Never would I have imagined homesteading life would be this hard. And not just homesteading either...
Herb collecting and harvesting. Attempting to do any sort of trapping or anything of that like.
This. Stuff. Is. Hard.
So here's 5 things I've learned this year as not only to a reminder to myself but to help others out there if they're starting off with homesteading!
1. If you try a bunch of new things at once, you will fail a lot of things as once also.
If you are new to this, there's no better way to get started than to pick something and go for it. However, if you start too many things at once, you may very well get overwhelmed and everything WILL fall apart. It's only end of August here and I'm about ready to rip my hair out. Between needle working, yard working, taking care of animals, foraging and more... I'm done. I've hit burn out. Whenever things have gone wrong, it seems it's all gone wrong at once.
The great part about this though, is there is no better way to hit a learning curve!
2. A little bit of education goes a long way.
Hit up google before you jump into things. There are lots of blogs, websites, videos, facebook groups, etc. that can give you even basic info before you go ahead and start doing things. I would strongly recommend that before you jump into things that you at least hit someone up to get some basics before you do things. While failure is inevitable with many things, some things you simply don't want to fail at.
For example, starting to grow a flower garden and losing a few plants is one thing; getting goats and losing one is not something one wants to fail at.
3. Don't be scared to jump in.
How better do we learn than by doing? They say first you learn, so you do, so you teach. The longer you sit around contemplating things, the longer things don't get done. Obviously I'm not saying go for every single opportunity that arises, but to sit around and always wait for the right moment... Things only happen when we manifest them. And part of manifesting is getting off your butt and making it happen with the right intention.
Don't be scared! Just go for it!
4. Do not negate your intuition.
Your gut knows all. Especially if you've spent some time doing it. If something feels off, it probably is. If something deep down bugs you to do or not to do, just listen to it.
This year I started mulching my garden. The book I was reading told me to add nitrogen if one is using straw bale. I knew I should have. I felt deep down I should have. I didn't...
And thus my garden turned a beautiful shade of yellow from the plants as well as the mulch - until I got some nitrogen in there a couple times and then BOOM! Everything turned a deep shade of green.
5. Be patient. All great things come in time.
No flower gardens become beautiful artworks in 1 year. No tree grows tall in a year. No herd of animals breeds and grows in a month.
Take care of what you have and work on it bit by bit. Be patient!
We tend to think it is the end goal that makes us happy, but in reality - it is the journey along the way with it's hardships and successes that really make us appreciate and enjoy the end goal.
Patience is a virtue!