Faithful Homestead

You might remember that in January 2017 I published a post entitled, Homesteading Goals: 17 in 17. Well it’s time to look back and see how we did.

The original list was:

1. “Get our feet wet” with aquaponics
2.  Start all of our own bedding plants
3. Have a more productive garden than last year
4. Can and/or freeze 500 quarts of produce
5. Finish mulching the area between the raised beds with wood chips
6. Finish the grape arbor
7. Learn about other varieties of mushrooms and their cultivation and put that knowledge into practice.
8. Develop more of a market for the products we raise on our farm
9. Get our bunkhouse up and going
10. Finish our new apple press and publish the plans for it
11. Build or buy a chicken plucker
12. Seed more of the farm down into perennial grasses and legumes
13. Plant 4800 shrubs for wildlife (oh my!)
14. Get the livestock water lines and tanks installed for the new paddocks
15. Replace the old, leaky windows in our living room
16. Install more insulation to make our home more efficient
17. Replace the back door which also leaks air

So how did we do? We certainly didn’t accomplish everything off the list but we made good progress. There were other projects that took priority as the year went by so some of the goals will move onto the 2018 list.

1. Get our feet “wet” with aquaponics – Well we didn’t get started in 2017, however, we have started purchasing the equipment we will need to start in 2018. I am super excited! 
2.  Start all of our own bedding plants – We purchased a few bedding plants, so we will have to keep working toward this goal next year.
3. Have a more productive garden than last year –It was more productive than last year but not nearly as productive as I had hoped. It seems that if you take real estate sales agent classes in the spring and let the weeds get ahead of you, then you spend the entire summer trying to catch up.
4. Can and/or freeze 500 quarts of produce – I honestly lost track of how many quarts we put up. With going to the produce market we put away quite a lot but not 500. We will move this goal to 2018 also.
5. Finish mulching the area between the raised beds with wood chips – Again, me going back to school stalled this project. Here’s hoping I can finish this project in 2018 also.
6. Finish the grape arbor – Same song, new verse. LOL
7. Learn about other varieties of mushrooms and their cultivation and put that knowledge into practice – This one gets moved to 2018 as well. 
8. Develop more of a market for the products we raise on our farm – Adisyn did get more soap sold as well as reselling mums and other items from the produce auction. We aren’t where I’d like to be but we did make forward progress.
9. Get our bunkhouse up and going – It’s still a work in progress. We made a lot of progress and don’t really have much left to do. 
10. Finish our new apple press and publish the plans for it – Well we accomplished half of this goal. The new apple press is made and works great. Now I need to take the time to publish the plans. 
11. Build or buy a chicken plucker – This one also moves to 2018.
12. Seed more of the farm down into perennial grasses and legumes – Hooray! We did accomplish this. We hope to finish seeding the farm down in the fall of 2018. 
    1. Spring 2017 saw 16 acres seeded to Native Warm Season Grasses (Side Oats Grama, Little Bluestem and Indian Grass).
    2. While the fall saw 20 acres planted to cool season grasses and legumes (Orchard grass, Smooth Brome Grass, Timothy, Red Clover, Alsike Clover and Bird’s Foot Trefoil.
13. Plant 4800 shrubs for wildlife (oh my!) – DONE!
14. Get the livestock water lines and tanks installed for the new paddocks – DONE!
15. Replace the old, leaky windows in our living room – DONE!
16. Install more insulation to make our home more efficient – We did accomplish much in this area; however, there is more to be done. 
17. Replace the back door which also leaks air- DONE! (and what a difference it has made!)

I am pleased with the progress we have made. I am enjoying being involved in Real Estate which does take me away from the home and homestead different times. However, the additional income has been a nice supplement. So it’s a give and take.

Wishing you and your’s a very Happy New Year!

Jennifer