Pioneering Skills for Everyone: Modern Homesteading

Overview — Course No. 9578

Modern homesteading offers a pathway to self-sufficiency and a deeper connection with nature. Pioneering Skills for Everyone guides you through essential skills for food production, livestock management, and basic construction, whether you’re on a large plot or in an urban setting. Taught by experienced homesteader and biologist Greg Pryor, this course covers beekeeping, goat raising, gardening, and more, providing step-by-step instructions and real-world demonstrations.

Video Lessons

01: What Is Modern Homesteading?

Identify your goals and skills for modern homesteading, from small gardens to full livestock management.

Duration: 27 min

02: Keeping Bees and Harvesting Honey

Learn the basics of beekeeping, hive maintenance, and honey harvesting for a sustainable and rewarding addition to your homestead.

Duration: 25 min

03: Raising Goats on Your Homestead

Discover how to choose, house, feed, and breed goats for milk and meat, ensuring a manageable and healthy herd size.

Duration: 23 min

04: Milking Goats and Making Cheese

Master milking techniques and learn to craft various fresh cheeses like paneer and chevre from your goat’s milk.

Duration: 24 min

05: Processing and Butchering Goats for Meat

Understand humane and safe methods for processing goats, yielding a variety of cuts for your meals.

Duration: 22 min

06: Raising Chickens on Your Homestead

Explore chicken varieties, housing, and care, plus detailed guidance on butchering for meat.

Duration: 25 min

07: Fencing for Livestock and Gardens

Learn to build effective fencing for keeping livestock in and pests out, with a focus on various gardening methods.

Duration: 33 min

08: Grapevines and Small Vineyards

Start your vineyard with planting, trellising, and pruning techniques for maximum grape yield.

Duration: 21 min

09: How to Make Homemade Wine

Create your own wine with step-by-step instructions, and learn to use tools like a hydrometer for quality control.

Duration: 23 min

10: Fundamentals of Gardening and Soil

Compare gardening types and understand soil components to grow a thriving garden.

Duration: 30 min

11: Vegetable Gardening Made Easy

Learn planting and support techniques for tomatoes and other vegetables, ensuring successful growth.

Duration: 35 min

12: Greenhouse and Hoop House Gardening

Explore greenhouse alternatives like hoop houses and solar dehydrators for year-round gardening.

Duration: 28 min

13: Seeds, Seedlings, and Transplants

Discover which plants thrive as transplants and which are best sown directly, plus propagation techniques.

Duration: 22 min

14: Preserving Food by Canning

Master canning with both pressure and boiling-water canners for safe food preservation.

Duration: 26 min

15: Preserving Food by Dehydrating and Freezing

Learn dehydration and freezing techniques for fruits, vegetables, and meats, including making jerky and biltong.

Duration: 31 min

16: Preserving Food by Pickling and Fermenting

Explore pickling and fermentation for food preservation, including making kimchi and kombucha.

Duration: 24 min

17: How to Make Homemade Soap

Craft simple soaps using lard, lye, and water, and experiment with additives for softer, scented soaps.

Duration: 22 min

18: How to Make Homemade Candles

Learn candle-making basics, from bayberry wax to specialty molds for various candle types.

Duration: 24 min

19: Processing and Butchering Animals for Food

Get detailed instructions on processing small and large game, birds, and fish for food.

Duration: 23 min

20: Laborsaving Power Tools on the Homestead

Discover essential power tools for homestead management, from rototillers to chainsaws.

Duration: 26 min

21: Some Favorite Hand Tools on the Homestead

Explore a variety of hand tools and their uses, from the mortar hoe to axes and augers.

Duration: 18 min

22: Basics of Homestead Construction

Learn construction essentials for small projects like garden sheds and chicken coops, focusing on tools and techniques.

Duration: 25 min

23: Homestead Cooking from Everyday to Gourmet

Cook delicious meals from your homestead produce, including pasta with tomato sauce, baked squash, and goat curry.

Duration: 30 min