When the winter weather hits in devout , I have more time to spend doing thing indoors . I could easily get get up in follow the late greatest TV programs ( and sometimes do ) . But really , I feel a whole lot better when I do something that make me a better homesteader .
Taking on young indoor by-line likemaking soapor taking up sewing are great theme . alas , they cost money – a thing I tend to have very picayune of after the holiday . So , rather than gift in Modern , and possibly expensive hobbies , I beat the winter blues with free or abject - cost skill - edifice activities that do n’t require me to buy new tools or equipment .
Here are some of the ways I ’ve weathered the cold by improve my cognition and upping my homesteading game !
Indoor Homestead Skill-Building
1. Learn First Aid
Did you know that you may learn first assistance online ? Reputable organizations like the American Red Cross propose courses for small fees of $ 15 or less that will get you certified in first assistance from home .
Homesteading is an inherently risky activity . If you survive in a removed rural area , emergency aid can be a half hr ( or more ) aside . Being capable to handle parking brake until help arrives is a vital skill for squatter .
2. Learn Pet First Aid
you may also take first aid courses specifically designed for your family pets . We keepfour catsaround our homestead to assist with varmint populations . We also have a preferred domestic dog that duplicate as alivestock guardian blackguard .
These animals are fundamentally members of our extended category . Being able-bodied to respond to pet emergencies is just as significant to me as facilitate my human family unit . Winter is a great sentence to perfect your pet first assistance and emergency care skills too !
3. Get More Educated About Your Animals
Why are some creature lonely while others hold out in groups ? Why are some animate being territorial and others not so much ? Why can ruminants put up things that omnivores ca n’t ?
There are a act of free or dispirited - costonline coursesthat will help you better understand animals include their behaviour , overviews of veterinary care and related to laws , and flesh .
Beyond basic forethought , understanding the reasons why livestock exists , behave as they do , and how their consistence work can make your job easier . You ’ll be better fain to manage yourlivestockif you know more than just how to feed and shelter them .
4. Learn About Soil
you may grow a garden just by doingsoil testsand apply what you are instructed to apply . If you want to be a nifty gardener though , you have to seat time to empathize how soil exercise .
Soil is an incredibly precious resource . Even in organic gardens , soil is often abused merely because users do n’t know what respectable soil is .
For case , grunge that are high-pitched in constitutive matter require significantly lessfertilizerthan soils depleted of constitutional matter . If you follow the standard applications rates on the bags of plant food in a compost - rich garden , you may deflower your dirt ! Yikes !
Also , many homesteaders do n’t understand how the amendments such as green sand , gypsum , lime , sulphur , rock phosphate , etc . impact soil . make a deeper savvy of the entire soil ecosystem that arise your food , gain you a better steward of your land .
Some marvelous andfree online resourcescan turn you into a dirt specializer on your homestead .
5. Take a Permaculture Course
Do n’t have the budget to take a Permaculture Design Course for credentials ? No job ! There are free enter course online to aid you sympathise Permaculture basics .
Given the weather events we ’ve been facing , infer landscape water management and perennial planting are becoming critically important homesteading skills .
Here are some free resources to consider :
6. Become an Expert on Growing Your Favorite Vegetables
Rather than use generic guide are written for a liberal audience , take the time to grasp into the planting contingent for your country . Each wintertime I choose ten of the plant I grow and examine them in great item .
Your local agrarian or extension agency likely has detail scout on growing specific vegetables in your area . They will include information on your grunge , amendment you ’ll postulate to make when to engraft , pestilence , etc . These guides are often 10 + page long . They should give you exceptionally high - timbre , detailed selective information on growing for your expanse .
I endeavor to ascertain everything there is to know about each of those ten plant life on my list – to the point where I sense like an expert . Then , do leaping I put my new noesis to the mental testing . Each clock time I have done this , thosespecific plantshave give thanks me by make my yield go through the roof !
7. Build a Better Back
Homesteading can be back - breaking work . Well , at least it can be if you do n’t have a firm back for all that heavy lifting .
fortuitously , some wonderful , free online resources show you dewy-eyed exercises to make your back injury - resistant . Here are a few of my favourite resourcefulness :
8. Learn About Pollinators
Withoutpollinators , you wo n’t be able-bodied to maturate or collect semen from many of your favored vegetables . dearest bees get a caboodle of attention because they make honey and are tolerate substantial annual losses . However , honey beesare not aboriginal to many areas ( e.g. , the US ) . Also , they are oftennotthe primary pollinators of your garden .
Native bee , wasps , flies , butterflies , moth , and birds are usually the real pollinator workhorse of a garden . Learning about the specific pollinator in your area , what plants they travel to , and how to provide them high-pitched - qualityfoodcan increase your take tremendously .
Your agricultural extension billet is also a good informant for this information . to boot , these other pollinator resource can get you pop learning :
9. Innovate Your Homestead
It ’s easy to get deposit in a estrus on the homesteading front . You start doing things one manner , and even if that ’s not the well mode , you keep doing it just because you already are . Well , wintertime is a great time to challenge the systems you have in place and endeavor to find a better agency .
Think of the things you regularly do that irritate you the most . Then , research way to make them easier or automate them .
Do you have orbit that getmuddyevery time it rains ? Is turn yourcompost pilemaking you crazy ? Iswatering your gardentaking up too much of your week ?
Whatever it is that ’s making your homesteading experience less than astral ; there is a just resolution out there . Do n’t rush into new solutions out of frustration , though . Do your research , find out what other homesteaders are aver about each method , and let the idea marinade for a while before you commit .
10. Learn to Plan
Many people are not planners by nature . Planning is a learned accomplishment for most of us . Often when we make plans , they are vague . They do n’t have concrete natural process steps . Plus , they are n’t comprehensive enough to help us achieve our dreams .
wintertime is a wonderful sentence tolearn to plan , by making satisfying plans for the whole class . For example , contrive your garden layout . Make aplanting headstone , so you know what will go where and how much space to allocate it . make monthly calendars that admit planting dates , chore , upkeep , harvesting , etc . for the whole year .
Do the same for your livestock care function , for your buttery management , andmenu provision . You may not stick to these plan 100 % . But even break down through the process will facilitate you become a better deviser and get you better event in the coming year .
Conclusion
Learning all about homestead science building does n’t have to be expensive . It also does n’t have to impart more work to your already busy routine . Sometimes the best skills to memorize are those that make you well equip to do the thing you are already doing .
I do n’t know about you . But for me , becoming more expert at the skills I need to have my best homesteading yr ever certainly help me bewilder the winter blues !
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