Top Three Homesteading Mistakes.
When speaking with people about our homestead one of the things I hear a lot is “I wish I could do that.” If you are saying the same thing to yourself right now let me tell you a secret. YOU CAN! If I can do it, anyone can. I didn’t grow up farming. Quite the opposite in fact; I grew up in the city. The closest I came to raising livestock was feeding the goats rye crackers at the petting zoo. My parents were a school teacher and a police officer so managing a farm was not something that I learned from them.
When my husband and I decided to homestead we made a lot of mistakes. Some of them were expensive and others just frustrating. I want to tell you about our three biggest mistakes and how we fixed them so you can avoid doing the same things that we did.
1. Location Location Location.
I am a big believer that the spirit of homesteading can be done from anywhere. Even a few herb plants on a windowsill is a start of that’s all the room that you have. However, if you are deciding to make the leap into the full homesteading experience, be patient and do your research. My husband and I were so excited to leave the city and start a homestead that we quickly jumped at a 2 acre piece of property about 45 minutes outside the city. At first it seemed perfect. We started a garden and got a few chickens. Soon we realized that we were already outgrowing the property. We found out the township we were living in would not allow us to have goats, pigs or any other livestock. It was a very narrow property and the area we thought would be perfect for a garden flooded every time it rained. We realized that we would have to move again if we wanted to be able to accomplish all our goals. The first piece of advice I would give someone looking to locations is to do your research. If you like an area, call the local municipality yourself and see what is allowed or what is restricted. Don’t rely on your realtor to know. Also don’t assume because the previous owners had chickens or goat that it is allowed. They might have just gotten away with it.
While we were searching for our next home I was starting to get discouraged. Everytime we went to look at a home or property there were major issues. I however learned my lesson the first time and I didn’t settle. I knew I wanted something with at least 7 acres, a barn already built. My next piece of advice for you is not to settle. Make a list of your must haves in a future plot of land. Also make a list of things that would be nice to have but is negotiable. These lists will be different for everyone. Take your time and wait it out. Eventually you will find your dream place.
2. Don’t grow too fast.
The first year here for us was a whirlwind of activity. I got chickens, ducks, turkeys, goats, horses, pigs, tilled a large garden, started digging out a pong and had plans for updating the barn and house. I got overwhelmed quickly. Its easy to get caught up in the excitement and want everything to happen right away. Start with one or two things. Maybe chickens and a small garden. My first year my large garden that I spent so much money on failed miserably. I was so busy with trying to learn about all these new animals and keeping them alive that the weeds just took over. I think I managed to get some spinanch, two watermelons and a handful of spaghetti squash. That might sound like a lot to some but I planted hundreds of seeds of all different type of plants. If you start with one or two things you will be able to learn and become experts on those things. Once you master them, then you can add something else. Someone had given me this advise when I started and I really wished I had listened.
3. Remember to take time to enjoy the life you are building for yourself and your family.
It is so easy to get wrapped up in the stress and work of running a farm or homestead. There is always work to be done so its hard to stop, sit back and smell the roses. This is advise that I still struggle with today. Its hard for me to relax when I know that the horses need groomed or that the fence line needs repaired. I have to tell myself to stop and let it all sink in sometimes. If I am feeding the goats I have to give myself permission to stop and pet them and enjoy their company instead of quickly moving on to the next item on my to do list. Also enjoy the rainy days inside. I mean animals will always have to be fed rain or shine but once everyone is fed and cared for sit inside and read a book or take a long bath. Don’t work so hard that you forget to enjoy the life you are living.