The snowflakes fall sideways, shoot upward, and jet down. The wind curls around windows and doors, bringing a chill into every building. Getting to the livestock means wading through waist-high drifts, hauling water to refill buckets that have frozen over. Machines won’t start, spigots freeze up, and it’s even cold inside the house. Welcome to winters on the homestead in a seasonal climate. Preparing your home for winter has extra steps when you have a homestead where there’s deep snow. Learn what to do before the cold weather sets in.
Homesteading has its fair share of challenges, and winter weather can be the final straw for many beginning this rural lifestyle. More than one family has had a goal of self-sufficiency in summertime, only to trade the woodstove for on-demand heat when cold weather rolls around. However, winter doesn’t have to be an ordeal to survive; it can be an opportunity for your homestead to thrive, as long as you’re prepared. Here are some tips on how to handle winter in a harsh climate so you can come out the other side ready for springtime.
Decide which ways to heat your home before winter
The first thing to prepare is your heat source. Decisions regarding heating choices should be made well before winter. You may opt for a central heating system common in modern homes. A popular choice for homesteaders is heating with firewood. A woodstove allows a homestead to be off-grid, and firewood can be harvested and processed by the homesteader without ever needing to leave the property. However, it’ll require more planning before cold weather than other heat sources.
First, select a woodstove and procure some firewood. To harvest your own firewood, you’ll need access to forest land, the ability to cut down and pull trees out of the forest, the machinery to cut and buck logs, and about a year to dry green wood into burnable wood.
You can also purchase your firewood already seasoned, or purchase green wood already cut and split and invest only in time spent drying it. There’s also the option to buy tree-length wood, removing the need to haul trees out of the forest.
Each of these options will eliminate certain steps in the firewood-gathering process, but whichever one you choose, you must understand how much wood you’ll need to survive winter.
How many cords of wood for winter?
The quantity of firewood you’ll need will depend on the size of your home, the type of wood you’re burning, and the size of your woodstove. A rule of thumb is to obtain 2 to 3 cords of wood (about 128 cubic feet)per 1,000 square feet of home space to stay warm throughout 12 weeks of winter. The efficiency of your stove is important, and even more important is the insulation (or lack thereof) on your home. Some homesteaders live in older farmhouses, which may have little or no insulation, so more firewood is a better plan than less.
Protect Your Property from Harsh Weather
Make sure your buildings are structurally sound before winter sets in. In fall, inspect all buildings and repair any big issues. Particularly, you’ll want to check for cracks and other places where wind and snow can get into a building.
Consider winterizing projects, such as reglazing windows and repainting the outsides of buildings, or do quicker repairs to keep snow out if major construction isn’t possible. For example, keep out chilly temperatures and bad weather by putting up plywood over holes in buildings and adding a layer of plastic inside windows.
When preparing your home for winter, winterize your farm equipment before it gets the cold weather hits.
Properly winterized equipment ensures your tools will function through winter weather and that you’ll be able to get right back into the swing of things when spring arrives. Clean and oil machinery, check grease fittings, and be sure tires are inflated and in good condition. Bring this equipment to an easily accessible area, turn it on, and confirm it’s running well before it’s needed.
If possible, store indoors any equipment that won’t be used during winter, or cover it. This will help reduce wear and rusting. You can add fuel stabilizer or drain the tanks on summer equipment, and then put it in a place where it’ll be out of the way.
When it comes to choosing what equipment to have on hand for winter, consider a tractor with a bucket attachment for snow removal. This is equivalent to a plow, but with many more uses. If you have a tractor, buying a bucket attachment is a sensible choice, as it can be used for deep snow removal as well as digging, moving, and scooping sand, dirt, manure, and other materials year-round.
Winter often brings deep snow
Winter sometimes means a few inches of snow will accumulate here and there, but it more often can mean feet piling upon feet. When that happens, snowbanks begin to encroach. So, start by knowing where you plan to put snow, and make sure the snowbanks will be away from fence lines and equipment. Give yourself more than enough space for snow piles – too much is always better than too little.
Snowmobiles can also be useful, especially on a larger farm, for hauling water to far corners of the pasture and getting over snowdrifts to check on livestock or distant buildings. Consider adding one to your farm if you’re in an area that experiences lots of snowfall.
Preparing your home for winter also means preparing livestock
Winter takes a toll on even healthy animals, so I want my livestock to be in the best physical shape before the cold weather starts.
Long before the days get shorter, start putting up hay for winter. Second-cut hay will offer higher protein than first-cut hay and is a preferred feeding choice for many livestock if it’s available in your area. Putting up enough hay for the entire season before winter means peace of mind, since you can never be certain about a feed store’s hay availability through the off-season.
Many annual vaccines are administered to our livestock in fall. Sheep receive annual Clostridium perfringens type D (CDT) vaccines and selenium, vitamin E (BO-SE) if they’re not pregnant. Cows receive a number of vaccines, including leptospirosis 5-way. What’s necessary for you will depend on your animals and geographical location, so make sure your livestock are up to date on all relevant injections, and consult with your local livestock veterinarian.
It’s also not a bad idea to stockpile grain and minerals for your animals before winter. Road conditions could make it difficult for you to run to the feed store, and unlike in summertime, foraging isn’t an option during the harshest winter months. You can store extra grain in a secure room, or pour it into metal barrels with lids to keep rodents away when preparing your home for winter .
How to keep water from freezing in cold weather when preparing your home for winter
When preparing your home for winter, water can often be the biggest challenge. Therefore, have a backup plan in case anything goes wrong with your primary water source. For example, on our property, we have a drilled well but also access to an old farm spring, which we’ve used a few times during winter when plumbing issues have made the well water temporarily unavailable.
Many times, water buckets and troughs for livestock can freeze in cold weather. You can thaw water buckets using electric heaters, but this does present a fire risk. In an old barn full of hay, we avoid water heaters entirely. Instead, we use rubber buckets, which are easy to break ice out of. Wrap insulation around buckets to delay freezing, or use a small pump in larger water troughs to keep the liquid moving and prevent freezing.
Don’t forget the little things when facing cold weather
Finally, consider your creature comforts when preparing your home for winter. Invest in a good pair of ski goggles for snow-clearing and doing chores in harsh winter winds. Make sure you own several pairs of boot cleats for navigating icy days. And stock up on socks, long underwear, and insulated clothing. The saying goes, “There’s no bad weather, just bad clothes,” and it’s true.
It’s easy to become overwhelmed with cold weather on the homestead, but with some planning and preparation, winter can be an enjoyable season. You might even find some time to relax and enjoy sitting next to your crackling woodstove!
Kirsten Lie-Nielsen is a writer from Liberty, Maine. She’s the author of The Modern Homesteader’s Guide to Keeping Geese and So You Want to Be a Modern Homesteader, and she currently crafts journalism pieces and essays about the homesteading lifestyle. Follow Kirsten and her husband’s adventures restoring a 200-year-old farm and raising Nigerian Dwarf goats and Babydoll sheep at www.HostileValleyLiving.com and on Instagram @HostileValleyLiving.
