Homesteading Career

[Ninjasquirrel]

It is also good to note that if plan on selling food with any sort of process, i.e. applesauce, salsa etc. It needs to be done in a USDA certified kitchen. Otherwise it is not legal for human consumption and sale. You can rent out a USDA kitchen and probably find those via their website. This can be expensive though. I suggest if you plan on farming you ask a local farmer if you can help out in exchange for knowledge. You will learn way more about farming by doing then from a book. I personally have tried crops in our small garden several times over just to suss out where I've gone wrong. I still dont have an effective weed barrier either. You need to know what grows in YOUR soil and YOUR climate and what doesnt. My final recommendation is going to your library and reading books about it. Big shocker though...there isnt much. Homesteaders and farmers need to market their goods constantly so sharing their secrets is not their strong suit. When your livelihood is based on what you grow, produce, etc; you dont want anyone able to just go out and do it themselves. Theres a lot more advice I could impart but here are other questions to ask yourself:
1. What is my ULTIMATE goal?
2. How will I obtain it?
3. What are my small goals? 5 years? 10 years?

 

[VinDeb]

For full disclosure: I am not a homesteader, have no desire to homestead at this point in my life. I garden, just got a few chicks, I sew, can, bake, make jewelry and bags.

I watch a lot of YouTube and know there are as many rewards as there are difficulties in homesteading. But I do feel it is an essential lifestyle, more of which we are probably going to see in the coming months and years. Homesteading YouTubers I watch are Fit Farmer, Deep South Homestead, Living Traditions Homestead, to name a few. I admire what these folks do and their honesty. I watch mainly for gardening ideas and how to make the best of my quarter acre for food.

The good news is you are young and have many years to develop your homestead and how you want to live. You've already received great advice. Get some real world experience - growing your own food, raising your flock as space, parents, time and ordinances allow. I would also recommend learning how to budget, project costs, profits and losses. Dave Ramsey is a financial expert that I wish I had learned about and followed when I was much younger. Look up his baby steps and go from there. Since you are too young to be in debt, some does not apply to you, but get a system like that into place and you never will.

Right now, see if you can apprentice to a farm, or have a totally unrelated job and start earning and saving money for your dreams. The more money you have to start on, the better off you will be.

Depending on where you live - can you get involved in 4-H and Future Farmers of America? At 15, that might be a good start and help you decide if homesteading is a romantic idea or a serious viable option for you. There are many, many things I have done throughout my life that I romanticized or thought would be great, but once I got into it, the reality was just the opposite.

I admire that you are giving thought to a lifestyle beyond your high school years. I don't believe a college degree is the great panacea that we have been brainwashed into believing. Look into the trades and see if there is something there that interests you that could fund your homesteading dreams as well. You could make bank for say 5 years and funnel that into your future homestead. That being said, I do think a couple of years at a community college is great. Psychology is one of those degrees where you really have to have at least a Master's and better a doctorate to be able to really make a living at it. A bachelor's won't take you very far.

Lot's to think about, but the best news - you're young, lots of time to try things and see what works for you. Just don't go into student debt - it will kill every dream you have!