Vickie Shaw

I'm 68 now.  My husband and I has had covid 2 times now. Things were a little slow last year. With that being said:
The high tunnel experience is wonderful. Extended seasons on both end of the year.  We have a total of $11,000 in it.  Department of conservation paid about $8000.   We picked tomatoes December 2 2022.  We are in zone 6.   Haven't sold anything yet but probably will start this year. Many people asking for vegetable plants.  We start ours in the house.
Husband is doing much better. He has many health issues but great for now.  Today he's tapping trees for sap, our maple syrup season is beginning.  Another small income stream
When it was warm last week the bees were cleaning their hive.  We have a huge layens hive.  We love our bees. We'll be harvesting honey in may if all goes well. We'll sell a bit.  Another small income stream.
Down sized our laying chickens.  We have a couple of dozen we obtained by hatching them ourselves.  We're not selling anymore. I was tired of explaining to people why our eggs are $3 doz.  So now we have enough for family members, a neighbor and ourselves without going broke.
Meat chickens will be ordered for April.  We haven't processed any for two years but now need to restock the freezers.  We don't sell ours anymore but the neighborhood uses our equipment and sell chickens for $12 each and turkeys for $4 per pound.  We like helping them out. Sometimes they give us a cut of beef or pork. Our meat of choice is venison, because its the organic food we can afford.  Husband was able to hunt this year and we process the deer ourselves.  We make a lot of cuts of meat and sausage.
Hopefully orchard will produce this year.  
So all of this is done on 13 acres by two senior citizens.  We try to mimic Apricot Farms.  "The Biggest Little Farm" if you haven't watched the movie. We started this in earnest when I turned 62. We have had gardens for years and chickens but finally got into the groove of a four seasons around the year
food producing farm.
We study everything from Joel Salatin, Eliot Coleman, Vandana Shiva, Dr Leo Sharashkin, Geoffrey Lawten.   I buy most of our seeds from Southern exposure Seed Exchange.  
Lots of learning curves all the time.  We don't give up.  I'm pretty sure this is keeping us alive and active. It makes you sore and tired.   Its satisfying.  Its hopeful. It works with God and nature.  

Well, someone did write a book that was made into a movie along these line.  The ending which was pretty good advice.   In the beginning of the movie you wonder if they will get to the point but it all comes together.   "The Subtle Art of Not Giving a #@&$".  I think the title should be changed.  It does mention the views of people that lived through war and the holocaust.  

Secondly, I can't help but to be grateful for this life when I look at what God has given us.  My husband and I have been through ruff times and situations over the years. With our faith we have become the diamonds mentioned in movie.    

Rice and beans. Rice and beans and cooked eggs. Rice and eggs. Add vegetables.  Fried potatoes, with any thing you want into the pan. Add vegetables.    Pasta with homemade pesto.  Bone broth, chopped chives, and stir in beaten eggs. Add vegetables.   Homemade bread to every meal.  chop and mix leftover bits of any meat ,stir fry with vegetables , season with whatever you have.  Don't waste anything. Make and preserve soup stocks with bones, ends of vegetables.  Add potatoes to anything for calories and bulk.
Make custard , bake pumpkin pie mix without pie crust,  rice pudding made with  reconstituted dry milk.  Stewed fruits.  
Frugal starts with growing your own vegetables and fruits,  raising chickens, hunting deer, etc. and fishing.   Saving fats.  Growing herbs.   Cooking meals at home, not eating out.
I wouldn't count calories and portion control just to be frugal  because homesteading/farming is real work.  You need the calories and nutrition.  

Short answer is no.  
Having raised chickens for over 10 years, I can't eat eggs from a supermarket.
Regarding soil, bugs, etc.,  they are worth it.  
You might make money from the eggs depending upon where you sell them.   Some are able to make $4.00 per dozen.   In our area its $2.00
My chickens are free range and I feed them the highest quality of feed I can afford.  Its up to $20 per 40 pounds.  
I have two flocks going , one laying, the other will be laying in another month.  I have eggs all year doing this.  We cull them about every other year.   We raise meat chickens for the freezer each year that are expensive to raise, which is a third flock.   (And 10 turkeys).  
We are cash poor and eat very well.  

Will sweet potato still grow if ground hog ate  the leaves?  The vine is still there.

I use can milk or whole milk instead of powdered milk and water.  keep an one on it, you might need a biT more water if it looks dry.

I've added grated cheese,  thin sliced pepperoni and Italian herbs, let the machine do its thing. Bake into bread in the machine or dump it out when its done mixing, roll into pepperoni rolls, bake.   Slice cooled rolls, add mozzarella cheese , pizza sauce, and sliced pepperoni.    Yes, pepperoni rolls are a West Virginia thing!  

True to everything you are saying.  

I only buy them at garage sales, yard sales, etc.   The kind with the paddle that comes out and programming separate settings.  

I can't say enough for bread machines.  I pick them up at yard sales for $5 each.   I mix bread dough in them, pizza dough,  but more importantly gluten free bread .   I do Bake in them but I also let regular dough rise once then dump on to the table cut into shape like dinner rolls, cinnamon rolls.   If you want something to rise more like gluten free bread, unplug it when its on rise,  plug it back in when bread is desired height, be careful, it can fall if you let it go to far,  plug back in And set On BAKE SETTING.  Let bake .  Its pretty good.  
I use regular bread baking cook books for recipes.  Most machines have a 1 pound, 1 1\2 pond and two pound setting.  I look for ones that have settings you can program.  If yoh just want to mix , or rise or bake.  I don't like pre programming, really don't like fast settings, or shorter time settings.  

I'm in Wheeling, WV.  you can apply for a high tunnel from the department of conservation.  Ours is being installed August 2.   The grant paid for 7'000.00 of the 10'000.00 needed.  That being said, I had added irrigation, fans, vents etc., which pushes the price up there.  Labor and delivery was the bulk of the fee out of my pocket.   You can probably do it free and clear with the grant.   Its 100 feet by 20 feet wide.   there are smaller ones available. You cant have more than a 5% grade, so you might have to dig out an area.   If you want to watch them install it come on up.  I start our gardening in February in the basement growing seeds.
People that visit us think this place is so "cool".  Lol .  We are on social security,  every thing is close to the house because of age, etc.  on Less than 1/4 Of the 13 we own.
We make maple syrup, have one big bee hive, many laying chickens, turkeys in June , meat chickens in August. Butcher in October and November. Preserving food as we go through out the seasons.
My point is,.  You can do A Lot in a small space.    There will be many learning curves, mistakes.   Don't give up.  
Join you local West Virginia Extention office master gardener program.  You'll have to disregard their desires for you to use chemicals on everything but you will learn a lot about vegetables and fruits.
Attend the MOTHER EARTH NEWS FAIR in Seven Springs, Pa in September.  $35 per ticket for the entire weekend .  going from class to class.  I can't say enough about the information and projects you will learn about. (We stay in Somerset, in cheaper Motels if money is a problem.   ).

I love it when the people who take 1-4 vacations each year say they are coming here when SHTF.    They know bad times are coming but do not do anything to prepare for them.    We are cash poor and haven't had a vacation in over 10 years.  No one in our families envy us at the moment.
We have worked years, While working outside jobs, at learning curves to be able to grow, harvest, raise animals, work our permaculture, and to heat this overly large house we built 36 years ago in the country.    Our property isn't pretty.  We have worked hard to make it produce after making many mistakes in the early years.  We never thought we would be turning the property in to a farm when we bought it.
I'm retired now and my husband is disabled, yet younger relatives never offer help.  Their parents have stated about moving here. Not happening.  They seem shocked.  Our neighbors help and we help them, we barter with them.  We have created community.   I'm not being heartless.  The land can only produce  so much each year. I grow all 4 seasons , if times are bad its a bad time to teach people not to pull out the spinach, its not a weed especially if they don't have the desire to grow food.  Never had, never will. We can't feed 37 extra people, most  do absolutely nothing. The majority of them don't work, they don't drive, they are adults that still live with their parents.    I
You won't be worrying about what the Jones think in the way you mean.