INTRODUCTION
Homestead Roots Newsletter - 8/15/2024

In early July Ingrid warned me about some busy weeks ahead! She was so right! Thankfully it feels like the worst is behind us. We ended up with a scenario where the boys were gone, we had lots going on, and the garden was hitting its peak. We’ve got our boys back now and the workload is more spread out which feels good. Homeschool prep is starting now, as the garden and farmstand remain very busy!

HOMESTEAD UPDATE
The last turkey has died.

All has been going well on the homestead! We’ve had some good rains the last couple of weeks which means pastures are green and the animals are enjoying the bounty. For the first time our goat pasture is producing good forage for the goats. After clearing… MANY… trees it has taken some time for the ground to recover and start producing some greens for the animals.

We have meat chickens that are about 3 weeks old at the moment. They have been growing really well, we are just trying to make sure we keep their food and water topped off at this stage to help the thrive. So far so good! They will go out in the chicken tractor in the next couple of weeks. The chicken tractor is just a moveable pen without a floor. It protects the birds while also giving them access to fresh grass and insects. Most of their diet will still come from their feed but they do forage well also.

I finally got around to measuring the pigs. I found weights from 170 to 217. There is definitely one big pig and one little pig. The other 3 are somewhere in the middle. I am pleased with those weights. We have about 45 days left of growth and the internet says pigs should be gaining about 1.5 lbs per day. That would put my big pig just under 300 lbs and my littlest pig at around 230. I will keep watching them closely and am going to start reaching out to customers as well.

Our final turkey died. Starting with 6 eggs we hatched out 5 and lost all 5. So… back to the drawing board on turkeys! The laying hens, goats and ducks are all doing great!

Ingrid did some food rescue in the past couple of weeks, canning up both pineapple and potatoes. Both were items that were going to be thrown away. With stuff like potatoes and onions it is a shame to see them thrown out because they have such a long shelf life!

MARKET GARDENING
Looking for the finish line

We continue to set sales records at the farmstand. Ingrid and I look at each other at the end of the week and seriously wonder where all the food is coming from. It often feels like a loaves and fishes type of scenario! God is good. Our gardens have done really well this year, chalk that up to good weather and more experienced growers. We are harvesting every day, while also working hard to find time for weeding, planting and other farm maintence.

As August rolls around we definitely starting looking for the finish line. August is a notorious time for farmer burn out. Neither of us is feeling burned out at this time, but we are working hard to stay focused and stick to the plan and see what has been a great year through to the finish. In past years we have closed things down at the end of September. Last year however, we had plenty of food into October. So this year we are going to see how long we can keep things open. The end of September and October will certainly be more casual but a little extra income will be nice.

I have been working hard with our local NRCS office to finalize our application for a new high tunnel. There has been some paperwork but the people helping me through it have been amazing. We will hopefully find out if we got the grant in November. We will then order a new tunnel for delivery in the spring. We will need to take down the tunnel in the picture above and move it so we can install our new tunnel. I have tried every which way to avoid taking down a tunnel but haven’t been able to find room in our small space. So that is the plan for now!