Hey y’all. I’m Jess and I’ll be taking over here for a bit. My husband Miah and I are living our best life on a small farm in the middle of the Central Arkansas woods. We started out on this endeavor to grow food about 6 years ago and it has been such a beautiful, fruitful and sometimes hard journey.
The first thing I ever tried to grow from seed was a tomato. I set up containers on my front porch, spent way more than I thought I’d have to on soil and planted the seeds I ordered from the seed catalogs that wooed me into trying my hand at gardening again. I harvested exactly zero tomatoes that year. I’m really glad I didn’t let my failures define me. What would be missing in your life if you’d quit after failing? For me, it’s homegrown tomatoes.
Want to teach your children to appreciate something they don’t personally love? Vulnerably love it and share your genuine excitement and love with them without condition. This is Toby. Toby won’t eat a tomato to save his life. Toby checked this tomato daily and presented it to me with great pride. Toby doesn’t have to eat a tomato to love his mom, but because his mom loves tomatoes, he has learned to care about them too. This goes both ways. What do your kids love vulnerably? Have you learned to share in their joy?
We grew a 24 lb melon and the boys were pretty sure it was a world record. I explained that it wasn’t, but it was a Roots and Refuge Farm record, and that’s something to celebrate.
Diced tomatoes tossed with shredded basil, good salt and olive oil. Brown some crusty bread in olive oil in a cast iron pan. Rub the toast down with a cut garlic clove. Heap tomato/basil on top of toast. Devour. Thank me later
When we started homesteading, I thought the garden would just be another part of the whole. I loved the animals more, and it actually took us a couple of years to build a big garden and give it much attention. I’m so glad we did. In the garden, I’ve found so much more than a way to feed my family. I’ve found a way to worship God, to settle my soul, to explore and learn, to teach my babies the value of sowing and reaping. I always tell people who want to grow food to plant the garden first because I wish I had.
I am not well traveled. I’ve never flown on a plane. I’ve never been north of Ohio or west of Texas.I’m not as well traveled as some may say one should be, but this piece of land has housed all of my fondest memories…
Do you ever worry that your kids will miss out because of this homesteading lifestyle choice? This fear crosses my mind time to time. I’m sure many, if not most of you, could agree that it can be extremely difficult to get extended time away from the homestead for more than a full day, especially in the busy summer months when daily chores demand our regular attention…
“In some Native languages the term for plants translates to ‘those who take care of us’ … the land knows you, even when you are lost.” – Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass…
Babies, Business, and Bumper Crops: How I am Learning to Homestead with Babies in Tow
Have you ever had one of those days? You know the days when you are cleaning the baby’s diaper, milking the cow, scooping poop in the barn, wiping noses, and cleaning more poop off of kids’ shoes…
Hey there, Homesteading Mama’s!
I’m Rachel from @frontier_homesteading. My husband Ryan, three children and I have been homesteading for about 10 years now, first in Wyoming and now in Alaska.
We currently have milk goats, pack goats, sheep, a pig, a cow, chickens, rabbits, bees and a dog. Seasonally, we also have more pigs, meat chickens and turkeys….
Stained glass windows date back to the 7th century. With the earliest known reference dating
from 675 AD when workmen were imported from France to Britain to Glaze the windows of a
monastery…
Homesteading and growing food is not the easy way out of this life, i would say it is the hard way as there’s nothing convenient about it. It’s a lifestyle, a life change not a trend or hobby. Well, that’s my opinion any way…
Awakino Station is a child’s dream. There is the river to splash in, tussock covered hills to explore, animals to raise and a bustling kitchen with a baking tin full of something yummy to eat…
After a busy daycare week for our toddler, and the hectic joys of infant co-parenting + farming, weekend mornings are eagerly anticipated family time; the weekend promise of adventures great and small is so refreshing…
