More subdivision - Meat for the Homestead or any other Ideas!

[BarredBuff]

I think a Sustainable Livestock section and a Sustainable Gardening is what we need. Even though we have the sister sites SS'ers take it differently than the others. And what is appreciated one site is not necessarily appreciated on another site.

I agree, not elaborate, just space to put garden and livestock stuff. I was REALLY surprised when I joined that this site didn't have those. Those are central to self sufficiency!

I was too because not a lot of people do energy related things so I wasnt sure why we had that and not garden and livestock.

 

[lorihadams]

Maybe we could do a combination section like....Self Sufficient Food Sources that would encompass meat/gardening/wild edibles in one title?

I know we have the hunting and fishing section, maybe we could retitle that section as a source for all of our "meat and potatoes" discussions. We could make a sticky at the begining of the section that has pictures or video tutorials on how to process certain types of animals cause I know that is a big thing for many of the new folks on here and we have all tried to locate pictures at one time or another.

 

[valmom]

I sort of like the idea of an SS food sources- and we could have a bee thread going for us newbies to beekeeping to ask our questions instead of cluttering up the rest of the board question by question. I'm thinking something that we could bookmark and come back to for information like the kombucha thread or a few others I keep bookmarked.

 

[Wannabefree]

Maybe we could do a combination section like....Self Sufficient Food Sources that would encompass meat/gardening/wild edibles in one title?

I know we have the hunting and fishing section, maybe we could retitle that section as a source for all of our "meat and potatoes" discussions. We could make a sticky at the begining of the section that has pictures or video tutorials on how to process certain types of animals cause I know that is a big thing for many of the new folks on here and we have all tried to locate pictures at one time or another.

BINGO! That is what I was SO not getting across but trying to say Thanks!

 

[Dawn419]

Great ideas everyone!!!

I really like the idea of a SS Food Sources area!

and we could have a bee thread going for us newbies to beekeeping to ask our questions instead of cluttering up the rest of the board question by question.

I like that idea valmom. We'll be getting our first bees next spring and I have a lot of questions!

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

Great ideas everyone!!!

I really like the idea of a SS Food Sources area!

and we could have a bee thread going for us newbies to beekeeping to ask our questions instead of cluttering up the rest of the board question by question.

I like that idea valmom. We'll be getting our first bees next spring and I have a lot of questions!

I like this idea, too, because a few of us have started our own Beek Journals, and it would be nice to have all that in one area for bees.

There's a lot to discuss for bees, too, like are you doing it as just a hobby or for profit, etc.

 

[lorihadams]

I like the idea of having a place for food stuff too. It is hard to go back and find which section certain topics are in sometimes, especially the butchering sections. I have done searches for stuff sometimes and not even come close to what I am looking for....combination mommy brain and getting older, I guess

Can I also throw out the idea of a livestock section? I know we have BYH but sometimes we all don't get the best responses from that. Maybe a livestock or farm animal section? That way we can put all the animal care topics in there. Just a thought. We could do the "edibles" separate from the general care and maintenance of animals, maybe that is where the beekeeping could go as well. We get lots of "what do I do" questions for animal care and that may be a good idea too.

Don't kill me Nifty

 

[dragonlaurel]

I like going to BYH sometimes, but a section for sustainable critter raising methods would be great here.
I'd also like a section for building/repairing homes and buildings on your site. Lots of people seem interested in it but it gets lost in the journals.
Hunting and butchering would work together for a section. They would probably have lots of info in common.

 

[Marianne]

I'd like to keep the energy threads. It doesn't have to be all about solar panels, we could put links to Mother's Heat Grabber (Mother Earth News) and other homemade passive solar ideas. I have read that some people would take the little solar panel from electric fencing to make a solar battery charger (okay, now how'd you do that?). Wiring diagrams would be helpful! or links to them. Also links to rocket mass heater, rocket stoves, etc.

Also some things like instructions on how to make a hay box or simple DIY solar ovens for cooking.

A section for off grid living would be nice, too. Some of us would like to be off grid but can't afford tons of solar panels, so this would help us figure out where we could cut power consumption by supplimenting with simple homemade projects.

What about a scrap heap section? Useful items that are made from scrounged materials.

 

[miss_thenorth]

My thoughts are: alternative healing--naturopathic, herbal remedies etc-- you can put a disclaimer on it, but alot of us do not adhere to modern medical/pharmaceutical practices
a section for susatinable livestock rearing--covering health concerns traditional and non traditional, breeding, and butchering
a section for the homestead garden

While I do realize thta we do have BYH and TEG, it is a big part of our self sustainability, andwe want to discuss these topics with our friend here on this forum. You can always put a note under the forum like you do in BYC for Other pets and animals--please visit our other site Backyard Herds.

And in the kitchen, while I love the what are you canning/dehydrating etc threads, I also hate them b/c there are so many pages.eg. I was needing info on canning turkey in a way different thatn what my book calls for, but did not want to go through all 140+ pages to see how others did it.

And an introduction forum so newbies know where to come and and say HI!

ETA,maybe a forum to discuss ways to make money from your homestead, whether it be rural or urban.