“Do you want to go to the farm stands or do you want to grow some of the items yourself?” “People who come out here seeking homes are definitely talking about it,” said Century 21 Albertson Realty’s Jerry Cibulski, who grew up on the North Fork as a “farmer’s kid” and loves to encourage home growing. You can have a fulfilling homestead without acres of farmland or going off the grid.įamilies cite homesteading as a bonding experience, and despite the learning curve and some hard work, every harvest comes with serious bragging rights. Wikipedia defines homesteading as a “lifestyle of self-sufficiency, characterized by subsistence agriculture, home preservation of foodstuffs and craftwork for household use or sale,” but there’s no need to take that literally.

Personal micro-farms - aka homesteads - are serving up freshly laid eggs from the chicken coop, honey from the hive, veggies from the ground, jam from the orchard or berry patch, even wine from the grapevines. Many want to get back to basics and do (some of) the farming themselves. Not all North Forkers are content just to hit up the amazing farm-to-table restaurants and farm stands that dot the area.

Homestead vs hobby farm