Living Free in Tennessee
Living Free in Tennessee is a podcast done by Nicole Sauce about homesteading, self-reliance, building... View more
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Who we are
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Who we are
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Hello, Kelly from Ohio
Just moved on to 3 acres here to learn and hopefully accomplish what we can.
I do have some Knowledge of Herbs, Gardening,
Hope to make some Friends too😀
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How exciting! A new property. Mine is about 3.2 acres but we now run sheep on 16 acres next door too.
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Have about 3.2 also wanting chickens, goats ,ducks looking into cows, sheep lol a bit of everything.
Trying to go more to permaculture on the property want to blend with the wild life here as well around the property hoping to have a barn and green house within this next year.
Have family in Tennessee Love the smokies as a Kid Beautiful place👍👍👍
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There’s discussion over on the Tennessee Group about who’s where– Youtube’s “Autumn Dawn Endeavors” is a nice couple that just moved to WesternMiddle ish Tennessee from Ohio, have their presences on freesteading/LFTN and are in the process of Figuring Things Out, like the rest of us.
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Hey there, just found this thru Danny and Wanda at deep south homestead. I’m in central-ish west TN, grew up here, “homesteading” has always just been my way of life. I was trying to find the discussion you are talking about but it just keeps bringing me back here. I really gotta figure out how to navigate lol.
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My Grandparents grew up in the country but I never grew up around it but around people who have so I have some knowledge and study before we moved but you just never bank on how long and how hard somethings are to get started or set backs
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Which discussion were you looking for? Maybe we can help.
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looking for any at this point we cant get animals yet but Im still trying to learn about them so anything that can help the property has had no one living on it for 20 yrs we are trying to figure out soil we have not bad soil but clay soil and learning about composting etc
Im also trying my first hand at Fermenting , Canning so a lot lol
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That 20 year break may have done some good to the property – have you taken a look at permaculture as a concept? There is lots of BAD info about it out there, but having a holistic plan for your land can help speed its productivity AND keep you from putting in tons of effort that does not pay off in the long run.
Are you living on the land now?
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Yes I have looked into it and yes we are living in the home now. I want to do it in several places The people before that owned it only kept around the house clear people before that let their so build a dirt bike area where our pasture would be so we have to do a lot of digging and level spot too before we get a barn put up and get animals . They also had several burning spots and trash left you could not see when we looked at the place. We have 5 apple trees and 4 mulberry trees growing we are trying to learn and get in shape and wild wine grape and black raspberries I have found quite a few wild herbs I want to cultivate and grow Just with what is going on we were lucky to get in here last year but with the prices going up and when we moved in Family member fell sick and then passed Its just been kind of a crap shoot each month . Can we get a hold of this Can we afford that Can we do this ourselves those kind of issues make it tough too. But I love it out here lol
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you are right about the soil we have been told for clay soil and having farmer fields on 3 sides of the property we have soil thicker down to the clay then some homes
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I am new to this platform too so I sometimes end up in strange places – we know a bunch of folks in West TN
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So glad you came over and opened a channel. I’ve been listening to your podcast and I am trying to find an Ohio mag here. No joy so far. Thanks for being ruggedly independent and so pragmatic. I am a recent follower and Tactical sounds like every person’s dream, as a neighbor. Handy as the pockets on a vest.
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I am lucky to have Tactical as a neighbor and friend – even if he gets hyper focused on sheep sometimes!
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If he hyperfocuses on sheep, I bet that cuts down on the time *you* have to hyperfocus on the sheep, freeing you up for the finer points of roasting and vlogging.
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That is the arrangement – he does more of the livestock, I cook LOTS of food and handle other aspects, including the selling of the lamb once it is processed. Speaking of which, I have half a lamb left… 😀
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–And I got more background on this from the Homestead Happenings the other day. No, we don’t need to have them appearing in his sleep, because counting them would not be restful for him, against the stereotype.
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Thanks I will check it out 😀
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👍
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Hi Kelly! Welcome! Sister Ohioan here. This forum is AMAZING! So much great reference material and encouragement. It has literally made my brain bigger.😋
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I know right lol🤣 good to meet you I just wish I knew more people out here I’m trying to learn farmers markets and things but around us there is very little which I like but can be a challenge . If we can get this place up and running I would love to be able to find other Homesteaders to Trade and buy from or get a local meetup with some like minded people may I ask what part of Ohio ?
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Central, just South of Columbus, in Orient. And you?
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right above Columbus union
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Hi there! I’m Erin from Two Chicks Homestead in northern Illinois. We have a 1/2 acre lot with chickens, meat rabbits and gardens. My husband Nate and I have been to a few of the LFTN workshops and SRF. We have a weekly podcast where we talk about a bunch of different topics. I’m fairly new to the freesteading page but already finding lots of people in my area!
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Hello Neighbor😀 New here as well you on YT or other media?
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found your page and podcast link thanks
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We are just starting to get our YouTube channel going!
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I will look for it
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Hi Erin!
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Melissa here in middle TN and local spice dealer. I have a small seasoning blend business called Honeybee’s Kitchen and Mercantile. Only have a few chickens and a garden, but look forward to having more one day. I enjoy going and helping others and learning. GSD’s are my favorite, so if anyone every needs help, give me a shout and I’ll be there if I can.
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Welcome aboard!! Looking forward to our event next weekend 😀
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Hi there, friend!
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Melissa’s spice mixes are THE BEST!
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Hi Nicole. I hail from northern Louisiana. When my Dad passed last year, I moved in with my 93-year-old Mom so she could spend the remainder of her days in her own home. It is my childhood home that my Dad built himself. Kinda like an Amish barn build (except not that fast), different family members would come help with different things. The house sits on top of a red dirt hill on 1 acre. Down the hill past my aunt’s old house is beautiful Lake D’Arbonne. Going to have to use multiple styles of gardening to extract the most efficient use of all the land. Pretty busy at the moment working on the old house, providing elder care, gardening via grow pots while I build raised beds and do terracing for permaculture farming, amending the soil in my Dad’s old traditional garden, and organizing Dad’s workshop a little at a time.
Still working on which side hustle I can manage while doing all this. Hopefully this winter I will have a little more time to focus on that aspect. I love to recycle old things into new things so it will probably be along those lines.
I have 2 little coffee plants growing in my kitchen 🙂
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OH NEAT! One day I plan to get an indoor plant growing space set up for things like coffee plants and bananas. Just for fun. This is WAAAAAY down my list though.
Good on you for helping your mom and getting the side hustle going – let us know when your Etsy store is live with your repurposed things!
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Hello from the Seattle suburbs. Enjoy the podcast. Hoping to get land in the spring and get some animals, so hoping to learn from everyone else here.
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I live north of Seattle in Snohomish county…..are you north or south?
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South. Near federal way
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Hi Y’all! Texas Hill country rep to Nicole’s Holler checking in. I live in a short bus I renovated myself. I am a DIY addict, so fixing and building things is fun to me. I am a video & livestreaming pro (33 years) to pay the bills for tools. I live in an RV park when I am home, but really LUCKED out here because the owners are homesteaders who are wide awake. They don’t mind my diy projects & appreciate that I am like minded. They even gave me permission to build and use a chicken tractor in the open areas of the property. I haven’t done it yet. As soon as I get a few neighbors on board to care for chickens when I am on the road, I will do it. I’ll be at Nicole’s workshop this coming weekend & look forward to meeting a few of you.
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It was awesome getting to know you at Nicole’s. I look forward to seeing you at the next SRF. 🙂
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I feel the same Dawn! It was good for my soul. (my brain is about to explode with ideas too.)
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This reply was modified 1 year, 5 months ago by RedFlyerRebecca.
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This reply was modified 1 year, 5 months ago by
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Hello! New to Freesteading and looking to expand my community. Located in Central Minnesota and have been a long time listener of Nicole’s podcast. I have a 4.5 acre homestead with my husband and two kids. Love gardening and growing as much of our own food as we can. In 2022 I started a small online business making bath products.
Looking forward to meeting all of you!
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Hiya from across the cheddar border in Wisconsin!
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My name is Reta and my hubby and I are a versatile couple. 12 years ago, God put us in North East Tennessee on 10 acres with a house that needed updated and fixing. Right now we are tearing out the bathroom because of a water leak and putting everything new back in. We are now both retired. I worked in the medical field and Mr. Mountain Homestead worked in industrial roofing. We do woodworking and have remodeled every house we have ever lived in. Mr. Mountain homestead, our son and my family are musically inclined. I on the other hand am not. I had an in home bakery for many years and made wedding cakes. I make soaps, creams, sprays and bracelets. I also make my own medicinal concoctions for my Apothecary cabinet. We grow a garden and can everything we grow. We have raised pigs and we have chickens. Here is to getting to know you.
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This reply was modified 1 year, 6 months ago by RuesMountainHome-Reta.
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Sounds like quite the journey – welcome
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This reply was modified 1 year, 6 months ago by
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Howdy Y’all! I’m a recent (and currently part-time) transplant to East Tennessee (Claiborne County), after retiring at the beginning of August from a 35-year career in California. I like to say that I am from the “other” California, meaning the area where I lived was very different from the coastal/leftist parts of the state that most people are familiar with. Most of the inland areas are conservative and liberty minded, but unfortunately do not have enough influence to affect state government.
Although I was born and (mostly) raised there, the state changed drastically for the worst through the years, unfortunately. I tried my best to fight it, but I was greatly outnumbered there. We still have our house there as a place to stay when we visit family or need to be there for some other reason.
My wife and I purchased our homestead property in the early part of this year (2022), and are in the process of learning, watching, and evaluating. I have had a small hobby garden for years, but plan to increase the size of the garden to provide as much of our own produce as possible in the next few years. Because I’m new to this property, I need to determine the best location(s) for my garden(s), food forest, pastures, and such.
I also want to raise livestock, but have a bit of a learning curve before I do so. I think I’ll be ready for chickens by early next year. After that, I am considering cattle because I have a neighbor I am working with so I can learn what I need to know from him. I allowed him to put a few of his cows on my (overgrown & weed covered) pasture in exchange for the education. I’m also planning to keep bees and am considering goats, sheep, and possibly pigs.
I kind of want to jump in and “do it all” right away, but I know that’s not realistic. We have some immediate things to take care of, before jumping into the many other things I want to do. Right now we are getting our house in shape for the long haul, and I’ve been investing in some of the tools and materials I need to take care of things around the homestead.
There is a lot to do, and much more than my wife and I can handle on our own, so we are going to employ the help of our son and possibly other family members as well. I’m looking forward to the future successes, and recognize that there will be many challenges along the way.
My goal for this site is to learn what I can from others here and to share what I can with others along the way. Hopefully I’ll have enough knowledge and experience within a year or two that I can contribute something meaningful to this site. In the meantime, I’ve been learning a lot from Billy, Michelle, and William (PermaPastures Farm), Nicole, Danny & Wanda (Deep South Homestead), and so many others…
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You have an exciting road ahead of you with many challenges that will serve to make you stronger and more resilient. There are many willing teachers here and on the T elegram and MeWe platforms as well. Reach out on any subject you are currently working on and someone will steer you in the right direction.
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Howdy Holler buddies!
I’m Josh from WESTERN Nebraska (8 hours away from the Nebraska you are thinking about! Lol) I am 42 years old.
I’m on the Wyoming/Colorado border in a “high plains desert” zone 5B-4 ish growing climate.
I live on 7 1/2 acres in the house my wife grew up with, with said wife of 21 years and our two boys (14&17), two dogs Rocky and Adrian (boxer/ pit and pit/lab), a leopard gecko (Snowball Fred) and a bunch of tropical fish.
I have worked at a hazardous waste incineration plant for 10 years. I was a cub scout and boy scout master for 7 years. I was in the US Army Reserves for 8 years. I currently teach Hunter Education and Bow Hunter Education for the state of Nebraska game and parks.
I learned the word Permaculture during the beginning of the cufis when I started listening to Jack Spirko, who lead me to Nicole, Billy and back to John Willis.
I am hoping to get some meat rabbits and chickens, and hone my gardening skills.
I am thinking about capturing some of the wild pigeons that live in an abandoned grain bin on my property and raising them like quail.
I’m here to learn and get to interact with great folks!
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I’m Joanne – this is me with grandchild #6 [James], born at home almost two weeks ago … and then my other 5. 😀 I was a single mom and am still single; all my children are married and we all live near each other. I live on my youngest’s property. I’ve lived in all sorts of bigger cities [like Phoenix, San Antonio, Tacoma, etc], but always wanted to be in the country; we settled in SW MO about 13 years ago. My youngest got us in to gardening [organic and heirloom] when he was 8 and we’ve had a garden ever since [he’s 25 now]. I enjoyed homeschooling them, and now I get to help with homeschooling my grandchildren.
My passion is gardening, but I can’t grow it all!!! We share some duties … for instance, my son-in-law grew most of out potatoes and sweet potatoes. This year he grew about 1,500lbs of sweet potatoes, and more than that of several varieties of potatoes. Collectively we raise chickens, dairy cows [Dexter x Jersey], dairy goats [Nigerian Dwarf at my daughter’s and Saanens here], and hair sheep. We’re all pretty self-sufficient, but are still working on being off grid.
Besides gardening, I really enjoy hiking, camping, bird watching, puzzles, cooking, baking ….
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So cute bless you all, so nice to have you all at freesteading.
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Thank you 😊
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Currently a Stay-at-home dad here in Northwest Pennsylvania. We have a 10 acre homestead with chickens, beef, and a garden.
I grew up on my families 700 cow dairy farm and spent a lot of years there developing a random assortment of skills. Went to school for Electronics and spent a few years as an electronics tech before heading back to the farm (Factories weren’t for me, but the skills have proved useful over the years). I met my wife and a couple other stops before we had kids and covid made me a full time father. We decided daycare really didn’t make sense.
Life is full of little twists and turns I could never have imagined.
I enjoy making videos for my YouTube channel in my spare time.
Homesteading is the main topic of my channel at the moment, but I really feel that there are many interesting topics that all fit together. Self-reliance, entrepreneurship, slow-living, hunting, permaculture, how our ancestors lived…. the list goes on and on in my mind.
Longtime listener of the Survival Podcast as well.
Love your content as well Nicole, although I will admit to not consuming as much of it as I wish I had time for. 😅
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This reply was modified 1 year, 5 months ago by Zechariah.
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This reply was modified 1 year, 5 months ago by
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We did homesteading when I was a kid until my dad was transferred to the Chicago suburbs. Working on trying to make the jailbreak to get back to it. Learned a bit from my grandfather. He and my greatgrandparents had farms near Hatfield Wisconsin. I grew up gardening using traditional practices. While working my way through college, in addition to things to make money, I worked with prairie, wetlands and woodland restoration as well as studied a bit of ethnobotany. I ended up going to Canada to study genetics. I still love playing in the snow. Ran out of money and left with a biology degree. Been pretending since that time to be a food scientist for the last 30+ years. Love to experiment with growing new things, adapting and creating stuff to do with them. This Freesteading community that is being build is a fantastic thing. The way people are helping and supporting each other is more of what I remember growing up as well as experienced in rural Canada. While I’m still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up I am looking to see/trying to figure out how I can contribute to this community until we get out and I can become a stronger contributor.
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Make it happen.
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Welcome to the group!
Originally from the burbs, now up in NW WI (Barron County).
Keep working at learning those skills, building connections, and you’ll be on your homestead in no time!
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Thanks
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Andrew From Ohio. We live on half an acre within city limits and we are making it work for now. We have Quail, rabbits, chickens, goats and raised bed gardening. Working on some hydro or aquaponics on a small scale for now. Looking to move to acreage within 5 years as age is creeping up on me and I want to get everything in place and ready to go. Glad to be here and hope to meet new people that are like minded!
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That sounds cool – so much can be done on half an acre
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Torah observant, prepper, former law enforcement, prior service USAR, Iraq 2008-2010, former fugitive recovery agent, Armed security officer.
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welcome
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