You're one cool chick. This video earned you a new subscriber. I love the honesty. My wife and I are similar in our endeavors and not afraid of hard work. We recently sold our cattle partly due to the fact that they just weren't sustainable on 9 acres and cost a tremendous amount of time and money to maintain. We now have 25 chickens and think it's a much better fit. If you need to eat, you don't have to kill a whole cow!
I am grateful for this video. I started a garden cause I lost my high paying job and wanted to contribute to my family. I get teased for it but I don't care. I'm helping to feed them.
Thank you for this. When I finished fencing in my 2,400 sq ft garden this year, I looked at my husband and said, "It's too small." He said I was crazy. Thank you for saying my hunch is right.
Finally, someone told it like it really is. Thank you! Growing up we were raised mainly on what we grew and mom would can about 1000 (and yes I said a thousand) jars per season, and fill a large chest freezer to feed a family of five. To mainly eat what you grow, you have to grow and can a lot. It's a lot of work! But if you don't mind hard work, it's very much worth it. Best video on youtuve I've seen in a while!
Sister you have absolutely hit the nail on the head. I grew up poor in the mountains of SW Virgina. The son of a disabled coal miner. At one point we went 17 months without any income. No welfare, No food stamps I mean nothing. In order to survive you have to develop what I call possum mentally. We picked wild berries for days and days. We gathered black walnuts. We had 4 large gardens. We hunted and fished. It was not easy and we are talking only about one family in crisis. What if everyone was in crisis and trying to live off these same resources? I remember the entire family peeling, and cutting up apples for days. We gleaned from anywhere we could. We did receive often help from time to time in the way of folks dropping of food or putting a little money in the mailbox. But without this help we would not have been able to make it and we're blessed that neighbors were able to help. In widespread crisis this would not bee the case. I remember gathering the "hay" that came from the state mowing the sides of the road for fodder. Nothing went to waste then. We are so spoiled now. Just for one example look at the metric tons of pumpkin that are bought for decoration and then thrown in the trash every fall. Years ago there was no such wasteful behavior.
I love this.... I was just talking about this with my husband. I looked at him and said if the SHTF tomorrow we would all starve to death... Food for thought. :)
We moved onto our 12 acres in January and i hadnt planned a garden this year but then a neighbour offered to plough and cultivate a large patch of pasture for us. We then rushed around sowing seeds and potatoes more to show that we were grateful for the kind offer than in any great expectation. That said we now have a huge garden so only time will tell. There are just the two of us so hopefully we can provide the majority of what we will need. Until it happens ( or not) we won't really know. We have grown veg before and you are right, to pick enough for one meal can decimate half of the contents in the average raised bed. They looked pretty at our last property but here we need to really push the boundaries. Pretty is not a priority any more. And don't even start on the increase in your work load. Sleeping now gets in the way of working.
I'm an old woman!!!! My 8th Great Grandchild is due this coming new years eve !! For the last few years my family has really started discussing things like Bible prophecy, State of world, economy, SHTF, etc. My children, grandchildren, are starting to realize what it would really take to keep us all fed if we had to produce it ALL. Two yrs. ago i had a great bean crop. canned 100 qts. gave beans to family and friends!!! Last year I was lucky to can 12 qts and have a few to eat fresh, and i"m an experienced gardener!!! Just because you do something one time, does not mean you can repeat it every year, Life is unpredictable. IT takes faith, and hard work. JOY
By the way we started my 2 1/2 yr. old great grandson off this yr. with his own garden. just 2 large flower pots full of onoin sets that he is responsible for watering and weeding. but it's a start! Joy
I told Joe that all in all this is my goal to grow to feed us!!! and yes I'm in the beginning stages of learning to do just that!! thanks Patara for a great thought provoking video! !
We planted 1/4 acre of sweet peas not one came up this year! We also have 1 acre of potatoes that are doing great, our beans are up and doing ok...I also know how to "wild craft" for food, we have 530 acres in KY and it takes a lot to have the cows, goats chickens turkeys, and rabbits... It takes a lot of work and everyone jumping in and doing what they can. You are right on the money, we will not starve, we do the work. Great video as always!!!
Man, to watch this now as of 2024....its like watching home videos. Such a valuable series! I'm going to binge this again! Thank you for all that you have been doing!
Have never gone hungry and never will, simply because I grew up in a family an community made up of elders who had come thru the Great Depression and WW2 and were kind enough to teach us the wisdom they had to share. From growing vegetable in every spare area of the yard, flower garden, to preserving what we grew. And wild food foraging. Even with all the university education I have had I rely daily on all I learned growing up. Both of my parents had PhD's, yet we were a hunting, fishing, vegetable gardening family because it saved money and continues to do so. Stanford University as well as locally has a great wild food foraging group. Locally we have a very active mycological (mushroom) society and beekeeper group. What I do not grow I barter for with my vegetables, and talents. Toss in my pottery, sewing, building, basic vehicle upkeep skills and I am fine as are ALL my local friends. In fact they note all the time that if someone has the time to sit and watch tv three hours a night or shop at the mall week ends, that we have the time to be more 1940's!! Being plant based vs a meat eater also helps.
Amen! 18 years of homesteading and it's REAL WORK! And self-reliance is much, much harder than most people realize. I know, because I had that same "farm dream". Thanks for being honest :)
Oh Ms. Patara, how people might have scoffed at this type of video even just 4-5 months ago is now a very real situation that no one can deny. Thank you for talking about these types of things. Hope you all are doing well 💙
Just found this series and am watching for my first time. Hearing you tell people to prepare and work when the world was still “normal” just goes to show how amazing you are! Thank you for motivating me to work harder!!
I love your videos. My family is saving and working on homestead skills while we live in town to prepare for when we can move to some land. Your videos are so much more realistic than some other's! Thanks for your regular doses of reality :)
WOW Patara,,, 7 years later and you were already predicting and already preparing. Since our gardens did so bad this year we have to depend on good 'Sale' items and Alde's, etc. I look at our food storage room and our freezers and I guarantee there's not enough food for a full year of survival. But there is one benefit that we have, (as long as we have electricity),,, We 'can' grow 'some' things in our basement because we have the led grow lights for indoor gardening. We 'never' know how harsh our winters will be. But we do live in a 'snow belt' region. There's NO outdoor gardening here in the winter lol Anyway I'm thankful that I found your site. You have taught hundreds of thousands of people 'So' much over all these years. HUGS!
They're calling for frost tonight here in Sw Pa, I picked the last of the butternut squash this morning and pulled up the dry beans and hung them in the garage. I love nothing more than hanging out in the evenings shelling the dry beans, I love doing them one by one, crunching the pods and watching all the beautiful beans accumulate in my big Texas ware bowl. I grew birds egg blues and purple florelle, and several others this year. Can't wait to have some pretty bean soup this winter, all tucked and cozy while the snow swirls and blows.
Very good advice.. I can't impress upon people to store seeds and learn to seed save! Learn to can and dehydrate and think about the everyday things we use that will be needed in bad times! Like toilet paper, soaps, lamps and lamp oil, matches, etc etc! Very good and thoughtful video!
So glad you touched on this very subject. I could not agree more with you. l love your channel! Love how you are always honest and you don't sugar coat everything.
No I couldn't feed my family on my small garden but I am only starting and have set a goal to replace 1 meal a day with the food I have grown. I have only managed 3-4 meals a week so far and that is a single item such as okra, squash, peas, collards, mustards, eggplant that's only during the season off season I have no storage.
I love this video. You went "straight for the kill" so to speak. Right to the point!! Will be moving to our 20 acres this summer and I am absorbing all the info I can. Planning to put in fruit vines, bushes, and trees this fall and prepare garden beds throughout fall and winter. I'm thinking I better plan for more seeds to sow with your advice. Think I'll eat a carrot now. 😉 Thanks for sharing.
You are so right! When the kids were young I had 2 acers and my garden was 1/2 of that. It was not enough to feed 5 of us for the whole year. If I would have used both acers, it would have. I am not fooled by these "small garden" vid's, however using multiple ways together to get the most out of your plot. is conceivable and doable. Love your vid's, keep up the wonderful job! BTW, it is proven that those who work on a farm use aprox. 5,000 calories a day to sustain the work.
So so true! Great subject. Very well said! =) Growing enough food is something I have been working on for 20 years! I have had more failure than success. Over the last 3 years. My wife and I have started growing vertically. This is the best solution that we have found. That works for us on our land. With being limited to one acre. We can feed ourselves and maybe a several others but here is the big thing it would be some type of soup a big pot everyday. We love soup, we have it at least 5 times a week I call it tribulation food lol. However we still have failure with some seed saving mishaps at times, and tons pest problems being that we are only organic. Plus my family would have to eat some of their not favorite greens. We have found our woods around us grows tons of food we call that manna. All you got to do is go harvest it! We have discovered that having enough food is a mind set It takes a lot of practice, and it is a everyday job! I look forward to future discussions on this topic.
Thanks for the reminder and encouragement. My husband and I bought two acres last year in the interest of starting to learn some new skills. The garden is much better this year but I'm going to be replanting my green beans this weekend. Only one came up. Also, we're getting a couple of milk goats this weekend. Slow but steady!
I think Mrs Homesteader and my 97 year old homestead Grandpa would make the best of friends. I know they are both honest mentors and a blessing to each of us. This year most of our grarden is an experiment because its the first year that my sister and I have taken it over by ourselves (with mentoring from Grandpa and our parents, who are gardening on the same property). We are growing things that we don't know if we even like, we are growing things my Grandpa recommended, and we are also buying some beans off a local family just in case we have issues with our crop. My parents & grandparents fed us growing up on farm meat, deer meat, fish, and huge gardens. Our cucumbers and squash are doing squat this year. We are going to replant. I am not sure if you are following me on Instagram or not (raisingbushs) but we are also teaching my 3 kids along side of us. Its been a great adventure so far. You mention doing the test for your family and that is something that we plan on doing next year after getting this crop in.
Very well said, Patara! This is a subject I often bring up with my group of friends. We try to work together to grow as much as we can, but I know its not enough. We are city folks. I'm just starting on the homesteading adventure. I'm glad that you made this video because you are spot on! I hope that I will, one day soon, be able to move to a larger acreage and achieve my goals. I think we all need a dose of reality from time to time. Thank you!
I really like this. I was very blessed to grow up in a family that grew our own food. Lots of gardening and canning! We ate our home grown food all winter. Mind you, it was a lot of beans and cornbread, but we ate good! We never ate much processed food, Mainly, because we couldn't afford it! We did buy produce from farmers also if we didn't have it. After I got married 22 years ago, I always had a garden because in my mind, it's just something you do! Growing food is hard work! Lots of time involved.... now in the last few years we have added growing meat, and its really twice as hard! We butchered one 450 pound boar and a pig this fall. I have very little left, because I didn't buy meat and we only ate the pork. 2 large pigs went fast! I myself have thought many times, if something happened, what would we do, because we are already doing A LOT! And, it's simply not enough and we are only a family of four. Lots to consider~~ well done video! I enjoyed it. Blessings to you! Ps, find us on IG at Stevens sunshine farm!
Nice reality check chat...totally correct. Had to laugh on the corn. I replanted twice. Got 5 showing. Crazy.. Zipper peas are doing good though (middle Ga). All people need to do is look at Venezuela it looks like our future. Thanks.
As the old saying goes, you hit it on the nail head. My dad grew up in a family with 12 children and his mother took in over her lifetime 6 more that had no where to go. Everyone worked on the farm, during the depression married kids moved back to the farm with their children. My mom and my dad talked about always being hungry. Mother said when her widow mother (who worked in the mills) remarried, they moved to his farm she thought they would be in a Garden of Eden. She said they were lucky if they got a meal a day, lots of cornbread & milk. Homesteading or farming is hard even with tractors & other equipment. Yes, we could starve because it is hard to grow enough food for a family unless you have acres of land. Remember everyone in the cities will head for the country if there is no longer food. Learn to "eat the weeds", hunt & butcher wild meat, learn how to forage to supplement what you can grow. I don't know the answers, but we need to look to the past. Enjoy your channel. Yes, my family came from NC Mountains. I have always been a homesteader even living in town.
we haven't even gotten the ground worked up yet. too cold and then too rainy. I have a small garden so no way I could feed my family so I shop the sales and can what I get. Got a 6 month supply of food I think in jars. and maybe a month in the freezer and fridge. I am on the north shore of lake superior so a very short growing season but I do try to get some garden produce. I can grow peas and beans beets and potatoes do the best. Just found your channel and I am enjoying it so far. magic soup and this one. good advice.
Such a great video!!! I grew up with granparents who were ranchers and farmers that lived through the great depression and they KNEW exactly what it took. I know what it takes to feed a family the very basic amount of food. It is hard hard hard work and there are zero guarantees! You MUST have redundancies planned or you WILL starve! Great video!!!
Don't wrap it in, just hit me in the face with the truth, hehe... What an awesome video - The first of yours I've seen, and since I'm subbing, I guess I'll be seeing much more of it now :) It was Hope's Homestead, btw, that told me to watch this video, and I see why :)
We have our house for sale, my husband just got a job in a rural area where there is lots of land. Looking forward to going to it! Learning in little bits and study you folks that are already there. We are in our 50's and even though we live in a small town now lots of people would think we are crazy! I hope that life just keeps going but...I want to be prepared no matter what! Of course there is always mother nature to contend with! Just as you were saying! Thanks for the vid!
Thanks for being real, truthful and honest. Even the experienced homesteaders need to re- evaluate this subject, as well as newbies. It is not glamourous and French manicures if we are really serious about sustainability, but we all must start where we are and progress from there.
thank you so much for this video. I planted 7 raised bed and thought I wouldn't plant the big garden this year but guess what I'll be planting it as soon as the rain stops.
Girl, I feel you with the corn struggle. I have never in all my life had such trouble with corn germination. I have replanted 3 times... Secondly, I have been working and studying about the amount of food that needs to be grown to sustain our family for a year. It is just so much more than most realize. The one crop that boggles my mind the most is green peas. The USDA says you need 50ft/person. 50 feet!!!! I have nearly 150 ft. I can already tell it will be so far from what we need (family of 7.) Maybe I can get a decent fall crop... At any rate, your video makes an important point. It's all well and fine to practice gardening and preserving. But, if you don't start seriously giving thought and planning to what you really require to sustain your family in concrete terms, when push comes to shove, you will have trouble. Good work!
Thank you, very well said people don't understand how much time and labor it's take to be self-reliance. I sold my 37 acre homestead when my wife couldn't walk now Sally (wife) is in a wheelchair we made a decision to sell. My wife and I live thru homestead video. Safety is #one on your homestead once again great video.
So sorry to hear that. Disabled must eat too. Praying someone grows enough for themselves with surplus to share with you and your wife. That is my goal. Blessings.
So sorry to hear that. Disabled must eat too. Praying someone grows enough for themselves with surplus to share with you and your wife. That is my goal. Blessings.
So sorry to hear that, could you not make a deal with a younger couple to live and farm the land for free in exchange for food for your family? Lots of people are homesteading together sharing the work. I am sure there are some people that would be willing to do that....just choose carefully! I pray comfort for your path.
I sold my farm to my 44 year old son so I do have a garden but I have to drive sixteen miles. We both garden together but once a week I go and weed and its makes me feel great. Thank you so much your caring.
Great video. Our corn is doing really well, as well as the beans and the tomatoes. Most of the squash, zucchini, melons, and peppers did not come up. We had to replant and because it has been so hot, we had to buy plants so we don't have as many plants as we would have had if everything had come up. You are so right. Always have a back up. I will plant more beans because they are doing so well and I will just have more beans to can!
Good on you young lady........This is an awesome eye opener for all those enthusiastic people willing to move to the country not knowing what they can, would and should expect......awesome eye opener for all those city folks willing to grow their own poison free food,.......non genetically modified crops........all those enthusiastic organic gardeners that have never tried growing anything but soft leaf buffalo lawn in their backyards and think they are good gardeners.........good on you once again
Great video! Couldn't agree more. People have made comments to me that I'm growing too much and have asked why I'm doing the three sisters. Experience people! Experience. To learn what works the best. Thanks for your real ness.
Great video, my in-laws just moved in and we've seen what happens when you don't prepare or can't prepare. I have prepped and stockpiled for a long time now, plus we grow a large backyard garden and frequent my buddies at the farmer's market. We are hopefully moving to a homestead one day but for now stock up while you can, can what can! Very easy to can a huge ton of soup from simple ingredients to have on your shelf for just in case! I'm so blessed we are all like minded in this house.
Thank you for the reality check! This year is our first year of having a Back to Eden garden and our first year of raising chickens (six) as we try to "homestead" (as much as possible) while living in the middle of the "concrete jungle" on a very small neighborhood lot. My plants are not growing as I anticipated, and our chickens haven't started laying eggs yet. I have a full-time office job and spend all of my evenings and weekends working in my garden. I have spent so many hard hours trying to create my own little homestead, but so far, I am not receiving the benefits from it. After watching your video, I now understand that it may not be just me that has problems. However, I will continue to work hard, learn from my mistakes and also learn from others (like you) as well. Thanks again!
I've been subscribed for a while and haven't had a chance to watch this series. This is a wonderful video and to the point. I love that you are so truthful and tell it like it is. Great job.
was thinking a lot about this post as due to bad weather we actually lost power for 18 hrs, and eye opening of what I hadn't thought of till now and to realize I ain't anywhere close to being ready for a serious electric outage or shtf!!!! thinking of your video, started a new list of things that need to be gotten, thanks for your videos you rock!!!!
your right a lot of people don't know how to grow and process their own food. I grew up having a large garden and what will feed a family of 4. Last year I helped my dad process a deer that my husband smoked with his new truck. It was a lot of work and we got like 100lbs of meat from it, but we still have meat left over cause we took everything that was salvageable from the carcass.
Love this! Can I just say, I've subscribed to you for awhile. I am a huge fan of your "real talk" videos. I am a newbie homesteader, and have learned loads from these types of videos. Keep up the hard work, sister!
Love all of this truth serum!!! This is exactly why we just bought a farm! Just a side thought about why some of your garden might not be growing well. Are you sure there are no persistent herbicide in your hay and straw sources? It can make it through the animals digestive tract and stay in your garden soil for years. Just a thought since your soil looks soooo beautiful and we know it is super nutrient dense. Love your channel! 👍
Amen sister! I can tell you that I am a single person , a man 6 foot tall and 200 pounds and I garden a little over 2000 square feet of garden and it is NOT enough to sustain me for a year! Last year I canned a little over 500 quarts of veggies , and I store bought and ate a bit over 500 pounds of potatoes. I'm thinking you need somewhere between 3 and 4 thousand sq. ft . of garden space per person to be sustainable. AND , that"s if you go vegan. I don't know how many workable acres of land it would actually take to be a meat eating , vegetable eating person, but I'm convinced it would be impossible in ANY city. I raise 8 laying chickens/hens and 10 meat rabbits (for manure) on about an acre of rented land and I think I could be possibly self sustainable if really need be, but sister, it would take a whole lot more hard work ............yup, that dreaded 4 letter word ;) I also work a full time job. I buy a tri-axle truck load of logs that I cut into fire wood for heat. I'm 55 years old, so it can be done lol. It do require that dreaded 4 letter word though ;) Anywho , thanks for the upload!
I guess I really just have no idea how much it takes to feed just me in one year. 500 lbs of potato's in one year is unimaginable. You and Patera are really giving me something to think about. I have only had 2 joke gardens lol. I want some land to do something substantial. I am looking forward to it. Thanks for the comment/food for thought. Janice
Tabitha Wallen Now keep in mind I only have book and google learning bit I really thought 1 acre was the standard for one person. I just can't imagine what all you are growing that takes a whole 2 acres for one person. Is over half of that feed for the animals? Now that I could imagine. Oh wait, Tabitha are you using a tractor in which case I would imagine the spacing is different to account for machinery. You guys are really blowing my mind lol. I wish you did video's. I would love to see your set up. Thanks for the comment. Janice
+jksatte No machines other than a tiller, all work is by hand. 1 acre is standard but each person's plot is specific to that person. We have over 70 acres mostly mountains, farming how our ancestors done it.
Tabitha Wallen Oh wow, I read somewhere back in the day an industrious young man could weed 1 acre a day. I'm sure I could do at least an row or two lol. I really just have a strong desire to grow my own food. I have to get some land fast. Thanks again. Janice
Great video! Keeping it real. We have expanded our garden this year....no where what we truly need but it is a start to learning. Thank you for making your videos, you really make a difference.
This is a very honest video. The amount of gardening, gathering, hunting, livestock raising, etc. one would have to do to completely feed their family is quite overwhelming, to put it mildly. That's probably why it isn't talked about much. Another aspect of this is how much would one have to grow to support their livestock and could one do it without fossil fuels if necessary. Even those on acres and acres of land would likely have trouble doing this if they couldn't get replacement diesel fuel, and / or didn't have their tractor(s) outfitted with a wood-gas fuel system with access to a sizeable woodlot. When it comes to homesteading, people do the best they can with what they have. My thought is it's better to encourage people to do just that -- the best they can with what they have than nothing at all. Eating a little is better than eating nothing, you know? I think in a bad-case scenario, you would have to form community farms in order to have the necessary manpower. This would also solve the problem of your neighbors wanting what you have. To me, that is the bottom line of this video: Not how big your garden has to be, but how unrealistic it is to expect to be able to produce everything you need yourself. It's going to take community, some of whom may have never had dirt under their fingernails. The homesteader might need to be the teacher of many in order to survive themselves.
I wanted to plant a garden, but can't do it over the leaching field. At least I was told that. So now I am digging out roots to plant a raised bed garden. I know it will not sustain us, but at least I can have something to can and help with the food supply. This is the first year. You are right lots of hard work. Hoping to plant more things as soon as I can get the garden ready. If not, it will be ready next year. Sometimes it is better not to worry so much about the cost when you are starting out. If you want to can carrots then get them from the store. Can them and the grow what you can. So much work sometimes it is overwhelming. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. One thing at a time and start with the things that will come back on it own next year. Try not to see the whole picture at one time. If you need to take a few steps back do it. Thanks for the video. I still think you know what I am thinking sometimes.
I just started watching your channel and I really am learning a lot, thank you so much. We are a family of 4 and live in the city, have a small garden 4 tomatoes/4 cucumber plants, but want to move out a ways to be more self reliant, thank you for the advice, I am trying to look at this change in live style in a realistic way and you help. Keep up the good work educating us. thaks again, karla
I would like to take a moment to thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for having the courage and sharing this covenant with us. I have forwarded your video to everyone I know who will listen but unfortunately, that number is all too few. You are my hero!
You are absatively posolutely right! Yes...absolutely and positively are misspelled on purpose!.....Thanks so much for making me think. I am trying to put up enough for 20......Dear Lord....please help us!!!
