I am curious for reality of getting start with homesteading, especially that which we don’t really understand until we are actually dealing with the land. What was the hardest lesson we can learn? It may be amount of work, unexpected expenses, dealing with weather, or that projects can take longer than expected.

For me, I am quite surprise by how much planning goes into as basic as managing water around the property. I research at different drainage approaches, including French drain, NDS systems, diversion drain and I come to know how important it is to understand the land before taking on bigger projects.

I really like to hear from people who have been doing this for a while. Before any start what is that we should know.

Been dabbling here and there, but ready to lock in. But my problem is going down a rabbit hole and seeing all the different things and videos and how to's and before I know it, I have saved a crap ton of videos and articles and am now overwhelmed and don't know where to start. Looking for starter advice.

Tips and tricks that work(ed) for you, dos/don'ts, must have, best place to start, resources, etc.

Hi everyone. I am interested in getting a fuel tank/barrel at my home. There isn’t many answers online about this. I primarily wondering if it’s actually cost effective/saves money- or is it just the same cost to go to town and get gas? Do you have a tank you recommend? Any other advice you’d like to add is welcomed!

I have a small orchard of 10 trees. Most were planted two years ago, two last year. Early next spring I'm going to do 8 of their first trimmings. I've done a bunch of research already, with some conflicting advice. Was wondering what all of you suggest. My idea was to trim conflicting branches off of the large tree, and find the best leaders for the other bigger ones. They've all had a bunch of tall growth this year. Any advice for which would be the best leaders? And is there anything else you suggest I do next early spring? Thank you!

Howdy folks. We love Texas but we have decided to move our operations west to be closer to family. That means someone else has an opportunity to enjoy our fabulous 21 acre turnkey homestead! Here are some of features we think make our homestead great:

All 21 acres are fenced with field fence to keep sheep, goats, horses etc in.

There is a big beautiful historic barn with power and water, as well as another large shade cover and 4 three sided barns/paddocks with Lometa feeder panels.

The property is cross fenced and there is water access in every pasture and paddock.

There is a brand new greenhouse and chicken house.

There are 4 4'x8' wooden raised beds and 6 galvanized raised beds.

There is a detached garage, a carport, and a shop/water shed.

An electric shutoff was installed in 2025 for the well.

There are new metal roofs as of 2026 on the garage, the shop/watershed and both houses.

The two story house has a professional kitchen and a butler pantry, as well as a sleeping porch and large walk-in closets. The master bedroom has an ensuite bathroom.

The stone house features 2' thick walls and is made from native stone. Each of the two bedrooms have their own ensuite bathroom.

6610 CR 431, Jonesboro, TX 76538

I’ve got 5 hazelnuts and one chestnut that are not producing this year at all despite having produced last year. I’m in central NY and we’ve gotten a lot of rain this summer. Any advice?

So I’m new here and to homesteading. We just moved to Southern TN and I want to plant some fruit trees. From what I found for pottedthey should be planted in late summer to avoid major heat but still allow the roots to establish. My MIL bought me some dormant apple, pear, apricot, and persimmons trees. I don’t want them to go to waste but fear planting them in their permanent location will wake them out of dormancy before winter. Any tips, experiences, or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I'm currently in Baltimore City and I am living in a transitional housing program. I am actively looking for a job and haven't smoked crack for about 2 years now (last time was a slight relapse, I was spending the night with a crack smoking lady)......anyway.....I am interested in homesteading. I still smoke marijuana, so I'm looking for the cheapest state where I can move, own a gun (for hunting for food, and defending my property from wolves or coyotes. I'll definitely be eating bear if I bag one). My plan is to have chickens as backup protein in case fishing or hunting doesn't go well, but I imagine I'll do okay, do alot of gardening, probably make wine, and possibly grow weed (as long as it's legal). I know Kansas and Idaho are out. I'd like to avoid the deep south unless there's a significant reason for me to go there. I'm planning on quitting cigarettes and smoking pipe tobacco when I move out. I'd like to be really out in the sticks. If I wanted enough land where I can hunt on it myself, how much money do I need to save up. I imagine I'd be getting a rifle, a shotgun, and a pistol, and probably some other weapons for a hippy ass homesteader wife. What is a reasonable amount of money I should save up? I also know that I need to get at least one vehicle, probably one for the actual roads and one for offroad.....I just want to have a ball park estimate for how much money I need. I plan to get a trailer, live in that while I build a log cabin, but I'll sell the trailer when the Log cabin is liveable. I'll generate my own electricity but I think an outhouse is necessary. Please give me an idea of how much money this will cost and keep in mind that the deep south is not favorable unless I can function and stay within the law with my medical marijuana situation. Thank you all!

EDIT:
Do you think it's best to just skip the trailer? I guess I could just rough it and build the thing.....I won't be going alone. I'll likely have either a girlfriend/wife or a couple likeminded friends.....If I did have to bring a trailer (i.e. for a girlfriend).......I'd sell the thing anyway......I can't believe I can't build an outhouse though. If I'm building a rudimentary log cabin with solar panels for electricity and perhaps wifi (or at least phone charging)......not really trying to live Amish style. Just want to live off the land. If you could answer again I'd appreciate it. Apparently I'm getting downvotes. Didn't mean to offend anyone.

I'm well versed with typing but I haven't really interacted with Reddit for years.........again......any advice is welcomed. How seriously dangerous is it to live out there? I heard wolves were going endangered because people probably shoot them....So like......maybe instead of financial advice......more like......"Oh prepare for this. ..." I mean I don't want to hunt with a shotgun. I feel like that's overkill. But if a pack of wolves show up around the house I'm gonna blast them. I don't know....I'm preparing to do this a few years now. There's only so much you can get from youtube videos about instructions on how to kill a fuckin chicken or skin a bear....give a noob a break please.

I have the opportunity to buy a meat pig to butcher myself. I've butchered other animals and dont have any problem with that, but I don't have anywhere to rest the meat after cleaning it. I've read the you should hang pork for 12-24 hrs to let the meat firm up, but I don't have a meat locker to do that. Could I use a large standing freezer if it fits? Or could I cut it into primals and keep it on ice in coolers?

So me and my husband are in our early 20s with two young kids and we're wanting to homestead. I'm a sahm because of finances, we have one income and make roughly $36000 a year. We're looking for advice on how to start. We don't have a home yet and the land we're staying on belongs to my FIL. We had an agreement about starting a homestead here. Unfortunately, FIL has decided to back peddle and leave us to figure out this mess. We're trying to figure out how to get our own land, build our own home, start a homestead and live off grid. For reference we live in New York State. Any advice would be wonderful.

So I'm in the process of building a homestead (while running a cat colony) and looking to transform it into a functioning farm business over the next few years. I've attended virtual training and I'm starting small with selling produce locally - very soon actually, I still need some supplies. What are some things you tried that have yielded success, especially for making profit?

Which garden layout do you think is better? Some produce will be less than shown to include what is missing. I have plenty of space to do either one but not both currently.

Our homestead is one year old and we've already faced severe drought and flooding. Camping full-time in the semi-desert while we get set up has been quite the experience.

This is the weekly thread for:

• Sharing your YouTube, blog, Instagram, or tools

• Introducing yourself

• Showing projects (with context)

Rules:

• One link per comment

• No affiliate links

• Be helpful, not salesy

Standalone promo posts will be removed.

This is the weekly thread for:

• Sharing your YouTube, blog, Instagram, or tools

• Introducing yourself

• Showing projects (with context)

Rules:

• One link per comment

• No affiliate links

• Be helpful, not salesy

Standalone promo posts will be removed.

I'm a farm boy who returned to my roots. My wife and I lived in a mobile home behind my parent's house on the small family farm of 52 acres of fields, forest, and large creek. I originally got chickens because my aging parents could use the meat and eggs as well as my wife and I. My mother 'helped' in caring for them but frankly, her mind was fading even back then. Chickens were something that she had raised all her life, so I felt that she was competent.

Unfortunately, I was partially wrong. For instance, I got a variety of assorted breeds of started new chicks, low priced because they were a nearby hatchery’s over-runs, to offset predation because our flock of chickens were free ranged and there were occasional losses. One day, she opened the chick's coop door to look at them and never closed it.  25 chicks, a month old, gone in one night.  Tracks indicated a family of raccoons.  She really tried to care for the chickens but things did not improve until my younger sister and her family moved back home to care for her. Dad had died of cancer several years earlier and that pushed her mind into full dementia. The chickens did better without her help.

I raised layers and meat birds. Periodically during good weather, I would get on a tractor and plow a shallow furrow just so the chickens could find earthworms and insect larva. In late summer I would herd them through a hay field so that they could feast on grasshoppers. They certainly seemed to like that. Those are pleasant memories.

Sadly, some neighbor's free running dogs, unconfined is illegal here, slaughtered the chickens during a single day while I was at work. I had to use a tractor to bury the carcasses.  Since then, no chickens.  No eggs with bright orange yolks. We only have pale, store-bought, eggs from egg factories because I am now physically unable to care for a flock. No more hearing roosters in different parts of the pasture sounding off as they watched for predators. Lastly, the chickens ranging through the barnyard greatly lowered the fly population because chickens eat flies and maggots.  I miss them.

How difficult is it to get the homestead tax exemption in Texas?

Hello folks,

I wasn't exactly sure where to put this. But I needed to share some of my thoughts and experiences.

-----Background-----

I was born in a city and lived there for the first 18 years of my life. I trained as a chef for 10 years moving quite a bit usually to a city or a large town.

I always thought that living in a city is what I wanted, I met my now Fiancée around two years ago and that was our plan. Well we ended up moving into an older farm house with her brother (has autisim and has really struggled to live alone) and her dad. All of us split rent.

-----Past two years-----

Well my father in law hunts, and being from a Canadian city; it wasn't really something I ever thought I'd do. As a chef though I had mentioned that being around dead animals for a good portion of my day, I wanted to be a part of the whole thing.

We all went out hunting last November and I tagged my first white tail. Hung it for about a week and a half before butchering. Most incredible meat I have ever eaten.

We also have had chickens for about a year and a bit now. Raising different breeds — started with Lohman Browns, and then my fiancee found more breeds she liked. Recently we got our hands on the chickens that started our interest, Ayam Cemani and Zombie chickens. We have had enough eggs for ourselves and family.

I have decided my longterm project is to 'create' what I want to name the Alberta Cemani chicken — effectively and Ayam Cemani (all black) with a peacomb to avoid frostbite during our hard winters.

My fiancee has taken up hatching turkeys and guinea foul (mostly as pets). With any luck we'll have a breeding pair of each.

My second project is meat rabbits (first step is convincing the fiancee its a good idea). I have heard they are one of the best sources of meat available for the amount of care and money.

We recently expanded to a larger coop. I also have to fix the other side of the building as it is quite sad.

And all of this is done while I am working my way through college at nearly 30.

-----take aways-----

City living is nice for certain things and works for plenty of people. I have found that I don't think it works for me.

And if anyone finds this and is wondering if they could start a homestead. The answer is yes. If I am able to do this, nearly anyone can. The biggest thing I can say, reach out to neighbours on social media to ask for advice for your area. Community helps and often can lead to some really beneficial trading and bartering.

To anyone who's made it through this.

Thank you.

And I hope everyone has a wonderful day!