I’m buying a farm next week. Next week, I will buy a farm. Two weeks from now, at this very moment, I will be a farm owner. There’s no amount of saying (or typing) it that makes it feel true….
My New Life as a Homesteader | Rule #2: No Food Waste
While I’ve tried to embody the spirit in my third-floor apartment, buying a 10-acre farm will finally allow me to more fully align my daily routine with my ideal homesteading lifestyle – but this will require significant changes. To jump-start…
Buying a Farm: Process Update 5 (6 Weeks Away from the Homestead Dream!)
I am just 6 weeks away from closing on my 10 acre farm!!!!! A few times per day, I suddenly remember that I’m buying a farm – and I usually exclaim this out loud to whoever is nearby. My friends,…
Stamped Metal Tags: A DIY, Zero Waste Garden & Greenhouse Option
Those little plastic plant labels are the bane of my existence – I find them in the compost, I find them in the yard, I find fragments of them in the soil when it’s time to plant in the spring….
Spring Break as a Part-Time Farmer
While I don’t own my homestead yet, I am very privileged to get to be a part-time farmer at my adopted family’s 20 acre hobby farm… which is conveniently right next door to the ten acre farm I am under…
13 Useful Ideas for My Homestead from Self-Reliance Magazine (2024 Issues)
As I prepare to close on my very own 10-acre farm, I’ve been revisiting some of the materials I have collected over the past ten years of working towards this purchase. I’ve read hundreds of books and watched thousands of…
Spring Greenhouse Update: 2.5 Months Out from the Homestead Dream
I am just 10 weeks away from closing on my 10 acre farm!!! This is by far my busiest season at work – I am a teacher, I coach a spring sport, and I’m finishing up my Master’s degree, so…
Getting Ready for Farm Life: 3 Months To Go
After a lifetime of planning and dreaming, it’s hard to believe I’m less than 3 months away from owning my own farm. I’ve been finding myself recognizing the little things I’m really looking forward to, things I greatly enjoyed but…
Early Harvest Hacks: Pre-Germinate Seeds In a Plastic Bag
My dad and I always followed the time-honored tradition of planting peas on Saint Patrick’s Day, marking the unofficial beginning of spring and of the gardening season. Historically, our tradition was immediately followed by 3-4 weeks of frustrated impatience, waiting…
Buying a Farm: Process Update 4 (The Stress Has Subsided!)
This Month in the Process of Buying a Farm I won’t bury the lede: my contract to buy the farm is fully executed! As of the previous update in late January, the inspections had been completed with the exception of…
My Simple Sourdough Routine: Bread, Pancakes & No Waste
My mom loved bread; she once told me that the happy place in her mind was the center of a warm loaf of bread. In one of my favorite pictures of her, she has a warm dinner roll pressed against…
5 Months from the Homestead Dream: 5 Tasks to Complete
The closing date for my dream farm is just under 5 months away – it’s a perfect 10 acre blank slate that will allow me to build the homestead dream I’ve been working towards since I was a kid. While…