I'm at step 7 myself and in my second year of gardening and 5 years of laying hens after having finished building my own house and barn over the last 2.5 years in my "spare" time and wondering now anyone ever survived back in the day, much less had extra to sell. Don't get me wrong, I'm producing excess this year, but I'm hardly self-sufficient and really have trouble seeing that happening. I realize now that my 40 acres (in E TX) is way more than I can manage part-time (or even full-time). The question I have is how do you really become self-sufficient in an era of property taxes and sky-rocketing land values? Do you have to keep moving to areas that are more and more remote? When we bought this place, it seemed like it was out in the middle of nowhere. 6 years later it's worth more than double (which I'm not really happy about, honestly). More and more people are moving out here and no one that I know of is actually making a real living off their land.
I mean, just getting fruit and nut trees to survive a few years is incredibly difficult, much less having any excess produce to sell. I'm still trying to figure out how to feed myself reliably.
So to summarize, I 100% understand Oddo's point. How many people are really financing themselves and feeding themselves off a farm/ranch and following perma-culture practices? I can barely find anything relevant to the type of climate I'm in here. It's hot and humid in the summer with droughts, and cold and rainy with at least 5 hard freezes every year in the winter. I do feel like the literature and the TV shows are marketing a dream that's not really attainable. Don't get me wrong, I'm 100% happy with where I am, but feeding just yourself and your family even with incredible modern resources and a lucrative full-time job is incredibly difficult.
P.S.: I don't want my post to sound overly pessimistic. If I could go back in time, I would 100% do the same thing. It's a journey and your original goals will seem childish and idealistic after a few years. But I'm still committed to living out here and hate the thought of moving back to the city. My mom lives out here with us in her own home. My son and his GF are also living out here with us in a converted workshop. The thing that turned out the easiest for us was catching all our own water. That was something no one really mentioned that has been fantastic for us. Wells are expensive here and produce gross-smelling water. Our rainwater system meets all of our needs (except for larger-scale irrigation) and is far superior in every way to the city water we had. Also, you can't touch our fresh eggs, no matter how much you pay for them at the store. It's like a completely different product -- seriously. I can barely eat store bought eggs. I've made mustang grape, blackberry, and fig wine. They were all fantastic and fun. And that's what keeps me motivated Our quality of life (by our standards) is much higher out here. But do I see myself quitting my day job any time soon? No. The current economic system seems stacked against anyone becoming self-sufficient or even trying to enter a rustic/barter lifestyle. If they took away the wildlife ag valuation, I couldn't afford (or even have any control) over my annual property tax burden without a job. When you think about it, of course it is. Money's in control and will always be in control is the conclusion I've come to. I think you really do have to live like a pauper (which I'm actually seriously contemplating) to be self-sufficient.
P.P.S: Full disclosure -- my Mom's carport roof which serves as her water source was ripped up and tossed 300 feet away as a front moved through night before last and then I spent literally half the day yesterday harvesting and processing vegetables out of the garden before the 7th hard freeze of the season here last night. Luckily, she has a lot of water in her tanks which are undamaged so I have some time to get it rebuilt. But that's one more item on the already incredibly long todo list.
