Nothing complicated about today’s post - just 100 homesteading skills.
Check off what you know, add a few skills to your list of New Year’s Resolutions and keep moving forward.
🥕 Gardening & Food Growing
Starting seeds indoors
Direct sowing seeds outdoors
Transplanting seedlings
Building raised garden beds
Composting kitchen and yard waste
Vermicomposting (worm bins)
Crop rotation
Companion planting
Weed identification and removal
Saving seeds
Hand pollination
Growing cover crops
Using mulch effectively
Irrigation and water conservation
Extending the season with cold frames/hoop houses
🐓 Livestock & Animal Care
Raising backyard chickens for eggs
Raising meat chickens
Caring for ducks
Raising rabbits for meat/fur
Goat care and milking
Sheep care and wool harvesting
Pig raising and butchering basics
Beekeeping
Incubating and hatching eggs
Fencing and predator protection
Making homemade animal feed
Animal first aid and health checks
Rotational grazing
Shearing sheep
Egg storage and preservation
🌱 Foraging & Natural Living
Identifying edible wild plants
Identifying poisonous plants
Mushroom foraging basics
Maple tree tapping and syrup making
Wild berry foraging
Acorn processing for flour
Harvesting and drying herbs
Making herbal teas
Crafting natural dyes
Basket weaving from natural materials
🍞 Food Preservation & Cooking
Water bath canning
Pressure canning
Freezing fruits and vegetables
Dehydrating foods
Making jerky
Pickling vegetables
Fermenting (sauerkraut, kimchi, kombucha)
Making sourdough starter and bread
Cheese making
Yogurt making
Churning butter
Root cellar storage
Vacuum sealing food
Making jams and jellies
Curing and smoking meats
🪓 Building & DIY Projects
Basic carpentry skills
Using hand tools effectively
Splitting firewood
Chainsaw safety and use
Building fences
Building animal shelters (coop, barn, hutch)
Constructing a greenhouse
Installing rain barrels
Building compost bins
Constructing cold frames
Building a root cellar
Basic masonry (stone or brick work)
Roofing repair
Sharpening and maintaining tools
Constructing raised water catchment systems
🔥 Energy & Survival Skills
Starting a fire without matches
Cooking over an open fire
Building and using a wood stove
Solar panel basics
Setting up an off-grid energy system
Heating with wood
Insulating a home naturally
Preserving food without electricity
Making candles
Making homemade soap
🧵 Household & Crafting
Sewing by hand
Sewing with a treadle or manual machine
Quilting
Knitting
Crocheting
Making clothes from scratch
Darning socks/repairing clothes
Spinning wool
Felting wool
Making rugs from scraps
💧 Water & Land Management
Digging and maintaining a well
Purifying water
Setting up greywater systems
Irrigation ditches and channels
Pond management
Soil testing and amending
Managing erosion
Designing permaculture systems
Planting trees for windbreaks
Land navigation with map and compass
Happy Homesteading,
Gretchen