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Here is your warning. On this episode we are talking about butchering the pigs.
If you don't wan to hear it? Don't listen!
Butchering The Pigs*****TrIgGEr Warning****
Our Homestead
Let’s Chat About The Hard Stuff: Death and Birth
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If you want to watch the birth click here: https://youtu.be/A2hvwJM2xl4
Hey Guys! It’s Leigh with Steel Raven Farms! On this podcast, we talk about all the trial and error, successes and wins on the homestead. We have been homesteading for the last several years and I have been a gardener and canner for over a decade. But as always, I am still learning and I want to take you along with me on that journey.
Think of me as your partner in crime, co-chaos creator, ear to listen, and never, ever the voice of reason.
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Should You Get A Greenhouse
Normally, I would give you a straight answer here so you didn’t have to read through roughly 1200 words unless you wanted to. But on this one, the answer of should you get a greenhouse is it depends. There are a lot of factors that come into deciding to get a greenhouse. Then you have narrow down how you are going to use it, the types of plants and finally the type of greenhouse. So instead of giving you a straight answer, I’m going to help you make a decision.
The Ultimate Homesteader’s Starter Bundle – Only $47!
Get the tools you need to stay organized, track profits, and manage your homestead with ease!
Includes:
✅ Schedule F Tracker – Simplify tax prep
✅ Profit Calculator – Track earnings
✅ Hay Calculator – Plan livestock feed
✅ Garden Journal – Digital & printable
✅ Herd Health Tracker – Monitor animal care
✅ Simple Budget – Manage finances
✅ Backyard Homestead eBook – Essential tips
$99 value – now just $47! Start your homesteading journey today!
Before You Get A Greenhouse, Ask Yourself…
I am all about treating yourself and getting things you want. Even if there is absolutely no purpose for the thing. But before you drop a couple thousand, or more, on a greenhouse, really ask yourself why you want a greenhouse.
Why Do You Want A Greenhouse?
Everyone will have different answers for this and it is solely based on your needs. We built our greenhouse because of our dog Blu. That’s not fair, we built the greenhouse for a lot of reasons but her longevity was high on the list.
Blu is a German Shepherd/ Great Pyrenees cross and she is massive. She is notorious for smashing her face into windows to raise hell at whatever has dared come into her yard. It doesn’t matter what or who is in the window when she goes nuts, but I can guarantee you, if it is fragile it’s probably ruined.
In 2023, she knocked over 100+ tomato starts, about 50 pepper starts and another batch of melon, eggplant, and cuke starts. We learned our lesson the hard way that a greenhouse is safer for our plant starts.
But if you don’t have a Blu, you may not need a greenhouse.
Another reason to consider getting a greenhouse would be to lengthen your growing season. Now, this would be more for a high tunnel like this but you may find that a traditional greenhouse would work well for you too.
Are you looking for garden journal prompts, but aren’t interested in a weekly email? Check out our 365 Garden Journal Prompts! This is an amazing, all in one, yearly product that you only pay for once.
What Type Of Plants Are You Putting In A Greenhouse
For us, the greenhouse was for plant starts and some tropical stuff like citrus, coffee, and ginger plants. But mostly, the greenhouse is for our plant starts. So before you start sinking hundreds and thousands of dollars into a greenhouse, really think about the things that you are going to put into the greenhouse.
If you are only putting plant starts in your greenhouse, something small like this would probably be a good choice. Especially if you are starting smaller batches of starts.
But the more plants you are trying to house, the larger the greenhouse needs to be. Let’s not mention there are about a billion different styles of greenhouses.
Different Kinds Of Greenhouses
There are traditional glass greenhouses, plastic hoop house greenhouses, small transplant greenhouses, and even cold frames. But at the end of the day, a greenhouse is a glass or plastic structure that will grow plants. So don’t get hung up on which one is better than another. It really depends on what you are going to use it for.
If you are only starting plant starts in it, then something small and plastic that can sit on the sunny part of a deck would work beautifully. If you are looking to grow food in it, then a plastic high tunnel may be better suited. Or if you are looking to extend your growing season, I would also consider a high tunnel.
The glass window greenhouses are pretty out of date when you are looking at a production greenhouse. The simple reality is that there are so many other options when it comes to greenhouses. And you can usually built them MUCH cheaper than a glass one. My friend over at The Homesteading RD had a great post about what kind of plastics to use.
Are you getting overwhelmed in the garden? Stressed? Or just not enjoying the garden like you used to? Check out our garden prompts! We send out weekly emails that get you back in the garden and out of your head! Turn the garden back into a place of love and joy instead of frustration and headache!
Making The Decision To Get A Greenhouse
Jared wanted a greenhouse from the get go. He wanted to be able to grow year round and while I didn’t disagree with him, I didn’t want to spend that kind of money on a greenhouse when we already have a 200+ day growing season.
But as we really got into homesteading and farming, I realized that having a greenhouse really would help us.
Getting Our Greenhouse
Since our living room is so small, and it’s the only room that gets a good amount of light and heat, we really struggled with getting our plant starts started. Then we had to deal with Blu, kids, cats, and other issues with having 300+ starts in the house.
So I asked Jared to build me a greenhouse. I told him that I wanted a window plane greenhouse that was huge. I didn’t want to build something small and then outgrow it. The poor man is a military guy, who wants everything dress right dress. Then there’s me, the girl who loves crazy colors, abstract, and nothing that actually matches.
But Jared indulged me, and I love my greenhouse.
Our greenhouse is 12ft x16ft with 2 decks on the front. It’s got a sliding glass door on one side and a regular door on the other. The main structure is painted black and there are 5 different paint colors for the windows. We used tin on the “holes” and bottom to help keep it insulated but also rustic.
In between the decks, I have a small 4ftx4ft raised bed that will house Felix Felicis, our christmas tree. It will also have a couple other plants that will hopefully vine out from the greenhouse.
Inside, there is plenty of room for racks and racks of plant starts, storage for pots, tools, and more. It is probably my most favorite place on the homestead, except my gardens.
I even have my hammock set up in the corner (not pictured) so that I can hang out in the greenhouse.
Finishing The Greenhouse
There is still a ton of work left to do on the greenhouse. Things like painting, running power, putting in fans, and, of course, more plants. But those things can take time. The structure is up and able to receive plants.
Getting Your Greenhouse
Our greenhouse has cost us about $8,000 in material and probably another $4,000 in labor. But man, she is a gorgeous building and I couldn’t be happier with her.
But when you are looking at getting your own greenhouse, really make sure that it is something that you will like and use. If not, you will probably not be as happy with your greenhouse. As frilly and weird as my greenhouse is, if it wasn’t? I probably wouldn’t use it.
When you are looking at your greenhouse options, make sure that you are getting the greenhouse that you want, will work for you and is within your budget. Don’t be afraid to go all out to make it something beautiful that you will want to spend time in.
If you are a farmer/ homesteader and looking for a way to track your income and expenses, I highly recommend our Schedule F Tracker! We have been using it for years and it is the easiest, fastest and best way that we have found to keep track of the money spent on the homestead.
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Homesteading: A Day In The Life
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Hey Guys! It's Leigh with Steel Raven Farms! Today I wanted to talk to you about what a day in the life of this homesteader. I want to mention that every single homestead is going to look different! It could be because you or your partner work full time. It could be because you don't have livestock or your animals are different than mine.
If you are in the research phase, I want you to remember that homesteading is a very individual thing. Sure, you can have similarities between farms, but the reality is that every single homestead is going to look different because every person is different.
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How To Start A Homestead
I can’t and won’t tell you how to start a homestead. Each homesteader is going to have different ideas, wants, desires, goals, etc. So to give you a step by step guide is pretty pointless. But what I am going to do, is tell you how I would have done it when we started. I am going to give you the tips and tricks I wish I had known prior to starting out. Because to tell you how to start a homestead would be amazing, it’s not going to work for everyone.
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Get the tools you need to stay organized, track profits, and manage your homestead with ease!
Includes:
✅ Schedule F Tracker – Simplify tax prep
✅ Profit Calculator – Track earnings
✅ Hay Calculator – Plan livestock feed
✅ Garden Journal – Digital & printable
✅ Herd Health Tracker – Monitor animal care
✅ Simple Budget – Manage finances
✅ Backyard Homestead eBook – Essential tips
$99 value – now just $47! Start your homesteading journey today!
Before You Start A Homestead
Before you start looking for properties, you need to set your homesteading goals. Do you want to raise or grow all your own food? Are you looking to make money? Is this a retirement plan? You really need to dig deep about why you want to start your homestead and start journaling everything.
The reason this comes first is because you are going to need to know what kind of land you need for the goals you have. When we started looking at properties, we found one that we absolutely fell in love with. It was at the top of a mountain with 15 acres and a ton of boulders. As you can imagine, living on a mountain would have a lot of challenge like, steep cliffs, rocky soil, and outbuilding issues.
Because we knew what we wanted to do on the property, we knew that doing those things on a mountain would be extremely difficult.
After Setting Your Goals
You should consider your goals with every single property that you look at. Is there enough land for your goals? Can you work the land without a lot of initial investment? Is the layout of the land going to work with your principles, goals and ideals?
If you find a property that has a ton of pasture, fencing, and outbuildings, only to find out that the land was used to grow GMO corn? That may not line up with your ideals of organic farming. While that land is already set up to farm, it’s going to take years to repair that soil.
If your property is completely raw, you are going to put a TON of work into it to get it where you want it. Our property was almost completely raw. No outbuildings, no gardens, and minimal pastures. So we have spent a lot of time and money getting everything set up. And we aren’t even close to being done.
Researching Laws On Your Homestead
If you are planning on homesteading, but your county or state laws require all sorts of regulations, make sure you know what they are before you buy that property. The sale of raw milk recently became legal in the state of Georgia. But there are a lot of regulations to go with it. Same with cow sharing and meat purchases. Don’t sink all your money into a property only to find out later that you can’t do the things you want to do.
If we had just started selling raw milk when we first started, we would have ended up in law suits with possible jail time. It’s better to know what you’re getting into before your hip deep in problems.
Start an LLC, S Corp or Similar
Research which of these business options make the most sense to you, your property and your goals. But whatever it is, get it started before you buy the first fence post, animal, bag of feed, you name it. If possible get an EIN number or other tax applications done. You want to make sure you are tracking every purchase.
This will lower your tax burden and allow you to *hopefully* get some money back at the end of the year.
I use this tracker to make sure that I am getting as much back on my taxes as possible.
After Buying Your Property
Once you’ve committed, or purchased a property, I want you to sit with it for a minute. Especially if you are a brand new homesteader! Don’t start digging a garden, building a barn, or anything else until you know what you’re land is capable of.
We knew we wanted animals, but weren’t in a hurry to get them. Until the goats. While I’m glad we got the goats, I really wish we would have waited.
Waiting On Gardens
No matter how much you know you need to wait, you want to plant more. My biggest reason for waiting was just wanting to make sure that before we started clearing huge areas for a garden, we knew what it would look like in all four seasons. I wanted to make sure that I knew where water run off would be, sunlight, and where the good soil already was.
Because we waited, we saved ourselves a ton of physical labor as well as time and money.
Waiting On Animals
This is by far the hardest thing for any new homesteader. It’s usually the first thing that we think of when we think about farming or homesteading. But trust me when I say, if you get animals before your infrastructure is set up, you will be chasing your tail for the next decade.
We brought two goats onto the property without fencing put up, shelter in place or any idea what to feed them. After we lost V, we had to scramble to buy more goats. Then more shelters, fencing, etc. That first year should have been figuring out what we wanted to do. Instead, it was a year of figuring out what we were doing.
Waiting On Major Purchases
When we first bought the property, we were going to build Jared’s shop, get a tractor, a side by side, and huge barn. Man, I am SO glad we waited. We had all these ideas and plans, that I am beyond grateful didn’t work out. That first year would have cost us several thousand dollars. But you know what we learned? We don’t need a tractor, a side by side, a huge barn, or Jared’s shop.
Would those things have made our lives easier? Abso-freaking-loutely! But it would have stretched us so thin that we wouldn’t have been able to do the other things that we wanted to do.
Because we waited, we learned that manual power is the advantage. We don’t need a tractor to haul the dead trees anywhere. We cut them into smaller chunks and rolled them where they needed to be.
Because we waited on the huge barn, we realized that smaller shacks for the animals are easier to move and easier for them to keep themselves warm.
Because we waited on the side by side, we found a great deal on a pair of four wheelers that don’t require payments.
We did realize that a barn, shop, tractor, side by side would make things easier but we could do more manually.
Getting To Work
Once you have sat on your property for a minute, and learned what you and that property were capable of, get to work.
Start Your Garden First
I will say it again and again, wait on livestock till you have your gardens in! Yes, this is a do as I say not as I DID. I say this with the experience of someone who DIDN’T start with gardens. I wish we would have waited on livestock but we didn’t.
When you are setting up your gardens, think about your goals for the garden. Are you planning on a fresh eating garden? Or are you looking to put up food for the off season? How big is your family? All of these questions are important to answer before you start your gardens.
I suggest starting with a larger space than you think you need. Without fail, and every year, we end up having to expand our gardens. Which is great, but does lead to issues with fencing, beds and having to change stuff around constantly.
Start On Your Animals
If you listened, which I doubt because I wouldn’t either, you have waited on getting animals till after you’ve gotten your gardens dialed in. Now, we get animals.
Unlike the garden, where you give yourself more space than you need, start small with your livestock. Start with ONLY the amount of chickens you need. Only get a couple of goats or cows. Start small and learn the animal before you get an entire herd.
I know you’re not going to and I’m wasting my time, but you can’t say I didn’t warn you.
Revisit Those Major Purchases
After you have learned how to do things manually, start thinking about those bigger purchases. We thought we would need that tractor? Turns out, we don’t even want a tractor. It doesn’t fit with our land philosophies.
Jared’s shop? Yes, we will be building it. But it doesn’t have to be any time soon. There are more important things to build. Like the barn.
One of the big things that we have noticed is that we need more space in the barn. We have 9 permanent does and space during kidding season is at a premium. In fact, the shuffle of trying to figure out who goes where is kind of intense. Especially, since the girls don’t like the other does near their babies. So it can get pretty hairy.
But if we had just built the barn, we wouldn’t know exactly what we wanted.
How To Start A Homestead
I can’t tell you how to start a homestead. I can only tell you the things that we have discovered since starting our own homestead. Things I wish we would have done differently but also things I’m REALLY glad we waited on.
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How We Got Into Homesteading
We got into homesteading because we were tired. Tired of every single thing that has happened over the last 25 years. Things that don’t look like they are changing any time soon. But it didn’t start out that way. The cabin in the woods was always the goal for retirement. We wanted to have that secluded spot, away from everyone and no one could bother us. But as we witnessed more of the insanity, we decided to switch the dream from a cabin in the woods, to a homestead in the mountains.
The Ultimate Homesteader’s Starter Bundle – Only $47!
Get the tools you need to stay organized, track profits, and manage your homestead with ease!
Includes:
✅ Schedule F Tracker – Simplify tax prep
✅ Profit Calculator – Track earnings
✅ Hay Calculator – Plan livestock feed
✅ Garden Journal – Digital & printable
✅ Herd Health Tracker – Monitor animal care
✅ Simple Budget – Manage finances
✅ Backyard Homestead eBook – Essential tips
$99 value – now just $47! Start your homesteading journey today!
Why We Got Into Homesteading
Like most modern homesteaders, we got into homesteading because we were tired of the uncertainty. The uncertainty of what was in our food or where it came from. Not knowing if the shelves would be stocked. We wanted to be left alone to do the things we wanted to do. Like actually raising our kids and having a hand in their education. Raising animals for meat in a humane and ethical way. We wanted food that was healthy for us AND the land. We got into homesteading for the peace it brings.
Kids During Chaos
We are millennials, which means that for the last 25 years we have literally watched the extreme highs and lows. We were kids during 9/11 and the following wars, 2 of which Jared fought in. We saw the collapse of the housing market and the almost collapse of the stock market. Where companies too big to fail were bailed out with billions of dollars. We saw the great recession and rise of unrest. We saw the great division of our nation. Then we saw the pandemic.
Now, we are raising our kids in a time were there is a lot of known and unknown threats, division and general unease. I am raising my boys to be men in a world were they are “less than” simply because they are boys. Where women are made to feel unsafe by men, but my boys are expected to protect. Because, as a nation, we can’t just accept people for who they are.
We are teaching our boys about history as it was, not as it has been whitewashed to fit whatever agenda is being pushed. We are raising our boys to THINK for themselves and learn to problem solve. While this has been frustrating because they don’t do what they are told. It is amazing knowing that they will NEVER follow lock step with things that just don’t make sense.
Homesteading In Uncertainity
There are a lot of things that homesteading does. It creates a resilient and independent spirit. It teaches you that you are far more capable than you thought. But the best part? When planned “right”, homesteading creates certainty.
When I say planned “right”, I don’t mean by following the rules. I mean animals will be born, grow and die, plants will grow and die. When you are a good steward to your resources, you are rewarded with untold bounty. That’s not to say that you won’t fail, but there is a certain amount of peace in knowing that the sun will rise and set, seasons will change, and green things will grow.
When you align yourself with what nature is already doing, and ask her to help you, your gardens will be over abundant. Your animals will thrive. Your kids will see that everything is a cycle. It’s truly amazing what happens when you start homesteading and start paying attention.
Raising Meat Humanely
Homesteaders get asked all the time, and we are no different, how can you raise something and then eat it? How can you claim to care about animals if you are going to kill them? Don’t you feel bad for killing them?
I am going to write a whole blog post on that subject but I’m just going to say this: we raise as much of our meat as possible because when we take responsibility for our food, the food doesn’t suffer.
If you like the content I put out, feel free to buy us a coffee! It helps keep this site running, marketing and the goats in grain!
Buy me a coffeePeople get so attached to the animal, but they NEVER stop to think about where their protein source came from. Or they never stop to think about what has had to die for them to get their fruits and vegetables. For the vast majority of American’s, their food comes from the grocery store. So they don’t see what Big Ag, Big Animal, or Big Pharma is doing to the land.
If they did, they would understand how much better our animals are raised. How there is minimal stress, absolutely no chemicals, and minimal medical interventions. They would see that our animals are happy, healthy, and thriving. They would see animals that are doing what animals are supposed to do.
Working WITH Nature To Harvest Healthy Food
On our farm, we use zero chemicals on the earth. Period. No fertilizers, no pesticides, no herbicides, and no fungicides. Accidental spills of paint, oils, etc into soil or possible run off, are dug up (where possible) and sunflowers or mustard greens are planted. Those plants are then burned.
We do not till our ground unless we have no other options. We use cover crops, animals, and organic matter to work with the nature instead of against it. When it comes time to plant, we dig a small hole to put a transplant or we use our hands to rake or dig. Then, when the plants are spent, we cut the plant off at soil level and drop the spent plant back into the bed.
This feeds the soil microbiome. Which in turn feeds us.
Our garden produces some of the best tasting vegetables I have ever eaten. Most of them can be pulled straight from the garden and eaten raw, they are that good. Our animals are given the same foods we eat. They absolutely love garden scraps and will wait at the fence, watching and waiting for their bucket of nom noms.
Are you looking for garden journal prompts, but aren’t interested in a weekly email? Check out our 365 Garden Journal Prompts! This is an amazing, all in one, yearly product that you only pay for once.
We Got Into Homesteading For Peace
I think the most important thing that the homestead has brought us is peace. Every morning, rain or shine, I go into my kitchen garden. I look at my beds and dream. When it’s cold, I plan the upcoming year. When it’s hot, I enjoy the harvest. And every year, I look for ways to be a better steward to the land.
Every day, I look at my goats. I watch mommas grow big with babies. I watch babies frolic and play. I milk mommas and thank them.
In the years we have been homesteading, I have found life in the slow lane to be more welcoming, joyful and humbling.
And yes, there is stress. This is a real homestead. There are triumphs and failures. But when I go to bed at night, I am at peace.
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Homestead Chores By Season
While homestead chores look different for everyone, I wanted to give you guys a list of chores that I run on throughout the year. Some of these may not apply to you. There could be things that you haven’t thought about or maybe you are researching before adding to your own homestead. But these are the things that I do every year no matter what is going on. This list of homestead chores is LONG, so I’ve added a table of contents. I’m also going to set up this post so that in each section the list is first and then I’ll explain more below it.
If you are new to heating with firewood and are looking to master the finer points of it. We’ve got a great eBook that goes in depth of what tools you should consider, how and where to stack, how to build a fire and so much more!
Below is my homesteader checklist. It also gives you access to our members only library so you can access all of our freebies!
Why Homestead Chores By Season?
I set up this system to be used by season because sometimes the month is not “month-ing” properly. For example, our first frost is supposedly October 15…. but really, it’s November 15th. By setting this up in seasons, it allows us to be more flexible in our plans.
We are also working on our homestead journal prompts right now! If you are interested in signing up for the waitlist, sign up below!
Homestead Chores- Spring (March-May)
Chore List:
- Add soil to beds
- Start rotating animals throughout property
- Continue to plant seeds for transplanting.
- Clear goat barn and chicken coop
- Plant spring garden
- Prep gardens for summer planting
- Plant flowers
- Garden Journal
- Breed goats (March-May)
- BABIES!
- Goat boluses
- Goat hooves
- Pregnancy testing
- Prep Firewood
Garden Chores
This is not an all consuming to do list, so there is a fair amount missing from this list. The reason for that is because springs are hit and miss here in NE Georgia. Sometimes we have extremely cool/cold and wet springs. Other times it is blazing hot. And there is no telling which one you are getting until it’s here.
If I were to plant a spring garden, with frost hardy plants, there is a really good chance they will bolt before we EVER get a chance to harvest. BUT, I still plant a spring garden in hopes of getting seeds and some food.
We also make sure to start PLENTY of seeds for transplanting. We have had freak storms take out our plants, so we make sure to have way too many, then not enough.
Spring is when I really get into the guts of my garden journals. I’ve got a bunch of bullet journals that I love to use for this. I’ll go into how I set up my journals in the winter section.
Are you getting overwhelmed in the garden? Stressed? Or just not enjoying the garden like you used to? Check out our garden prompts! We send out weekly emails that get you back in the garden and out of your head! Turn the garden back into a place of love and joy instead of frustration and headache!
Animal Chores
For the animals, we are finishing up kidding season so this is the time were we are shuffling kids and mommas around. We are also starting to rotate any other does that are not kidding through our property to get them to help bring back the land.
This is also the time that we are starting the monstrous chore of cleaning out the coops and barn. We use the deep litter method in the middle of winter to help keep them warm. We also use all that beautiful (and smelly) bedding as compost for our beds.
We will put our chicken’s bedding straight into new beds without allowing it to compost for a year. But when we do this, we are covering with several inches (up to a foot) of soil. This will keep it from burning the plants and it will compost down in the beds.
Spring is also when start working on pregnancy testing, hooves, and other treatments that need to be done to prepare them for summer.
Homestead Chores- Summer (June-Aug)
Chore List:
- Order meat chickens
- Get harvest weights
- Rotate animals through pasture
- Repair fencing/ buildings
- Mulch
- Seed orders
- Drain standing water daily
- Projects
- Plant bumper crops
- Start fall seeds PRN
- Garden Journal
- Sit in the garden
Garden Chores
From June to October, we keep running tallies of our garden harvests in pounds. This helps us decide if our interventions are working or not. It also tells us if the varieties we bought are good for our area. We are also mulching like crazy to help keep weeds under control and adding organic matter back to the soil.
During summer, we will keep planting bumper crops of corn, summer squash, beans, peppers and tomatoes. I would rather have too much, and be able to share the bounty, than not enough and be stuck buying from the grocery store.
One of the other things we do, is take cuttings from our tomato pruning and let them sprout roots in water and then replant them. This cuts months off their harvest time!
Animal Chores
I order all of our meat chickens in June for October butchering. We’ve tried spring/summer and it’s so hot and buggy that it’s just not worth it. This past year we struggled with yellow jackets. How no one got stung is a miracle.
We continue rotating the goats throughout the property. We create pens and “hay bomb” the area. This allows the goats to move around, organic matter to be put back into the soil and keeps them free from parasites.
Homestead Chores
During the summer, we get all outside chores done that we put off in the fall/winter. Because our fall and winters are so wet, it’s pretty hard to get any outside chores done. In 2024, that includes building decks, a gazebo and redoing our garden spaces. In 2025, that includes working on new siding for the house.
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Summer is also the time were we split any firewood that we let dry over fall and winter.
Homestead Chores- Fall (Sept-Nov)
Chore List:
- Gather soil from compost for next year’s seed starts
- Clean pots/ tools
- Sharpen tools
- Take next years trees
- Mulch
- Plant fall gardens
- Start restocking pantry for winter
- BABIES!
- Seed pastures
- Butcher chickens and goats
- Purchase hay
Garden Chores
This is prime fall garden season! We plant our garlic and onions around Halloween for July 4th harvest. The bulk of our cool loving crops are planting no later than September 15th. We will continue to plant after Sept 15th, but we don’t waste a lot of garden space on it.
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Before we put the gardens to bed in November, we will grab a couple shovel full’s of soil and compost from our best producing bed. We will then add some extra chicken poop/ bedding and throw it in there to compost in the greenhouse. I have found this works a lot better than grabbing it from the beds or compost pile in February when the ground is still cold.
Animal Chores
This is the the second time of year that we are kidding and breeding. We don’t allow breeding on the farm from mid December to March. After consulting the breeding plan for the year, we start rotating does and bucks through to do their thing. All while we wait for babies to be born.
We also make sure that the goat barn cameras are up and running with plenty of batteries charging.
Our meat chickens are also butchered during this time. We start lining up help about a month before we are ready to butcher. If you help us butcher chickens, we teach you how to butcher and break down a chicken, plus you get a couple of chickens to go into your own freezers!
We are also stocking up on hay, bedding and other items the animals will need to get through winter. We go through about 1500# of hay for our main herd, that doesn’t count any babies that are born. We purchase a total of 2000# just in case. Rarely, though it does happen, do we have to purchase hay in the winter.
Before we get too far into this, I have a great course on the basics of goat care. I call it Goat Crash Course: Goat 101. In this course, I explain things like types of shelter, types of feeds and hays, basic assessments and so much more! Check it out!
Homestead Chores
Fall is our get stuff done time of year. We have a TON of stuff planned in the fall every year. Here in Georgia, fall is more stable, weather wise, than spring. So this is when we are able to get a ton of stuff done. We spread grass/ pasture seed just before the leaves start to fall.
This is also when we start splitting next years firewood. We will take trees that we have marked as dead or dying, and turn them into rounds to dry over winter. Then we will start splitting and stacking the rounds that are mostly dry and leave the rest for spring.
We also start working on sharpening and cleaning ANY tools that were used in the gardens or on plants. We clean them throughout the year but fall/winter is the time were they get scrubbed, sharpened and oiled for storage.
Homestead Chores- Winter (Dec- Feb)
Chore List:
- Plan next year’s garden
- Plan next year’s projects
- Review garden notes
- Plant long out seeds
- Plant spring seeds as applicable.
- Next year’s budget
- Next year’s breeding plans
- Animal bedding weekly as needed.
- This years expense/ income reports
- Beds to “rest” for the winter
Garden Chores
As you can see, winter is our planning and maintaining season. Garden plans are necessary for figuring out how much space we actually have and what grew well for us last year. I go through my garden journals to figure out what worked, what didn’t and make changes to our core garden plans.
We also order any seeds we are low on, which is rare because I am a seed hoarder. February starts planting season… Well, seed starting season. We are starting long out things like peppers, tomatoes, melons, etc and spring stuff like herbs, flowers, and brassicas.
Animal Chores
This is the time that we start working on our breeding lists. We go through our Herd Tracker and figure out who bred with who last year, when they kidded, how much milk they produced, etc. This helps us really look at our breeding program and decide what we want to do.
We are also in maintenance mode with the animals too. Our goals are to keep them fed and warm. That’s it. We are also preparing for any kids that were bred for in the summer, usually we try not to allow this but it’s not a deal breaker for us. Our rut starts in July, so it’s not uncommon for the boys to get out and go nuts.
Homestead Chores
Winter is the time for inside chores, renovations, etc. We are still, slowly, working on getting the house updated. This takes a fair amount of time and resources that we don’t like to pull away from the farm. But at the same time, living with the wood paneling isn’t my idea of a good time.
We are planning gardens, budgets and trying to figure out where and what we are doing next year to hit our goals for a successful homestead. We are always trying to push the needle towards our retirement goals, while also understanding that the best laid plans can go to hell in a handbasket.
What Are Your Homestead Chores?
What are some of the things you do to keep your homestead running? Leave me a comment below!
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Animals For New Homesteaders
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Hey Guys! It’s Leigh with Steel Raven Farms! On this podcast, we talk about all the trial and error, successes and wins on the homestead. We have been homesteading for the last several years and I have been a gardener and canner for over a decade. But as always, I am still learning and I want to take you along with me on that journey.
Think of me as your partner in crime, co-chaos creator, ear to listen, and never, ever the voice of reason.
Today, we are talking about animals to consider as a new homesteader.
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Struggles With Failure
If you have been living life for any matter of time, you have probably failed at something. It’s a part of life that really never gets easier, but it’s part of growing and becoming better. On the homestead, struggles with failure can be even harder and maybe more discouraging. When animals die or gardens fail, it’s hard to want to get back in the game. But I think that once we overcome the failure, we can look back at the growth we’ve had. And the education that comes from failure is more valuable than any knowledge gleaned from a book.
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Get the tools you need to stay organized, track profits, and manage your homestead with ease!
Includes:
✅ Schedule F Tracker – Simplify tax prep
✅ Profit Calculator – Track earnings
✅ Hay Calculator – Plan livestock feed
✅ Garden Journal – Digital & printable
✅ Herd Health Tracker – Monitor animal care
✅ Simple Budget – Manage finances
✅ Backyard Homestead eBook – Essential tips
$99 value – now just $47! Start your homesteading journey today!
Struggles With Failure On The Farm
2023 has been a hell of a year for us on Steel Raven Farms, both good and bad. We had a strong breeding year and the girls gave us a fair amount of milk. The kitchen garden was installed and became my refuge. Jared built the greenhouse, though it’s not quite finished yet. But the bad things? Those were some doozies.
Failure In The Big Garden
We started 2023 with about 10,000 sq ft of garden space in the big garden. My visions were huge! I imagined row after row of tomatoes, peppers and squash. Perfect walkways that led to a sitting area for us to hang out. Snacking on green beans and peas that grew in abundance. Losing melons to the foliage, only to find them at the perfect ripeness to enjoy as an after dinner treat….
That’s not what I got… At all.
Due to some health issues that started right at planting time, I ended up not getting the gardens planted the way I had envisioned, really I only planted about 25% of what I had planned. Because of soil compaction, our pepper crop suffered tremendously. Thanks to chickens, we lost our entire tomato crop and subsequent replantings. The potatoes didn’t have a chance, either. That entire 10,000 sq ft, grew one edible tomato that rotted on the window sill.
But that kitchen garden produced for us!
Failure With The Chicks
January through March was one of the wettest and coldest we’ve had. We had bought 100 meat birds, 25 turkey poults, and about 60 new laying chicks. We brooded the chicks in the shed with three heat lamps and plenty of bedding. Out of the first shipment of chicks 160+, we lost about 75.
Because of the cold and damp conditions, we couldn’t keep the turkeys alive. Every single turkey died. We just couldn’t get their care dialed in. We tried everything and nothing mattered. The vision of a freezer full of meat was gone in the blink of an eye.
The wasted money was nauseating.
Failure With May Kids
There are many things we have learned the hard way on this farm. I tend to be hardheaded and stubborn, but once I learn that lesson the hard way, I never forget it. Every lesson I have learned from the goats, was learned the hard way.
The biggest lesson that I have learned is that we absolutely cannot, ever, breed from December to March. A goat’s gestation is 5ish months or 145-165 days. That means that a breeding date in December is normally born in May. Or a date in March is born in August. On my little slice of heaven, that is a death sentence for goat kids.
Every single kid born after mid May, and has stayed on our property, has died.
I knew that when Choco Taco and Eden were born, I had to get them off my property as soon as possible. I knew that they would be safe on another farm, but for some reason, our parasite problem explodes from June to August. No matter what we do, we cannot stop them. We’ve tried putting down lime or DE, free ranging, medicating, being proactive, etc and it just doesn’t matter.
If you are looking for a great way to keep track of your gardens for years to come, check out our Digital Garden Journal. It’s a digital spreadsheet that helps you manage not only your seedlings but also your seed inventories, soil testing, orchard, harvests and so much more.
Every single kid that is born at ANY other time, is perfectly healthy. We’ve got kids that we’ve held back that were born at the end of April and they are completely healthy. Kids that were born in September are totally fine. A kid that is born in May- August, but sent to another farm is just fine too. But once May hits, and the kid stays on this farm, it’s game over.
Overcoming Struggles With Failure
It’s never easy to deal with failure, especially when you are talking about loss of life and money. But those lessons are invaluable when it comes to education and knowledge. You will rarely make the same mistakes again after you have failed spectacularly. But struggling with failure on the homestead is actually a driving force to do better.
Overcoming Failures In The Garden
There is absolutely nothing, short of permanent disability, that will keep my out of my gardens. Even then, I’m sure Jared will still take me out there. There are a ton of things that we can do to overcome the failures in the gardens.
The first is those damn chickens are going to be put in a run. This is not just for their protection, but also my sanity…which will also help their survival rate. The next thing that we are going to do is install better fencing and gates that the goats can’t get through….hopefully.
We also built a greenhouse to place seedlings so that we won’t have issues with Blu trying to destroy them. This will also give us even more space to start more seeds.
Finally, we are going to be building soil like crazy. We are starting with raised beds on the sloped side of the garden and then building “in ground” raised beds. This will allow us to have beds that are in ground but also raised to help build up the soil as much as possible and reduce erosion.
Overcoming Failure With Chicks
This one is probably the easiest. We are not purchasing ANY new chicks this year. We will be purchasing some new ducks and a couple of geese, but no new chickens. The idea is that we want to weed out the chickens that are escape artists first. Then once we have figured out who will actually stay in the run, we will get new chicks that will hopefully learn from the older chickens.
We are also hoping that the new chicks will “bond” with the ducks and geese and not want to leave them. We’ll see.
Our meat chicken order will be place in June, this will reduce the chances of a cold, wet spring taking them out. Also, that will have us butchering in October, which will be much more comfortable for EVERYONE.
Overcoming Failure With Goat Kids
Overcoming failure with goats is never a one time thing. In fact, goats will try to unalive themselves constantly. But in order for our kids to be as healthy as possible, we will never breed for summer kids. The risk is simply too high.
Another thing that has to be mentioned here is communication. 2023 is the first year that it was fully understood WHY I didn’t want the boys in with the girls over winter. I’ve begged and pleaded before, but no one fully understood why it was imperative that the bucks not get put with the does from December to March.
This is fully understood by all parties now.
Others in the family were concerned that the bucks would get too cold if left outside during the winter. It took a lot of convincing (for me too) that they would be just fine in their shack, which is more than enough protection for them in the winter.
Because this is so fully understood, we shouldn’t have to deal with breeding during these months. Now, it could still happen because goats are goats. But it won’t be because we put them in the barn together.
Struggles With Failure
Dealing with failure on the homestead can be heartbreaking. To be honest, homesteading, at first, is trial by fire because so many of us grew up without someone to teach us how to do things. We don’t know how to garden, until we do it. We don’t know how to care for livestock, until we do it.
Sometimes, the best thing we can do is to struggle and fail. Because when we come out the other side? We are stronger, more resilient, and more capable than we ever thought possible.
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What Is Chicken Math?
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Chicken math is when you have more chickens than you initially wanted and you're really not sure how you got there. But more than that, chicken math comes with a lot of problems, with death being the first one.
But if you can keep your numbers reasonable, not only will you concur chicken math, you will be MUCH happier.
Resources/Links:
Steel Raven Farms Blog: What Is Chicken Math?