Homestead projects for 2011

[ladytoysdream]

I am making a list of goals for this coming year and going to
get some things conquered once and for all.
I know how to do a lot of homestead type things. Some I do daily, some once in awhile, and some it's been years since I did.
My plan is to practice and to get more things into my daily routines.

Canning, do a lot more of it. I did some this year, but I used the 2 freezers a lot. Plan was to buy a new one, and then use the old one only as a backup. Yeah right.....I now have 2 uprights FULL. Plan is to get a room set up this year, just for stockpiling food and household items. And back to one freezer running.

Sell off some extra items we don't use. Today I purchased online 2 parts for a pressure canner that I picked up used, for a back up unit. As soon as the parts get here, I will test run it, and put it up for sale, maybe on craigslist.

I will order more stuff online at cheaper prices than locally. I was doing a search today and came to the conclusion I can order blades for the dog clippers online for a better price than going to the farm store to get them. I may even try to figure out how to sharpen them myself and or talk one of the son's into doing it.

Bread making. I know how to do it, but don't anymore. I better get back into practice.

Pie making. I can do the filling okay, but never seem to get a crust I like. I bet this year I figure it out once and for all

Gardening. We been doing a bigger one every year. I hope this spring to make it even bigger. He better stop whining when I ask him to give up more lawn area. Two acres of lawn is a bit much.

Chickens. They better help, in paying for their feed costs.


DO YOU HAVE ANY PROJECTS TO CONQUER ?

[brenda67]

I intend to plant at least 4 more Fruit trees to complete my orchard.. I already have a Dwarf Peach tree and a Plum tree.

I'm going to have a huge garden here at my home as well as at my Aunt's house..I'm gonna talk my cousin into plowing a area on my family's farm to grow Sweet Corn..and a patch to grow pumpkin's..my family own's quite a few hundred acrea's..


I'm going to Can alot of what we grow..

I'm planting a Herb garden once I figure out where to put it..

My dh is going to make me a potatoe cage..better luck this way rather than in the ground..


Hopefully I will be able to sell off some of my extra's from my garden that I hope does well for me next year..


I plan on making my own Apple juice to can from my brother's Apple trees..


Maybe if I can talk my dh into it I want to plant some grape vines..



I'm so excited for spring to come I day dream/think about it everyday..

[daylily]

I want to have berry patches. Three times I have ordered thornless blackberries and still don't have a patch. The first time DH told me where to plant them and then promptly told the DOT guys where to dump the chipped wood from the roadside clearing. Guess where. The second time, he told me where to plant them and then he forgot about them and mowed them off. One survived. Now I have 3 in pots and the promise of as many as I want from a friend and DH can't decide where he wants me to make my patch. You would think he doesn't like blackberries but he does!

I have also tried several times to have a strawberry patch. Deer destroyed the first two. We finally figured out that we can cover them with row covers and the deer will not bother them. So last spring we planted 75 plants. We were going to plant them in black plastic like the commercial growers do but DH said lets just get them planted and cover them later. We could cut slits and work the plants through the holes. I should have known better. The weeds took them over and I never could catch up. I did see that a few survived. I want to order some to re-plant this spring and get that plastic on there. I really want to conquer these berry patches. I want a raspberry patch too.

[Sassyclass]

Well because we rent an older mobile home, I can't do/try as many things as I would if we owned our own place( big savings goal for next year), but unless our landlord boots us out this year I will plant some tomatoes and green peppers, I want to try canning butter, and making a small compost bucket wether I get to use it or not it will put me one step closer to where I want to be when we do have our own place. Not a lot but a start.

Cat

[krbshappy71]

I have not grown food before. This year I want to do a tomato plant and a hanging basket of strawberries. Small, but a start.

[ladytoysdream]

I like SMALL starts

Maybe they could be called mini projects.

The idea would be to at least have a idea how something works.
Say for instance you wanted to render lard. Not to have a lot on hand, but just for the experience. So you buy a package of suet, chop it up into small pieces, put the heat under it slow. I start with a small amount of water to keep it from burning. Drain off the cracklings, put it in a bowl in the fridge and learn to use it. Maybe just for pan frying some potatoes. I like suet now to use in a recipe to make the bird suet cakes. Hubby likes to feed the wild birds. I like to keep a budget tight. Bird suet is going to be homemade from now on. I know he is getting low from the last batch we bought. He knows I been practicing. The chickens like it very well....the wild birds better learn to like it too

[Sassyclass]

I have not grown food before. This year I want to do a tomato plant and a hanging basket of strawberries. Small, but a start.

Last summer '09, I grew my first tomato plant. After I had planted it a friend of mine who is a farmer told me a well known trick. Once you have the hole dug put some Epsom Salts in the bottom. Some Amish friends swear by this also. Thouhgt you might try it.

Cat

[sunshine]

We plan to:

build more solar heat grabbers

build a small aquaponics set up in the basement

research the cost of setting up our wood stove in the living room (will need new chimney, piping, etc.)

grow more herbs for flavoring foods and medicinal use

[knitnmom]

I am new to gardening and I am planning to start small as well. I would like to get a couple dwarf fruit trees to put into pots and grow some herbs and then some tomatoes, green beans, and maybe some bell peppers? I would also like to learn how to compost and start doing more of that. We will see how that all works out.

[Shelli_wnj]

There is SO much I want to learn. First, I want to learn to knit well. I can knit, but more as a project than as anything useful.

I also want to learn how to garden more than a few beans and potatoes. Every year I get started and every year something happens to it. I think those will be my main goals.

I want to start making more from scratch again - I used to but got away from it.

And lastly, I want to figure out how to CAN foods. I think that should keep me busy, huh?

[brennasmom]

I would love to start dehydrating.... and plant more veggies this year. Maybe I can talk DH into making me a garden patch

[Labontet]

I found this video on Old Farmer's Almanac. It shows how to plant and raise potatoes in a trash can. I believe I will try this.Gardening Container Video: Garden Growing Potatoes

[Debbie-cat]

Thanks Cheryl for the link!! I have been wanting to try that exact trick!

[frugalfranny]

Yeah, probably more projects than I have summer time to do them..........

Want to finish 'whatever' I am going to do along one side of my driveway......over half done, but more to do. Think part of it will entail hauling rock........UGH.

Will be making a list after first part of year.......long about March, when I can see more of what died and what made it during our winter.

[dwallyfam]

This year I want to do more of everything. The time is my hardest part. So here is my list as of right now
1. make more items from scratch
2. stockpile more items
3. garden
4. can/freeze produce