Planting Our Homestead Garden & Free Ranging Chickens

We moved to a new 18 acre homestead and are trying to become self sufficient and off the grid on a budget. We hit the ground running and started to work the garden.

I am sharing our experiences from the time we moved to our new homestead to the present. When I finish catching up, then you will have the background story. Then we will proceed with our daily videos and articles as they occur.

This was our third attempt at planting this year. When we moved to our new property, we planted 300 seedlings in starter trays. But one day I put the seedlings outside in the sun and went in for a coffee. When I came back out, all the plants were gone. I started to learn about ground squirrels. Little chipmunk like rodents.

So we bought plants and planted yet again. We waited until after Memorial weekend, when everyone says the last danger of frost is over for our area. It was a week after the holiday when we planted. It froze that night killing everything.

So we bought more plants and waited a while before planting. This time, our third time, we were hoping to get it right.

I take our young chicks out each day to sort of free range and eat bugs and plants. They get fresh air every day and free food. This gives us healthier birds and cuts our food costs.

At night they chicks go into the chicken brooder with Tiki lights to keep them warm. This is a string of lights so if one bulb goes out, the rest will stay working. This ensures that we do not lose any birds to the cold.

Watch the video here: