Making time to homestead

TIME!
I wish they made more of this. You have to make time for this venture. Include your spouse and kids. I really feel that homesteading is a noble thing that is very underrated. Kids love playing in soil and getting dirty. Allow time for them to play and get dirty. And then sit back and observe them, and watch the gratitude they get from just being outside. Maybe you can find some happiness in watching your kids be happy.

Early spring baby romaine
lettuce head

When can we find time to homestead? Before work, after work and weekends. If you really want to do this you will make time. Don’t neglect your spouse and children, you need their support to be successful in this venture. Family first, then homestead. I have seen families ripped apart because folks don’t have their priorities in order. If your loved ones feel they are second place to your homestead, they will resent it. Trust me, it is possible to keep everyone happy.
Don’t move to the country on a whelm and think that the homesteading gene within you will come alive just because you are in the country. If you truly want to homestead, you will find a way to do it no matter where you are. Take time each day to read and learn a new skill. Reading will give you the basics, but taking time to actually do it will be the true test. I can give you detailed instructions on how to care for chickens or how to grow vegetables but until you actually do it yourself, in your climate, and in your yard, then you will never master it.
Make time to learn and understand your land. Observation is a powerful tool on your homestead. Take time to understand your micro climate. Look at your land and understand the layout, and where the sun hits throughout the day. How the wind blows across you land and how water drains. Take time to understand where the warm and cool spots are on your land during the seasons, especially fall and spring. Make time for this, it doesn’t take long. Wake early one morning, 5:30 am, and watch the sun come up. Do this for each season because you can make decisions on where you plant crops for the micro climate you live in.  Observe where the sun hits your land first thing in the morning. Ask yourself, should I put a garden here or a wind break? How much sunlight is this spot going to receive throughout the day? If it’s 10 hours of direct sunlight then you might want to plant tomatoes or peppers there, but not lettuce. Take time to observe, make your plan, then work your plan.

Homesteading is very rewarding but like anything you want master it takes time and the willingness to fail, then succeed. Be the master of your homestead, make time to understand your layout. Email me with question and share this with anyone you think might benefit from it.

Jason Smith
Homesteader and Market Gardener
Email: jason@smithfamilyfarmtn.com
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCH_6SzCMTTkjND
S8qU2TzEg
Website: www.smithfamilyfarmtn.com

No till garden

Do you understand the power of a chicken? We have learned to love and respect our flock, they do some amazing work for our farm. And they love doing it, I have never seen a chicken that did not enjoy scratching and pecking in the soil.  Chickens can do a lot for your homestead and they are very entertaining. But, I want to go into detail on one thing they did for us this winter. They prepped a garden spot for us.

If you follow us you know that we move our chickens however, this winter we put them on a spot and let them stay there all winter. They ate all the grass, weeds and they scratched down to the soil. We moved the chickens in early March and waited. As the sun came out and warmed the soil, weeds started to emerge. Grow weeds first, then kill the weeds and plant your garden.

Weeds began to emerge
after a couple weeks

Then, I took the flame weeder and torched the weeds. I love this tool, and I have never met a weed that stood up to my torch.

Torched the weeds that
emerged

Now, you basically have a sterile seed bed. Remember, each time you till, you bring up new weed seeds.

After we waited for about 2 to 3 hours the next step is to add compost on top of the sterile seed bed. This way we are building soil vs. breaking it down by tilling. Then we plant the crop in the composted organic matter.

The chickens were on the same ground all winter, dropping their manure, scratching and spreading it around. The soil underneath the compost has plenty of natural fertilizer because the chickens.  They were also digging through the soil and eating grubs and other bugs. This is what chickens love to do. Our chickens are vital to our farm, they also helped make the compost we use for our gardens.

Spread compost 1 to 2
inches thick with
garden rake

No excuse not to have a garden this year. You don't need a tiller, cultivators or other big tools to make a garden. Now you have a no till garden, so I would challenge you to grow a little food for your family. Plant things you love to eat. If you don't have chickens put a dark colored tarp down on the spot you want a garden on. Then leave it for 3 weeks, uncover it and let the weeds start to come up again. Then, take the torch to it, this is the fun part for me. It's that easy, now you have a garden and you didn't have to break your back trying to dig up the back yard. Good luck!

Jason Smith
Homesteader and Market Gardener
Email: jason@smithfamilyfarmtn.com
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCH_6SzCMTTkjND
S8qU2TzEg
Website: www.smithfamilyfarmtn.com

It's about to happen

Something extraordinary is about to happen. After a long cold, wet winter, nature is coming back to life. Spring is an exciting time for gardeners and homesteaders. For us, it means longer days and more daylight. We don't have to keep the wood stove burning as much, so we don't have to keep up with firewood and cleaning out the ashes. That makes my daughter really happy.

The crops we overwintered in our greenhouse are starting to take off and we are thrilled to have warmer days. This time of year can bring on some challenges also. Raccoons, foxes and coyotes are now prowling around, which means our chickens have to be extra careful. We do everything we can to protect them but if they fly over the electric fencing we have, they become vulnerable, and believe me, a fox will outsmart chicken even on a bad day.

We are starting radishes, salad mix, salad turnips, beets, pac choy, brussel sprouts and other leafy greens. These cool season crops thrive in the warm days and cool nights.

Salad mix with row covers
for protection on cold nights

We have started our first peppers and tomatoes in our greenhouse but it will be a couple weeks before we set those out. I'm tempted to set out a few early plants but I know what will happen if I do too early. Frost will get them. Our last frost date here in Middle TN is May 1. We patiently wait for May 1, then we have to juggle rain showers. Is the ground too wet, is it too dry to plant? When we catch the weather right we jump all over the opportunity to plant our food.

Pac choy planted with
compost spread around

The garden is an extraordinary place on the homestead, it represents life, hope and challenges that await. It's a place where we can make money by harvesting and selling niche crops. Its also a place where failure is always lurking and one wrong move could mean death to the crop for that year. That's heartbreaking, because sometimes you only have one chance to get it right, otherwise you have to wait for next year. A lot of life lessons can be learned in the garden. If you have too many weeds in your garden, your plants will suffer and eventually succumb to pressure. Isn't that true with life?

This time of year is very inspiring and you don't have to look far for encouragement. Just take time and observe nature, walk outside and listen for birds. Take a moment and just watch them, don't think about anything else except nature. Spring is right around the corner!

Jason Smith
Homesteader and Market Gardener
Email: jason@smithfamilyfarmtn.com
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCH_6SzCMTTkjND
S8qU2TzEg
Website: www.smithfamilyfarmtn.com