Blog

The Modern Homesteading Podcast, Episode 115 – February 18, 2019 – All The Dirt On Living The Good Life with Author Kirsten Lie-Nielsen.

Homestead Updates:

• Continuing the ear mite treatments and our buck rabbit is looking a lot better.
• Officially started the tomatoes and peppers from seed for the spring garden.
• I started the onions from seed a couple of weeks ago and they are doing good.

Homesteading In The News:

• A return to a simpler, healthier way of life: Homesteading expands in Nashville area https://www.tennessean.com/story/money/2019/02/04/homesteading-nashville-urban-farming-gardening/2214800002/
• Stony Creek Farm
• Urban Homesteading series helps bring nature home https://www.theprogress.com/community/urban-homesteading-series-helps-bring-nature-home/
• Little Homestead In The Valley

Main Topic: 

All The Dirt On Living The Good Life with Author Kirsten Lie-Nielsen

Kirsten is a writer and farmer from Midcoast Maine. After starting a small hobby “homestead”, her endeavors quickly grew to encompass geese, goats, chickens, bees, ducks, and extensive vegetable and herb gardens.

Always intrigued by self-sufficiency and working with her hands, Kirsten enjoys sharing her experiences and the lessons of life on the farm for publications such as Grit, Mother Earth News, Backyard Poultry, and Hobbyfarms.com. ​ Kirsten’s first book, A Modern Homesteader’s Guide to Keeping Geese, was released in October 2017. Her second title, So You Want to Be a Modern Homesteader: All The Dirt on Living the Good Life was released in December of 2018.

Kirsten and I Discuss:

• Kirsten’s journey into homesteading and expansion from a small homestead to a larger farm.
• Her experiences in moving to a more rural location, and what surprised her most about country living.
• Animals she is raising on her homestead.
• The biggest challenges to finally making the leap to a rural homesteading lifestyle.
• Questions she is most commonly asked about by folks interested in starting a homestead or farm.
• How she defines homesteading.…and much more.

Resources:

• Kirsten’s Website – www.hostilevalleyliving.com

Kirsten’s Books

• So You Want to Be a Modern Homesteader?: All the Dirt on Living the Good Life – https://amzn.to/2IguME4
•  
• The Modern Homesteader’s Guide to Keeping Geese – https://amzn.to/2X7xI9F

Homestead Recipe Of The Week:

This week’s recipe comes in from Ben Pangie and he shares with us how he makes fermented carrots.

•  Here’s the link to Ben’s Podcast episode where he and I chat about my homesteading journey. 
  
• Ben’s Website: homesteadsandhomeschools.com
  
• Fermentation Weights with Grooved Handles – https://amzn.to/2GMQFJ1

This Week’s Listener Question:

This question comes in from Molly and she sent me this email.

Hi Harold! I discovered your podcast a few weeks ago and have enjoyed listening to your take on homesteading in general (especially on a small scale/with small acreage).

I just listened to your episode on homesteading on a temporary property (episode 101), which had some really good ideas. I was wondering if you had any tips or ideas for learning homesteading skills with NO property.

For a little background on me: I grew up with a family that did some basic homesteading (huge garden, some livestock, canning, etc). I feel like I’ve been trying to get back to that point ever since I left home. For three years I lived in Arkansas and did square foot gardening in raised beds, helped process animals with neighbors, learned to tan hides, discovered fermenting…the list goes on. Even at an apartment I had several outlets and learned a lot.

For the past year I’ve been living on the road. My job (insurance adjuster) does not allow me to stay in one area for longer than a month at a time. It also makes for some very long hours sometimes. Currently I brew kombucha and am trying to ferment veggies regularly. But lately I have been a bit frustrated because I can’t do a lot of what I would like. (My hope is to get a remote position so I’m not traveling quite so much, but nothing is possible for at least another year.)

So if you have any advice for people in transient lifestyles, I’d love to hear them! Again, I enjoy your show and look forward to listening more! Thanks so much, -Molly

My Thoughts:

• Hone outdoor skills foraging and fishing in your downtime.
• Local Harvest Page On Visiting A Farm https://www.localharvest.org/organic-farms/visiting.html
• Take an online herbal remedies course.
• Take an online permaculture design course.