waiting to homestead? good. it’s not dead time. it’s training season. every meal, mistake, and micro project is a rep.

joel salatin says bloom where you’re planted. so i do. right here, with what you’ve got. dirt under fingernails optional, commitment required.

1. master the kitchen: food sovereignty starts at the cutting board

real food starts with a knife, not a tractor. cooking from scratch is the gateway to everything else. i started with a whole chicken. one bird, one lesson plan. roast it, carve it, simmer the bones into broth, render the fat, and cook with it later. that’s not just dinner; that’s a system.

it teaches thrift, anatomy, and respect. you learn that leftovers are raw materials, not waste. once you know how to feed yourself from whole ingredients, you’re halfway to feeding others.

it also cuts your grocery bill and your dependency on fragile supply chains. salatin says every meal is a vote for the world you want. vote often.

2. build the larder: true security is shelf-stable

a full pantry is worth more than a full savings account when trucks stop running. start simple. freeze greens, fruits, and broth. label everything. water bath can high-acid foods like jams, pickles, and tomatoes.

move up to pressure canning low-acid foods like beans, soups, and meats. dehydrating works for herbs, onions, and fruit. this is more than storage—it’s time travel. when you eat summer tomatoes in january, you understand the rhythm of abundance and scarcity.

salatin calls this “packing it in.” it’s not hoarding; it’s planning. and when the lights go out, your dinner won’t care.

3. grow something small and mean it

one pot of herbs can teach you everything you need to know about life cycles, patience, and failure. basil too wet? it rots. too dry? it quits. start there. then graduate to a raised bed or two.

use compost and mulch. observe before you intervene. if you get pests, don’t reach for poison. ask what the soil is missing. real growers build soil first, plants second.

eliot coleman calls it the “biological model.” feed the microbes, and the microbes feed the plants. once you grow one tomato that actually tastes like summer, you’ll never see food the same again.

4. compost like a miser: waste nothing, learn everything

composting is the first lesson in transformation. what leaves your kitchen can feed your next meal. start small: a worm bin under the sink or a backyard pile. layer browns (paper, leaves, cardboard) and greens (scraps, coffee grounds).

keep it moist but not soggy. stir when it’s hot or smelly. over time, you start seeing your trash can as a failure, your compost bin as progress.

salatin’s entire farm runs on this principle: waste is only waste if you stop thinking. compost teaches patience, cycles, and chemistry—without the tuition bill.

5. touch animals before you own animals

do not buy livestock before you smell livestock. volunteer at a farm. feed pigs, haul water, muck stalls, and clean coops. learn the rhythm. chickens scratch because that’s what chickens do. pigs dig because it’s how they live.

a farmer’s job is to let nature express itself without wrecking the system. salatin calls it honoring “the pigness of the pig.”

start small if local law allows—four hens for eggs, no roosters, clean housing, and daily care. learn how predators think and how neighbors hear. animal husbandry is not cute. it’s real, and it’s worth it.

6. know farmers by name, not brands by label

the farmers market is your classroom. shake hands. ask questions. learn who grows what and how. buy seconds—ugly fruit, bruised tomatoes, extra greens—and turn them into sauce, soup, or fermented gold.

join a csa. learn to eat what grows near you instead of what’s trending online. salatin says food integrity starts with relationships. every connection you make now builds your future customer base.

community first, business later.

7. build and fix like you mean it

a workshop isn’t decoration. it’s survival. start basic: a hammer, screwdrivers, pliers, a saw, a drill, and a file. learn how to fix what breaks—garden tools, hoses, chicken feeders. make a compost sifter from scrap wood and wire.

every skill learned now saves a future emergency call. salatin swears by the rule of “multiple use infrastructure.” if a tool does one job, it’s a liability.

mending, fabricating, and rigging are the heartbeat of self-reliance. each project builds confidence. each repair buys independence.

8. time and motion: the farmer’s clock

you don’t manage acres; you manage minutes. start timing yourself. how long to weed a bed? to clean tools? to cook a week’s worth of meals? efficiency matters. salatin measures everything on his farm—from seconds per chicken processed to minutes per move of fencing.

carry that energy into daily life. store tools where the work ends, not where they look tidy. keep a list of ten to sixty minute jobs for stray time.

small wins stack fast. productivity is a skill, not a personality trait.

9. money that matters: lean is clean

a saved dollar is a tax-free profit. cut recurring costs that don’t build skill or feed the mission. trade Netflix for knives. build a one-year runway of living expenses. never take on debt that doesn’t pay for itself.

salatin says “debt is not inherently evil, but it must serve growth.” buy tools, not toys. invest in production, not appearances. profit isn’t a dirty word. it’s the oxygen that keeps your values alive.

10. know the rules before the rooster

laws are landmines. read before you dig. check your local ordinances for chickens, bees, rabbits, and farm stands. know the setbacks, noise rules, and permit requirements. call the office. get a name.

take notes. better to learn from paper than from fines. cottage food laws differ by state—learn what you can sell legally from your kitchen before you launch your jam empire.

doing it right from the start saves you future headaches and gives your reputation credibility.

11. market without cringe: show, don’t sell

people buy honesty. skip the slogans. show the process. dirty hands, clean food, clear pricing. answer messages fast. deliver when you say you will.

under-promise, over-deliver. build trust like you build soil—slow, steady, consistent. salatin built his empire on word of mouth and reliability, not hype.

do the same. marketing is just communication with follow-through.

12. community is the real root cellar

the myth of the lone prepper is fiction. real resilience lives in networks. your neighbor with the wrench is worth more than a bunker full of beans. join garden clubs, volunteer at farms, trade labor, share tools. build reciprocity.

salatin calls it “develop your tribe.” find people who fill your blind spots and cover theirs in return. interdependence isn’t weakness; it’s strategy.

13. body and bandwidth: farm shape, not gym shape

farming is athletic. hinge, squat, carry, push, pull. stretch before shoveling. lift with your legs, not your ego. hydrate. eat protein. rest. protect your eyes, ears, and hands. your body is your first piece of infrastructure.

treat it like equipment you can’t replace. the same goes for mental health. pace yourself. burnout serves no one.

14. cut the noise, feed the craft

every hour lost to scrolling could have been a new skill. read real books. take local workshops. run small experiments. fail cheap, fail fast, fail forward. keep a notebook with dates, weather, yields, and mistakes.

track progress like you track weight at the gym. if it doesn’t build skill, strength, or connection, it’s clutter. throw it out.

15. start the business before the land

you don’t need acres to start producing. microgreens grow under LEDs. mushrooms thrive in buckets. herbs sell to local restaurants. salad mix can be grown on borrowed ground.

worm composting can pay for itself in fertilizer sales. salatin says experience and customer base come before land ownership. the business should exist before the property does. start lean, test ideas, learn fast.

16. survive the slump

year three is the valley of despair. enthusiasm fades, progress crawls, and quitting whispers sweet nothings. salatin calls it the “slough of despond.” expect it. fight through.

focus on one enterprise. get one honest win—a profit, a yield, a customer who returns. small proof keeps the mission alive. every farm, every dream, has a messy middle. endure it.

17. the 90-day starter plan

weeks 1–2: cook two whole chickens. make broth. compare homemade vs. store-bought cost. set up a worm bin.
weeks 3–4: plant herbs, build one three-by-eight bed, source compost, mulch it. buy one quality tool and stop buying gadgets.
month 2: can one sweet food and one savory. volunteer one shift with animals. time three chores. make your short-task list.
month 3: sell or barter one legal food item. attend two community workdays. read your local ordinances. fix one broken thing. write down what worked, what failed, what you’ll double down on.

18. the homestead starts at the sink

the dream doesn’t start at the property line. it starts with the dishes, the compost bin, the neighbor you helped move hay. this is the real apprenticeship. the callouses come before the acreage.

jars line up on shelves, skills stack, and confidence compounds. bloom now. bloom here. the land will find you when you’re already rooted.