BEST and WORST food to Grow for SELF SUFFICIENCY

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  • Опубликовано: 21 фев 2023
  • There are 3 Things you need to grow on your homestead if you want to be more Self Sufficient, and a few other things you should NOT Grow.. why?
    I'm guessing you are not a full time farmer. Your growing time is limited. SO instead of trying to grow everything, focus on growing the most productive things…
    How do we know what the most productive things to grow are?
    We found over 100 homesteaders who were growing around 75% of their food. What are they growing? More importantly, what are they NOT wasting their time on? We will share that in this video!
    PIONEER BEEF WITH A JOB LESSON
    www.thisishomesteady.com/runn...
    BECOME A PIONEER
    www.thisishomesteady.com/quic...
    GET ON THE EMAIL LIST - www.thisishomesteady.com/quic...
    HOMESTEADS THAT HELPED WITH THIS VIDEO
    Steph from Red Pine Pastures RAISES MEAT! / redpinepastures
    Matt and Sara GROW VEGGIES -@mattsara2802
    Dana Raises CHICKENS in NEW ZEALAND @FantailValleyHomestead
    Liv LOVES MILK COWS - / livsalittlefarm
    Codi's GROWING TONS OF FOOD... @morethanfarmers
    Steph and Chris are SQUASH'in the competition - @HickorycroftFarm
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Комментарии • 707

  • @morethanfarmers
    @morethanfarmers Год назад +88

    Love it! Really solid video. Great information for people with big dreams, but don't know where to go with em 😊 I love how you brought the community together with this one too, and I was glad to be a part! Actually, filling out the survey was what inspired me to make our upcoming video.. We went 48 hours eating ONLY food that we grew. So fulfilling to eat what you grow, and I love how you're inspiring others to do it too. Keep it up! And, thanks for the shoutout 😊

    • @Homesteadyshow
      @Homesteadyshow  Год назад +11

      GO CHECKOUT THIS CHANNEL… CODI AND HIS FAM MAKE SOME AWESOME HOMESTEADING VIDS! Thanks for being a part of this video!

    • @brucehitchcock3869
      @brucehitchcock3869 Год назад +2

      Mason bees are way better pollinaters . No stings no honey.Love you guys. Thank you!🌞🖖🙏🌎

    • @saltycreole2673
      @saltycreole2673 Год назад +1

      When we bought our land, there were dead fruit trees all over. In our climate, peach, apricot, oranges, limes, etc is like growing octopuses in our pond. Ain't gonna happen! Crab apples, strawberries, and garden veggies do best here. If you're lucky, there's pinion pines on your property for the nuts. My wife has to clean her engine compartment weekly of pinion nuts stashed by squirrels.

  • @jayhill8958
    @jayhill8958 Год назад +422

    Personally, I think fruit should come higher up. You plant it once and it keeps coming back. You don’t have to seed save and most are very easy to propagate if you want more. Also, fruit is more expensive at the store typically than vegetables.

    • @michaelnienaber8263
      @michaelnienaber8263 Год назад +14

      I agree

    • @heathermaries7251
      @heathermaries7251 Год назад +50

      Also, they're holding up a pumpkin as a star vegetable producer, but pumpkins are definitely a fruit!
      I get it, you're distinguishing annuals from perennials.
      Perennials return the best bang for the buck over the long term, hands down. I think this survey was skewed towards new homesteaders with young trees, not serious orchardists.

    • @jjbowman4653
      @jjbowman4653 Год назад +16

      I agree, but also fruits need a lot of water compared to veggies.
      I can leave my lettuce on the side of the house and the water we get from rain is enough. But if I want fruit and nut trees they require A LOT of extra watering and bushes hit the ground running, which isn’t ‘bad’ per-say. My neighbours probably wouldn’t appreciate it.

    • @clydesdalehomestead3807
      @clydesdalehomestead3807 Год назад +17

      Yes, some big sturdy fruit trees or berry canes can give you years of fruit with little effort.

    • @monicaluketich6913
      @monicaluketich6913 Год назад +8

      It all depends on the soil in your area. I am stuck with white sugar sand, which has basically NO nutrients.

  • @sinine1100
    @sinine1100 3 месяца назад +8

    I reckon the reason why nuts are so unnoticed because it's a handful of species competing with everything from squashes to potatoes to cabbages to legumes to carrots to... you get the point. For us, hazelnut has been a very easy culture. It's plant and literally forget except for once a year when you harvest. Unlike fruit trees, that require pruning and such, we just do literally nothing with the hazelnuts. Could put it in a forest miles from home and it'd be just fine and make bucketfuls of hazelnuts, anyway.

  • @lindacgrace2973
    @lindacgrace2973 Год назад +228

    I have a good work-around for the bees: offer your orchard to local bee enthusiasts. There is always somebody who needs new forage space for their bees. Also, you get wax (for crafting) as well as honey. Let the hobbyists invest in smokers and frames and bee suits, etc. I "rent" my orchard to bee keepers and get a couple of frames of honey and wax in return. I get better fruit production, as well. Just a thought

    • @Homesteadyshow
      @Homesteadyshow  Год назад +37

      WE did this last year! Was great

    • @heathermaries7251
      @heathermaries7251 Год назад +6

      Genius! 💡

    • @mcgoombs
      @mcgoombs Год назад +27

      Mutual aid like this is how we build stronger communities that depend on each other, not some politician, no matter the color of their tie. Everyone has something to contribute, and everyone has something they need; localized interdependence is a future we can build together!

    • @lindacgrace2973
      @lindacgrace2973 Год назад +5

      @@mcgoombs Preaching' to the choir, over here! 😊

    • @doulacoach6801
      @doulacoach6801 Год назад +2

      @@mcgoombs 💯! Thank you. Well said.

  • @SuzanneU
    @SuzanneU Год назад +101

    When I had my smallholding, my dairy cow was the base of my homestead's prosperity. The manure amended the poor sour soil. I grew so many tomatoes that I sold bucketsful! I sold milk and butter. The cow ate down the weeds. She ate peels, cores, and seeds. She gave us a calf every 18 months - she was a persistent lactater. Milk by-products went to the laying hens. Yes, Lissie was the foundation!

    • @abay4504
      @abay4504 Год назад +1

      How did you get a calf without a bull?

    • @geelws8880
      @geelws8880 Год назад +1

      @@abay4504 AI, artificial insemination.

  • @themusenextdoor
    @themusenextdoor Год назад +91

    Mushrooms aren't a good primary crop, but they're great for improving soil quality and getting an extra crop out of your vegetable beds. A tabletop mushroom kit can also function as a unique "houseplant" for a family's kitchen before being thrown into the compost bin to inoculate it.

    • @dakotareid1566
      @dakotareid1566 7 месяцев назад

      ⁠@@Disabled.Megatronkinda, depends on the year and what not

  • @janelleroads6011
    @janelleroads6011 Год назад +60

    Bees are difficult to me, but my husband loves them. I must say, since adding bees to our homestead, we've had a huge increase in our harvests of pears, Meyer lemons, blackberries, blueberries, and a multitude of vegetables. People who have only had store bought honey can hardly believe the difference in flavor of real raw honey ( not cut with corn syrup[!]). We even had a local food truck use it in 2 of their bbq sauces!

    • @EC-dz4bq
      @EC-dz4bq Год назад +4

      Might just be my local... but every major chain here sells local raw honey of many dif varieties. (I prefer the raw, infused with real vanilla sticks)
      Also yes, these are all raw (not pasteurized or cut with anything)

    • @sloppyfloppy79
      @sloppyfloppy79 7 месяцев назад +2

      Bees pay for themselves, just like chickens.

  • @jeannec1308
    @jeannec1308 Год назад +33

    My Jersey milk cow was a central part of our homestead. I made soft cheeses, butter and fed turkeys and meat chickens with the excess.
    When the children married I couldn't do it all myself plus I came up with Fibromyalgia which was the deciding factor.
    After more than 40 years in this lifestyle I still raise chickens, a garden and want to once again expand into meat chickens and turkeys; all on a very small scale. (My husband hunts as well).
    The ambition is still there but the body can't keep up!
    It has been and is a great way to raise a family!

  • @yamomanemjazz
    @yamomanemjazz 9 месяцев назад +2

    She's so cute cause she doesn't do that weird positive active listening power nod thing she just looks sorta blind and confused then says something on point and funny. Thank God for real people

  • @periplanetamissionary
    @periplanetamissionary Год назад +38

    Point of issue with your bees, you can get several products from them. (Not just one as you stated)
    1. Honey
    2. Propolis (Caucasian bees make a lot of this.)
    3. Queens
    4. Pollen
    5. Wax
    Incidentally increased yields, along with mead if your so inclined.

    • @Homesteadyshow
      @Homesteadyshow  Год назад +15

      Great points, but just a side note for this series we specifically said we were only focusing on food production, but still thanks for sharing the other great stuff from bees!

    • @Theaterofthepilgrammige
      @Theaterofthepilgrammige Год назад

      Honey bees are threatening wild bee populations.

    • @4ppl3Tr335
      @4ppl3Tr335 11 месяцев назад

      @@Homesteadyshow the queen bee
      `s milk is known as panacea miraculous treatment for millennia!

    • @burnyizland
      @burnyizland 4 месяца назад +1

      There's such a thing as Caucasian bees? That's funny!

  • @scottsellers9039
    @scottsellers9039 Год назад +43

    I don't consider myself a "homesteader", but do grow vegetable gardens, black berries, plums, peaches, pears, and the nut worth growing, the chestnut. We have chickens but no large animals. Tomatoes are our number one vegetable. I grew up in an extended family of farmers that grew literally tons of beef!
    I love the videos y'all put out!

    • @Homesteadyshow
      @Homesteadyshow  Год назад +22

      Why not? I 100% consider you A homesteader 😁 that’s a lot of food your growing

    • @HowWereLivingGardeningChannel
      @HowWereLivingGardeningChannel 8 месяцев назад +1

      @@HomesteadyshowI was also going to say this haha

    • @abyssal_phoenix
      @abyssal_phoenix 7 месяцев назад

      Relatable, except I don't have any animals😅
      And I use only a section of my parents garden as of right now.
      My plans however are to buy a plot of land nearby and expand :)
      I even got an adress to get miniature sheep in the village

    • @burnyizland
      @burnyizland 4 месяца назад

      Ewww, chestnuts are the only nuts I hate. Bitter and mealy. And I've only ever had them roasted in Quebec City, where it is their specialty, so if that's as good as they get I don't know how you eat them outside of famine times.

  • @smea87
    @smea87 Год назад +8

    Fruit and nuts are sooo easy, I have a strawberry patch and blackberry patch that comes back every year almost no work other than picking fruit. Trees both stone fruit and nuts like hazelnut are great and attract wildlife and the excess great for the pigs

  • @anthonysurrency7134
    @anthonysurrency7134 Год назад +24

    Working on methods to incorporate growing mushrooms while increasing vegetable yields. As a mushroom farmer, I can definitely say that as a main crop, growing mushrooms is vastly different than farming just about anything else. It's highly specialized. Though using something like wine caps in companion planting in a bed to turn mulch into nutrients is something just about anyone can do

    • @Homesteadyshow
      @Homesteadyshow  Год назад +5

      I love this insight from an experienced shroom farmer! Good to know the reasons behind the data!

    • @anthonysurrency7134
      @anthonysurrency7134 Год назад

      @@Homesteadyshow the biggest thing that separates mushroom farming from normal farming is the lab work. You have to work in a sterile environment for much of what goes into farming mushrooms. There's lots of expensive specialized equipment that keeps the average person from being able to grow them on a bigger scale

  • @Clarinda787
    @Clarinda787 Год назад +40

    I am a single 70-year-old homesteader so I raise small animals. My favorites are quail, rabbit, and chicken. I do have muscovy but would never keep ducks. I used to have goats and might get a pair again, and I'm looking for pigs too. I want Idaho pasture pigs but they are hard to find and probably won't fit in my budget..

    • @pietsnot7002
      @pietsnot7002 Год назад +7

      If it’s a possibility you can raise a couple of cheap piglets, butcher and sell them to buy the more expensive pigs..?

    • @wandamannsmith8469
      @wandamannsmith8469 Год назад +3

      I’m like you. Small animals that I can manage by myself. With osteoporosis I see no need to have any animals that could push me down. Can still manage 50 pound bags of feed though! Curious why you don’t raise ducks…

    • @Clarinda787
      @Clarinda787 Год назад +1

      @@wandamannsmith8469 Ducks are dirty and make huge messes everywhere they are. Muscovy is clean and tastes a lot better.

    • @EC-dz4bq
      @EC-dz4bq Год назад +1

      @@Clarinda787 Yes but that is perfect for my fruit tree production. They splash, water and feed all of the trees while eating and keeping all bugs away. I know they didn't like fruit tree's but for me they are passive food, each produce around 250-300 fruit per tree per year. Just can and save w/e through the winter

    • @wandamannsmith8469
      @wandamannsmith8469 Год назад +1

      @@EC-dz4bq I was just looking down at the young fruit trees thinking a kiddie pool with ducks would be fun to watch. Would it work to have a tractor for them instead of a stationery house to have to clean out? Also, is it true what I read that they help control the Japanese Beetles? Those beetles have almost killed some of my berries and apricot. (I have so many questions since I retired and am trying to be as self sufficient as possible!)

  • @luxluther436
    @luxluther436 9 месяцев назад +3

    Community is the key here. It’s better to not do much yourself, you specialize in one or two things and your neighbors specialize in other things. You can focus on gardening and beekeeping and they focus on raising cows and sheep (as an example).

    • @luxluther436
      @luxluther436 9 месяцев назад +3

      Also bees are one of the most productive things you can raise. You get honey and wax. But from wax you can have healing salves, wood preserve, lip balm and SO much more. This may be a bit biased but they are very productive

  • @annburge291
    @annburge291 Год назад +10

    Squash...eat the leaves (hairs disappear when cooked), eat the tips and stems (peel them like celery), eat the flowers (remove the stamen) eat the tender small squash, let the squash ripen so you can store them for months and use for chicken feed

  • @pamanderson1417
    @pamanderson1417 Год назад +9

    Squash, potatoes, onions, carrots, and apples are our favorite non-meat storage crops which are easy to grow, produce abundantly, and store without processing.

  • @morethanfarmers
    @morethanfarmers Год назад +26

    Oh and I do have to say something about BEES! 😂 I am super excited to be a beekeeper as of last Spring. We don't have Maple trees and we wanted to produce at least some of our own sweetener. We also wanted the pollinating benefits. BUT, I do agree that it's something that should wait til you've got other necessities nailed down. There's a reason we're 8 years in and just getting started with em 😏 We had to learn the hard way not to take on too much at the beginning!

    • @chrissymorgan1457
      @chrissymorgan1457 Год назад +2

      100%! Bees are on my list, but last for the same reasons. I’ve got to get the meat, dairy and eggs down in addition to the fruits and veg first

    • @secret2visibility
      @secret2visibility Год назад +2

      We are starting bees this spring, I however have a friend who is a beekeeper with 40,000 hives who is getting us started. I don't know if I would be jumping in if I didn't have someone to show me what to do. We feel like we have the breathing room right now to try some new things but it's the support that made the final decision.

  • @stoyantodorov2133
    @stoyantodorov2133 8 месяцев назад +8

    As someone who doesn't put much time in their garden I have taken a "plant lots of different stuff and see what sticks approach". This way I can see what I should focus on next year. So far I have grown figs, yams, eggplants and broad beans with almost zero input from me. The broad beans and figs especially practically started overruning my garden so I had to trim then down a bit to give other stuff some breathing room ( I got only 500m^2 to work with). I know full time gardeners are probably cringing right now but it has worked for me so far.
    Also I want to touch upon beef as a great source of meat. It is undoubtedly good bang for the buck but you also have to factor in butchering the animal and storing the meat. Both can be a problem for someone doing all this stuff on the side instead of a full time commitment. Smaller meat animals like rabbits and fowl might be less efficient but much more manageable for someone like me and probably many others.

  • @neilfelsbourg170
    @neilfelsbourg170 Год назад +8

    Aquaponics was a huge deal for me in the city. I had a 30' sun room in my house that was like a jungle with tomato plants climbing the walls. When I move to the farm I brought the tanks and things with me but the fish were gone in the first year. I still use the tanks for water and keep the pumps running to cycle and filter the water but the water now gets used for rabbits or chickens or pigs.

    • @graysutherlin7568
      @graysutherlin7568 Год назад

      Glad you mentioned this! I was really curious about aquaponics after what they said in the video

  • @aliahwelch4064
    @aliahwelch4064 Год назад +30

    I would definitely do both bees and mushrooms- but that’s only because those are two of the things I use most of. I add mushrooms to *everything* and to me, they dont take too much space. For honey- that’s how I sweeten my baking, and i bake a LOT! Also i drink tons of tea with honey! But im just a single person, so im not feeding a family

    • @Homesteadyshow
      @Homesteadyshow  Год назад +8

      Yeah, if your a big mushroom user, they are not hard to grow (at least some are not hard…)

    • @AngelaH2222
      @AngelaH2222 5 месяцев назад

      Spot on "Grow what you eat and eat what you grow"

  • @faithofamustardseed8198
    @faithofamustardseed8198 Год назад +20

    Very true with the ducks. I worked at a locally owned butchery and we butchered ducks a few times. Always a massive pain. We made sure to do the entire batch in one day. Honestly, their skin is a really cool texture, and I love how soft and dense their feathers are. It is simply very difficult to get a clean pluck without damaging the skin. Ducks have a lot of uses in permaculture, but are definitely a pain to butcher.

    • @faithofamustardseed8198
      @faithofamustardseed8198 Год назад +7

      As for the squash:
      I’m in Florida, and we get soooo many squash bugs it’s kind of a joke to try to grow squash. I’m open to any ideas on how to manage this problem.
      Powdery mildew is also a problem, and it is difficult to keep them well watered in our warm (hot) season (which is like ten months of the year). When we do get squash though, they definitely produce.

    • @cccspwn
      @cccspwn Год назад +4

      I guess raising ducks is not all it's quacked up to be :(

    • @tiffles699
      @tiffles699 Год назад +2

      For the normal person, if you're having issues plucking ducks, go skinless. We raise our own quail and my husband will take an hour to pluck a quail. I think I need to get a plucker, and just deal with damaged skin.

    • @faithofamustardseed8198
      @faithofamustardseed8198 Год назад

      @@tiffles699 Yeah I also raised quail and after plucking our first two, I just skinned the rest. Definitely much easier.
      It’s a shame to lose all the fat from the duck skin though. If I were doing it for personal use, I’d use a plucker and deal with the damaged skin. My boss was doing it for profit of course, and needed pretty presentation for better sales.

    • @Snappypantsdance
      @Snappypantsdance Год назад

      @@cccspwn 😫😄

  • @dudeeverything4218
    @dudeeverything4218 Год назад +10

    Pumpkins are a fruit 😂 I googled it! You guys are awesome I appreciate all the help and knowledge you share.

  • @deserttrailshomestead
    @deserttrailshomestead Год назад +9

    We’re the crazy bee people 🤣 We absolutely love our bees haha but we also took our my husband’s uncle’s bee business when he moved north and couldn’t take all 29 hives with him. It’s our biggest profit maker too for our area. Desert honey is probably the most sought after which is nuts!! So if you want honey I got you guys 😉😂

    • @Homesteadyshow
      @Homesteadyshow  Год назад +5

      I WANT HONEY. 😁 (just not bees -aust)

    • @deserttrailshomestead
      @deserttrailshomestead Год назад +2

      @@Homesteadyshow Haha I can ship y’all honey! Can’t promise a bee won’t tag along (just kidding, I wouldn’t do that to you guys haha). If you seriously want some honey shoot me a message on IG (same username here as there) with your address and I’ll send some desert honey!

  • @melindawolfUS
    @melindawolfUS Год назад +4

    I raise bunnies in the city, in a trailer park and eat one tender young rabbit per week. I keep just one breeding pair, their babies live just 12 weeks before they are meat. If I can raise rabbits covertly here, you can do it anywhere ;)

  • @daisylogan3955
    @daisylogan3955 Год назад +6

    I’m lucky in that we have a lady local to us who will butcher ducks for $8 a bird. You bring her the live bird and you pick it up in a freezer shrink wrapped bag. I hatch my own ducks and take all my extra drakes to her because I don’t have the mental capacity to butcher my duckies on my own, but I love duck meat.

    • @Nautilus1972
      @Nautilus1972 Месяц назад

      Couldn’t you buy a duck for $8 and save yourself the money?

    • @daisylogan3955
      @daisylogan3955 Месяц назад

      @@Nautilus1972 the cheapest I can get a whole duck for around me is $25

  • @sandrahouse4820
    @sandrahouse4820 6 месяцев назад +3

    Nut trees are a good addition to a homestead. It takes a long time to get a significant harvest, but if you have existing trees or can forage in a nearby forest, nuts are a valuable and tasty protein source.
    If you have a pond, definitely stock it with fish. Some areas have great programs through Game and Fish to get fish for your pond. It's a great way to have low input protein and some productive relaxation! Teach your children to fish.
    As for ducks, the eggs are great, and they help keep pesky insects, including scorpions under control. They are valuable beyond being a hard to pluck meat source. Also, you can just skin them instead of plucking. BTW since duck feathers are essentially waterproof, you are better off plucking them by hand without scalding. You can also use the down for pillows and such. Same with geese.

  • @melindawolfUS
    @melindawolfUS Год назад +2

    If you don't have a lot of room or time: I make hundreds each month just selling herbs and salad greens to a restaurant. I have a garden the size of 3 normal parking spaces.
    I'm also raising asparagus roots from seed which will be worth $10 each after year 2

  • @salemthorup9536
    @salemthorup9536 Год назад +2

    "Meat tastes better"..... yes, Kay, it does. You're not wrong. Lettuce agrees with you, which is why it literally lays it's own life down to help with the cause.

  • @jjohnston73
    @jjohnston73 2 месяца назад +1

    You guys are really cute together. 😁 I appreciate all the data and the entertaining way you provide it. My best to your family!

  • @joelrobertson71
    @joelrobertson71 Год назад +8

    I think quail is a better option for some. I live in a city and I've been raising quail for over a year now. They lay eggs and are ready to butcher at 8 weeks. They can be raised in a small amount of space. Chickens take 6 months to start laying eggs and 12 weeks for butcher. Also with any farm animal, the benefit from manure is a great asset to the vegetable garden. My raised beds that got amended with quail manure are doing so much Better than the ones amended with store bought organic fertilizers. The raised beds with the quail manure got a one month rest before planting after they were amended. Great video.

    • @michelleobrien6996
      @michelleobrien6996 Год назад +1

      I have friends who say they would willingly butcher, prepare and cook rooster, chicken, duck... but when I volunteer my quail the response is "they are too small to bother, not enough meat"

  • @christinecaney8469
    @christinecaney8469 Год назад +4

    Pumpkins are great for your animals, they are great natural dewormers.

  • @DeborahElliott-mh5ru
    @DeborahElliott-mh5ru Год назад +11

    I do grow fruit, mostly just strawberries, but my neighbor keeps chopping down my raspberries. I have always wanted to have a bee hive, as they are doing more than just producing honey, they are actually quite profitable pollinating the gardens you have. If the end results are only honey, then you forget that they are not the only product. The products from bees are the vegetables you get from the pollinating part that bees do. So in other words, they produce EVERY vegetable you grow, not just honey. But its not just vegetables, its the seeds also. So to recap, they produce honey, vegetables, fruits, seeds. No I am not a bee keeper, we have one living down the road from us, but I do learn a LOT when getting honey. I raise chickens, I grow vegetables, fodder, fruits, and herbs. I don't have enough space for dexter cows or they would be here.

    • @melindaedgington9925
      @melindaedgington9925 Год назад

      I plant flowers in all my veg gardens and my fruit trees to attract the bees.

    • @tiffles699
      @tiffles699 Год назад

      (European and African) Honeybees are mediocre pollinators as compared to the ones we have in the US. They also spread their disease to NATIVE pollinators, who are doing most of the work.
      Australian honeybees exist, but they create a grape cluster like honey pockets but they don't make much... But the US doesn't have native honeybees and they are mediocre here.

    • @eyesofthecervino3366
      @eyesofthecervino3366 Год назад

      Sounds like you need some metal pipe anchored in a concrete foundation nestled in with your raspberries. For luck.

  • @thealrightygina5725
    @thealrightygina5725 Год назад +11

    I'm not a homesteader but I'm in process of making a suburban permaculture garden. Mushrooms have been one of the *best* things I've invested in. If you've got trash soil, they're great for improving it quick, fast, and in a hurry. Basically, I mulched the hell out of my nutrient poor lawn to kill the grass, then tried to start a garden. It didn't work, even with compost and fertilizer...I did grow some stuff but it was mostly quite sad and barely enough to supplement my family's diet. After a year, I added another layer of mulch and inoculated it all with wine cap mushrooms in the fall. Vast improvement, plus they started fruiting after only two months. Ridiculously huge flushes. They dry well and are excellent for soups, stews, casseroles...mushroom ketchup/seasoning and my new personal favorite, mushroom jerky (not a substitute for the real thing but it's tasty). Plus, they consume nematodes in the soil! The blue oysters I put out haven't done as well yet, but they've still given me a few delicious flushes and I'm sure they'll get there.
    And it's really easy. Get yourself a block of inoculated sawdust, break it up, and layer it in some mulch or straw like lasagna (sawdust/mulch/sawdust/mulch, etc) depending on how deep your mulch is. It seems most like at least 6 inches. The only maintenance really is to keep the beds moist (not hard if they're your veg beds too) and to add more mulch as it breaks down, since the mulch is what they eat and they break it down into wonderful soil for next year's plants. Supplement with a little compost when you'd fertilize and you really can't go wrong. Even more awesome? Once you inoculate one bed, there's no need to get more sawdust! Just dig up a chunk of your colonized mulch and lasagna it in a new bed. It's extremely cost effective. Want to grow them inside in the winter? Put some in an icecream pail and mist it or put it in a grow tent with a humidifier. Just give it a good dusting of diatomaceous earth in case fungus gnats get any ideas.

    • @michelleobrien6996
      @michelleobrien6996 Год назад

      Wow! I'm in Australia and only know of mushroom growing kits which are expensive. I've looked at how to DIY on RUclips and have only seemed what looks like a difficult to get right science experiment.

    • @thealrightygina5725
      @thealrightygina5725 Год назад +2

      @@michelleobrien6996 Look into the wine caps aka King Stropharia/Stropharia rugosoannulata. They are *insanely* easy and productive. I'm honestly drowning in mushrooms right now...because of the rain and temperature fluctuations (perfect for mushroom fruiting), I've harvested probably 30 lbs this week from three 4'x4' beds. I'm running out of things to do with them! If you were closer I'd happily send you some inoculated mulch, but since you're in Australia I don't know if it'd make it that far (or get through customs...)
      I even put them in soft wood mulch, which is generally considered a no-no (hard wood or straw is best) but they didn't give a hoot, they're wild! The main drawback is that they don't saute/fry all that well cause they release too much liquid, but they're amazing for soups, roasting, and pickling!

  • @HickorycroftFarm
    @HickorycroftFarm Год назад +6

    This was a fantastic summary of the questionnaire and it was very interesting to see the breakdown of the data. The one thing we noticed with the items that were not to grow, was they either required specialized skills or equipment that wasn't transferable to other aspects of the homestead, which makes them less accessible to some people and situations. The meat as number one makes total sense as it is the often the most expensive item to buy and also something that many people are concerned about when it comes to what is in their food. Thank you so much for the mention in this video. We were so happy to participate and look forward to future similar content!

    • @Homesteadyshow
      @Homesteadyshow  Год назад +3

      GO CHECKOUT THIS AWESOME CHANNEL 👆 great points Hickorycroft, that’s spot on. If you can raise a sheep you can raise a goat almost the same way, but not a fish or bees... etc. such a good takeaway. and thanks for the life changing advice on Squash! We’re gonna do more this year!

    • @ThorHavenFarm
      @ThorHavenFarm Год назад

      @@Homesteadyshow Hickorycroft is a wealth of knowledge!!

  • @leeannosaurus
    @leeannosaurus Год назад +6

    #BeePeople - Bees are amazing, especially for our garden! They are fairly expensive to get started, but even with only 2 hives, our garden produced so much more this year with bees than they did the year before. Plus harvesting your own honey, we use it to replace store bought sugar in most of our recipes.

  • @SoloAdvocate
    @SoloAdvocate Год назад +2

    I love these videos you have been doing, its like open source homesteading via community outreach. It is not an exact science but these videos are a really valuable source of information! So thanks a ton!

  • @erikabailey7397
    @erikabailey7397 Год назад +3

    For me, I am in a 1/4 acre plot in town--so meat critters are out. I have found that fruit trees are pretty awesome though. I have apple, pear and pie cherry. I also have raspberry canes and alpine strawberry. All of these being established means I might prune once or twice a year--and then I harvest food. I give away a lot of fruit, and still have enough to keep myself in fruit most of the winter. My spouse also makes mead that utilizes fruit (melomel and cyzer). I grow annual vegetables too, but they are a lot more work.

    • @erikabailey7397
      @erikabailey7397 Год назад

      @@mamabush2160 Well, the laws of my town are pretty specifically against it, but the more practical matter of proper space for critters is more the issue.

    • @erikabailey7397
      @erikabailey7397 Год назад

      @@mamabush2160 I have house rabbits for pets, so I think it would be more like betrayal!🙂

    • @sloppyfloppy79
      @sloppyfloppy79 7 месяцев назад +1

      I have a suburban 1/4 acre homestead. I have 9 chickens and a 500 sq ft. garden with 5 fruit trees. I can't get rid of the lawn without the city losing their minds, but I'm at the limits of what I can do. Time to upgrade to a real parcel somewhere

    • @erikabailey7397
      @erikabailey7397 7 месяцев назад +1

      @@sloppyfloppy79 So jealous of the flock! My city does not allow any livestock within city limits. I work at an organic farm twice a week during the season and get to play with their chickens though!

    • @sloppyfloppy79
      @sloppyfloppy79 7 месяцев назад

      @@erikabailey7397 that's awesome! I love my birds. Raised each one by hand. I have 3 bantams that lived in my room for 4 months. Had a little coop and everything. Every morning they would follow me, single file, out to the back yard, then in the late afternoon, would come running inside when I opened the door and head straight to my room. They got out once through the space between the gate and fence and were touring the neighborhood when a neighbor happened by and rang my doorbell. He thought I needed help getting them back in and I just shook my head and said "watch this". I called them and they practically flew right up to the door and came inside, once again, single file. He laughed and said I had well trained pets.

  • @hammerheadranch5747
    @hammerheadranch5747 Год назад +1

    Nicely done! Compiling data from others was a wonderful idea. Love the format here!

  • @clydesdalehomestead3807
    @clydesdalehomestead3807 Год назад +4

    Haha, we raise bees, I have hazelnut trees coming this spring, and am also planning some small grain crops mostly for supplemental chicken feed (amaranth, buckwheat, sunflower, corn) Doing it the hard way I guess. Oh, and I’d love to get some mushroom logs going. But I do love growing winter squash! It’s food for us and for the animals.

  • @philippopov3496
    @philippopov3496 Год назад +7

    Me and my wife have a goal of raising or hunting 2/3 of our food this year the curve ball is we live in a very northern climate so short growing season and we are on a 1/10 acre lot, we do 24 meat chickens a year and are adding a batch of 30 quail this year also

  • @smallcatbigworld
    @smallcatbigworld Год назад +1

    I've been watching your videos for years, but as a new homesteader with a new property, I'm taking a lot of them a little bit more to heart. Thank you!

  • @rosagrissom6028
    @rosagrissom6028 Год назад +1

    Thank you so much for the list! Really going to get into gardening this year. This gets me thinking about what I want to do.

  • @scrappyquilter102
    @scrappyquilter102 Год назад +1

    Strawberries. All time biggest best crop and easy. Every year - WAY more than we can eat or use. The neighbours love us.

  • @danyaivory304
    @danyaivory304 Год назад +3

    I love these entertaining AND educational videos! We grow 70% of our food, but only 70% because we don’t have a dairy cow but 70% because we have been watching your videos and joined the pioneers!! Thank you!

  • @GrowingWardFamily
    @GrowingWardFamily 2 месяца назад

    I love the podcaast. Very easy to follow and you keep it interesting.

  • @sharabrooks8371
    @sharabrooks8371 11 месяцев назад

    I love your RUclips content as well as your podcast station. I can’t watch RUclips during the day at work but I can listen to your podcast so that is helpful. Thank you so much for all your work and helpful tips.

  • @PloughmansBackyard
    @PloughmansBackyard Год назад +1

    LOVED this video. Thanks for sharing and the info. Very well put together.

  • @emilyarter2773
    @emilyarter2773 Год назад +1

    First video I've watched of ya'll and it is a great introduction to your homestead.

  • @thejerrysjourney7763
    @thejerrysjourney7763 8 месяцев назад

    I'm so glad we've found your page!! Tons of help for my wife and I getting started ! 👍🏿subscribed

  • @youdodat2
    @youdodat2 Год назад

    I appreciate you folks greatly. It’s good see your happiness.

  • @joannc147
    @joannc147 Год назад

    Ok…THE BEST THUMBNAIL IVE SEEN…..ever? At least in several years. ❤ Your guidelines hold true, even for those of us on a teeny tiny scale!. Much to learn - keep teaching’!

  • @barendse1
    @barendse1 8 месяцев назад

    Again, tons of helpful information! thanks for the entertainment and sharing of knowledge!

  • @taunyaw2181
    @taunyaw2181 Год назад

    Great talk and video! :) TY

  • @kking7290
    @kking7290 Год назад

    Great video with so much info! Thanks! First video we've seen from you! Just subscribed!

  • @reneelavoie9807
    @reneelavoie9807 Год назад

    Always intertaining and informative! Thank you!😘

  • @JO-zu3mz
    @JO-zu3mz Год назад +1

    I'm so glad I found your channel! Homesteading seems far less daunting with your content, and now I've got even more channels to check out. Many thanks!
    Edit: the Wilson edits are the cherry on top 🤣

  • @rosiebrusselmans6257
    @rosiebrusselmans6257 Год назад +3

    I just bumped into your channel for the first time and felt immediately in 💖 with your personality's. You guys are so funny and the love for eachother is all-over your faces, amazing!
    I have a lot to read (automatic translation, English is not my first language) and to watch from now on.
    You two are not only bringing the knowledge of homesteading to people but also putting a smile on their faces.
    Thank you.

    • @dreamingtreefarmstead
      @dreamingtreefarmstead Год назад +1

      Aust and K are my favorite! I agree, I just love their chemistry. I always find myself smiling while watching.

  • @urbanhomesteadingchannel1813
    @urbanhomesteadingchannel1813 Год назад

    Hickory Croft Farm is one of my favorite channels. Thank you for this great collaboration 💚

  • @GypsyBrokenwings
    @GypsyBrokenwings Год назад +3

    Did you wait for the chick's to molt? I like ducks, their happy birds that don't destroy everything, and their eggs are great!

  • @dirtroadsanddiamonds607
    @dirtroadsanddiamonds607 Год назад

    Y’all have such great personalities. I love watching your channel. On top of learning you both make me smile. Thanks!

  • @julayalo9860
    @julayalo9860 Год назад

    Super helpful video, helps to see general best practice on a bigger scale

  • @geronimoflyingfree
    @geronimoflyingfree 5 месяцев назад +1

    🤣🤣🤣 I just can't..
    That Wilson pumpkin part... 🤣🤣🤣

  • @Laniakea339
    @Laniakea339 Год назад

    Love you guys!

  • @homesteadwithhannah
    @homesteadwithhannah Год назад +1

    I'm in a novice beekeeper course. So excited - agreed there is a large upfront investment of learning and materials!

  • @mommchan
    @mommchan Год назад +1

    Love the information 🙂

  • @sundance_farms7681
    @sundance_farms7681 Год назад

    This video is amazing thank you and thanks for the hilarious cutaways

  • @oliversky8767
    @oliversky8767 Год назад +1

    love the data based videos!

  • @choirmom78
    @choirmom78 Год назад

    Truly, your channel is in the top 3 of my favorite channdels on RUclips. Love love love y'all!

    • @Homesteadyshow
      @Homesteadyshow  Год назад

      Thanks Georgia! Who else do you like watching? Please share! 😁

  • @aminasbite
    @aminasbite Год назад

    Love the video very informative. This was inspiring. I think I'll be working with my farm now.

  • @saltlifegull4091
    @saltlifegull4091 7 месяцев назад

    I'm hooked on their videos - what a cute, helpful couple. New subscriber.

  • @scalethewallnow
    @scalethewallnow Год назад

    Yes, loved the survey and data aspect of this aspect guys! And an ode to Wilson didn't hurt either :)

  • @G.W.H.
    @G.W.H. Год назад

    Thanks for sharing!!!

  • @trueblue2892
    @trueblue2892 Год назад

    You’re such an adorable family 😩😊 awesome tips! I want to start homesteading next year!

  • @brittanyash8340
    @brittanyash8340 Год назад

    Great video!

  • @648546lllooolll
    @648546lllooolll Месяц назад

    My dad would get calls from Walmart durring spring to come and get swarms that would show up. Loved growing bees.

  • @budspencer2658
    @budspencer2658 Год назад +9

    I totally agree with not beekeeping. There are hundreds of different native pollinators. If you're already raising cattle, pigs, sheep and a garden. why the added effort of beekeeping to save like 80$ worth of honey a year.

    • @sharonswisher7274
      @sharonswisher7274 Год назад +1

      I agree. If you have trees, tap them and boil down to make syrup. That syrup can still be used as a sweetener. We have a lot of Goldenrod in our yard and there were was a least 100 honey bees plus other types of bees pollinating them. I have no idea where those honey bees home at. Growing meat (including our egg laying chickens with 1 rooster) (dairy goats) (ducks) is #1. What you grow in your garden is #2. You can forage for so many wild edibles is #3. That's what we're focusing on. Oh, yes, a good homestead book on the animals you're raising and crops you're growing.

    • @rexracer7192
      @rexracer7192 Год назад +5

      Beekeeping is more for the honey in my opinion. Honey is a very important addition to any healthy diet, local honey, as it helps you with allergies!!!

    • @gracerlthomas
      @gracerlthomas Год назад +3

      As a family of 6 using honey as our only sweetener, we go through hundreds of dollars in honey a year. Definitely going to start beekeeping soon!

    • @budspencer2658
      @budspencer2658 Год назад +2

      @gracerlthomas it may cost hundreds to buy, but it will cost thousands to make. About 700$ to get started with 1 hive. Then you have to worry about pests, disease, and predators. If you live where there are bears forget it unless you put up an electric fence. And 1 hive is going to only produce the equivalent of 40$ of honey a year. Then you will have to buy more hives and colonies, costing thousands to make the hundreds that you would just go to the store and buy.
      Not sustainable unless you find joy in the hobby.

    • @gracerlthomas
      @gracerlthomas Год назад

      @@budspencer2658 How are there so many successful honey businesses around me then?

  • @FatalRanger-fo1gx
    @FatalRanger-fo1gx Год назад

    As far as bees, I just invited a beekeeper to set up a few hives on my land and I get 2 gallons of honey every year in exchange. Helping bees, making mead, and getting guaranteed pollination.

  • @mumstheword8895
    @mumstheword8895 10 месяцев назад

    Great video. Goats are amazing meat sources nutritionally. I'm new to utilizing their meat and really delighted you brought their source into focus- they are quick to provide while you wait for the beef! My daughter has a small herd and they ARE a challenge to contain, but once you understand their mission is to get out (they test every fence, every fallen tree and live to use you for their purposes) you can be one step ahead. If they know you and the sound of the feed bucket, theyll come right back even if they escape to the greener pasture. DELICIOUS milk as well.

  • @FantailValleyHomestead
    @FantailValleyHomestead Год назад

    Such a helpful video! And thank you for the shout out xx
    I can't wait to get a house cow or two, it will make a huge difference

    • @Homesteadyshow
      @Homesteadyshow  Год назад

      GO CHECKOUT DANA AND HER FANTASTIC CHANNEL 👆 Thanks for being a part of this one Dana, and tell your daughter the breeder we want some New Zealand chicken genetics in my flock!

  • @skylersimkins5719
    @skylersimkins5719 Год назад +1

    Bees are great. They are relatively easy once you get going but when it goes bad.. it's bad.

  • @ellendavis9940
    @ellendavis9940 Год назад

    These videos are priceless. Thank you

  • @ceyantzi1502
    @ceyantzi1502 Год назад +2

    We actually do TONS of Ducks. But we do have access to a processor who does a great Job. Great video! I love seeing what other homesteads are doing/find most valuable. On our way to produce the majority of our food. We currently produce 90% of our meats, and plan on Building up our gardens and orchards in 2023!!

  • @thissuitsus4856
    @thissuitsus4856 Год назад +3

    Great video. Growing herbs can also be used for their medicinal use!

  • @charlierenner6844
    @charlierenner6844 Год назад

    Thank you! Thank you thank you

  • @billythekid3300
    @billythekid3300 Год назад +1

    Like you're content stumble across this channel earlier today and I like what you guys have. I've got to say,I mean zero insult by this, I feel like I'm watching homesteading tips from what I imagined a live-action Bob Belcher to look like.

  • @holliwaller2774
    @holliwaller2774 Год назад

    Love this and love the information you have collected. Was also encouraging, we grow beef, pork, chickens, eggs and i have a garden. Working on learning to grow a years worth of one crop per season. Just now getting into some fruit. We do lots of canning, dehydrating, sourdough baking, etc. We do have bees and i agrer they are hard and take a long time. I love them. We have never done a dairy animal but i would love to once i am able to work less. Love this video, love watching and learning from you. Kerp up the good work!

  • @abbycole7485
    @abbycole7485 Год назад +5

    In a group I’m in on Facebook, there was a woman that bred, from a French bresse and something else, their very own perfect meat chicken. And it wasn’t like a Cornish cross where they would just lay down all the time, they weren’t “double breasted” but the carcass of her chickens were just as handsome! I think they dressed at 4#. It was really impressive.

    • @NorthlandSLC
      @NorthlandSLC Год назад +3

      We have red broilers that we have hatched eggs from. The red ranger type are much hardier than Cornish and lay surprising well for not being a dual purpose bird. We had a hen that laid for 4 years before a predator attack last summer.. They are double breasted and some finished 8# at 11 weeks. We have friends that keep a flock of brese and we plan to swap roosters and try a cross.

    • @Pursuit.of.Simplicity
      @Pursuit.of.Simplicity Год назад

      We breed Bresse chickens as well. Our breeding flock is just starting to lay and our plan is to hatch and raise enough to do meat birds once a quarter. We also have a dairy cow, which is important because Bresse chickens finish best with corn and milk.

  • @alvarosandin9784
    @alvarosandin9784 6 месяцев назад

    this is like the most didactic shit ever. And its so entertaining. This kind of style in a video is not usually my thing, but they have a ton of personality,so cool

  • @DomsBackYard
    @DomsBackYard Год назад

    I am shocked I have not heard of yall until today with yt recommending it on my homepage. Yall are informative and entertaining!

    • @Homesteadyshow
      @Homesteadyshow  Год назад +1

      I’m not surprised Dom, we’ve eternally been homesteadings biggest little channel 😂 (or littlest big channel?)

    • @DomsBackYard
      @DomsBackYard Год назад

      @@Homesteadyshow well I'm stuck with yall now or is it yall stuck with me lol. Amazing content !

  • @-beee-
    @-beee- Год назад

    I love the perspective from other people's homesteads for context.

  • @ashleylovepace1941
    @ashleylovepace1941 Год назад

    This was a fun video!

  • @joyg8904
    @joyg8904 Год назад

    Excellent information

  • @theerarestjewel
    @theerarestjewel Год назад

    Thank you 💫

  • @karolmoreland834
    @karolmoreland834 Год назад

    Great video

  • @susanpendell4215
    @susanpendell4215 Год назад +1

    I have a family member that developed anacphalic? reactions to bee stings. She swells up and has to carry an epipin. Her husband used to be a bee keeper and wasn't a nice person, so probably aggitated his bees. They aren't for everyone and certainly aren't beginner friendly. Having hives are aa luxury I think unless it's your business. The wax can be used to make candles and for other uses.

  • @Chaoticgarden
    @Chaoticgarden Год назад

    This is fun watching while enockulating a log with mushrooms, i love growing it, because i like eating it, and i can plant it where nothing else grows like in pretty much total shade, and i can grow it in straw, that i use as mulch, so its like a food i can grow without using extra space, but it take some prep to make ready

  • @melindawolfUS
    @melindawolfUS 6 месяцев назад

    Growing veggies and greens can also make meat more affordable! priorities ;)
    Pigs LOVE pumpkins and the seeds are full of magnesium and are a natural de-wormer, chickens and ducks eat almost everything you don't, Rabbits will eat greens that humans can't digest including a lot of weeds and the meat is delicious.
    I've cut my meat rabbit costs in half by feeding greens from a small garden and one mulberry tree. Bonus: my rabbits are so happy to have fresh, variety in their food

  • @jjb3406
    @jjb3406 Год назад

    Fantastic video! Look forward to the workbook to help with my 2 acres😊

    • @Homesteadyshow
      @Homesteadyshow  Год назад +1

      It’s got so much extra goodness. We really learned a lot from our fellow HOMESTEAD-IES
      putting it together!

  • @jdollar5852
    @jdollar5852 Год назад +1

    We grow 75% or more. There are only 2 of us.
    2 pigs.
    1 cow.
    35 meat chickens.
    11 layer hens.
    2-4 deer.
    Fish 2x a week. We ha e a pond in our yard.
    We are both living a Keto lifestyle so eat a lot of meat.
    We have about 80 fruit trees, berry bushes, and grape vines.
    We do grow green beans, tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers. We can grow okra and squash but we don't eat those enough to bother.
    We can vegetables.
    We make jellies and wine.
    We freeze and freeze-dry some of our fruits.
    Fruit is easiest because, once established, they don't need dairy care.
    We make our own compost with wood chips and assorted "stuff".
    13 acres in Georgia.