Doesn’t it make more sense to spend my time in my specialized career and just buy vegetables and fresh produce for my family?

Granted, perhaps from an economic point of view this may be true. (strangely I was an Economics major in University) But pure economic theory would have us always working at our specialized jobs and never ever at other pursuits. To us this unbalanced life is very detrimental to both happiness and family life.

I know how I feel after 40 , 50, or over 60 hours doing my ‘specialized’ job? It can really get to be a drag without something else to balance out my life.

But if a method existed where both economic theory and the hands dirty world of gardening could co-exist peacefully ?(don’t worry, this will not be a dissertation on garden economics- and I promise to never use words like ‘dissertation’ ever again)

Gardening especially from a homesteading point of view can be a great pursuit in, and of itself. You see, if you are saving on expenses, and having fun doing it, then it does not ‘feel’ like work at all. That is the key to a balanced life we think, and a great start for living off the grid.

Sometimes we must spend an entire week, or weeks on one project, but we always try to balance it out with other work. With the extensive work projects we have each year that really is not difficult either.

But, if you are just starting out, then a garden is a great place to begin to both save money, and eat better.

You see, the most important benefits from gardening is not the saved money aspect. It is much like cutting firewood in this respect. It is said that cutting firewood warms you at least 3 times (some claim 8 times), not just in the heat in your home. There is the cutting, splitting, piling and of course the burning too.

Gardening warms your soul from the time you till the soil, to the time spent planting, cultivating and finally harvesting and eating.

This may sound like a lot of work, but it does not have to be. Take your time, don’t blast away as you are expected to do with your other ‘job’. Pick your head up, look around, hear the birds.

As I am planting I always imagine eating the vegetables I plant. From onion seedlings comes onion sandwiches, tiny corn seeds planted and I am thinking of fresh corn on the cob picked only minutes before, and tomatoes so large they hang over the edge of the toast.

Anyone who has ever had a real toasted tomato sandwich, one that drips all over, and you have to do the hunch to eat properly (outside is best) knows what we mean.

The point is to not dwell on what could be drudgery, but to let the mind go. Hear the world around you, hear your heart sing, hear your breathing, know that it’s a good sweat, one that you have chosen. A garden is a great place to reconnect with your soul, that is really our purpose for living off the grid.

He looked at me kind of strange and said ‘ there’s no money in farming…’ That was about 1 year before we moved.

I was, in essence trying to explain a decision that was already made up for Jane and I. In retrospect I probably did not do a very good job.

The difference between trying to make a profit at farming, and homesteading self sufficiency are like night and day. I did my best to explain about growing our own food and building our own home.

By definition what we had planned was homesteading, as no other family had ever occupied the land we moved onto.

‘But you won’t have any money?’ he said. Of course he was right, at least in the beginning. Without capital, except for our own land we had little money. But that was really the whole idea.

To provide for ourselves, to be self-sufficient.

And we did, from our own home, to our kitchen table (which we still use today).

When it was all boiled down to the core, what we wanted was control of our lives. To be able to control how much we spent on rent (or land taxes), how much we spent on food, how much we spent for heat, electricity and water.

To control your own resources was very liberating to say the least, we had building material, stone and wood, land to grow our food, fresh water and dead wood for heating our home in the winter.

Our basic resources we needed to start homesteading self sufficiency were all here. But how could I explain it to Dad? or the rest of the family?

The answer arrived only a short while later in a letter from Mom and Dad, stuffed inside a birthday card.

‘On our way home from our vacation we are going to stop in and visit for a few days, and you can show us your place.’

We were excited and filled with fear as well. How would they react to our homesteading self sufficiency lifestyle.

Thankfully it was late August and the garden was bursting at the seams, morning, noon and night providing us with all we could eat.

They were both gardeners, and grew up on farms so the fresh produce they would appreciate.

During their visit we were right in the middle of finishing up the root cellar where we were going to store our winter food, potatoes, carrots and root vegetables mostly. Dad pitched in and helped me with the last of the foundation, then we were free to explore what we had done.

We showed them both around, we made meals, had campfires and talked.

The important part was when Dad told us both, ‘obviously this has made you both happy, and the kids are happy too, that’s all we need to see.’

And he was right, we were happy (are happy)

This post is dedicated to Les’ Dad, who died just 2 years ago. We miss you. And thank you for loving Jane as though she was your own daughter. The two of you were much closer than I ever realized.

Homesteading self sufficiency may not be for everyone, and it is hard to explain but it certainly is worth it, none of the rest of our families has ever seen our living off the grid homestead, but for those who have they have seen ‘real happiness here.’

From the living off the grid homestead.


We try to grow as much of our own food as we can, we use the natural resources that are on this property, and we try to make our life as enjoyable and productive as possible, every day we learn more about how to live off the grid.

Keeping life simple is one of our main goals. As life out there spins out of control with debt, severe confusion over wants and needs, and just simple fear of what tomorrow will bring it is a comfort to know that a simple lifestyle based on self sufficient living is still possible.

It may seem strange to end the video with a statement about carrots, but that is derived from our basic belief that living off the grid means a simpler existence where the simple joy of picking a carrot is what it’s all about. Take the time to enjoy the simple things, the basic joys in eating and building a life.

For a long time Jane and I could not enjoy our life. We felt trapped, utterly alone in this world, and fearful of what tomorrow would bring to our new family. But, we persevered and found our way to freedom. It started with a dream of never having to pay another electric bill, wanting to grow a big garden and an overwhelming urge on my part to build our own home- living off the land and using a chainsaw mill to cut lumber for building.

It all started the first week of May in 1994, some 17 years ago now. We know you can do this, because we have. Living off the grid is a welcome challenge filled with rewards you could never imagine when you first begin- fresh carrots can even make us smile here.

The simple process of putting one stone on top of another and binding the mix with mortar or concrete is both satisfying and demanding at the same time. For those of you contemplating self sufficient living any and all building skills can be learned. Here is how you get started.

You can see by the photo on the left that we were working on getting some footprints made with small stones as our top design. It is rather striking how a simple design like this can set off an otherwise uncreative process. If you simply add concrete to the forms, fill them to the top, yes, you will have a wall , or steps in this case, but can you do better.

It does not take hardly any more time to make a permanent design that will provide a lasting impression for your visitors off the grid. Collect up some stone that is just lying around and start working on the ground to make something out of it first, before you begin to mix cement. The only criteria is that the top of the stone, whichever side you use should be flat and smooth, nothing else really matters.

Wherever we are in the area we look for stone that we can use for building, it kind of gets to be a bit of an obsession for us since we have a lot of time since we began living off the grid.

It’s always kind of fun to see a project come together before you even begin. Kind of like putting together a jigsaw puzzle only you get to pick the pieces you use.

First, you need to build a form. For this (and you can reference the top photo) you should use old or used lumber if possible as you will not be able to use it for anything else after cement touches the wood. We use old wood and we build with it until it rots, keeping it out of the weather as best we can. Remember to brace it properly as stone and concrete exerts a tremendous force outwards after it is in the forms. Another thing to remember is to build with wood screws so it can be carefully disassembled after a couple days.

You can see by this wall that it is a bit of a rough job until you do the pointing. This is the process afterwards or filling in the exposed joints with mortar to add a very finished look. This is our root cellar which we built to accommodate or garden produce for the winter here at the off grid living homestead. It was our very first large stone building project but we completed it in just over 2 weeks. We did one round of stone per day adding about 8 inches in height each day.

Remember that you have to work from the outside in. Place your form boards for the exposed wall (the part you see) and place your flat surface of each stone to that board. It really is a simple process whether you are placing stone or using concrete and simply finishing the top portion with stone or design. Mixing concrete you will use a mix of crushed stone, sand (which your local contractor can deliver) . In our area it is known as A gravel, just tell them it is for concrete. Use this mix at 5 to 1 to portland cement and you will have a great finished product.

If you want to fit stone then you need to use masonry sand (again from your contractor, he can deliver it by the square yard). Most of this material is used to do cement foundation blocks but the mortar is basically the same. Use this sand 3 to 1 with type S masonry cement, or you can use type M cement too.

The great part is that this material is relatively cheap in most areas and the resulting building is truly permanent. Practice on small projects first and you will get the hang of it.

In the next article we will show you some finished projects, and more detailed plans for building stone walls, all of which we did around our off grid living home.

If they were convinced that learning how to get off the grid was just a matter of unplugging your home phone then they were in for a bit of a shock. Of course, in its simplest sense you are not connected when you are out of range, but that would not do the term justice, would it?

How could he think he was making a difference in his life simply by switching from one form of communication to another? Is it real, or is it simply a marketing illusion? The intention of this website is not to give you false hope that you can simply unplug and be free. That is simply not the case. Our intention is to show you, our readers, that a few simple choices in the right direction could have you in control of your life instead of the big corporations that surround us.

Let’s get back to the cell phone example, is it less expensive? Not on your life. This is not the answer for learning what you need to know. More and more apps, more and more options to get you to use your phone more actually detracts from your freedom, it does not enhance it, and that is not what living off the grid should mean.

Recently we had some interesting developments here at our home that should illustrate the point even further.

For the second year in a row we were approached by a major publisher to tell our story- and for the second year in a row we turned this second publisher down in favor of being able to say what we want to say right here.

And yes, we turned down a sizable chunk of money and royalties in the process. Why did we do it?

Simply put, the publisher had no idea what we were trying to do, they only wanted a book that would appeal to the largest audience. They wanted us to write about things that we don’t do here, things that would help the book sell. Whether or not the reader learned what they needed to know was immaterial. We have a loyal and very large readership right here, and we like it that way. When inspiration hits us, we want to be able to share it with you right away, and as honestly as possible.

I have to admit that I really love reading books, but the fact of the matter is that book publishing is really living in the past, something we refuse to do. There is no interaction, there are no comments, in short, you the reader, do not have a voice. And we really love hearing from you, your successes and your failures.

Jane and I feel so privileged to be able to share our life with you right here at the living off the grid homestead, and we would not change a thing. Learning how to get off the grid is not just unplugging, and it’s not selling out to be popular, it’s a real choice on a very personal level to live your life to the fullest.

Whether it is a natural or man-made disaster by providing for yourself in a self sufficient manner you can definitely weather the storms.

One of my favorite topics of discussion is Economics. I don’t claim to be an expert in the field but it is one of my passions and I follow closely the news in this area… why?

There is not one other item of business that affects us so profoundly and in such an utterly detached manner as economics. The price of gas goes up? why? we just don’t know. Is it a long weekend? Can the big companies squeeze an extra dime from us because they know we are going to drive anyways? I think they do.

Our only defense, if we do not carry as big a stick as these guys is to simply not play the game at all, and living off the grid is the best defense of all.

I don’t mean to withdraw from life itself, but simply stop playing into their hands. Devise a life that answers their questions, and gives us a life back in return.

No where is this more evident than in the world of credit, and the Governments of the U.S and Canada are probably the worst offenders. Bailouts and an out of control money supply have left them in quite a pickle.

Of course this is not a short term problem, it has been going on since the first deficit budget way back in the 70′s. Ah… to go back and say stop borrowing.

Now the borrowing of money has gotten out of hand, now if a government can not pay its bills they simply print more money. And every country who has used this strategy throughout history has had its currency fail, some slow, some quite quickly.

If you think of this on a family level and imagine that if you had bills you could not pay? what would you do? print more money on your home computer? I don’t think so. How about the bank’s solution > they raise your credit limit, so you can do the whole thing over again. Not smart.

Our only solution is to stop playing the credit game, both on a government and on a family level. Only in this way will we survive the pending and predicted impending financial crisis.

Yes, we can put our heads in the sand, pretend it will be alright, and I really dislike even bringing this up, but it is ahead for all of us.

I remember some wise advise from my own Grampa, Don Emerson, whom I have relied upon heavily all of his 97 years (still going strong by the way).

He told me about the Depression of the 1930′s, saying ‘ it was just like any other time, except no one had any money to buy anything. You either grew it yourself, made it yourself, or you did without.”

I always remembered that and it has shaped my life immensely. We feel secure here living off the grid, and it is our mission to help you do the same, homesteading is not for everyone, but nearly everyone can grow a garden and build the things they need to live a better life.

Strange that the simple act of keep a few birds should be so liberating or make us feel good about our decisions but it does.

You see, before we moved we could not keep chickens at our apartment, and for Jane who had grown up on a farm that was unbearable.

Yes we kept a small garden but we could not keep any animals at all.

When I was younger, I remember my Grandmother keeping a flock of chickens and she lived right in the middle of a small rural town. No one seemed to mind, and truthfully if you keep hens (and not loud roosters) there is a good chance that no one will even notice.

A lot of towns even have by-laws stating that you can keep small flocks of chickens as long as they are for personal use.

I have to admit a rather fondness for fresh cooked eggs for breakfast. To me nothing beats that freshness. We were talking earlier today that no restaurant meal comes close to what we produce here off the grid.

We do occasionally go out for meals, not often, but we always find ourselves comparing our own cooking, and the freshness of our ingredients produced living off the grid. We just can’t help it.

And why not, we worked hard to build up what we have and reap the benefits now, replacing the work of doing dishes and harvesting a few veggies just does not seem worth it when the end result is not as good as what we could eat at home.

It just does not seem worth the extra expense either, when we can do better ourselves.

Actually, I really enjoy preparing meals with Jane, it’s a lot of fun and will be the topic of another homesteading blogs post in the near future.

For now let’s stick with growing chickens. Here our number one priority is predator protection, from bears to weasels to foxes we get them all hunting around for an easy meal, so we need protection.

The chicken coop itself is built on bedrock, but a good concrete floor would suffice. We have had bears actually tear down the siding off of the coop so now it is sided with steel siding.

The moveable hoop coop shown here is actually in the garden and we can manure the garden directly while the girls eat lunch. We keep them out there all summer.

Our only necessity is that we use solar electric fencing for around the perimeter. It is really inexpensive, portable and easy to use, best of all it keeps the predators out.

Over the years we have lost a few chickens and this has proven to be the most effective method.

Part of our life is balancing wilderness with our own needs for survival and homestead self sufficiency. It is a delicate balance sometimes and sometimes we have to admit temporary defeat, or simply decide that our own needs have to be modified.

For the most part our living off the grid homestead is a balance between what we ‘think’ should work and what actually does work, that’s what makes it fun.

As spring turns to summer our focus changes to the garden. Our aim is to eat 3 meals a day with at least something from the garden, if not the entire meal being grown here.

It may be a bit of a lofty goal but most days (even those hot lazy days of summer) we achieve our aim here at the off the grid homestead. Why is it so important to focus on this seasonal bounty.

I can probably best illustrate it with a little story I just told to our son. In the end he discovered that his life really did depend on our garden for many months of the year.

Obviously we all must eat healthy food to sustain ourselves. And our aim here is to grow most of that food ourselves so that we can maintain a pesticide free food source.

Our son Andre’ was helping us with some weeding last week and obviously as many teenager are guilty of, his mind was somewhere else. He was doing a sloppy job and needed some correction of his technique. As a family we think it is very important to share the work and the criticism.

The weeds in the onions were pretty obvious so we took a minute to discuss his work. I asked him if he liked eating onions?

And, knowing that he did, he told me so. I then asked him how well the onions would grow if weeds were present.

He immediately grasped the concept when I said ‘ I would rather you did one row perfect, than 2 rows crappy.’

Sometimes the lessons living off the grid are not really profound, more like simple lessons that can apply to any job. One perfect row beats 2 that are crap any day, in whatever we do.

Since we are talking about food here, and food is a necessity to survival and self sufficiency then it is imperative to grasp that your life does depend on this garden for months at a time.

That is not extra pressure either, physical or emotional, it simply means that our job is to do the best we can in the garden and it will give back in kind.

For many years we worked harder than our garden did. The soil was poor and needed a lot of minerals and compost to make it productive.

Now, by simply applying a certain amount of work that is no where near what we used to put in, we actually receive much more.

The inputs of time and materials have allowed our family to now reap long term benefits that far outweigh our yearly input time and costs.

If you would simply take the time and view the garden as a long long term project for your family these rewards could be yours. Spread the work over the entire year, and amongst all family members.

They will all take a proprietary interest in the results as they stream towards your kitchen table.

Living off the grid is never better than when we sit down to a meal that was entirely produced from our own efforts.

We have employed a lot of time saving methods and by far the best one is the keeping of chickens. This is a picture of the portable hoop coop that we built that allows the chickens to be rotated around the garden.

Chickens are by far one of the most hardy and self sufficient animals that you can grow, they are very adept at living off the land, perhaps better than any other. We just provide them with a little supplementary food and water and they give us eggs, fertilizer and they keep the weeds and grass clipped too. They are an amazing part of our off the grid plans.

As soon as the first sprouts are out there we have them working, I kindly refer to them as the working chickens, as opposed to the chicken coop chickens. Of course they work too, eating household scraps and producing eggs too, but it is different when they are in the coop it seems.

When the garden is planted the chickens are simply moved to an unused section or to the edges where they happily munch seeds and weeds all summer. In the fall they are put to work in the garden working the land where we are finished growing.

Early and late plantings have become the normal in our homestead garden, it seems living off the grid really fits well with the seasons and how to make it work is to look at the longest possible growing season you can.

In our area the fall garden is truly lovely, but it requires us to keep planting so maturity dates coincide with the fall.

We plant right up to July 1 here, and that gives us fresh vegetables directly from the garden right in to the end of November. And in December we are still digging carrots and picking Brussels Sprouts too, as well as greens and cabbage.

Looking at the garden as a long term investment allows us to work only a little each day at it and reap benefits for a longer period of time. The old theory of plant it Memorial Day and it is done the first week of September are definitely gone.

We start eating from the garden in March usually with Parsnips that were actually planted the year before. They overwinter and take on the best flavor after being completely frozen all winter. By far the best vegetable you will ever taste. No, the ones from the grocery store are not even close.

Take the time and plant them, and wait, it is worth it.

Then along comes Asparagus, a definite favorite around here. When we first moved to our home we wanted to grow a wide variety of veggies and Asparagus was one we really wanted.

Through the seasons it is definitely a sure hit, with never a crop failure.

Then comes the summer vegetables which we always enjoy, peppers, tomatoes and melons.

But we look forward to the fall garden the most, fresh greens after frost are just awesome, they will take more frost than you think too.

Whether you are living off the grid or just want to improve your garden give these suggestions a try.