Hey everybody, welcome back to the old fashioned on purpose podcast. We're continuing our theme of deep dives with the experts this season, and I'm very excited to have on with me today, Marty Rainey,

you probably heard of him before he's a home stutter a musician, a mountain climber, and he is the host of the very popular show Homestead Rescue on the discovery channel.

He also just published a book called Homestead Survival, and I can't think of anyone better to talk to us about starting a homestead common mistakes with homesteading and all the stuff in between. So welcome Marty.

Welcome from Alaska. It's a clear blue sky day. We just got about six inches of snow and on the hillside behind the house, there's about 18 to 20 inches. So Alaska, Alaska winter has set in, but hey, that's part of it.

The good news is probably have to full disclosure, I don't always do everything right. I think that's what really qualifies me to help other people. I've made all the mistakes, but this may be the first, this may, this may be the first time,

as we'll start off letting people know that, you know, maybe someone else is more qualified for this podcast than me, but this is the first winter in 50 years in Alaska where I probably have enough wood to get through the winter.

It took me 50 years to figure that one out, but hey, you figured it out.

I will, I will tell you one thing about my audience. They love a good mistake story. So my most popular episodes is when I tell them how I royally mess something up. So I think that you're going to be very well loved, just saying.

Well, I don't know how to take that.

Okay, so I'd love to talk to you about homesteading in Alaska. I'm especially interested in harsh climates. We live in Wyoming, where it's super windy, super cold and the weather's crazy, but I feel like you still have me beat in terms of harshness.

So what are some of your strategies for homesteading in a place like Alaska? Like, can you, can you grow vegetables? What do you have to do differently than the average homesteader?

The one that lives in a colder climate is well aware, and to those in your audience, I'm preaching to the choir. They know what's going on. There is a growing season. There is that last dead, if you will, of frost.

There is that week or two that you plant to get in a sufficient crop, wherever you live. I mean, it's the 21st century.

If you ask that question, if somebody maybe even 20 years ago, you might have to do some research in your area, but right now there's an app and information overload.

I mean, you can look up the very pinpoint square foot where you're standing on planet earth and see on an app somewhere.

If your house actually or farm or ranch or homestead, whatever, even qualifies for a wind turbine.

If someone knows this, they know if you're house, your area, your valley, your state, your county has enough wind to justify getting a wind turbine.

So, yeah, cold weather does. I have a lot, frankly, personally, those are my people, you know, I relate to people that have a longer winter, a colder winter, more wind, the planes.

We just shot an episode and not far from Custer.

And it was clearly sky beautiful. It was our first episode in Wyoming. It was stunning.

Yes, I'm a look. It was beautiful.

My assistant Kelly Casina has family that I believe thousands of acres in South Dakota near near Wyoming border, I think.

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