General Hobby Farming: Expert Guides and Resources

If you’re thinking about taking up farming as a hobby, educate yourself about the responsibilities. Research hobby farming by using local resources (like the library and neighbors), using the Internet, and volunteering at a farm. When you decide to plant, make sure you know your area’s growing season and to rotate your crops to maintain soil and plant quality.

For many homesteaders, the drive to become increasingly more self-sufficient is strong. Learning how to make soap often becomes a natural "next step" (after gardening, harvesting, and animal husbandry) in homesteading.The technique you use to make your own soaps determines the amount of time you invest in your hobby (or product).

What's a farm without animals? A hobby farmer who wants to raise animals must understand that he or she is responsible for their care. Animals need food, water, exercise and clean shelter everyday. Good hygiene and care can deter health problems. This is the minimum care you should give your farm animals: Provide clean (and unfrozen) water daily.

Making candles can be a relaxing and rewarding hobby, but for backyard homesteaders, it's also a natural extension of their desire for increased self-sufficiency. Nothing quite compares to the feelings of pride and pleasure that come from looking at a beautiful, burning candle and knowing that you created it with your own two hands.

When your ancestors were homesteading in the days before refrigeration and artificial preservatives, cold storage was the way to go if they needed to store produce over the winter. The basic idea behind cold storage is that you can prolong the shelf life of both fresh and canned produce by keeping them in a cool, dark place under just the right conditions.

A thriving vegetable garden is essential for most backyard homesteads. Like more traditional homesteaders, you need food storage that doesn't rely on preservatives and electricity. Cold storage is the answer, but not all foods are suitable for root cellars and other storage options.Foods that store well are generally the less juicy and delicate things, such as root vegetables and firm fruits.

As a backyard homesteader, you’re already eating the fruits of your labor that come out of your garden. Why not bring that same do-it-yourself mentality to something you enjoy out of a glass, too? Homebrewed beer can be every bit as good as — if not better than — a lot of commercial beer, with more flavor and character than most.

For many, adding a flock of chickens is what truly turns a gardener into a homesteader. You’re suddenly caring for a group of animals on your property and, in turn, feeding your family with what they produce. You’re practically a farmer! While raising a flock of backyard chickens is one of the most enjoyable parts of homesteading for many, it’s not a commitment to be taken lightly.

A backyard homestead opens up opportunities for sharing your farm with other types of animals that you may not have thought to add to your homestead. Besides the flock of chickens you maintain for eggs and maybe meat and the bees you keep on-site for honey and pollination purposes, you may want to have other animals around as residents of your homestead.