BABY CHICKS! Also - how I eat an elephant.
It’s finally feeling like SPRING!
You know spring has arrived on the farm when your canning up the sprouting potatoes from the root cellar, enjoying sunsets after 8pm, and your compost piles are reaching epic heights from starting to clear out the bedding from winter animal housing. Also, did I mention our egg basket is OVERFLOWING!?
We did it. We survived another winter!
And though we’re never totally free-from-flurries until May here in Michigan, the majority of the snow for the season is done and we can finally start working outside again. And oh, is the fresh air SO appreciated! (For me, and my little people!)
Working on the elephant…
I feel like the old saying, “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time…” is my life motto. As a mama to many littles, I rarely get large blocks of time to work on ANYTHING. So I’ve tried to adjust my mentality over the years to just get done what I can in 5-25 minute increments. Little by little. One bite at a time.
For the next month, my biggest “elephant” is the garden!
Though technically I have two gardens, the main garden plot next to the house is my initial focus in the spring because it is usually the one that needs the most work. Also - it gets planted earlier. The other plot is primarily reserved for all warm-weather crops that don’t go in until June so it can stand to be ignored for a little while yet.
I won’t be officially planting anything for a few more weeks - however there are a lot of remnants from last year that need to be cleared out, walk ways that need to be refreshed, compost that needs to be spread… oh and I still need to paint the inside of our new fence at some point too!
I’m so excited to share the progress of our garden(s) with you throughout this coming season!
If you are looking to start your own garden, don’t forget we are hosting two gardening classes on farm this year. The first one - an Intro to Organic Gardening - is coming up in just a few weeks and I still have a few spaces available! If you live within driving distance, I would love to have you join!
Please reserve your spot so I can plan for you here.
Baby chicks are here!
Our brooder is officially up and running for the year - round 1 of baby chicks has arrived! We have 110ish meat chickens in our first batch.
It’s always a gamble getting meat chickens early in the spring. This particular breed (Cornish cross) do not do well with cold temperatures… so getting them early can mean we might potentially need to keep them in a heated brooder for 3-4 weeks (or more) versus 2.
BUT, if the weather does end up being warm in our favor - we have the joy of processing a batch before the June and July heat sets in (which is always appreciated) AND getting fresh chicken to our customers that much sooner!
(We are already 50% sold out for the year which is such a blessing. If you would like to reserve some chicken for your family - you can find all the details for ordering here!)
Only 3 more days!
If you haven’t grabbed a copy of my ebook - A Simple Guide to Easier Weed Management - yet along with the other 100+ resources of this spring’s Off Grid Homesteading bundle, you only have a few days left!
The offer ends for good April 1st at midnight EST. Thank you SO much for everyone who has ordered with my affiliate link! It’s such a blessing to have your support and I can’t wait for you to dig in a see everything there is to learn from this collection.
I hope the weather is warming up where you are too. Have a wonderful week!
Blessings from our little homestead,
Beth
Ps. If you love following along on our homesteading journey and want to support us + receive even more inspiration - please consider joining our membership! It’s only $5/month - all the details of what’s included available here.
