Plans and Provisions Homestead – Details, episodes & analysis

There is no doubt that climate plays a major role in the plans of everyone on the homesteading path. In regions with harsh winters, homesteaders must contend with frozen soil and limited growing seasons, while in more arid climates, water scarcity and heat become critical concerns. The success of any homesteader is strongly tied to their ability to adapt and innovate in response to the unique climatic conditions of their location.

Today I welcome Dani Welton who, along wih her husband and 5 kids, homestead on the outskirts of Phoenix, AZ. They seem to have maximized on their strengths and overcome the challenges of raising livestock in the hot, dry Sonoran Desert. Since 2015, they have tried a lot of things and currently have a focus on cattle, having both a small dairy and beef herd on their three and a half acres.

TOPICS DISCUSSED:

* How her family got their start on their homestead 9 years ago and all the things they’ve tried over the years.

* What drove them to get started with homesteading and some of the early challenges they had to overcome

* The division of labor on their property and the importance of having their kids involved in process of raising food

* What resources she leaned on in the early days before there was an abundance of online options for learning

* Her passion for dairy cows and how they rotationally graze their cattle

* How they made things work with what they’ve had along the way and slowly improved systems over time

* The different ways she uses milk and makes dairy products on her homestead

* Dani shares a ‘happy accident’ that ended up being a family favorite cheese recipe

* She shares the details of her Home Dairy Recipes E-Book

BUY DANI'S HOME DAIRY RECIPES E-BOOK:

https://msha.ke/daniwelton

CONNECT WITH DANI ON INSTAGRAM:

https://www.instagram.com/dani.welton/

SHOP AT AZURE STANDARD:

https://www.plansandprovisions.com/azure

As we begin to wrap up our second growing season here on our homestead this fall, we’re grateful for the food we’re producing and the progress that we’re making. Our property came pretty much “turn-key” for what we were planning to do here, but there is one thing we do wish was already here that wasn’t….and that’s fruit trees. We’ve tossed around plans and ideas from the outset, but never got around to planting fruit for one reason or another. They’re definitely a long term commitment and, while we know it takes quite a while to get a harvest, we didn’t want to make any big mistakes from being too hasty.

In today’s episode, I get to pick the brain of someone who has been hasty, made lots of mistakes and is now able to teach people like me how to start off on the right track when planting an orchard. Her name is Susan Poizner of OrchardPeople.com who, over 14 years ago got an idea to plant a community orchard in a neglected park in her neighborhood. That decision started her on a journey which, today, finds her using her knowledge and experience as an author, educator, radio host and podcaster.

TOPICS DISCUSSED:

* Susan’s experience establishing a community garden in a neighborhood park

* I ask her if I made a mistake by not planting fruit trees right away on our property

* The problems with buying what’s available at the ‘big box stores’ and the importance of selecting the proper trees for your specific needs and conditions

* The mistakes that she made when se was in the earl stages of her orchard journey

* The pros and cons of raising dwarf fruit trees and how semi-dwarf threes are often preferable as long as you have enough space

* The importance of planning for proper pollination

* The proper methods for planting bare root trees and how to avoid the most common mistakes

* Susan shares her advice for growing fruit trees fast, with minimal effort, as covered in her book “Growing Fruit Trees Fast”

* Common signs of fruit trees that are struggling

* The many resources available for learning at her website, including a blog, podcast, books and online courses

VISIT SUSAN'S WEBSITE:

https://orchardpeople.com/

BUY SUSAN'S BOOK 'GROWING FRUIT TREES FAST':

https://a.co/d/eAy15Qg

SUSAN'S ONLINE COURSES:

https://learn.orchardpeople.com/

SHOP AT AZURE STANDARD:

https://plansandprovisions.com/azure

It's the first Friday of July and so that means it's time for a quick update on everything that's been going on around our homestead. It's summer time and we're as busy as can be in our second season homesteading on our property.

If there’s one thing that you’re almost sure to find on any property that even hints at being a homestead, it’s going to be the chicken. Chickens are a universal element to, not only the homesteading movement, but also the greater world at large. Their presence in the world spans cultures, continents and history, and are just a generally amazing element of the human experience.

Well today I welcome The President of Chickenlandia, Dalia Monterosso to the podcast to share her personal journey with chickens and how, she believes, these ubiquitous human companions can bring healing to a fractured world. She is a chicken educator, blogger, podcaster and You’re and has recently written a fantastic guide called “Let’s All Keep Chickens”

TOPICS DISCUSSED:

* Dalia shares about her life being raised by immigrant parents to working in Hollywood to becoming a mother.

* How she became fascinated with chickens and how that enthusiasm led her into teaching and speaking on the subject

* The origins of the “Chickenlandia” world.

* How chickens helped her recover from post pardum depression

* Her view that chickens are a universal human experience and their potential for bringing people together

* She share her vision for “community chicken coops” in urban settings

* She dives in to the current paradigm in chicken keeping and that fact that it is mostly based off of factory farming systems

* She challenges the idea that chickens have to be expensive to raise

* She shares some great ideas for stretching your chicken feed bill

* The challenges of relying on production breeds for a more sustainably raised chicken

* Considerations for breed selection

* We talk about chickens and kids

* She shares details of her new book which you can purchase here: BUY DALIA'S BOOK

DALIA'S WEBSITE:

https://welcometochickenlandia.com/

DALIA'S PODCAST:

https://welcometochickenlandia.com/welcome-to-the-podcast/

DALIA'S YOUTUBE:

https://www.youtube.com/@WelcometoChickenlandia

It’s that time of year where us homesteaders get to put our money where our mouth is, so to speak, and get out in the garden and grow food for our families. There’s no question that gardening can be one of the most rewarding activities on the homestead, but it is certainly not without it’s challenges. Getting started in growing your own food can be a daunting task and with so many variables and opinions in the gardening world, it can be hard to know where to start.

That’s why I invited today’s guest onto the podcast. Her name is Jill McSheehy and she hosts the “Beginners Garden Podcast” where she does an outstanding job of leading the way for those just getting started on their gardening journey. Her show has become one of my favorite sources for gardening information and, after hearing our conversation I’m sure you’ll understand why.

TOPICS DISCUSSED:

* What drove her to dive into the world of gardening 10 years ago

* What her first year of gardening was like and some of her early struggles

* The pros and cons of growing in raised beds versus in the ground and why she has moved to mostly growing in raised beds

* Jill shares her current struggles and the things that challenge her in the garden

* We talk about mulching and her preference for leaves and we both share that we’ve taken the leap to use weed mat

* She talks about her methods for pest management using multiple plantings, beneficial flowers and some organic inputs

* How she maintains fertility in her raised beds by using lots of organic matter in her starting soil as well as adding compost and using cover crops

* We discuss the problem of using hay in the garden due to residual pesticides

* Her journey into the world of Straw Bale Gardening

* Jill shares what she does for irrigation and how she got to that point

* She shares what all she has going on at her homestead

* Jill's advice for beginning gardeners

CHECK OUT JILL'S PODCAST:

https://journeywithjill.net/the-beginners-garden-podcast/

CHECK OUT JILL'S YOUTUBE CHANNEL:

https://www.youtube.com/@thebeginnersgarden

CHECK OUT JILL'S BLOG:

https://journeywithjill.net/blog/

CONNECT WITH ME ON INSTAGRAM:

⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/plansandprovisions/⁠⁠

VISIT THE WEBSITE:

⁠⁠https://plansandprovisions.com⁠⁠

INTRO/OUTRO VOICEOVER PROVIDED BY:

⁠⁠https://sweetteafilms.com

It is the first Friday of June so that means it's time for me to give you an update on everything going on around the homestead. There's been so much to do and so much fun had by all, especially the kids.

CONNECT WITH ME ON INSTAGRAM:

⁠https://www.instagram.com/plansandprovisions/⁠

VISIT THE WEBSITE:

⁠https://plansandprovisions.com⁠

INTRO/OUTRO VOICEOVER PROVIDED BY:

⁠https://sweetteafilms.com

When I started planning our move to our new property a couple of years ago I decided pretty early that pigs would probably not be the right fit for our homestead. My main concern is their voracious appetites and that they typically require a lot of purchased feed compared to ruminants like cows and sheep. I loved the idea of raising my own pork, but just didn’t want the feed bill.

Then a friend introduced me to today’s guest Troy McClung. Troy has converted a neglected, trash filled 100 acre property in W. Virginia into a productive and profitable homestead producing, among other things, lumber and pasture raised pork. His ‘Pastured Pig Podcast’ is an amazing resource where he shares his experiences and talks with pastured pork producers of every size and scale.

TOPICS DISCUSSED:

* How he and his wife ended up on their 100 acre property out of a desire to get away and live in peace

* The massive cleanup they had to do on their property which had been used as a dumping ground for the local community

* How after having children and learning more about the modern food system they began their homesteading journey which was about 10 years after moving onto their land

* Their challenges early on making ends meet as they expanded their homesteading efforts as well as started homeschooling their children

* The development of their homestead from providing just the needs of his family to actually farming and providing food for his community

* How pigs came to be the perfect fit for his heavily wooded property

* His advice for how to start with three pigs to start your pig operation

* Some of the accounting and business considerations that helped move them scale up their operations

* How he manages his woodlots to produce usable lumber and leave behind protein producing trees for his pigs

* His advice for those who are looking to pasture pigs without a woodlot on their property

* His current breeds on his homestead which are Tamworth-Large Black mix and Red Wattle

* How important movement and breed choice are in the amount of damage pigs will do to your pasture

* Considerations for getting water to your pastured pigs

* The “Wagon Wheel” concept for a permanent arrangement for pastured pigs

* His reasons why processing on farm is ideal for homesteaders

* Ideas for establishing infrastructure for proper control and movement of pigs

* How important it is to have a plan in place for how to get the pig off the farm when it’s time for processing

* Tips for how to train pigs to electric fencing

Go check out all that Troy is doing at one of the below links.

https://thepasturedpig.com/

https://redtoolhouse.com/

VISIT THE PLANS AND PROVISIONS WEBSITE:

⁠https://plansandprovisions.com⁠

INTRO/OUTRO VOICEOVER PROVIDED BY:

⁠https://www.sweetteafilms.com

It's the first Friday of May so it's time for a quick update on everything going on around the homestead. Lot's of activity and lot's of new life around here and we're busy as we can be.

Stay tuned for a new run of interview episodes with some amazing guests. Some you probably know and some you may not but will be glad to after hearing our discussions.

It's the first Friday of April and so it's time for an update on everything going on around the homestead.

As my family enters our second year of homesteading, I’ve been able to look back over that first year and realize that we really are on a journey.  It feels great to plan for the year ahead knowing that we’re no longer starting from the beginning, but actually building on and continuing our efforts.  I can imagine that in several years, after growing, building and learning valuable lessons, the feeling will be even more profound.  

On today’s episode, I welcome Greg and Marrianne Russell of Rockbridge Farmstead.  They’ve been on their property now for almost 9 years and seem to have figured out what works for them on their homestead.  Through trial and error they’ve found the things they enjoy, the things that can bring in revenue, as well as the things that they really just don’t want to mess with.  Over the past 3 years, they have taken a deep dive into the world of beekeeping and found something that, not only makes them money, but brings them joy and satisfaction and, well, I imagine they never run out of honey.

TOPICS DISCUSSED:

* How they found themselves on their homestead in Kentucky

* The story of their first few years on their homestead and some of the early lessons learned

* The challenges of adding young children to the mix and how they got through it

* Their experiences with raising pigs and goats and why they ended up moving on from those projects

* How beekeeping became their primary revenue model for their homestead and their long term plans for that project

* How they saved money by building their own beehives

* How they quickly grew to 42 hives and lost half of them to a flash flood

* Their use of bee products to produce value added products such as balms and candles to sell

* The need for homesteaders to not try and take everything on and just focus on what they really need and enjoy

* Their advice for new homesteaders just starting out on their journey

LISTEN TO THE ROCKBRIDGE FARMSTEAD PODCAST:

https://www.rockbridgefarmstead.com/podcast/

VISIT THE ROCKBRIDGE FARMESTEAD WEBSITE:

https://www.rockbridgefarmstead.com/

CONNECT WITH THEM ON INSTAGRAM:

https://www.instagram.com/rock_bridge_farmstead/

GET THE FREE HOMESTEADING RESOURCES FOR 2023 DOWNLOAD HERE:

https://plansandprovisions.com/HR2023

CONNECT WITH ME ON INSTAGRAM:

https://www.instagram.com/plansandprovisions/