I make homemade soup on days when I am doing other stuff around the house so I can monitor it while it cooks. I usually make a BIG batch and then pressure can the broth for future use.
Homemade soup can be made low salt and still taste good if you put the right seasonings in it. That takes some experimenting. I use basil, rosemary, marjoram, and parsley.
To make the broth from scratch, put the meat of choice in a pot with seasonings, a chunk of onion and a stalk or two of celery. I cook for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Take out the meat and strain the broth. Let the meat cool and put if back in, toss the overcooked chunk of onion and celery, then add the veggies you want to cook them.
If you make a barely soup, you have to put the barley in the strained broth and cook it for about an hour before adding meat and vegetables. Barley takes a long time to cook and has no flavor if not cooked in the broth.
Try again.....
Let the meat cool and put it back in, toss the overcooked chunk of onion and celery, and then add the veggies you want. Cook it for about 15 mins so the veggies are not overdone.
The chunk of onion and celery stalk give the broth a nice flavor but are not appetizing after being cooked so long.