Hello, all! It’s time, once again, for the big January Homestead Update and 2024 plan. What have we got in store for this year’s gardens, animals, and more?

Stuff We’ve Been Putting Off

Looking at you, bat box that’s been lingering in the laundry room for three years. We’ve also put mushroom logs back on the list, as well as soil testing. This past growing season was less predictable with some crops, likely due to our not knowing our soil conditions, so we plan to be more diligent about amending the soil where needed.

Chickens

We lost half our flock in the past year due to predators and illness, so we’re currently down to four hens. (Thankfully, today’s egg haul showed us that all four are still laying, including one of our older hens, Marsala – yay!) We’ll definitely be getting some new chickens this year to satisfy our insatiable egg habit get enough eggs for baking both for the home and market goods.

Plantings

We’re not differing too much, if at all, this year in what we’re planting. We’ll be expanding and making new beds with the copious cardboard we’ve collected from family and friends (thanks, y’all – keep it coming!), including a special garden plot for Preschooler (!) Homesteader to start and take care of.

We were particularly pleased with how our bean crops did this year, especially after I got the slug problem under control – we had plenty of beans throughout the summer and fall to pick, eat, cook, and pickle, as well as add nitrogen to our soil that was lacking. 

We’re also looking into planting more crops in what I’ve deemed The Wetlands – an expanse in the back plot that floods every time it rains. It didn’t help that we tilled it poorly our first year, so we’ve been attempting to let it grow back and heal itself. In the meantime, along with cover crops, we’re looking into adding some sochan and lobelia to brighten it up (and give us more sochan, duh).

Finally, we’re adding potatoes and garlic to the mix this year, because why not? A friend planted potatoes with decent results a couple of years ago, and we just want to make one. Danged. Allium. Work on our homestead. Here’s hoping it’s garlic!

Otherwise, we’re rotating crops as usual, expanding our blackberry bramble, planting in the moon garden, and pruning and caring for our fruit and nut trees. We’ll try a winter plot again come late summer, with collards and mustard and parsnips, oh my!

The master list of plants this year:

Vegetables:

• Okra (Clemson Spineless and Mayan)
• Daikon
• Beans (Provider and Kentucky Wonder)
• Cucumbers (Muncher and Puerto Rico Pickler)
• Winter Squash (Butternut, Small Sugar Pumpkin, NC Candy Roaster, Spaghetti, Kabocha)
• Corn (Glass Gem and Popcorn)
• Tomatoes (Cherokee Purple, Mr. Stripey, San Marzano)
• Zucchini (Cocozelle) and Yellow Squash (Early Prolific Straightneck)
• Bell Peppers (Corno) and Hot Peppers (Jalapeno, Banana, Poblano, and mayyyybe Habanero)
• Collards
• Mustard Greens
• Parsnips
• Kale

Fruits and nuts

• Blackberries
• Peaches
• Blueberries
• Maypops
• Persimmons
• Pawpaws
• Pecans
• Strawberries
• Aronia Berries

Herbs

• Dill
• Basil (Genovese and Thai)
• Parsley
• Sage
• Rosemary
• Thyme (hah)
• Curry (not curry leaves – just a cool curry-smelling hardy herb!)
• Oregano

Flowers and Pollinating Plants

• Sunflowers (mix mix mix)
• Zinnias
• Daisies
• Sochan
• Lobelia
• Moonflowers
• Marigolds
• Milkweed
• Whatever I buy on impulse, because I am weak

Preschool Homesteader, as I mentioned, is also starting her own plot, and has requested the following items to grow:

• Broccoli (di ciccio)
• Beets (chioggia)
• Tomatoes (cherry sweetie)
• Turnips (shogoin)
• Cucumbers (muncher)
• Tatsoi
• Zucchini (cocozelle)
• Watermelon (Sugar Baby)
• Flowers (Zinnias)

Here’s hoping it’s the best plot in the whole danged property!

Until planting season, we’ll be starting seeds, cleaning up plots and spaces for plants and seed starting, brewing, cheesemaking, and baking bread for the winter. 

Cheers, and happy homesteading!