I don’t have any pictures to go along with this entry, and I know folks just really like pictures. However, this is an easy read and won’t take too long.
There are lots of us who want to become more self-sufficient. We want to know that we can produce for ourselves. It actually is less expensive and much less time consuming to just go out and buy most of our food from the store. However, the cost does depend on the food items, where we are located geographically in this Great Land, and the season.
To just grow a plot of green beans and can them for use during the non-growing season would be a considerable investment in time and materials. Even if we got the seeds for free and planted them in an existing garden, the cost for canning equipment can make the beans more costly than ones already canned at the store.
Infrastructure for homesteading should be acquired over time. Most of it is skills, but there are some tools and consumer products that we can’t produce ourselves that make homesteading viable. Whereas our long dead ancestors may have made every implement from the containers to the tools used to acquire and preserve food, we need to buy some things such as canning jars for the food and shovels for the garden.
That stuff costs money. Money may be tight. It often can be for the person who is seriously considering becoming more self-sufficient. This quandary may cause some to just give up and have to settle for what I call “cheap commercial.” That is falling into having to settle for lower quality, less expensive foods at the store in order just to eat. I’ll be honest. When I lost my so-called day-job that provided the steady income and health insurance, we took a hit on the quality of food we are able to buy. Growing my own vegetables now sounds much more appealing than it ever did.
You don’t have to have a fortune to get started homesteading. I’m asking everyone who reads this to at least plant a tomato plant this spring. Even if you can’t stand tomatoes, you can be sure there is a neighbor or friend who really likes them. Even planting one tomato plant in a sunny spot can yield a bunch of fruit. Plant one in a five gallon bucket with a hole in the bottom for drainage. Stick it in a sunny spot and be disciplined about watering it. You will get a little taste of the fruits of homesteading and the discipline and labor it requires. Commitment will become evident in how well the tomato plant does.
