Hello!

My goodness, I've been away from this space for longer than expected. I'm sure you all understand sometimes work and life just gets busy and there's not much time for anything else. My new job is going really well, but I am still working at my old job to help wind things up, so that is where much of my time and energy is focused right now. There is lots going on here on the homestead as well, so I thought I'd give you guys a quick update to show that we aren't just being lazy over here! ;)

We finished planting the vineyard! I say "we" but actually it was 99% David and 1% me. He worked really hard on this space, from cutting down trees and cleaning up the mess, to installing the support for the vines and finally getting them all planted. It took us several months from start to finish (check out more on that here) and we are both thrilled that the vines are in! PS - The blue tubes you see are grow tubes which act as a mini-greenhouse to get the vines growing.

The garden is coming along very well! We have so much planted, I can't even remember it all. Again, by "we" I mean mostly David haha. This year we went a bit crazy with starting tomato seeds that we saved from our tomatoes last year and had over 100 seedlings going under grow lights in the garage at one point. I ended up selling some plants to a coworker and we planted the majority of them in our garden. We didn't have enough space for them all in the garden beds, so many of them are in pots and other repurposed containers (like buckets).

Our main bee hive is doing incredibly well, but our split not so much. It's having a hard time getting up and going, and we are trying to figure out what's wrong and help it along as much as we can. But we are hopeful that we will be able to harvest a good amount of honey this year!

The animals are doing well and we actually gained a new guinea friend recently. One of our neighbor's guineas starting hanging around a couple weeks ago and now he won't leave. He's pretty entertaining, so we don't mind the extra company.

All the plants around the house are springing back to life and it is amazing to see the transformation. After the horrible winter, I just can't get enough of all the green out here!

I hope I can post again soon, but in the meantime, I just want to thank each of you who has checked in and sent sweet messages and emails to me letting me know I'm missed. It means so much that you would think of me and take time out of your day to say hello!

We have a busy weekend planned, but hopefully we can get some relaxation in to recharge before the new week starts. I hope we can get in at least a little hammock time :)

~Tammy

Back in the Garden

Over the weekend we were able to get in the garden and plant some seeds, and I can't tell you how good it felt! Spring is such a thrilling time of year, and the beginning of the gardening season is full of hope and promise.

For many months now, I've been waiting rather impatiently to plant the Red Russian kale seeds that my blogging buddy, Sue, sent me last year! I'm so excited to see how they do and try this variety of kale. I'm excited about the radishes as well, because I think the sprouts are just about as delicious as the actual radishes themselves (here is my favorite way to use the sprouts).

We have done a ton of work on our garden in the last year, with adding a lot of garden beds and fencing in the area to keep the critters out. We are adapting it as we go and see what works and what doesn't work from year to year.

I took this photo to show how bare it looks now, because I can't wait to take another photo in a few months and compare the before and after!

We tried to stay as frugal as possible when creating the garden beds and fence, so a lot of the wood is reused from other projects or from materials given to us by family (like the green beds you see up front). So it has a little bit of a hodge-podge look to it now - let's call it rustic haha - but when everything starts growing and blooming it will really fill in and look awesome. I can't wait!

~Tammy

PS - Congrats to Jennifer Wood on winning the seed starting giveaway! We will have another seed starting giveaway coming up in the next month or two, so be sure to check back for another chance to win.

Feathered Friend Friday: Goodbye Roosty Roo

You may have noticed there was no FFF last week, and I do apologize for not posting. So much was going on around that time and Roosty was very sick, so I didn't feel right publishing a post on that day.

Around Wednesday of last week, I noticed Roosty wasn't acting like his normal self. He was staying away from everyone and just standing with his head hanging down. On Thursday he was so bad that I decided to bring him into the house to try to figure out what was wrong. By Friday morning, he was lying down and not moving at all. I noticed his breathing was very shallow and I had a feeling that he wasn't going to make it through the day. I stayed with him as long as I could, but I had to go to work. So I said my goodbyes and left him. He was gone by the time I got home that night.

Roosty was supposed to be a girl. We got him at our local feed store in a bin labeled "pullets." But since chick sexing isn't 100% accurate, occasionally a boy gets thrown in the mix as well. At first we were disappointed, but he turned out to be such a sweet boy and fit into the flock well since he was submissive to our head rooster, Cam.

I told David the other day that I am really thankful that we got Roosty, because if someone else got him expecting a girl, when he turned out to be a boy they may have gotten rid of him. I feel like it was meant to be for us to bring him home. 

The one thing that homesteading has taught me which I didn't really expect, is to appreciate the moment because you never know when things will change. With keeping animals, you have to expect that you will lose them at some point. It's one thing to say you realize that, but it's another to actually live it and experience it firsthand. Through all our losses, I am reminded that time with those we love, whether human or animal, is a gift and we need to appreciate it every day.

Homesteading isn't all sunshine and roses, even though sometimes to an outsider it may appear that way. I choose to focus on the positive because that's just my personality, but I feel that it is important to also write about the disappointments because those are just as much a part of the journey as the good times.

~Tammy

Seed Starting Giveaway

Last year I teamed up with Plantation Products to bring my readers a giveaway, and I'm thrilled to say that we are once again partnering up this year! Today I am happy to host a wonderful seed starting giveaway featuring items from their NK Lawn & Garden line of products. One lucky reader will win a 7 pot seed starter kit and ten packets of seeds!

I was provided with a seed starter kit and seed packets for review purposes, so over the weekend I got to planting some asparagus and pepper seeds. What I really like about the seed starter pots is how much room there is for each plant to grow. The individual pots encourage root growth and since they are made of all natural fiber, the pots can be planted right into the ground once the seedlings are ready to go outside.

The best thing about the seeds, in my opinion, is how they are foil packed and hermetically sealed for freshness. This keeps the seeds viable and allows for higher germination rates because the seeds are less impacted by changes in temperature and humidity during storage.

I also appreciated how much information is provided on each seed packet. I could easily see how many plants I can expect to grow from one packet, and get detailed instructions on how and when to plant in my area. I found this so helpful since I am still fairly new to gardening and at times unsure of what conditions each individual plant needs to grow and thrive.

Gardening items from Plantation Products can be found at major retailers like Walmart and Lowe's in the lawn & garden section. Next time you're shopping, I would highly recommend stopping by the garden section to browse the available products from Plantation Products. Let me know if you pick up some of their items!

I think it is also important to note that Plantation Products does not sell any GMO seeds. You can read their GMO policy here for more information.

To enter the giveaway for one 7 pot seed starter kit and ten packets of hermetically sealed seeds as shown above, use the Rafflecopter form. Giveaway open to US residents only. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

~Tammy

Pumpkin Carving

We've been harvesting pumpkins around here since August, so we have racked up quite the count. I think in all, we were able to grow over 20 pumpkins this year! I kind of lost count a while back after we shared some with friends and family. Our pumpkin luck afforded us the luxury to simply grab a couple pumpkins off our front porch to carve earlier this week.

David chose one of the warty ones, and I chose one that looked easy to carve because my skills are lacking somewhat. I began carving out my classic design on my pumpkin when I noticed David was taking a much different direction with his.

A little crazy, right? He used one of our smaller butternut squash with the stem pointed out to act as the nose for the poor little guy in the big pumpkin's mouth. Then he had the idea to add some screws to the final product to complete the look.

Mine is very tame in comparison! Here they are side by side.

Did you carve pumpkins this year? I'd love to hear how yours turned out.

Happy Halloween!

~Tammy

PS - Don't forget to visit Daisy, Staci and Sue today for their posts in the Homemade Living series. Next week I will share my post along with Mary and Jackie. 

Feathered Friend Friday: Herbs For The Coop

Welcome to our "Feathered Friend Friday" series. Each Friday I write a post with interesting facts, photos, or funny stories about our chickens and guineas. If you need to catch up, you'll find all the Feathered Friend Friday posts here.   

Last weekend I gave the coop a good fall cleaning. I swept out the cobwebs, wiped everything down, sprinkled some diatomaceous earth on the coop floor and roosts, removed all the pine shavings and added several bags of fresh shavings on the coop floor. After reading Fresh Eggs Daily and learning about all the benefits of using herbs and flowers in your coop, I decided to cut some thyme, sage, lemon balm, and oregano for the floor of the coop as well.

In addition to making it smell wonderful in the coop, fresh herbs also have health benefits for your chickens and can repel bugs and rodents. Even if the chickens don't eat them, they will rub up against the herbs while scratching around in the shavings and release the scent and natural oils from the herbs - a sort of aromatherapy for chickens!

We also collected some herbs and flowers to dry out and use in the coop and nesting boxes over the winter when we don't have fresh herbs. Last night we got our first hard freeze, so I gathered even more herbs to dry for the chickens (and also for the humans of course).

Not only do herbs and flowers seem to make the chickens healthier and happier, I enjoy seeing some green and bright pops of color dotting the coop floor and nesting boxes. It just makes the chickens' home a happier one and I do like to spoil them whenever I can!

Do you use herbs in your chicken coop?

~Tammy

Shared with Backyard Farming Connection Hop 

Plant Garlic In 5 Easy Steps

I have been wanting to plant garlic for several years now, especially after seeing all the delicious uses for garlic scapes. I use garlic quite a bit in my cooking, and have recently learned about its antibiotic, antiviral, and antibacterial qualities, so that made me want to plant garlic that much more. Here's how we did it, and how you can plant garlic in five easy steps.

Step 1 - Buy your garlic.
We bought our garlic online here. We researched to see which variety was best for our area and went with a hardneck called German Extra Hardy. It can withstand very cold winters (we can dip down into the single digits here in Missouri) and also is great for long term storage. 

Step 2 - Prepare for planting.
Garlic needs plenty of sun to grow (at least six hours per day). We decided to plant ours in two smaller beds in the garden that get a good amount of sunlight. We cleared the weeds and worked the soil well until it was nice and loose while Sylvester supervised the operation.

Step 3 - Break apart the cloves.
The bulbs need to be broken up into individual cloves for planting, so we carefully separated each clove. I've read that it is best to leave the papery skin on the cloves to help prevent against rotting and disease, so we tried to keep the skin on when possible. 

Step 4 - Plant cloves in rows root end down.
We dug a furrow about three inches deep, and planted each clove several inches apart. Each row was at least six inches apart, and we were able to get three rows in each of our two garden beds. We made sure there was at least two inches of soil covering each row of cloves.

Step 5 - Cover with mulch.
I cleaned out the coop over the weekend, so we used the pine shavings with composted chicken manure on top of the garden beds. This will protect the garlic from the winter cold and also prevent weeds from growing up (a necessity since garlic doesn't compete well with weeds).

I was pleasantly surprised at how easy the process was, since for some reason I had it in my head that garlic was difficult to plant and grow. I've read that garlic actually doesn't require much maintenance, so I'm hoping for a good harvest next year. We'll definitely keep you updated on the progress!

Do you grow garlic in your garden?

~Tammy

Shared with From the Farm Blog Hop, Backyard Farming Connection Hop 

Mum's The Word

One of my favorite things about fall is seeing my mums begin to bloom again. To me, the season hasn't truly started until these lovely, bright flowers burst open with their vivid hues.

I have never had much luck with growing mums in containers (I think I water them too much) but I have found that they flourish in the ground. I love that after they are established, they are very low maintenance and don't require regular watering or attention. I do pick back any buds that appear before mid-July to encourage bushier growth and cut the plants way back in the early spring, but really that's about it.

Right now we only have a couple of mum plants, but hopefully we can add some more soon. They are one of my favorite flowers!

Do you grow mums in your garden?

~Tammy

Shared with Maple Hill Hop 

Homemade Living: Saving Tomato Seeds

I've always been intrigued by the idea of saving seeds from the current season's harvest to plant the following year. We've made plans in the past to save seeds, but for some reason just never got around to it. This year, we were determined to try it out with our tomatoes since we had success with several different varieties.

You may remember a previous post in this series where I wrote about our black cherry tomatoes and how they were my favorite from this year. In addition to the black cherries, we also had good luck with some red and yellow cherries, yellow pears, and San Marzanos.

In order to save the seeds, we picked the best tomatoes and waited until they were really ripe. We cut them in half, then squeezed out all the seeds and juice into a jar. To each jar, we added a little bit of water then covered the jar with plastic wrap and let it sit for 2-3 days.

You want the seeds and water mixture to ferment, so when a thin film is covering the seeds, they are ready to rinse and dry. Simply rinse the seeds in a fine mesh sieve until they are clean, then spread out to dry in a coffee filter or on parchment paper. Once the seeds are completely dry, they are ready for storage.

We labeled different envelopes with the name of each tomato seed so we wouldn't get them confused, and have the seeds stored in the envelopes for next year. I was surprised at how easy the seed saving process was, and I'm really excited to see how the seeds do in next summer's garden. But I think I'm most excited about the fact that we hopefully won't have to buy any tomato seeds next year!

Do you save any of your seeds?

~Tammy

This week in the Homemade Living series, I am joined by Mary and Jackie in posting about how we incorporate homemade items into our lives. Next week Daisy, Staci, and our new blogger, Sue, will be up. If you have some free time, please check out the other posts in this weekly series!

Shared with Cottage Tails, From the Farm Blog Hop  

Clearing The Camera

Here are some recent photos I've taken that I wanted to share. Go here if you'd like to see more photo posts.

Our marigolds have done so well this year! We're saving the flowers after deadheading so we can plant the seeds in our garden next year.

On Saturday I took my grandma to a local parade to see David's marching band. It was so cute to see her enjoying herself so much, waving at all the floats and clapping along to the music. She forgot her sunglasses, so I let her borrow some of mine. She thought she looked silly but I think she looked adorable.

90 years young!

I posted this photo on the blog's Facebook page over the weekend with the title "The Homesteader's Entourage." It was one of our most popular photos ever posted. If you aren't following along yet on Facebook, click here to like our page!

I've really been enjoying my play time in the woods lately. It brings out the kid in me!

We've been harvesting and using so much butternut squash lately (go here for a good soup recipe). I love the vivid orange color that greets me when I slice the squash in half.

Sylvester photobomb level: expert.

Our sweet little Emma kitty is getting fixed tomorrow morning. It makes me so sad when I have to drop off animals for surgery, but of course I know it's for the best. She has to stay overnight, so I'll be counting the minutes until I can pick her up on Wednesday evening.

Hope you've enjoyed a slice of our homestead.

~Tammy

Shared with Tuesday Muse 

Curried Butternut Squash Soup

I mentioned in my post on Monday that we've been harvesting a lot of butternut squash lately. It's our first year to grow it, and I'm so thrilled with how well the squash has taken off. Last year we saved some seeds from an organic butternut squash that I bought at the store and planted the seeds in our garden this summer. I'm so glad we did, because now we are really reaping the benefits.

This pasta is one of our favorite ways to use butternut squash, but since fall is here, I was on the hunt for a creamy, velvety soup using the squash. I decided on a recipe for a vegan curried butternut squash soup with coconut milk, and it was so delicious!

Curried Butternut Squash Soup
via Daydream Kitchen

Ingredients:
1 medium - large butternut squash
2T olive oil
1 cup carrots, chopped
1 cup onions, chopped
2t curry powder
1t garam masala
1t ground cumin
14 oz full-fat coconut milk
4 cups vegetable stock
Salt & pepper

Directions:
1) Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Cut squash in half lengthwise and remove the seeds. Drizzle each half with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Place squash cut side down on a baking sheet and roast for 30-45 minutes or until tender (I lined my baking sheet with parchment paper for easy clean up). When cool, remove the skin and reserve squash for later.
2) Drizzle a large soup pot with olive oil and add carrots, onion, and a sprinkle of salt & pepper. Saute until tender, about 8-10 minutes.
3) Add curry powder, garam masala, and cumin. Stir well and let the spices heat through for a minute or so, then add in the coconut milk, vegetable stock, and roasted butternut squash.
4) Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer for 15-20 minutes, breaking up the squash and stirring the soup every few minutes.
5) Use an immersion blender (or a regular blender in batches) to puree soup to desired consistency. Garnish with sage leaves and serve immediately. You can refrigerate the soup for up to a week or freeze for later.

I topped my soup off with a sprinkle of cinnamon and a drizzle of honey, and it was perfect! It is so creamy thanks to the coconut milk, and the spices add a wonderful warmth. The squash lends such a deep golden color to the soup, which completely embodies the comfort and feel of the season.

What is your favorite way to eat butternut squash?

~Tammy

This week in the Homemade Living series, I am joined by Mary and our new blogger Jackie in posting about how we incorporate homemade items into our lives. Next week Daisy, Staci, and Amber will be up. If you have some free time, please check out the other posts in this weekly series!

Shared with The Backyard Farming Connection, Down Home Blog Hop, Healthy Vegan Friday, What I Am Eating, From the Farm Blog Hop     

Year In Review

Tomorrow marks the two year anniversary of this little blog of ours (you can see our very first ever post here), so as we did last year this time, we thought it would be fun to look back on the past year and see what all we've accomplished. Sometimes it seems like we aren't moving fast enough toward our goals, but seeing a list of all we've achieved in the last year is very encouraging and keeps us excited to continue our journey to self-sufficiency. Here's what we've been up to this past year.

1) Expanded our flock of guineas when one of our hens went broody and hatched out her own keets.

2) Got our first big snow since moving to the country and learned about being prepared for winter storms.

3) Tried our hand at making maple syrup (part 1 and part 2) from our own maple trees.

4) Contributed to our first e-book, Farm to Table through the Year.

5) Developed an easy (and beautiful!) method for drying herbs from our garden.

6) Delved into the world of beekeeping when we brought home our first nuc colony.

7) Added to our flock with five new pullets.

8) Witnessed the magic firsthand of letting a broody hen hatch out her own chicks.

9) Rescued two tiny kittens (Gizmo and Emma) who just appeared in our chicken coop one day.

10) Successfully transplanted fig trees from my grandma's garden and harvested our first figs.

11) Had great luck with planting cucumbers for the first time.

12) Opened an Etsy shop to sell prints of photos taken on our homestead.

13) Grew sunflowers for the first time.

14) Built our own reclaimed wood farmhouse table.

15) Tried a new heirloom variety of tomatoes with great success.

We're really proud of all we've learned this past year and can't wait to see where the next year takes us. We hope you'll continue to follow along in our journey!

~Tammy and David

Homemade Living: Black Cherry Tomatoes

Cherry tomatoes are my absolute favorite type of tomatoes, so we always make sure to plant plenty of them each year. Early this season when we made our order for seeds, one new type of cherry tomatoes really caught my eye - an heirloom variety known as black cherry. The description of this tomato promised that the seeds would yield highly prolific, bushy plants that produced juicy, sweet, full-flavored tomatoes. Sounded great to me! And I have to say, these plants have really delivered. I don't even remember how many we ended up planting, but they have gone crazy and each day we harvest loads of their little gems.

They are delicious fresh as a snack or tossed into salads, but my all-time favorite thing to do with my cherry tomatoes is roast them. I just cut them in half, drizzle with a little olive oil, sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper, then cook at 400 degrees F for about 20-30 minutes, checking at 10 minute intervals to make sure they don't burn. When they are roasted, the flavors intensify and the juices transform into the most savory, full-flavored sauce you could ever imagine (I like to call it "tomato jam").

Once roasted, if not used immediately, you can store them in the refrigerator for up to a week or you can freeze for up to 6 months. But I have a hard time not diving into them right away! My favorite way to eat them is to toast some sourdough bread, slather on plenty of homemade mayonnaise or goat cheese and top with the roasted "tomato jam" and fresh basil from the garden. It is the ultimate summer meal!

What is your favorite variety of tomatoes?

~Tammy

This week in the Homemade Living series, I am joined by Mary and our new blogger Jackie in posting about how we incorporate homemade items into our lives. Next week Daisy, Staci, and Amber will be up. If you have some free time, please check out the other posts in this weekly series!

Shared with Tuesday Muse 

Early Pumpkin Harvest

It seems that fall has decided to make an appearance a little early here on our homestead because we are already harvesting pumpkins!

We've never grown pumpkins before so we were really excited to have a little pumpkin patch this year. And it was totally free! Last fall, one of David's students gave him a pumpkin and we saved the seeds and planted them in our garden this spring. The vines have been spreading like crazy over the past couple months and it has been so much fun to watch the pumpkins grow.

I really couldn't believe how the pumpkins were growing so rapidly. In just a few short weeks they reached full size and the color began to morph from green to orange. It was so amazing to watch the tiny specks of orange grow day by day until the pumpkins were ripe. And I'm not sure how the one got all the warts, but I think it is so cool! We have some more pumpkins ripening on the vine at the moment, so I can't wait to see what they look like when they're ready to pick.

Have you ever grown pumpkins?

~Tammy

PS - Don't forget to visit Meg and Staci today for their posts in the Homemade Living series. Next week I will share my post along with Daisy and Mary.

Shared with From the Farm Blog Hop 

Sunflower Patch

When I was a pre-teen, sunflowers were my absolute favorite flower of all time. I had a matching sunflower necklace and earring set that I wore religiously and one of my favorite birthday gifts was a pillow my grandma made for me with a cheery sunflower motif. Today my love of sunflowers is manifested in a more natural form in my small sunflower patch in the middle of the back yard.

These couldn't have been easier to grow - we simply planted the seeds early this spring and let mother nature take care of the rest. We have had a lot of rain over the past month, and just recently the sunflowers have gone through a major growth spurt! I'm just over five feet tall and many of these are already way above my head. Their quick growth has been amazing to witness.

I smile whenever I see the bright yellow blooms popping up from a sea of green in the back yard. It's a little unexpected burst of color that really makes me happy.

Do you grow sunflowers in your garden?

~Tammy

Shared with Tuesday Muse, From the Farm Blog Hop, Our Beautiful World