"The greatest fine art of the future will be making a living from a small piece of land."
~ Abraham Lincoln
By Pete Kennedy
This past year we’ve witnessed a decrease in the quality and reliability of our conventional food supply as well as of our medical system. Homesteading and growing our own food and medicines can help counter both of these developments.
My guest for this Solari Food Series audiocast is again John Moody, who lives on a 35-acre farm in Kentucky and has been homesteading there for the last 12 years. He consults with homesteaders around the country and is a popular speaker on this topic at conferences such as the Mother Earth News Fairs. He is also the author of several books including The Frugal Homesteader.
In our interview, John talks about various aspects of homesteading and describes steps homesteaders can take to be successful, whether they live in the countryside, a suburb, or even an urban area. Among other topics, John offers advice on how to start up a homestead as well as how to build soil and deal with pests, weeds, and other threats to the harvest. He also covers what it takes to grow high-quality produce, how to negotiate current seed shortages, and how to efficiently use the growing space you have or set up an indoor growing system.
John has generously offered to answer questions homesteaders might have. You can submit questions to foodseries@solari.com.
Seeds for Generations, a heirloom seed company, is also offering a discount to Solari subscribers. See details below.
Timemark Segments
05:10 Recommendations for people starting to homestead
26:36 Pest control
36:00 Weed control
43:48 Building soil
1:02:55 Advice on growing produce
In Let's Go to the Movies, I recommend the 2012 documentary Wartime Farm, a reenactment of Manor Farm’s operation in Hampshire County, England, during World War II. Churchill called Britain’s farms the “frontline of freedom” during World War II as they enabled the country to increase the production of food. Today, the ability of our local communities to be as self-sufficient as possible is also a “frontline of freedom” as the planet is being ravaged by a variety of detrimental practices by industry, agriculture, and the military.
Wartime Farm Part 1 of 8 (59:28 min)
”678” is not validIn Money & Markets, Catherine and John Titus will review current financial and geopolitical news and discuss what to watch for in 2021. E-mail your questions for Ask Catherine or post at the Money & Markets commentary for the second week of May here.
Talk to you on Thursday!
Related Reading:
Books by John Moody available on his website:
- The Frugal Homesteader
- Winning the War on Weeds
Other books:
- The Nourishing Homestead: One Back-to-the-Land Family’s Plan for Cultivating Soil, Skills and Spirit by Ben Hewitt
Related Links:
Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund
The Weston A. Price Foundation
Source for heirloom seeds:
Seeds for Generations is a family business devoted to sharing their love of heirloom seeds and gardening, seeking to inspire and equip more people to grow their own food. Jason and Shannon, and their seven children, grow most of their own food on their homestead in the mountains of Virginia, and want to help you and your loved ones be able to do the same. In a modern economy that’s coming apart at the seams, they want to help you grow a better future, and are sharing a special discount offer just for Solari subscribers! Please log in to access the code.
