I’ve been a backyard homesteader for the past 25 years. Along the way, I have learned how to save money and simplify all areas of my 1/2 acre urban homestead. I am excited to share some of my tips and tricks with you today! Let’s Start Your Backyard Homestead with these 3 Low-Cost Projects for Newbies.
My backyard homestead began with a vegetable garden and evolved from there. It was the very first step in our dream. We live on the edge of town in the Midwest, smack dab in the heart of suburbia. We live in a 1903 historic home and have raised our six amazing children right here in a city of 40,000.00 people. Our backyard homestead is a testimony of God’s provision to our family!
As the years have progressed, we have added chickens, herb gardens, rain barrels, flowers, 500 square feet of raised beds, ducks, various dogs, two small ponds, and five beloved cats.
Start Your Backyard Homestead: 3 Low-Cost Projects for Newbies
Composting
This is a totally free endeavor! Start a compost bin or pile using kitchen scraps, Fall leaves, and yard waste. Try to find free or repurposed containers, trash cans, wood pallets, or even a simple compost heap in a corner of the yard. For the record, we started with a compost heap and then moved on to a large wooden pallet compost bin!
Raised Beds
It took us a few years until we installed our raised beds. As far as garden produce, it has made a big difference. You can construct raised beds with salvaged wood, bricks, rocks, or old pallets. Ours are made of wood and some of brick. We did have to purchase some of the wood, but all the bricks came to us for FREE! Make sure to check out local sites, demolition projects, Facebook, or community groups.
Preserving Food
The easiest way to preserve food is to freeze it. For me, it is the simplest way to preserve food. Look for sales and invest in a chest freezer. It will save you BIG over the years. Having a large freezer allows you to stock up on sale items. Next, learn how to can. Start with jams and jellies, and then move on to harder items like tomatoes. Lastly, try dehydrating. You don’t even need a dehydrator. Put your oven on its lowest setting, line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, and stick it in the oven for a couple of hours.
Money-Saving Tips
-
Repurpose or upcycle items, like pallets for garden beds or buckets for planters. We have always made our compost bins out of pallets!
-
Use community tool libraries instead of buying new ones. Our library has a big selection to borrow from!
- Find out where your local seed library is located. Ours is housed at our local library, and we can choose five free packages of seeds every time we go to the library! Don’t have one? Now is your time to start one. Make sure to save your own seeds to donate!
-
Barter or exchange labor and resources with neighbors, local homesteading or gardening groups. The sky’s the limit!
-
Use natural materials that are local to your area. Stone, grass clippings, manure, leaves…just make sure to ask before you take anything.
Finally, starting your backyard homestead simply will be a joy and not overwhelm you. Keeping initial expenses low and building on the savings will enable you to build more advanced systems in the years to come. Remember, urban homesteading should be fun!
Looking for more garden ideas? Click HERE!
Looking for more ways to save money? Click HERE!
Tell Me More!
YOUR TURN…
What projects would you add to this list?
Peacefully Yours,
Janelle
