I have big homesteading plans for year 2014!
First and foremost, I have to get my barn and milking parlor prepared for the addition of a calf, which will be here at the end of April 1 of May. With a baby calf, comes a large amount of fresh raw milk and cream. This means more homemade butter and cheese for our family, two of my absolute favorite things to create. And of course with all this extra milk and cream we should probably get a couple heritage breed pigs. Three specifically, two to keep for the farm freezer and one to sell, which should pay the expenses of the other two. Which gets me to another project; Building a pig pen! My husband is very adamant that I need to build the pig living quarters prior to purchasing pigs, due to my history of “putting the cart before the horse”. What can I say? I’m excited about homesteading ok! I’ am however, still contemplating where I should put the pigs, not too close to the house but still in reach of the barn.
More chickens.. I want to hatch out a ton of baby chicks! I would like to get between a dozen and 15 eggs a day, which means theoretically I need hatch out close to 30 chicks, since 50% of them (in theory) would be male, which would leave me with 15 roosters to butcher for the freezer. However, one of my goals for this year is to butcher about 50 chickens for the freezer, so that looks like my incubator will be steadily running from now through the end of spring. And I will be looking for homes for the extra hens.
Stay tuned for future Craigslist listings for Delaware and Buckeye pullets, or even a cross between the two, we could call them the “Delebuck” or the “Buckewere”? Special discount to my loyal friends. ;).
The garden.. I always want to expand my garden! This year I really need to amend the clay soil. This was my biggest downfall last year. Luckily, there’s only clay soil in one corner of the garden, about a 10′ x 20′ patch.
Last year I canned 120 dozen jars of food from my garden, this gave my family of five a nice stockpile of organic homegrown food through winter and spring. I don’t think we need more than that, however, it takes a huge amount of faith and work in your garden to complete that task, so if again I can get 120 dozen jars put up this year it would be a blessing.
I would also like to raise a few grass-fed beef cows. However, this would be a huge addition to our farm; Requiring land, sturdy fences, additional trailers and of course, a huge amount of hay and time. So maybe I’ll leave that endeavor for the not-so-near future.
I have so many goals and aspirations for the year to come, that I should probably get off my computer and start making things happen. I am truly thankful for 2013 and all blessings my family and I have received. And that of course, includes you guys, for continuing to read my blog and your supportive and motivational comments. I am truly thankful for your friendship and loyalty. May your 2014 be filled with love, blessings and prosperity.
