Prepper Homesteading Basics

As a prepper who wants to be self reliant with a homestead, you need to know the basics.

The first thing you need to realize about homesteading is that the goal is to become self-reliant. That means you can provide and care for your family completely with what you can grow or make yourself.

Location, location, location

An ideal location would have good soil, an ample water supply, and is positioned in a way that enables you to have quick access without being readily found by the masses.

You should prioritize your needs. If it’s farming you want to focus on, then you need to secure land with rich, fertile soil that will yield a high dose of crops to feed your family. If your primary concern is isolation, then you’ll want more land at a cheaper cost.

Land in the South will typically be less expensive than land up North – and the Southern states will have a longer growing season for those of you who want to farm and grow your own crops.

Homesteading Skills

There are some skills involved with homesteading, but it’s not difficult to learn the skills.

You’ll want to be prepared with food that can serve you for repeated cycles. So you would want to plant a garden that can be replanted again and again. You can do this using heirloom seeds. You’ll want to plant what you’ll consume throughout the year and when the growing season is over, you’ll want to make sure that you preserve some of the garden bounty to use during the months that the garden doesn’t grow. You’ll also want to save and store the seeds from the fruits and vegetables for replanting the following gardening season.

It’s also smart to learn how to construct chicken coops so that you can have the eggs that are produced.

You can also raise pigs for meat. You’ll want cows for milk (and/or meat) and goats for producing dairy to use for cheese. Some preppers that homestead also prefer to raise honeybees. Not only is the honey usable, but the bees can help pollinate the fruits and vegetables that you grow.

Water needs to be planned when homesteading. You can’t survive without access to clean water. You need to set up rain barrels for water that your livestock can drink and the collected rainwater can also be used to irrigate your garden. The fastest way to collect rainwater is to set a barrel up beneath a downspout.

You should have a way to purify your water as well as a way that you can store the water. If you bring the water to your homestead site from a creek or pond, then you’ll need a way to transport it.

Protection is paramount when you’re homesteading. You’re going to need weapons in order to protect yourself in the event someone decides to rob you or commit other crimes against you. You should be armed with both knives as well as guns. Both of these are great for protection but also are handy to have around for hunting or food prep.

Education for children is a necessity when you’re homesteading. You want to make sure you have educational supplies. You can find educational supplies at homeschool stores if you want to stock up in advance. You can also order and store homeschooling supplies in advance. But education can also be taught using just the basic tools like classic pieces of literature. Teaching things like math can be done using real life concepts such how to measure items in a recipe or how to measure wood for cutting when building something. Studies have shown that children who are educated using real life concepts often excel in life.