Ditch The Store

Ditch The Store

By CJ SteedmanLeisureHome & Garden
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Ditch The Store episodes

  • Episode 12 - Why Should You Grow Your Own Eggs?

    Enrollments open on the 10th of June and close on the 16th of June. With the course starting on 17th and running for 6 weeks.

    Perfect time to do the course if you are considering chickens in spring.

    Go to the web page to get on the list and you can choose either a Free PDF with 7 must know’s or a webinar on which breed of chicken is right for you.

    https://www.mojohomestead.net/7mustknows

    https://www.mojohomestead.net/breedwebinar

     

    The Great Plant-Based Con - is a fantastic book that explains regenerative agriculture really well.

    https://thegreatplantbasedcon.com/


    Why Should You Grow Your Own Eggs?

    1.   Quality and freshness: Homegrown eggs are often fresher and of higher quality than store-bought eggs, which can be several weeks old before they even reach the grocery store.

      2.  

      1.   Health benefits: Homegrown eggs are often healthier and more nutritious than store-bought eggs, with higher levels of vitamins, minerals, and omega-3 fatty acids. Study on pasture-raised eggs versus confined housing eggs.

        2.  

        1.  Cost savings: Growing your own eggs can be a cost-effective alternative to buying eggs from the store, especially if you have a large family or consume eggs regularly.

          2.  

          1.  Sustainability: Raising backyard chickens and growing your own eggs can be a sustainable and eco-friendly practice, with a lower carbon footprint than factory farming and reduced waste from packaging and transportation. Regenerative agriculture now starting to pave the way for people with understanding how livestock farming and holistic management practices can actually be more beneficial for environmental issues. 

            2.  

            1.  Control over production: By growing your own eggs, you have control over the production process, including the chickens' diet, living conditions, and the use of antibiotics or hormones. This is a big one, as people educate themselves more about the food they eat corresponding to health issues and concerns they have. 

              2.  

              1.  Educational benefits: Growing your own eggs can be a great learning opportunity for children and adults alike, teaching valuable skills like responsibility, animal husbandry, and food production.

                2.  

                1.  Local food movement: By growing your own eggs, you're supporting the local food movement and reducing your reliance on large-scale industrial agriculture. Diversity in farming and homesteading practices are highlighting how everyone can participate in reducing the carbon footprint of their own family. Food miles go towards the transport sector impact, which is the biggest impact worldwide on greenhouse gas emissions.

                  2.  

                  1.  Flavour and variety: Homegrown eggs often have more flavour and variety than store-bought eggs, with different breeds of chickens laying eggs with different colours, sizes, and taste profiles. Some of my customers claim they have never tasted eggs like ours! And one customer was making pasta with our eggs and claimed her parents, elderly Italians, said it reminded them of the pasta their mothers used to make.

                    2.  

                    1.  Connection to nature: Raising backyard chickens and growing your own eggs can provide a deeper connection to nature and the food we eat, fostering a greater appreciation for the natural world.

                      2.  

                      1.  Community building: Growing your own eggs can be a great way to connect with like-minded individuals in your community, through local chicken-keeping groups, farmers' markets, and other community events.
                        2. 37 min
                      2. Episode 11 - Getting Started with Backyard Chickens

                        Enrollments open on the 10th of June and close on the 16th of June. With the course starting on 17th and running for 6 weeks.

                        Perfect time to do the course if you are considering chickens in spring.

                        Go to the web page to get on the list and you can choose either a Free PDF with 7 must know’s or a webinar on which breed of chicken is right for you.

                        https://www.mojohomestead.net/7mustknows

                        https://www.mojohomestead.net/breedwebinar

                        Getting Started with Backyard Chicken Keeping

                        1. Choosing the right breed: Different breeds of chickens have different personalities and egg-laying capabilities, so it's important to choose a breed that fits your needs and preferences. I have a free webinar you can watch to help you decide which chicken breed is right for you.
                        2. Setting up a coop: Chickens need a safe and secure place to sleep and lay eggs, so setting up a coop is a crucial step in getting started with backyard chicken keeping. It is vital that you have this prepared before getting started. The different types include full-enclosed, partially enclosed or the pasture-raised model that we use. 
                        3. Providing proper nutrition: Chickens need a balanced diet of feed, water, and supplements to stay healthy and lay eggs regularly. Chickens are not vegetarians, they are omnivores, and they require protein from all available sources. Bugs, worms, mice and insects.
                        4. Managing waste: Chicken manure can be a valuable fertilizer for your garden, but it's important to manage it properly to prevent odour and pests. With our pasture-raised model, we don't collect the manure rather we let the chickens deposit it in the field for us. In urban areas, the best method I have seen is to have gravel in the open area and use a kitty litter scope to collect the manure. It is very clever. Inside you can do something similar with coffee grounds, recycled from your local cafe of course, and the scope will drop the coffee grounds and hold the manure. The manure then needs to be composted until broken down. 
                        5. Ensuring good health: Regular checkups, vaccinations, and parasite control can help keep your chickens healthy and happy. Observation of your girls daily is the best option. You will notice if something is not right. However, if you have enough adequate good feed and shell grit, clean water, dry warm area to roost and monitor for parasites, you will elevate 99% of problems.
                        6. Providing space and exercise: Chickens need plenty of space to roam and scratch, so providing a fenced outdoor run or free-ranging area is important for their well-being. Allowing the chickens to free range is vital for the bird's mental health. Chickens need to be chickens and do all the things nature has taught them to do. A great way to help them is when you turn over your veggie garden beds allow the chicks to go in and dig the soil. They will clean out pests, drop manure and aerate the soil for you. If you can’t them daily access there are other things you can do to help. Set up a swing in their coop, freeze corn into ice blocks on hot days, thread a rope through cabbage and hang it in their coop. 
                        7. Egg production and collection: Collecting eggs regularly and storing them properly can help ensure a steady supply of fresh eggs for your household. There is so much debate about egg storage and I’m not “health department qualified” so I can only tell you what I have always done, and none of my family has even gotten ill. We do not refrigerate our eggs, and we do not wash them. 
                        8. Winter care: Cold temperatures and snow can pose challenges for backyard chicken keepers, so it's important to have a plan for keeping your chickens warm and healthy during the winter months.
                        9. Legal considerations: Some cities and towns have zoning laws or regulations that govern backyard chicken keeping, so it's important to research and follow any applicable rules. Roosters are usually out but check with your local council.
                        10. Joining a community: Joining a local chicken-keeping group or online community can provide valuable support, advice, and camaraderie for backyard chicken keepers.
                          11. 46 min
                        11. Episode 10 - Plant Based Diets and the Agriculture Lies - Part 2

                          The push for plant-based (vegetarian and vegan) diets uses the claim that is it better for the environment.

                          Farmers have got blamed for so long but it really comes down to how many flights and drives you want to take each year and humans need to have endless supplies of electricity to their houses.

                          Mono cropping is needed to produce the high level of demanded plant-based products. This style of agriculture affects soil health by damaging the ecology, reducing topsoil, increasing the need for synthetic fertilizers, increasing the use of pesticides and producing low-nutrient food.

                          Utilising livestock to increase soil health not only reverses all these things but it also prevents deforestation and desertification in large areas of the earth. So if demand for pasture-raised meat and animal products increases then the earth will be healthy.

                          Humans and their energy usage are the main problems when it comes to greenhouse gases and there is no way to stop humans transport and energy costs as people would refuse to give up flying, driving and electricity.

                          So the best and easiest way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is to eat a meat-based diet.

                          Emissions by sector of Greenhouse gases

                          https://ourworldindata.org/emissions-by-sector

                          Important links if you would like to learn more about this.

                          Allan Savory - TedX Talk

                          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpTHi7O66pI

                          Joel Salatin - PolyFace Farms

                          https://polyfacefarms.com/

                          Richard Perkins - Ridgedale Farms

                          https://www.richardperkins.co/about/

                          https://www.ridgedalepermaculture.com/

                          Molly and John Chester - Apricot Lane Farms

                          https://www.apricotlanefarms.com/

                          I am currently listening to The Great Plant-Based Con by Jayne Buxton and can highly recommend it! She’s saying all the things that I have been thinking about. She has done all the research. https://www.hachette.com.au/jayne-buxton/the-great-plant-based-con-why-eating-a-plants-only-diet-wont-improve-your-health-or-save-the-planet

                          Real Life Medicine - Their podcast is amazing

                          https://www.rlmedicine.com/meet-the-doctors

                          Dr Anthony Chaffee - fantastic resource

                          https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzoRyR_nlesKZuOlEjWRXQQ

                          So please do your own research and understand all the facts before you decide. And remember to grow the life you want to live.

                          38 min
                        12. Episode 9 - Plant Based Diet - Health Lies - Part 1

                          I have been questioning my knowledge of diet styles in an effort to improve my own health. The information I have been gathering is indicating that we have been lied to by the dietary associations of our countries. 

                          It disappoints me that government bodies that are supposed to help us are very likely making us sicker.

                          Some of the things I covered in this episode are below, including the links mentioned.

                          From 10,000 BC until 2,200 BC humans survived on a primarily meat-based diet. Not moving to crops until the bronze age after 2200 BC. Rice and potatoes not becoming commonplace until after 1485.

                          Buddist - Practice non-violence against all living things, however, I have travelled through Tibet and Nepal and can confirm that they will eat meat and animal products, as long as the animal has not been killed specially for them.

                          Hindus - mostly practice Vegetarianism, but not veganism as they consume milk. It should be noted that they avoid many vegetables also.

                          Around the mid-1700s in the USA, many religious groups became vegetarian due to the temperance movement. The common belief is that masturbation, overindulgence and violence, can be controlled by a vegetarian diet.

                          Leading this belief is the Seventh Day Adventist Church, whose founder Ellen G White, who although not vegetarian herself, received visions from God that followers of their church should abstain from the flesh and milk of animals, as they are as bad as tobacco and alcohol. SDAC it should be no surprise went on to find the massive processed food giants Sanitarium and Kellogg's. It surprised me to find how many SDA members were sitting on associations and boards in America and Australia that directly influence the dietary associations in those countries.

                          It is such a tangled web that I cannot describe it better than Belinda Fettke, who is the wife of the Australian Dr who they attempted to silence when he spoke out against high carbohydrate diets being fed to his diabetic patients while in hospital. He was threatened with de-registration because he was advising patients to eat low carbohydrate healthy fat diets in order to lose weight to avoid amputations!

                          It stuns me that a Dr in Australia in the 2000s could be looking at de-registration because he is healing his patients. WTF!

                          The Background of Dietary Guidelines by Belinda Fettke, wife of Dr Gary Fettke https://isupportgary.com/articles/evolution-of-plant-based-dietary-guidelines

                          Other research indicated our change in diet to predominantly plant-based is actually affecting our kids. 

                          Keto diets are also showing excellent results in relation to other health issues. Keto Diet - ADHD and Autism https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/adhd-autism

                          An excellent and very thorough read on this topic is a book I am currently listening to on audible, The Great Plant-Based Con by Jayne Buxton and can highly recommend it! She’s saying all the things that I have been thinking about. She has done all the research. https://www.hachette.com.au/jayne-buxton/the-great-plant-based-con-why-eating-a-plants-only-diet-wont-improve-your-health-or-save-the-planet

                          A fantastic podcast is posted by these ladies, with great information and real facts. Real Life Medicine - fantastic podcast by Dr Lucy Burns and Dr Mary Barsons

                          https://www.rlmedicine.com/meet-the-doctors

                          Dr Anthony Chaffee - American Dr now living in Australia, who lives a carnivore lifestyle, and certainly backs up his statements with facts.

                          https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzoRyR_nlesKZuOlEjWRXQQ

                          I am disappointed that the Australian and American Dietary Association have basically told us what to eat based on who had a vested interest. Arent these associations meant to be non-biased and do what is best for their citizens? I am definitely not a "conspiratorial" type of person, but it is horrendous that government agencies are ignoring the best health for their communities, over who is paying them so that they can sell more cereal-based products.

                          Next week we'll talk about the other issue with plant-based diets.

                          42 min
                        13. Episode 8 - Does Homesteading Pay

                          CJ Discusses the things you need to consider when making an income from homesteading. Does it pay? We discuss the different products you can produce with homesteading, pricing and hard to enter fields. 2 things to keep in mind "Do the things you love" "Area's that are hard to get into have much less competition"

                          37 min
                        14. Episode 7 - Homesteading and Off-Farm Work

                          CJ gives you a rundown of what her average day looks like and the honest truth that this lifestyle may not be for everyone. Walking up around 4 am most mornings, feeding chickens and in summer milking goats are the first chores of the day. Then other animals and dogs need managing.

                          Finally, it's time for a coffee, and shower and then human kids need prepping to get them off to school and I head to my full-time off-farm job for the day.

                          Arriving home in the afternoons is all the normal household chores before heading out to manage all the farm chores with chickens, goats, poddy calves and dogs. Luckily the bees are the lowest maintenance of all the animals. 

                          Many people will say this is a lifestyle they would love to leave but I really think its important that everyone understands what is involved before they make the leap of faith into homesteading/farming.

                          Sorry, but there's a language warning on this one because sometimes it's needed.

                          31 min
                        15. Episode 6 - Urban Homesteading

                          Bit of a language warning this week.

                          I feel like as I get more comfortable recording my podcasts, my natural speech is coming out. Sorry, not sorry.

                          Today I discuss Urban Homesteading. What it is? Is it legal? Who can do it? I also mention some people that I follow and love. Not going to lie, I have a bit of a fan-girl crush on some of these people and would love to interview them!!! 

                          Holistic Management - Alan Savory and Jodie Butterfield @savoryinstitute https://www.instagram.com/savoryinstitute/

                          Polyface Farms - Joel Salatin @polyfacefarm https://www.instagram.com/polyfacefarm/

                          Ridgedale Farm - Richard Perkins @richardperkins.co https://www.instagram.com/richardperkins.co/

                          Milkwood - Kirsten and Nick @milkwood https://www.instagram.com/milkwood/

                          Goodlife Permaculture - Hannah Moloney @goodlife_permaculture https://www.instagram.com/goodlife_permaculture/

                          UK Homesteading - Eve @ukhomesteading https://www.instagram.com/ukhomesteading/

                          So my hot tip for the week is just start! It doesn't matter where, just do something. And imperfect action is better than no action.

                          And remember grow the life you want to live.

                          29 min
                        16. Episode 5 - Chickens - The Gateway Drug to Homesteading

                          CJ discusses the chickens and how they are an entry point for homesteading.

                          Keeping your own backyard chickens is a great starting point for learning and living a homestead life. Many breeds don't require much space, they are very easy to care for, you get an immediate return on your efforts and these little dinos are really friendly and social.

                          Once you start keeping backyard chickens you will realise that the tree-change lifestyle to become more self-sufficient and sustainably live is much easier than you thought. 

                          You can start with 2-3 chickens, a small coop and an enclosed backyard. You could share the girls with your neighbours, you could use community garden space. The best bit is you can get healthy, fresh free-range eggs with very little daily effort. A small flock of chickens can be looked after in 5-10 minutes a day. 

                          They really are the simplest way to start your journey into homesteading and producing your own food!

                          Don't forget to get on our waitlist so you too can raise your own backyard chickens! HERE

                           

                          31 min
                        17. Episode 4 - Interview with My Kids

                          In this episode, CJ interviews her daughter and son, MJ and OJ, about their thoughts on farming and living in a rural environment. The kids speak freely about the things they love and hate about living on a farm.

                          They discuss the move, schooling, animals, sad moments and the happy ones. They also say what advice they would give to other kids moving to a farm.

                          The kids talk about travelling to school and visiting friends. How they have to be much more organised to do sport in the afternoon after school.

                          They also discuss processing our first meat birds and being involved in that process.

                          25 min
                        18. Episode 3 - Motherhood and Farming

                          CJ talks this week about what it's like to have kids on the farm and what that means for both mother and children. She covers having kids doing chores and the good and bad of the life cycle. She also talks about how her children have coped with both seeing life come into the world and the opposite end - watching animals die. Kids can be very resilient, much more so than most people give them credit for. Helping children understand the unchanging cycle of life, things are born and everything dies eventually, has improved her children's coping mechanisms at school and in sports.

                          Sometimes farming and motherhood is hard, but motherhood is hard anyway so you just have to pick your version of hard. Working full-time is hard, farming is hard and being a single mum was hard. But the benefits that come from homesteading with kids outweigh all the "hard".

                          Knowing that my children understand where their food comes from and the process to get food to the table is going to serve them well in life. Given what I have been learning about how high-carb, cereal-based diets are damaging our kid's learning abilities and mental health, I am also glad that this lifestyle has given them an appreciation for a meat-based diet. I know they will have great health and resilience and that will make all the hard work worth it.

                          37 min

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