SARASOTA-MANATEE COUNTIES (WSNN) – A produce aisle in our backyard? That’s what it’s come down to for some of us on the Suncoast.
It’s called homesteading; the idea of becoming as self-reliant as you can, using the resources of your own home. The interest renewed thanks to the pandemic. Chicken keeping, beekeeping, and gardening are among some of the ways, Sarasota Honey company co-owner, Alma Johnson, is a fan.
“Homesteading is basically doing a lot of do-it-yourself projects, being as sustainable, looking at the resources you have available to you, and how can you make those resources last, as well as sharing with others,” Johnson said.
Johnson says pandemic-related food shortages at grocery stores had many people asking her for advice.
“When the coronavirus stuff really started taking off, you found that people were trying to get baby chickens like crazy,” Homesteader, Barbara Tamayo, said. “Everywhere was sold out of baby chickens.”
Tamayo and her family started about five years ago at her half-acre property. COVID confirmed homestead benefits; so much so, they moved to a 5-acre property in Manatee County about two weeks ago.
“A few months ago, all the availability at the grocery store; I didn’t have nearly the issues that everybody else had in getting products from our store because there’s a good variety in our own backyard,” Tamayo said.
Johnson says the pandemic encouraged her to dive fully into homesteading after only dabbling in the past.
“With everything that’s going on with COVID, it’s forced me to really look in and hone into those skills that I gained a long time ago with my grandmother and other friends that did homestead,” Johnson said.
Johnson’s backyard friends help each other in the circle of life; starting with the chickens.
“We get the poop in the dirt that they make, that’s our fertilizer, and we use that in the garden to grow and fertilize the plants and the veggies that were growing,” Johnson said. “The bees that we raise the pollinate those plants, and they create fruits and veggies.”
The good stuff gets harvested, the chickens get what’s left.
Johnson says it’s not just about food, people can learn to make items for their house.
“It’s just about being as self-sufficient as you can because you don’t know what tomorrow holds,” Johnson said.
“So we really try to have as little waste as we can, and reuse every bit of food that we can,” Tamayo said.
Johnson says there are many ways to homestead. And to start, all it takes is planting a seed from the fruits you have in your fridge. She will be posting videos on how to preserve foods and get creative with leftovers on her Facebook.