Can single women homestead?

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I am 47 yrs. old, kids grown and gone and live on 2 acres with well and septic. I would like to get more rural and more self-sufficient but am afraid I might be getting in over my head. I would love to have chickens, garden organic, grow fruit trees,etc. but am afriad the challenges of a homestead would be too much for one woman. I would appreciate any input, especially from other women who are homesteading. Thank you.

-- Karen Keaton (hhm@stratos.net), April 06, 2000

Answers

If that's what you really want to do I say go for it! Just start out on a small scale with everything, & only try 1 or 2 new things at a time until you know how much you can & are willing to handle. Start with what you think will be the most successful first because successful adventures will make you feel braver about tackling other new things. Another thing to remember is that this is the only 'job' you'll ever have where you & only you decide how much you can handle......you're calling all the shots on this one! Good Luck! Jane

-- Jane Gauch (Sewbears4u@aol.com), April 06, 2000.

Fruit trees take care of themselves 85% of the time, a garden is only as big as you plant it, and you can get a nice trio of chickens that will lay enough for one. (A trio is usually 2 female, one male--leave the male out if you don't like crowing)I made the mistake of trying to use the entire garden space laid out by preevious owners the first few years. I have now made individual beds closer to the house and actually get equal or greater yields. My 17 chickens (and 25 chicks) take less than a half-hour a day for their care. I usually take longer so I can enjoy them. Take it slow and learn as you go....you'll be fine. And yes, there are jobs when a second pair of hands makes a difference, just plan those around a helpful friend/neighbor's visit.

-- Anne (Healthytouch101@hotmail.com), April 06, 2000.

Karen, I admire you for wanting to homestead. You can do it,especially if your health is good. As the others have said, don't tackle too much at a time. Success breeds success. My neighbor is 63. She raises a BIG garden, cans and does a lot of homesteading things. I have chickens, they do not require a lot of time. Go for it girl!!!!

-- barbara (barbaraj@mis.net), April 06, 2000.

I've been widowed for coming up 2 yrs. this July. Since my husband has been gone I even had a 3 stall barn put on property, bought an additional 6 acres, and purchased a couple head of beef. As for you wanting to begin, I'd suggest like everyone else said- start small. Maybe 3-4 hens and 1 rooster. It all depends on what you have for shelter. Remember, if you get into doing animals, they have to eat to. We are going to try raised beds for a garden this year, as our old one is too large and below a hill. I'm trying to simplify our lives a little at a time. If you have friendly neighbors who farm, ask them for advice and maybe suggestions or a little help now and then. I have a small hayfield but no equipment. My retired farmer who raises beef, bails the hay for me and I give him half. That leaves enough hay for the beef I own and there's no money exchanged. Some friends of ours have teenage children who think it is a blast to come and stay at my house for a few days. They come KNOWING they're coming to work but love it anyway. That helps me with the harder chores, like moving a fence or even running a new one. Gather some ideas as to what will work best for you, what you would like to try and then plan it out as best you can. You're welcome to come back to this sight anytime for advice. THAT we have plenty of !! Have FUN !!

-- Pat (pmikul@pcpros.net), April 06, 2000.

I am doing it! I have to say that at times it is hard, but all of the keep small and start slowly advice is so correct. I have a habit of way overstretching my bounds. A few questions of my own for you. Are you unable to have a few chickens where you are? You already have plenty enough land for a decent little homestead in the two acres you mentioned. We don't need to have forty or four hundred, this is a lifestyle that isn't agribusiness. Do you have zoning restrictions on small outbuildings and the like? I thought at one time that I would have to have a minimum of twenty acres and I was wrong! I have 8 1/2 and have four goats, 16 chickens twenty something guinea hens and I really only use half of the property. I put in a huge garden (for me in zone 8 anyway) 50 x60 feet and I don't need that much space for most vegetables as I am not a great big corn fan. If you can have a few hens I would strongly suggest you stay where you are because if you buy rural and the house, if there is one, is in poor repair, that is where you need the most help in the way of extra hands and extra muscle! With all of the choices in dwarf fruit trees you could have a really nice yet manageable orchard on two acres, heck. a thirty by thirty spot would be enough for a nice one! Good luck and I would bet if you assesed things you might see that you are already heading to homesteading!

-- Doreen Davenport (livinginskin@yahoo.com), April 06, 2000.


You can do it! The main obstacle will be the the mental blocks,i.e. I can't split wood, operate a chainsaw,build a barn,stack hay, etc. The fact is that women can do all these things, and can do them as well as most men if they really want to. I have seen perfectly capable, healthy young women who would sit in a cold house for hours and cry about it,because it never occurred to them that they could split a round of wood and bring it into the house and start a fire! The trees just have to be planted (not too hard),and pruned now and then (you can do that too),chickens are small and easy to keep,I hand dig our raised beds even while pregnant, you could probably keep a goat or two, too, if you wanted to. If you are talking about building a log cabin from scratch, that would be harder, but other women have done it, and you could ,too.

-- Rebekah (daniel1@transport.com), April 06, 2000.

Go for it! As the others said, start a few projects at a time, so the setup won't be overwhelming. Raised bed gardening eliminates plowing and tilling. Dwarf fruit trees make a very managable orchard, and if you fence the orchard in and run your poultry there, they will eliminate the need for grass trimming, and cleaning up fallen fruit. Whenever we need a large scale project done on our farm, we call our city friends and invite them to a 'work party', feed them well, and finish off with a bonfire that night if anyone is interested. They love the opportunity to come play farmer. We have had fences put up, barns built, and culverts and driveways put in this way, usually done in a single day. My husband was traveling on business for most of last year, so we did a lot to automate things before he left. Rain barrels were placed and fitted with automatic waterers, hay and feed barrels were distributed for convenient access, etc. I could take care of over 100 birds, 2 cows, and 15 goats in 45 minutes a day, including milking the cow twice! The real trick in all of it is to set your routine to be as efficient as possible, but if you've had children, you are already experienced in that!

-- Connie (connie@lunehaven.com), April 06, 2000.

Karen~ I've noticed that all your responses so far are from the distaff side! And good ones they are. So I'll jump in as the first male correspondent. You should rephrase your question to "Can a single PERSON homestead?" Realize that men and women are not all that different in what it takes to homestead. You have to be resourceful, handy, friendly (you'll need help eventually), determined and a whole lot of other adjectives. But of course you can! Go for it, and when questions arise, your friends here will help you out. Good luck!

-- Brad (homefixer@mix-net.net), April 06, 2000.

Karen: As you can see, we're all behind you! I am older than you, and pushed my husband into getting the place we have now, as well as the animals we have. He had to leave to go back east for some arson investigation training two winters ago, just days after I broke my leg. For about 30 minutes, I was terrified that I wouldn't be able to take care of things while he was gone, but forced him to go anyway, insisting I would be fine. I did ok, although it was really hard to go up and down the steps to get out of the house on crutches, stop and put a plastic bag over the cast, get into the jeep and drive to the barn, hobble out and feed the horses one at a time, and the ducks, which were all the stock we had at that time. I just knew I HAD to do it, and that made it easier. I am not one to ask for help, except for advice, and none of my neighbors, whom I'm sure saw me crutching about, offered to come help, so I just did it. I've become much stronger here, able to do most things, even putting animals down when necessary. Easy? No. But you can do it if you follow the above advice and start small. See what you like and build on that. There are some wonderful, experienced folks on this site, who will be there to help with advice should you need it. GOOD LUCK! Jan

-- Jan Bullock (Janice12@aol.com), April 06, 2000.

Hi, Karen. If a woman can't do it, someone forgot to tell me! I am living with my kids on five acres, this is plenty of space for what we've got and room to grow a nice pasture. I'm 30 and my kids are young, but in 17 years I will still be here and my kids will be grown! Then we'll be in the same boat.

Like Brad said, and some posts above, one person is one person. Can't see how the wiener helps you drive in a steel post to move a fence, gather eggs or milk a goat. What being male seems to do for SOME is give more confidence, maybe some experience with changing your own oil, and certainly that feeling like it's a "man's job" to chop wood, or carry bales, etc. I stare at some projects for a while, and then give it a try. Learning as I go, more from my failures than my successes. I can't carry six bales at once, but I put 150 in the barn in a day last Fall just the same.

Life is short. Give it a try, and if you can't afford the time and feed, sell them or eat them. You will learn a lot in the trying.

-- Rachel (rldk@hotmail.com), April 06, 2000.



Karen,

There is a book that I have used for many years called: County Women. It's by Jeanne Tetrault and Sherry Thomas and was published back in the 70's (when some of us were wearning ourselves from city life). There's a lot of information on attitudes, tools, animals, etc. plus a good measure of letting you know that women can do a lot of things by themselves, and also with friends. Some of the consciousness raising stuff seems slightly (only so) dated, but I think it's a good confidence builder to have on your bookshelf. If it's out of print, maybe a used book store would have it.

I have learned almost everything I know from getting over being terrified (I was WAY overprotected as a child) and just doing it. You will truly amaze yourself at what you can acomplish if you take time to figure things out, and then go easy. Learn your rhythms! My husband can do ball busting hard work all day and then call it quits. I prefer to do a little of something, rest, move on to something else and then return to the original project, etc. until all projects are done. Just don't follow the guys' goalset, and you will be fine. (BTW, I am so grateful for guys and their abilities!)

Good luck, and if you hang out here at Countryside forum, you will get the best friends and advice on the planet. Truly.

-- sheepish (rborgo@gte.net), April 06, 2000.


That would be COUNTRY Women, not county! Sorry for typo.

-- sheepish (rborgo@gte.net), April 06, 2000.

Karen, When I read you question I wanted to jump right in and answer, but I read all of the other responses and realized that they had said it much better than I!!! I know I am biased because I have a partner and I dont have the experience to answer yes. We do have 3 small children though, which is an extra challenge.

The one thing I have come to learn from this forum is that homesteading means many different things. A single definition does not fit all of us!! Homesteading really is a state of mind - start small, don't over commit and above all, enjoy!

Don't try to fit into someone else's definition of what homesteading is!!

Kim

-- Kim (fleece@eritter.net), April 06, 2000.


Karen, I also have a partner. Who messes up the house, won't do the dishes, this father of three actually payed me to change poppy diapers on his son, when he begged!!! me to get pregnant "one more time" to have his son, that he would help with!!!, you get the idea. Imagine all the time that you would have not having to cook (remember her kids are older) you could come in and throw a sandwich together, and eat soup that you put in the crockpot that morning. Dinner without meat and potatoes, and dessert! I could stay out in the barn when the does are kidding, and not have to get the kids to bed. Laundry! day, it would be renamed laundry hour! And the bathroom toliet! And the floor around the toilet! And when you do have to chop wood or haul hay you can find yourself a man for 5$ an hour, and you can send him home at dark! Sounds like you Karen are living the good life! Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), April 06, 2000.

Although my dream is the same as yours, Karen, I have never been able to let my guard down enough to address the issue. I am a little concerned about whether or not my goals are realistic. Can I do this alone? I want to thank everyone for their responses; Brad, you helped more than you'll ever know. Vicki, I wish there were something I could do to help you. (You reminded me that I am alone by choice!) Cathy

-- Cathy Horn (hrnofplnty@webtv.net), April 07, 2000.


Looks to me like you've got a resounding "YES"! I, too, have a husband, but if I didn't I'd be here anyway. My theory is that I can do anything anyone else can do. I may need to find alternative methods to achieve what I need but I'll find a way. If I was alone and really needed the help, I would advertize for someone of like mind ( male or female) to share expenses and chores with. (I realize the pitfalls, but I'd give it my best shot anyway.)

-- Peg (jnjohnsn@pressenter.com), April 07, 2000.

Karen, actually I would have to say that homesteading alone has it's distinct advantages. YOU get to decide what kind of chickens, fruit trees, vegetables, etc. It is homesteading by you, not by committee. I have been "homesteading" since 1978, and single since 1988. Single with three kids. We have made it. Part of the time I sold vegetables to the public. Homesteading is like most other things. You can do it if you are committed. If you are half-hearted, you may not be able to. As already stated, fruit trees take care of themselves most of the time. Same with strawberries and blackberries and grapes. Chickens take only a very few minutes/day, especially if you have a small flock. The vegetable garden can take over you life if you plant too large a garden, and don't have the power tools to help you with it. I had a tractor, so I planted 2.5 acres. When I didn't have a tractor, I planted about 30 x 50 and had all the vegetables two people could use for most of the year. The important things to remember about a garden are: keep it well weeded and cultivated, water when it gets dry, and keep the produce picked when it ripens or it will stop or drop production. There is no reason in this world for any single person, male or female, not to be able to homestead if they really want to. As a long lost friend of mine always said, "There's nothing to it but to do it."

-- Green (ratdogs10@yahoo.com), April 07, 2000.

Karen, all these folks have offered good advice.Brad and Rachel have the best point though. I'll assume you earn your living off the property,so simply start out to supplement your food needs by having a few plants and maybe a couple hens for eggs.After you become use to that, consider a little more that you can swap with friends.As your confidence builds, you will wonder why you ever worried about it. Good Luck Bill

-- Bill (grey_beard_730@yahoo.com), April 07, 2000.

What a nice bunch of people there are on this forum! I don't have much to add, except to say that I was thinking along the same lines as Doreen. It seems like two acres is plenty for a nice garden, small orchard, a few chickens and a goat. If you keep hens there won't be much noise even if you are in town. To move, you not only dramatically increase your short term work load, but you have to stay mindful of what you can realistically expect of your self as a novice. Good luck!

-- john leake (natlivent@pcpros.net), April 07, 2000.

Karen, I have not read all the posts but it seems you have plenty of support. I know 3 women who have and are homesteading on their own. Get a copy of the "Have More Plan" it will give you an idea on what you can do with 2 acres and how busy you can be if you want to, good luck to you.

-- Hendo (OR) (redgate@echoweb.net), April 08, 2000.

Can't say as I blame you for wanting to get more rural - when I was growing up, only 7 people lived in this section (360 acres) of land - and three of them were us! Now, there are 30, more or less, depending on how many are crashing at the dope dealer's down the road, or how many are in jail this weekend. Just make sure you don't worsen your housing sitution, or go in over your head financially. Check the zoning where you are going - make sure that you can do what you want to do. If you're thinking of relocating some distance away, rent a room and find a job first! - then look for land - this also helps in getting to know the kind of people you will be living around. I have a complement of men around that I can go to for help and equipment - Hubby, Dad, Uncle, best friend's hubby - but I also do a lot myself. It really isn't that hard. If you start to dig a hole for a fruit tree and get tired, go do something else for a while, then come back to it. Deciding where you want your fruit trees ahead of time and digging the holes over time before the trees get there also gives you time to make compost in the holes, helping to get your trees off to a good start. Instead of having someone come in and disk up a big garden, you could have someone come in and till strips for raised beds - less work and less spreading around of resources. Or, if you have time, like over a winter, put old strips of carpet where you want your beds - this will kill out the sod and make the beds easier to turn with a spade in the spring. Be realistic about how much you need to plant for one person - everyone I know (including me!) plants way too much. Most places sell chicks in lots of 25, no less - and that's a lot of chickens to feed and house. An easier way is to go to your local 4-H fair in June or July and put up a card in the chicken barn - it's very easy to buy hens that are just starting to lay and roosters just about go begging. Be ready to take them home with you - a big cadboard box well lined with newspapers and quarter size holes cut in it will work for a one time trip. Other critters are also easily obtainable at the fair. Housing can be made from skids and scraps and ingenuity. I guess about the most important thing that you need is a positive attitude - "I can do that!" Best wishes with whatever you decide to do.

-- Polly (tigger@moultrie.com), April 08, 2000.

Karen, I say go for it!! I started out a single parent way back in 1976. I was in love with the MotherEarthNews lifestyle for me and the boys. It is a lot of work! But when I tried a partner, I lost my place and my shirt but gained two more boys!! So I started out all over again. Two acres is plenty of land unless you really must get way out in the country or you have zoning laws or [even worse] neighbors. I have 3 1/2 acres at the edge of town,paid for, I have a small herd of Nubians[always have too many] a small flock of chickens, a foursome of rabbits, two dogs, and four cats. I have a full-time job, I hire some things done and get the boys[now grown] to help once in awhile, things like fencing the pasture. I haul hay, and feed, and care for all the critters. I get help to trim the big bucks hooves, he is gentle, and I have done it all by myself. I do not garden much anymore. It was hard to stop it but there just was not enough time or energy. I do put in a few tomatoes, and I have my orchard started too. The dogs are my companions and protectors. and security alarms. I have a sweet Dobie, she is my third one, and a Jack Russell for varmits. I also have varmit guns cause there is usually something trying to eat the chickens and, occasionally the goats. This lifestyle does restrict your social life. You don't have time to go as much and living like this seems to scare some men off. If you need help there are lots of people here at this forum who give freely of their knowledge with no thought of reward. karen

-- Karen Mauk (dairygoatmama@hotmail.com), April 08, 2000.

Karen (M) - I couldn't help but pick up on one of your comments, and I respond thusly: If you're scaring men off, you're scaring off the right ones! Maybe not a universal male opinion, but mine. Good luck!

-- Brad (homefixer@mix-net.net), April 09, 2000.

Karen, I just wanted to put my two cents worth in. I am divorced, a year older than you, have 2 boys still at home, and have 2 acres on the outskirts of town. In the last month I put up an extremely sturdy pallet " barn " and corral--hauled the pallets and scrounged through remodeling projects at the mall for 2x4s' and other wood I needed, bought the fence posts from a small lumber mill for peanuts, as they weren't the prettiest . Once that was up, had a jersey dairy cow, and two day old calves hauled to my place by the dairyman who didn't want her in his herd anymore. Have a place next to the barn for two weaner pigs, that I will also use to root through a portion of the pasture this summer..the 25 hens I ordered through the mail 2 months ago, and are in a coop by the garden. And the garden area 100x150 I had tilled by a local farmer who had the equipment and did it for a fraction of what I could have rented a big enough rototiller or small tractor to do it myself. Half the garden I'll put into raspberries to sell as we are close to a well travelled road, the other part is for us with hopefully a good start on what we need to can or otherwise put-up for the winter. Am I tired?? Yes--I also work a 32 hour work-week. But I know that when the bigger projects are completed the maintenance and upkeep are a lot more manageable. I love cows and feel like life is not complete without a couple around--but with only the smaller livestock housing and etc. are a lot less complex. My boys help a lot- -but that is good for them--and when they are grown and gone I hope to still be here, because I love living this way. The real blessing has been this forum to give me ideas when i am not sure how to procede. You can do whatever you set your mind too--good luck!

-- Lynn Royal (cavewoman48@hotmail.com), April 09, 2000.

WOW, what inspirational answers! Karen, I too am 46 and have 4 acres with a few farm animals. Have started an orchard, chicken coop, and a small garden that I am changing to raised beds this year. I didn't know what I was doing (and still mostly don't :) but read a lot and ask questions. I pay a local teenager to help with the physical labor of fencing etc. It also helps with my time since I work in town full time. I'll put my two cents in with the "Go for it" vote. You'll learn as you go. Good luck!

-- Lynda Young (lynlee@c2i2.com), April 10, 2000.

GO FOR IT! Plant those fruit trees, ignore the jibes from the neighbors and have a cup of herb tea with your friends (the chickens in the yard). I have 25 wooded acres, 25+ chickens, ducks, geese, horses, goats, rabbits, an 11 yr. old boy, -notice I list him with the stock :)- , cats, dogs, guineas, bantams, and the occasional deer & wildlife. It _is_ difficult to start but you HAVE to start. I was a country person, moved to the city for 20 years and bought the house & acreage after the divorce. I am 44 and would like to find a helper, but it's just not to be. Fruit trees take 3+ years to bear if you get the 3-5 year size. Plant them now. You will always wish you had. Learn to run a chainsaw! Get a circular saw. Get some hand tools. I didn't have ANY of the animals 4 1/2 years ago. The chickens do GREAT fenced into the orchard. The geese keep down the grass and give eggs and so do the ducks. They _are_ messy, however. But charming. Please give it a try. It is overwhelming sometimes, but you are bigger and stronger and more determined than what you think you are. Take small steps and put those steps together to make the bigger leaps. DO NOT GIVE UP! (You can get angry and throw it, but don't give up!) If you are interested at all, try it. Have fun!!

-- Gailann Taylor Schrader (gtschrader@aol.com), April 10, 2000.

Yes, single women can homestead! You already have 2 acres, so there is nothing to stop you from homesteading, unless it might be zoning laws or other property restrictions where you presently live. Two acres is enough for a HUGE garden (if you want one), an orchard, pasture for small livestock, etc.

You can have a garden without big, expensive, hard-to-maintain equipment that you have to wrestle, tug, and cuss at, either. I don't have a tiller, and never use one, even for starting a new garden bed or expanding an old one. I get old, moldy hay from other people for free and cover my garden deeply. I also use grass clippings, pine needles, colorless newspaper, leaves, composted manure, and anything else that will rot that I can get my hands on! Put that mulch on a foot deep and the grass will die without ever tilling it under. You can have a nice, big, attractive garden without ever fighting a huge tiller or hoeing in the hot summer sun. People think this would look ugly, but it doesn't. The mulch quickly turns silvery grey and mats down so that the garden has a very nice appearance. Contrast that look to a weedy "standard" garden when most people give up hoeing or tilling in the heat of late July and August, and I think most people who see a deep mulch garden would agree it is prettier. To plant seeds in a deep mulch garden, just rake the mulch back, make a furrow with a hoe, and water. When the seeds come up, begin pulling the mulch back up around them as they grow. To plant seedlings, just part the mulch, dig a hole in the soil with a trowel, plant as usual, and pull the mulch back up around the seedling. You might want to get The Ruth Stout No-Work Garden Book (Rodale Press, 1971) through an interlibary loan for more information on deep mulch gardening.

As a small person, I cannot use brute force to accomplish tasks around the homestead. But remember physics: with a lever you can move the world! If you have to move large objects alone, use levers and pulleys (or a rope over a rafter). If you use your head, even seemingly impossible jobs can be done without help!

For livestock, starting with a few chickens in a chicken tractor would be a good idea, so that you can move them every day or two and cut down on feed costs and cleaning chores. Goats are wonderful, but remember that they can climb and jump. If you plant an orchard, you will want your goats behind excellent fencing, or they will eat your expensive orchard trees!

As others have suggested, I will also say that dwarf orchard trees are the way to go. They reach production earlier than semi-dwarf trees and remain small enough that you can grow a nice variety of fruits in a small area. Plus, you will not have to deal with tall ladders for their annual pruning. You won't need a huge sprayer for smaller trees either.

Good luck!

-- Gloria Morris (cybergams@my-deja.com), April 11, 2000.


Karen -

Just wanted to add my two cents worth, a woman can do anything she wants to, you just have to give it a try. I would start out with a few things this year and work your way up so you don't get overwhelmed because growing your own food is a lot of work. I have a friend who lives on her family farm, has a flock of sheep and had 76 lambs this spring. She's 60 years old, retired teacher. If she can handle it so can you. Good Luck!! Betsy

-- Betsy Koehnlein (betsyk@pathwaynet.com), April 12, 2000.


K, I feel so way ahead of some of these 'ladies' telling you how to do it:-} I am female,homesteading,cut trees,hung fence,haul wood,rock,sand,what ever it takes to make it a happer home. noway do I want to change my life over again for the ignorant male,most of my animals are female too:-] One thing I never saw posted from others were tools. I saw ad for rechargeable drill,$20,$5 rebate,yep,worth the price. how could I ever live with out it,why I was up on ladder hanging bird houses,fixing up gutters,repairing things,hanging up brackets for shelves,why it turned me into a working machine. I am so proud of me. I ended up sitting here for a moment with a tear in my eye,it was so easy once you get hang of it,piss on them men.

-- Dusty Ross (ourpinkroses@yahoo.com), March 11, 2002.

You GO GIRL!! We are 49 + 59 and it's a lot of work but we like it fine. Have both done the husband and kids thing...all grown up now...except of course the husbands...both wanted country life...but couldn't afford it...pooled our resources and no looking back...I don't know if I could handle it all by myself(49)...no doubt in my mind that she(59) could though.

-- me at (thehomestead@canada.com), March 13, 2002.

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