Welcome to the inaugural issue (blog post) of Hoosier Homesteading! Wait? What? Not another how-to, D.I.Y website? The answer to that would be yes, and no. Yes, this is another blog website dedicated to how-to and D.I.Y., and no, this isn’t another blog website dedicated to how-to and D.I.Y.. Now that I have throughly confused you, let me explain.

This is my backyard. It is a typical backyard where I live — unkept, trashy, and unused. Believe it or not, this view was worse the weekend before I took this picture. You could barely see the fence in the background through the mess of volunteer scrub bushes that lined it. If I hadn’t cut them out and let them be until now, you wouldn’t know there was a fence at all through all the green vegetation. This isn’t the first time I have removed the scrub bushes. Two other times in fact. Each time, I let things go and found myself back at square zero. This time I am not going let the scrub and mess return. My solution is to transform my backyard in to beautiful, relaxing, and productive space. So how am I going to do that?

Here’s how… well, just the beginning.

The one thing that isn’t typical for my backyard in the city, is its size. My backyard is 96′ deep by 60′ wide. You may be thinking that isn’t very big and you’d be right if i lived outside the city limits. My house was built in the late 1950’s. It is one of the first and few ranch style homes in my neighborhood. Most homes in my neighborhood are small cottage style houses that take up little space and have small yards. So, 96’x60′ is quite large and more than enough space to start a homestead. I have created a plan to act as a template and with that plan I have started to transform my home into a homestead.

Why a homestead?

I grew up with gardens. The ones planted by parents, and my grandparents were where I learned about plants and the abundance of food they provided. As each gardening season was underway, the preserving was in full swing. The kitchen became the hub of social activity, and if I wanted to find my grandma, or my mom, I looked in the kitchen. Gardens provide so much, it can be difficult to handle the harvest. So, friends and family benefited from the surplus! We didn’t raise pigs, chickens, or cows, so meats and dry goods were the only thing my mom shopped for at the grocery store. My grandparents, on my father’s side, had a huge garden! They would preserve, freeze, and can much of what they grew, but they also sold at their local farmer’s market on weekends. Now that I am in my late 50’s, I want to slow down and do something that provides me with exercise, tranquility, and helps me reduce the outflow of cash from my bank account. While I hope to save money, my main goal is to eat healthier, be more self-sufficient, and reconnect with nature.

Where to start?

Every gardener, gardening show, and book tell you to keep notes about your gardening journey so that you have a reference of what went right and what went wrong, so you can make adjustments for the next season. Did I run out and buy a notebook? No, thought I would try a different way to record and track everything I need to. See, I grew up in the 1970’s and 80’s as our lives were shifting over to the digital realm. I have wholly embraced it and even though our lives are almost completely digital, I am also rooted in the analog world. I prefer holding a physical book in my hands to read and I keep all kinds of thoughts and jots in notebooks. I am however, also firmly planted in the digital age. I have smart lights, a smart TV, and smart appliances. My home is connected to the internet and I stream all of my television entertainment. I have more computers than I am willing to admit, and don’t get me started on my hoarding of old tech. You should see my vintage camera collection! I love my analog life but I have learned over time notebooks get lost, damaged, and don’t age well. Digital notes aren’t any of those things. They don’t get lost, they don’t get damaged, and they will be around long after I am gone. Thus, yet another how-to D.I.Y. website! This website/blog is mainly for me, but since it is on the internet, I am going to share it so that anyone who stumbles across this, can read, learn, and contribute. I am keeping this simple for the time being. Mostly blog posts with a sprinkling of photos and links. If this interests you, stick around. I am glad you are here.

In the next issue I think we’ll go over more of the nitty-gritty details of how and why.

— Greg