We moved to the Ozarks about a month ago. A 17 hour trip! Buying a farmhouse and a few acres with a barn had been a dream for years. The house was built around the 1940s and has been added on several times. The barn has it's charm, being a classic big red barn with hayloft and feed room. It was converted to a machine shop so it will need renovating to become it's old self. Our home was last updated in the 1980s! You know paneling, carpet and ew yes, even in the bathroom. But we are excited to bring life back to the farm.
I have had some digestive problems due to stress and found eating a whole foods diet along with specific supplements help in healing my stomach. Raw goat milk is great for digestion and so is homemade chicken bone broth. So, it will be like Christmas morning for me when we finally get our chickens and goats. Chickens for eggs, meat, bone broth and permaculture. Goats for raw organic milk, kefir and yogurt for our boys.
Our moving was late in the season for planting but we were determined to grow our own organic vegetables. We moved at the end of May and planted in June. Oh, and I forgot to mention we moved from outside of Baltimore, Maryland. We do not have a tractor, tiller, hoe! What we do have is a shovel and rake. Using the Back to Eden method, which involves lots of wood chips, we dove in determined to succeed. Starting by killing the grass with cardboard we then dug shallow trenches flipped the grass upside down and planted our seed. The dirt was rocky but a rich black color. Once the seeds sprouted we began mulching.
It is now July and we are still unpacking. We man the garden several times a day spraying soapy water on plants that have bug bites. Deer were a problem but I gave everyone a hair trim sprinkling it on the plants and pouring urine on the outside perimeter seems to have kept the plant thief away. And lastly, the big bad rabbit has been kept away using transplanted marigolds around the garden.
Slowly, we are reviving this old 1940s farm and enjoying getting our hands dirty homesteading. This little piece of paradise is exactly what we had been praying for. We hope you will visit us often as we share organic farming practices (what works and what didn't work) cooking whole foods from scratch (without being in the kitchen all day), herbal and essential oil care, and most importantly faith and family. Have a blessed day!
blessings,
Shaun & Alisha
