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Everyone knows that it is becoming harder and harder to maintain a life of independence or achieve community with like-minded people in the modern urban environment. Today Curtis Stone (formerly known as The Urban Farmer) joins us to discuss how he is creating a homestead in a rural area to provide food, water, energy and shelter for his family. We discuss the growing movement of people taking the “stead pill” and how others can explore the homesteading solution.
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SHOW NOTES:
FromTheField.tv
thx again buddy. great interview. i was getting some info together about curtis a few months ago for a friend but mistakes were made and they ended up with a cookbook from a large blonde name stealing aussie.
I loved this episode of solutions watch as I’ve been keeping an eye on Curtis for quite some time, well until gootube stopped promoting his channel (even as I am subscribed) and then it fell to the wayside for me. I’m not going directly to his website now and I am looking forward to potential future content with Curtis that you may produce together.
of course I meant to say “I am GOING to his website directly now” and not the opposite. x)
I escaped the city with no money. I learned house care skills that I traded for rent. Created a community subsistence garden. That may be a solution for some people.
Thought provoking interview. These are the solutions I am starting to consider more and more and this is the perfect food for thought. Thank you.
Thank you for this James. I will be looking through the Urban Farmer videos, as once we discount space for the house, shed/greenhouse, compost pile, storage, vehicles, garage, pool chicken coop/run, firewood processing/storage area and some space for our enjoyment, my 0.8-acre suburban lot in the northeastern US doesn’t have much left to be tilled. That said, I feel that I may benefit greatly from the procedures used in using urban plots for produce.
Brilliant episode James! More interviews with Curtis in the future. You’re truly nailing it with this Solutions Watch series! I like all of these new guests coming out of the woodwork, bringing some great ideas to the table! (The “Investing in Agorism” episode was on point as well, Jack Spirco is a riot ?)
Do good, be good!
-JW
hey I love all the content on this site, it’s off topic but since you mentioned that humanity has been learning from nature for “however many millenia”: James please check out the youtube channel of mario buildreps, especially his very first video series that explains his discoveries. It is about ancient civilizations and about how old humanity really is, it is absolutely mind blowing. Honestly just watch it, its not like anything else on this topic and it is super solid. Also in case it comes off like that: I have absolutely no relations to that channel other than following it like yours. I just think it is super valuable content and important in the context of “waking up” about on what scale we are being lied to.
Looks really interesting, thank you for sharing.
I’m extremely happy to hear that I have been doing the most valuable solutions (imo) that you’ve been discussing, James. My wife and I are opening our own businesses out of the city and started meeting people from our surrounding rural communities and farms. Gives me hope that the next few years may not be as harsh on us as they surely will for most people.
Everything Curtis had to say, especially his final note – 100%, absolutely.
I think Curtis nailed it when he said,
“But enjoy it. Have fun. Be happy. Because if you are miserable and the world is going to shit, you still loose. You might as well enjoy it and have fun….”
(17:40)
This can apply in any number of ways, including a reverse vector.
Perhaps for many, doing the homestead off-the-grid survivalist grow your own food is not their cup of tea.
Believe me, when its 110 degrees during a long dry spell, while the garden wilts away and the fire ants invade, it can become less enjoyable to be outside.
My son and his wife bought their 25 acres from an old couple. It already had quite a set-up with a 4 bedroom house, small barn, well water, tank (pond), large garden plot, a very large metal workshop, and more.
After years of enhancing their dream, there came a point when the older couple just got tired and less able to handle all the maintenance. The pizzazz of it all turned into a struggle less enjoyable.
All that said, I’m headed to the yard now to prep some areas.
Good show. You guys should do an episode with Andrew Kaufman and the spectators get to guess who’s who 😉
Curtis has been doing some really great job, I hope his site pans out.
Organic Gardening – Howard Garrett – The Dirt Doctor
https://www.dirtdoctor.com/
I want to plug this guy who resides in Dallas, TX. I’ve been following him for decades now.
He has taken a lot of flak over the years by the chemical guys. His courage stands out. He spoke against water fluoridation at the Dallas City Council.
His website has an incredible archive of material.
That was an interesting interview… on cooking without outside supplies
https://www.kellykettleusa.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhmYWwI9dZk Demo video
The Kelly Kettle is absolutely amazing-
You CAN cook on top of the chimney with a small pan but its real strength is for boiling water for tea or dehydrated food. Super fuel efficient
A fun little project for anyone, gardener or not.
Cuttings
Take a few cutting from a tree or plant. Just cut off some twig like branches. Stick them in a pot of soil. Place a large plastic bottle over the cutting(s) to make a greenhouse effect. Keep the twigs/soil watered and in subdued sunlight.
Not all the cuttings will make it. But some will.
Some cuttings I put directly into the soil where I want them. I now have wormwood growing in a variety of spots, simply from cuttings.
I’ve done this with some trees in my area and also with certain plants from my garden. This Spring I now have two Mulberry trees from pots to transplant into the yard. They started from cutting off twigs of branches of an old neighborhood Mulberry tree.
Willow trees are very easy from cuttings. Then I use “willow juice” to help prompt other cuttings of other plants to ‘take’.
Certain produce products work well too. For example: celery…just cut off the stalks for your meal and stick the base in the ground. Celery doesn’t like intense sunlight.
I’ve seen a video from Jon Bandai where he made a “cutting” without cutting off the branch. Not sure what tree was that, but surely something tropical.
Basically, fill a bag with earth, water and some magic and strap said bag to the branch, just above where you plan to cut later.
After a while, a root system had developed, he cut off the cutting and planted it with the whole package. One would expect that this system should work faster and more reliably than cut first-grow later approach.
Incredible world we are living in, mi amigo tejano. Incredible might, wonder and stupidity.
Thank you very much for this, an interesting video. Here in Europe a lot of people live in flats (apartments), myself included these days, with no garden and not a lot of storage space. Also we have increasingly fascistic governments and the only way really is to move but the problem is where do you go that’s affordable and where you can get a measure of freedom. The US and Canada are very big countries and I imagine it is easier to move about.
People who want to find somewhere new come from different perspectives but we have the same problem. I, for example, am retired but now alone so I want somewhere to be free to live my remaining years. Then there are people in early middle age who have lost their livelihoods and probably won’t find another job. Then there are people with children who want somewhere that’s good to bring them up in because quite a number of countries on this side of the Atlantic really aren’t good for children anymore.
So it’s finding some way and somewhere for different groups of people to form a community. It’s a tough old world now without a doubt.
Come to the US brother, there are small towns spread across the entire country where you can live in relative peace. Stay out of any major city.
May I ask, why is Europe becoming so unbearable if you have children? Honestly if it’s THAT bad I’m surprised there hasn’t been a mass exodus of people moving out of the EU!
JPWheels
“.. a mass exodus of people moving out of the EU!..”
Where would EU natives go to live? Unless they have big money or high skills Europeans are not particularly sought after or welcomed in the rest of the world.
White folks going to live in Africa would be less then welcome… India might be OK if they have money or some skill… China is getting pretty rich and from what i hear does not need to import too many tech types but I hear from a pal if you have an English accent you can earn money teaching English…Australia is AFAIK pretty tight on immigration these days and no longer has favoritism for European immigrants and the USA does not favor the EU as an immigration source overmuch either
While you make some valid points Duck, I have to disagree. Where there is a will, there is a way! People immigrate out of the EU all the time, they’ve been doing so for centuries. Personally I’d rather see them stand up and fight back(there has been some resistance). Though if they’d rather leave their respective countries, I don’t blame them for attempting to do so either.
No, it’s not spreading fear… technocracy really began with the creation of cities even though the term wasn’t invented until much later, so it makes sense that the solution is to get out of the cities.
Excellent! Was hoping my two favourite Canadians would finally talk for a long time.
I am glad to see this discussion on homesteading. My husband and I planned to build a homestead. Just as the foundations were being poured, he was killed (a long story for another time). I have been doing what I can on this property but I can’t do it alone. There is great value in having other people around who like gardening and building. I would be open to discussing possibilities with Corbett Report members who may have thought about getting out of the city and who may be interested in entertaining the idea of joining me. If this is of interest, contact me through my About page at keyholejourney.com
I’m sorry for your loss. I agree that it is nice to do this kind of thing with others. Thank you for sharing this opportunity.
If you join freedomcells.org you would be able to get a map of like-minded people that live near you.
Thank you, spider. That’s good information.
Mishelle,
Being a Texan who has lived and traveled throughout the state, I enjoyed leisurely looking around and reading different stories on your blog.
Of course, this image of Mineral Wells caught my eye…
https://kenshohomestead.org/2018/12/04/taking-the-waters/
Coincidentally, just the other day I posted a note about the song Mineral Wells.
https://www.corbettreport.com/our-digital-gulag/#comment-106121
In the early 60’s I lived in Henderson, but over the years have traveled throughout east Texas, north and south. Beautiful country.
Livestock Watering Trough tidbit
My son has cattle and sometimes lambs.
An old timer told him to put goldfish and koi in the trough.
It will keep down the green slime.
From Melissa K. Norris – “Modern Homesteading” YouTube Channel
No electricity – No “refrigeration” – No indoor toilet – No one went hungry
Self-Sufficiency Tips from the Great Depression | What My Grandparents Raised
(20 minutes – LOTS of Links in show notes)
https://youtu.be/eDZYnnbPuYg
This is pretty good. I also listened to her linked interview with her Father describing life during the Depression (text transcript is available).
I believe this lady can be an excellent resource for those who are interested in Homesteading.
Have you thought about building a small wind generator? There are plenty of designs out there, some people are making fairly advanced generators out of, what tantamounts to, garbage.