#thisweek Homestead Edition!

As I was reading Amanda Ripley's "The Smartest Kids in the World" this week, the primary message seemed to emphasize hard work and constant learning. I consider myself to be a lifelong learner in every sense of the word. Even though I completed my degree 4 years ago (I can't believe its been that long!!), I read and listen to podcasts on Psychology daily. Just this week I learned to use my sewing machine and crocheted for the first time. Still, nothing in recent years made me learn more than homesteading. 

Out of all the tasks we have tried around here- raising the chickens, making bread and jam, etc, gardening has been by far the most interesting for me. Seeing a seed grow into a fruit or vegetable AMAZES me. Seriously. The fact that a minuscule seed grows into food with just some time, water, and sunlight is truly unbelievable.

Starting the garden this year was not the plan. We moved into our house in March so we were a little late to the game, but (no surprise) we jumped in anyway.It was a lot of work but we definitely reaped the rewards. Below is the list of what we grew this year and how much we were able to pick:

Cucumbers                                                                                                         56.9lb

Kale                                                                                                                       .63lb

Soybeans                                                                                                            2.5lb     

Carrots                                                                                                                 4.23lb   

Potatoes                                                                                                              9.76lb

Tomatoes                                                                                                            25.4lb

Green Beans                                                                                                      1.48lb

Peas                                                                                                                      .02lb

Lettuce                                                                                                                 .03lb

There were some mature plants on the property that we were able to pick from as well:

Blueberries                                                                                                         57.46lb

Blackberries                                                                                                       2.33lb

Apples                                                                                                                  33.89lb

Pears                                                                                                                     2.42lb

Garlic                                                                                                                     .86lb

As you can see, some things didn’t take as much as others. Sadly we also lost all of our apples and pears while we were in Maine (maybe rain and animals?). Lucky for us, we are still pulling carrots and picking tomatoes and peppers!

So what’s the point to all this?

Matt worked really hard on this garden. Yes I helped to set it all up, but he did most of the work. Watching him really inspired me! As I mentioned I tried sewing and crocheting this week. We made a list of projects we hope to accomplish over the next six weeks. I also have started to entertain the idea of adopting some new animals (of course our friends at True North Homestead have helped with their adorable goat pictures!).

Basically, I just feel so thankful to be watching so many things happen around me and I think sometimes that is lost on adults. We forget amidst our work and chores that there are still new things to learn and enjoy. There are very few valid reasons to wait. My grandma says, “can’t means I don’t want to”. When it comes to learning a new skill or just changing things up I think it is definitely true. Start reading. Start hiking. Start sewing. Whatever it is that you have been interested in but never took the time to learn- GO DO IT! At least get started!

Life is too short to wait. And with that, I leave you to pack my bag and head to Mount Mitchell for this week’s hike. Have a great weekend everyone!

Alyssa

Want to read some recipes we created with all this food? Go to our Living Simply Section!