a little self reliant by Ashley Constance

Purchasing a full, half, or even quarter of an animal through the farm-to-table model can be a bit intimidating, but this week's guest is here to help  break it all down for you.  Join me as I talk with Charlotte Wasylik of Chatsworth Farm in Vermilion, Alberta, all about the process of purchasing meat in bulk direct from a local farm.

Most people tend to think of canning or root cellaring when they consider food preservation, especially in the homesteading community.  In this episode, I'm kicking off a 5-part food preservation series by shining light on the most well-known and convenient modern food preservation method - freezing!

Learning to save your own seeds is one of the most valuable skills you can have as a gardener, and on this week's episode, I'm joined by Erin Colborn of Green Witch Seed Co. and The Northern Grower Podcast to talk all about how to get started.

If you're a gardener, then you already know that home compost is garden gold - but the problem is, we can never seem to make enough of it!  Join me while I chat with this week's special guest, Karin Velez, all about home composting for beginners.

Bringing new animals home to the homestead or even just your house can be incredibly exciting, but something I don't think we talk about enough is how nerve-wracking and anxiety-inducing it can be, as well.  This week, we're talking all about "New Animal Anxiety", plus six tips to help you navigate the stress that comes along with caring for the new livestock or pets in your life.

Foraging - or Wildcrafting - has exploded in popularity in recent years, but for the absolute beginner, it can seem a bit intimidating.  Join me with guest Jessica Mose of Prairie Soap Shack as she shares her tips and tricks for first-time foragers.

Growing your own herbs to use for tea is so easy and incredibly rewarding!  In this episode, we discuss my top 5 must-have tea herbs in my garden, plus helpful tips for harvesting, drying, and storing them.

Here in Zone 3, we only have around 100 frost-free days to grow the majority of our garden plants.  Obviously, this can present some very specific challenges.

If you're homestead dreaming, but want to work on building some essential homesteading skills while you're still living in the city, this is the episode for you.  Even if you're not planning to move to a farm or homestead, or if you're already living on one, this episode will be full of 90 different ideas for skills that you can begin to build and hone, no matter where you're living.

This episode is an Interview with Erica Leniczek, all about mental health, not only on the homestead but also in all walks of life.  Erica is so knowledgable about the many facets and struggles related to mental health, and she totally gets that "just taking a day off for self care" isn't always an option.

This episode is an Interview with Erica Leniczek, all about mental health, not only on the homestead but also in all walks of life.  Erica is so knowledgable about the many facets and struggles related to mental health, and she totally gets that "just taking a day off for self care" isn't always an option.

This episode covers everything you need to consider when hardening off your seedlings and transitioning them into your vegetable garden.  For the full schedule, blog post and all resources mentioned, visit the show notes linked below.

This episode is an Interview with Kimberley Allan, all about supporting local growers through CSAs (Community-Supported Agriculture) and Farmer's Markets.  If you're looking to embrace a life of more self-reliance, but you can't grow a large garden, supporting local growers is an excellent option.  We discuss the many benefits of CSAs for both producers and consumers, some of the challenges that small growers face, and we even touch on topics like seasonal eating.

Potatoes are the unsung hero of the vegetable garden.  They are versatile, calorie-dense and so easy to grow!  With a few basic steps and a little extra knowledge, you will be well on your way to growing your best potato crop yet.

In part four of the "Before You Get Chickens" series, we are talking all about baby chicks!  What they need, how to care for them, how to keep them healthy and happy, and how to transition them to living outside.

In part three of the "Before You Get Chickens" series, talking about essential chicken-keeping supplies, sourcing and transporting your birds, stocking a basic first aid kit, and more.

In part two of the "Before You Get Chickens" series, we are diving into everything you need to consider before you build or buy a chicken coop.

Chickens are a fun and rewarding addition to any backyard or homestead, but jumping in to any kind of livestock can be super intimidating in the beginning.  This episode is here to help you make smart considerations before you commit to bringing home your laying hens.

Do you want to start cooking drool-worthy meals from scratch, but have no idea where to begin?  Whether you're a beginner cook or a well-seasoned home chef, this week's episode is full of tips for taking the overwhelm out of cooking from scratch.  Don't let the fact that you're a newbie scare you - home cooking is a totally attainable and super rewarding self-reliance skill, whether you're on a homestead or in the city.

Do you want to start your own vegetable seeds this year, but you don't know where to start?  Or maybe you tried starting seeds last year, but it didn't turn out so well?  In this episode, I break down 14 Steps to Seed Starting Success, as well as all of the supplies you'll need to have on hand and a few extra considerations that you may not have thought about.  Whether you're a brand new gardener or a seasoned pro, I'm sure there is something you'll be able to take away from this episode.

Sometimes we can become paralyzed by fear of failure when considering learning new skills, and often times that fear prevents us from even wanting to try in the first place.  Or, maybe when we do try something new, and we don't immediately succeed, our first instinct is to give up altogether.  This week's episode is all about giving yourself permission to suck while learning new things and finding joy and humour along the way.

There can be a lot of confusing gardening terms and jargon thrown around when you're a beginner, and it can be really overwhelming.  This episode breaks down all of the garden vocabulary you're likely to encounter as a new gardener to help you better understand what others in the gardening community are talking about!

If you're starting your very first vegetable garden this year, or maybe you tried to grow veggies last year and didn't have much success, this episode is for YOU!  In 15 steps, I explain what you need to consider, know, research, and implement to have a successful first season as a beginner gardener.  Even if you're an experienced gardener, we may touch on a few basics that you can revisit to have your best garden season yet.

What even is self-reliance, and why is it important?  In this episode, I discuss the similarities and differences between self-reliance, self-sufficiency and self-sustaining, and also provide several different examples of why self-reliance is such a crucial skill to master no matter how or where you live.

Welcome to the debut episode of A Little Self Reliant!  Learn a little bit more about me, our homestead, and how I plan to help you embrace more self-reliance in your own life no matter where you're at.