Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
There is a rural living section and a self-sufficiency and preparation section here on C-D.
In the frugal section, you will find several people who raise their own veggies, but might not consider themselves to be homesteaders. There are also veggie and chicken growers in the gardening sections.
I'm definitely interested in growing my own fruits & veggies once I move out of my apartment building..and into a house in a couple of years...
...Or, is it something I should even attempt now while I am residing in my apartment? Maybe growing a couple of smaller things. Hmmm.
Has anyone ever read this book? I'm thinking of picking up to borrow from the Library.
The Encyclopedia of Country Living, 40th Anniversary Edition: The Original Manual for Living off the Land & Doing It Yourself Paperback – October 30, 2012
Currently we have a huge PV system and a grid tie so even though we're solar powered most of the time, you can't tell our solar house from any other house on the street. We've had the grid tie solar on the last two houses, it's absolutely the easiest way to get solar power.
Previously, we had a 'stand alone' system that had a battery bank and a gas powered generator for if we had too many days of limited sunlight. Or if we wanted to use more power than the panels made. It was a lot of fun to turn all the lights on when there was a power outage. We also invested in the local power company's stock and got dividends when we didn't have to pay an electric bill.
But, the power was limited, if I wanted to run two largish electrical things at the same time (say the vacuum cleaner and the popcorn maker) then there would be a problem. If you go entirely off grid, get an inverter that is pure sine wave, that'll keep your electronics happy.
Not having a battery bank now is just wonderful.
I think our lifestyle had more to do with rural living than being off the grid, though. Town was thirty miles away (45 minutes) in one direction and a much smaller town about fifteen miles away (20 minutes) in the other direction. We wouldn't go to town very often, we'd buy staples in large quantities and make most of our meals from scratch. There were fruit trees, not so much of a vegetable garden but quite a bit of 'permaculture'. We also lived next to a gulch with really good foraging. Coconuts, avocados, jackfruit, guava and bamboo shoots as well as some coffee. Most of this was 'feral' plants that had been planted long ago and then left to go wild. There were chickens and wild pigs, so it wasn't just vegetables to forage.
We've now moved to the small town that was twenty minutes away and things are so much nicer! We are still somewhat rural (our neighbor two houses over has a cow in her backyard and there's chickens wandering everywhere) and we're still on solar electricity. But now we can walk to the library, the swimming pool, the grocery store, the vegetable market, the hardware store, the post office, our dentist, multiple shops along main street and we visit with friends a lot more since it's easier to see them.
We still make most of our meals from scratch, we still have fruit trees, there's now raised bed gardens, there's still a lot of the same stuff we did before although now being in town, it's actually more frugal than having to drive for forty five minutes or twenty minutes to get supplies. Saves gas, time and money.
When Dad retired to pre tech Austin but I was still going to school in Killeen, it was not unusual for me to make a trip to school with a cooler in the back of the Volare, a blank check, and list of stuff to pick up at the commissary. I sort of learned to shop like that, an excursion to some distant place.
Now, I'm fixing to make a grand shopping trip into town to pick up a whole lot of food of different types, from rolled oats to brown sugar to powdered milk to butter to day old bread to whatever canned fish is at the dollar store, etc.. Trips into town aren't that expensive, I make them every work day, but three things. First, a trip into town is an hour's time round trip by its self. Secondly, at the end of the day, I am pooped and just want to come home to cats and the relaxation of the cats. It is hard enough to get the motivation to make this trip today, but it needs to be done. Finally, following the philosophy of the grand expedition means I am less likely to give into comfort food shopping. I don't have a reason to go to the store in the first place and secondly, knowing all the food I have at home, paid for already, is rather motivating. There is the need for fresh fruit and veggies, perhaps every 10 days, but other than that, I would like to get back to just once a month.
What I do need to do, someday, is make a pantry inventory so I can shop more effectively instead of "I use that, it would be good to have in the pantry, and I'll use it eventually"......but I am not there yet. I know what I am almost out of, what I use a lot, and then the things I have that I need to use, like left over camping stores, but it is not a perfect science.
So is this off the gridism? Well, at the very least, it is something of "Skippy Thinking" where I am at least 25 minutes away from anything I might need..........and as I think about it right now, I might use the F-250 instead of the Forester since the truck needs at least bi monthly if not weekly exercise.
Are There Any Off Grid Homesteaders here? or Partial homesteaders?
Just curious. Do you enjoy your life?
How about partial off grid homesteaders ?
Yes....we love our life. Wouldn't have it any other way. Been at it for 37 years now. Started with a ROUGH 70ac of forest on a mountain side, we've cleared/built
everything on the place. Spring water, private septic, do have grid power, but also have 11kw of solar with battery backup for when the grid is down. We raise 75% of our food, home slaughter beef, pigs, chickens, ponds raise catfish. Forest provides our heating wood, and building materials, processed on our sawmill.
One of our gardens, and chicken house beyond it.
Hay barn at edge of some of the pasture:
Another garden area, plus our hoop house, my shop building, couple fish ponds, etc
Cool thread to read for a totally different lifestyle. Thanks for the pictures! Very neat. It’s so interesting hearing about different experiences like that, being such a city guy myself. It took quite a while before I even gave up on the center of a city, living in Downtown LA and Downtown Portland, but now I’m a suburbs guy - I need the space and want at least a semblance of privacy and not communal living. But still the type of land in Vegas (new home) would make anyone in a rural place laugh. Our house for let’s call it $875K all-in with backyard pool, spa, fire pit in one of the best areas of town is on a lot that I think is 0.12 acres. There’s virtually no separation between houses in Vegas until you maybe hit $4-5 million. I’ve seen plenty of $2M houses stacked right next to another $2M house lol.
We are installing around an 11-12Kw solar system, grid-tied of course, but going for providing all electricity through the system because it’s almost constantly sunny. Otherwise, I’m about the most dependent person on densely populated areas. I like 100 restaurants within 10 minutes ideally and I like any errands I regularly do to be 5-7 minutes away.
Looking for off-the-grid people on the internet is... amusing. Downright hilarious, the longer you think about it.
Considering that the term "off grid" means not using a utility company for power, water, sewer... I tend to chuckle at your smug and witty statement. (Did the sarcasm fly directly past or did you get a whiff right in the face.)
Many ways to provide your own electricity, water, and waste management. Has not a thing at all to do with whether or not you access the library that we call the internet. But nice try.
Considering that the term "off grid" means not using a utility company for power, water, sewer... I tend to chuckle at your smug and witty statement. (Did the sarcasm fly directly past or did you get a whiff right in the face.)
Many ways to provide your own electricity, water, and waste management. Has not a thing at all to do with whether or not you access the library that we call the internet. But nice try.
We have a friend who moved to rural Maine from NJ. She wanted to live 'off-grid'. To her that meant that the government can not find her. She did not want to have a bank account. She did not want to have a house deeded in her name. Or even a vehicle registered to her name.
She insists the government is tracking every one.
So she was able to find a house that she can lease with cash. She works numerous part-time jobs, for cash. etc,...
We consider ourselves homesteaders to some degree and we are off grid in that we have off grid capability. We have no municipal water or sewer so that is accomplished by rain catchment and cesspool. We have solar and grid power however they are not tied. Our system switches back and forth depending on whether or not there is enough sun and just enough battery storage to give us flexibility. Our "hybrid" system cost about 10% of a grid tie but gives all the benefits of solar power and little of the up-front expense, and if the grid goes down we can power the entire house with a tiny generator at night because of the way the system was designed (about a half gallon of gas per 24 hours) or I can invest in more batteries and go petroleum free if situations warrant. We do raise our own food and sell some of our excess. But we also buy stuff from a grocery store as long as its convenient and affordable to do so.
I do agree this is a topic better suited for the self-sufficiency/prepping forum. I think that's where most of the homesteaders are.
we lived completely off grid for a good 8 years. Life (back then) was grand....no bills..just lots of pleasure.
Seriously considering doing it again.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
