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Homesteading Skills for 2021

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January 5, 2021 by Diana 7 Comments

There really is a limitless amount of skills to learn on the homestead. Getting back to basics by being self sufficient requires a lot of old fashioned skills that have been lost in todays world.

Learn these skills to become more self sufficient like how to grow your own food, avoid store bought and embrace from scratch cooking, free range organic protein and food preservation techniques to stock pile your pantry shelves.

As a homesteader the bucket list always seems to grow. Here’s my collection of Homestead Skills to inspire your journey- no matter where you live!

This is a long post and popular post so I’ve gone ahead and turned it into a PDF version for you!

It’s the exact same but excludes the ads, so it’s easier to read and can be stored on your computer and printed out for easier reference! Plus I included a fun little bucket list for you to print and add to.

TAKE ME TO THE PDF

homesteading skills ebook

LIST OF HOMESTEADING SKILLS

Pin for Reference

homestead skills to learn basic list for beginners pin image including homesteader smiling and feeding her large flock of chickens in front of the coop

Before diving into this giant list of homesteading skills, take note of what your goals are for the season, the year and the next five years. As you go through this list, think about how learning these skills would change your life.

I challenge you to set your own homesteading goals using our goal planning method to avoid costly and exhausting mistakes.

5 Secrets to
Planning Your Homestead Projects

Even if you’re kids are at your ankles and you don’t have a huge chunk of land.

    Forget that spam stuff, I only serve handmade homegrown goodness to my homesteading friends.

    basic skills for homesteaders pin

    Living on a homestead is a constantly learning curve. It’s been the most exciting and scary part of having land, animals and an old farm house.

    There’s so much to do, so many possibilities and lots of excitement! How do you manage to do it all? I’ve picked up a few time management hacks when trying to get everything done. Who knows you could just learn it all this year!

    Today I share with you a random collection of basic homestead skills you might try adding to your own bucket list. Go ahead and be inspired- just don’t think you have to do it all! If I’ve missed something, PLEASE comment below and let me know! Tell me- What’s on your bucket list?

    There is a lot to learn when it comes to homesteading. In this post I’ll share with you the skills I’ve learned so far and many helpful resources to help you get started learning something new! There is an endless amount of things to learn and experience.

    HANDY CRAFTS: LEARN TO KNIT

    baby blanket pattern on table

    Learning to knit or crochet is a great homesteading skill to pass the time away in the fall or winter. Check out our selection of knitting patterns on the blog made just for beginner knitters.

    KNITTING PATTERNS

    FROM SCRATCH: PUMPKINS INTO PUREE

    Stainless steel bowl and whisk mixing ingredients for pumpkin pie using pumpkin puree from scratch

    I make all my pumpkin puree at the peak of pumpkin season in October and just after Halloween. If you don’t have your own puree, then go ahead and used canned- but once you’ve tried it you won’t go back! 

    Here’s how to make pumpkin puree.

    GROW YOUR OWN FOOD: PLANT A GARDEN

    basket of fresh garden produce from the vegetable garden

    If planting a backyard vegetable garden is on your homestead bucket list, then look no further than this post! I’m going to show you the very basic gardening tips for the ultimate foolproof approach to vegetable gardening for beginners. Ready? Let’s do this!

    START A VEGGIE GARDEN

    Take our Veggie Garden Quickstart Email Course and get the support you need!

    girl at computer taking online course

    FRUIT TREES: Plant an Orchard

    ripe yellow and red peaches hanging on a  tree in orchard

    Our beginners guide to planting fruit trees and starting a small backyard orchard or food forest will help you feed your family for years to come. You’ll learn how to grow fruit trees and fruit bearing plants with tips and tricks for planting, maintenance and preserving. Ready? Let’s do this!

    LEARN HOW TO PLANT FRUIT TREES HERE

    FRUIT TREES: Prune Old Fruit Trees

    orchard in winter

    If you do anything on the homestead this winter, prune your apple and plum fruit trees. Mid winter is the time to prune your fruit trees for a healthy, abundant harvest in the summer. I’ll share with you three easy pruning tips and tricks to make that first cut less stressful!

    READ HOW AND WHEN TO PRUNE FRUIT TREES HERE

    SELF SUFFICIENCY: START SEED SAVING

    giant marigolds in summer garden, easy flowers to seed save

    The easiest seeds to save during harvest season are tomatoes, pumpkins, zucchini, marigolds. Go ahead and challenge yourself to start a seed stash for self sufficiency.

    Save Your Seeds

      We only send homesteading happiness, none of that spam stuff!

      Powered By ConvertKit

      LEARN HOW TO SAVE MARIGOLD SEEDS HERE

      FOOD PRESERVATION: Grow tomatoes from seed and make salsa

      jar of tomato salsa

      SELF SUFFICIENCY: USE MASON JARS FOR …EVERYTHING!

      CHALK PAINT MASON JAR SUPPLIES

      Simply white chalk painted mason jars can be one of the most useful rustic centrepiece. Create a mason jar farmhouse decoration in only a few minutes! Change the greenery to match any season, holiday, or colour scheme.

      LEARN HOW TO PAINT MASON JARS HERE

      SEWING SKILLS: Make Homemade Gifts

      basic felt owl craft

      Not only do creative hobbies allow for increased endorphins ( the happy hormones) they also provide a way for moms especially to feel productive, mentally sharp by learning something new and as a way to turn a hobby you love as an extra income source.

      FIND A CREATIVE HOBBY AND START MAKING HOMEMADE GIFTS

      happy homestead restart planning bundle image

      FROM SCRATCH: Master making the perfect apple pie

      unbaked from scratch apple pie sitting on counter with rolling pie and excess dough ready to be baked

      Apple Pie is by far THE best desert. Who doesn’t love apple pie? Warm sweet apples, hints of cinnamon and vanilla, and a buttery flaky crust. Learn how to make homemade apple pie from scratch and you’ll be asked to make the pie for all the potlucks and family dinners.

      LEARN HOW TO MAKE AN APPLE PIE HERE

      EASY PIE RECIPES FOR BEGINNERS

      FOOD PRESERVATION: CAN APPLE SAUCE

      apple processing station for apple sauce

      This Apple Sauce recipe is a quick and easy option for canning apples in bulk, When apple season is at its peak. A great grab and go snack for the babies and the kids lunches. A cheap and healthy pantry staple, this no sugar apple sauce recipe is a must for your family!

      MAKE APPLE SAUCE

      FROM SCRATCH Make bread

      fresh bread from the oven

      Baking your own bread, especially sourdough, is an amazing skill to learn on the homestead. It makes for a great fall or winter project when the garden is at rest.

      Learning how to do it yourself is the first step to failure. Trust me I know ! I took this amazing master class and am now baking my own artisan style bread and my family loves and prefers it over bakery bought!

      LEARN MORE ABOUT THE ART OF SOURDOUGH COURSE HERE

      FOOD PRESERVATION: MAKE JAM

      jar of strawberry jam and two fresh strawberries

      You’re going to be surprised just how easy it is to make your own jam and jelly using fresh fruit you’ve picked. Strawberry jam is our personal favourite, but once you’ve learned how to use a hot water bath safely you’ll master this homesteading skill in no time at all!

      LEARN HOW TO USE A HOT WATER BATH

      PREPARE FOR CANNING SEASON

        I only send homesteading happiness, none of that nasty spam

        FREE RANGE FOOD: DEEP FRY A TURKEY

        deep fried turkey being pulled from deep fryer while camping outdoors

        Deep fried turkey is the quickest and tastiest way to cook a turkey. It’s also becoming an ever popular way to cook a turkey and impress your friends and family over the holidays. Get outside this Thanksgiving and deep fry your own turkey. Just follow our guidelines and you’ll be safe!

        LEARN HOW TO COOK A DEEP FRIED TURKEY HERE

        GROW YOUR OWN FOOD: MAKE A GARDEN FRESH SALAD

        salad greens growing in garden rows ready to be made into salad greens

        Adding a vegetable garden to your front, backyard or even patio balcony is an exciting venture! Learn to how to start a successful veggie garden with our complete guide for beginner gardeners and start making your own garden fresh salad!

        VEGGIE GARDEN

        SELF SUFFICIENCY: FORAGE FOR MUSHROOMS

        The Mushroom Course

        I love foraging for mushrooms! Once you’ve discovered this fun hobby and the taste of wild mushrooms in your soups and stews you’ll be hooked! The Herbal Academy has an amazing course to help you identify the safe mushrooms to eat and how to preserve them for ultimate health benefits!

        LEARN MORE ABOUT THE COURSE HERE

        FOOD PRESERVATION: DEHYDRATE APPLES

        making dehydrated apples, dehydrator tray filled with apple slices ready to be put into the dehydrator

        Dehydrating apples is a quick and easy snack to make during the peak of apple season. Apple chips are a healthy, low sugar treat for kids and families. In this post I share with you how to make this super simple recipe!

        LEARN HOW TO USE A DEHYDRATOR IN THIS POST

        FORGET STORE BOUGHT: MAKE HOMEMADE LAUNDRY DETERGENT

        homemade laundry soap in mason jar with two wool dryer balls, wooden clothes pegs and white towels

        Homemade Laundry detergent is shockingly easy to make, requires only a few ingredients and costs next to nothing compared to the liquid laundry soap at the store. Make your own homemade laundry detergent using items around your house with this easy recipe!

        GET THE RECIPE HERE

        SELF SUFFICIENCY: BUILD A ROOTCELLAR

        Having a root cellar on your homestead is a total game changer for growing and storing your own food for the winter! We will be using these plans to help us make our own rootcellar as our next step to self sufficiency.

        I trust Teri and Brian when it comes to homestead building project plans and their blog is beyond helpful for beginner off grid homesteaders! You need to check them out.

        GET THE PLANS HERE

        LEARN HOW TO LIVE OFF GRID

        FROM SCRATCH COOKING: BUILD A BACKYARD PIZZA OVEN

        The Backyard Bread & Pizza Oven, a step by step guide to building your own outdoor wood-fired pizza

        Imagine enjoying a nice hot piece of pizza right out of your new backyard bread and pizza oven. Nothing is better than bread and pizza from a wood burning oven! This is a great project to learn and complete for endless years to come.

        LEARN HOW TO BUILD YOUR BACKYARD BREAD OVEN

        EARN FARM INCOME: OFFER BOARDING SERVICES

        field of grass during sunrise

        If you own a few acres or more, running a horse boarding business is a profitable side hustle for your homestead. Today I’ll share with you my experience running a small self boarding horse ranch and some tips and considerations to help you decide if this is the right homestead side hustle for you!

        BOARDING POST HERE

        FREE RANGE FOOD: RAISE CHICKENS FOR EGGS

        laying hens eating food in coop

        More than ever, every homestead should have a set of backyard chickens in their yard. In this post I’ll show you just how to get started raising backyard chickens for the absolute beginner. In just a month, you’ll be collecting eggs daily!

        LEARN HOW TO START RAISING CHICKENS FOR EGGS

        FORGET STORE BOUGHT MILK: RAISE GOATS

        baby goat lying on a rock

        If you’re looking to start raising goats on your small hobby harm and homestead or just dream of owning your own cute little goat then you’ve come to the right place. Goats are the perfect beginner animal for small hobby farms .

        LEARN ABOUT RAISING GOATS IN THIS POST

        MAKE MONEY FROM YOUR FARM: SELL FERTILIZED CHICKEN EGGS FOR PROFIT

        baby chickens in brooder box

        If you have an incubator, spring is the perfect time of year to keep it going and sell day old chicks to other homesteaders. Learn how to get started making money with chicks in the post below.

        SELL BABY CHICKS

        GROW YOUR OWN FOOD: HATCH CHICKEN EGGS

        baby chicks sitting on vintage high chair

        The art of chicken hatching is one that many homesteaders have mastered over the years. Theres an awful lot of science involved in the process that can make it overwhelming for beginners, but it doesn’t have the be that way! In this post I’ll share with you everything you need to know for a successful chicken hatch!

        HATCH CHICKEN EGGS

        SELF SUFFICIENCY SKILL: GAIN FARM STATUS FOR TAX BENEFITS

        Gaining farm status as a homesteader is a great way to save money, receive grants and tax benefits for growing and selling food to your community. Sometimes it just means expanding what you’re already doing for your family just a bit!

        I highly recommend FreshBooks for organizing your receipts and accounting for making this application much easier!

        GET STARTED WITH FRESHBOOKS FOR FREE

        GROW YOUR OWN FOOD: RAISE CHICKENS FOR PROFIT

        child waving to baby chicks in brooder box with feed and water and lights

        Learn how to to make money on your homestead by raising meat chickens for profit with our tips and tricks for a productive and effective meat bird production on your hobby farm or homestead.

        READ THE POST HERE

        FROM SCRATCH COOKING SKILLS: MAKE BONE BROTH

        bone broth bones and vegetables roasting in oven

        Learn just how to make beef bone broth using beef bones, vinegar, water and the optional vegetables and herbs. You’ll never have to buy beef broth again at the store and reap the many nutritional benefits of bone broth currently taking the health industry by storm.

        GET THE RECIPE HERE

        FULL CIRCLE SELF SUFFICIENCY: FEED PUMPKINS TO CHICKENS

        pumpkins in a field

        Pumpkins are a great treat for chickens. They are safe to eat and have many benefits for your animals. Find cheap and even free pumpkins to feed your animals this fall. Learn more about why chickens and your livestock love pumpkins just as much as we do in this post.

        PUMPKINS FOR CHICKENS POST

        FREE RANGE LIFESTYLE: CARE FOR BABY CHICKS

        baby chick posing on vintage high chair

        Learn how to care for chickens after they’ve hatched with our baby chicken care guide, in this post you’ll learn everything you need to prepare for and take care of your baby chicks after they’ve hatched!

        BABY CHICK CARE GUIDE

        START A HOMESTEAD BLOG

        homestead blogger typing on computer

        Have you been thinking of starting to share your expertise with the world? Now is a great time to start your homesteading blog, but it can be overwhelming to know where to start. I’ve put together the resources I use in this post, I suggest you read before diving in!

        HOMESTEAD BLOGGING RESOURCES

        The Backyard Bread & Pizza Oven, a step by step guide to building your own outdoor wood-fired pizza

        SELF SUFFICIENCY SKILLS: CLEAR A PASTURE WITH GOATS

        baby goat resting on a rock

        Goats are a great foraging animal and will eat whatever they can get in their mouths. One summer we didn’t plant our vegetable garden, next thing we knew we had grown weeds and bramble higher than myself. It was time to find goats to clear our land.

        USE GOATS TO CLEAR LAND

        SELF SUFFICIENCY SKILLS: DEAL WITH COLD AND FLU SEASON USING HERBS

        Learn how to make six

        Angi has put together an amazing course that teaches you how to help prevent your family from getting sick during the cold and flu season. This course is totally for you if…

        • You’ve never used any herbal remedies but are tired of giving your family pharmaceuticals with their long list of side affects and want to try something that is both safe and effective this cold and flu season.

        • You’ve been researching natural health for a while but feel overwhelmed by all the information floating around the internet and get stuck when it comes to developing a cold and flu protocol for your family.

        • You’ve been purchasing pre-made herbal remedies for your family and know there must be a less expensive way to treat your family naturally during the cold and flu season.

        GET THE SIX HERBAL REMEDIES FOR COLD AND FLU SEASON!

        EVEN MORE HOMESTEADING SKILL IDEAS!

        Propagate plants using root cutting

        Learn how to graft a fruit tree

        Identify wild edibles on your land

        Plant a row of rasperries

        Collect more heirloom seeds

        Plant a row of blueberries

        Build a proper greenhouse

        Replow and plant a hay field

        Learn to crochet

        Learn how to weave

        Weave baskets

        Make candles

        Turn dads old clothes into play clothes for kids

        Go without the grocery store for a month

        Render tallow from beef cattle for soap making

        Try deer marrow

        Render lard from pork for cooking

        Tap our maple trees for syrup

        Make butter

        Make my own apple cider vinegar

        Ferment foods

        Make my own vanilla extract

        Make our own beer

        Make our own sausages

        Roast my own sunflower seeds

        Use a pressure cooker to preserve vegetables and meat

        Make yogurt

        Learn to milk a cow

        HOMESTEAD SKILLS

        Homesteading no matter where you live is possible and leading a handmade homegrown simpler lifestyle for you and your family is one that truly offers happiness that can’t be bought.

        But it’s not something that you achieve, it’s a journey. Enjoy it. That’s why I encourage you to set goals for your homestead that inspire building skills that lead you to the independence you crave.

        happy homestead secrets

        Learn more about Happy Homestead Goal Setting with our Goal Setting Workbook.

        What are some things you’ve learned homesteading? What’s on your bucket list? I know I have to be missing something! Please comment below 🙂

        Don’t forget to grab the PDF version to to save for later too!

        homesteading skills ebook mock up image in a field of grass

        PIN FOR LATER:

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        Filed Under: Free Planner Printables for the Homestead, Homestead, Summer, Uncategorized Tagged With: bucketlist, homestead skills, homesteading skills, new years, productivity, resolutions

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        Comments

        1. Kale @ steakandkale.com says

          January 4, 2020 at 12:51 am

          I enjoyed your list. I grew up on a dairy farm, with many, many other animals as well.
          Farming was our livelihood, so I can relate to many of the items you listed! Sweet memories and the realization of how blessed (even though I didn’t appreciate it at the time) I was to grow up learning those skills. 🙂 Thanks for sharing!

          Reply
          • Diana says

            January 4, 2020 at 2:22 am

            I grew up the opposite and want to share it all with my boys! Funny how that works 😉 I’m glad you enjoyed it and so sweet to now realize the blessing 🙂

            Reply
        2. Suha Vijay says

          January 22, 2020 at 4:32 am

          Nice list indeed. Now you are tempting me to get into Homesteading, which in fact is my long-lasting dream

          Reply
        3. Ariana Dagan says

          January 22, 2020 at 2:49 pm

          So awesome, I know like…4 of these. Haha. Ok maybe slightly more, but still, I wish I knew all of them! So many amazing skills! This year I’d really like to make my own beer, it has been on my bucket list for EVER.

          Reply
          • Diana says

            January 22, 2020 at 11:56 pm

            So much fun! We actually just got some made at a you brew, ordered out beer and bottled it there!

            Reply
        4. Simmy says

          January 22, 2020 at 9:31 pm

          Pretty informative list!

          Reply
        5. Amanda says

          January 23, 2020 at 1:58 pm

          I would love to live out in the country one day. Thanks for sharing this list of homestead skills!

          Reply

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