(I’m pretty lucky to have that real, live garden fairy!)
You can’t argue the fact that homesteading is an expensive endeavor. We are homesteaders on a budgets, so we are very careful as to where we put our dollars.
Sometimes, it’s money invested with a quick foreseeable return, mainly in the form of food, which translates to a lower grocery bill. This reason, paired with my impatience, is what made us decide to buy laying hens instead of young chicks when we first started out.
Other times, it’s putting off particular non-pressing projects while we wait for a good deal to come our way.
Recently, we were able to expand and mulch our strawberry patch for nothing more than an investment of our time and energy. There are a few perennials that lend themselves to becoming an overgrown nuisance and the gardener is more than happy to pass their surplus off to someone else. Last fall, we were given a couple large flats of strawberry shoots from an acquaintances whose garden was being overrun. We were happy to start a small patch with these beautiful berry plants!
The other day, Andrew came home with three more flats, filled with strawberry plants from his dad’s garden. We got them in the ground as soon as we could and ended up nearly doubling the size of our strawberry patch!
We then heavily mulched the entire patch, with mulch from our Mulch Mountain. Occasionally, the county trucks come through to trim trees back from the roads. Andrew has flagged them down a couple of times, offering a spot for them to dump their full trucks. For the workers, this saves them from running all the way back to the county dumping spot. For us, it’s free mulch!
Chatting with like-minded homesteaders, befriending those in the community, and just “putting your feelers out” can lead to all kinds of cost cutting benefits as you start your homestead. And always remember to share the fruits of your own labors with others!
Great post! Don’t forget the clearance lumber we use to build garden boxes and trellis arches for flowering vines and black raspberry plants. I’d also recommend making your own compost soil out of vegetable scraps, chicken poop, and leaves.
“Chatting with like-minded homesteaders, befriending those in the community, and just “putting your feelers out” can lead to all kinds of cost cutting benefits as you start your homestead. And always remember to share the fruits of your own labors with others!”
This is why we are trying to move north again where we know there is a small homesteading community. 🙂 Putting out feelers here hasn’t gotten us much (aside from blank stares at the local gardening stores). I look forward to the day we can share the fruits of our labors with you guys!
Blank stares aren’t very helpful. We are excited that you guys will be back in the area, as well! Maybe when you get here I’ll have some unruly, overgrown crops to share!
I just happened upon your blog through Instagram and I wanted to say ‘hi’ and not just creep. :-/ It is so good to find people who are trying what we’re trying. Thanks for being present on the internet! We are attempting homesteading on a tight budget with six children, in SE Indiana. We’re pretty sure most of our neighbors think we’re nuts, but they are helpful just the same. The guy next door AI’s our cow for us. How handy is that? And we’ve received several donations of tomato plants. Your mulch acquisition idea is great! We grew a field of red clover, which we cut and have used to mulch the garden this year. (The regrowth is to be hay). I am hopeful that it will help feed the plants as it rots down, resulting in better production because our soil needs a lot of help and it’s a slow battle. Anyway, blessings on your endeavors and keep it up!
Emily
Wow, your set up sounds great! I am pretty sure our neighbors think we are crazy, as well! We are also in Indiana, but more north/west (near Purdue). Good luck on your homestead and thanks for taking the time to stop by and say hi!
Networking with others in your area is so important! Especially if you hope to make it on a budget. Also, absolutely love your little garden fairy!