Homestead Changes We're Making in 2026

We've been homesteading one way or another for over 6 years at this point. We actually got our first chickens and started gardening in 2018, so more like 8 years... but who's counting. Homesteading seems to be trending in the last few years and honestly... GOOD. If anything was going to trend, let it be something for the benefit of humanity. There are no downsides to homesteading. Is it a lot of work? Of course. But all worthy things are work. Learning a strong work ethic is something desperately needed in 2026. Modern conveniences have made us sick and lazy. Homesteading fixes both. What's nice about homesteading is that you don't need any experience to start. Because I'm here to tell you, even the most generational, seasoned homesteader still constantly learns and refines their process.

We really got into homesteading in 2022 after the craziness that was 2020-2021. That's when the big boom of self sufficiency took place and we upped our game. So our first years of homesteading actually happened when we were living in Alabama. And I gotta tell you if you haven't already figured it out... there's a big difference between homesteading in Alabama and Montana! In Alabama, we really didn't have to hunker down during cooler seasons which made animals and gardening MUCH easier. There are definitely some hurdles to overcome to get through those winter months but the good news is that people have been doing it successfully for hundreds of years. It can be done!

We moved back to Montana in Sept 2024 (We lived here prior to Alabama) so we kinda missed the homesteading window for that season. We did, however, bring our chickens with us (that was a fun cross-country move). So come 2025 we had every intention of full sending all things homestead but then in February 2025 I received that stage 4 cancer diagnosis. That put a damper in absolutely everything. So not much happened last year. Sourdough starter went dormant in the fridge, garden was minimal and chickens were well taken care of but we didn't expand like we planned. Herbal extractions stayed in mason jars and didn't get bottled up and we relied more on the system than we ever did before. So, with my post surgery results being very promising and my strength returning day by day, we're making some big strides towards our homesteading goals this year. Now that leads me to the whole point of this article! Here's the main things that we're changing this year:

1. We're adding more laying hens. We're currently down to 7 laying hens. If you didn't know, there are chicken breeds best for laying eggs and best for meat. You can obviously use any hen for either- but there is a distinction if you're new to chickens. We're going to be ordering our chicks from Alchemist Farms this year.

   
   

2. We're buying our first meat chickens. We've never had our own meat chickens before so this will be new territory for us. Without getting too deep into the rabbit hole, we're sick of all stuff Big Food is doing to our grocery store chicken. If you don't know... then be warned: once you enlighten yourself you too will be repulsed. So we're going to start with 30-40 birds and see where that gets us. Our entire household is 8 so it's not going to be enough for a year or anything, however it will be better than nothing and allows us to get our feet wet without setting ourselves up for failure.

3. We're expanding the garden and refocusing. Technically it's my mom's garden, but I collaborate with her to determine what we should grow for the year. Normally there's a lot of fun, fresh produce with some preservation going on. This year we're really tightening the grow list to what we actually consume rather than what sounds fun to grow. She's also putting a lot of work into maximizing space and companion planting. One great tool that's been helping is the good ol' Farmer's Almanac.

4. Creating my first Montana medicinal garden. When the apocolypse happens and the roll call of essential skillsets comes into play- my purpose will be herbalism. Over the years I have grown my knowledge and taught myself how to make my own medicine, hygiene and household products all with plants and basic ingredients. I've been growing as much as I can along the way. I haven't had a medicinal garden since Alabama, so creating a brand new space for my medicinal herbs is very, very exciting. Since we live in a cooler environment, I'll be starting most of my seeds indoors then transferring them to their outdoor home. I'll be sharing more about what I'm planting later on.

5. I'm getting my sourdough life together. I have fallen completely off my sourdough game but I'm ready to play again. In the past I have routinely made bread and treats but now I'm mentally prepared to dive into more things. By summertime I'd like to have a weekly rotation of bread, bagels and treats along with prepped staples like pizza dough and tortillas. Basically- if I can turn it sourdough, I'm doing it.

6. Regular kombucha rotations. Another one that I've been doing for years but fell back on last year was kombucha. It's SO good for you and also so so very easy to make. The first part of the brew process is completely 'set it and forget it' too which is extra nice. I'd love to have the whole family drinking some daily again.

7. Pressure Canning. Someone tell me why I'm so intimidated by my pressure canner?! I've had one for over 2 years and it still silently threatens me for some reason. I've read the manual. I've watched videos. Yet, I'm still scared it's going to explode in my kitchen. I plan on using a camping stove outside to do my first run with it so I can take a deep breath and RELAX. I need to master this skill because being able to properly can meat and veggies is a HUGE deal.

8. Food storage organization. My mom and I are brainstorming how to better prepare our available space to store food. After all, what's the point in a beautiful garden if you can't harvest and store everything? She added a freeze dryer to the lineup last year which has been AMAZING. But now it's time to figure out where the heck to put everything.

And that's the main gist of what we're currently working on. But don't worry, the beauty of homesteading is that your to-do list is ever changing. You'll have things spontaneously happen that climb to the top of that list and you'll have good intentions that get back-burned. One thing that's for sure about this year... I'm super excited to feel NORMAL again and get back into the lifestyle that I love. Have a blessed day everyone and don't forget to subscribe to my newsletter!