20 Basic Homesteading Skills

20 Basic Homesteading Skills

There are many skills a modern homesteader needs to learn. Below is a list I modified Mother Earth article called ‘101 Basic Homesteading Skills’.

This list is only a starting point and everyones top 20 homesteading skills will be different and it is to get you thinking about the skills you might want to develop. Don’t forget that every skill that you learn will be one step closer to a life of greater self-reliance and independence.

1. Learn how to grow a vegetables
2. Learn how to sharpen any edge tool — knife, axe, hoe, chisel etc.
3. Learn basic firearm safety and gun proof your children and grandchildren
4. Learn how to light a fire indoors or outdoors
5. Learn how to cook 10 basic meals from scratch
6. Learn to chop and stack firewood properly
7. Learn to raise poultry
8. Learn how to safely use a chainsaw
9. Learn how to butcher small livestock like rabbits or chickens
10. Learn how to thaw out frozen pipes without busting them
11. Learn how to bake bread
12. Learn how to plant a tree
13. Learn basic sewing skills
14. Learn basic tractor maintenance
15. Learn how to live within your financial means
16. Learn how to distinguish healthy plants and animals from unhealthy plants or animals
17. Learn basic home canning and food preservation
18. Learn how to read the weather
19. Learn how to save open pollinated seeds
20. Learn how to use electric netting or fencing

What are your top 20? Let us know in the comment section below.

Original 101 Basic Homesteading Skills list here