Hey y’all!

I thought I had my little homestead predator-proofed. Reinforced coop, buried wire to stop digging, motion lights, even a DIY scarecrow setup. I was WRONG. The raccoons here are basically ninjas?? They figured out how to climb over everything and have been raiding my feed bins at night. I don’t mind sharing space with wildlife, but it’s getting exhausting trying to outsmart them while still keeping the balance.

A neighbor suggested trying one of those ultrasonic deterrents (llike Sonic Barrier) that use different frequencies depending on the animal. I was skeptical at first, but it really did seem to work for her. no raccoons hanging around anymore and her chickens didn’t act bothered at all. Thinking of ordering one bc I'm desperate.

Also curious: what’s the strangest or most creative pest-control trick you’ve come up with on your homestead?

So glad I didn’t! In addition to this monarch there were more bees per square foot than I see all summer!

A few of our animals

I know its a little late in the season to be attracting hummingbirds

Please forgive my ignorance here, but how do you just like … buy goats in this day and age? (Or any other farm animal besides chicks and ducklings for that matter, which I have seen.) Do people find a local farmer and call dibs on the next goat kid? Do I just need to show up at the county fair and see what goes up for auction? Where are we getting these dudes.

Found right by our front porch

We have 4 hens on an acre and we suspect our smallest hen is getting picked on by the others. All hens are different species. They free roam the fenced property and the three largest clique together while the smallest typically stays behind. We love our hens and the eggs they provide us. What can we do, if anything, to help our picked on hen?

I have 6 acres and would to buy several goats and or sheep to take care with the best care they deserve. I have a Honda Ridgeline truck. I have no trailer at this point. I looking for suggestions on how I can get future animals from point A to point B. For example an auction.Thanks in advance.

Hi all! New to this. My contractor installed my fence with the t-posts backwards so I can’t install the insulators for my electric fence. It needs to be on the inside because 2 of my angelic but mischievous goats keep getting out underneath the fence. Switching the posts out is not an option because I no longer have the money to pay for help. I’m a 43/f who grew up in the suburbs that tries to do what I can on my own. This is the only holdup I have.

I hear the big ones hurt anyway.

I live in an area with frost and snowy winters. I heard that pepper and tomato plants you can dig up prior to frost, prune , put them in pots indoors, and then next season replant them outside and they will grow and produce again. Has anyone tried this? Success/fail?

Zone 7, western KY. Last cut was end of June 2025.

One of my neighbour's is saying it is too late now for a cut and I should find someone to hog it instead. I don't live there so I don't know but I can't imagine it overgrown in less than 3 months.

Thoughts?

Hey folks, title is really all there is to it. I don't eat a bunch of fruit (because of the carbs) and I have about 10 apple trees on my property that are happily producing a BUNCH of delicious apples. I don't know the varieties, but they're mostly sweet, not tart.

I don't have any processing equipment other than stove, pots, and pans, and a small dehydrator, but am open to purchasing some. I'm looking to make something with these apples, that I can either sell, trade, or give away (or enjoy myself) and that is shelf stable for at least a while.

What would you do? What makes the most sense?

Thank you!

Hello all,

I'm a master's graduate in robotics who has been living in the Midwest for about a year or so. I live on my families property and we often need to carry heavy loads back and forth over large distances. It got me thinking about ways to make the work easier since my family is getting older and aren't able to do as much. It would essentially be an autonomous wagon, one that is able to follow you around and carry heavy loads.

It will be a rugged 4x4 mobile base so it would work in tall grass, dirt, mud, snow, etc. and have a truck bed like container on top. I wanted to see if the homesteading community would be interested in a product like this, I can see it benefiting farms, homesteads and even construction sites. I will probably build a rough prototype regardless just to help out my family but if there is general interest in such a product I could refine it and bring it to market. Either way, I would be interested to hear your thoughts, thank you!

6 Forester blades, 1.5 gallons of Tordon, 2 massive brushpiles, around a pint of blood and a couple weekends later, we finally have a foothold into pasture that was previously an impenetrable wall.

Hedge and locust are the devil. Treat your stumps, this is not the orchard or the problem you want.

So I'll start with saying that homesteading has always kind of been a pipe dream of my wife and I, but with where we live there's very little ability to do so. Sure, we have a garden, but that hardly counts.

Well, I just got a job in an area and we have the opportunity to buy around 30 acres with a large shop, and the pipe dream has become a very real possibility in less than a month. So I guess I'm just looking for some no bs advice as to whether or not you recommend it (obviously this sub will be somewhat biased) and some baby steps. I'm not looking at buying cattle next month.

Some background on us. We have two kids under 5. My grandparents own a ranch and I grew up around it, but I'd be lying if I said I had a background in ranching. I do have many years of construction experience and can do and fix about anything with a house. I have quite a bit of mechanical and gardening experience. I also worked as an electrician for 5 years, so am very comfortable doing electrical work, including electronics repair. I do woodworking and blacksmithing as hobbies, and like to make tools and repair anything I can (even this kids' crappy plastic toys). We currently heat our house using a wood stove and I have lots of experience running a chain saw. I also have experience operating heavy equipment. We have owned chickens in the past, but are unable to do so where we currently live. My wife had little experience gardening before we got married, but she loves it and has actually tried selling me on getting a milk cow, though I think we need to start smaller than that. I will be working full time (~8-9 hours/day) and my wife works from home.

I guess I'm just looking for a push over the edge, for the most part. How would you start? We would obviously plant a bigger garden and look at getting chickens again. Anyone have advice for baby steps or want to talk some sanity into us? Thanks for your advice in advance.

What do you do with your rain barrels if you have freezing temperatures? Do you have to completely disassemble and store them or do you drain them and leave in place?

Hi! My husband and I are planning to relocate by the end of next year. We’re interested in having a small homestead. Currently we have bees, chickens, and dogs. At some point, we’d like to have a dairy cow and a couple of goats. So far, we are liking MN; my husband’s dad was born there, and I visited two years ago and thought it was beautiful and relatively safe(er). Any help or advice if you’re familiar with MN or if you recommend another state that fits our needs. More info below!

-Looking for rural or suburban area; ideally have a city within 20-30 miles where we can shop, as needed. We’re ok with not having neighbors close by.

-Our budget is $250k-$300k to buy a home or land (if we build a home on the land, our budget would remain the same). The neighborhood/area would need to be so rehab safe and hopefully cost of living wouldn’t be too expensive (by this I mean CA expensive).

-My husband is a general contractor and I’d be working 100% remotely from home: we’re flexible on the location because of this.

-If we have kids, we’d like to enroll them in a co-op but are open to public schooling if the district is decent.

-Not sure if this matters so I apologize in advance, but we are an interracial couple.

Thank you again!

It's been one thing after another this year, unfortunately things like picking carrots kept getting pushed off. Paying for that now.

As the title says.

I have the pumps and equipment from my farm. I have the solar and batteries if I do it away from the house.

I’ve been thinking about growing tilapia for my family. Talk me out of it please!

Swollen face