Salt in my Coffee. October 11, by Anna 40 Comments. And while it can feel elusive, I can see that each year we do get a few steps closer toward making it a reality, here at our little farm. For us, this time of year is one of evaluation, brainstorming, and planning. One limiting factor about our homestead, however, is its size. So what follows is a list of ways to make money from the homestead — specifically geared for those with limited acreage.

I hope you find some of these ideas helpful, as you get your own brainstorming juices flowing! When people think of making money from a homestead, chances are, market gardening is one of the first things that comes to mind. This book has really transformed my approach to market gardening, bringing a whole new level of productivity and organization to our efforts. One other idea — if you find that even with preserving your harvest and selling the extra, you still have surplus produce — consider donating it to your local food pantry.

Aside from feeling GREAT about sharing all that wonderful home-grown bounty, if your food pantry is a non-profit, you can take that donation out on your tax return. Those little things can make a difference, come tax time! Turns out, cut flowers can actually rival vegetables when it comes to making a profit from a market garden, especially on a small acreage.

Fresh and dried herbs. This book is one of my favorites about getting started growing and selling them.

Blogging and freelance writing. In this digital age, there are nearly infinite ways to make extra cash writing about what you know and love. With a decent video camera, creating your own Youtube channel of homesteading and how-to videos can offer another income stream. Youtube has a good summary of the basics for getting started here.

If you have homesteading know-how, and like working with people, why not do a little teaching? Say you have fruit trees — you need to prune them anyway. Might as well offer an afternoon pruning workshop right in your yard or orchard, and work with a handful of people to pass on a valuable skill. A wonderful companion enterprise to a backyard orchard can be a small scale nursery. Because so little space is needed per tree, you can start thousands of trees and perennials in less than an acre.

This interview with Akiva Silver of Twisted Tree Nursery is enough to make even those with just a postage stamp of lawn want to get started! Lisa, over at Fresh Eggs Daily, has an especially good post about getting started with selling eggs from a backyard flock. Day-old chicks or ducklings.

If your flock includes a rooster or drake, in the case of ducks , incubating those fertile eggs and selling the chicks can be a delightful little enterprise. For a good, quick read on best practices for collecting and storing hatching eggs, check out this post. The price they command varies greatly, depending on whether your chickens are just good old barnyard mix layers, or a rare breed or show stock. This online tutorial is a great resource for those just getting started shipping eggs.

This guide to growing and selling seedlings is a wonderful jumping off point. People love unique plant markers, and I think these tutorials for hammered spoon markers , painted stone markers , and wood burned spoon markers , are especially charming.

Sheri, over at Honeybees Online, has some excellent pointers for getting started selling honey, including how to find customers for your honey. This article has some great ideas for other value-added products that can be made with honeycomb and beeswax. Breeding livestock guardian dogs.

Especially for those who have need of a livestock guardian anyway, breeding LGDs can be a nice recurring income stream.

The Mushroom People have an excellent guide to getting started selling mushrooms on their site. We have had so much fun raising pigs this year. The good folks over at Vela Creations have what I think is hands-down one of the best tutorials for tanning your own rabbit pelts.

I especially like this article , with lots of good tips for getting started.

26 Ways to Make Money From Your Small Farm | ToughNickel

Renting out poultry processing equipment. You might be surprised at the demand for drum-style plucker rentals! If you have good pasture, a few sheep can do very well even on a small homestead. I like these tips for helping to maximize wool quality in sheep. It may be 40 years old, but I really love this how-to piece on tanning sheepskins, by Roberta Kirberger.

Much like selling seedlings, but slightly more labor intensive. Intentionally rooting those runners as new plants can give a nice supply of strawberry plants to offer for sale in the spring. This site has good tips on propagation. Extra manure can be such a welcome resource for local gardeners. Selling them through Etsy and at craft fairs, and directly marketing to local businesses, can all be good ways to add up some seasonal cash.

Have you ever thought of selling dogwood, holly, or pussy willows, by the stem? Especially if you like to maintain a hearty buffer zone between your home and the road or neighboring properties, using desirable woody ornamentals for your plantings can build a self-perpetuating stream of income for your homestead. This guide to cottage food laws will help you know what the guidelines are for selling tasty homemade food items in your state.

These delectable little birds are table-ready at just weeks of age. Talk about a quick return on investment! Saving and selling seeds. Dan Brisebois shares his down-to-earth story of getting started raising crops for seed in this helpful post. This is one that could piggy-back off of a backyard orchard.

Local table grapes are much less common at farmers markets than, say, heirloom tomatoes, and demand a good price. High end restaurants love them. This has been a fun one for us — I love having my very own blacksmith, and Dan has really been making some beautiful things. When he was first setting up his shop, this was a book he found particularly helpful. Pallet-wood furniture or signs. If you make a trip to the grain store every week or two, you may have noticed a perpetual pile of free pallets by the dumpster.

Growing up in depression-era Baltimore, my grandfather used to catch squabs young pigeons , and cook them up for his young cronies. How ironic that what was once a subsistence food has now begun to grace the white tablecloths of many high-end restaurants!

Maple Syrup and other tree syrups. Having maples, birches, or even walnut trees on the homestead can open up another possible revenue stream. This book is a fabulous introduction to the art of making syrup and sugar from tree sap. I never knew how passionate daylily aficionados could be, until the day I offered a few extra rhizomes on Craigslist. They were in the way of my new rhubarb bed, and it seemed like a good idea.

Hobby Farm Fun

My inbox was full for days. Building coops, cages, and grow-out runs. This tutorial from Kevin and Dani over at the Adventure Bite is where we got the plans for our chicken run, and I am constantly being asked if I sell them.

I especially like this site for tips about getting started. By no means is this an exhaustive list, but I do hope it serves as some inspiration to fuel your own brainstorming sessions. Signup now and receive an email when I publish new content.

I will never give away, trade or sell your email address. You can unsubscribe at any time. October 11, at October 11, at 7: Julie, so glad you enjoyed it! Best of luck to you in your endeavors!! Linda Kissee Keys says. November 26, at I am 69 yrs young lol. God Willing I am planning to teach also. November 27, at 2: I wish you were nearby so I could come learn mural painting and furniture building from you!!

We NEED more folks teaching homesteading skills. Best of luck, and God bless to you too!! October 11, at 1: October 12, at 5: Farmstead life can be so exciting with so much to do all the time! I think the stock photo idea is great…I have never thought of that!

October 12, at 7: I am so impressed with your photography and your ingenious ideas! You should talk to Joe about selling your photos! Oh, you are so sweet!

October 12, at 1: This is an incredible post! October 14, at Art, thanks so much! Aquaponics, raising butterflies, knife sharpening… Amazing how many ways there are to generate income without a ton of land! Best wishes to you, and thanks again! October 29, at 2: We have been doing youtube for 3 mo and are thrilled with the results so far we are putting in about 40 hrs a week on making videos.

October 31, at 1: Art, that is fantastic! I need to go check out your channel!! It is definitely one of my goals, to get past my fear of working with film, and start making some short videos one day soon.

Thank you so much for the encouragement! October 17, at 2: October 17, at 6: Tammy, you have so many awesome things going on! You sound like a woman after my own heart. It sounds like you are truly embracing life — I wish you joy and success in your endeavors!! October 24, at 4: These are great tips! October 24, at 7: So glad you found it helpful, Angelica! I really love the brainstorming process, and am excited to be implementing a few more of these on our own homestead next year.

Love your blog, by the way!! November 2, at November 2, at 3: There REALLY are so many ways to make extra income, without a lot of land! November 13, at 7: I am always looking for extra ideas to make some income on my homestead.

I love being at home so anything we can do helps. November 14, at 7: I need to go pick up my order of frames so I can get started. November 23, at Everything you talk about regarding the 52 ways to make money on the homestead is the life I want to live and the place I want to be!

I just need to find a little farm and ride the wave out. Thanks for the message. Sandra, you sound like a woman after my own heart. You know, it was really not all that long ago the the Mister and I were living on a boat, pinching pennies and saving and dreaming of a homestead of our own.

It felt like it would take forever to get here, and sometimes we almost wondered if we ever would. But I KNEW in my heart this was the life for us, and it would happen. I truly believe it will for you too!! I wish you the very best, and hope you do stay in touch! November 25, at 2: Earl, why how kind of you! November 29, at 3: January 28, at January 30, at Thank you for all great ideas, I just bought 5 acres of virgin land, cleared a road and a spot for my RV.

The Christmas trees are very interesting. You sound like you are being very strategic as you plan out your new homestead — good for you!!

February 1, at 3: I truly believe in creating a poly-income for yourself. February 3, at 2: Congrats on your new piece of land! I wish you very much the best as you get settled!! February 5, at 3: I love this post!

We are getting ready to put in a bid for 20 acres of farmland and I really enjoy looking for options for income streams. I have a few more ideas for you: Definitely saving this post for future reference! February 8, at I hope you get those 20 acres!! Best of luck to you on your bid, and your new homestead!!

February 6, at Thank you for this very informative post. It has given me even more ideas for my dream of having a homestead. I truly hope that your homesteading dream becomes a reality very soon! Wishing you all the best!! February 17, at These are really useful ideas and some would not require a true homestead. Parents could actually begin one of these with their kids in a neighborhood many even allow poultry now and grow it as an introduction to homesteading, or seniors could use one of them as a profitable hobby.

Top 10 Tips for Starting Your Hobby Farm

February 18, at Robert, thanks so much for the kind comments! I really appreciate it! I have heard from SO many folks living in urban areas, who are implementing some of these on a small scale, as they work toward a larger property. Thank you again for your kind words!!

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Comments Julie says October 11, at I would include knife sharpening too! Thanks so much, Lydia!

So glad you enjoyed it!! You seem to have left out blogging and youtube. I never thought to raise pigeons! I am thankful that I ran onto your ways to make money. Thanks for the comment, Sandeep!

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