Hi, my name is Katie and I am new to blogging! In starting this blog, my hope is to have a website domain that I own that is not subject to the whims of social media companies. My plan to share a mix of topics…
- turning our homestead into a “farmstead” or profitable market garden
- being an “old new mom” in my 40s with all its joys and challenges
- our 1900 farmhouse journey going from being a rental…to a bachelor pad…to a family home!
How do you get started in homesteading / farmsteading?
My plan is to share my family’s farmstead setup journey (a mix between a for-profit farm and a homestead for our family’s food) as we aim to grow more of our food, as well as grow extra to sell or share! We began our farmsteading journey 2 years ago in the summer of 2022. I had a newborn at the time and had just quit a full-time job. My brother in law sent me a video by John Sattin Farming and said, “Since you’re home now and you like plants and gardening, you might as well try to make some money.” And so the wheels began to turn…very slowly! Almost 2 years later (more like 18 months later), we have a large garden that really needs some good compost; a small, heated greenhouse with 1 raised bed (and more to come); and a month to make plans for how to make use of all the space!
My husband has generously donated lots of his time to add infrastructure, like irrigation, the greenhouse, and the raised beds! We started a compost pile last summer/fall, though we have yet figured out how to get it “up to temperature” so that it turns into good soil for this coming growing season.
What have you done so far to set up your homestead / farmstead?
- Basic irrigation
- High tunnel (with no plastic yet…everything costs $!)
- Small heated greenhouse for starts
- Raised bed garden outdoors
- Raised bed in greenhouse
What do you plan to do next?
- Better irrigation – with timed sprinklers and drip irrigation where appropriate
- Plastic for the high tunnel
- Organized row cover and hoops
- LOTS and LOTS of compost
- Make our own compost
Why raised beds?
I have lower back issues and so I’m really excited for the raised beds so I don’t have to decide whether I should preserve my back or seed/weed. Often, spending too much time leaning over means my back will spasm and I won’t be able to walk for 3-4 days, let alone lean down for a month. This is not convenient, since I also have a toddler to care for!
When do you start planting for spring?
I am currently working on an organized crop plan with planting dates for different foods that our family regularly eats, as well as those that I hope to sell this spring and summer at a local farmers market. I need to get started planting seeds indoors ASAP!
A coming blog post will likely be about this plan.
Do you have any animals on your homestead / farmstead?
We also have 16 chickens and recently slaughtered 2 pigs, whose meat is kind of “gamey” but we’re still enjoying the “free” food. Free – ha! If you’ve ever purchased lots of animal feed, you know that it’s not very economical to raise your own animals to eat, at least on a small scale. However, it is nice to know where your food comes from. Our chickens stopped laying eggs in their regular location when my son turned their egg laying area into a weight room. Periodically, we have an “egg hunt” around our property to find out where they might be laying their eggs now. So far, no success. They like to spend way too much time on my porch and burrowing into our landscaping mulch. I have a feeling the eggs might be hidden in the bushes, but no one can find them so far.
Update: we found the eggs – back in their previous location, on top of the weight lifting equipment!
First blog post…that’s a wrap!
My goal for 2024 is to write 2 blog posts per week, documenting what we are doing to turn our homestead into a profitable farmstead…and eventually a farm! This was a short and sweet one!
