Hoop Houses

It's the end of February and almost 70.  Very unusual, but nice. It's a great day to work outside and make a few raised veggie boxes and the hoops to go with it. I want to plant my seeds early next month.

Got all my tools, pvc pipes and wood ready. Going to make two 4 x 8 veggie beds.

 This was an existing flower bed from last summer. Needs to be cut down a little.

 Got the two 8 x 4 foot raised beds done. Now adjusting the one from last year.

 Dakota barking at something in the field. Got the boxes done..finally.

 Couldn't resist putting in one 10 foot hoop. Getting late and hungry.

 Gotta bathe and make dinner. Stay tuned for the finished product soon. :)

Three days later, (Feb.28th) I finished the rest of the hoops..yay!

What a pretty sight!

Next step is to work the soil, plant the seeds and cover with heavy duty plastic.

After finishing the hoops, I decided to plant four grapevines.

 

Soak them before planting them. 

water them well and watch them grow. :)

What a nice one.

 

Composting

I started a composting pile a few months back, because I heard and read that every good gardener, should do it. Didn't know much except that you never put in meat, fish, fried food or anything that will attract little furry things. I was adding coffee grounds, tea leaves, fruit and veggie scraps, etc. BUT, I wasn't watering enough. So I got a book and just read all about composting. Or at least what that book has about it. Now I'm very informed about the art of composting. I will include some fotos and important facts later.

Rain Barrels

I'm a member of our local Herb Society, and last year they had a special speaker with the topic on rain barrels. I happened to miss it, but my friend and her husband told me there was a man that was selling them for about $80.  I thought that was a little expensive, so a few months ago I went on YouTube and saw how different people make them. They look pretty easy to make, so I thought I would do it soon. It'll save on our water bill and rain water does wonders to plants.

So last week I went on craigslist and found a number of people that sell those barrels that once contained vinegar or some other non-toxic liquid. I contacted a person, locally, that sells the big blue plastic ones and the metal ones. So I bought two (a plastic one and a metal one) for $45. Now, I just need to buy some metal mesh, a spigot, etc. and look at the tutorial of the few steps to get it done.

Well this morning, it was raining like crazy and my first thought was: "oh!, if I only had that barrel ready, it would have probably filled up, or maybe even half way." But, oh well!...there will be other rainy days. Hopefully I get it done this weekend.

Until then, have a great day!
 
What I saw on the internet.....with the rain tube on top for a gutter...but we don't have gutters, so we'll use a spigot at the bottom.

Our kind neighbor came over to install saw the lid off and attach the spigot. It'll soon replace the large bathtub for a sifted compost container...

 

Now, I'm looking forward to the next rainy day...lol

 

 

 



That's yours truly making sure it works after putting some water in it. And it does....yay!  I'm so excited!!

Chickens

So, I'm thinking of getting some chicks next month when they have them at the local feed store. A few months ago, I was playing with the idea of having a few chickens in our backyard. I mainly wanted them to be able to have some good, hormone free eggs. My ex neighbor had about five of them a few years back, and they laid so many eggs that she would give some of us neighbors the excess they couldn't eat. I remember how bright yellow/orange they were and how big they were. Back then I wasn't aware of what I know now about industrial chicken farms that inhumanely raise, hormone filled chickens. And, I knew that legally we could have up to eight I believe.
About a month ago, my neighbor a few doors down, put a chicken coop on his front yard for bulk pickup day. When I saw it, my eyes thought they saw some gold. lol...Well, I asked him if it was really for bulk pickup and when he said it was, I asked him for it. Of course, he said I could take it. I rolled it to the side of his  house, until tomorrow (Monday) when my hubby would be gone to work. He had already told me that I couldn't have chickens, because our place is too small, chickens are dirty, etc. So I wanted to ease on the subject again, lightly.lol...Well, the next day, I went to the local hardware store to buy some little wheels and screwed them on one side of the coop since it was too big for me to carry it or move it to our house across the street. When my hubby drove up, the coop was next to the driveway. He came in the house with that look on his face of disapproval. He asked me what that junk was doing on our property. I told him and he told me to get rid of it. It was not in the best condition; so I could see why he thought that. But, being the restorer and visionary that I am, I had a plan, that I didn't share with him. Well, I didn't take it back to my neighbor. Instead, the next day, I bought some plywood, screws and repaired what needed repair and I painted it with some white paint I had left over. It came out really nice; and my hubby was impressed. He didn't tell me anything about it anymore. I thought I would save it for next year when we would have a pickup to take it to our future homestead. But then I got to thinking of practicing with a few chickens to get a feel for what I'm in for when I'll have the space for 50 or 100 or more chickens and roosters. I bought some books on chickens and how to raise them, which one lay  more eggs, etc. I was thinking about chickens so much, I even had a dream about them...lol..imagine that. Well let me tell you though, I have two main reasons to get some chickens. I have a compost pile that needs the chicken manure and I really want to eat some good, nutritious, hormone free eggs. Those are the two main reasons and after reading those chicken books, it sounds like they'll be a lot of fun to raise. My biggest challenge will be to introduce them to the three dogs. The little chihuahua I don't think will be a problem, but the pit bull and pit bull/lab mix, might. I plan to section them off though, just in case they absolutely go ballistic and want to devour the poor chicks.

While reading through one of the chicken books, they suggested I buy them at the local feed store, right around Easter. I made a call to the local feed store and sure enough, the person told me they would be delivered on March 12. I was just so excited that entire day. I'm just looking forward to that day like you wouldn't imagine. Well, I plan on buying 4 or 5 since when you buy them as chicks no one knows their gender, except God. So if I get a rooster or two, I'm going to sell it or give it away, since I don't want to deal with a rooster right now. My hubby finally agree to a few, since we live in a sub division and our backyard is not very big.  I plan on naming them: Pearl, Ruby and Mimi...Pearl for a white chicken, Ruby for a red one and Mimi for a multi-colored one.

I'll keep you posted and hopefully I'll know how to upload fotos of them by then. In the meantime, I welcome your thoughts on chickens. Have a blessed evening...

And the brainstorming begins.

Barbed wire fencing, birds, bird houses, bonfires, cacti, canning, ceiling fans, chickens, chimes, clotheslines, compost pile, corn, a cow, crepe myrtles, gazebo, green house, guns, horseshoes, hunting, pecan trees, pergolas, picnic tables,  pond, roosters, tree swings, scarecrows, a few sheep, our three dogs, overalls, peace, quiet, wild hogs, patio, circular porch, umbrellas, pink pigs, snakes, mice, a barn, hot weather, tamales, good neighbors, gardening, tree trimming and cuttings, hay, rose garden, mosquitoes, a used pickup, peach trees, grapevines, family, grandchildren, rocking chair, pine trees, western boots, cowboy hats, etc. etc. ....that's all I can think of for now, since there's so much more to think of, to create and develop on 18 acres of fertile beautiful land with nothing but beautiful trees, wild flowers, and virgin soil to plant my heart away. Simply God's creation through and through, for now.


Unlike other homesteading sites, I'm not on our homestead yet. We have the place and the name, "El Shaddai" which means "God Almighty",  in Hebrew; but my mission is to be ready for when I am on our homestead. All those things I mentioned above, are the things that are already there, things we'll need to purchase, things I'll enjoy, things I want, things we'll create, or build, be annoyed by, etc. Things that will  make our life on the farm easier, fun, frustrated, safe, comfortable, angry and memorable.
Our house that I will convert to our home, and the fencing that will surround it. All those things will start happening gradually this year and the many years to come. As long as I'm alive I will always dream, create, plant, harvest, and share. I'm patient and know that in the end, it'll be our little paradise.

Hello, my name is Alicia and I'm a wife, mother, sister and aunt. I'm eager to be a future homesteader on a wonderful piece of land in East Texas. I'm proud to be an American and I love reading, writing, gardening and the outdoors. I'm a sanctified, forgiven Bible-believing, follower of Jesus Christ. I'm happily married to the most wonderful man that God blessed me with. He's a gift from God that happened in God's perfect timing.

So why am I writing this blog? Initially because I was motivated by a person that I admire and has a beautiful homestead that she writes about regularly. Her name is Patrice Lewis and her site is: www.rural-revolution.com. After commenting on one of her topics, she suggested I start a blog. I still read her blogs just about every day, and I always learn a valuable survival or farming lesson. I wasn't sure what I would write about homesteading since I'm not there yet. But, I do love to write, and have this need to put my homesteading thoughts in writing. My dear husband bought me a piece of land that one day I hope we can live off of; through vegetable gardening, and other means that our land and hands will allow us to provide all year round.
I want to share my thoughts and plans to those that are currently homesteading or want to homestead one day. I want my homesteading journey to begin now. I want to get all the tips I can now and learn from others that have been there, done that and want to share their homesteading ideas with me. 
Every day I think of our future home on our future, beautiful, bare, homestead. My deepest desire is to live there soon and one day make all these thoughts a reality. I give God the glory each day that He provided this property for us. It's to give Him glory for all that He'll allow me to do before I go to be with Him in heaven. I want to be that wise woman with His purpose and be a good steward of His time, money and energy He has blessed me with. 

As time goes on, I hope to learn all I can to be a little more prepared each day, for when that time comes when we can pack up and leave the city to our little paradise.


So, thank you Patrice! and thank You, my new reader, for visiting my blog and stay tuned for more topics such as composting, gardening and whatever is related to homesteading that I think you might be interested in.

Until next time, make it a great day!