Does anyone have links to some good homesteading websites? First it would be urban homesteading, hopefully in 3 to 5 years it will be rural, my wife and I want to buy or own farm. Thanks guys
You know I can't think of one that I would recomend. Most of the time they have the same info. passed from one site to the next. I don't think most of them have tested their so called facts because we have done many things that the experts say can't be done. OGM
pgrass101, are you looking for how to articles or something in a forum format where you can do Q & A? Could you clarify since I've seen the term homesteading used in a couple different ways. Are you looking to be self sufficient and/or generate a profit from what you're doing?
exile I'm looking for both articles like Mother Earth news and a place for Q&A and I'm talking about self-sufficient living. Thanks
Welcome to the Homesteading Today Forum and Community! This site is very good, at least to me. It seems to be people on farms for the most part, but always good info. annie
Yes..... Annie's recommendation is a very good place Also some great information on just about everything homesteading and prep related at Mrs. Survival http://www.mrssurvival.com/ They have a great forum.
Backwoods home has their online archives and a forum. I know it used to be pretty good. It kind of goes through cycles of being really good and times of bickering and flames but generaly was a decent placefor info.
Also if you know what info you are looking for toss out the questions here. We have a lot of knowledgable folks here with expertise in a wide variety of areas includeing a few into self reliant living in present times in addition to preparidness.
Well I have gotten good info on rabbits here, but we are working on buying our own farm with in the next 5-7 years and I am wanting to build up my knowledge base. We are restoring a house built in 1870's-1880's in an old southern mill town (Of course the mill closed, thanks NAFTA) and have a couple of raised vetegable beds. I brew my own beer, my wife bakes all of our bread etc.... We want to get off the grid as much as possible becuase we see that a economic/societial collaspe is coming.
Sounds like a good time pgrass101, are you guys grinding your own flour yet? If not I'd highly recommend it, you won't be able to go back.
So you already know the piece of land and all? What dose it have to work with? Got a stream (or especialy a waterfall of ANY size) where you could do a water wheel for hydroelectric, high ground and fair wind for wind turbans, going for solar or gonna look into setting up a methane digester for manure/vegitation and convert a genni to run on the methane?
I try not to post links to other forums, but there is a forum called Frugal Squirrel that has a lot of information about homesteading. Good luck with your plans.
Thanks guys, Monkeyman, We want a place with a stream bot that all depends if the land is still avaible in 7 years. Solar is for the main power supply and wind for a trickle pump to fill up the cistrene and a little battery charge if we can get it. Wind is to iffy here to count on for relible power (unless we have a hurricane come thru) Hydroelectric would be great if we can get a good water source. I've not looked into methane (I will now) but have ruled out biodiesel becuase it needs methenol or a engine mod to run a pure vetegable oil
I know there are a couple of dairy farms in our general areas that got old millitary camp generators and converted them to methane and built the digesters for the cow manuer from around 100 head. IIRC the set up the did (WAY bigger than you would need unless supplying all the neighbors) cost them around $5M but produced enouph juice to power their farm and around 60 or so more farms and the electric Co had to pay them for the juice they sent into the grid. Based on what they saved and got paid IIRC they expected it to pay its self off in about 7-8 years then be proffit after that. So I figure if done on a smaller scale then the sewage from the people in the house and a few animals should be able to power a smaller genni that would run a house. I also recall reading about a guy in Europe that did it mostly with compost to run his house and car.
Here's some good digester stuff.. Third world countries are way ahead of us in this department (at least at the individual home level) Apparently it takes manure from 8 pigs to run a burner long enough to cook 3 meals a day for a family of 4 to 6 people. But of course manure isn't the only thing you can use. http://www.habmigern2003.info/biogas/Baron-digester/Baron-digester.htm http://www.habmigern2003.info/biogas/methane-digester.html
