Posts Tagged ‘garden’
Some Winterizing Plans on the Homestead
November 9th, 2009
It won’t be long until many of us who live on homesteads will be facing the winter in full force. Over the next few posts, we would like to give some ‘tips’ to help you winterize in the areas of your home/house, your garden and your animals (pets & stock).
If you’ve not started, or you are new to an area that has harsher winters, or new to homesteading, these will be some ‘bite-sized’ tips to get the ball rolling. There’s no time to waste, though, because ole man winter is soon to come a-knockin’.
First tips:
In your Home:
Check the Exterior, Door and Windows
•Inspect exterior for crevice cracks and exposed entry points around pipes; seal them.
•Use weather stripping around doors to prevent cold air from entering the home, heat escaping and caulk windows.
•Replace cracked glass in windows. If you end up replacing the entire window, prime and paint exposed wood well before the wet freezing weather arrives.
•If your home has a basement, consider protecting its window wells by covering them with plastic shields to keep weighty snow from crashing in.
•Switch out summer screens with plexi-glass replacements from storage. If you have storm windows, install them now.
In your Garden & Lawn Equipment:
Now is the time to look a head and plant spring-blooming bulbs such as tulips and daffodils. Plant them any time from September in colder regions through December in warmer climates – as long as the ground can be easily worked.
A thorough cleaning of equipment to remove dirt, grass clippings, etc. will prevent rust and corrosion and will reveal any damaged or worn parts that may need replacing.
For your Animals:
Make sure the pen is located in an area where the animals will be protected from harsh winds and, preferably, exposed to the early morning sun. You may want to consider building a special winter pen for your animals in a better location if necessary. South- or south-east facing shelters are ideal in the winter.
Until next tip –
Best Blessings!
The Millers
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Tuesday’s Tips to Homesteading: Start where you are
August 18th, 2009
Bloom where you're planted!
So, you dream of living in the country, living off the land, having small livestock and a serious spread of a garden. Life will be good then, and don’t we know it! For now, you’re in the suburbs though and there’s no sign of leaving any time soon. Can anything be done to start your homesteading journey? You’d better believe it!!
Homesteading in towns and inner cities are becoming not only trends, but growing vital branches of homesteading. Call them urban homesteaders or whatever you’d like; the truth is more people are bringing back the ‘old ways’ in the ‘new areas’.
Some tips to doing this are:
~ Window boxes, Indoor Grow Boxes.
~ Grow your own small, raised bed victory garden.
~ Join in a neighborhood community garden.
~ Compost yard clippings.
No matter where you are, you can begin to learn and develop skills that will and can be used when the eventual dream of homesteading comes to life for you!
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Tags: city, compost, country, garden, homesteader, inner cities, livestock, suburbs, urban | 
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Tuesday’s Tip to Homesteading: Push through & Perseverance
June 23rd, 2009
The art of perseverance is often looked at with some type of nostalgia. History tells us stories of people during times such as the founding of the country, the Great Depression, the prisoners in camps and war zones that persevered through trial with diligence, with hope in the face of despair. These are not the stories of the movies or history alone, but need to be the story of everyone who embarks on a homesteading lifestyle. For that matter, these are the stories of our current economic times.
When it’s not fun; when it’s difficult; when it looks like it is not working: persevere and push through. These circumstances don’t mean that we need to go out and get a new ‘item’ or ‘a better model’ or give up…they are an opportunity to grow and build character.
When it’s rained too much or not enough and the garden isn’t working, keep at it and push through. Make some tweaks and learn from mistakes. When you’ve not a clue how to get the hay cut and bailed because you’re new at this and don’t own a tractor. Keep pushing through. Find a neighbor who is willing to cut/bale it for you in exchange for a few bales of hay.
Don’t give up. Push through. The feeling of satisfaction you get when you plow on through a difficult situation to a positive outcome is ALWAYS a lot better than the feelings you get when you turn tail and run from one.
Hope you will enJOY the journey!
Best Blessings!
Donna Miller
Donna Miller is a work-from-home wife and mother. She delighted to share her trials and triumphs of learning to homestead anywhere. The Millers own and operate MILLERS GRAIN HOUSE which offers Organic and Chemical-free Whole Grains, Bosch Mixers, the NutriMill, instructional tutorials, recipes and more. She also writes for The Dollar Stretcher, in the Blog Entitled: The Homestead Mindset Anywhere
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Tuesday’s Tip to Homesteading: Heirloom Seeds
April 21st, 2009
If you’ve not been homesteading long or are just beginning, it may be tempting to go to your local farmer’s market and buy some of those nice, pest-resistant, hybrid plants that are supposedly easier to grow. After all, they are ‘made’ to be more user friendly right? Well, that depends.
They are often genetically modified plants (GMO) that have had artificial genes grafted into their make up to make them resist draught or blight or bugs. That’s why some tomatoes don’t really taste like a tomato. Not only that, but by being hybrids, they are sterile or infertile for next year’s seeds. The plant you grow this year will not produce seeds for next year’s garden. You get to go spend money again on another hybrid seed.
Heirloom seeds will give you seeds to use each year from the crops they grow. Eat them this year, dry and save some for next year. Repeat. Now that’s money in the bank!
Take a look at this place that offers heirloom seeds with fast, free shipping:
Grow a Patriot Garden
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Tuesday’s Tip to Homesteading: Start Smaller than your Dream
March 31st, 2009
Tuesday’s Tip to Homesteading: “Start Smaller than your Dream” is by NO MEANS a damper on your vision of homesteading! If anything, it is to keep that from happening.
Once you’ve gotten the homesteading ‘bug’ it is almost impossible to get rid of it. We had a short stint in Southern California suburbia that down-right almost killed me! Who mows the lawn with an electric PLUG IN mower? Yikes!
But that ‘bug’ can also make you bite off more than you can chew. Those dreams of land spreading out so far and wide, possibly crops or livestock, rolling hills or wide open prairies, mountains to climb or root cellars in the ground, stream, creek, river or lake, it doesn’t matter, your mind can wander all day long once you’ve gotten the homesteading ‘bug’ – but if you can’t keep up with that land (and yes, any homesteader knows it really doesn’t just SIT THERE) then you will lose sight of your dreams as they give way to tired bodies and aching muscles. So start small.
Our first journey into homesteading was my back yard garden in a quiet suburban neighborhood. I didn’t know what I was doing, I just know I loved the smell of the dirt, getting dirty and then reaping the rewards.
Next we moved to about 7 acres and expanded to some fruit and nut trees, figs, two rows of grapevines, and a much larger and more productive garden. Closer to the house we built a small chicken coup with a run outside (although the chickens roamed freely all day) and a bunny cage with four bunnies (for fertilizer purposes, they were pets). We also managed to have an acre out back for some sheep and goats. This was quite manageable even with small kids and work, this was enough room, yet not too much to manage. It was a very, very productive little homestead.
Currently we are on 15 acres of which about half of it is woods. Don’t let those woods fool you, they too need occasional tending. When they are yours, and a stray cow or neighbor’s livestock wander into your woods, you need to know you can get through there to find it. Also, woods tend to attract ‘wayward’ hunters and their hunting dogs (that will wreak havoc with your livestock if they spy them through the trees). So don’t assume a lot of woods mean ‘care-free’ land.
On what can be utilized we have expanded our fruit and nut trees, have other grapevines and the garden is about 20 times the size what was in the first back yard garden. Our livestock did not make the move here, so we are slowly rebuilding the chickens, bunnies, goats and sheep. The grain business keeps us busy as well.
But I share all this to say it is a process. Don’t shoot for your dream 288 acres right out of the gate! You might just get overwhelmed and give up and regret giving up! Build those homesteading skills like any other skill – with fundamentals and practice.
Take into consideration what you want to do, start small and build on it. Most people who truly want to homestead know the patience of growing things and the seasons it takes for planting, growing and harvesting are in order. So, don’t jump the gun and bite off more than you can chew (how’s that for combining two clichés?) and get overwhelmed!
Two books that I highly recommend are listed below. You can find them online.
Five Acres and Independence: A Handbook for Small Farm Management by Maurice G. Kains
Ten Acres Enough: The Classic 1864 Guide to Independent Farming
by Edmund Morris
Best Blessings and enJOY the journey!
Donna Miller
Donna Miller is a work-from-home wife and mother. She delighted to share her trials and triumphs of learning to homestead anywhere. The Millers own and operate
Millers Grain House which offers Organic and Chemical-free Whole Grains, Bosch Mixers, the NutriMill, instructional tutorials, recipes and more.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
