I have 3 acres I homestead with sheep, pigs, cows, goats, chickens, turkeys, and donkeys. It works as I buy most of my feed in bulk, and grow the fruit, garden, and pasture part time in a rotational manner. I also recently built a green house out of resourced materials. I'm almost 70, and manage all this with my 43 yo autistic son. It's a fulfilling life, I'm stronger everyday and happier. GOD BLESS!
In the '70s I was a new gardener and decided I would be a real Earth Mother and make sure my kids never ate unhealthy overprocessed food. So I grew as much as I could and learned to can and dehydrate and freeze as much as possible. I also baked all our bread for a couple of years (including hamburger and hot dog buns). Then I found out my kids would occasionally sneak off to some fast food place with their friends. And the breads I prepared beginning when I got home from work on Friday afternoon and finished by Sunday evening didn't last nearly as long as they should because the whole family said, "Hey! Good bread!" and it was all gone when the week was only half over. My grown kids (both in their 50s) are very healthy eaters, so I know some of my plan worked. But I learned over the years my own limitations and gained a much better perspective of what made me happy. So now I grow fewer things because I don't want to spend my last few years fretting with things that need too much care and attention. I balance my life by deciding how much effort and time I enjoy spending on growing, preserving and preparing our food. I have a small freezer full of things I grew in the garden or prepared in my kitchen to save for later. I don't do as much canning because I'm tired of doing so much of that, but now I'm starting to experiment with fermenting pickles instead of making them with vinegar, and I'm going to do some sauerkraut and kimchee, too. But if any of that fails, it will have been fun trying and not a tragedy because we didn't really need those things for survival. My point is, people can (and should) grow some things and preserve some things even on a very small scale simply because it's rewarding and educational and can be an enjoyable activity. Look at how many people learned to bake bread during the pandemic -- many who would have never, ever thought of trying such a thing until they had an enormous amount of time they had to fill and some actual need because of unavailable products or lowered income, and yes, some fear about what would happen next and how would they get through it. I'm sure some of them dropped the bread-making as soon as things got back to something akin to normal, but many of them found a satisfying activity that they feel confident they can do on a scaled-back basis and will continue some of it because it's a skill they've learned and produces something wonderful. I know some people actually learned to cook during that time out of necessity, but found they now cook at least a couple of nights a week because they like it. The success of your channel is a good indicator that people enjoy learning and just observing someone who is successfully managing so many things that are not only not achievable for ourselves (I'm too old for much of it) but in some cases not even a dream but just a lovely thing to watch someone else do.
I grew up with mom making everything. She limited bought candy and soda. We grew a few things and my grandparents always had a large garden. We would help my grandmother can every year. Then after I grew up I did the same.
If you wrote a book, I would read it. I am 71 and have done many of the things you mentioned. Canning? Yep, just tired of it. Haven't tried the fermenting but have equipment and plan to when my garden starts producing. This is a great channel. I love reading the comments often.
🇨🇦 1 bedroom apartment with a good size balcony and a 4x10ft raised bed and a lot of physical limits. I do what I can in the space I have. I grow what I use most, or is most expensive. I grow tomatoes, lettuce and greens, garlic, cucumber, zucchini. I even keep giving melons a try on trellises, they're tasteless in stores but I love the ones I grow so much. I don't grow sweet peppers, they are available in season a dime a dozen, and take too much space for what I eat. Onions as well, dime a dozen, a 10lb bag does me months. It's also space and climate to store things. My apartment isn't cool enough to store potatoes, and you can only stack so much glass in closets. Do what you can in the space and ability you have! 💚 People that gatekeep gardening and self sufficiency 😒🙄 because we can't do it *all* doesn't mean we can't or shouldn't do any.
I'm curious, did you actually find any info in this video for a novice to grow food on no land? He took so long talking about his land that I had to watch at X2 speed. Still found nothing unless you count "try to invest in canning" . I'm curious about this but perhaps there is another place where I could get actual useful information?
First off, Brian, I want to tell you I like your attitude and ideas about 'prepping'. The word and the concept have been "hijacked" by many in the "survivalist" community. I call myself a 'prepper lite'. I try to have things on hand so I don't have to worry about an 'emergency' trip to the store. My idea is to look around your house and see what you could not do without for X period of time. Get some extra of those items. And not just food. TP, Q-tips, batteries, laundry soap, etc. A lot of surviving an emergency is attitude. Whatever will help keep you comfortable and happy is a consideration. On 'self-sufficiency, very few people can do everything. If you have a community of like-minded people near, consider bartering. Trade your produce, (or talents), for things you don't have. An example would be; if you are able to can, offer to can for someone who grows but can't can. You get X jars per X jars you can for them. The possibilities are endless. I don't expect Armageddon or a zombie apocalypse. But an emergency can be local. Last winter snow blocked the mountain passes and delivery trucks couldn't get to the stores for about a week. The shelves were getting a little bare. Not fear, just awareness.
Thistle is called being prepared 😊 I’m a country gal & we never lived close to big store, so my mom canned & kept on hand what was used most. We had cows & chickens to keep the freezer full. This is being prepared. Big difference 👍👵🏻👩🌾❣️
To me, the idea of prepping means you don't have to be afraid. You don't panic because you see something online or on the news. It means you have the things you need no matter what is going on. I grew up PA Dutch. My grandma and all the rest of my extended family lived through the depression. They all had roughly 18 months worth of food in jars and their root cellars (some of which were built into their basements. They all gardened. Some raised cattle, pigs, chickens, or goats. They traded between themselves for things they didn't produce and it was a cooperative effort. If a crop failed, if the garden got wiped out by hail, or failed for any reason they had food on the shelves to last them until the next harvest. Because they were living that way before the depression, they weren't scrambling to get by during the depression. To me, that is prepping. Not relying on grocery stores. Having an oil lamp and oil if the power is out. Having a wood stove for heat, cooking, and hot water if necessary. It isn't a 'new' concept and it doesn't require fear mongering to be involved in it. Right now, I purchase the things I'm not growing from a local farmer, usually in bulk. Then I spend several days canning or dehydrating. Sometimes both. I pick up things that are on sale whether they are on my list or not. If I have an item on my list but find a better deal on something else, I just swap them out. And ~ storage. I live in a very small home; 528 sq ft. We built shelves into the walls and use a full sheet of paneling on piano hinges as the door. Two of our divider walls are floor to ceiling shelves done this way, as well as four exterior walls. It took away 8 inches of floor space, but I have room for literally hundreds of canning jars, and I use them for both canning and storing dehydrated food. We do have a small number of the large cans of freeze dried foods ~ and that is because we actually like those things. They are all stored under the bed (I sleep in my Grandma's 4-poster and it is tall enough for that with room to spare!). We also have water for our chickens and rabbits in 50 gallon barrels, harvest rain water for our garden, etc. The other two things we have are a LOT of non-electric tools and all of my kitchen gadgets/appliances. I can can/dehydrate with or without electricity which I consider a major plus. The same goes for any repairs or projects we plan. The odd thing is that I actually prefer using them. I used to have an expensive mixer with all sorts of attachments. I gave it to a neighbor. I prefer my hand crank grinder, my hand crank pasta maker, etc. My dining table IS my work table 95% of the year. It is huge, but I can line up all the things I need to run 4 bushels of apples through over 2 days (or anything else I have a ton of). I guess I'm country at heart, and quite happy to be that way.
My parents grew up during the depression. We raised meat from rabbits, chickens and pigs on a small property as well as a garden.Dad had bee hives for honey and we tapped maple trees for syrup. Growing up we used hand operated tools for canning and preparing as well as garden tools. We built a fire in the yard for water bath canning and sterilizing jars. The best sausage ever was home canned. We made homemade apple butter in a copper kettle in the yard as well. I am glad I learned some of those things growing up. We called it saving for a rainy day because you never knew if the weather was going to allow you to have some crops. It wasn't prepping it was living off the land.
Another idea, which is what 3 core friends and I are planning, is that each of us are using our yard's strengths. One does really good with root vegetables, another in a condo is honestly an Herb Goddess, another with tomatoes, I do good squash in my yard. We'll all plant lots of everything and then we're planning canning days. I have a dehydrator setting on my oven, so I can do big batchs in that. And we're sharing. I remember growing up my Grandma would get a literal pick up truck full of sweet corn from the farmer their property backed up to (she kept an eye on his cows when they were near and gave them watermelon rinds) and we'd spend a weekend cooking, cutting down and freezing corn and everyone went home with enough for the winter. Working together goes a long way.
Brian, I'm a 70 year old vision impaired woman with degenerative back. I taught myself to can in 2020. My family enjoys my green beans, purple sweet potatoes, winter squash, tomato soup, swiss chard and kale. I don't can the chard or kale, but freeze it. Do yourself a favor and get steam canner. I can't lift a water bath pot to empty it, and hate to use that much water. Bought myself the steam canner, and it is amazing. Easy peasy. The purple sweet potatoes are so tasty, much better than Beauregard. Meats are easy to can, and yes, I buy mostly from local farmers. So enjoy watching your 2 channels, especially with Daisy and Bella. ❤
For me, a viewer, I find it very peaceful watching you work your property, with Daisy grazing in the background and Bella watching you. I like the direction you are going with the orchard, (maybe a small vineyard as well?) I love being able to go out and walk our property and snack on a few fresh-picked snap peas, cherry tomatoes, berries, etc. A Japanese garden would be interesting, but maybe in a small area of your property not dedicated to edibles. I appreciate your comment about extreme, scary 'doomsday prepping/survivalism.' Those channels are the ones I steer clear of. I apply common sense to just about everything, including my pantry.
I also buy food that is a surplus from farmers and I preserve. As an older person I cannot have a huge garden, work load is too much, I do enjoy what I can grow. I grow food for my health and to save money. Thank you Brian.
I’m one without an area for a pantry. I have jars under my bed on bookshelves and lots of random places. I don’t like the channels that try to scare you. I’ve lived in many different size places. I grew up on a 200 acre dairy farm but since have lived on s v small lot in town to 330 acres. I’ve had gardens in all the places I’ve lived. I love gardening and the fresh food. I bought a tomato last week and it was awful. One of the reasons I watch your channel is the calmness I feel. Thanks, Brian.
Those who don’t have a yard or space to grow things can get with a neighbor that does and ask if you can use their space to have a garden. Offer to share the yield with said neighbor and get growing! Good way to make friends with neighbors.
Yes, you make sense, and I like where you’re heading! My first veggie garden gave me a huge appreciation for farmers and grocery stores. It’s mind boggling how much food is in a grocery store, when you start to understand what it takes to grow food. That’s when I realized that there are degrees of self sufficiency, and almost nobody is 100% independent of the rest of humanity. Even hunter gatherers lived in communities and pooled resources and labor. Even agrarian cultures bartered with each other for what they needed and didn’t produce for themselves. So the goal isn’t to be able to live cut off from society for an extended period of time (unless you’re a prepper, and I honestly think they’re deluding themselves.) Instead, I try to give myself a buffer against hard times, so I can see myself through without crisis while community works on pulling together and becoming more functional again. And that can be as small as tucking aside an extra pack of toilet paper. Remember 2020!
I think we're all going slow this spring. Me too. My seeds are piled up on my kitchen table just waiting for me! I already have cold weather crops outside in my 2 x 4' greenhouse on my deck, waiting for the extreme cold to quit!
i dont think I've commented twice on a video, but i need to on this. It's not fear mongering. it's just common sense! I love the community here. Your videos feel like im just visiting at a friend's house. Thank you.
I got interrupted during my last comment attempt so had to start over! I have been preserving, canning and freezing what I grow myself but also what I can buy at great sales both vegetables (huge heads of cauliflower for $1.49 each…when up here in Canada they are usually 4-6 dollars a head no matter the size!) and meat…chicken at 2 for the price of 1: beef, even ground beef, pork, ham, etc at 1/2 the price per pound as usual. We live on a city lot with raised beds, no basement for storage and with a large garage with no insulation that gets very hot in summer and very cold in winter. (My growing zone is 7/7b) My husband built me a 6x6x8 foot “pantry” room in the corner of the garage. Insulated walls and ceiling with double walls and ceiling. Shelves top to bottom. We use an incandescent lightbulb on at all times to keep a constant temperature in winter, (around 45 - 50 degrees) and will not use that bulb in the summer at all other than to see what we are doing (there is no window) relying on the insulation and double walls to keep the room from getting hot. It works great. And I have full shelves of everything I would need for a full meal, including dessert (canned peaches). As you cant can vegetables like cauliflower, I blanched and frozen.
Got a brisket at $4 a pound. I cut off the excess fat and rendered it, cooked the brisket, and canned 6 16 oz jars. Even if not "prepping," what a luxury to open a jar, for any number of recipes. Pre roasted leaves a great texture and flavor after canning. I got tallow, meat with broth, and the leftovers mixed with cooked oats made lots of wet dog food and chicken treats. Zero waste.
I've said this begote, and I'll say it again. I haven't been following uou since you started TH-cam, but I've never felt that you were fear mongering! I've learned sooo much from you!! I bought a dehydrator the summer before last, and I'm still working through the garden produce I dehydrated last summer. I try to work through most of it before the next season's garden produces.
Literally LOL’ing at the two of you in the car. That’s something that would happen to us. Thank you for all your videos. As someone who has never had a particularly green thumb and lives in a suburban postage stamp, I appreciate trying to learn from you.
Preparing for whatever happens in life is smart, not fearful! One can look back at history and see many reasons to improve our security. We may be able to help not only ourselves but our neighbors in a difficult situation. Great goal!
Your channel has really grown in areas more than gardens and homesteads. It's refreshing the topics that you are exploring and love the diversity. In my humble opinion, the other prepper channels do instill fear and distrust toward the government, and even have a militant streak that I can't buy into. I am no fool and do know the government always has their agenda, that's not it, but to have to pound that subject with every video made is not for me. Others might enjoy the prepper vibe, more power to them and we all have our likes and dislikes. I get asked all the time what my sweatshirt stands for "Garden Defiantly" and I have to chuckle every time!
Exactly what I'm doing this year. I've expanded my garden to grow more to preserve more. I'm also planning on buying a pressure canner to preserve meat and other produce that can't be done with water bath canning. I've already got a dehydrator. The freeze dryer is an out of budget item to purchase for now. After what's been happening with the food supply here in Canada since the pandemic, I have to look after me and my family. I'm doing whatever it takes to minimize my reliance on store bought foods.
I'm glad you guys also have fun besides working hard. I can see why Brian can't be a vegetarian, he likes meat a lot.😀 I could not be a total vegetarian either. I can tomato juice only because I like the way mine tastes better then the stores brand. I freeze whatever of berries i can't eat at the time when I pick them, cause sometimes a whole lot ripens at once. Like you said about going to the farmers market and support my local farmers, I do that because where I am in the city I could grow a small amount. The only thing is we have raccoons in the neighborhood who like corn also and the corn would have to be grown in a cage. They can climb any fence or tree to get in. So I support my farmer for what I can't grow. I freeze and or store stuff as supplementing our diet. It's always a good idea to have a little extra food around.😉
The scene of Daisy and Bella lounging in the grass together is heartwarming. If I was a farm animal or dog, I would love to live at your homestead. Blessings to you and yours from the Oregon coast.
My master bed is raised and its loaded full of food underneath. Also, I build canned good shelves that hid behind closet doors and the laundry room door. They dont interfer with anything and you wouldnt know they were there unless you close the door and were in that room. Lots of unused space behind a door. I attached them to the wall using a french cleat so they can handle an enormous amount of weight. 2 of them are first in first out style. So store bought canned good just automatically get rotated.
I so enjoy growing my food but on our small one acre we are limited as to the trees, etc. So for the last three years I have been blessed to get tomatoes, green beans, cucumbers, peaches and pears that I have preserved. I will continue to grow what we can eat fresh and rely on our Amish friends to get what we need to preserve. I keep thinking of getting chickens but ask myself am I ambitious enough and we also travel and know they aren’t cats that can be left for a day or so! A great channel that has taught me a lot about canning and preserving is Rose Red Homestead. I like that….positive prepping!! The shot of Bella and Daisy lying together resting was priceless❤Blessings to you all.
Loved seeing Daisy and Bella laying together. I think the idea of concentrating on food production and self sufficiency for now is wise. Canned food lasts a long time, and can help you get thru high prices. Love that you left the camera flops in, LOL
I have some random thoughts about preserving food. First, I agree about many of the "prepper" channels. I do not want to live in fear either. When I was growing up, and we were preserving food, it was so we could eat it. Eat it during the winter, spring, and maybe the following year or two if the harvest was poor. Preserving food (after that initial investment) is cheaper than going to the grocery store. And for me, not going to the grocery store means less temptation to buy crappy food. Preserving your own food means you know what is in it. It gives you control over the amount of sugar and salt that you add. Preserving food means you can play with recipes and add the spices you like best. Self-sufficient, to me, does not mean I have to grow everything myself. I grow enough tomatoes and zucchini to exchange them for citrus from a friend and for eggs from the woman down the road. My parents--who had a basement pantry-- bought a swamp cooler to keep their garage cooler during the summers when they moved to the Sacramento valley. Just some thoughts.
I started this way of life last year . I live in a small farming village, just a regular backyard. Grew enough last year to get us through september to now, this year we are doubling the veggy garden so we can have a full year of canned foods, also bought a pressure canner and dehydrator( kept an eye on sales) can't do meats, but bought a second freezer to buy 1/2 cow etc last year.this year I plan on canning more meat to avoid freezing when I can. I live in Quebec Canada, zone 5 ish
I started watching you around the time you hit 100K on your gardening channel (now 1M!), & I have learned so much from you on there. When you started this homesteading channel, I couldn't subscribe fast enough. I was already following a couple other homesteading channels, one that WAS my favorite. i just have to say that NLG & NLH are now my favorite channels. You're relatable. You don't preach. You don't discuss politics. You're funny (love the sarcasm). And I just can't decide who are cuter, Bella & Daisy, or you & Emilie. 😊😊😊😊😊😊😊
AWESOME video, perfect balance, love it. Preserving is a lost skill that is fun, customizable, and smart. We can do it without a threat of doomsday to!!!!
There IS a lot of fear-mongering out there Brian - you are NOT one of them. In fact you're the opposite - always have a smile on my face watching you guys. What's that saying, prepare for the worst, expect the best? Thank you once again for sharing the personal bits of your life as well - you two are just too cute - think you really do need a device holder for the car :O) PS livestock are great ecosystem engineers, especially with the fertilizer. They're not just for consumption - great companions too!
We are in our 70's and are far from "self-sufficient" in terms of food. However, I've been canning and freezing and drying for 50 years. Somethings see us through to the next season and some I wind up having to buy. But it's so satisfying even when my back is "screaming" at me to stop. Keep going and know that we don't think you're a fear monger - never have!
I don't look at "preserving" as much from a self-sufficiency perspective; rather, enoying the "foods" I love all - year round. (As in - ya can't get a true garden anything here when it's 0° outside). So - I dehydrate, freeze, and can produce I grow - along with veggies and other available produce at seasonal/local farmer's markets that I don't grow myself. It's a true win-win. The phone/camera falling - that was epic. 🙃
Yea for you! No end of the world from Brian! Thank you!! I personally have heard from cousins growing up I would not have children etc as the world was ending. So I have two grown sons and am 76 yrs old and the world is still alive with lots of people, animals and plants. Go Brian!!
YES Texas Roadhouse is the BEST by far!! in my opinion🙂and I agree with being a "positive prepper". ..I was a Camp Fire Girl when there was such a thing, and like the Boy Scouts, their motto was "always be prepared"! I bought another pressure canner 3 years ago because I let my old one go at a garage sale when I had to move, and figured it was done. NOPE! right now I have 12 dozen empty jars from all the foods I have used from my canning of the last several years, and I need to fill them again. My container garden can't possibly produce enough, but my local farm market can. If Emilie has not used one before, check with the local farm services for safe useage. It is easy when done properly, for SAFE food preparation. One of the reasons I like your channel is because you do not promote "fear mongering"! there is enough of that elsewhere! Thanks for an upbeat video!
When i was growing up, i lived on a "farm". We didn't farm but we did have a one acre garden. My Dad taught me how to grow fruit and vegetables, harvest maple syrup, and cook. Our garden oroduced enough vegies and fruit for our family of six for the year. I learned how to bake, can and freeze food. We also hunted and preserved what we caught for the year. Doesnt take as much room as you think. We started our seedlings early and grew a lot in rotation. We also traded with our neighbors - something I'm finding hard to do today. We don't have a lot of property now but we do a lot of vertical growing, hanging planters, growing indoors and in our front yard and walkway. I say start small and see where you can fit things in. Read, think outside the box and recycle containers to use as grow pots. If you feel you have a brown thumb, there are several stores like Smart and Final that sell vegies in bulk for much less. Learn to freeze, dehydrate, can, or invest in a freeze dryer.
I’m so glad you’re going to share the how to can experience. I’ve always wanted to learn but, I’m a little afraid to use a pressure cooker. This is so exciting because I know you and Emily will explain the how to of the process.
Prepping is just another word for preparing. Yes, it had been hijacked, but we can take it back. I do enjoy watching you working around your homestead, with Daisy and Bella romping around. I appreciate your sharing your views about being prepared and being self-sufficient. It is a learning process. Thank you for sharing your journey.
You do have the right idea of "prepping " it doesn't have to be big or complicated. Just one day without power might show you what you need to improve on. Excited to see what ideas everyone one comes up with 🙂
Being in a state that has hurricanes every year I am working on building up a pantry for times when we do not have any electricity and if I am not able to work I don't have to worry about feeding me and my husband. I do a bit of gardening but not enough to cover a year of food. I invested in a pressure canner and then found a sale for chicken breast very cheap and canned over 40 lbs of "Ugly Chicken" (term coined by my favorite pantry prep person on utube!) and am always watching for sales on pork and beef to can also. It is reassuring to not have to worry about running out of food. I'm slowly working on building up items that we eat and learning how to rotate a pantry to always have what we need. You have blessed me with the knowledge of how to garden for our immediate needs and look forward to watching you on preserving items for the future.
Thank you for the "No Fear" attitude towards gardening, preserving, and the like. I try my best to live in faith 🙏, not fear, and your perspective lines up very well with that. As for the Pantry issue and all those channels that show theirs off, your idea of storage in nooks, crannies, under the bed, etc., makes more sense than anything else. Who cares if you live in an apartment? You can still have stuff that you will use stored away for a rainy day. 🌧 Thanks!
I watch this channel because I want to see what you do with your property. There is something satisfying about seeing a blank canvas turned into living art. To me this is a gardening channel and I am not really interested in "homesteading." This channel is more enjoyable for me personally than your gardening channel. If I had to guess, most people watching this channel are here for the same reason. Since I live in Oceanside, I can relate more to your weather and enjoy seeing what is available close by. I wish I could get as much land as you have, but I really doubt it will be in the cards for me. That being said, keep doing what you are doing.
I am totally sharing your mindset of feeding ourselves & not relying on grocery stores. We have a corner lot in a SD city. We have turned the backyard into a garden. 6 raised beds (4 are 4x10 & 2 are 3x8) We also have a 25x20 enclosure for sweet corn, strawberries & raspberries. I freeze the tomatoes & can them throughout the year as needed. We freeze the potatoes & peas. I can green beans & beets. Living in SD, we are able to hunt. I have learned to can venison. It is AMAZING!! You will enjoy the canned meat. so tender & quick meals. We trade produce with a friend for eggs. I know we can't handle chickens.
While I do homestead on several acres, I will second the "We dont have to produce what we preserve." While, my garden is fairly productive, I STILL buy veggies and fruits in bulk from local growers, get freebies from extended family (like pecans from my 87 yr old uncle's retired farm property), and barter with other growers in my neighborhood. Things like tomatoes (cause I cant seem to produce enough for entire year), apples, onions, dry beans, peaches, pears, blueberries, strawberries, and grapes, are staple purchases every year the moment they go in season. But its not just from local growers either. Weekly, I scour local grocery sales for good prices on fresh veg (like finding celery for 60 cent a bunch two weeks ago!) and buy a bunch for the freezer/dehydrator. You just need to know where to look, and put in a little effort and you can definitely stock your pantry well.
Texas Roadhouse is my absolute favorite!! Made my mouth water just thinking about it lol thanks for another great video. I love seeing your thought process and your ideas come to life
The last part of the video was my favorite, i think. It made me smile. You guys are so cute, and the camera kept falling, unintended comedy gold. I think gardening, canning, living off the land, etc. really needs to come back. So many kids just throw things away and don't think about the future. My youngest has shown an interest in gardening, and I'm trying to keep the interest alive. She only likes planting seeds and eating it, but we'll keep working on that.
So, here’s my idea of a good time Friday night. Curling up on my couch with a good cup of tea and watching Next Level Homestead😊. One of the blessings you provide is wholesome and inspiring entertainment to us older retirees on a fixed income. There’s nothing else I’d rather do. And tomorrow, I start doing what I learned tonight!
My step brother lives close to me and he doesn’t garden. I told him I was going to ninja plant perennials around his house, like Jerusalem artichokes and Taro, stuff you don’t really need to take care of, just in case, so we have that little bit extra if we need it.
You are right! No need to scare people. It never hurts to learn preserving methods. Being more self reliant is a great thing! You should get a freeze dryer. I bet Blue Alpine would work with you. That’s what we have.
Hello, it is nice to have support for the people who garden in their apartments! I haven't done too much gardening in the apartment, but have started some hydroponic herbs and love watching them grow. Looking forward to filling up my apartment with all that fresh oxygen and preserving things that i can. Thank you both, have a lovely weekend!
Loved the video, Brian. I believe we should be prepared . Our world is changing. Large or small there are things we can do. We just need a plan and start.
When I was married we belonged to a wonderful self-reliant group and learned so very much...we also were involved in community gardens! One thing to mention is grocery stores bakery dept. gives away 5 gallon buckets and we would buy wheat n different grains and mylar and store these filled buckets everywhere lol even like you mentioned under our beds...dehydrating is fun too ~ bread machines are often found at yard sales ect
I completely agree about the prepper channels, I can't watch them either. I do like preserving my produce, I made jelly from my concord grapes. I am learning how to ferment, I made lovely apple cider from my apples. I have gotten a pressure canner, I have only done water bath canning and haven't tried the pressure canner yet, looking forward for those videos. My Instant Pot is great for making yogurt. I have a dehydrator and use it a lot. We get duck eggs, great protein. I just ate kale from the garden, also using it to make kimchee. And our asparagus is just coming up. There is so much from a small garden! I found my first Monarch butterfly eggs on our milkweed. All the jasmine is in bloom. Abundance everywhere and every year it gets better!
I love how you described it. It's a sense of urgency, not panic, not fear. But it only takes looking around to know that it's smart to have some things at home. We'll try to can meat this year too. I was just yesterday telling my mother that I don't feel great about having so much stuff in the freezer because our electricity network is pretty bad where we are and not at all reliable.
I'm currently trying to clean around my Dad's 35 year old plus trees, taking them back from overgrown grapevines and blackberry bushes. Going to prune back the trees to see if I can get some new life into them. I planted a Grocery Row Garden with 3 new plum trees and a Pear. Plus a Cosmic Crisp and Fuji Apple tree close by. A lot of work done but so much more to do. Fruit trees are really a good thing to have for self sufficiency. Can't wait to see your progress.
Completely agree with preserving food where you are at. I watch Becoming a Farm Girl. She is in a townhouse and does amazing and filling her pantry with store bought food.
Yay! I'm so excited for the preserving videos. I've had a canning pot for a couple years now but haven't used it out of fear. I only have a patio garden but there is a farm near me that sells half-bushels and full bushels every year.
I have a greenhouse that's not fully built out inside, and I have 2 raised beds in there that are 26" X appx 4.5 ft. In one of those, I have lettuce and spinach and I get so much I had to dehydrate some! Also, my favorite thing to pressure can is dry beans, mostly pintos because that's what I have the most of. To be able to open a jar or two of those beans for dinner, well, it's so satisfying and easy! Some homemade bread or cornbread to round it out - I used to think "how silly to can beans." But I LOVE it! You will love pressure canning too.
I am going to *love* the focus on preservation! I, too, have recently gotten a dehydrator and canner, and plan to put away as much meat as possible. I've heard canned beef is amazing! Such a great point about taking advantage of your own AND others' harvests, too. Look forward to the direction this channel takes, as well as the "usual" gardening content!
20:59 Exactly! We use to buy bushels of produce from other farmers on the swap shop on an am radio station. Now there are plenty farmers markets and online.
The most inexpensive compact food storage is with a mason jar dehydrating kit for about $20. It includes a manual pump. A mason jar holds a LOT of food if it is dehydrated. You can do fruit, veg, meat, eggs, etc. with it.
I did exactly what you're talking about. I started late last year, but managed to can a bunch of tomato products, carrots, pumpkin, potatoes and turkey. I also have freezedryer and preserve vegetables I can't can (cauliflower, broccoli, etc), We also have rice, some pasta dishes, etc freezedried and ready to go. I freezedried a few eggs and some milk, Not a whole lot (yet), but it's getting better every month :)
I wondered if you've consulted with an engineer in regards to the sloping of the land and your idea to fill it with the logs and dirt.... Might be a good investment for the future of your property. Measure twice, cut once. 🙂 Really excited to see all your canning and prep videos to come. It's not Dooms Day Preparation... it's going back to basics and being self sufficient. It's what we all need to try to do for our families and our communities. Victory gardens during the war, etc... I absolutely LOVE it.
I learned how to can meat last year, and started trading with friends and neighbors for things I don't produce myself. This is how things were done for many years. It is only recently that we started buying all of our food at stores. I barter for eggs, milk, and chicken. I fish & hunt for other proteins. I do buy beef, but I buy it from our family's ranch. Setting up a swap & barter network is also an important self-sufficiency/surviival skill.
You don't even have to invest in a canner. I do water bath canning in a large stock pot. All you have to do, to water bath can, is make sure your pot is big enough to have an inch or so of water to cover the top of your jars as you're canning. I do have pressure canners and use them, but I prefer water bath canning if possible. Loved seeing the two of you out enjoying each other's company.
First of all, love your channel and think everyone is wise to have at least some degree of resiliency in their homes/lives. I think the pandemic and crazy weather have showed that there can be disruption that lasts longer than just a couple of days. What bothers me though about some of this doomsday stuff is that it sounds like a self-fulfilling prophecy - so many people have been convinced by social media, politicians, etc. that we are living in the worst of times and something terrible is going to happen soon, that it's like this mass hysteria which can lead to violence. I have been around a long time and I can remember even scarier and more difficult times than these and we can work through them if folks would just pull together instead of whipping up more hate and confrontation - that is what is most frightening to me. So glad that you and some other of my other favorite youtubers are not jumping on that bandwagon.
I grow what I can and am blessed to live near farm stands galore and buy and preserve what it doesn't make sense for me to grow. BTW, Texas Roadhouse is always a good idea.
Hi Brian, just watched your video on Homestead without land and I have one third of an acre and also a dehydrator a pressure canner, water bath canner and a freeze dryer. I am not a proper….just like preserving my own food as much as possible.😊
Wow just watching your physical work makes me exhausted. You do so so much manual work. I admire your drive. I had to have a large tree removed and I asked the men if they could cut me some big stump sections. I’m now using them too put large garden pots on top. It looks great and no slugs will bother these pots. Thank you for your videos and given us the example to get up and work in our yards/gardens.❤
Like the way you roll Brian. I've been food insecure in the past so I'm always stocking up and thinking ahead. If the pandemic taught me anything, it's that I'm doing a decent job of it, even on my small suburban property. Working with what we have is key -- there are so many ways to maximize space, etc. and I love that you're going in that direction. Btw, you and Emilie are the best comedy show ever!
Brian glad to see you are going to share food preservation. Another way to gain items you want or need is to barter extras you grow or produce, if you do a little networking.
I love that you are going to be talking to us about preserving. I've been getting into it too over the past year. To me it's not just about prepping, but about having great quality food available all year round and not having to pay a small fortune for it. Today I went to a farmer's market and bought a huge bag of capsicum (peppers to you, I'm in Australia) for $6 AUD. Absolute bargain!
I have 3 acres I homestead with sheep, pigs, cows, goats, chickens, turkeys, and donkeys. It works as I buy most of my feed in bulk, and grow the fruit, garden, and pasture part time in a rotational manner. I also recently built a green house out of resourced materials. I'm almost 70, and manage all this with my 43 yo autistic son. It's a fulfilling life, I'm stronger everyday and happier. GOD BLESS!
God bless you 🙏. I am 71 and want to homestead but would need to move. I do have a garden, most of my back yard! I love it! It is soul healing. ❤
In the '70s I was a new gardener and decided I would be a real Earth Mother and make sure my kids never ate unhealthy overprocessed food. So I grew as much as I could and learned to can and dehydrate and freeze as much as possible. I also baked all our bread for a couple of years (including hamburger and hot dog buns). Then I found out my kids would occasionally sneak off to some fast food place with their friends. And the breads I prepared beginning when I got home from work on Friday afternoon and finished by Sunday evening didn't last nearly as long as they should because the whole family said, "Hey! Good bread!" and it was all gone when the week was only half over. My grown kids (both in their 50s) are very healthy eaters, so I know some of my plan worked.
But I learned over the years my own limitations and gained a much better perspective of what made me happy. So now I grow fewer things because I don't want to spend my last few years fretting with things that need too much care and attention. I balance my life by deciding how much effort and time I enjoy spending on growing, preserving and preparing our food. I have a small freezer full of things I grew in the garden or prepared in my kitchen to save for later. I don't do as much canning because I'm tired of doing so much of that, but now I'm starting to experiment with fermenting pickles instead of making them with vinegar, and I'm going to do some sauerkraut and kimchee, too. But if any of that fails, it will have been fun trying and not a tragedy because we didn't really need those things for survival.
My point is, people can (and should) grow some things and preserve some things even on a very small scale simply because it's rewarding and educational and can be an enjoyable activity. Look at how many people learned to bake bread during the pandemic -- many who would have never, ever thought of trying such a thing until they had an enormous amount of time they had to fill and some actual need because of unavailable products or lowered income, and yes, some fear about what would happen next and how would they get through it. I'm sure some of them dropped the bread-making as soon as things got back to something akin to normal, but many of them found a satisfying activity that they feel confident they can do on a scaled-back basis and will continue some of it because it's a skill they've learned and produces something wonderful. I know some people actually learned to cook during that time out of necessity, but found they now cook at least a couple of nights a week because they like it. The success of your channel is a good indicator that people enjoy learning and just observing someone who is successfully managing so many things that are not only not achievable for ourselves (I'm too old for much of it) but in some cases not even a dream but just a lovely thing to watch someone else do.
I grew up with mom making everything. She limited bought candy and soda. We grew a few things and my grandparents always had a large garden. We would help my grandmother can every year. Then after I grew up I did the same.
If you wrote a book, I would read it. I am 71 and have done many of the things you mentioned. Canning? Yep, just tired of it. Haven't tried the fermenting but have equipment and plan to when my garden starts producing. This is a great channel. I love reading the comments often.
🇨🇦 1 bedroom apartment with a good size balcony and a 4x10ft raised bed and a lot of physical limits. I do what I can in the space I have. I grow what I use most, or is most expensive. I grow tomatoes, lettuce and greens, garlic, cucumber, zucchini. I even keep giving melons a try on trellises, they're tasteless in stores but I love the ones I grow so much. I don't grow sweet peppers, they are available in season a dime a dozen, and take too much space for what I eat. Onions as well, dime a dozen, a 10lb bag does me months.
It's also space and climate to store things. My apartment isn't cool enough to store potatoes, and you can only stack so much glass in closets.
Do what you can in the space and ability you have! 💚 People that gatekeep gardening and self sufficiency 😒🙄 because we can't do it *all* doesn't mean we can't or shouldn't do any.
I'm curious, did you actually find any info in this video for a novice to grow food on no land? He took so long talking about his land that I had to watch at X2 speed. Still found nothing unless you count "try to invest in canning" . I'm curious about this but perhaps there is another place where I could get actual useful information?
@@sevenofzach www.youtube.com/@SuttonsDaze
Bella and Daisy laying down together - cutest thing ever!!
I know ❤
They will be friends….it just takes time.
I mean they have a language barrier…bark vs moo lol
Love seeing Daisy and Bella hanging out chilling and laying in the grass 🥰
First off, Brian, I want to tell you I like your attitude and ideas about 'prepping'. The word and the concept have been "hijacked" by many in the "survivalist" community. I call myself a 'prepper lite'. I try to have things on hand so I don't have to worry about an 'emergency' trip to the store. My idea is to look around your house and see what you could not do without for X period of time. Get some extra of those items. And not just food. TP, Q-tips, batteries, laundry soap, etc. A lot of surviving an emergency is attitude. Whatever will help keep you comfortable and happy is a consideration.
On 'self-sufficiency, very few people can do everything. If you have a community of like-minded people near, consider bartering. Trade your produce, (or talents), for things you don't have. An example would be; if you are able to can, offer to can for someone who grows but can't can. You get X jars per X jars you can for them. The possibilities are endless.
I don't expect Armageddon or a zombie apocalypse. But an emergency can be local. Last winter snow blocked the mountain passes and delivery trucks couldn't get to the stores for about a week. The shelves were getting a little bare. Not fear, just awareness.
Great points, my daughter and her husband live in a mountain community that was impacted last year, they were very thankful to be prepared!
Thistle is called being prepared 😊 I’m a country gal & we never lived close to big store, so my mom canned & kept on hand what was used most. We had cows & chickens to keep the freezer full.
This is being prepared.
Big difference 👍👵🏻👩🌾❣️
To me, the idea of prepping means you don't have to be afraid. You don't panic because you see something online or on the news. It means you have the things you need no matter what is going on. I grew up PA Dutch. My grandma and all the rest of my extended family lived through the depression. They all had roughly 18 months worth of food in jars and their root cellars (some of which were built into their basements. They all gardened. Some raised cattle, pigs, chickens, or goats. They traded between themselves for things they didn't produce and it was a cooperative effort. If a crop failed, if the garden got wiped out by hail, or failed for any reason they had food on the shelves to last them until the next harvest. Because they were living that way before the depression, they weren't scrambling to get by during the depression. To me, that is prepping. Not relying on grocery stores. Having an oil lamp and oil if the power is out. Having a wood stove for heat, cooking, and hot water if necessary. It isn't a 'new' concept and it doesn't require fear mongering to be involved in it. Right now, I purchase the things I'm not growing from a local farmer, usually in bulk. Then I spend several days canning or dehydrating. Sometimes both. I pick up things that are on sale whether they are on my list or not. If I have an item on my list but find a better deal on something else, I just swap them out. And ~ storage. I live in a very small home; 528 sq ft. We built shelves into the walls and use a full sheet of paneling on piano hinges as the door. Two of our divider walls are floor to ceiling shelves done this way, as well as four exterior walls. It took away 8 inches of floor space, but I have room for literally hundreds of canning jars, and I use them for both canning and storing dehydrated food. We do have a small number of the large cans of freeze dried foods ~ and that is because we actually like those things. They are all stored under the bed (I sleep in my Grandma's 4-poster and it is tall enough for that with room to spare!). We also have water for our chickens and rabbits in 50 gallon barrels, harvest rain water for our garden, etc. The other two things we have are a LOT of non-electric tools and all of my kitchen gadgets/appliances. I can can/dehydrate with or without electricity which I consider a major plus. The same goes for any repairs or projects we plan. The odd thing is that I actually prefer using them. I used to have an expensive mixer with all sorts of attachments. I gave it to a neighbor. I prefer my hand crank grinder, my hand crank pasta maker, etc. My dining table IS my work table 95% of the year. It is huge, but I can line up all the things I need to run 4 bushels of apples through over 2 days (or anything else I have a ton of). I guess I'm country at heart, and quite happy to be that way.
My parents grew up during the depression. We raised meat from rabbits, chickens and pigs on a small property as well as a garden.Dad had bee hives for honey and we tapped maple trees for syrup. Growing up we used hand operated tools for canning and preparing as well as garden tools. We built a fire in the yard for water bath canning and sterilizing jars. The best sausage ever was home canned. We made homemade apple butter in a copper kettle in the yard as well. I am glad I learned some of those things growing up. We called it saving for a rainy day because you never knew if the weather was going to allow you to have some crops. It wasn't prepping it was living off the land.
Same here I have a garden and cann and we buy a beef from a friend we just call it life. I don't understand why people call it prepping 🤷♀️
Another idea, which is what 3 core friends and I are planning, is that each of us are using our yard's strengths. One does really good with root vegetables, another in a condo is honestly an Herb Goddess, another with tomatoes, I do good squash in my yard. We'll all plant lots of everything and then we're planning canning days. I have a dehydrator setting on my oven, so I can do big batchs in that. And we're sharing. I remember growing up my Grandma would get a literal pick up truck full of sweet corn from the farmer their property backed up to (she kept an eye on his cows when they were near and gave them watermelon rinds) and we'd spend a weekend cooking, cutting down and freezing corn and everyone went home with enough for the winter. Working together goes a long way.
Brian, I'm a 70 year old vision impaired woman with degenerative back. I taught myself to can in 2020. My family enjoys my green beans, purple sweet potatoes, winter squash, tomato soup, swiss chard and kale. I don't can the chard or kale, but freeze it. Do yourself a favor and get steam canner. I can't lift a water bath pot to empty it, and hate to use that much water. Bought myself the steam canner, and it is amazing. Easy peasy. The purple sweet potatoes are so tasty, much better than Beauregard. Meats are easy to can, and yes, I buy mostly from local farmers. So enjoy watching your 2 channels, especially with Daisy and Bella. ❤
Aww that shot of Daisy and Bella together in the grass is priceless.
I call it stocking up!💚
For me, a viewer, I find it very peaceful watching you work your property, with Daisy grazing in the background and Bella watching you. I like the direction you are going with the orchard, (maybe a small vineyard as well?) I love being able to go out and walk our property and snack on a few fresh-picked snap peas, cherry tomatoes, berries, etc. A Japanese garden would be interesting, but maybe in a small area of your property not dedicated to edibles. I appreciate your comment about extreme, scary 'doomsday prepping/survivalism.' Those channels are the ones I steer clear of. I apply common sense to just about everything, including my pantry.
Thank you
I also buy food that is a surplus from farmers and I preserve. As an older person I cannot have a huge garden, work load is too much, I do enjoy what I can grow. I grow food for my health and to save money. Thank you Brian.
I’m one without an area for a pantry. I have jars under my bed on bookshelves and lots of random places. I don’t like the channels that try to scare you. I’ve lived in many different size places. I grew up on a 200 acre dairy farm but since have lived on s v small lot in town to 330 acres. I’ve had gardens in all the places I’ve lived. I love gardening and the fresh food. I bought a tomato last week and it was awful. One of the reasons I watch your channel is the calmness I feel. Thanks, Brian.
Thank you!
Same here! I don't like the videos that tell you the world is going to end 😕
Exactly what I was thinking.
Those who don’t have a yard or space to grow things can get with a neighbor that does and ask if you can use their space to have a garden. Offer to share the yield with said neighbor and get growing! Good way to make friends with neighbors.
Yes, you make sense, and I like where you’re heading!
My first veggie garden gave me a huge appreciation for farmers and grocery stores. It’s mind boggling how much food is in a grocery store, when you start to understand what it takes to grow food. That’s when I realized that there are degrees of self sufficiency, and almost nobody is 100% independent of the rest of humanity. Even hunter gatherers lived in communities and pooled resources and labor. Even agrarian cultures bartered with each other for what they needed and didn’t produce for themselves.
So the goal isn’t to be able to live cut off from society for an extended period of time (unless you’re a prepper, and I honestly think they’re deluding themselves.) Instead, I try to give myself a buffer against hard times, so I can see myself through without crisis while community works on pulling together and becoming more functional again. And that can be as small as tucking aside an extra pack of toilet paper. Remember 2020!
Yes!
Redbud flowers are edible and delicious in salads and stir fries!
Oh! I'm so glad that you are late getting your 2nd batch of seeds started!
Mee tooooo!!
Misery loves company😅
You’re welcome 😉
I think we're all going slow this spring. Me too. My seeds are piled up on my kitchen table just waiting for me! I already have cold weather crops outside in my 2 x 4' greenhouse on my deck, waiting for the extreme cold to quit!
i dont think I've commented twice on a video, but i need to on this. It's not fear mongering. it's just common sense! I love the community here. Your videos feel like im just visiting at a friend's house. Thank you.
Finally, sitting together side by side
I got interrupted during my last comment attempt so had to start over! I have been preserving, canning and freezing what I grow myself but also what I can buy at great sales both vegetables (huge heads of cauliflower for $1.49 each…when up here in Canada they are usually 4-6 dollars a head no matter the size!) and meat…chicken at 2 for the price of 1: beef, even ground beef, pork, ham, etc at 1/2 the price per pound as usual. We live on a city lot with raised beds, no basement for storage and with a large garage with no insulation that gets very hot in summer and very cold in winter. (My growing zone is 7/7b) My husband built me a 6x6x8 foot “pantry” room in the corner of the garage. Insulated walls and ceiling with double walls and ceiling. Shelves top to bottom. We use an incandescent lightbulb on at all times to keep a constant temperature in winter, (around 45 - 50 degrees) and will not use that bulb in the summer at all other than to see what we are doing (there is no window) relying on the insulation and double walls to keep the room from getting hot. It works great. And I have full shelves of everything I would need for a full meal, including dessert (canned peaches). As you cant can vegetables like cauliflower, I blanched and frozen.
Got a brisket at $4 a pound. I cut off the excess fat and rendered it, cooked the brisket, and canned 6 16 oz jars. Even if not "prepping," what a luxury to open a jar, for any number of recipes. Pre roasted leaves a great texture and flavor after canning. I got tallow, meat with broth, and the leftovers mixed with cooked oats made lots of wet dog food and chicken treats. Zero waste.
Awesome!
I've said this begote, and I'll say it again. I haven't been following uou since you started TH-cam, but I've never felt that you were fear mongering! I've learned sooo much from you!! I bought a dehydrator the summer before last, and I'm still working through the garden produce I dehydrated last summer. I try to work through most of it before the next season's garden produces.
Thank you!
Literally LOL’ing at the two of you in the car. That’s something that would happen to us. Thank you for all your videos. As someone who has never had a particularly green thumb and lives in a suburban postage stamp, I appreciate trying to learn from you.
Thank you!
Our redbuds are in full bloom and we just collected enough blooms to make redbuds jelly. Can’t wait!
That’s awesome!
Preparing for whatever happens in life is smart, not fearful! One can look back at history and see many reasons to improve our security. We may be able to help not only ourselves but our neighbors in a difficult situation. Great goal!
Thank you
Your channel has really grown in areas more than gardens and homesteads. It's refreshing the topics that you are exploring and love the diversity. In my humble opinion, the other prepper channels do instill fear and distrust toward the government, and even have a militant streak that I can't buy into. I am no fool and do know the government always has their agenda, that's not it, but to have to pound that subject with every video made is not for me. Others might enjoy the prepper vibe, more power to them and we all have our likes and dislikes. I get asked all the time what my sweatshirt stands for "Garden Defiantly" and I have to chuckle every time!
That’s awesome!
Try drilling holes in the top of the stumps and pouring salt in the holes. It should kill the stump.
Exactly what I'm doing this year. I've expanded my garden to grow more to preserve more. I'm also planning on buying a pressure canner to preserve meat and other produce that can't be done with water bath canning. I've already got a dehydrator. The freeze dryer is an out of budget item to purchase for now. After what's been happening with the food supply here in Canada since the pandemic, I have to look after me and my family. I'm doing whatever it takes to minimize my reliance on store bought foods.
I'm glad you guys also have fun besides working hard. I can see why Brian can't be a vegetarian, he likes meat a lot.😀 I could not be a total vegetarian either. I can tomato juice only because I like the way mine tastes better then the stores brand. I freeze whatever of berries i can't eat at the time when I pick them, cause sometimes a whole lot ripens at once. Like you said about going to the farmers market and support my local farmers, I do that because where I am in the city I could grow a small amount. The only thing is we have raccoons in the neighborhood who like corn also and the corn would have to be grown in a cage. They can climb any fence or tree to get in. So I support my farmer for what I can't grow. I freeze and or store stuff as supplementing our diet. It's always a good idea to have a little extra food around.😉
The scene of Daisy and Bella lounging in the grass together is heartwarming. If I was a farm animal or dog, I would love to live at your homestead. Blessings to you and yours from the Oregon coast.
My master bed is raised and its loaded full of food underneath. Also, I build canned good shelves that hid behind closet doors and the laundry room door. They dont interfer with anything and you wouldnt know they were there unless you close the door and were in that room. Lots of unused space behind a door. I attached them to the wall using a french cleat so they can handle an enormous amount of weight. 2 of them are first in first out style. So store bought canned good just automatically get rotated.
You could start a business selling your hidden shelves! What a great idea! I’m not very handy that way.
I so enjoy growing my food but on our small one acre we are limited as to the trees, etc. So for the last three years I have been blessed to get tomatoes, green beans, cucumbers, peaches and pears that I have preserved. I will continue to grow what we can eat fresh and rely on our Amish friends to get what we need to preserve. I keep thinking of getting chickens but ask myself am I ambitious enough and we also travel and know they aren’t cats that can be left for a day or so! A great channel that has taught me a lot about canning and preserving is Rose Red Homestead. I like that….positive prepping!! The shot of Bella and Daisy lying together resting was priceless❤Blessings to you all.
Thank you!
Loved seeing Daisy and Bella laying together. I think the idea of concentrating on food production and self sufficiency for now is wise. Canned food lasts a long time, and can help you get thru high prices. Love that you left the camera flops in, LOL
Thank you
I have some random thoughts about preserving food.
First, I agree about many of the "prepper" channels. I do not want to live in fear either. When I was growing up, and we were preserving food, it was so we could eat it. Eat it during the winter, spring, and maybe the following year or two if the harvest was poor. Preserving food (after that initial investment) is cheaper than going to the grocery store. And for me, not going to the grocery store means less temptation to buy crappy food. Preserving your own food means you know what is in it. It gives you control over the amount of sugar and salt that you add. Preserving food means you can play with recipes and add the spices you like best.
Self-sufficient, to me, does not mean I have to grow everything myself. I grow enough tomatoes and zucchini to exchange them for citrus from a friend and for eggs from the woman down the road.
My parents--who had a basement pantry-- bought a swamp cooler to keep their garage cooler during the summers when they moved to the Sacramento valley.
Just some thoughts.
I started this way of life last year . I live in a small farming village, just a regular backyard. Grew enough last year to get us through september to now, this year we are doubling the veggy garden so we can have a full year of canned foods, also bought a pressure canner and dehydrator( kept an eye on sales) can't do meats, but bought a second freezer to buy 1/2 cow etc last year.this year I plan on canning more meat to avoid freezing when I can. I live in Quebec Canada, zone 5 ish
That’s awesome!
It really is true you can grow in very small places. When I was a kid my dad told me I had potatoes growing in my ears!!
My dad told me the same thing! 🤣
My grandmother taught me to can food. I do it as a prepper and save on food, esp meat. When it's on sale I buy a bunch to can, freeze, and dehydrate
I started watching you around the time you hit 100K on your gardening channel (now 1M!), & I have learned so much from you on there. When you started this homesteading channel, I couldn't subscribe fast enough. I was already following a couple other homesteading channels, one that WAS my favorite. i just have to say that NLG & NLH are now my favorite channels. You're relatable. You don't preach. You don't discuss politics. You're funny (love the sarcasm). And I just can't decide who are cuter, Bella & Daisy, or you & Emilie.
😊😊😊😊😊😊😊
Thank you for being positive doing whatever we need to do….living one day (wisely) as we can.🙏🏽❤️🙏🏽
AWESOME video, perfect balance, love it. Preserving is a lost skill that is fun, customizable, and smart. We can do it without a threat of doomsday to!!!!
Thank you!
There IS a lot of fear-mongering out there Brian - you are NOT one of them. In fact you're the opposite - always have a smile on my face watching you guys. What's that saying, prepare for the worst, expect the best? Thank you once again for sharing the personal bits of your life as well - you two are just too cute - think you really do need a device holder for the car :O) PS livestock are great ecosystem engineers, especially with the fertilizer. They're not just for consumption - great companions too!
Thank you
We are in our 70's and are far from "self-sufficient" in terms of food. However, I've been canning and freezing and drying for 50 years. Somethings see us through to the next season and some I wind up having to buy. But it's so satisfying even when my back is "screaming" at me to stop. Keep going and know that we don't think you're a fear monger - never have!
I don't look at "preserving" as much from a self-sufficiency perspective; rather, enoying the "foods" I love all - year round. (As in - ya can't get a true garden anything here when it's 0° outside). So - I dehydrate, freeze, and can produce I grow - along with veggies and other available produce at seasonal/local farmer's markets that I don't grow myself. It's a true win-win. The phone/camera falling - that was epic. 🙃
Yea for you! No end of the world from Brian! Thank you!! I personally have heard from cousins growing up I would not have children etc as the world was ending. So I have two grown sons and am 76 yrs old and the world is still alive with lots of people, animals and plants. Go Brian!!
My husband and I enjoy your shows…..we came across your channel by chance….glad we did. 🥰
YES Texas Roadhouse is the BEST by far!! in my opinion🙂and I agree with being a "positive prepper". ..I was a Camp Fire Girl when there was such a thing, and like the Boy Scouts, their motto was "always be prepared"! I bought another pressure canner 3 years ago because I let my old one go at a garage sale when I had to move, and figured it was done. NOPE! right now I have 12 dozen empty jars from all the foods I have used from my canning of the last several years, and I need to fill them again. My container garden can't possibly produce enough, but my local farm market can. If Emilie has not used one before, check with the local farm services for safe useage. It is easy when done properly, for SAFE food preparation. One of the reasons I like your channel is because you do not promote "fear mongering"! there is enough of that elsewhere! Thanks for an upbeat video!
Thank you
When i was growing up, i lived on a "farm". We didn't farm but we did have a one acre garden. My Dad taught me how to grow fruit and vegetables, harvest maple syrup, and cook. Our garden oroduced enough vegies and fruit for our family of six for the year. I learned how to bake, can and freeze food. We also hunted and preserved what we caught for the year. Doesnt take as much room as you think. We started our seedlings early and grew a lot in rotation. We also traded with our neighbors - something I'm finding hard to do today. We don't have a lot of property now but we do a lot of vertical growing, hanging planters, growing indoors and in our front yard and walkway. I say start small and see where you can fit things in. Read, think outside the box and recycle containers to use as grow pots. If you feel you have a brown thumb, there are several stores like Smart and Final that sell vegies in bulk for much less. Learn to freeze, dehydrate, can, or invest in a freeze dryer.
I’m so glad you’re going to share the how to can experience. I’ve always wanted to learn but, I’m a little afraid to use a pressure cooker. This is so exciting because I know you and Emily will explain the how to of the process.
Prepping is just another word for preparing. Yes, it had been hijacked, but we can take it back. I do enjoy watching you working around your homestead, with Daisy and Bella romping around. I appreciate your sharing your views about being prepared and being self-sufficient. It is a learning process. Thank you for sharing your journey.
You do have the right idea of "prepping " it doesn't have to be big or complicated. Just one day without power might show you what you need to improve on. Excited to see what ideas everyone one comes up with 🙂
Being in a state that has hurricanes every year I am working on building up a pantry for times when we do not have any electricity and if I am not able to work I don't have to worry about feeding me and my husband. I do a bit of gardening but not enough to cover a year of food. I invested in a pressure canner and then found a sale for chicken breast very cheap and canned over 40 lbs of "Ugly Chicken" (term coined by my favorite pantry prep person on utube!) and am always watching for sales on pork and beef to can also. It is reassuring to not have to worry about running out of food. I'm slowly working on building up items that we eat and learning how to rotate a pantry to always have what we need. You have blessed me with the knowledge of how to garden for our immediate needs and look forward to watching you on preserving items for the future.
Thank you for the "No Fear" attitude towards gardening, preserving, and the like. I try my best to live in faith 🙏, not fear, and your perspective lines up very well with that.
As for the Pantry issue and all those channels that show theirs off, your idea of storage in nooks, crannies, under the bed, etc., makes more sense than anything else. Who cares if you live in an apartment? You can still have stuff that you will use stored away for a rainy day. 🌧 Thanks!
I watch this channel because I want to see what you do with your property. There is something satisfying about seeing a blank canvas turned into living art. To me this is a gardening channel and I am not really interested in "homesteading." This channel is more enjoyable for me personally than your gardening channel. If I had to guess, most people watching this channel are here for the same reason.
Since I live in Oceanside, I can relate more to your weather and enjoy seeing what is available close by. I wish I could get as much land as you have, but I really doubt it will be in the cards for me.
That being said, keep doing what you are doing.
Thank you so much!
I am so glad that you will be going into other homesteading activities of canning and such. I find your station the best one for me.
I am totally sharing your mindset of feeding ourselves & not relying on grocery stores. We have a corner lot in a SD city. We have turned the backyard into a garden. 6 raised beds (4 are 4x10 & 2 are 3x8) We also have a 25x20 enclosure for sweet corn, strawberries & raspberries. I freeze the tomatoes & can them throughout the year as needed. We freeze the potatoes & peas. I can green beans & beets. Living in SD, we are able to hunt. I have learned to can venison. It is AMAZING!! You will enjoy the canned meat. so tender & quick meals. We trade produce with a friend for eggs. I know we can't handle chickens.
Once again, I’m left with a smile on my face and a chuckle in my heart. Love your show!!
While I do homestead on several acres, I will second the "We dont have to produce what we preserve." While, my garden is fairly productive, I STILL buy veggies and fruits in bulk from local growers, get freebies from extended family (like pecans from my 87 yr old uncle's retired farm property), and barter with other growers in my neighborhood. Things like tomatoes (cause I cant seem to produce enough for entire year), apples, onions, dry beans, peaches, pears, blueberries, strawberries, and grapes, are staple purchases every year the moment they go in season. But its not just from local growers either. Weekly, I scour local grocery sales for good prices on fresh veg (like finding celery for 60 cent a bunch two weeks ago!) and buy a bunch for the freezer/dehydrator. You just need to know where to look, and put in a little effort and you can definitely stock your pantry well.
Texas Roadhouse is my absolute favorite!! Made my mouth water just thinking about it lol thanks for another great video. I love seeing your thought process and your ideas come to life
Thank you!
Thank you so much for these videos. You are helping my nerves and anxiety.
So glad Daisy's halter is Moooovelos and still Loooose❤
Love your car segment😂. Hope you had a great dinner!
Thank you. We did!
Hi Bryan, Bella is almost the size of Daisy, they are so cute together
I know!
I don't call it prepping, I call it preparing. I'm a preparer and it's a good thing. Preparing has come in handy several times.
The last part of the video was my favorite, i think. It made me smile. You guys are so cute, and the camera kept falling, unintended comedy gold. I think gardening, canning, living off the land, etc. really needs to come back. So many kids just throw things away and don't think about the future.
My youngest has shown an interest in gardening, and I'm trying to keep the interest alive. She only likes planting seeds and eating it, but we'll keep working on that.
Bella watching you dig, like "I get in trouble when I dig." 😂
😂
So, here’s my idea of a good time Friday night. Curling up on my couch with a good cup of tea and watching Next Level Homestead😊. One of the blessings you provide is wholesome and inspiring entertainment to us older retirees on a fixed income. There’s nothing else I’d rather do. And tomorrow, I start doing what I learned tonight!
Thank you so much!
My step brother lives close to me and he doesn’t garden. I told him I was going to ninja plant perennials around his house, like Jerusalem artichokes and Taro, stuff you don’t really need to take care of, just in case, so we have that little bit extra if we need it.
That’s a good idea!
To me homesteading is a state of mind and thinking about what we do.
You are right! No need to scare people. It never hurts to learn preserving methods. Being more self reliant is a great thing! You should get a freeze dryer. I bet Blue Alpine would work with you. That’s what we have.
Hello, it is nice to have support for the people who garden in their apartments! I haven't done too much gardening in the apartment, but have started some hydroponic herbs and love watching them grow. Looking forward to filling up my apartment with all that fresh oxygen and preserving things that i can. Thank you both, have a lovely weekend!
Thank you. You too!
Loved the video, Brian. I believe we should be prepared . Our world is changing. Large or small there are things we can do. We just need a plan and start.
You could hollow out those big chuncks of wood and use them as planters in your cottage garden or in your gardening for free veggie patch
When I was married we belonged to a wonderful self-reliant group and learned so very much...we also were involved in community gardens! One thing to mention is grocery stores bakery dept. gives away 5 gallon buckets and we would buy wheat n different grains and mylar and store these filled buckets everywhere lol even like you mentioned under our beds...dehydrating is fun too ~ bread machines are often found at yard sales ect
Thanks for sharing!!
I completely agree about the prepper channels, I can't watch them either. I do like preserving my produce, I made jelly from my concord grapes. I am learning how to ferment, I made lovely apple cider from my apples. I have gotten a pressure canner, I have only done water bath canning and haven't tried the pressure canner yet, looking forward for those videos. My Instant Pot is great for making yogurt. I have a dehydrator and use it a lot. We get duck eggs, great protein. I just ate kale from the garden, also using it to make kimchee. And our asparagus is just coming up. There is so much from a small garden! I found my first Monarch butterfly eggs on our milkweed. All the jasmine is in bloom. Abundance everywhere and every year it gets better!
I love how you described it. It's a sense of urgency, not panic, not fear. But it only takes looking around to know that it's smart to have some things at home. We'll try to can meat this year too. I was just yesterday telling my mother that I don't feel great about having so much stuff in the freezer because our electricity network is pretty bad where we are and not at all reliable.
I'm currently trying to clean around my Dad's 35 year old plus trees, taking them back from overgrown grapevines and blackberry bushes. Going to prune back the trees to see if I can get some new life into them. I planted a Grocery Row Garden with 3 new plum trees and a Pear. Plus a Cosmic Crisp and Fuji Apple tree close by. A lot of work done but so much more to do. Fruit trees are really a good thing to have for self sufficiency. Can't wait to see your progress.
Completely agree with preserving food where you are at. I watch Becoming a Farm Girl. She is in a townhouse and does amazing and filling her pantry with store bought food.
Yay! I'm so excited for the preserving videos. I've had a canning pot for a couple years now but haven't used it out of fear. I only have a patio garden but there is a farm near me that sells half-bushels and full bushels every year.
I have a greenhouse that's not fully built out inside, and I have 2 raised beds in there that are 26" X appx 4.5 ft. In one of those, I have lettuce and spinach and I get so much I had to dehydrate some! Also, my favorite thing to pressure can is dry beans, mostly pintos because that's what I have the most of. To be able to open a jar or two of those beans for dinner, well, it's so satisfying and easy! Some homemade bread or cornbread to round it out - I used to think "how silly to can beans." But I LOVE it! You will love pressure canning too.
I am going to *love* the focus on preservation! I, too, have recently gotten a dehydrator and canner, and plan to put away as much meat as possible. I've heard canned beef is amazing! Such a great point about taking advantage of your own AND others' harvests, too. Look forward to the direction this channel takes, as well as the "usual" gardening content!
20:59 Exactly! We use to buy bushels of produce from other farmers on the swap shop on an am radio station. Now there are plenty farmers markets and online.
The most inexpensive compact food storage is with a mason jar dehydrating kit for about $20. It includes a manual pump. A mason jar holds a LOT of food if it is dehydrated. You can do fruit, veg, meat, eggs, etc. with it.
Hahaha! Your halter jokes crack me up! Kudos on having a date night! Cheers!
Thank you!
I like how you're thinking ahead, that's what homesteading is about. We raised our own beef & lamb and it tasted so much better than store bought.
I did exactly what you're talking about. I started late last year, but managed to can a bunch of tomato products, carrots, pumpkin, potatoes and turkey. I also have freezedryer and preserve vegetables I can't can (cauliflower, broccoli, etc), We also have rice, some pasta dishes, etc freezedried and ready to go. I freezedried a few eggs and some milk, Not a whole lot (yet), but it's getting better every month :)
That’s awesome!
I wondered if you've consulted with an engineer in regards to the sloping of the land and your idea to fill it with the logs and dirt.... Might be a good investment for the future of your property. Measure twice, cut once. 🙂
Really excited to see all your canning and prep videos to come. It's not Dooms Day Preparation... it's going back to basics and being self sufficient. It's what we all need to try to do for our families and our communities. Victory gardens during the war, etc... I absolutely LOVE it.
I learned how to can meat last year, and started trading with friends and neighbors for things I don't produce myself. This is how things were done for many years. It is only recently that we started buying all of our food at stores. I barter for eggs, milk, and chicken. I fish & hunt for other proteins. I do buy beef, but I buy it from our family's ranch. Setting up a swap & barter network is also an important self-sufficiency/surviival skill.
You don't even have to invest in a canner. I do water bath canning in a large stock pot. All you have to do, to water bath can, is make sure your pot is big enough to have an inch or so of water to cover the top of your jars as you're canning. I do have pressure canners and use them, but I prefer water bath canning if possible. Loved seeing the two of you out enjoying each other's company.
I lovey pressure canner. I took Carolyn's class, before School of Traditional Skills started. She is a great teacher.
First of all, love your channel and think everyone is wise to have at least some degree of resiliency in their homes/lives. I think the pandemic and crazy weather have showed that there can be disruption that lasts longer than just a couple of days. What bothers me though about some of this doomsday stuff is that it sounds like a self-fulfilling prophecy - so many people have been convinced by social media, politicians, etc. that we are living in the worst of times and something terrible is going to happen soon, that it's like this mass hysteria which can lead to violence. I have been around a long time and I can remember even scarier and more difficult times than these and we can work through them if folks would just pull together instead of whipping up more hate and confrontation - that is what is most frightening to me. So glad that you and some other of my other favorite youtubers are not jumping on that bandwagon.
You can pickle eggs an can.
You can water bath or pressure can milk butter an cheese. I learned from jackie clay from back woods home
I grow what I can and am blessed to live near farm stands galore and buy and preserve what it doesn't make sense for me to grow.
BTW, Texas Roadhouse is always a good idea.
Yes!
Love seeing your wife in some of the videos. Lovely person.
Emilie says thank you 😊
Hi Brian, just watched your video on Homestead without land and I have one third of an acre and also a dehydrator a pressure canner, water bath canner and a freeze dryer. I am not a proper….just like preserving my own food as much as possible.😊
Sounds great!
Wow just watching your physical work makes me exhausted. You do so so much manual work. I admire your drive. I had to have a large tree removed and I asked the men if they could cut me some big stump sections. I’m now using them too put large garden pots on top. It looks great and no slugs will bother these pots. Thank you for your videos and given us the example to get up and work in our yards/gardens.❤
Thank you
Like the way you roll Brian. I've been food insecure in the past so I'm always stocking up and thinking ahead. If the pandemic taught me anything, it's that I'm doing a decent job of it, even on my small suburban property. Working with what we have is key -- there are so many ways to maximize space, etc. and I love that you're going in that direction. Btw, you and Emilie are the best comedy show ever!
Brian glad to see you are going to share food preservation.
Another way to gain items you want or need is to barter extras you grow or produce, if you do a little networking.
The way you start your sweet potato slips is how I start my dahlias, and I use milk containers with holes punched in the bottom as well.
I love that you are going to be talking to us about preserving. I've been getting into it too over the past year. To me it's not just about prepping, but about having great quality food available all year round and not having to pay a small fortune for it. Today I went to a farmer's market and bought a huge bag of capsicum (peppers to you, I'm in Australia) for $6 AUD. Absolute bargain!
Brian you should use stupid out by Bonide then cover the stump with soil . I have used it and it works great!
Thanks for the tip!