Skills To Learn Before You Start Homesteading

Are you dreaming of owning property, chickens running around, a thriving garden and maybe a milk cow? Yes, the homestead life is exciting, the thoughts of plentiful food and fresh milk from a dairy cow can be so enthralling.

But before you own start running a homestead you really want to learn some basic homesteading skills.

Having a homestead can quickly become overwhelming if you don’t know how to care for animals, the basics of cooking from scratch, how to preserve and even grow food.

The great news is you can start learning these many of these skills now wherever you are! Below I will share a list of skills you can start learning now!

Cooking From Scratch

This one is pretty obvious but cooking from scratch is a big part of homesteading. Get familiar with how to cook different types of meats, experiment with different spices, learn how to use your oven!

A big part of cooking from scratch is learning how to cook with the seasons. When you are on a homestead you will be cooking up whatever you have in season.

Learning to use what is available during the different seasons can take some time. Experiment with one or two prime seasonal ingredients and see how many different things you can make.

For example, if you have an abundance of zucchini turn them into spaghetti noodles, make zucchini fritters, shred them into quiches, and use them as lasagna sheets!

Start simple and learn how to make your own condiments like homemade mayonnaise and salad dressings. Once you get good at that you can venture into making your own breads and baked goods too!

How To Grow Food

You really want to get an idea of what grows in your area different times of the year. Depending on the space you have will determine what you can try growing. If you have a balcony there are plenty of plants, you can grow in pots!

Herbs can be grown on windowsills, and even salad greens can be grown indoors as long as they have some access to direct sunlight as well.

You can also check if there is a local community garden in the area where you can practice growing food, harvesting and the preparing that food. Community gardens are becoming more popular and are a great resource for learning what to grow in your area and when!

Preservation Methods

There are so many different preservation methods. You will definitely want to learn how to preserve extra food.

You will find once you get into gardening when food is grown seasonally you will end up with an abundance! Learning different ways to preserve food is so helpful.

Start with the easier options like freezing, quick pickling and fermenting food! These are pretty easy to do and can be done no matter where you live.

Other preservation methods you might want to learn is how to dehydrate food, water bath canning and pressure canning.

Go to your local farmers market and buy whatever is in season and abundant. You can normally get trays and/ or boxes of food for a good price when it’s in season.

Practice with that, it’s better to make mistakes with someone else’s harvest than to go through all effort of growing your own food just to spoil it!

How To Make Dairy Products

If you want to own a dairy animal, you will definitely want to start learning how to use milk! There is a good chance you will be getting a surplus of milk, and no one wants to waste good raw milk! There are so many different things you can learn to make with dairy.

Some of the most popular things to make is yoghurt, butter, soft cheeses, you can ferment milk and make milk kefir, or even learn to make homemade ice cream!

Animal Husbandry

What’s a homestead without animals! I have to tell you first hand animals are more work than you think!

If you have no idea how to care for an animal, you really want to start small before getting something big like a cow!

Learning the needs, issues and cost of caring for the animals you want is pretty crucial. You might also want to look into what sort of breeds are best suited for your area.

For example, certain chickens do better in colder climates, and some do better in warmer climates.

Wether you can pet sit, buy a small pet or take an animal course, it’s something you definitely want to learn about before purchasing anything large.

Make Your Own Cleaning Products

This is another homesteading skill anyone can start doing! Most homesteaders want to live a cleaner lifestyle with less chemicals.

You will find you only really need a handful of ingredients to make most of your own cleaning products at home!

As long as you have the essentials like vinegar, baking soda, lemon essential oil and castile soap you are pretty set for most DIY cleaning products.

Some pretty easy things you can make at home include All-purpose cleaner, Homemade laundry powder and glass cleaners.

Soap Making

You will need a few special tools to make soap at home, but the good news is you can make it pretty much wherever you live! While I haven’t personally done this, yet it is a dream of mine to make my own soap one day.

If you have animals, you butcher you can the render the fat to make lard or tallow. This fat can be used to also make a lovely lathery natural soap!

How To Mend And Sew

Being able to mend and know how to do some basic sewing is such a good homesteading skill to have! This can save you a lot of money and even time. Being able to fix things yourself and not having to replace with something new can save you money.

Not having to drive to replace clothes or have someone else mend your items can save you time. It’s very rewarding doing this by hand and addicting!

I recommend learning simple hand stitches to mend small rips and learn how to sew on a button. These skills will come in handy and can lead to a fun new hobby!

How To Use Basic Tools

This is something I am still working on! Learn what some basic tools are, how to use and care for them. On a homestead there is always something new to build or fix!

You are going to want to get acquainted with some tools even if it’s just to pass your husband the wrench! Maybe you want to build a chicken coop or garden beds.

Learning how to use a drill and care for it will reduce frustration and keep your tools in condition so they last longer!

Forage For Edible Plants

This is a fun one. While not necessary for a homestead it’s something that anyone can start doing anywhere!

Find a book that talks about local edible plants in your area or find someone who does edible bush walks. It comes in handy being able to identify wild edible and medicinal plants.

Not only can they add flavour to food, but properly identified wild plants can be used for a range of ailments from skin irritants to an upset stomach.

Thrifting And Upcycling

Saving money is generally a big thing in the homestead circle. Homesteading can become quite expensive if you need to buy new machinery, purchase animals, fix fences, ect. All these things can quickly add up!

Learning to give something that might have been thrown out a new purpose is a great way to save money. Instead of constantly buying new things repurpose older things, things others might view as trash.

For example, a bathtub can be turned into a water trough or a worm farm! A trash can be turned into a composting container. It’s just about getting creative and seeing things from a different point of view.

Conclusion

I hope you found this post helpful, and it gave you some ideas on homesteading skills to start practicing now.