This is a guest post and entry in Round 2 of the Farm Dreams writing contest. The prizes for this round include: 

This is a guest post and entry in Round 1 of the Farm Dreams writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

Door #1: A …

Not much to show this week. The cool days and freezing nights are not helping my plants grow very fast. Unfortunately, the only window I have for the starts doesn't get sun until 3pm, 4pm to reach the back of the trays and we don't have grow lights.

Usually the days are warm enough to set them all outside in the morning for some sun, then bring them indoors for sun and warmer temps in the afternoon. This week they have spent a number of days inside, but they had a few good…

The Aspiring Farmer Blog

When we first started down the road of small-scale farming I thought we would be alone in our battle. In many ways we are, but over the past few months we’ve found out that there’s some people on our side, and they all have practical experience. These wonderful people are Tennessee’s extension agents.



Extension agents are the folks that work for the state universities and are dedicated to helping out…

Wild Wanderings Blog – May 3, 2012

Hello fellow “Farm Dreamers” and all like-minded souls of course:)) The farm, where I currently reside, is teeming with life. Baby lambs, goats and calves have blessed this beautiful Spring as well as numerous baby chicks! I’m really enjoying the marriage and wisdom in joining the domestic and wild (survival skills). Self-reliance is all…

The Practical Prepper

There are those who feel that they might go to a shelter in a disaster, or that they'll rely on help from others when and emergency occurs.

The thing is, if they have any special dietary needs, there's a good likelihood that they'll face real problems.…

The Happy Homesteader Blog

While my pantry is never bare and every season around here is a season to preserve food, this time of year is when things are the leanest.  July and August are the biggest canning periods and by now we have usually gone through much of last summer's harvest, but are enjoying the winter harvest.  Since warm season crops are already in the ground, then it won't be long before these veggies roll around…

My onions came up! Just when I had given up on them, we got a few warm sunny days and up they came. Now I have way too many onions. Not knowing any better I just poured seeds out in a line and now I have hundreds of little seedlings! I think I will be cooking with green onions for awhile.

Slugs, I think, ate all my little lettuces, so I replanted and it is starting to germinate - again. I am hoping since it is drier out now, that the slugs won't come again. I also sprinkled a…

This week's hour long podcast is now live. You can listen/subscribe directly here, or at itunes here. If you prefer to just hear this week's episode click here to listen right here, right now.…

The Aspiring Farmer Blog

Our goats are out in the pastures every day and every night. At least that’s the plan. It’s been tough to figure out a solution for portable shelter in case a storm rolls through, or to provide shade during the hot summer heat. Since we have large fields and we use managed rotational grazing we can’t always be sure that there are trees and/or bushes in each new paddock. Because of this, we need to provide…

Farm Fresh News- April 29, 2012

1. Got a heart warming or wrenching story and want to share it?  Watch what you say!  A North Carolina blogger is threatened with jail time by the state for sharing how he has fought diabetes with his Paleo diet and encouraging others to learn from his lifestyle.  Does this mean he's practicing…

Ten days ago, we had the opportunity to buy a house on 21 acres.  Today, I sit with the official loan papers on my desk.  They say yes, you can have your farm.

Suddenly it is all sinking in that we can do this and it is amazing.  My husband and I walked around hardware stores and farming stores today just looking at all the stuff we'll need soon.  It felt wonderful. 

Looking at floor and paint samples.  The prices of tools and what we'll really need as apposed to what…

Wild Wanderings Blog – April 26, 2012

Hello everyone! It’s been an incredibly wet week down here in the Smoky Mountains and throughout much of the East in general. The plants, wild and domestic are going crazy. We’re easily three weeks ahead of schedule with most plants. I’m not much of a grass cutter, but I’ve been forced to succumb and have officially fired up the weed-whacker. I eat my share of weeds, but even I can’t keep up with them without the fear of getting…

The Practical Prepper

You may have noticed that there have recently been more stories about Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) in the news lately. In some ways, they present a threat similar to an Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP). A main difference is that EMPs are manmade, whereas CMEs are a natural phenomenon and can occur at any time.…

I had to take a drive the other day which took me through many small towns, suburbs and then into the city.  It was a perfect spring day!  Temps were about 70's degrees and the sun was shining.  I was so happy to see everyone's flower beds blooming and tall grass had been cut.  It was the exact definition of spring.  Except, I was struck by the fact that it was a Sunday afternoon and there were no children outside.  

Where have all of the children gone?  When I was a child it would…

The Aspiring Farmer Blog

Dogs, after escaping, decide on a little nap near the well-house.

Before we got our LGDs we…

My first real post!

It is a beautiful and sunny day today, up in the 70s! Happy Earthday!

This was a great week in the garden. Lot's of clean-up got done, worked on my long-term homestead design, and did some more planting!

My Alma Paprika and Wenk's Yellow Hot Peppers are germinating well, but my Jimmy Nardello's are not. It's a good thing I planted additional seeds in each pot -I'll need them!…

This week's hour long podcast is now live. You can listen/subscribe directly here, or at itunes here. If you prefer to just hear this week's episode click here to listen right here, right now.…

Wild Wanderings Blog – April 19, 2012

Hello everyone, I hope you’ve all had a wonderful week enjoying this beautiful Spring! Wild plants are still popping up everywhere here in the mountains. I found Solomon’s seal and Jack in the pulpit the other day. Blue cohosh is emerging as well as numerous other rich cove plants. The Smoky Mountains are truly a botanists dream!

Last week I finished up with the amazing cattail plant. It’s a wonderful plant with many uses…