The Gothic Homesteader

Guest Post: Rob Nickles  Restoring tools is something important to any homesteader, but as the husband of a Gothic Homesteader, and being a Cowboy Mountain Man my self, with Steampunk Goth twinges, it has kinda become a passion.  When I hunt for tools, be it on Etsy, Ebay, or at local stores and flea markets, one of the key things I look for is usability.   Yes, alot of modern tools are great, but doing things by hand and having that connection with my work is even better. Once I have found my tools, I take pictures as I take them apart so I know how they will go back together.  Then with a wire brush I clean them with 1/2 boiled linseed oil and 1/2 turpentine mixed, and grease them with hi-temp grease.  Then once they are clean ( or as clean as an old tool can get) , I put them back together. Thus far, I have returned 3 tools to working condition, and made one display piece look sharp for the Blacksmith shop.  I would advise it to any homesteader...

Since starting Gothic Homesteading on Facebook back in 2013, more than once I have been asked just what is a Gothic Homesteader?  Just about as often, I get asked, What makes someone Goth?   And what is a homesteader?  All great questions. I have over the years actually heard many explanations to what it means to be a Goth and to be a Homesteader.   The simplest way I can explain it is thusly:  A Goth is one who who sees beauty in the midst of a dark and dying world. A Homesteader is one who follows the homesteading way of life: a. raising what one can - fruits, veges, herbs, animals, etc., b. make what one can - clothing, food, all sorts of crafts, very diy ( which Goths are great at typically ), c. providing what they can for oneself and ones friends and family. A Gothic Homesteader is one who see beauty in the midst of a dark and dying world, and thusly lives the homesteading lifestyle. As both Gothic and Homesteading cultures are very DI...

It came today! All 5 foot 3 inches, by 2 ft, by 1 ft of growing wonder!  My very own apartment sized greenhouse, which I bought for all of  $31.48  from  Amazon.Com .  It paired with my sunny picture window and a plant light, and we should be growing food in no time.  Now I must be about gathering pots, seeds, and get to planning on what we will be growing. The first greenhouses built in Roman times, were very similar to cold frames today.  It was simply a frame covered with the oiled cloth known as specularia or sheets of selenite. Cucumbers, the main food grown this way, were wheeled into the sun by day, and under the covers by night.  Technology continued to change and grow until the 1500's when a Dutchman invented the first practical greenhouse, which continues to advance change to this day!  Who knows what will come next? Greenhouses are such a blessing, especially being Gothic Apartment Homesteader.  And believe it or no...

Sometimes, even with the Gothic Homesteading I do, I feel like there could be some much more I could be doing.  I also feel very disconnected from the land sometimes.  Living close to nature, be it a desert, a forest, the sea, or great prairies/savannas, is healing to the soul.  To be close to the earth, to feel it beneath the feet, to be connected.  Closeness, connectedness, a feeling of belonging.  So many of us struggle with those feeling those thoughts.  Yet out here in the garden, it seems so easy to find, even if a bit thorny at times...literally! One of the easiest way to start restoring ourselves, and getting back to our roots, is starting connecting to the land again.  How? Grow plants in windows. Work a a co-op/urban garden. Learning to preserve our own foods. Walk daily at a wild space or park. Swimming in the wilds Vacation camping out in tents in the wilderness. Save up and buy land. So many ways to start working towards...

I am getting more and more excited as I find all these awesome foods that can be grown, why has no one complied list of these before?  I have been around the Gothic community for over 10 years now, and other than a few black flowers, I never knew just how much we had available to us... I not sure anyone did or does.  This is just exciting!   Today I want to share with you some of the Gothic Radishes, Turnips, and Potatoes I have found: Black Spanish Radishes Purple Plum Radishes French Breakfast Radishes White Globe Turnips Purple Turnips ( solid purple, not the purple top turnip s) Kohlrabi - German Turnips Purple Wonder Potatoes Mountain Rose Potatoes Okinawan Sweet Potatoes ~ Morria Please Note:   Many of these are rare and/or harder to get ones hands on, but still do-able.  Most are heirloom  varieties .  Patience  and a good determination to hunt for the plants is needed.    Enjoy!  I know I am!  Mos...

As I have begun working on research for my future book: Gothic Homesteading , and if nothing else for my own Gothic homestead . Thus,   I thought I would share with everyone a short list of Gothic Beans I have discovered.  Enjoy! Royal Purple Beans Black Valentine Beans Orca Beans Anasazi Beans Hopi Black Beans Hopi Black Pinto Beans Hopi Gray Lima Beans Christmas Lima Beans Tarahumara Purple Star Beans Four Corner Runner Beans Scarlet Runner Beans Black Tepary Beans San Pablo Tepary Beans Yoeme Purple String Beans Black Beluga Lentils ~ Morria Please Note: Some of these beans, especially the Native American varieties are rare and hard to get ones hands on quickly. Most if not all are heirloom beans.

Spring is almost here! Spring is almost here! Spring is almost here!  Yes, I am excited for spring.  I am glad to be shaking off the heavy wools, and pulling out the lighter grays and blacks.  It also means it is time to start getting the new bat houses placed, figuring out which potatoes to grow this year at my mother-in-laws's, figuring out what kinda pots and stands I need to have a deck garden, and keep on researching more black, purple, gray, and dark blue seeds.   Thus far, in veggies and fruits alone, I have found over 60 plants which fall into this classification    Of those most are heirloom, and many are native to North America.  In fact, most of the dark corns are from Native American seed stock, and are drought hearty   Such an amazing journey!  Keep checking the Facebook page GothicHomesteading for more info... ~ Morria

I am not sure when exactly, but a few weeks or may be months ago, I began noticing my Gothic side coming back out.  Maybe it was always out, and I just tricked myself that it ,wasn't.  Sometime though, my wardrobe went from being perky and cheerful, to back to my normal grays, dark blues, deep browns and various blacks.  But, I guess I just really dont care anymore what others think so much. Homesteading?  Why homesteading?  Arn't I a Gothic Chick?  Wouldnt that mean I would get my skin get dark?  Isnt that just something hippies are into? I have been asked all of that and more since 2005, when I first started looking into Gothic Homesteading.  To be honest, if one looks at being a Gothic Homesteader as one who sees beauty in the midst of a dark and dying world, and thusly lives the homesteading lifestyle, how could I not be a Gothic Homesteader? ~ Morria