I'll make you a promise. Once you taste pork raised right on your own property you'll never want to buy it in the store again. That taste comes with a price tag, though. I'm not going to lie. You'll invest time, money and a whole lot of energy into raising your own pork. For 8-12... Continue Reading →
Do you have your garden planned out yet for next year? I know, I know. It's only December. There's snow on the ground and we're barely into winter yet. But it's this time of year when I start getting the itch to work the soil. You know what I mean? When the days are short,... Continue Reading →
The answer is no. And yes. Confused yet? Let me explain. There are a lot of myths about raising chickens, shared by well meaning people. I've heard many of them, including the one about needing to have a rooster in order for your hens to lay eggs. This, of course, isn't true. Technically, the only... Continue Reading →
Gardening is hard stuff. It's not just the weeding. Or the ground prep. Or the manual labor. It's also getting your seed placement and timing right. It's understanding how soil temps will affect germination, and knowing just how long to harden off those beautiful transplants you've been worrying over for the past week. It's all... Continue Reading →
Homesteading is all about the experience. We all come to homesteading for different reasons. But in the end, what we really crave is a different approach to life. An experience that transcends the meaningless grind that has become the norm in modern day living. For our family, it was a hunger for a simpler, more... Continue Reading →
When you're dreaming about farming or homesteading, it's easy to be consumed with the exciting things. Baby chicks. Fresh eggs. Pulling the season's first sun ripened tomato from the vine. Sun drenched fields of green on still summer days with cotton puff clouds softly floating by overhead. You know, the things we usually take pictures... Continue Reading →
There I was. Standing in the barn with both hands firmly wrapped around the legs of a squealing three week old male pig. I held it up as the vet made an incision across each testicle, beginning the castration process. And the first squeal sent Charlotte charging at us. I had dreaded the moment most... Continue Reading →
Let's be real for a few moments. Can we? Because I'm going to come clean on something. When we brought the pigs home last May, I had good intentions on creating a separate space for Churchill, our boar. Because one boar with four gilts will eventually lead to...well, you know. But those good intentions are... Continue Reading →
Starting a market garden sounded like a good idea... Raspberries. Tomatoes. Broccoli. We would grow all the things and the people would rejoice! This may not be exactly what was on my mind when we first set out to grow produce for our community. But I can honestly say the picture I had in... Continue Reading →
We weren't going to do it. At least not this soon. Adding pigs to the homestead was pretty low on the list of priorities. But then Facebook Marketplace happened. You know how that goes. A good deal too good to pass came along and...well... we decided to take a leap. We want to be a... Continue Reading →