Hello Beautiful Homesteaders,
Joybilee Farm is having a blog celebration for 400+ likes on the Joybilee Farm Facebook Page.ย The draw will take place on Tuesday February 14th, Valentine’s Day at 5pm Pacific Time.ย The draw is open to anyone who leaves a comment.ย Open to those living where the mail can reach them.
The draw is for one 4 oz. jar of Joybilee Farm Peppermint Foot balm, and one 5 oz. bar of Joybilee Farm Goat’s Milk and Peppermint soap.ย These are made at Joybilee Farm from natural ingredients, and are some of our best selling products.ย The Peppermint Essential oil is naturally refreshing and antibacterial, while the rosemary e.o. in the foot balm eases tired aching joints and muscles.ย Not just for feet, this balm makes an invigorating massage oil, too.ย A little aroma therapy and herbal medicinal goodness to make you feel beautiful is a perfect Valentine’s Day prize.
To participate in the draw you need to leave a short comment on this post and tell me a problem that you face when you think about being more self reliant, prepared for emergencies,ย gardening or preserving your food, or another aspect of wholesome, homestead living.ย What’s your biggest hurdle?ย Where do you need the most help? What obstacles do you find overwhelming?ย What hinders your progress?ย Just pick one of those questions and answer it in a few words and be sure to leave your email address so that I can reach you if you win.
Only those who leave a comment will be included in the draw, so please don’t be shy.ย Your answers to my question will help me to write articles that will address these important issues and hopefully make this website/blog more helpful and useful to you, too.
And if you haven’t already become a fan of Joybilee Farm on Facebook, head over there after you leave a comment and “like” the page.ย You’ll getย notification of free Kindle e-books about homesteading, every morning, plus interesting links to online articles about homesteading, self-reliant skills, gardening, and even spinning and weaving.ย Join the community at Joybilee Farm and get the full homestead deal — newsletters, articles, e-book deals, craft tutorials and homestead tips.
I was reading the posts and saw one from a couple that needed energy. She was in her 60’s and he was in his 70’s. I’m almost 70 and my husband, though only 60 exactly, has many health issues going on. We are going to try the barrels for potatoes this year. We are also thinking about the raised beds this year. Gravity helps us get down but nothing helps us get up. So if we were to have a regular garden, we have problems picking and taking care of it. I think the raised gardens – with a wall around it for us to sit on – would work well. Love your blog and I’m a friend on fb.
The potato barrels are a great idea, Linda, for reducing your body impact and the effort to raise your own food. Another idea is to partner with a younger family and share the work load and the produce. There are young families that are without land that would be willing to share in the work for wholesome food.
I do appreciate your involvement in the community here at Joybilee Farm, both on Facebook and here on the blog. I value your contributions.
Chris
I love Joybilee Farm!!! It helps me a lot as a farmer to read posts and newsletters! Thank you!!
Keep he free books coming. I’ve down loaded a few and passed on many. Thanks
Love your home made soap. Am tempted to try your shampoo next.
Love the free Kindle books ๐ and info you share with us.
I love the blog and facebook posts! Thank you for all your hard work and for sharing all the valuable information. You are truly an inspiration!
merski111@hotmail.com
WE LOve you & your hardwork JOYBILEE FARM!! Thank you for the inspiring articles and purple sheep blog. I really enjoy my daily read of your fb and blog. LOVE my angoras we bought from you. Your support on spinning help, bunny care and homeschool ideas& self sufficiency;) soon we hope to have a garden for 2012.
THANK YOU for INSPIRATION! hope to see in 2012<3 May God continue to bless you!
Peppermint is the BEST thing to put on feet!!! <3 I just grew my own small garden this last year and learned how to can. I plan to can a lot more this year instead of processing fruit and freezing it, that way it will last longer. Will still do fruit because it's great for smoothies… No big hurdles yet, we have a big back of rice, some canned tomatoes and a bunch of other staples to get by in case of emergency. Will do more cold storage next winter with the amazing locally grown products… Congrats on 400 likes. ๐
Thanks for the inspiration!
We have 15 angora goats, a couple of sheep, 8 chickens, 13 angora rabbits and almost 13 acres of land. I spin, knit and weave. What we don’t have is much money or energy. Husband’s 72 and I’m 66. I’d like to have a garden this spring but need to keep it as low maintenance as possible. There’s just so much a couple of old folks can do. That is an article I’d find interesting.
Its sounds like you are already very self sufficient. I hear what you’re saying about lacking in money and energy. I do some research and see if I can come up with some ideas to inspire you.
Chris
Thanks for sharing the info about my natural dye CSA, and for the very nice drawing! Hoping to win, but a Happy Valentines Day either way!
Thanks for stopping by. Lovely project you have at http://www.naturescauldronfarm.com. I’m excited to follow what you are doing on Facebook.
Chris
Our biggest hurdle seems to be affordable land that still has a rich community feel. We have found a wonderful community and have been renting a home for the past 10 years … we cannot afford to buy here though. I stay at home with my two boys who are homeschoolers and are on the autism spectrum. The space we are in allows us all to be true to ourselves though… a huge yard, giant garden, neighbours who don’t mind the parade of strange things we are up to ( smelly dyepots, racks of things drying, and bits of fleece fluff flying all over… not to mention children doing everything bushcraft related, maybe in medieval knight armour , with dead accurate archery shots!) You can’t do a lot with a single small town wage, but I wouldnt trade the lifestyle for anything. A home of our own is what keeps me from feeling truly self sufficient though!
Love your blog, website and what you’re doing. How do you do it all?
It’s my husband’s dream to be self-sufficient. I love fabric arts, spinning but am now 58 and notice that I’m slowing down. The idea of the Celtic community looks more appealing or some way of building community.
Slowing down seems to be a recurring theme. How can we remain active and self sufficient as we age. Somehow I think being self sufficient is the key to that puzzle. I’ll explore this in an article soon. I’m on the way there too.
Sooo, snow is melting, but is Spring here yet?? Not quite, I don’t think. But, we are doing seed inventory and looking at seed catalogs. I found that wonderful Romanesco squash that you gave us last year and have I have recommended it to numerous people. Going to start it early in the green house this year. Peter has already planted lettuce (greenhouse) and checked the viability of the million NM green chili seeds we bought several years ago. Thanks for all of the great information. Blessings.
Oh, yummy, plant some to share with me, pleeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaase! And butternut, too. โฅ
Our greatest issue is dealing with the seperation from my husband all winter(only home weekends) and most of the summer as he has to drive 2hrs to Penticton to work off land. We have had to do so to get us out of debt and out of the bankruptcy. I find the emotional and financial strain to reach our fully self- sustainable life dream the most daunting. It effects our children(2daughters) greatly. Even if this doesn’t win me anything please discuss it in a blog …hoe to deal with isolation…thanks Drisana Peters, greenwood,bc
I would like to find how to learn carpentry skills in a USEFUL learning process. All of the tutorials that I find have small projects that a boyscout would bring home to mom. I am a 57 year old woman who needs to build things like compost bins and chick coops! So I need to conquer carpentry and power tools 101!
Hi from northwestern Ontario! Moving north was the major push to get me to become a seed-saver. The varieties of short-season and/or cold-tolerant vegetables and flowers (for bees) available from commercial sources was very limited (and is getting worse) so when I found varieties that worked well for us, I took no chances and saved my own seeds. It’s not hard to do, it used to be a natural part of the gardening year, but we have lost it. Scary, as whoever controls the seeds controls our food. Glad to find more self-help ideas, like-minded thoughts and support from Joybilee Farm!
Love a great giveaway!
My two greatest challenges are time and energy. Full time off farm job and health issues require many baby steps to reach my goals … but I am moving forward and that’s what counts!! =)
I know that your peppermint food rub will be as refreshing as your newsletters. Mazal Tov! on your fabulous progress in getting the word out.
Blessings,
Beatrice
Thank you, Beatrice for you kind words. Shabbat Shalom. C.
I am a working mother trying to be more resourceful in all ways,, when I found your blog it fits right in with what Im trying to do in my life and job….thanks
I love peppermint! …..
kmstearns@yahoo.com
Great idea, Quinn, to achieve the homestead land base without the incredible expense of land investment. Another option is to find a landed couple already close to retirement and offer an exchange of labour for lease. One couple that I know did that in Grand Forks and grew garlic for the markets as a way to supplement their family income.
Cheers,
Chris
I’d like to keep animals, (goats and chickens) but not have to rely on the feed store! This is what i’d have
to learn more about! Happy Valentine’s Day! I would love to win.
Great question, Ann. I’ve been doing some research on that but so far we are still getting feed from the feed store. I might have more to weigh in on that regard in the Fall.
Chris
We just moved to a small town in Montana this past summer so am looking forward to a garden this year as well as being able to can/freeze the extras for next winter.
I think my biggest hurdle is that the whole family is a city family. I’m trying to get the family and myself out of the mindset of being “city folk” with our needing and wanting instant gratification. I mention getting chickens and my kids run or tell me I’m weird. Am definitely signing up for your blog and love the posts I’ve read so far.
Hi, Robin, thanks for your comment. I can totally understand the city girl/country girl transition. When we announced that we were getting a few dairy goats, on our urban acreage, my high school aged eldest announced that he was moving to his Uncles and that we were all insane. Now he is 28 and trying to grow veggies on his North facing apartment balcony in the city. It does take consistency to overcome the instant gratification. Cold pizza from the take-out helps to convince the family, though, to try homemade, which tastes way better.
Chris
hello, I would love to try your products!! organicsquash@hotmail.com
As a woman who is solely responsible for small children I am finding it to be financially and physically challenging. I grew up with a homesteading lifestyle and have had in in the past while living in a little log cabin on a farm. I am living in a small town, car free, apartment living, home schooler, healing some personal health issues and just simply looking for the best way to balance ‘life’ in general right now. Doing this solo…deep breath….is indeed heavy.
I typed a really nice note and then it said I typed the wrong capcha code. Errrrggg. I talk to you all the time on fb so I’m just entering the contest because I love peppermint.
I love all things about your farm! We try to get out there at least once each summer and would really like to participate in a woad dying workshop sometime soon! As we live in the city, the best we can do is have a home garden and preserve what food we can, either what we grow or purchase from small farms. My biggest obstacle is time, not just looking after a garden (I can putter away for an hour each day after work – it’s a great stress reliever!) but mostly getting in the harvest and the processing. In recent years we’ve mostly grown to eat as we go through the season, with a few surplus items to put away. We are hoping to do a bit more this coming year.
Hi, Tracy, the best time for woad is the end of August or beginning of September around here.
You need a period of dry, warm weather to build up the maximum indigo precursors in the leaves. I hear you about the time issue. Even staying home and homesteading there are time constraints and one is always tempted to multitask to get it all done. I think there is great relief when one realizes that we don’t have to get it “all” done. Good for you for taking the step to grow your own food and to buy local.
Chris
Love the blog and facebook posts! A challenge for me is the courage to “pull the plug”… to get out of the golden handcuffs of a good city job… and just do it! (how’s that for mixing metaphors…) And the challenge of time. There’s lots thatI’m alreadydoing, but how to fit in more!
One can’t take “pull the plug” lightly. You need to have a few streams of income in the works before you take the big step. Cutting down on your needs while you work in the city and starting to grow some of your own food is a great first step. It gives you some early success and also helps you save money for the future.
Chris
I love this blog and all of your excellent tips!
Our biggest hurdle to being self sufficient is the monthly mortgage. It keeps both of us working full time off farm and really limits the time we have to devote to homesteading. Our second biggest hurdle is climate. Like you, we have a short growing season and winters mean BIG SNOW and short days.
The other reasons are personal choice. I love to grow food and I love to eat, but I don’t like to cook! (ha ha). Also in the summer when it is time to can and preserve, I prefer to work with the wool from our sheep or ride my horse. If we had more time at home, I would make more of an effort at canning.
I think this year, I will plant more flowers for cutting and plants for dye stuff and barter for food items!
Its a challenge to know how to get the best return on your investment of time. Flowers work if you have a long enough growing season to mature them and get a few cutting harvests. In our short season I always like to go with hardy perennials because they don’t need as much attention once they are established, whereas in a short, cruel summer, like last year, the annuals may not even get established let alone flower. Don’t like to cook? Maybe your recipes are too complicated and use too many pots. Thanks for commenting.
Chris
Congrats on your number of posts. Your site is incredible inspriation for all. Looking forward to being up in Grnwd again this summer, will be able stock up on products from you and see the most amazing people.
Cheers
poorbuteducatedba@hotmail.com
Thanks for your kind remarks. They made me smile. โบ
Chris
Congratulations on 400 likes! What a wonderful give away.
Thank you.
hmm…. biggest hurdle is space. Finally found a nice big house which works for work and my daughters… but it’s not on acreage… so french intensive here I come! Feeling good about tackling in town homesteading, but always open to fresh ideas ๐
You have such a lovely climate for gardening in Nelson, Lara. You don’t need as much space there as up on the mountain. I still remember your lovely pea ladies at the store. Makes me want some around here. I tried it one year near the studio door but the goats chomped them down just as they started flowering. Must try that again.
Chris
One hurdle seems to be time, especially in families where both husband and wife work. Some of the bloggers who are becoming selfsufficient seem to be making it a full time job due to the fact that the tasks all seem time consuming. How does one do this when there’s a 9-5 job to go to that’s 40 minutes away in heavy traffic?
Malcolm
Yes, Malcolm, time keeps coming through as the number 1 hindrance. But no one gets it all done. You make choices. One step at a time. I think as far as full time blogging goes, each blogger has their own comfort level about how much time to spend on their blog and on facebook, twitter, and other social media promotion for it. Several bloggers that are very successful only write one article a week for their own blog and then guest post a couple times a week, which sends fresh traffic to their personal blogs. And my favourite blogger, Seth Godin, only writes about 200 words in a post — very inspiring words though. Finding the niche that works for each blogger can mean starting a few blogs and seeing where they go. One full time blogger that I met through this blog, has over 100 blogs that he posts to regularly — all focused on vegetarian health and organic gardening. But there are thousands of bloggers out their that never make a dime. Thanks for your comment.
Chris
Balms and soaps are wonderful. Thank you.
One big problem my husband and I face is our physical limitations. He’s turning 65 this year, I’m turning 60, and we both have a lot of health issues, including arthritis and back problems. Also, since I’m working full time (he is retired on a tiny pension, having been a working musician all his life), my problems include being frazzled, exhausted and stressed out (and suffering from tapioca-for-brains) when I get home from work at night.
We have the skills and know-how to cook most of our food from scratch, for instance – but physical pain is a real limiter when it comes to baking our own bread or doing canning.
Any suggestions (not involving spending money, since we are also broke!) would be very welcome!
Getting the guts to make the change, find affordable property.
Thank you for sharing your wonderful ideas and pictures with all of us. I enjoy reading the post on Facebook, your newsletter and wish I could attend some of your workshops. Keep going and sharing! Love hearing new ideas!
I have trouble with gardening because we are right along the Kettle River and our summer nights are cold (delightful for sleeping) and it is hard to get things to mature………..kale does wonderfully! Maybe I should just do more of the cool weather things – just really like tomatoes!
I live in a small city and am unable to have chickens or angora rabbits or goats. I can’t afford acreage but I do what I can to grow my own fruit and veggies in raised beds in the backyard. Having to work to pay the mortgage makes food processing difficult. I just learned to can though and love it!
sasha1955@gmail.com
Right now our biggest hurdle has been getting permits and land cleared, while a lovely piece of property it has been untended for far too long, thankfully we are making progress. two steps back, one step forward ๐