The first thought I had once the lock-down began in March was a joking, “better start a Victory Garden, I guess!” I assumed the shelter-in-place orders would actually only be for the specified three weeks. I didn’t have any idea how true this thought was. Over the next days and weeks, I quickly learned I couldn’t be more wrong. We’re almost six months in to stay-at-home mandates and there’s no end in sight, a lot of people have done just that–modern day Victory Gardens have sprung up all over the place and homesteads are having a new heyday! I am currently very inspired by the homesteading trend, and am hoping to start homesteading myself!
Since we became homeowners several months ago, we’ve been thinking about what to do with the 2.4 acres it’s on. Currently, there are a few fruit trees (not thriving mind you), some 6 pine trees that line the road, 4 sago palms on our driveway, and 4 rosebushes in the front, along with three rows for grapevines that were torn out before we bought the house (the horror!) Thankfully we have a few “volunteer” grape plants returning. I would be very happy for them never to have been torn out in the first place.
Our Current Situation
In the back, there’s an acre and a half of oat grass and weeds, along with our well & 3000 gallon tank, a couple old structures, a small backyard area, an old chicken run, and two storage sheds. We have a lot of goals for the area in terms of our future homesteading needs.
The front of the property slopes down towards the street. We are thinking of doing most of our gardening down the front of that hill. That way, drip irrigation can work better through gravity. It would also allow us to keep animals in the back without worrying about them getting into our food source. Currently we have about half an acre fenced off for our horse, Sassy. That’s only a temporary solution until I can move our fence forwards quite a bit to give her more space. I am hoping she will have 0.75-1 acre to hang out in.
The Dream
I am hoping to build up to growing all the vegetables we need. This includes special veggies for our bearded dragon and extra carrots for miss Sassy (the horse!) Probably for the first few years I will focus on staples, like lettuces, carrots, tomatoes, potatoes, etc. In the future I’d like to branch out into more exotic produce. I already have several tomato plants and some herbs growing this year, but unfortunately we moved a little late in the growing season to get much more than that started. (We’re pretty busy remodeling our home interior this year, so I am hoping to be done with the initial portion in the next few months so we can start focusing on the outside of the house!) I wish I had been able to begin more homesteading efforts this year, but for now I am in the research phase.
New Animal Arrivals
Since there’s already a little chicken run in the yard, I’ve been craving chicks every trip to the feed store. I know it’s best to wait until we’re a little more settled in. We’re still adjusting to life in a new place. We adopted a new puppy and a new horse friend, and we are still getting used to life with them. And of course, we also have entirely new situations happening all around us due to the global situation. Waiting until next spring to get chicks will be better for us, and for them. I’m incredibly excited for fresh eggs, though! Southern Revival’s Fancy Farmhouse DIY Chicken Coop has inspired me to build them an even more lux situation when I have the chance.
John also wants to get goats. I think it’s mostly so he doesn’t have to mow as much, but I’m a big fan of that idea! We have no plans to milk them or raise meat goats for now. I am okay with buying those things at the store for the time being, but I am excited just to have them!
I’m super excited to see where this new journey takes us!