Our Homesteading Journey – March 2020 Update

Welcome to the first blog post of our homesteading journey! We hope these “diary” entries will help you on your own healthier living/self-sustaining journey, and if not, may they simply give you an enjoyable read each month.

So, homesteading…when did this pop up in our minds? I guess you could say it started when we were dating. But a quick background on us first in case we haven’t met you in person yet!

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Landon and I (Kelsey) met and were married within the short span of about 5 months (which you can read all about here). Landon grew up in the northern Chicago suburbs and I grew up in West Michigan. While neither of those locations is considered city life, it wasn’t the country either. We say we both grew up in the average suburban middle-class American life experiencing both urban and rural elements.

Basically, we know very little when it comes to homesteading. Raising animals, planting a vegetable garden, and learning how to manage land are all new and exciting to us!

When we were dating, we would talk about our dreams for the future. Landon already lived on an acre outside of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, and practiced chopping firewood, catching fish in the nearby lakes and streams, and loved traveling to northern Wisconsin for more outdoor adventures.

I had worked in northern Wisconsin for a summer and hiked almost every day through the woods. We had both fallen in love with being outside and the idea of making a sustainable life for ourselves. We desired a life where we didn’t have to depend on anyone or anything else for our well-being.

Certainly, not in a prideful way of being able to prove that we can do it. We desire to live sustainably because we feel called to that as Christians. God calls us to be good stewards of this earth, and personally, for us, we feel He is calling us to use the skills we have on a homestead.

So, all of the talk while we were dating led us to get married in a park in northern Wisconsin with the hopes of moving to that same northern Wisconsin/Upper Peninsula of Michigan area one day. When Landon got a work-from-home job the dream really started to come together because he could continue to work up north if we moved.

We picked up two border collie puppies on the way back from our honeymoon and then slowly came up with a game plan.

Lord-willing, we are striving to save up enough money to purchase close to 100 acres in the UP in the next few years. After that, we would sell our current home, build a homestead, and start growing our family. Our days will quickly be filled with homeschooling our children, caring for our garden, hunting and fishing, tending to our animals, preserving food, collecting rainwater and energy, and all the tasks that go into managing a homestead.

By the grace of God, we desire to plant a church and spread His name wherever we end up. Right now is the season of preparation and this month, March 2020 is the beginning of our journey.

Here are the steps we have taken to start our homesteading journey and begin practicing the skills we need today!

STEP 1 – Research

Our journey begins with a lot of research, at least by me that is. Landon is the type to try it and learn from the mistakes while I love to research ahead of time.

After reading The Weekend Homesteader I started making lists of the projects we needed to do to start living a more sustainable life. Most of the accomplishments or things we have checked off our to-do list I should say have come from that book and several others.

Here’s a list of my favorite books on homesteading so far:

The Weekend Homesteader

Lasagna Gardening

The Backyard Homestead

The “Have More Plan”

The Chicken Whisper’s Guide To Keeping Chickens

Square Foot Gardening

The Homesteader’s Natural Chicken-Keeping Handbook

Look for more book updates each month because if you know me then you know I’m always reading up on everything!

STEP 2 – Garden Prep

March means it’s time to get my garden going! I decided that instead of tilling the ground I would create a new idea called a “lasagna” garden. This is simply creating layers of different nutrient-rich materials to create soil above the ground.

I decided to go with this method after the research I did because it results in fewer weeds, is easier to control, and can be easily maintained to the garden size I desire.

So, this month meant deciding on where to put the garden in our yard so that it could receive optimal sunlight. I also started collecting sheets of cardboard to create the base layer when it is time and began composting regularly. Even though this compost won’t be ready for the start of the garden in May, we have other mulch materials we will use.

After reading Square Foot Gardening, I decided to create three four-by-four plots. After soaking the cardboard in a rainstorm, I put on a layer of peat moss and leaves and covered it. Soon I will be adding woodchips, hay/straw, sawdust, wood ash, and more between layers of peat moss to finish the lasagna garden project.

Next came purchasing the seeds and collecting fencing and wood materials to protect the garden from predators. I’m so excited to plan my seeds I don’t want to wait till after the last frost day in May! And we found some cheaper fencing on Facebook marketplace thankfully!

Of course, I have also been reading up a lot on what I want to plant this year and I decided to keep it simple yet still plant a good variety. Here’s what we are planting:

Broccoli (Waltham 29 Broccoli)

Green Beans/Contender (Buff Valentine)

Tomatoes (Peron Tomato)

Cucumbers (Tokiwa “Tokyo Green” Cucumber)

Bell Peppers (Bull Nose Pepper)

Lettuce (Parris Island Cos Lettuce)

Spinach (Perpetual Spinach)

Radishes (Purple Plum Radish)

Kale (Dwarf Siberian Kale)

Also, in preparation, I’ve drawn out what the garden space will look like. Here’s a picture of it!

I purchased my seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. This was a recommendation I received from Melissa K. Norris on her podcast Pioneering Today. This podcast has been so helpful in gaining homesteading knowledge!

Next, I used some potting soil to plant the seeds in our saved cardboard egg cartons. To create a greenhouse effect, I used small produce bags from the grocery store around the egg cartons. The seeds are already sprouting a week later after planting them!

I am going to have to start replanting some of the broccoli, lettuce, and kale seeds already in larger containers (a week after planting them!) After about six weeks of planting all the starter seeds, they will be planted in the garden.

You don’t want to transplant your seeds before your last frost date. Our last frost date is typically around the middle of May. So, around Memorial Day the garden will be ready for planting time.

Step 3 – Compost

Compost is an essential part of the gardener’s world. It improves your garden soil and provides your plants with the nutrients they need!

Landon built a little shelf next to our trash can so we could be reminded to start composting our scraps. Then he built a compost tumbler bin! I purchased the drum from Uline and Landon assembled everything.

Now, each morning I take out the compost to the bin, give it a few spins, and let it “cook.” I also add leaves, grass clippings, and coffee grounds to make the perfect mixture.

The next part of my composting journey will be a worm bin, where I can let the worms start de-composting my compost for me in a bin. Keep checking in over the next few months to see what I come up with!

Step 4 – Chickens

We bought 25 chickens! You have no idea how excited I am. They arrived at the very end of the month, a few weeks after purchase, so Landon had enough time to build a fairly large coop in the backyard.

Landon and I had been throwing around the idea of getting chicks but were still researching the idea since we live in a neighborhood. We met our neighbors that had about 30 chickens and a large coop in their backyard. They were kind enough to let us ask them questions, see the chickens, and show us the tools they use.

After that, we were sold! We went online that night and purchased 25 New Hampshire Red hens from Stromberg’s, where our neighbors bought their birds. After a few weeks, we got a call that they were shipping from the hatchery and a few days later the post office called us to pick them up.

We set a large travel dog crate in the guest bedroom with hay, food, water, and a heat lamp so when the chicks arrived they were ready for their new home.

They are so cute and very spunky! It is fun to watch them waddle around and explore. Most people wouldn’t start with so many, but we decided just to go for it. Plus, there was a price break when we got 25 lol. Also, we wanted a good dual-purpose breed that would be good egg-laying hens but also good hens to butcher for meat in about three years. This breed will also be hardy in our cold Wisconsin winters.

The coop is part of an old structure Landon’s dad still had in his yard. We picked it up, dropped it in our backyard, and Landon built the nesting boxes, roosts, and large back area for the birds. We’re hoping to transition them to the coop in a few weeks.

It’s amazing how fast the little chicks grow. They are such a joy to watch and I am blown away by the intricate design God made when he created them. As each new feather comes in, I admire the artistry of God.

Landon is also working on training the dogs to become herd dogs. They will help us round up the chickens at night and keep them in the yard if they are ever out of the fenced-in area as our birds will be free-ranging often.

I can’t wait to keep you posted on their lives as they grow up and we gather our first egg!

Step 5 – Rain Barrel

Another homesteading project this month was setting up a rain barrel that could collect rainwater. It will mostly be used for watering the garden or chickens for now, but in the future, we hope to set up a rain collecting system.

As a homesteader, it is extremely important to be prepared just like they had to do in the pioneer days.

You never know what kind of emergency could hit. For example, this month the coronavirus overtook the world. It is spreading like wildfire and so many people are realizing the importance of living a more self-sufficient life.

If the electricity goes out, do you have a backup plan? If you can’t access water, do you know what to do? What if you couldn’t drive to the grocery store for food? What would you do?

Although we started our homesteading journey before people started asking these questions all over the world, we need to continually ask ourselves how we can be more self-sufficient in case something were to rock our world.

Normally I am not a prepared person. It does not come naturally to me. This month I have been learning that as a homesteader, I need to focus on thinking about preparedness each day. We have the ability to be prepared for the future, it just requires a little bit more action.

Step 6 – Rabbits

After our chickens shipped, I started thinking about the other farm animals we could start raising. We don’t want to be farmers, but we do want to have a constant supply of food that we have control over.

There is nothing more comforting than knowing that you are in complete control of the food your family is eating.

When you plant a garden, raise livestock, and pick your own berries, you know they are free of pesticides, preservatives, and harmful ingredients. Eating food from your own backyard is so much better for you, no doubt about it.

And how much more joyful is it knowing that you are eating fresh meat and produce, rich in the nutrients your body needs, that you grew or raised with your own two hands? Yes, it’s more work than driving to the store. But it is so completely worth it.

My research led me to realize that breeding and raising meat rabbits would be an amazing option for our homestead. Not only are rabbits low maintenance, but they also multiply fast. In fact, one male buck and two female does give you over 100 pounds of meat each year.

They are also neighborhood friendly and live outside near the chicken coop in their hutch. After lots of research, because apparently it really hard to find local rabbit breeders (they don’t ship rabbits like they do chicks) I found a few options on Craigslist.

Stayed tuned next month to hear about which rabbits we purchase and start raising on our homestead! Here’s a sneak peek…

Step 7 – Extras

We hung a tire swing in the backyard! We found an old tire in a ditch behind our church building. We strapped it to the roof of our car, bought some rope, and hung it up in the backyard. It is so fun to swing on the tire swing, especially now that summer is around the corner!

We also laid this new sidewalk! It’s not done, but it’s a start.

And, Landon put a clothesline in the backyard for me, just in time for winter! We used some of the thicker rope we already had for the tire swing. Does anyone have recommendations on larger clothespins to use? Or where to purchase them? Let me know! (:

The dogs have also recovered very well from their spay and neuter surgeries. They are having so much fun in the backyard playing fetch with the frisbee these days.

Looks like that’s it for March! I hope you enjoyed the update and share with me some thoughts in the comments!

Currently looking for:

-Larger feeder and waterer for the chicken coop

-Pressure canner

-Smoker

-Cheap and local compost for the garden

-Rabbits to purchase

-Land up north!!

Until next time!

-The Adventuring Alberts

Keep reading: Our Homesteading Journey – April 2020 Update

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Kelsey at GoodPointGrandma

Hey there, I'm Kelsey! I'm so glad you are here. I'm a 20-something helping you live your most fulfilling life. I hope you'll join me in this old-fashioned & simple lifestyle!

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