Homestead Production and Preservation

This unit teaches hands-on production systems and preservation methods for a backyard homestead, including construction and maintenance of small-scale infrastructure, propagation and watering strategies, basic animal husbandry (bees, poultry, fish), and food-safety-focused preservation techniques. It builds on foundational homesteading skills and prepares learners to scale production, manage harvests, and produce shelf-stable goods in the final unit.

Learning Objectives

• Apply sanitation, sterilization, and food-safety protocols to prepare equipment and carry out preservation processes (canning, pickling, fermentation, drying) and modify procedures for high-altitude conditions
• Demonstrate construction, assembly, and maintenance of homestead infrastructure and tools by building and evaluating raised beds, Kenya top bar hives, coops, cold frames, and installing pest-exclusion and predator-protection measures
• Evaluate and implement propagation and watering methods—including seed starting, mulching, and small-scale systems (hydroponics, aquaponics, aeroponics)—to improve plant establishment, season extension, and yield
• Analyze and manage small-scale animal production and harvest workflows by performing basic beekeeping (gear, swarm/absconding response, honey harvest), poultry husbandry (coop anatomy, egg production expectations, pest management), and applying quality-control measures (blanching, hydrometer readings) to produce safe, marketable or household food products