Starting Our Homestead
By Jessica Marie I realized that I have given updates on our little homestead for the past several months. But I never gave it any formal introduction. What we have, what we do, why, and where we plan to go. So, this is to give some context for our fresh little homestead so that the updates I give every month in the Monthly Catch-Up blog posts make a little bit more sense. Where We live on 80 acres in central Maine. We currently have 30 hens and one rooster plus 2 Guineas. One has been missing for awhile, we aren’t sure if she is sitting on a nest of eggs or if something nefarious has befallen her. We also have 3 farm dogs that are mostly guard dogs for the family. They are not livestock protection dogs, as they have amply demonstrated for us, but we know their limits and capabilities and have adjusted accordingly. Chickens I grew up with chickens, at least half of my life has been lived with chickens in some form or another. Last year we started with 6 hens and brought them with us when we moved from Colorado to Maine. In March of this year we got 24 new hens as day old chicks. We suspect a few are laying their first eggs as we have found a small egg here and there. The first eggs are often smaller than usual. We got a year-old Rooster from a local farmer who had too many roosters. Guinea Fowl Disclaimer on guineas. If you, like me, have seen and heard of these unique albeit bizarre birds and are considering getting them, I have some information that doesn’t seem very common. Now, I hadn’t done extensive research, but I had done some research on Guinea Fowl before we purchased them. I had heard they were good at protecting or at least alerting your fowl to intruders, and would attack small rodents and snakes. But their biggest complaint from homesteaders was their loudness. Which is true, guineas are loud. However, we have plenty of land so it doesn’t bother anyone. But what seems to get left out is that guineas are also bullies. They will chase, peck, and otherwise harass your chicken flock no matter what you do. Our entire flock is completely free range, no fences, lots of waterers and feeders. I know how animals get angry and territorial when there is lack of food, water, or shelter. That is not an issue here. Know they are bullies, know they will be aggressive with your flock. Garden We have a garden that is about 80x40 feet with corn, tomatoes, pumpkins, potatoes, garlic, onions, peas, beans, zucchini, squash, cucumbers, lettuce, broccoli, brussel sprouts, carrots, and one sunflower. This is our second year planting in a large garden. In years past we had a small, micro garden in a rolling bed that could be rolled in the garage in bad weather and rolled into the driveway in good weather. Last year we had primarily tomatoes, peppers, and carrots in raised garden beds. We learned a lot from that previous garden. We learned we must harden off seedlings, we lost most of our seedlings last year due to lack of hardening off. We also learned the importance of weeding regularly, and to pay attention to sun and shade loving plants. This year, we built a great fence that has done wonderfully in keeping critters out of the garden. We built fence posts from trees from our own land, we have 8 foot tall fencing to keep deer out. We use wind chimes and ribbons to keep birds away, and these have been working wonderfully. In the adjacent field we have no ribbons or wind chimes and crows have eaten nearly an entire field of corn seeds. We didn’t have enough mulch to properly mulch the garden, however, and so our biggest enemies are the weeds. This year we intend to collect more mulch that we can use on our garden next year in hopes of diminishing that issue. The Wild We also are incorporating what is wild or already present on the property into our homestead. There are pear, apple, cherry, and peach trees on the property that are all beginning to fruit nicely. There are wild raspberries all over the edges of the forest. We have collected thousands of raspberries and cherries and made them into jams, raspberry lemonade, and frozen for smoothies and pie filling. We also are avid hunters and fishers and will be trying to fill in our needs from hunting and fishing. I intend to begin learning archery within the next year for both hobby and hunting. What’s Next? What’s next? We haven’t decided yet. We are looking into sheep, goats, cattle, rabbits, and swine at the moment. I haven’t worked much with livestock so I am in the research phase on all options. We are deciding what our goals are and which animals will be most helpful in meeting those goals. I also want to fully understand the needs of each animal so that I can ensure what we have available will best suit the livestock we do get. I personally lean towards sheep but some others on the homestead prefer goats, so I am learning about them all to see what will best benefit both our needs and the needs of the livestock. I want these creatures to live their best possible lives no matter if we use them for dairy or meat. I want them happy and healthy, they deserve nothing less. We intend at harvest to do canning, so far we have canned beans and jams. We know our garden isn’t big enough to support us for an entire year, which is a goal. But we know it will take years and practice to get to that point. To learn the best set up and the correct ratio of plants that we can eat during the summer and can for the winter. Come winter we intend to learn to make our own soaps. Both bar soap and laundry soap. I already make our deodorant and have for two years now. Much Love, Jessica Marie
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AuthorJessica Marie Cunningham - Intentional lifestyle blogger, aspiring author, and podcast host. All things Slow Living, Books, Writing, Art, creativity, Christianity, and personal stories. Archives
March 2022
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