Homesteady - Stories of Living off the Land

On this episode of Homesteady, we meet Elaine Vandiver of Old Homestead Alpacas. Elaine's journey to her purpose began on 9/11. A college student at the time, She felt the right thing for her to do was the join the army and serve her country.

Now, she's an alpaca farmer.

Wait, what? Let's back up.

We met Elaine in the Homesteady Launchpad business course hosted by Aust and Accountant Mike. Elaine is currently finding success in agrotourism- giving tourists an "on-farm" experience that is projected to net $11,000 this year.

Elaine isn't from Walla Walla Washington. Originally from Indiana, Elaine completed a successful military career and followed her then boyfriend (now husband) to Washington State. Falling in love with the beautiful landscape, they put down their roots. Elaine credits her time in the military for giving her invaluable perspective, and assisting her success in homesteading.

Elaine felt that the time she spent as a solider helped her become a stronger person and put hardship in perspective.

It was after her military experience however, that Elaine met what was to be a true test of her strength: her desire to have a family and her journey through infertility. After seven years of exhaustive medical intervention and ongoing mental stress and disappointment, Elaine and her husband found themselves choosing the end their journey to become pregnant and take a different path. This led them to selling their family-ready home and moving to the country.

"Undervalued" was the word Elaine and her husband had in mind when searching for their property- looking for a "country fabulous" property they could bring to its full potential.

They found their "gem" of a fixer upper, and the work the property needed was the perfect project to distract the Vandivers from their previous seven years of heartbreak. The property also came with a few surprises- in-tact perimeter fencing, a history of a previous homestead,  3 pastures- and two llamas, Leroy and Loretta.

If Elaine was going to have her country home, she was going to have to take in the llamas.

Googling the care of llamas, Elaine took her new (pets? livestock?) day by day. In her research, she came upon alpacas. They were softer! Cuter! Nicer! When spring came, Elaine purchased a couple to take care of the pastures full of grass on her property. When a connection with a local alpaca farmer was made, the alpacas increased from 2 to 41. In exchange for taking care of the alpaca heard she had acquired, she could keep their product. Through happenstance, Elaine became an alpaca farmer, and began her unplanned, unexpected journey to being a homestead business owner.

Things began to fall together so nicely; Elaine wasn't going to stand in the way. Cementing her path was a manila envelope with the original paperwork detailing her property's history as a parcel from the Homestead Act of 1862.

Deciding to go all-in, Elaine went step by step to become a legitimate business, following the appropriate protocol to ensure the growth and success of her alpaca farm. It is important to note, however, that the alpaca farm is Elaine's side hustle- she is a "cubicle dwelling bureaucrat" by day. She credits her job with working one side of her brain, and her farm working the entire other side- creativity, problem solving, and passion.

However -what about the alpaca fiber- is this really a valuable product? How do we make it that way?

Turns out, it is a "diamond in the rough" type product, requiring many steps to become useful and beautiful. Two years, actually, from start to finish. Elaine realized that with such a long turn around time, she needed to re-think how to utilize the value in her property.

Turns out, the BEAUTY of the farm could be capitalized on. Check out Elaine on Instagram to see the gorgeous vistas of her farm. If you find a photo of Elaine and an alpaca on the back of a Volkswagon bus, follow her feed, leave a comment identifying yourself as a Homesteady listener, and Aust will give you a FREE month of a Homesteady Pioneer Membership!

Elaine started giving tours and opened a little gift shop. More on-farm events have followed: alpaca yoga, a farm to needle workshop series on alpaca fiber, (check out the upcoming sunset yoga and wine tasting!) and then: Airbnb. For her Airbnb, the guest received a port-a-potty and land to put up a tent or camper. For $50 per night, Elaine's farm was extremely popular.

Would Elaine's business come out as profitable according to Accountant Mike's standards? No, not yet. But in terms of the added value of happiness- Elaine puts it best:

There is a difference between making money, and making a life. Is the juice worth the squeeze? Hells yeah, because I had a BLAST doing it.

We have a new partner! Aust is so pleased to partner with Wildcat Outdoor Gear as they premier their collection of tents designed by and for "Outdoorsy Dads." Watch a great video of Aust, Kendra and the kids enjoying their tent here. Enter coupon code Homesteady at check-out for a discount!

Join our email list, and don't miss any of the exciting updates we have coming up in 2018!

We have a new addition to the Pioneer Program: A PIONEER ONLY FORUM! Learn from one another and get to talk with Accountant Mike, The Foraging Beard, Dave from Northeast Edible, Alexia The Suburban Escapee, and Allyson, our producer. Our podcast guests will also be in the forums! Ask Elaine any questions you may have in our forum. Not a Pioneer? Join today!

Want even more ways to support the show? Do your Amazon shopping through our affiliate link- www.amsteady.com.

The wait will be shorter than ever for the next episode, as Aust is now creating Homesteady Content FULL TIME. What does that mean? A daily YouTube Video and a NEW podcast every two weeks. We will also

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sometimes the most obvious way of solving a problem is not the best way.

On this episode of Homesteady, we explore our most valuable non-renewable resource: time. Beginning with the story of the Village on the Hill, we see that looking outside the box for a different solution may be the best way for us to achieve our goals. In part two of our ten part Homestead Business Series (miss part one? Listen here ) we head to North Idaho to meet Dan Ohmann on his grassfed homestead.

How did this police-officer-turned-stay-at-home-dad-and-farmer do it?

On the surface, we see a couple and a child living on a homestead raising lamb and pastured poultry. Dan's spouse still works a traditional job in the software industry, and they gross approximately $2,250 from their meaty side hustle. Like so many of us, the arrival of his first child inspired Dan and his wife to escape their HOA-ruled suburb for something different.

Dan decided he needed to take a lot more responsibility for his resources-namely, food, and increasing food security and self-sufficiency. 

(An aside-food security is an incredibly weighty and important topic. Learn more here.)

Dan's explorations led him to the concept of permaculture. Designing sustainable systems using the natural resources that are available led him to Geoff Lawton's work.

"The primary goal of permaculture is to provide a permanence of culture on the earth for people and all living things."

-Geoff Lawton

So, what is permaculture, anyway? It is an amalgamation of social and agricultural systems that, like most things, is best defined by Wikipedia.

Dan experienced a paradigm shift in watching Geoff Lawton's permaculture videos and taking his online permaculture course. Dan realized that like so many of us, he had designed his life according to the socially accepted success formula- good grades+ good college= good job, good money, good life. The permaculture model not only shifted Dan's thinking about sustainable agriculture, but showed him that he could apply these same principles to design a lifestyle that deviated from the acceptable success formula. Why?

There has been a growing awareness though that firstly, there is the need to pay more attention to the peoplecare ethic, as it is often the dynamics of people that can interfere with projects, and secondly that the principles of permaculture can be used as effectively to create vibrant, healthy and productive people and communities as they have been in landscapes.

(Wikipedia 2018)

When Dan's son ran into health problems that were directly related to his diet, that was the final push he needed to start figuring out how to provide what he needed for his family himself. They were able to make a big change, and leave their home in suburban Atlanta when his wife got a big promotion at work where she received a large pay raise and could work remotely.

Leaving the police force was a difficult transition for Dan. It was his entire career: he had worked his way through the ranks for many years. This was a meaningful job for Dan, with real value in serving his community, and he knew that he had continued career growth with his department. However, North Idaho was calling, with the land and lifestyle that Dan and his wife wanted for their family. After a two year search for the right property was finally completed, Dan started developing his homestead right away. Sheep were delivered less than 48 hours after move-in day, and they were off! Currently, they are in their second season of raising animals, with a focus on grassfed lamb.

How is Dan growing his business?

1. Start small and with with people you know. Dan raised four lambs his first season. Sending strategic emails that resulted in a friend buying a half a lamb, Dan networked his way into selling two lambs, which left two for his family to eat.
2. Make a marketing plan based upon on-the-ground feedback from your possible customer base. When Dan was marketing his lamb, everyone asked, "But how do you cook lamb?" With a series of YouTube cooking videos, he answered this question for his consumers. He developed these videos over the winter to share at a local food advocacy group event. In alignment with slow food principles, Dan showed his consumer where their food came from and what to do with it.
3. Have reasonable growth expectations. Through word of mouth, Dan has sold six lambs and cut off sales. He has since been turning people away.

"I can't meet the demand-yet," says Dan.

Also- is the business profitable? Let's get down to brass tacks, shall we? (What does that even mean, anyway?) Aust invokes the spirit of Accountant Mike to get down to the nitty gritty dollars-and-cents with Dan.

Through a value system that incorporates money as only ONE part of the value of an enterprise, however: is Dan's homestead profitable?

Through a permaculture lens, yes. Despite challenges, Dan has built many different forms of capital into the value of his endeavor. Namely? Control over his life- specifically, his TIME. He values being able to schedule his work around his son. As parents, the truth of the matter is that we have to spend time on commutes, on working out of the home- time doing what I call "The Things" that take us away from our children. However, you ARE able to build your OWN system to optimize your opportunities for fulfillment.

Shout out to The Survival Podcast for inspiring the story of the village on the hill.

Thank you to our sponsor Freight Farms: grow food anywhere with the help of the Leafy Green Machine. Thanks for continuing to sponsor the podcast! Go to www.freightfarms.com/homesteady for access to a FREE Business planning guide!

Join our email list, and don't miss any of the exciting updates we have coming up in 2018!

We have a new addition to the Pioneer Program: A PIONEER ONLY FORUM! Learn from one another and get to talk with Accountant Mike, The Foraging Beard, Dave from Northeast Edible, Alexia The Suburban Escapee, and Allyson, our producer. Our podcast guests will also be in the forums! Ask Dan any questions you may have in our forum. Not a Pioneer? Join today and get TWENTY bonus podcast episodes with just one click!

Want even more ways to support the show? Do your Amazon shopping through our affiliate link- www.amsteady.com.

The wait will be shorter than ever for the next episode, as Aust is now creating Homesteady Content FULL TIME. What does that mean? A daily YouTube Video and a NEW podcast every two weeks.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode of Homesteady, Aust further explores the dream vs. the reality of homesteading, by explaining the harshest reality of them all: why your homestead business WILL fail. Through video, Aust's brother-in-law parodies the overt optimism that brings us into the homesteading world in the first place: the beauty of vegetables, the imagined ease of "working at home" now that you have a farm.

REALITY CHECK: It is RARE to make more money than you spend on your homestead. But does that mean you have to give up the dream?

Based on our Homesteady poll, (thanks for your responses!) THREE OUT OF FOUR of you have the dream that someday, you will be able to exit your current careers due to the successful pursuit of a full-time homesteading business.

Through a new series, Aust is going to share his six years of experience with all of you. Full-time podcaster Aust (one dream, now more of a reality!) is going to make ten episodes about making your homestead profitable. Along with interviews to exploring others' journeys and sharing knowledge, we hope to help you, the burgeoning homestead businessperson, to get off to a positive start.

It should be no surprise that Accountant Mike has a lot to say on the topic of failed businesses. This episode on failing businesses EXCLUSIVELY features Accountant Mike.  (PS: the tax laws have changed. Stay informed!) On this first episode about Homestead Businesses, we are going to talk about The Side Hustle. To qualify as a side hustle, the homesteader in question has to fit the following criteria: the homesteader, or one half of a homesteading couple, has to have a full-time job outside the homestead. Secondly, the homestead based business had to have grossed $1,000 or more.

The Side Hustle common theme: lots of people aren't anywhere near profitable.

Aust takes us back to his first failed business: selling custom POG slammers made out of Sculpy clay. Developing his business acumen through his youth via Pokemon cards and spare lunch burritos, Aust has learned throughout his lifetime as a "hustler" the basics of a profitable business. Now, as a homesteader, Aust shares with us that the farm is a side-hustle. Even six years in, he is not relying on his farm to be profitable or the main source of support for his family.

There are three main areas where a business side hustle can fail:

1. Failure to Plan: This results in wasting time, effort, and money. However, don't get stuck in analysis paralysis! A concrete goal is the best way to move forward.
2. Starting without Sufficient Capital: Do you ACTUALLY know how much your business venture costs? Take note of all of your data: infrastructure, supplies, and repairs.
3. Not Planning Ahead with your Time: Time is Money! Pay specific attention to the scalability of your enterprise.

The number one way to stay safe? GROW SLOW. Make a plan, stick to it, and stay small. Remember that the business skills you learn along the way are infinitely applicable. 

Freight Farms: grow food anywhere with the help of the Leafy Green Machine. Thanks for continuing to sponsor the podcast! Go to www.freightfarms.com/homesteady for access to a FREE Business planning guide!

Join our email list, and don't miss any of the exciting updates we have coming up in 2018!

We have a new addition to the Pioneer Program: A PIONEER ONLY FORUM! Learn from one another and get to talk with Accountant Mike, The Foraging Beard, Dave from Northeast Edible, Alexia The Suburban Escapee, and Allyson, our producer. Not a Pioneer? Join Today!

Want even more ways to support the show? Do your Amazon shopping through our affiliate link- www.amsteady.com.

The wait will be shorter than ever for the next episode, as Aust is now creating Homesteady Content FULL TIME. What does that mean? A daily YouTube Video and a NEW podcast every two weeks.

We are looking forward to even more Homesteady in 2018!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode of Homesteady, Aunt, Kendra, and the family update us on the changes on the farm throughout 2017. A year ago, Aust and Kendra were going to sell the farm and go on a road trip. Instead, they have had the most productive year on the homestead yet! They updated with major infrastructure improvements and even got a cow (check out our family cow episode here- you may be convinced to get one a well.) What happened? With small children who don't travel well, and a re-discovered appreciation for their home in Connecticut, Aust and Kendra decided staying at their current homestead was the best choice.

Kendra set a goal for the homestead to be NEAT and ORDERLY. 2017 was the year of form and function. Every change, every innovation, had a purpose.

Improving the infrastructure on the farm was the number one priority. Our YouTube Video shows the giant machine that made a road to the barn in just one day! An improved, more accessible barn opens many possibilities for Aust and Kendra, and increased efficiency for all barn related tasks.

Have a new barn? How about getting pigs earlier, as they can be easily cared for and sheltered in the new barn? Aust and Kendra were able to buy their pigs in April, a whole month earlier than they usually do. The combination of an early start, mild weather, and Stone House Grain led to pigs that were 100 pounds heavier than their previous heaviest batch of pigs. Heavier pigs allowed Aust and Kendra to create more flavors of bacon and sausages with their pigs.

Who doesn't like sausages?

This year, the farm raised 50 Cornish Cross and 25 Ranger Chickens, plus seventeen new egg layers. This was the first year of raising two different types of chickens, and Just was very impressed with the rangers. Pro Tip from Kendra: Keep the two breeds separate, as the rangers were found to be aggressive towards the Cornish Cross!

Raising turkeys seemed like an excellent idea for the oldest Martin child to expand his existing egg selling farm business. However, a shipment of turkeys arrived in very poor health. The two surviving turkeys imprinted on the family as their own flock. With some adventures in turkey behavior notwithstanding, the turkeys have survived the holiday season (so far). Stay tuned...

Raising ducks is something that has been done on the homestead before. However, during the at-home butchering process, a few things went awry...

SHOUT OUT TO NATHAN: In 2016, Nathan let us know that he had an allergy to duck eggs. Aust does too, and was able to recognize the symptoms thanks to his letter.

Between the egg allergy and not wanting to butcher ducks on the homestead, ducks are going to be a "decoration animal" on the farm from this point forward.

The biggest adventure? Dairy Cows! Kendra shares her journey exploring which cow is best, taking care of a cow, and birthing her first calf. Spoiler Alert: A cow is EASIER than goats.

Throughout this episode, we refer to many of our past podcasts and YouTube videos. You can find all of our past episodes here, and search through all of our YouTube Videos and subscribe to our channel so you don't miss any updates.

The Biggest Update of all: Aust is going to be doing Homesteady FULL TIME. This means more of everything: videos, classes, and bonus podcasts.

Plus: We will be opening a new Homesteady Pioneers Forum. Want a sneak peak? Email us at [email protected] if you'd like to be a tester.

Wait, are you not yet a Pioneer? For $5 a month YOU can be a homsteady pioneer. You get bonus episodes of the podcast through the Pioneer Library, plus access to our new "one click" feature that will allow you to download 20 episodes of Homesteady WITH JUST ONE CLICK.

Thank you to Freight farm for sponsoring this episode. Their innovative hydroponics systems allow you to grow farm fresh food year-round. Check them out on our hydroponics episode.

Do you want to support the podcast? Are you doing some online shopping? Use our Amazon affiliate link and a portion of your spending supports the show. www.amsteady.com.

2018 promises to be an exciting year. Stay Tuned!

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It was WAY BACK! May 16, 2014....

The very first episode of the Homesteady Podcast was released....

Since then we have released

• 55 episodes of the podcast
• 286 Youtube videos
• blog posts
• courses
• swag!

I didn't start this thinking I would ever go full time with it. I didn't think content creation could be a career...

But the world has changed!

Back in Feb, 2015 we launched the Pioneer Program...

It consisted of

• Bonus videos and podcasts
• Courses I taught to local schools
• Discounts from homestead vendors

It sells everyday for $5 a month.  (https://www.thisishomesteady.com/head-west-become-pioneer/)

Slowly we built this podcast, then youtube channel, and turned it to a better and better business.

NOW ITS TIME TO LEAP!

Learn our big news in todays LIVESTREAM!

Or... If you don't feel like watching that ....

Here it goes...

I AM GOING TO DO HOMESTEADY FULL TIME!!!

For the last few years we have been building our show to the point where I could do this full time. Now, my life has had some changes that allow me to focus on Homesteady, and we are going to try for the next 3 months to do this full time!

We could only do this with the help from our Homesteady Pioneers! Their support has been huge.

If you would like to become a Homesteady Pioneer, get access to all our Classes, Bonus Podcasts and Videos, and Pioneer Discounts, we are going to have a special BLACK FRIDAY - CYBER MONDAY Sale! 

CLICK HERE to become a Pioneer for the whole year, for just $33! It is the cheapest sale we have ever done. It will go away on Tuesday.

SO WHAT SHOULD YOU EXPECT FROM HOMESTEADY?

In the next month we will be ramping things up over here. Starting in 2018, expect to see 2 Podcast episodes a month! About 45 min long, released every other week.

On the YouTube side, we will be releasing 1 or 2 vids weekly, as well as a livestream...

FARM FRIDAYS - ABOUT TO CHANGE BIG TIME TOO...

In addition to our emails every Friday, we will be hosting a livestream on Fridays! The farm Friday livestream will be a recap of our week, share our latest content, and answer a weekly question! Email us or comment on a video with a Question and you could be featured in that piece.

Thats it! Thanks for helping us get here... We couldn't do it without you!

-Aust

PS - if you want to help us produce this show, but can't do the pioneer program, no worries! You can do your cyber Monday shopping at amazon through our www.amsteady.com link, spend nothing extra, but we get a little affiliate bonus!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode of Homesteady, we explore the lifestyle of the modern hunter. We will be examining both the facts and the feelings that come into play when decided whether hunting is an ethical option for feeding one's family. With scenes from Bambi resonating within the formative memories of Aust's childhood, we are going to re-examine the discussion on hunting: Is it wrong? With such easy access to food, do we need to head into the woods with a gun?

This episode is for those of you who are not currently hunters. We ask that you listen to this episode with an open mind as we present the facts and feelings on hunting from multiple perspectives.We know that Aust is a hunter now- but we learn that he wasn't always this way. After learning about factory farming, Aust and Kendra wanted a healthier option for their growing family. Once figuring out that hunting was the most affordable option for his family, Aust became a self-taught hunter, and soon after harvested his first deer.

"At a base level, every single one of us is a hunter." Tyler Sharp, the founder and creative director of Modern Huntsman, our first hunting interviewee, takes an historical perspective on hunting that he is aware can be polarizing amongst mixed company. Growing up in Texas, he grew up with hunting as a typical part of his culture. Once he moved to California to college, and disclosed his experience filming hunts to his peers in his photography and film classes, he was made aware that many regarded his experiences with gross disdain. As friends close to him expressed they found hunting appalling, Tyler was pushed to search within himself why hunting was an ethical choice.

Spending several years in Tanzania filming safaris post-college, Tyler filmed and photographed the hunting safaris for an established outfitter on a game reserve. Living in the Kilombero region for several years, Tyler had the opportunity to learn outdoor skills from those in the region- and come face to face with a lion.

The takeaway? To be a good hunter, you have to be a good outdoorsman, and be comfortable spending a lot of time there. Also- hunters love animals. Surprised? It was after his encounters with animals that Tyler decided that hunting was actually the best thing one can do to take care of wildlife.

After three years living in the bush and hunting in Africa, Tyler shares these facts about hunting that support his perspective:

Fact #1: There is a difference between hunters and poachers.

Fact #2: Hunters produce more money than any other group when it comes to taking care of our animals.

Despite the fact that it is unfashionable to be a hunter, Tyler argues that hunting can be an ethical lifestyle choice.

Brad Neathery, our next guest, is the co-founder and CEO of Modern Huntsman. Since childhood, Brad has seen a different side of what a modern hunter could be.

"Hunting was essentially a medium to pull together some father-son bonding time. To be honest, we'd rarely pull a trigger, because we got lost in conversation more than anything else."

Brad does, however, have an issue with mainstream general media, and mainstream hunting media, in its portrayal of hunters. He feels that the image portrayed has been homogenized to one stereotype in most American media. Instead, hunters need to be portrayed in all the diversity they represent- traditional tribal hunters in Tanzania, master trackers, fathers and sons in Texas, husbands and wives learning together to hunt in adulthood. The media celebrates those who are in it for shooting, as opposed to those who use and respect all parts of the animals they harvest.

BUT HEY- Did you know you can purchase meat at the supermarket? So why hunt?

The emotions you experience while hunting, as beautifully detailed here, by Eamon Waddington, are not the same as those you experience when finding ground beef for 99 cents a pound in your grocer's meat case.

"My anticipation had my heart pounding – whatever was in front of him was close. I hold back every urge in my body to get closer and peek over his shoulder like a curious child – the suspense was killing me."

The Modern Huntsman Magazine portrays this alternative view of hunters. In finding and sharing stories about hunting that sit with the hunter's remorse of taking a life, and their gratefulness for the harvest of the animal, and the details of their acquired skills, Brad shows that many hunters are thoughtful, respectful, and keepers of tradition. The alternative narrative he presents is a stark counterpoint to mainstream media's homogenous bloodthirsty portrayal of the hunter.

Food for thought, to be sure.

Thank you to Brad and Tyler at the Modern Huntsman Huntsman for sharing their stories, perspective, and their mission. To make Modern Huntsman a reality, visit their Kickstarter campaign to support the first issue.

$5 off an edition of Modern Huntsman for Homesteady backers!

Are you homesteady? Help us find YOU on social media with the hashtag #iamhomesteady.

Thanks for your patience with our current slow production schedule! Stay tuned for our plans for 2018 in our December podcast!

Also, have you supported us by becoming a Pioneer? If not, you can join us here for tons of free classes, videos, bonus podcasts, and discount codes for some of our favorite vendors.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hydroponic Gardening. Some people have no clue what it is at all. Others (My Wife) may picture a creepy basement filled with bright white LED lighting, plants growing from tubes... 

When a hydroponicist... (is that even a real word?) thinks of hydroponics, they think of gardening with no bugs, in a controlled environment, year round, with perfect yields in half the time as a conventional garden. 

Sounds pretty good... right?

Learn all about Hydroponics, and how you can grow farm fresh veggies in half the time as you usually do... year round, in this episode of Homesteady, all about Hydroponic Gardening. 

In this month's episode you will learn about the history of hydroponics, from back in the Aztec times, to the space station, to our modern day. Today we can find awesome companies like Freight Farms using hydroponics to grow farm fresh food in the cities. But hydroponics has become a great tool for homesteaders as well!

Jonathan Russo shares his family's homestead hydroponic system, and accountant mike gets inspired to give it a shot!

Special Thanks to Jonathan Russo from Fairfield County Hydroponics for sharing his hydroponic system with us! Check out Jonathan's website to learn more about his services. 

This episode of Homesteady is brought to you by Freight Farms, the creators of the Leafy Green Machine. Checkout their Farm Business Plan Guide and learn all about Freight Farming HERE

And by HelloFresh,  a dinner delivery service that gets meals to you in an  easy, pre-portioned kit. Use promocode Homesteady30 to get $30 off your first meal delivery.

Are you  huge fan of the show? Join the Homesteady Pioneers by following this link and for only five dollars a month, you get bonus podcasts, free online webinars, discount codes (on awesome products like these, or maybe some Russian comfrey), and more! Dave from Northeast Edible will also give you a Pioneer discount on planning your orchard. Become a Pioneer today!

We love hearing from you! Have you filled out our survey? You will be entered to win a $100 gift card from Tractor Supply Co. Want to hear more about what’s coming up next? Join our mailing list for up to the minute updates on our YouTube Channel and podcast.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode of Homesteady, we are exploring the delights and dangers of foraging, or looking for and gathering wild foods. After a scare gathering mushrooms on the Homestead, Aust shares with us information on how to safely start your own foraging hobby.

******* Disclaimer: this blog and podcast are NOT a source for identifying wild plants************************************

Our guest, Jared White, is an extreme foraging enthusiast and hobbyist of The Foraging Beard on Instagram and YouTube is our guest on the show, to give us education and guidance on learning to forage. As a stay at home dad, Jared has dived into homesteading, with foraging emerging as his prominent interest. An avid photographer, his research into the flora he was photographing led him to the knowledge that lots of the plants he was photographing were edible! With his trusty Audobon Field Guide and the help of Google, Jared began to learn more and more about identifying wild edibles.

But-how do we determine what is edible? And to NOT panic when we take a bite?

Jared recommends starting with the onions. The allium tricoccum, or ramps, in particular, are great for the beginning forager. With their distinctive aroma and taste, the beginner can feel secure that they are eating the wild onion they think they are eating. Mushrooms, however, are trickier. Local and regional names can confuse a forager looking for the safely eaten variety. Using scientific names for all foraged plants helps ensure that no one finds an unwelcome variety on their dinner plate, and allows foodie enthusiasts to savor their chanterelles without fear.

What other kinds of wild edibles are out there?

Depending upon your region, the edible plants available vary. The best way to find them? Just keep looking. And looking. And looking.

After your search, how do you decide whether to take a bite? What protocols do you follow to determine whether dinner is deadly? Jared, who had his own scare after thinking he ate a death cap when he meant to eat a russula, shares these safety tips:

• If it looks like food, take a picture or a plant home, and research it thoroughly.
• Learn to identify poisonous plants, so you don't take an accidental nibble!
• Use three sources to confirm what you found.
• Start with the foolproof four.
• Immediately go to your local ER and call Poison Control if you fear you have made a mistake.

This cautionary tale shows you can never be too careful.

Does Accountant Mike think foraging is worth the risks? Could he possibly be anti FREE FOOD? Or does the math add up in a surprising way? Listen to find out if gathering gourmet food pays off not only for your curiosity, but your wallet.

Thank you to our sponsors! When your schedule prevents you from foraging your dinner, let HelloFresh deliver dinner to you in an  easy, pre-portioned kit. Use promocode Homesteady30 to get $30 off your first meal delivery.

Are you  huge fan of the show? Join the Homesteady Pioneers by following this link and for only five dollars a month, you get bonus podcasts, free online webinars, discount codes (on awesome products like these, or maybe some Russian comfrey), and more! Dave from Northeast Edible will also give you a Pioneer discount on planning your orchard. Become a Pioneer today!

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On the farm this week we successfully planted an entire orchard in just a few hours! How did we get so much work done in so little time? With an on-farm workshop! On-farm workshops are a great way to help a farmer get a lot of work done in a timely manner, and a great way for farm dreamers and homesteady types looking to spend some time living the farm life get some real hands on experience.

But workshops can be tricky… How do you make sure they give both parties, the farmer, and the visitors, the experience they need?

We have been running workshops on the farm for years, most of them have been great. Over this time we have learned a lot about how to do a successful on-farm workshop. Here are some of the lessons we have learned…

Make sure you prepared for non farmers on the farm…
People who come to workshops are not farmers, and not familiar with the risks, dangers, and responsibilities of a farmer. They may want to bring children, go places they don't belong, hurt themselves… If you're going to do workshops protect yourself legally and inform your guests.

The visitors are not the same as hired help…
When you host a workshop you are getting additional hands on the farm. And this can be incredibly helpful for a small farm to get a big project accomplished…. BUT these are not hired workers. You will need to make sure your students enjoy the workshop, learn a lot (because that is why they are there) and feel like they enjoyed their day on the farm. Sometimes you will get more done than you normally could. SOMETIMES… Less…

It is OK to charge money, but consider what your getting from your workers….
Some workshops that you may plan give more to the students than to you. We used to do a chicken butcher workshop, this was only to teach others, it didn't do anything for us as far as production goes, so this we charged a lot for. Our Orchard workshop, however, was very cheap, as we were paid in work done on the farm. The little bit of money from tickets was given to the instructor. Sometimes you as the farmer get paid in work, sometimes in money…

Everyone can get something from a good workshop…
If you plan ahead, treat your guests well, you can get a lot of work done and enjoy time with your local community!

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Today we catch up with you all! It has been a busy spring on our homestead. Usually, winter leaves us all sitting inside our homes, by a fire, dreaming of all the new things we want to try on our homesteads in the following spring. We always spend that time talking together about big plans for the season. This year was no different! And in no time we had a few big ideas.

Early in February, the weather got nice, and so we decided to jump start our season! It began with a serious upgrade to our existing barn. The barn was built on a gravel pad. The gravel drained well but made it very difficult to clean the barn. So it was time to pour a concrete floor. This has been on of the best improvements on the homestead!

The next big project we began working on was our pasture improvement. Over the last few years, our biggest problem with livestock was a lack of enough pasture and good pasture at that. Lots of our property that we were not using was heavily sloped, and not good for pasture. So we cut a road to our barn, (to get the concrete truck in) and used that to fill our sloped area. Now we have some serious pasture area!

Finally, we began prepping for our new orchard. This year we realized, (as we talked about in a previous show) the importance of growing fruit and other perennials on our homestead. The beauty of fruit is that it takes less and less work each year while yielding more and more fruit! So preparations began to install an orchard of many different fruit and nut trees! This Saturday we have an Event at the farm, where we will be installing the orchard!

Join us for that event: https://www.thisishomesteady.com/early-bird-orchard-planting-workshop-tickets/

It has been a busy spring! We’re excited to tell you all about it! Join us for the chat, and Q and A session afterward.

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