Does anyone have a homestead/farm?

No, just add me to the jealous group. You’re living my dream. We have our eye on a piece of property – 100 acres, but, right now, it’s well out of our financial ability. My husband grew up on a farm – 200 acres, they raised cattle, sheep, chickens, pigs etc… then of course had the family garden, an apple orchard, and some pear and cherry trees, their own woodlot for cord wood, and of course the quintessential cow pond for skating on in the winter. The stories he tells of his boyhood, of he and his three brothers growing up on the farm, it was definitely idyllic (granted a lot of work), and is what we want for our children.

His father still lives on the homestead (30 minutes away), so we go down and pick apples and cherries and pears etc… and technically, we stand to inherit a portion of the farm, and have been offered one of the 3 homes on the property, but sadly another family member has already staked his claim for the “farming rights”, so it doesn’t look like that will work out.

So in the meantime, we live on not even an acre and are “mini homesteading” with a 40×15 garden plot, a strawberry patch, some wild blackberries nearby and the blueberry bushes we planted. We’re also going to add apple and pear trees and an herb garden next year. No animals, but we’re trying to produce all the fresh veggies and fruits that we can at least.

We kind of do! We only own 2 acres, but there are 3+ vacant acres adjoining us that we use & mow. We have forest on 2 sides, & the 4th side is our driveway/the road…all of which to say- we have no close neighbors, & empty land all around. We have 14 free-range hens & a rooster. We don’t have other animals, because we value our time away & the flexibility of schedule more, I guess! We have a HUGE garden though, and plant almost every vegetable there is to plant. We try to grow enough of most things to last a year….this year we planted 76 tomato plants! I do other things too, like grinding my own flours, cooking from scratch, etc.

It’s not easy! Our kids are pretty “free-range” on our property, so they are often happy to just go outside & play. At first I thought we would keep schooling through summer. Then I thought we would AT LEAST keep doing math. Then I thought, if I can just keep up with the canning & freezing, with these we shall be content. 🙂 The summer is certainly the busiest!

The only way I get school planned is to order everything in May & plan as soon as it gets here. I need to have it done before the garden really kicks in, or it won’t happen!

I HAVE learned not to let it stress me though! We are very much “schedule” people, but there isn’t really a set list of daily to-do’s for summer. I find that keeping the kids on a good schedule helps the most. We eat breakfast at the same time every day; then playing inside or outside; late-morning they have a little “alone” play-time. (I can usually get some things done during this time.) Then lunch. Then nap/rest/reading for 2 hours (I can get a lot done then, or rest myself.) Then in the afternoon, whatever needs doing. This is usually when I take us all outside & work in the garden. Sometimes they volunteer help, sometimes they’re required to help, sometimes they play. Meal-prep & dinner around 6/6:30; bed at 8. If we can stick to this, I at least know when I can fit in the freezing/canning/garden work/coop cleanings and plan my days accordingly.

During the school year, we try to get lessons done as early as possible and be done for the day.

Nice to “know” someone else in a similar lifestyle! 🙂

I, too, am a little jealous….especially of the gardens.  Although, we have our hands full this summer because this past spring, I finally got the car keys away from my 90-year old dad who has Alzheimer’s and thinks he can still safely drive….so the day is largely spent watching out for him and taking him down the street to his favorite restaurant for breakfast and dinner.  (Yes, he could eat at home, but he doesn’t want to after 20+ years of eating at the diner….and he’s extremely picky!)

So, our garden has been slightly neglected, the climbing rose badly needs pruning, the lemon balm has taken over that entire area (plus the cracks in the concrete area in front of it), and the lawn mower conked out last week, so the yard looks unkempt.  All of this on a 40′ x 132′ city lot.

We have 3 raised garden beds; 2 are 3′ x 6′ and the other is 4′ x 4′ which are wood frames with chicken wire fencing around them to stave off the small animals that wander through.  We have tomatoes, green beans, green/red/yellow bell peppers, carrots, broccoli, and a few herbs.  We also have cucumbers in hanging baskets.  The back half of the backyard grassy area contains our chicken run and coop for 6 laying hens.

We would love to have a little bit of land with a much bigger garden, more chickens, and maybe a couple of goats, but right now this is all we can handle as I am a single mom with a grown working daughter and one high school student at home for 2 more years.  This is just a season, though.  I’m not sure what will be next when the youngest graduates.  She is planning to enter the army then college (agriculture) after that.  She’ll be away from home for 8 years.  If my dad is in assisted living at that point (a real possibility), I will probably end up in an apartment with my now 18-year old autistic son who is currently living with his dad.

Or maybe God will send me a godly gentleman farmer who is looking for a wife.  <Grin>

2Corin57, We also do companion planting & square foot gardening! Our garden plot is 1/10th of an acre, but we cram SO MUCH into that space, it’s ridiculous. One of our favorites is the 3 sisters method. You make “hills” & plant corn in the center; then add winter squash around the edges; then when the corn is a certain height, right beside it plant pole beans. The winter squash acts as ground cover so you never have to hoe the corn and the corn stalk is the pole for the beans to grow up. Our corn didn’t germinate well this year, but last year the method worked very well!

I wish you were all in my area too! I’d love to have a pea-shelling party 🙂