Winter chills bring on new homestead projects and thoughts! In the lull of losing the last of the garden to frost (not that we had a huge garden to lose) I feel excited for next year.

I guess this is the time of dreaming big without having the magnitude of labor really in my face! It’s the time of year to think so big it’s almost silly. Come March when the work needs to be done practicality will set in. For now let’s have some fun!

Worm Farm

On a trip to one of my favorite bookstores I saw two copies of “Worms Eat My Garbage” by Mary Appelhof. I know that soil building is a huge part of our homestead’s future. At a farmer’s market I saw a small bag of worm casings going for quite the price! With these two past experiences in mind I bought both copies and headed home. I’m waiting for a friend to have interest so I can give them the other copy.

This winter the plan is to read through the book and start outlining what we need and what my setup will look like. When I think of our trash can with food scraps or long abandoned leftovers, I think of the nutrients leaving our farm. We already spent the cash and the fuel to get those nutrients here! Then it costs more fuel to haul our trash to the transfer station!

That’s one thing I like about the worm farm. It’s another way to capture and recycle nutrients that are leaving the kitchen (or at least aren’t making it onto our plates). We do have a compost barrel on the lawn. We just haven’t seemed to use it effectively. We overshot with our browns once and haven’t quite recovered! From a quick page flip, the worms may breakdown what we compost into something the plants can more readily use.

Beekeeping, one of the (near?) future homestead projects

Beekeeping is on the mind. I lurk on many beekeeping groups, for years now. During the pandemic, Penn State Extension offered many virtual classes for free, and I completed the beekeeping course. Two beekeeping books sit on the Homestead Shelf. (Truthfully one is actually sitting on the couch at the moment – this project really is on my mind!)

Depending on how much income is generated this winter, I think beekeeping is one of the near future homestead projects for us. We need to look for local mentors and decide on which equipment we’ll build and which we’ll buy. I need to post a notebook by the backdoor and start taking notes on the microclimates around the homestead. This is good for the garden plan and for deciding where to put bees.

The preliminary plan is to expect no harvest the first year while we go through learning pains and while the bees become established. And investing in good, safe suit is a must! We have several building plans for hives and frames. We’ll have to do the good ol’ cost analysis and decide if we want to buy things premade or if it makes sense to build.

I know the work bench is on the “to-do” list, and we haven’t had too many homestead projects run through our little shop lately. We’ll have to decide later on how far this project gets off the ground.

Garden Goals

This past year marks the first growing season in our new zone 7b. Unless you count the garden I tried to keep on our apartment patio, where the cat viciously ate all the broccoli and cabbage plants. I don’t count that as our first attempt!

Last season we poured over Burpee catalogs and photos and ordered lots of seeds and onion sets. We prepped the ground and planted in March. Shortly after the Ford’s issues sent it to the dealership. While getting a ride back home (our Sorento was still at ITS dealership for months) the friendly driver told James that his father didn’t plant until Good Friday.

That guy’s father was right. Temperatures dipped, the garden struggled, and in honesty, life got in the way and we didn’t work our plan. I still have a few broccoli plants out there that finally got thicker stems but never produced or got much taller than 5 inches. And not a single onion made it through. The grape tomatoes manage to produce a few tomatoes, despite constantly being munched on by deer.

This coming year our focus is on vegetables we love to eat, and to try and get two veggies onto every lunch and dinner plate.

trying to keep green beans safe from ducks and deer

Sour Dough Starter

This is the year! A starter keeps popping in my head. The last visit to Sam’s Club didn’t have the sourdough bread bowls and the last visit to Publix had me searching every baguette bin for sourdough. I’m ready for the feeding and baking commitment!

It is a bit cooler in the house this time of year – I don’t know if that will slow growth enough to make my new starter easier to manage, or if I’ll wind up hibernating it before it’s going. This project is firmly in the “doable” pile. Check out our first failed attempt here.

Herb Garden

In these winter months and right before the New Year Resolutions start, last year’s eating habits are in review. I’m envisioning flavor-packed sauces, freshness infused with fresh picked herbs, and packing in those polyphenols – the goodness in herbs that we identify, know are great for us, yet don’t know how exactly they work.

Since we’re rusty with identifying herbs, this will likely be a container type garden to make identifying weeds and stowaways a bit easier. Maybe we’ll discover more recipes to share!

Future Homestead Projects Wrap Up

These are my winter musings so far on our fantasy upcoming season. What homestead projects are y’all planning for next year?

Cheers!

Elisabeth