Growing a Homestead
Gardens, fruit trees, animals, preserving, and the projects that slowly turn a piece of land into home.
Learning as we grow
Our homestead is a work in progress. We’re raising a family in northern Michigan while learning to grow more of our own food, care for animals, build an orchard, preserve the harvest, and tackle one project at a time.
This is where I share what works, what doesn’t, and what we learn along the way. You don’t need a perfect farm or years of experience to begin—sometimes you simply start with the space and season you have.
Explore the Homestead
Choose an area and follow the projects, lessons, and seasonal work happening around our home.
GARDEN & ORCHARD
Vegetable gardens, fruit trees, planting plans, and lessons from the growing season.
ANIMALS
Sheep, chickens, and the everyday work and joy of caring for homestead animals.
PRESERVING
Canning, fermenting, and making the most of food while it is in season.
PROJECTS
Orchard dreams, future plans, practical improvements, and whatever we are building next.
From the Homestead Journal
Real stories from the garden, pantry, animals, and projects.
Learning to Garden
The experiments and lessons that helped turn gardening into something worth loving.
Apples, Apples and More Apples
A busy apple harvest and the work of putting seasonal abundance to use.
Fermented Hot Sauce
A garden-pepper project and a first adventure in homemade fermentation.
Our Future Plans & Projects
The orchard, garden, animals, and homestead projects we hope to build.
Come grow along with us
The work is never completely finished, but that is part of the beauty of building a homestead one season at a time.