Homesteading Where You’re Planted: Start Small Space Homesteading Today

Want to start homesteading but don’t have land? Discover how small space homesteading, also called “Homesteading Where You’re Planted” (HWYP), lets you grow food, learn traditional skills, and build self-sufficiency in apartments, condos, or suburban homes. No acreage required.

Homesteading has an undeniable allure, whether you’re scrolling through your feed of full-time off-the-gridders or daydreaming about starting a family-owned farm. Yet many of us end up intimidated by these large-scale efforts. Instead of trying our hand at growing our own food and learning new skills, we often think “maybe someday” and put off our homesteading dreams for tomorrow. 

But the fact is, this mindset can really hold you back.

There’s a movement stirring in the self-sufficiency community known as Homesteading Where You’re Planted (HWYP). This compelling concept states that anyone can start apartment or urban homesteading right where they are.

No, you don’t need to quit your 9-to-5 job and buy acres of land. No, you don’t need to build a chicken coop tomorrow. And there’s no shame when you buy most of your food at the grocery store rather than harvesting it yourself.

You can start small by incorporating the core concepts of homesteading into your existing lifestyle. You can gently integrate routines that can be practiced anywhere, such as a high-rise apartment, a condo, a suburban house, or a small country home. 

Ready to finally begin introducing some homesteading practices into your life, no matter how big or small? Let’s explore how you can start Homesteading Where You’re Planted today and honor the traditions that stand at the heart of homesteading in whatever ways work for you. 

Small Space Homesteading: Handmade Skills You Can Start Today

Handwork is a central component of HWYP, regardless of the effort. A greater connection to food, the environment, and the objects we surround ourselves with goes hand in hand with homesteading.

It’s about shifting your reliance away from large corporations and embracing a smaller, more self-reliant mindset, one that often involves getting your hands dirty. But you don’t have to pack your bags and move off the grid to do this. Anyone can start by making small changes in their daily life and learning new DIY skills. 

Breadmaking
Ever tried your hand at making your own bread? All you need to get started is water, salt, flour, and yeast. As for tools and space, a bowl, a measuring tool, a container to bake your bread in, and some countertop space to work your dough are all you’ll need. Before you know it, you’ll be making your own sourdough in no time. 

Jam and Jelly-making

Some other simple, handcrafted recipes to try include jam and jelly. It’s perfectly fine if you buy your ingredients from the store rather than growing them yourself; homesteading is about developing your skills just as much as it is about growing your own food. 

For home jam-making, you’ll need to gather some mason jars, sugar, pectin (for certain fruits), and an acid like lemon juice. For jelly-making, you’ll also need a straining tool, like some cheesecloth, and a colander to strain the pulp. If you don’t want to get into home-canning just yet, you can make a small batch of freezer jam or refrigerator jam to start. 

Winemaking

If you have more space available, consider home winemaking or mead making. It’s a longer process with a higher learning curve, but drinking your own homemade wine is a reward like no other. (Did you know you can make wine from a whole array of things, including corn cobs?) Homemade wines can span from delicate flower wines and fruit wines to vegetable and herb wines. 

Winemaking kits with beginner-friendly equipment options are available online, opening up endless possibilities. Even if your wine batch turns out disappointing, it doesn’t have to go to waste. You can turn your handmade wine into a homemade vinegar, tailoring it to your taste with homegrown herbs, or simply use it for cleaning!

Developing Traditional Homesteading Skills from Home

A huge aspect of homesteading is reducing your dependence on larger systems and increasing your self-reliance. A large component of this is skill-based, and luckily, skills can be developed anywhere. Begin by starting small, building your confidence with each new project. 

Textiles

You don’t need to start your homesteading journey by learning how to shear your own sheep and spin your own wool. Begin by building additional skills and advancing your knowledge at your own pace. Who’s to say shearing sheep isn’t in your future, but it’s better to start now by building other skills than never begin at all. 

Do you know how to sew? What about knitting or mending your own clothes? These are also integral skills to living a more independent lifestyle. Got a bag of old textiles around the house? Try making a rag rug, reusable bag, or quilt from that scrap pile!

Soap and Toiletries

If needles aren’t your style, consider crafting other household supplies that are useful to you, like soapmaking or creating herbal salves. Herbal balms, salves, and lotions are wonderful for nourishing the skin, and can utilize medicinal extracts to help alleviate skin irritation. Easy homemade toiletries such as toothpaste, deodorant, shaving cream, and shampoo are also excellent projects to take on.

Image: Aurélia Dubois, Unsplash

Home Supplies

Cleaning supplies are another homestead essential. Start collecting recipes for things like all-purpose cleaner, DIY laundry detergent, or homemade dishwashing soap. Try your hand at making your own earth-friendly bug repellants to care for your plants. Not only will you develop new skills, but you’ll also be creating products that help pollinators along the way. 

Container Gardening & Small Space Food Growing

Whether you’re the owner of a small, family farm or a suburban condo, one of the core aspects of homesteading is growing your own food. And despite what you might think, you don’t need a large tract of land to start. 

A small patio, deck, or balcony is all that anyone needs to begin growing their own little crop of fruits, vegetables, or herbs. Container gardening is a perfect small-space homesteading technique for growing your own harvest, whether you start with a few tomato plants or some winter cabbage. Peppers, potatoes, and salad greens like lettuce and kale also do well in containers, as can small fruit trees or berry bushes.

The most important thing in container gardening is to ensure your plants are compatible, since the space will be limited. There are plenty of resources for this online, from apps and charts to the old-fashioned Farmer’s Almanac.

The second element to consider is your layout. Plants that are climbers love railings, so place any beans or cucumbers near them. Make sure any plants that require more light are placed in appropriate spaces before you begin filling the planters with soil, as they’ll be much harder to move once they’re full. Additionally, consider wind at higher elevations and place more delicate plants in areas with greater protection. 

Try to purchase larger containers, as these will stay moist longer and allow for more expansive root systems to develop. Also, opt for potting soil over regular soil, as it is designed to retain more water while being lighter. Lastly, plant a few flowering plants in pots to attract pollinators, such as lavender, lantana, or geraniums. 

Window Gardens for Herbs

No patio or balcony? Even if your apartment is 500 square feet, you can likely find a window somewhere that would benefit from a row of kitchen herbs. Try to choose a window with ample sunlight for your indoor garden, such as one facing south. 

But the other windows can work wonders as well. Herbs such as basil, oregano, cilantro, parsley, chives, mint, and thyme are well-suited to growing in low-light, cooler conditions. Once you master these basics, you can expand your kitchen garden to more challenging herbs such as lemon balm, rosemary, sage, and marjoram.

Composting

Do you have a larger space available? Consider building a home compost pile to add to your garden and herbs. Contrary to what many believe, you can create a composting space that won’t emit an overpowering smell or even attract pests, and it makes for a spectacular natural addition to your planter beds. 

Other Tips for Growing Your Own Harvest

Whether you start with herbs, fruits, or vegetables, consider your home gardening journey a learning experience. What works for one person on a social media post may not work for you. Trial and error will be needed.

Remember, the nuances of light, humidity, temperature, and regional differences are at play here. You’ll have to gradually find what works in a way that is best for your particular conditions, so don’t worry if you fail the first few times. Everyone does. 

Food Preservation for Small Space Homesteaders

Whenever you harvest the fruits of your garden, you’ll need to consider how to preserve them. Think your modest balcony garden couldn’t possibly produce enough to preserve? Think again. It is incredible how many tomatoes a single tomato plant can yield. 

Luckily, there are a wealth of ways to preserve fruits, veggies, and herbs without a root cellar or walk-in pantry lined with mason jars. The primary methods of fruit and vegetable preservation include freezing, fermenting or pickling, dehydrating, and canning. Detailed instructions for all these preservation methods are available on the National Center for Home Food Preservation website, and we’ll also provide a brief overview here. 

Simple Freezing

Perhaps the easiest option is to freeze your harvest. Let’s take that unexpected tomato bounty, for example. You could boil, skin, and freeze your tomatoes for future cooking, squeeze the juice and freeze it, or even stew the tomatoes first. Just remember, any fruits or vegetables that are frozen will lose their fresh texture and will be best blended or cooked later. 

Pickling and Fermenting

There are two types of pickles: refrigerator pickles and shelf-stable pickles. If you’re not ready to plunge into the world of home-canning (we strongly recommend that you take a hands-on class first anyway), refrigerator pickles are a great option. These creations require only a few ingredients (vinegar, salt, spices, and water) and keep for 3 to 4 weeks. 

Remember, cucumbers aren’t the only items you can pickle. Consider pickling peppers, green beans, carrots, relishes, and chutneys, among many other fruits and veggies. Cabbage is also well-suited to fermentation, with homemade kimchi and sauerkraut providing significant probiotics. 

Dehydration

Another option for those short on refrigerator or pantry space is dehydrating. Countertop dehydrators take up little space and are an effective way to preserve herbs and many fruits and vegetables. 

Not ready to invest in a dehydrator? You can also dehydrate most items in a home oven. Dehydrated food shrinks, making this method ideal for those with limited storage space. Once dehydrated, foods can be stored in bags or jars for up to a year.

Image: Kateryna Hliznitsova, Unsplash

Home Canning

Another way to preserve the bounty of tomatoes is to can them, either as tomato sauce, salsa, ketchup, tomato juice, or as peeled tomatoes. When canning any fruit or vegetable, be sure to check the NCHFP canning page before starting for the most comprehensive guide on how to can your chosen foodstuff.

There are plenty of tips you’ll need to learn before you dive in. Tomatoes, for example, need to be canned with the skins peeled, as they can harbor bacteria that the canning process doesn’t kill. 

Although there are several types of canning, the most common for homesteaders is water-bath canning, in which food-filled jars are submerged in a boiling water bath to force out air and create a seal as the jars cool.

You can easily purchase water-bath canning kits online, which include all the necessary tools. Water-bath canning can preserve pickles, jams, jellies, and high-acid foods like tomatoes. However, not everything can be water-bath canned. Low-acid foods such as beans, corn, and potatoes are better suited to pressure canning. 

Living Seasonally: Connecting with Nature Through Homesteading

One of the most significant benefits of fashioning a more self-sufficient lifestyle is developing a deeper connection with the earth. You’ll become more aware of the seasons, appreciating when your garden blooms and the cycles that repeat every year.

Many feel a stronger connection to nature by watching their plants grow. It’s incredibly different from buying something in a store and seeing it grow from a seedling into a vine, before finally developing into a fruit or vegetable. 

You’ll find that your choices feel more intentional. What shall we grow this year? What shall we cook this winter? How will we preserve our harvest, and what recipes should we begin collecting now to prepare?

Suddenly, certain things feel less random and more guided, even if in small, specific ways. 

Building a More Mindful Relationship with the World

These handmade traditions also help us develop a more mindful perspective. We’re sculpting bits of our food from scratch, stirring them, kneading them, watching them transform. It is a routine that encourages a deeper connection to food and the materials we surround ourselves with. 

Even the smallest acts of homesteading, when practiced mindfully and with joy, can help rewire the mind to be more present in the moment. You can feel the wet soil on your hands and smell the aroma of the herbs you’ve grown.

You can appreciate the fresh flavors of the food you grew and turned into pickles, jelly, or salad dressing. These hands-on, sensory experiences can help many people feel more mindful in their day-to-day lives through small, simple acts. 

Finding Your Homesteading Community

Last of all, know that just because you’re learning to build a more independent lifestyle, it doesn’t mean you need to be isolated. The homesteading community is essentially welcoming. Even if you live in the suburbs or an urban high-rise, there are likely others in your area who are striving to achieve the same in their own small ways. 

Consider joining local groups to develop your skills, whether it’s a knitting, beekeeping or cooking class. Communities like these are valuable resources for homesteading, helping you grow your knowledge through an experienced network.  

One surprising advantage of microsteading is greater access to community resources. Take advantage of this and start building a community that’s as passionate as you are about Homesteading Where You’re Planted. As your skills grow, you may be able to teach them something in return. 

Frequently Asked Questions About Small Space Homesteading

Can you homestead in an apartment?

Yes! Apartment homesteading focuses on container gardening, window herb gardens, breadmaking, food preservation, and traditional crafts, all possible in small spaces.

What is Homesteading Where You’re Planted?

HWYP is a philosophy that anyone can practice homesteading skills regardless of location, whether in apartments, condos, suburban homes, or small urban spaces.

How do I start homesteading with no land?

Begin with container gardening onbalconies, grow herbs, learn breadmaking, make jam, develop sewing skills, and preserve food. Start small and build confidence.

What can I grow in a small apartment?

Culinary herbs such as basil, cilantro, parsley, salad greens, tomatoes, peppers, and small-fruit bushes thrive in containers on balconies or patios.