What to Expect When You're... Homesteading?

Hey guys! Welcome to our blog where we tackle all things homesteading! I am Jordan, mother, wife, and caretaker of all things homestead. I'm glad you've come to join us on this journey and hope that you learn right along with us!

Our goal right now is to post one video blog a week with a corresponding blog post. Each week will be something different. Some things that I know more about will be more educational, some will be recipes, some will be things that I am learning while recording, and all things will be a fun adventure!

Introductions

My name is Jordan. I am not quite yet 30 and am a mother, wife, caretaker, gardener, lawn mower, planner, organizer, and budgeter. I used to be a third-grade teacher, but in May of 2020 quit teaching to become a foster parent and help my husband start his business.

My husband's name is Trevor. He just turned 30 and is a father, husband, caretaker, business owner, money-maker, friend, and helping hand! He runs his over the road trucking business the majority of the time, but when he is home, he helps with everything from changing diapers to mowing the yard to cooking and cleaning and everything in between.

In late October of 2020, we started fostering two three-week-old twin boys straight from the NICU. We instantly fell in love with them and haven't ever stopped. In mid-July of 2022, we adopted Scott and Axel and officially welcomed them into the family! Scott is our timid child. He will only do things with help, approval, or after seeing Axel do it. He is calculating with everything he does, and while he does explore, he needs some encouragement to do so. He loves puzzles and sorting games. Axel is spunky and gets into absolutely everything. For fun he runs in circles until he is dizzy and falls over. He talks to strangers without being prompted, climbs everything, and loves all things music.

We have so many animals already and have really only just begun. Our house dogs are Bear (9 years old), Buttercup (8 years old), and Bandit (5 years old). They are all large breed dogs, so they're getting older. The house cat is Theo (5 years old) and is a fantastic hunter. We have one outside pup named Oreo (few months old), and three outside mousers: Midnight, Sprite, and Bunny (all only a few months old).

Homestead

In late spring 2022, we decided to sell our first home and move closer to family. We were busting at the seams of that house and just needed more space. We put our first house on the market and found our forever home right around the same time. In late July 2022 (one week exactly after adopting the boys), we sold our first home and one week exactly after that, we bought this home with its 10 acres.

Our goals have always been to have some land and a bit of a farm, but we didn't think it'd be possible for us for a few more years. Now we have tons of space and have planned and measured and calculated so we can accommodate everything we want in due time.

The first six or so months we spent purchasing equipment for the farm, moving in, unpacking boxes, and painting every room in the house. And now we're here ready to begin improving our home and land to better fit our needs.

So, this is where this blog/vlog come in.

We are getting ready to start improving our land to meet our needs more. This includes things like building compost bins, gardening, managing the orchard, spreading gravel, raising chickens, rabbits, goats, and possibly cows, sheep, and pigs, beekeeping, growing the orchard, fencing in areas for livestock, improving the home and outdoor living space, and organizing everything so it all runs as smoothly as possible.

But Why Vlog?

Recording everything we do to improve the land is important to me for several reasons.

• Monitor progress. We will be doing so much every year, especially these first few years, to get things the way we want them to be. I want to be able to look back in one year, two years, three years, and on and be able to say, "Wow! We've come such a long way!"

• Learning and growth. By recording myself and posting for the world to see, maybe I can teach you something, or someone else can teach me something (kindly). I can also self-reflect. Maybe something I do one year doesn't turn out as well as I hoped. I can reflect on how it went wrong and fix it for the next year.

• Hands-on learning approach. It is important to us that the boys learn using hands-on methods. Often those hands-on activities are super fun albeit messy and more time consuming. Nonetheless, I want to document all the exciting things we do together!

Goals for 2023

In 2023, we hope to accomplish four main goals:

1. Grow a successful garden. This includes thinning the strawberry patch, planting asparagus, growing annual vegetables, getting the compost bin put together, and doing everything possible to get the orchard to produce more.

2. Can and store everything we harvest. We will can things we grow throughout the year, so we have plenty to eat on over the winter and when certain vegetables and fruits are out of season. In order to do this, we will have to put together storage for fruits and vegetables in the basement (potatoes, apples, onions, garlic, squashes, etc.) and reinforce the shelves that will be holding all the canned goods.

3. Raise chicks. We plan on setting up a brooder, getting the coop ready for them, and setting up alternative sources of feed for them to eat over the winter when they cannot forage for bugs. We will set up a mealworm system, try our hand at collecting black soldier fly larvae, and get the winter fodder system up and running.

4. Record and document everything!

We are so excited to start this journey with you all! Until next time!