Looking at effective tips for homesteading becomes necessary with the growing acceptance of dirt playing & gardening across social media. In case you ever consider turning your backyard into a garden or even upgrade to homesteading, this would be the perfect place to look.
5 Effective Tips for Homesteading
The increased interest in homesteading is associated with the wider acceptance of prepping across the world. More and more are recognizing the prospects of danger and are starting to make more preparations for what may come. One such is homesteading, which is more or less the cultivation of foods on your property, although on a more established scale.
Here are five tips to keep to become an excellent homesteader.
Determine Your Goals
To establish a flourishing homestead, you have to be sure of what you want to achieve with farming. It could be for:
- Eating;
- Desire for self-sufficiency;
- A reduction in grocery bills;
- Sell to others.
If there’s no specific target your shots are directed at, there is always the possibility of getting fed up with the entire structure, and you may decide to take another direction. Settle for one (or two at most) of the goals above and work towards it.
Soil Assessment
Soil testing is often discarded when considering the simple tenets of gardening & urban gardening. This can be frustrating, given that seeds may take several years to grow in poor soil. There are various things to learn from a simple soil test. One of these is the soil pH level, which greatly affects the plant’s growth rate. Using a simple kit, you can test your soil pH level, so make sure you do so before planting.
Plant More Perennials
Annuals like pepper, tomato, potatoes & corn are common crops in a garden, but so should perennials too. In fact, I suggest that you introduce new perennial plants to your garden every season. Add three perennials to your farm every year, and you will have planted 15 food plants that require little care within five years. Excellent perennials to plant include asparagus, goji berry, hardy kiwi, horseradish, raspberries & walking onions.
Rear More Hens
Backyard hens are remarkably beneficial to your survival farm. These hens do not only lay considerable eggs with minimal care on your part. They also fertilize the farm due to their soil-nourishing droppings. That’s a sharp decrease in the cost required to buy manure.
However, some localities do not allow the rearing of backyard hens, and in such areas, you can circumvent restrictions by reviewing the zoning laws of your region or country.
Sow Upward
Unless you buy a piece of sizable land to use solely for homesteading, there’ll always be limited space. In fact, inadequate space is a common problem to face. To address this, experts suggest that you grow crops upwards using stakes & trellises, which will ultimately encourage your yield.
By the way, vining crops like green beans & peas may not be ideal for trellis, but how about winter squash, pumpkins, zucchini & cantaloupes? These and more crops can be grown upward instead of letting them sprout.
Concluding The Effective Tips for Homesteading
For a high-yield garden, adhere to the effective tips for homesteading discussed above and others that include good arrangements, harvest optimization & asset protection. Successful homesteading leaves you more than 50% assured of survival should food supply chains be broken.