What's your most useful homesteading skill?

[JenClen]

My 2nd of 3 kids starts kindergarten this fall and I had been kicking around the idea of trying to learn something new. We're just getting started with our homestead and I was trying to come up with things that would be useful to know and nice not to have to pay someone else to do.


What do you use most on your homestead? Or what is something you wish you knew earlier?


Thanks for helping a newbie.

[ronbre]

growing things, I love growing things..

I also used to teach all kinds of needle crafts, but I'm not doing much with them right now

[fatrat]

Fixing things, anything and everything.

[Silvercreek Farmer]

When you look at what the processor charges, I consider butchering to be one of my most valuble skills. Cutting wood is probably my second most valuble skill.

[hiddensprings]

I've learned so much since we started. And, all of it has come in very handy. Like learning to shear my own goats, then learning to spin the fiber, and then learning to knit. Or learning about dairy goats, milking,and then making cheese. I'd encourage you to pick something that interest you and then go for it. I add something new to our farm every year. This year it was a couple bee hives and a few little pigs......the pigs won't be staying long. We love pork but I am not a fan of the pigs. lol

[Pelenaka]

Canning by far or rather food preservation all forms. I am self taught other than one time when I was ten or so that I helped peel pears and watch my Grandmother can them.

Next would be learning to garden in adverse conditions, intensive methods.


~~ pelenaka ~~

[trbizwiz]

I can build just about anything especially with out plans.

[Alice In TX/MO]

Building is a biggie for me. I'm building something or planning to build something all the time.

Cheesemaking is the current fun and productive activity!

[Heritagefarm]

Bloody determination is a good asset in my case.

[Callieslamb]

It's a toss up between making sure DH gets the job done (he makes sure it gets done right) and spending as much money as possible to do the simplest tasks.

ON the other hand- I do garden, can, freeze, sew, clean barns, trim weeds, mow, raise animals....DH's the funding machine.

[InvalidID]

My degree in Homestead engineering. That, in layman's terms, is the creative ability to build, repair, or otherwise work with improper tools or materials when needed.

My most useful skill is not wanting things I can't afford.

[tkrabec]

Thinking/problem solving. The ability to think thru a problem & get it done. not just a homesteading skill.

Growing, Fixing, Cooking, Thinking & killing ( of food) I've only processed a few chickens and would like to learn how to do larger game/livestock.

[Shrek]

Originally Posted by JenClen

My 2nd of 3 kids starts kindergarten this fall and I had been kicking around the idea of trying to learn something new. We're just getting started with our homestead and I was trying to come up with things that would be useful to know and nice not to have to pay someone else to do.


What do you use most on your homestead? Or what is something you wish you knew earlier?




Thanks for helping a newbie.

Most used on my place is logical cognition. The second most used is my worm herd as it does everything from recycling wastes, producing topsoil and fertilize amendments, tilling my raised beds to producing limited income and barter return in the form of fish bait and protein amendment to a friend who has a small poultry flock.

If you want to pursue worm farming and vermicomposting on the cheap a couple cups of red wigglers available at most bait shops and a simple bin design as this is a good way to start.

http://whatcom.wsu.edu/ag/compost/Easywormbin.htm

[houndlover]

Livestock husbandry.

[JenClen]

You guys are awesome.

It sounds like there are some things I could learn ahead of time, but most of it sounds like the "charge ahead fearlessly and find out as you go" method or the similar "how on earth do I fix this problem with a paper clip, some chewing gum and some fishing line" method.

I know the basics on lots of things, but I've never butchered a chicken (or any other animal), I've never done my own oil change, I've never helped birth an animal and many things I can't think of that I'm sure will come up at some point.

Keep giving suggestions...I'm loving reading them!

And rest assured I'll be back to ask all of you how to do solve those random problems.

[YuccaFlatsRanch]

Livestock Veterinary from trimming hooves to giving shots to giving pills to fly control, etc. Teach how a ruminant animals stomach works vs a horse vs a dog and why its important to change feeds slowly.

[sisterpine]

Besides my love of building all sorts of things and growing food, I would list develping patience as a real important one. You just cannot rush nature!

[Yvonne's hubby]

Originally Posted by tkrabec

Thinking/problem solving. The ability to think thru a problem & get it done.

Yeppers, this gets my vote everytime. I save thousands of dollars every year by being able to think through a problem and solve it myself. Even though I cannot do the work like I used to, I can still save lots of money by hiring unskilled cheap labor and talk them through building things or repairing equipment, buildings and fences.

[10ecn]

Patience.