Media: Expansive definition of homesteading
I’m so old, I remember when homesteading meant you took a plot of land, likely built a home on it, and began doing some agriculture.
the act or practice of acquiring, settling on, or occupying land under a homestead law (see HOMESTEAD LAW sense 2); Homesteading was a minor factor in farm formation; most farmers purchased their land.
the act or practice of living frugally or self-sufficiently (as on a homestead) especially by growing and preserving food
Homesteading is growing: Homesteading appealing to more first-time farmers (axios.com)
What they’re saying: “You don’t have to be Laura Ingalls Wilder to be a homesteader. You can grow tomatoes on your balcony,” Jason Stange, author of “Shelter From the Machine: Homesteaders in the Age of Capitalism,” tells us.
But the growth is due to redefining homesteading to include those who have their own vegetable garden – or even just some potted tomatoes in the window sill. Or those who just bake their own bread! By that definition, I have been homesteading much of my life!
The definition also seems to have added “preppers” – which range from those doing reasonable storage of food and other needs to accommodate a disaster, to those prepping for Armagedón and the end of life as we know it.
Growing tomatoes on your balcony might not be what you are thinking of when you hear the term “homesteading”! By the definition, all 3 of my adult “kids” are homesteaders. Two of them live on an acre or more of land and have huge vegetable gardens; the third lives in an suburban big city but also grows many vegetables in their yard, and has egg laying chickens too. I don’t think of any of them as “homesteaders” though!
There is no estimate on how many people are “homesteading”: A Look At the Homesteaders of America Community in 2022 (Data & Statistics) – Homesteaders of America
This “growth of homesteading” seems to be primarily due to a redefinition of “homesteading” include vegetable gardens, canning fruits and vegetables, and baking your own bread.