) and end up in a drought as many folks (including us) have experienced this year you will be in trouble for enough water resources to take care of your family and your animals.
@Kat09tails
Жыл бұрын
I'm interested to see what scale you end up at. I'm on 5 acres with a 700 sq ft house in the pacific NW. One of the things I'm changing for my homestead is an adaptable out of home workspace. A place I can do shopwork, do seasonal harvest processing but not with the detail of dedicated space like an outdoor kitchen or a woodshop/mill. Big enough to work on a full sheet of plywood without fighting it, comfortable enough to not be rained on, deal with bugs or rodents. As far as electric bill, my house is super efficient just on electric heat, since I moved here 5 years ago I pay more for the connection than I do for the power. This means in the height of winter $150, in the low of summer $60. I'd have to be offgrid for a lot of years to break even on it would be to put in an offgrid solar array, or accommodate the cost/time/space of firewood production.
@debbieherrera1605
Жыл бұрын
Your living my dream.
@Homesteadyshow
Жыл бұрын
Man M T, our electric bill was hitting $600+ this summer. Part of what made us decide to do this! Love the workspace idea!
@Kat09tails
Жыл бұрын
@@Homesteadyshow I am also not running AC and don't have kids so way less laundry.That electric dryer costs about $3 a load here. Its fun to sit down sometimes and figure out where the power sucks are. If you go less than 1200 sq ft just be very aware of your ventilation and window size/placement. I do almost all my cooking outdoors most of the year because of the humidity issues that come with living in a small well insulated space. So there are some trade offs that most of the books don't mention. Also smaller space means more foot traffic over that smaller space which means more frequent cleaning as opposed to cleaning a larger space and also more wear and tear over that square foot so dropping dollars into more durable, easier to clean flooring is worth every minute of sanity it brings.
@kylesnyder3757
Жыл бұрын
I’m gonna ask beginner questions as I watch this video. 1. Do you filter the rainwater at all? 2. Regarding the Highlands, can you or do other people ever shave the highlands like one would shave a sheep in the summer so the cows don’t overheat? I’m assuming they don’t do well in the heat because of their longer thicker hair? I’m very new to homesteading. I love the idea of it and I’ve been doing a lot of research so bear with me if my questions seem weird or even stupid. Thanks
@jbk1022
Жыл бұрын
I would set up an area between your house and pastures where you house/feed/water/milk/take care of animals, will cut on time and cost, a covered area with storage that’s open on 2 or 3 areas
@jenniferdecker7208
Жыл бұрын
You can dig your own water for a lot of stuff like your animals you can pump water from a pond or seem using a hydro ram pump. Or dig an old time well
@hopechannelcat5462
Жыл бұрын
i know this is a few months late as to when this video was put out, but you asked the question about what we'd do different in starting a home stead. my real complaint, with myself, is i didn't plan ahead as to where i wanted a house, shed, chicken house, garden. we just started slapping things in place and now wish i'd taken the time to really figure out where things ought to go. example is the very 1st thing on the property was a ready made shed and put it next to trees for shade. well it's right in the middle of things and in the way. would cost a lot to have it moved plus taking everything out and then reloading it after the move. if you haven't done this, please take this into consideration.
@8dreamersfarm
Жыл бұрын
So cool to hear the thought process and specific things addressed. We moved about a year ago, so the mindset is still quite city-based though… we are coming around. I would totally ditch it all for the simple life, but the kids and hubs aren’t on board. A toy catalog came in the mail (we didn’t ask for) and the kids were talking about Christmas presents. It always becomes junk. It’s mostly from slave labor in China. We had a talk about doing Christmas differently… boy I wish I could go back and tell newlywed us to start life with less. The real value is in our relationships and experience. ❤️ We can relate to boars not respecting fences, that’s putting it mildly. 😆 we dug trenches to put our fence a few inches in-ground to keep him in. I really didn’t want to depend on electric.
@Homesteadyshow
Жыл бұрын
OH man, if only we could have one conversation with newlywed us.... one would be enough! I so agree, relationships and experience! And the world is designed to do the opposite. Get us chasing crap and working to get it.
@samanthatalley2367
Жыл бұрын
Y’all are great. I can’t with the mustache😂 it so distracts me I can’t pay attention to what y’all are saying unless I’m not watching. But anyway, y’all are still great! And I agree. My husband and I just did something very very similar.
@wendy3437
7 ай бұрын
What was in the Elk broth I have never heard of it??? Thank You for your information.
@taktakoriginal
Жыл бұрын
It is really limiting when your state/county forbid anything other than septic and sewer. You can't build a home with composting toilet where I am. I look forward to the rain catchment system. I can't wait to hear how you keep alge and disease out and the plan for if there is drought.
@homesteadorbust
Жыл бұрын
Nothing makes you feel the freedom of America when they say no you can't have something like a certain toilet......shows why we need more homesteads.
@gobigandgohomeschool4882
Жыл бұрын
We had our seventh baby in a 925sf house. It was a wonderful house.
@hughmanatee7433
Жыл бұрын
The best heating system I have ever seen is one I had the pleasure of building with its owner. It is an outdoor wood boiler but not like the ones we have all seen with a water jacket. This one is a 8x8x8 concrete block building with a fire box 2x2x7 inside. There is 2” of styrofoam all around the inside and completely full of sand and a system of small pvc pipes throughout the packed sand. There is a small loop for domestic water (washing)and a much larger loop for heating the home. My friend got these plans from a university professor in Maine where we both live. It is a fairly old design from the seventies. With today’s modern materials I would make a few changes. Firstly, the building should be made on a concrete slab and the walls should be made with the styrofoam foundation forms called ICF. These ICF’s are the forms to pour the concrete into and they remain there after construction to insulate the building. You can put any kind of sheathing you want on them by attaching it to plastic bands that are integral to the form. Next I would not use pvc but rather choose pex pipe. This building is far more efficient than the water jacket types needing only a small fire twice a day to make and store lots of heat. The water jacket types also creat a lot of creosote because of the temperature difference of the water in the jacket and the fire itself. Once that giant thermal mass is hot it holds the heat for a very long time unlike the water jacket types which take twice as much wood as you would use if you just burned wood in the house. We built a woodshed around the block building so all of the wood is stored dry and outdoors. No mess in the house and a dry place to kindle your fire. His is 25’ behind his house and has worked well for 10 years. It might also be possible to build one in the basement of the house without the insulation where the top of the box could be a section of the first floor. Just concrete and maybe tile for the floor.
@johnliberty3647
Жыл бұрын
I thought I wanted a bigger farm, turns out I just need enough space for a chicken coop, a garden plot and a greenhouse. Possibly a rabbitry but I do not like Rabbit meat. Figure since they are so easy to keep and people will trade eggs or veggies for rabbit meat I might as well try it. Bigger farm = More work and doesn't always result in more profit or more food. Smaller = less expenses and less work. I can maximize every inch easier than I can utilize every acre
@traviskeyser2509
9 ай бұрын
Have you tried deep bed composting in the winter? That would give you good compost for the summer and fall the following year.
@MiriamPendleton
Жыл бұрын
I would have a barn if I was doing this again. I'm 67 and going from one little structure to another is getting difficult especially during winter in VT.
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