Postage Stamp Homesteading

Early in 2020 we had pretty much decided that since we were renters that we were not going to go to the trouble of doing any kind of vegetable garden. About the time we decided that, SHTF in the world and with the future very unknown, we quickly switched gears and started planning a vegetable garden. The landlord graciously agreed to let us use the overgrown field by the house and agreed to till it up for us (when I say overgrown, I mean overgrown!). I quickly went about reading everything I could about gardening and companion planting and more! Ordering seeds and plotting out the garden layout. I attempted to start seeds, but because they were still outside in the late winter/early spring temperatures, the seed starts didn’t do so well. Fast forward to Mother’s Day weekend….a late spring FROST/FREEZE! I frantically went about covering all my flowers and bushes with sheets and towels and buckets to protect them (the garden was not in yet!), brought in the ones I could and prayed the rest survived. They did – I don’t think I lost any plants during that freeze!

After that last freeze, the landlord got the tractor out and tilled up a space approximately 25’ x 25’ for me. Hubby built me two potato bins out of pallets we picked up from a local nursery and we put those at the front. We purchased a trailer load of compost and spread that and hubby hooked up the long hose for me to use for watering!

Over the next couple weeks, my daughter and I planted seeds and starts (from local nurseries) and tended to our garden! We added lots of flowers in and around our garden and we were tickled when the seeds started to sprout! We loved watching the bird flit in and out of the garden and early on we even watched a rat snake crawl across the warm soil!

Although I think we were hit with every kind of garden bug known to man, our garden flourished! It was such an abundant harvest all summer long! We put up many pints of pickles, salsa, spaghetti sauce, tomatoes, corn, beans, and peas (and more!). We were blessed with an abundance that we were able to share with friends and family! I learned how to preserve foods with canning (learning by trial and error), reading TONS of homesteading blogs, and watching hours of YouTube videos! I learned SO MUCH about gardening, plants, and canning/preserving in 2020!

Often, I would take a morning walk through the garden with my coffee in hand. As spring turned to summer, a cup of coffee was traded for a cup of warm, soapy water to flick pests into in an effort to get them out of my garden! Cucumber beetles, Japanese beetles, squash/stink bugs, and a ton of bugs I couldn’t even name invaded my garden!! It was so frustrating but I refused to use harsh chemicals! I did use diatomaceous earth powder, BT, soapy water, neem oil and companion planting to help eliminate the bugs. I can’t say any one of those was super effective but together they helped and now I have knowledge going into this next garden season!

#postagestamphomesteading – That’s essentially what we were doing. No, we didn’t have any chickens or goats or other livestock, but we had our lush vegetable garden, our fragrant herbs and medicinals, and lots of “pretties”. We learned things that did not work for us in the garden (tomato cages!) and ways that worked out pretty well (companion planting). I started planning a fall/winter garden and about that time we decided to get serious about looking for a place of our own!!

Stay tuned for more of our homestead journey!