Today we’re changing things up a bit and putting Tactical on the spot. If you were handed Basecamp Lodge and told to turn it into a functioning homestead, where would you start? We dig into infrastructure, food production, livestock, and why figuring out what you want your property to DO should come before piling on projects. We also take a side trip into Tactical’s decision to quit smoking and what happens when an addiction becomes part of your identity.
Sponsors
- The Wealthsteading Podcast — John Pugliano
- Discount Mylar Bags
Home to Homestead
- Why we’re changing up the weekly Homestead Happenings format
- What we learned about homestead living when the world stopped in 2020
- Local networks, seasonal eating, and becoming less dependent on the grocery store
- Introducing Christopher — AKA Tactical Redneck
- What would Tactical do if Basecamp Lodge were his homestead?
- Why Basecamp isn’t really a blank slate
- Assessing what is already there, what works, and what needs to go
- Three generations of water systems on the property
- Stabilizing existing infrastructure before adding new systems
- Finishing one major system before moving to the next
- Starting with functions instead of jumping straight into projects
- Sheep, poultry, and rabbits
- Easy-to-maintain food production
- Why Tactical would install an aquaponics system
- Growing meat and vegetables
- Supporting overnight guests, camping, classes, and small events
- Getting Tactical out of tactics and into strategy
A Side Trip Into Quitting Smoking
- Tactical is quitting smoking after about two decades
- The difference between feeling like you’re supposed to quit and actually deciding to quit
- Cutting nicotine instead of trying to flip a switch overnight
- Herbal alternatives and changing the physical habit
- Addiction, faith, and deciding something no longer belongs in your life
- The identity wrapped around an addiction
- Changing the things you tell yourself
- Removing the inputs that reinforce the identity you’re trying to leave behind
Back to Basecamp
- My vision for a productive two-acre homestead
- Food production, processing, and storage
- Living soil and returning surplus to the land
- Working with Mother Nature rather than against her
- Grazing animals, vegetables, and composting
- Redundant water and energy systems
- What happens when grid power or city water stops working?
- Flowers, beauty, and places to sit and reset
- Why a homestead should support happiness and pleasure, too
- Winter is coming: getting redundant heat in place
- The wood stove and getting the chimney ready
- Why the piano moved ahead of the wood stove on my priority list
- Making room for music, Christmas carols, and community
- Zone Zero before trying to build everything else
- Food storage and processing
- Composting kitchen scraps and building fertility
- Plans for a bioreactor build this fall
- Water backup and storage
- Planning the grounds for camping without rushing to build every garden
- Creating one peaceful place that doesn’t constantly demand attention
- Why composting feels as basic as having a trash can once you’ve lived this way long enough
- Building the new podcast studio at Basecamp
Homestead Updates
- Plumber Mickey is moving to Tennessee
- A sheep recovering from polio and loudly objecting to being separated from the flock
- Four four-wheelers, two currently running, and one working four-wheeler actually under our control
- Waiting on parts for another four-wheeler
Soil & Microscopy Intensive
- The class is moving to a flexible date
- Put down your deposit at LivingFreeinTennessee.com
- Once we have ten people, we’ll work with the group and instructors to choose two days that work
Holler Roast Coffee
Make it a Great Week!