Homesteading

A friend of mine asked me what homesteading was. I was a little shocked that she was unfamiliar with the term, especially now. I gave her my definition, which is being self sufficient. A person working towards self sufficiency grows their own food and makes their own things. This could be done anywhere.

During this historical time of the pandemic, I have busied myself more intensely with homesteading. Being self sufficient has always been a goal for us, now the lifestyle has sucked me in completely.

These are our homesteading adventures during this time:

Homeschooling: One Sunday night, the governor announced her recommendation for schools to be postponed for at least 4 weeks. The following Monday morning, I had a schedule for my first and second graders that coincided with my schedule that was already in place for my preschooler and 2 year old. I know that I thrive in schedules and so do my kids. That was something that I could control when everything else felt uncertain. School is also something that gives me comfort, so it seemed natural to homeschool.

Bread Making: I have a bread machine where I can dump all the ingredients in. That is my kind of bread making. My husband also introduced me to beer bread. It's quick and we like to experiment with adding things to it like cheese.

Soap Making: With so many pigs being processed, we have a lot of lard. I tried using lard for pie crusts and cooking, but I still couldn't go through a 5lb block. When I tried soap, it was a great experience. It just takes lard, lye, and water. I add lavender essential oil to make it smell nice. Now it's all the soap we use.

Gardening: I love to grow things. Planting a seed is the ultimate hopeful act. A seed is a baby plant waiting to be born and grow up. I have been planting my garden by covering the raised beds with corrugated plastic sheets. With the soil temperature warm enough, I plant the seeds. I will keep the beds covered until May 5 which is roughly the last day of frost. I have also been planting in the greenhouse. We just harvested our microgreens, which can easily be grown in a south facing window in the house.

Chicken Wrangling: The laying hens wander around our farm. I like to train them with kitchen scraps. Really, I like to carry a bucket around the yard and have them follow me. The broilers, meat chickens, are still in the brooder that is in the corner of the greenhouse. We have their chicken tractor next to the greenhouse waiting for them. I'm tracking the weather to decide when they will move.

Fences and Tractors: We have been reconfiguring our layout of the pig's and chicken's pasture to make better use of our land. So the permanent pens that we inherited will be made into our sweet corn patch while the pig and chicken tractors are improved.

Hoarding vs Larder: I grew up with my parents preserving food through canning or freezing. Their larder was usually full. Our larder isn't full; however, we are still enjoying our homemade applesauce, crushed tomatoes, salsa, bone broth, and maple syrup from 2019. I despise going to the grocery store, which has given me motivation to preserve our own food. Now that the rhubarb is starting to pop, I'm researching jam recipes.

Being a homesteader is a passion for my husband and I. We love this lifestyle. I think the world needs more homesteading.

I hope this finds you all safe and healthy.