20 Homesteading Skills To Learn In 2020

Hobby Farms Magazine ^ | December 30, 2019 | Rodney Wilson

[Diana in Wisconsin]

*PING*

[z3n]

I currently have maple trees tapped, and have a gallon of cider in a carboy bubbling away, as we speak (so to speak).

The apple cider I bought though, so that’s not homesteading. :/

[Jane Long]

Close enough!

Good for you...sounds good and productive.

[MomwithHope]

Nice- article about your post-Apocalyptic skill set! Good find. Have done most on that list except hunting, making cider or soap. Have made LOTS of cheese, kefir and kombucha and kapusta. The fermented foods are a must IMO.

[Red Badger]

Those items sound exactly like the recommendations that Robert Heinlein's fictional character "Lazarus Long" suggested in his sci-fi novels. Of course he was talking about colonizing new planets, but still the same skill set is required................ ========================================================================= A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyse a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects. — Robert Heinlein, [Lazarus Long] Time Enough for Love

[z3n]

The only thing about buying cider and fermenting it is that you have to buy the refrigerated kind with no preservatives in it. This usually means your buying and supporting local. But any cider with preservatives in it will not ferment properly, so don’t go out and get the regular store-bought apple cider and expect to make hard cider from it.

[novemberslady]

bkmk

[Truthoverpower]

Solar panels and batteries. Engineering knowledge of

[LouieFisk]

Good skills to learn!
If I were ambitious I’d have a go at ‘em all.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

We tapped three maples yesterday and they are just GUSHING! Beau makes the best maple syrup!

I would like to find a way to make $$$ off of our woods; I am LUSTING after a wood chipper so I han make mulch for between my garden beds and for the landscaping around the house. I’d also like to learn to make soap. Beau wants to try his hand at cider once we have a glut of apples - we have 6 trees and they are just about old enough to produce a bounty in the next year or so.

So much to learn and do! :)

[dgbrown]

I think building a fire is one of the top priorities.

[SpaceBar]

- finding fatwood
- sewing on a button
- making it look like an accident

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Yes, that is one of my favorite quotes! :)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

“I think building a fire is one of the top priorities.”

True, Dat! :)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

“- making it look like an accident”

Another reason to invest in a wood chipper! ;)

[Leep]

You can’t get Hard Cider anymore unless you make your own.

[Oshkalaboomboom]

Earlier I sent you a link to the Knowledge Base I set up. I don’t know if you ever went there but it has an entire section on Homesteading.

[Tilted Irish Kilt]

Prepper Ping - Life skills for the Prepper

When and if the time comes, do you have the skills for independent living ?
How many skills and traits have you already accomplished ?
Are you at peace with yourself and what you have already learned, and your thirst for knowledge has already been fully satisfied ?

Also, just because you have the skills enough to be independent doesn't mean that you should ignore the sense of community.
Society is based on interaction with others, sharing skills, bartering your surplus in exchange for someone else's surplus,
as well as developing your own additional skills, or mentoring others.
"No man is an island" - Thomas Merton

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Feel free to add it here, too if you can! Good Stuff!

I thought this list was comprehensive enough, but not too overwhelming for newbies to homesteading/self-sufficiency.