Anyone familiar with Disney’s rendition of Hamlet knows about the circular nature of life and decay. This natural process is one of the most powerful ways to keep your homestead self-reliant. No waste is truly wasted on a homestead, manure, food waste, scrap material, even human waste can be reutilized as fertilizer. Soil can be recharged and used once again after having its nutrients pulled out by hungry crops. Water can be captured, cleaned, and used once again. Reducing, reusing, recycling all play essential roles in creating a sustainable, self-reliant homestead.
-Reuse everything!
- Plastic and glass waste can be turned into storage containers or other useful materials. Old socks and t-shirts can become rags and washcloths. Cans can become pencil holders or grease traps. Even plastic bags can live another life if you’re creative enough.
-Don’t forget to save your seeds!
- This is especially important if you’re growing heirloom crops with the intent to regrow them, although even some hybrids can produce fertile seeds. Some people leave a couple of vegetables to rot and dry out on the vine, so that the replanting takes place itself. Otherwise, dig out and save those seeds while you’re making dinner.
-Compost!
- Composting is one of the most powerful ways to reduce waste and add nutrients back into your diet. Oftentimes, you’ll hear compost itself referred to as “gold,” or “black gold,” named for the black color that comes with advanced decomposition. Compost provides organic matter that can be added to your soil, this grows nutrients, balances pH, and kills pollutants. Food scraps, paper and cardboard, manure, and yard waste.
- Composting can be done in DIY bins, or specifically designated compost bins that you can purchase. These can come in a wide array of shapes and sizes. Hot composting uses heat as energy to “cook” the compost. Water is poured over the mixture which is then tossed and mixed before being covered. This method requires a lot of water and sun but happens much quicker than its cool alternative. Cool composting is when your compost is placed directly on the ground. These piles are only mixed once or twice a year but take much longer than the hot method.
- What goes in a compost pile? These additions are split into organic and nonorganic categories, or green vs brown waste. Green waste includes organic materials like tea leaves, food waste, grass and yard waste, hair, urine, manure, etc. Brown waste includes eggshells, dry leaves, nutshells, corncobs, etc. Typical compost mixtures involve 50/50 of each or utilizing 20% green and 80% brown in layers before adding water in the process discussed above.
-What about the water?
- Water is one of the driving forces of any homestead. Not only will you need it for anything living, but you’ll also need it to wash, cook, clean, and generally exist. Water needs to be clean for all these uses, even if you’re only using them to water plants or animals. Rainwater collection is a popular option, although it’s important to ensure this is legal where you are.
- Greywater reuse. Greywater refers to any used water that isn’t contaminated with human waste. This involves any leftover water from washing, cleaning, cooking, etc. that would usually just go down the drain. Greywater can be redirected through plumbing, or merely transferred via bucket, to be used in irrigation.
