How Much Does It Cost To Start A Homestead? What I've Spent On My Organic Permaculture Setup
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- Опубліковано 11 вер 2024
- If you're new here, my name is Sage, and I run a homestead in North Carolina using regenerative agricultural practices. Follow along on my journey to transform these 3 acres into my homestead. Looking for more content? Check out my Instagram (@terra.nova.acres) and the @SheSaidHomestead podcast!
Enjoying the videos and want to support the homestead? Visit www.buymeacoff... to buy me a "cup of coffee". All contributions go toward the homestead in some way. Please only contribute what you can and know there are zero expectations! I love sharing my homestead journey with you all.
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As a 27-year-old woman homesteading alone, you are an inspiration, and I'm so glad you make content about homesteading alone. Sometimes, I feel like the homesteading community traps me into a mindset of "I need a man/husband to do this," but then I end up building the fences and processing the chickens myself, lol!
with that mindset its no wonder your single. Its not the homesteading community giving you that mindset, its your lack of confidence in your abilities to do it alone.
Go get it! It’s definitely easier to have a partner, but it’s so rewarding to look at the fruits of YOUR labor and know that you did it yourself.
She did indicate at different points in the video that someone (assuming a man) build a structure for her, and also had help from her father... so... alone is not 100% accurate. Everyone, except the very exceptional few, need a second pair of hands, and another brain to help to some extent. Women need help from men, and men need help from women... its the secret sauce that makes a good productive team... has been for centuries.
It’s not the community it’s common sense, it is a lot easier to have a man by your side. Hell it’ll be 10x easier if you had another woman on the homestead to help you no man is an island.
I find it absolutely ridiculous that I have just stumbled across your channel! This is exactly the kind of content that I seek out on a regular basis.😂 Thank you for sharing your very valuable information and experience!!💕
For someone like me just starting my homestead it’s so helpful to see the different things you need for it and also the general cost, so that you so much for sharing :)
Wooooo a podcast length episode, my fave😉💕
This video was so appreciated especially coming from someone who is a solo homesteader with one income and no partner with an income. Thanks for all the time and effort you are pouring into your videos.
Thank you for watching them! ☺️
I was wondering costs for a small homestead. Thank you for this information.
You’re a super great communicator. I can tell you’re VERY bright and it’s fun listening to you talk. You’ve got a good voice.
I don’t know how you found the time with a full time job to do all this research and figure this all out, but kudos.
I figure it costs me 50$ to feed one chicken for a year and the eggs are worth 90$.
Feeding them garden scrapes and growing them worm and bugs works too.
This is a great video. I like your honest assessment of costs to start your homestead. Particularly the "savings" vs. "value" of what you are producing. Nice job!!!
Good job. Too many are afraid to discuss this aspect. A lot of detail but that is what is needed. Doing this to save money is a fools errand but you get higher quality food and food security. One thing I will say that I see to often is that some think this is a path to independence and that is also silly. No matter how much you can do for yourself, you will still need stores for basic items. Never seen a homestead that has it's own salt mine, few that have milled grain and none that have baking soda and baking powder. Did I forget yeast? One person cannot do it all. Just the expense of animal feed would take many acres to grow your own not counting the time to plant, harvest and process. Yet some are doing this to be "anti-social" and independent or so they say. So happy to see you present some reality here. A local community could do a lot together in a crunch but lifestyles would have to change and cooperation would be a huge need.
I highly recommend investing in a pressure canner. There are lots of things you can pressure can that are not safe to preserve in a water bath canner. Using a pressure canner is fairly easy, and despite stories you may have heard, they are very safe to use.
The horror stories came from canners manufactured nearly a century ago, not contemporary models. Yes, my grandma did blow up her pressure canner while canning beans in the 1950s, but that wouldn’t happen in a newer canner. (BTW, she was fine, but there were bean prints left in the ceiling tile for many years!)
I have been pressure canning for the past fifty years without incident. Just follow the manufacturer’s directions to operate the canner, and get a good canning guide, such as the Ball Blue Book and follow the directions for preparing and processing the food.
There are two good brands of canners. My mother had a Presto, which was a little less heavy than mine, but that brand has a rubber gasket that needs to be replaced every year or two. I have an All-American, and it is a heavy beast, and not nearly as pretty as a Presto, but it doesn’t need a seal. Once you have it, you don’t need to spend money on it every year. Both brands are high-quality, and reliable.
Over here we spend $7 a bale delivered for horse quality hay. We go through 60 bales a month. We get delivered because we are old farts 🤣.
Thanks for sharing your breakdown. We do the electric fence and tposts also. We are offgrid and use the solar charger which is needing to be replaced after like 12 years of use. It's been a good investment. Your break down of your chickens is comparable to ours. I can't afford to do organic though.
Bees are one thing I want to get into. I want to try and catch my own swarm here on our farm instead of buying online.
I'm getting into permaculture because we have an erosion issue going on. Your breakdown of gardening expenses has inspired me to do better with my gardening skills. I'm a slacker. Thank you for sharing. You are of a younger generation and what you are doing is a great inspiration for others in your generation to keep the farming dream alive. So many people don't understand the necessity of being self sustainable and self sufficiency. Keep up the good work. I'm glad you have people in your corner and helping you out. What an inspiration. ❤
May want to add legume seeds to your pasture seeding. Also start seed saving and you will save a ton on them and they will get more resilient over the years for your specific area.
A bunch of great information for those interested in homesteading, Sage. Where do you sell your eggs?
What’s your cat’s name who wants to be a UA-cam star? 🌸
I have a self-service stand where neighbors can come and pick up eggs when I have them. It works pretty well except when the wind storms try to knock it over!
That's Aspen. She's adorable but she cannot resist being in my lap or in my face whenever I'm sitting still 😆
Just found your channel…and after watching several videos…decided to subscribe. You are the age of a couple of my kids…and im all for supporting and cheering on young adults (to me you are a young adult) doing awesome things and having a good, strong work ethic
Great job and thanks for explaining about the costs
I live in NYC and my dream is to start the homestead of my dreams , probably more south than NYC because of the warmer weather
Very informative informations
I have the same.problem , not easy to build the homestead by myself
Good Luck and I can not wait to watch the next video
PS: I hope you can post more often
This video was a really great resource!
My girlfriend and I are planning to get a few acres in late 2024- thanks so much
Building towards, a self-sufficient lifestyle is security, which is priceless.. congratulations keep up the great work!😍 Thanks you for being an inspiration to many!
Thank you Sage! This puts a lot of things into perspective for me.
I just watched my first video of yours last night. Subbed. And was so curious about the costs of all this.
Here's hoping one day I can buy Sages Mountain Honey on line, great info
What an informative video. It’s amazing you are doing this solo. I only garden but might finally add some birds this year. We shall see. Your property is beautiful!
Thank you! Good luck with your garden ☺️
Regardless of how much you save or dont save in food costs, you will be eating much healthier than the average person. Also, if the poop really hits the fan then you will have a more sustainable livelihood. Keep going girl! ✌️
this is a very helpful video with a lot of infos, thanks sage!
oh, and your new car is just amazing
Good video. Thanks for sharing.
I just subscribed because you’re so genuine! Excited to keep learning from you. Aim for freeze drying - it’s awesome fun and financial good; long term preservation of your organic healthy foods!
I buy all of my food from non-GMO farmers. Just bought a medium sized freeze dryer. So far I’ve done cooked ground beef, raw scrambled eggs, keto, brownies, a pasture raised cooked ham and ice cream (as an experiment). I have reconstituted a little of everything just to try it and everything has turned out great. I’m working on building up my own emergency food supply. My machine sits unused six days out of seven. There have to be people in your area that you can share the purchase with or rent a machine from. There are additional expenses associated with freeze drying, such as a vacuum sealer and the bags. None of that stuff is cheap. Speaking for myself, I would absolutely trade finished products with someone who had canning skills. 😊
I was pretty down on myself thinking I wouldn't be able to do it alone, but you've literally listed out everything I'm planning myself, so thanks for the encouragement!
Thank you Sage! It adds up really quick! That's very helpful for someone just starting! Blessings!
Hi Sage, I am a hopeful homesteader in the next two years. I am so appreciative of your video to describe all that you have learned and the costs with homesteading. YOU are incredible taking on this dream and journey at this time in your life. I am mid 50s. I applaud all that you are doing and you are a model and inspiration for me.
Enjoyed the video. Great job! The locust posts will last for very long time.
Great video and the breakdown of costs is much appreciated. This should give a new homesteader a accurate idea of what to expect to spend getting started. Looking forward to your new projects for this year and upcoming videos. When you said ewes I thought you said used at first which made me chuckle.
Sohappy I found you. I am starting a homestead alone in Sweden and also needed a rolemodel :)
Starting out is so expensive! The first year for any new project is way costly, and then the costs seem to level out. I'm three years in and add to the homestead a little more every year. The initial investment in structure and tools is hard. Everything about this life is hard at first but it's so rewarding!
Just found you and Subscribed! Looking forward to seeing more!
Just happened to see this video on my home page. Glad I did! You presented a very thorough, clear and honest video. You are so well-spoken and easy to listen to. I love your homestead. To be able to invest less than $20k in a lifestyle that is healthy and beautiful is a wonderful thing. I will be subscribing. Thank you.
Appreciated this video a lot.
We use the chicken eggs, sheep & chicken poo in our compost piles around the farm. The compost piles feed the chickens hella worms and potato bugs spring through fall and helps get our feed costs down quite a bit over the 3yrs weve done that for. Cant give numbers, my wife has them.
very helpful and cool video thanks for sharing! I like to think of all of homesteading/gardening stuff as a lifestyle. People are willing to pay so much money on gym memberships, peloton subscriptions and visiting the juice bar daily for their health, and I view working with your hands to grow good food and raising your own animals as good for your health s well. Mentally, physically and form a nourishing point of view form the food you get from it.
There is an initial cost, but a fruit tree is my favourite example of the rewards, a metaphor for all things homesteading. You grow ONE good apple tree-maybe one that's already 6' tall when you bring it home-and you may not see any apples from it for years. Then the first few years you may only get a dozen or so apples, which is still a nice supplement to your grocery bill and after 5 years or so, pays for itself.
Now fast forward 30 years, and that tree is large enough for your grandkids to climb in. It produces BOXES of apples that you have to literally give away every year and it looks BEAUTIFUL. It won't give you those juicy, perfect apples in abundance for a long time, but does that mean you don't plant it for your own future, and your family's future anyways? If everyone stopped growing apple trees because they didn't feel it would be worth it to them and didn't want to wait, we would eventually find ourselves in a world without fruit trees.
Imagine what the world would look like if everyone who had a bit of yard space went out today and planted one fruit tree. And did even a mediocre attempt to care for their fruit tree.
I’m so happy for you to take the lead in your dreams and working them to fruition
🤍
Well presented, Sage! I have followed you since you moved to your homestead. You’re doing a great job. 🙌🏻
Very cool video! Thanks for sharing :)
Oh jeeze you are AMAZING!!
Thanks so much for going into this. ♡
This is everything I meant when I asked you to talk about it.
I just started watching your channel. Great content for beginning homesteaders. Always helpful to get a comparison on spending to see if there are ways to save. Keep up the good work 👍
The lord made a perfect lady!❤ kudos. Looks like u got it figured out pretty well
😮 Good morning sage I'm so enjoying your videos thank you I'll be that side of the world 🌍 in your spring can not wait to start my new life on that side of the pond take care Pete cape town south Africa looking forward to seeing you soon
The most expensive part is the acres : )
This info was so interesting. I think even if you only have a small garden you need to evaluate what you get out of it. The value is not always on the product but the process. Though I do love those fresh snap peas 😄
Thank you for break down.. Not enough of this on UA-cam
This is something I have been researching extensively as I want to retire and set up a homestead. The cost is shocking to me on a low end with a small piece of property 3-5 acres and a very modest home it's about $300,000. A nice set up on 50-100 acres with a nice home is about 1.2 million. This is in a very cheap state like AL.
Sage you are very smart young woman I like this video very much I will keep up you from now on
This is a great and informative video! I can’t wait to get my own homestead!
Thank you for this content! It has been very helpful. You presented well and it was easy to follow. Great job!
You're missing out. I don't fence in my garden anymore. I let the deer come waltzing in like they own the place because where I live I can kill pests that are eating my crops. I get loads of vegetables and venison every year!
We have similar laws here! Although I do think there's a technicality that prevents you from being able to then harvest the animal for meat and effectively hunt out of season.
@@terranovaacres maybe, not here though. You can eat any pests you kill here. Anyway, random question here but you don’t have a grandfather named victor do you?
@@SpadeAce nope!
AWESOME VIDEO 📹 ❤ YOUR AMAZING 😊😊😊
Thanks Sage. Great video as always. I appreciate your content.
We do Meat Chicken, Egg Layers, Duck, Rabbit, Goose Muscovy.
We count on about $1000 per animal species for infrastructure - cages, fencing, coop/housing/hutch, energizer/wire. Water -piping (black poly, waterers, bowls/crocks, feeders, nest boxes, incubator, brooder/heater, tractors etc.
Depending on species and how much we harvest thats a 2 to 5 year break-even on infrastructure.
I'm not convinced Egg Layers will ever break even / pay for themselves.
Processing / storage is a whole'nother ballgame.
We count our canning jars in the thousands - about 1200 for a full year's storage at three full years (the current year we're eating through, a full year's reserve, the current year's harvest we're processing andnputtin up).
Not one, not two, not three but FOUR freezers.
I'd call "all in" a good $30,000 ... over 12-25 years so it's reasonavly spread out ... to become 100% food self-sufficient.
We grow nearly all our own feed. Ongoing thats less than $500 a year.
@@SgtSnausageswhat do you grow for feed?
it's not the costs that are important, though having them is part of the process, it's the lifestyle we chase after ; living in suburbia or the cities damaging our mental states, especially when CoViD hit, we all were looking for something better, less stressful, some of us discovered farming, some of us just like to grow our own; i have chooks & vegetable garden going, love my fresh eggs & i share with the neighbours & family
it's the ongoing costs that can undo us if we don't have an income, feed, land rates, utility bills, etc you do need some form of money coming in to balance it out & keep it pleasurable rather than just hard work, there's also the purchase cost/s, i'm still paying off a mortgage.
love what you do here, you keep it practical & fairly real with the ups & the downs that happen;
thanx for sharing
Very very informative!!
Thank you! That is really helpful information for some of us out here
I had laying hens last year, (lost them to a predator).
WRT laying hens and plant based diet, I spent $594.97.
If I had to buy the produce at the local large grocery store, it would have cost me $3,187.11.
Animals are the most expensive and requires the greatest amount of land.
Laying hens, bought as chicks, will take one year to pay for themselves.
A vegetable garden, from scratch and buying necessary tools, will take two years at least. But, considering perennial maturation time and soil amendment, I'd give it 5 years.
Thing about a vegetable garden is that one can build it piece by piece. So, while getting the final garden large enough will take longer, it will have paid for itself at the time it is finished.
Thank you for a thoughtful presentation.
Thank you for the break down
You’re living my dream ❤
Just found your channel.. Been binging your videos!!
I loved this breakdown, thank you for sharing it! If I were to ask for one thing, it would be the total cost you spent or rather Would Have spent, without all of the gifts, free labor from family and infrastructure already on your land so that people (like myself) could have a more realistic number for our situations. I hope that makes sense! I still loved the general idea of cost that your video gave and am so grateful for this breakdown!
The broadfork and deer fence were gifts (~$800) I listed the price of those but didn't include them in the total that I've spent. The labor to construct the fence if you were to hire someone is going to range depending on where you live, who you hire, how big the fence is, what materials you have, etc but I'd expect to pay $300-400 if I had contracted that labor.
I would have paid about $1000 for the run-in shed if I did it myself or about $2000 if I ordered a kit for assembly. For the hay barn would have probably cost me $2000+ if I had to build it. Those are not structures I would have invested in if they didn't come with the property. I would have likely held off on ruminants altogether and then eventually built a pole barn which would be slightly cheaper.
If you're looking for the cost of things I didn't outline here, you should really keep an eye out for the podcast. We go over these sorts of general homesteading costs that I haven't necessarily invested into in those two episodes. They should be up in a few weeks.
@@terranovaacres Thank you again! I will keep my eye out for the podcast! So glad to have found your channel!
Awesomeness. Good job.👍🏼
Amazing ❤
I'm going to calculate all off my stuff this year. If you have any more tips please let me know. Your videos are amazing. :)
Omg, subscribed to another North Carolina Homesteader channel. 😢 ❤
😆
Very well done and informative.
Feed and care is the biggest expense.
OMG buy a plucker! You've spent over 50% of the cost renting. I only do about 40 birds a year and still got one. It's paid for itself based on my sanity alone.
I probably will next year!
That's why I don't write the cost we spent on our little yard farm. 😅
Everyones appreciative of ' listed costs ' which is great to have - BUT - thats only 1/2 of the equation - the other half is what determines whether you can keep your homestead - you have to not only ' recover ' your costs BUT make enough return to pay overheads, taxes, vehicle & equipment maintence / replacement - being a female ( and many males btw ) who I assume hasnt much in the way of mechanics skills will have to pay through the nose for that - many hidden costs that will determine whether youre a viable self sustaining homestead / farm or a hobby farm petting zoo .
Very true! I personally didn't include vehicle maintenance or property taxes because I would be paying those even if I weren't homesteading, and I don't have any extra fun equipment like a tractor.
Lovely Lovely Lovely
The most important ability is being mechanicly inclined.
You can't survive without the ability to build or repair.
Learn how to operate small tools.
My wife and I have lived in the wilderness for 13 years.
You have to fix everything.
Hello Saige, I am so happy I came across your videos. I had a thought for a while now to move out of city limits to more land, different state, to be exact. I have similar to yours desire to be a homesteader. I too have a full time job that would subsidy the homestead. But my question to you would be about the internet for job use. I cannot leave my job and would have to make sure I have a great internet connection. Any suggestions, advice, your experience would be highly appreciated
It really varies depending on where you go. Being close-ish to Asheville, my Internet connection is actually better than I expected. But I know some people who are farther from major cities who deal with slower connections due to different infrastructure. Even so, they work from home and it works for them. If you're really concerned about quality Internet access, I recommend looking at rural areas just outside of major-ish cities.
So inspiring 😍
What’s up from Nova Scotia!
Lol no one show this to my partner he is blissfully unaware of what i spend on my homesteading supplies lol😂. I dont even think about what im spending most of the time i jus pick one thing at a time and try to find ways to put my time into something instead of money. Ive probably spent over 1k on fruit trees and bushes. Ive spent over 2k on garden seeds (collecting them so thats more than i would need by a long shot). I only have layer hens right now and their coop cost me around 700 for the coop and enclosed run. Its janky but it works (taking it apart to move it when we get a new place is going to suck 10/10 might just build a new one lol. I spend about 25 dollars per bag of chicken feed i do half commercial half organic because organic is really hard to find in my area. Once we have land i plan to grow all of my own chicken feed to cut that cost down to just seeds and water. Ive spent several hundred on raised beds and over a thousand on soil for those beds just for th3 soil to be contaminated and not grow things well. Because of that ive torn up some yard space and started planting things in ground where i can. Drip hoses have also cost me a few hundred dollars at this point. I have several canners both water bath and pressure canners all of which i got as gifts for my 18th birthday and kept them in storage until a couple years ago. This year i got an electric pressure canner so i can easily run small batches without feeling like i have to hover over it. Thats really nice when im trying to monitor my toddler. So far i have almost nothing in return for my input lol i dont buy cucumbers pickles or eggs anymore but thats about it.
Life is an investment no matter what! We just get to decide where we direct our time, energy, and resources.
amazing!
Blessings +++!!!
Thanks for sharing. I just subscribed!
I've been homesteading for 5 years on under 1acres. We just bought 4 acres behind us and are expanding. Your land looks similar to mine, wooded. Do you move the animals through the woods? And if so, how do they do in the woods?
I let the sheep graze in the woods, but it is a pain setting up their electric fencing in those areas. But they really like having access to the forbs too instead of just grass all the time. The chickens also love the woods, but I rarely put them back there because moving that electric net through the woods is just a nightmare. It gets snagged on everything and grounds out a lot more.
Can you show how to set up the electric fences you use?😊
Sure can!
Was curious if you have predators in your area, and if they cause damage to your livestock? How much of your property is enclosed by the electric ⚡️ fence?
I have about an acre and a half of pasture/forested area enclosed in the main perimeter electric fence, and then I have the animals in electric fenced paddocks within that area. There are black bears here, but the main predator pressure I've had is from neighbors' cats, dogs, and probably some foxes too. They've gotten to my poultry, but since I installed the perimeter electric fence, only the cat gets in and the birds are safe as long as they stay in their net.
@@terranovaacres thanks.
Great....
I love you oh my gosh you’re cool
Its mostly infrastructure. Compared to the price of a house and land or a car i think its not that much. If you pay more to drive around then to feed yourself, thats weird in my opinion.
Hi from South America, dear organic farmers. I am very interested in networking and also volunteering online for one initiative like this one. Please post and let me know if there are online opportunities. This is also a call to join efforts and create a network of those willing to make small changes in our planet. Greetings. Vale
investing
What did you have to pay for land and home also? Isn't that included in a homestead cost?
It is a cost, but I would be paying for housing and utilities and such even if I weren't homesteading. So I didn't include the cost of things I would pay anyways.
Great content, do you recommend a trailer or truck for hauling the supplies?
I don't personally own either, I can accomplish most of what I need with my Jeep. But I have gotten help from my dad and his F150 on occasion for things like mulch and building supplies.
Genuine question here as I'm seriously considering homesteading but, like you, I'll probably have to maintain a full-time job ( I work in tech), which means I have to occasionally travel but not a lot, thankfully. What do you do if you need to travel?
I personally don't travel much, but I do have a friend who can watch the homestead for me. I could also ask neighbors, but I tend not to because it would be asking a lot of them. If your animals are limited to chickens, you could build an enclosed coop and run where they could be self sufficient for a few days when needed. There are also such things as farm sitters, but they can be hard to come by.
Can you link where you got the water bath canner?
I got mine from tractor supply, but you can find them several different places. You can also use a large stock pot with a lid if you already have one.
Goddess.
What type of turkeys are those?
They're called blue slate turkeys
How long have you been homesteading
2 years almost exactly
Hi
Where do you rent a chicken plucked from.
I rent it from someone local. I recommend checking out Craigslist or Facebook marketplace if you're looking to rent one.
Your kind of hot looking
You look tired
Oh my god thank you 😂