A Tiny Homestead

Wholesome Meadow Farms

Today I'm talking with Mimi at Wholesome Meadow Farms.
 
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00:00You're listening to A Tiny Homestead, the podcast comprised entirely of conversations with homesteaders, cottage food producers, and crafters.  I'm your host, Mary Lewis. Today I'm talking with Mimi at Wholesome Meadow Farms in Florida. Good morning, Mimi. How are you? Good morning. How are you? I'm good. How's the weather in Florida? It's nice. It's fall weather  and it's  not hot. It's really nice and cool.
00:27So we're really excited about the  new weather right now.  I'm in Minnesota and it is as gray as it can possibly be and it is cold and they're saying rain today. Well, it is still sunshine in Florida.  It's really nice at the farm with the nice cool weather coming in. It makes it much easier to work on the farm for sure. Oh, it always does. We love cool days in Minnesota in the summer because in the summer,
00:57It can get as hot as it gets in Florida and it can be just as muggy as it gets in Florida. So I understand what you're saying. um So when you say it's cool, like how cool is it there? 70,  65 to 70 right now. Okay. Well, we have had frost every morning for the last three mornings. So my definition of cool is a little bit colder than yours. Yes.  Yes.
01:23But I'm not mad about it. Fall is my favorite season. So I am tickled that we in mid fall. It's been beautiful.  All right. So tell me a little bit about yourself and wholesome whatever the heck it is. I forget the name because I've been sick. I'm sorry. Tell me about your place.  No problem.  started the place. I grew up in a farm back home and I really wanted to go back into the farm. We started uh a little homestead.
01:52but the region in Vernon and it's about 11 acres  and we have a few animals. have goats, we have a lot of chickens and we do have  some pigs and we're growing, you know, steadily growing  our flock and we're excited about it because it's pretty flat uh area. It has different, um we kind of parsing in our four  areas region so we can move our flock.
02:22around ah and then we also putting  on a putting on one of the lot a house there so we're excited about that to be permanently at the farm and  operating so  it's uh that's overall uh the farm we also building a pond  so that we can have our ducks  and  other you know animals being able to enjoy a pond as well.
02:50Very nice. So what made you want to get into this? Because I grew up on a farm, I wanted to always go back to that root and being able to raise my own animals and being able to grow vegetables or food source in a natural way like it used to be, know, non-GMO, pasture-raised animals so that
03:19we have that wholesomeness and then being able to have more of um a source of food that  we love raising and being able to. uh
03:36offer that same type of uh experience to other people too and enjoy a natural made food source. oh so  I'm glad that you mentioned that because not everyone who has a homestead or a farm sells their products that they produce from the farm. But is that was that the plan when you started this?  Yes and no. We also have uh some of our people, the people I know in community
04:06They also expressed the want to have naturally, you know,  a  reliable food. So we started  selling  our uh products to some friends and family and then expanding now to the other market. So that's how it falls from,  you know,  being able to share the things that we oh
04:35we raise  and then trying to expand it to  a bigger market right now.  Okay. So that leads me to my next question. Do people come to your place to buy your produce and your other products or do you sell it like a farmer's market or are you looking to get into grocery stores?  Some people do come at the farm to pick up the  items. I also bring them to some farm swap.
05:03and we're trying to also  get them to farmers market. Okay, awesome.  Awesome. So how long have you been doing it? About a year now.  We've been  doing the farm.  We're  in our  second year going in. Okay, do you love it? Yes. Yes.
05:29It's  like, you know, it brings me back to my childhood where, you know, we do chores, we attend the land and we attend to the animals. So it's basically bringing back to our childhood. Yeah. And you're not the first person to tell me that. And the thing that comes up a lot on this podcast  is memories and childhood and play. And  I am not saying that homesteading is just playing.
05:59because it's not, it's a lot of work. It's a lot of work, it's a lot of work. But the reward is to be able to say, I pour my, you know,  all my energy into this and I'm able to have a food that I know where it came from. uh That's the reward. And then being able to just have something to do and enjoy uh building, enjoy attending to the animals, all that is part of the experience.
06:28It's not easy. It's a lot of work, but it's rewarding.  it's  okay. The way that I think about it is when we were kids, my sister and my brother and I,  my dad had a garden and we would go out and help weed and we would help harvest the food. And my mom would try to make it a game, you know, so we felt like we were playing. She'd be like, whoever picks the most green beans  gets a happy meal at McDonald's the next time we go shopping or something. And.
06:58I'm 56, so most people know that memory who are over 50.  And uh the other thing about the play part is that when we were little, we used to pretend to raise animals. We used to have the little play school farm with the little horse and the little cow.  And I feel like a lot of us who are older, because you're not, you're not as old as I am, but a lot of us over 40, we have taken the things that we were playing at when we were little and we have turned them into our life.
07:28Yes.  So that's where the play part comes in because you can have a job where it feels like you're playing. Corporate jobs don't allow for that, but homesteading sure does. Yes, it does. And that's the reason really is to, you know, carrying into retirement and have that mindset of you grew up in a farm and then you end up at the farm at the end of your life. So that's a really good circle, oh know, circle back to your childhood.
07:57It's a fantastic through line. Yes, it is.  Okay. So did I see that you guys do 3D printing too? Yes, we do 3D printing as well.  We're venturing in that we're  excited about it to be able to offer  trinkets for the kids and also little parts. You know, there's a lot of things on the farm that breaks  and it's really hard to get part replacements. So we're also trying to make sure that we can  make
08:27those items um and then other and then share it with others. So there are 3D printing um venture. It's both for being able to offer to kids and  little trinkets and have little farm animal. We're printing little farm animals right now and then uh at the same time being able to print little  parts for that you can use and replace in the farm and the different equipment.
08:55So you are doing something very old fashioned with your homestead and something very newfangled with your 3D printing business. Yes,  yes. Old fashioned mixed with the,  you know, new age technology. Do you find yourself just baffled by that sometimes?
09:14Yes. Yes, it is exciting to be able to do that.  yeah,  we like the mix. Yeah, it's like my husband is the gardener. um am not the gardener. I used to be. I don't love it as much as he does. So he's the gardener.  I'm the one that does the podcasts and the marketing, which is all computer-based stuff. And I said to him one time, said, isn't it amazing how we're using all this  new,  quote unquote, technology?
09:44to promote the old fashioned thing that we love to do.  And he said, well, that's how it's always been. And I said, I don't think it's ever been quite as stark a contrast as it is right now. And be able to, I mean, use technology and then you reach a lot more people as well. So  we're in Florida, in Vernon, a small town with Facebook and these media,  we're able to share what we're doing in a bigger uh
10:13you know,  forum and more people can enjoy what we  are doing. And that's where technology is really helpful to mix it with the old fashioned stuff. Yeah, for sure. And it's so much fun to see how it all knits together. I love it. I think it's great. um OK, so you said, tell me again what animals you have and then I will have questions. OK, we have boar goats.  We have
10:42some cuny cuny pigs  and a variety of chickens.  We also have  guineas and quail. So goats, pigs, guineas, quail and chickens. So let's start with the goats.  Do you raise the goats for meat? Do you raise them for milk? What do you use them for? uh Raise for uh meat. Okay.
11:09And is that just for your family or is there a demand for that where you live? There's a demand for that. uh It's both for us  and to be able to sell uh in our area or outside of our area. It depends on the distance of  where the people are coming to purchase the goat from us. Okay. And then my other question is I've never had goat meat. I've had venison, know, deer meat.  Is goat meat like venison or is it different?
11:40It's a bit different. Oh, well, I've never had venison, so I cannot compare it, right? Okay. But goat meat, it's like uh similar to lamb. I don't know if you had lamb. I love lamb,  Okay, awesome. Because I keep telling my husband we should find somebody who sells goat meat here in Minnesota.  And it's not as common as you would think it would be because we could raise a whole lot of goats if we had more land, but we don't.  So um I'm on the look-
12:09out for goat meat. And my friends raise goats, but they raise dairy goats. they love them. I mean, once we have, because we're starting to raise the flock, once we have, we process them, we definitely can touch base with you and you can buy some goat meat from us.
12:32Can you ship it from Florida to here? I have to double check that. We haven't reached that part of our journey yet. Okay. So we'll definitely look into it. Okay. Well, I was going to say my friend loves her goats as much as I love my dog. So the idea of being like,  Hey, could we buy some goat meat from you? Would not fly very well. I don't think. um Okay. And then you have pigs  and same thing just for meat. Yes.
13:01Yeah, and you sell that too? Yes, that's the plan. Right now the pigs are small.  We're raising  three of them  and  we're going to breed them and their babies are we're going to harvest. And how long from baby to harvest? I have to double check that. I don't remember.  I'll have to get back to you on that one.
13:28Okay,  I'm thinking it's at least a summer and a fall, but it might be a whole year. can't remember either. And then your  chickens, I'm assuming you're selling eggs? Yes, lots of eggs. And  we're trying to do  a  variety of egg colors, which is really fun to do the variety of egg colors. So  that's why we have uh quite a bit of different chicken breed in order to do uh
13:58the fun colors for our customers. The rainbow doesn't.  Yes.  Yes.  And do you sell eggs for hatching for people or not? Yes, we do that as well. You can buy hatching eggs  or, uh you know, regular eggs to consume.  Nice. So you've got the, the, the ladies are working hard for you is what you're telling me. Yes, they are. Yes, they are.
14:24Good. Our chickens  are still laying only because we put a  light in our coop for the winter because otherwise they would be on vacation until April.  Yeah, I understand that. And we have a lot of uh like  the biggest flock we have is Bart Rock. They lay really good eggs.  And then we have some some other variety with brown eggs laying and we're working on the other colors as well.
14:54Yes, and  I would bet you're probably getting the same response that we get. People love our eggs because they actually taste like eggs.  People come to buy eggs for most because they actually feel like they're eating eggs, not something that is very bland that they got at the grocery store. Yeah, we get the same feedback,  especially when they find a double yolk egg.  You know, some of our customers get really excited and they share that.
15:20And the brightness of the egg color, the yolk is so much,  you know,  the yellow color, the brightness,  they're really excited about that. So the  ones in the supermarket, they're a little bit more pale. So definitely the customers are excited about having the bright yellow eggs.  Yes,  I understand completely. We went without em our own chicken eggs all last winter.
15:51And I finally, we were going to get chickens in May and I finally looked at my husband in February. said, can we please get chickens again sooner? said, I can't handle this. store bought eggs are gross.  He  was like, you're so spoiled. And I was like, honey,  I said, I'm not spoiled. It's just that I know that the nutritional content of our chickens eggs has got to be better than what we're buying at the store. And he was like, yes, we can get chickens again. Yes. oh I totally agree. The taste is different as well.
16:21Yeah, and the texture too. It's so weird.  Okay, and then the guineas. Do you have the guineas to...  I know people use guineas to kind of keep predators at bay because they're really loud, but why do you have guineas? For that, it  keeps the predators at bay and  we call them the tick patrol.
16:48making sure that they keep the land all nice and neat for us. We also harvest them. Like I personally love meat uh to eat them. I know it's not really popular uh to do that, but we do harvest them for their meat. Is the meat like a dark meat or is it what's it like? It's a dark meat. It's more of a gamey  meat, but it tastes really good. Okay.
17:17Yeah, we do have some customers in Florida because a lot of people from Florida are from the island, you know, uh so they are used to eating guineas and  that's,  you know, the customer base. Awesome. So you already had a, you already had a demand for it, which is fantastic. um And what about Guinea eggs? I don't know anything about guineas. they lay an egg a day in the summertime too, or how does that work? Yes, they do lay eggs. uh Similar to
17:46The chickens, yes. You can also eat the Guinea eggs. Yeah, that's what I was gonna ask. I mean, the only eggs I've ever eaten are chicken eggs. I've had the opportunity to duck eggs and they keep saying I'm gonna do it and I don't. Is the texture on eggs from birds like guineas and ducks and chickens, is it kind of just the same thing or are they different? They're similar, but the duck eggs are more creamy.
18:16texture. Okay. It's a little bit more thick than the chicken. That's what my experience is. We do have some ducks as well. I forgot to mention that. Oh, that's okay. That's okay. So that's for the, you know, you did mention it because you said you're going to have a pond. You're putting in a pond. Yes, the pond is there and then we have some of the ducks. love it because we had a big rain event and now the pond, the water
18:46uh raised up. So the ducks are really enjoying the pond right now. Happy ducks is a good thing. Okay, so I was looking at your Facebook page and you said that you're having a house put on that land in December, is that right? Yes. Okay, so what happens to where you're living now?  Oh, it's still gonna be there. I just going back and forth. uh
19:12And we have a more permanent place to spend the weekend and spend more time at the farm. oh All right. So  is it, I don't want to be nosy, but I'm always curious. My parents put in a pre-fabricated home  on land that my dad had wanted forever in Maine.  And  it's a family lot of land. So he had first dibs and he was like, why yes, yes, I do want that.  And
19:41You would never know that this was a prefabricated house. mean, it came in in two halves and the people that brought it put it together. It is adorable. I love their house. So  how you're doing it, or is it going to be like a mobile home style or how are you doing it? No, like, like you just described,  you will not know if it's a,  it's a cute, it's a cute model. uh We're excited  to have it on the farm. I'm coming up soon.
20:12I bet in Florida you can do things like that in December. If we tried to do something like that here in Minnesota,  no one knows whether anyone's going to be able to drive a vehicle  in December on a road with a humongous half a house on it. Yeah. We don't have that problem in Florida. No,  no.  I can't even imagine. My parents had it brought in,  I think it was April and they were a little nervous about it because
20:40It was all scheduled and they were ready. They were ready to have it put together and get things moved into it.  And my mom said to me about two weeks beforehand, she says,  pray it doesn't snow.
20:54And it didn't  and they love it so much.  is, my dad is 83 and my mom is 80 and they've been living there for about 12 years and they love it so  much. Like every time my mom talks about her voice just rings. It's so fun.  That's fun.  So what do you have on your farm?
21:19We have chickens  and  a watchdog and two barn cats right now. But in the summertime, we have a 100 foot by 150 foot  farm to market garden. Okay. That's great. So we're more about produce than we are about animals.  And, that may change. We're, we're flirting with the idea and that's about as far as it's gone  of getting uh more chickens and, getting the, the dual.
21:48purpose chickens, the layers and the meat chickens,  and starting to focus a little bit more on that on top of the produce because it's been terrible growing weather here for the last two summers.  And we really do need to have a way to have this place kind of halfway support itself. So we've been  flirting real hard with chickens.
22:12Well, we do a lot. mean, we do meat chickens. We really enjoy doing the meat chicken. My partner and I, we raised like 30 to 60 at a time last year. But this coming year, he has a big chart of all the raising we're going to do in the harvesting of the meat chicken. So it's really nice plan put together for next year. And then we have
22:41There are two batches of turkeys as well planned for next year for harvesting. So meat, chicken and turkey we're going to be processing. We're targeting about a hundred meat, chickens and 50 turkeys for next year. So he has put a really nice plan together for us to be able to it next year. So we're excited.
23:08I'm excited for you. That is, that is awesome. And the other reason we're talking about chickens and I don't know how many yet we haven't gotten up far  is this whole situation with the government being shut down and snap benefits not being um available starting tomorrow.  We've been doing a lot of talking here about this because  that's really scary.  I  really worry for the people who depend on.
23:38those benefits. I  I was on WIC when my daughter was born back in 1989.  And  the peanut butter and the milk really helped because I was a nursing mom. And  nursing moms don't want to be making four course meals. They want to eat something quick and nurse their baby.  And  it's just, it's so concerning. And  I wish we had
24:06extra to give to people right now and we don't.  And if we were raising chickens and we had a good garden at least we could help more you know. Yes I understand yeah definitely I mean it is  it is it's not hard to do  if you want to do uh the meat chicken but you have to be very uh regimented and on a really good schedule.  Yeah because they can't wait.
24:33That's right.  They take about eight weeks to  grow  until harvest time. And if past that,  you're going to get in trouble. Some of them will die, but you have to be very attentive with them. Yeah. And the reason they'll die is because they grow so fast, they get too heavy and their feet can't support them. Isn't that right? That is correct.  Chunky chickens.  Chunky chickens. grow three times, eight weeks each and then you harvest.
25:03We did buy  some equipment to help us  with our harvest  to make it much easier. We have a really nice plucker now that can uh we can plug about five chickens at the time. And we have a scalder that can keep the temperature uh consistent throughout the. Throughout the slaughtering period, so uh this is going to make it much easier for us to.
25:32to harvest our chickens next year. Yeah, my dad used to say, if you take care of your tools, your tools will take care of you.  And then  he would put on the addendum that it's nice to have those tools to start with.  That's why we invested in  the upgrade to help us be more efficient.
25:57Yeah, because time is literally money. You know, when I was growing up, I would hear time is money and I didn't quite  understand it the way that I do now. um But it is the less time you spend working on something, the more money you make. Yes. And that's where technology helps, right? We had the discussion earlier about how we, how we get technology into our old school approach. So that's how we're mixing it up. Yup. But.
26:27The other thing that's really nice about this lifestyle is if you want to go out and just watch your chickens be chickens and enjoy it and listen to them talk to each other, that's a really good use of your time. While you drink a cup of coffee and walking the pasture, And planning next year's chicken business. Yeah, that's exciting, yeah.
26:51Yeah, I'm really looking forward to the first crappy weather weekend we get here because we've had really nice weekends this fall.  And if it is nice outside, my husband is outside. So I'm looking forward to the first really bitter cold,  maybe flurrying, maybe sleeting weekend where he really needs to be inside so we can sit down and start writing down plans because that's my favorite part of fall is that first terrible weekend.
27:18where it's nice and cozy in the house and you've got a loaf of bread baking and you're sitting there smelling the bread baking and drinking coffee. You got a notebook at the island and you're writing down plans.  And that's what my partner did. Literally when it's raining outside, he's starting to put the plan together for next year. So those are the bad weather days is to do planning.  Yeah, that's what winter is for in Minnesota. I swear. Make some good soup, have some good bread and dream.
27:48Yes, because when it's good outside and nice, you want to be outside and taking care of the animals and taking care of the land. Yes, and making sure the tomatoes are pruned so they don't get blight and they don't die. That's one of the things we have to do here. Okay, so Mimi, where can people find you online? Well, at our Wholesome Meadow Farm Facebook page.
28:13We're working on our website, but it's not there yet. As soon as it's available, we'll post it on our Facebook page so we can  have people  enjoy the farm even more through our website. Yes,  absolutely. Websites are so important for small businesses. So keep working on that and get that ready  and I'll be excited to see it. um As always, people can find me at AtinyHolmsteadPodcast.com and please check out my Patreon, patreon.com.
28:43slash a tiny homestead. I'm so original. Everything is a tiny homestead.  All right, Mimi, thank you so much for your time. I really appreciate it. Thank you so much. was really,  the conversation was really great. I appreciate it.  Have a great rest of your day. You too. Bye. Bye.
 

AQuack AndaCluck Farm

Today I'm talking with Rebecca at AQuack AndaCluck Farm.
 
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00:00You're listening to A Tiny Homestead, the podcast comprised entirely of conversations with homesteaders, cottage food producers, and crafters. I'm your host, Mary Lewis. Today I'm talking with Rebecca at a Quack and a Cluck farm in Illinois. Good morning, Rebecca. How are you?  Good morning. Doing good. Good. Well, how's the weather there? Because it's been raining since last night here in Minnesota. Well, we didn't get rain until this morning and now it's drizzling  and cold.
00:28Yeah, and I hate to sound like a farmer, but we need the rain, so I guess it's okay. Yeah, we definitely do.  Definitely. It's really dry. It's been dry. It's needed. um Okay, so the first question I have for you is how you came up with a quack and a cluck for the name.  You know, honestly,
00:51I sat and I thought about it for a very long time.  And one thing that  I did was, you know, kind of come up with some names and I Google search just to make sure, you know, nobody else had any of them. didn't want to, you know, take somebody else's name.  And it just kind of hit me. I'm like, well, we got chickens and we got ducks. They make noises. There we go.  And  so I just, it just kind of came together. It worked out great.
01:20I  love it. And the only thing that's hard for me as the podcast host is that I have to make sure I pronounce  cluck very carefully. Yeah. Yeah. There was another lady who had a name like yours and it was something it had clucking in it.  And I I practiced for a whole day in my head and out loud saying clucking. So I didn't screw it up. uh Yeah. You know, and it
01:50It only takes just a little bit of a tweak in there for it to sound like something completely different. Yeah. And that's the one word that I never ever say on the podcast because I don't want people to be alienated. So,  right. So every time I find somebody with a name that ends in UCK, I'm like, OK, Mary Evelyn, be careful of how you say this word. Right. Yes. Very enunciate.  Yes. So is that chicks that I hear in the background? It is. Yes.
02:20um This is our first year  of doing fall hatches. um I'm not so sure that I like doing it. uh Of course, it's partly because my chickens are like,  no, we're out. So  it's been kind of random on what's hatching and what we're able to hatch.  Okay.
02:45Well, it's a lovely sound. think that chick peeps are beautiful to hear. do not,  I'm gonna step off to the side for a second.  The peeps that they sell at Easter,  I hate them. I don't like them. Every year I try one and I go, God, those are gross.  But  baby chicken peeps, the sound are just beautiful. So. Yes, I agree. And  on that side note of yours,  I do not like those peeps.
03:15I want to like them and my son always ends up getting some because he loves them and he's like try again so I eat one and I'm like it's just straight sugar it's gross. They're cute they are cute I'll give them that it's just that texture is just I can't get past that.  either I don't like them and my husband just laughs at me he's like you love marshmallows.
03:42And I'm spoiled. I have had homemade marshmallows before. Homemade marshmallows are fantastic.  And Peeps got nothing on them.  No, no. And once you have the homemade marshmallows, you can't even look at it or even taste, you know, the store-bought marshmallows the same. They just don't taste the same to me. No, they absolutely do not. There is a place up in Duluth, I think it is. I interviewed the lady that owns it and she makes homemade marshmallows and she sent
04:12I actually ordered some from her. had to try them.  And she sent me a package and I opened them the day I got them and they were gone. There were like 12  in the bag. And I ate probably eight of them. I saved four.  Two for my husband, two for my son. Because I'm a good mom and I am a good wife.  I wish it was the same here. I make something like that  and  it doesn't even really have time to set up before the kids are reaching in and taking them out and eating them.
04:41It's like same day they're gone. yeah, absolutely.  OK, so let's let's bring it back in the line about homesteading. Tell me about yourself and what you do at a quack and a clog farm.  Well,  we  we are trying to be a little bit more self-sufficient. um So we have  lots of chickens, plenty of chickens. A lot of them, though, are also
05:11ones that we're trying to preserve, trying to bring back,  like the  Pavlovaskan chicken breed.  I have heard it pronounced,  you know,  a little bit different.  So I may not be saying it right to everybody, but I've heard it both ways. The Sebastopol geese.  We also have like Mandarin ducks  and Australian spotted. um
05:42We have, we milk our cow or I'm sorry, we are working on a milking cow. We're leaning towards that. But we are uh breeding goats. We milk the goats.  We make soap from the goats milk. We also have pigs  and we just had a litter a few weeks ago. uh
06:10Some of them didn't make it. She had a pretty good size litter. you um know, just we're just trying to become more self-sufficient and also, you know, share the love of our birds  and our animals  in general. Fantastic. So you have the special breeds is what you're telling me.  We do have some special breeds. um
06:37There are, you know, your more common  breeds, but are probably a little bit more harder to find in my area, like the cauldots, the black east indies.  Um, I mean, we do have turkeys and peacocks as well, which I do know there are a few people around us that have those, but I mean, even growing up as a kid, you didn't hear of anybody having any of those.
07:01birds on their farm. knew like turkeys were wild, but peacocks you just seen at the zoo. didn't realize, you know, people actually had them on their farms.
07:14So, I mean, you know,  but, you know, we also have like sulkes, I'm simani and simatras. We have, you know, we do have your standard regular breeds like your Rhode Island Reds and such, but yeah, we do, we do have a lot of,  um, you're more harder to find breeds at least for our area. You know, it might  differ in different places.
07:40Yeah. So are you on a good size piece of land and outside of city limits? We are outside of city limits. We are on about three and a half acres. That's a good size piece of land. Yes. It is. We are hoping to possibly expand soon, um, depending on how the farmer allows us, um, you know, or if he's looking to possibly sell part of his, his land. Um, so we'll see.
08:10We'll see how it goes. You know,  we're in the same boat. We live em surrounded by a big cornfield and we're smack dab in the middle of it right off the road that parallels the field. And uh we know the owners, they're super nice people. And we would love, love, love, love to be in a position to buy a couple more acres because our property is three acres. And five acres would be perfect. Like there would be just enough room to have all the things we want to have.
08:39like a milk cow, that would be great.  Yes. But three acres is just not quite enough for everything we have going on  already. So I don't know that we're ever going to be able to do that because in Minnesota there's a law for farmland that you cannot break up acreage that is smaller than 40 acres anymore that's being used for growing crops. And so  the idea
09:07of being able to get the two acres adjacent to our property. It probably will never happen because it's going to break that law to do that. Gotcha. Yeah.  That's something that we're hoping that we can do. You know, we're not real certain that  he's  going to go for it, but we're hopeful, you know. um But that's kind of what we're hoping to do is be able to purchase a little bit more or even property away from ours.
09:37So then we can expand because we do want to be able to have a milking cow and you know some sheep  things like that. um Just being able to like I said our  ultimate goal in general is just to be more self-sufficient.  Yeah and the thing that's hard is that when you want to be self-sufficient  it's really nice to have a milk cow. It's really nice to have a couple of steers fattening up for the following year for the freezers.
10:06It's nice to be able to have the things that would  make you capable of taking care of yourself.  And if you push it too hard on three acres, you end up having things on top of each other and that just doesn't work very well.  Exactly. Exactly.  We're learning that.  One of the things I said to my husband when we bought our place five years ago, and it was a blank slate. mean, there was a pole bar and a house and a garage  on three acres and a tree line.
10:34And I said, I do not want this to become a junkyard homestead, you know, because you see people who have land and it's filled with old  dead tractors and pickup trucks and boxes and things. And I was just like, no, has to stay nice.  And it is staying nice, but we are definitely adding infrastructure every couple of years. Right, right. So yeah, ours was pretty much a blank slate as well when we bought it.
11:04It originally had a really nice barn on it, but prior to us purchasing the place, they had torn it down. I don't really know why or anything like that. But having the blank slate kind of made it easier for us to be able to build what we needed to, where we wanted it, how we wanted it.
11:28And one of the things that I was just telling a friend of mine was, you know, you go to your tractor supplier, whatever you purchase, one of their little cute little coops or whatever, that would not survive out here because unfortunately we get direct wind hits. Yep. So my husband builds them and  last  two years ago, maybe we had  160 mile
11:57plus our winds coming through and not one of them moved. And it was nice. was, it kind of like was okay. If we ever do have a tornado get super close to us, we're going to be okay. I think, you know, I don't think that obviously if it runs through our property, you know, that's a little different story. Right.  But knowing that my animals, when they go up, they're secure. Wind isn't going to take them out. kind of, it's
12:26It's nice. you know, driving around out here, you do see those old buildings that are falling apart and it's like, how is that still standing? Because it's barely hanging on. But I also like seeing that.  Yeah, for sure. So  what's the nearest big city to you, Rebecca? um Well, defining big, I would say probably Peoria, Illinois, and that's about an hour and a half.
12:57Okay, yeah.  My grandparents lived in Illinois. They lived in Oakwood, Illinois.  Okay. So I know where Peoria is. I've driven by it many times to go visit my grandparents. Yes. Yeah. That I would say would probably be the nearest big city.  you're sort of  mid-west of Illinois, like in the middle on the west side? Yeah.
13:25Okay. Kind of like in that belly area. Yeah. Illinois is, it's so weird. I grew up in Maine and Maine is very forested and very hilly. And we would go out to see my grandparents and we'd get to Indiana, well, mid Ohio. And it would start to get flat.  And I would be like, Oh, we're getting closer because it's getting flatter. And my dad would just laugh and he would say,  yes, that's why Mainers call people from away,  flat landers, because the land gets flat.
13:54Yeah, the West you go and so I'm aware of how beautiful Illinois is but I'm also very aware of how flat it can be Yeah um Very flat like there's there's no ifs, ands, buts about it  Yes, and I mean Maine has some flat spots but not like the Midwest does  and uh I made a lateral move over 30 years ago to Minnesota and
14:22Minnesota is a very strange state because the southern part there are some very flat lands here and up north it's all forested like Maine where I grew up  and There's also just there's so much water here. I mean, they're not kidding when they call it the land of 10,000 lakes Right. Yeah, we took a I haven't been to Wisconsin, but I have been to Michigan and
14:47Oh my goodness is Michigan beautiful  just all the forestry alone. So I can only imagine. mean you're talking about one state over really how beautiful Wisconsin is.  Oh yeah. Minnesota and Wisconsin aren't a whole lot different in my opinion. I'm sure that other people might have a different opinion because everyone does.  But  Wisconsin is also interesting because it also has like  zones of different topography.
15:17topography, there we go, just like Minnesota does. So it's kind of neat.  Okay, so I have a question. I was looking at your latest post on your Facebook page. Yeah. And there's something about NPIP certified.  What is that? What does that mean? So basically, um my flock has been tested  for,  in layman's terms, basically just um
15:47A strain  of salmonella. Okay.  Um, so it's something required by like not every state.  Um, I know that there's a few that it just kind of a whatever thing they don't require it.  Um,  but  to ship birds  in or out of pretty much every state, you have to have it. Okay. Or eggs.  Um, okay. Cool.  It allows me to, be able to ship.
16:17um eggs and birds. I have not shipped birds. I don't feel comfortable doing it. um Or to even go to shows. It allows me to go to shows.  Or um even like the state of Illinois requires it for like swap meets. Okay. All right. Do know what it stands for? the what the letters stand for? um
16:44If I had it in front of my head face, I would be able to tell you I have a  really bad memory when it comes to that  I'm gonna Google it and P  I P Yeah, I have I
17:00I  am,  you know, to be all honest and serious here, I am dyslexic. So I do have a hard time recalling certain things when it comes to things like that. no, that's fine. And of course, I'm trying to get to it and it's telling me this site can't be reached. So um it doesn't really matter. I was just curious. I'd never seen the I'd never seen it before.  I know it's for the warrior.
17:27It's National Poultry Improvement Plan. That's what it is. Yes. There you go. Got it. So now I can put that in the show notes for people who don't know. Awesome. OK. So so do you you don't ship birds, you don't ship chicks, you just ship eggs? Yeah, I have worked with transports before.
17:52uh I just do not feel comfortable shipping live birds with the way the post office has been running. um I know a lot of people have good luck with them and things like that, but I've also seen a lot more where there's  delays. A lot of people are getting their birds,  you know, that have passed  due to shipping delays or just rough handling and.
18:21I just don't feel comfortable with it. would rather know that  if you're going to get a bird from me, that it's healthy, it's going to get to you okay.  Then ship something and just hope for the best.  You know, eggs are kind of one thing.  They're a little bit more sustainable, you know, if there is a slight delay.  Yes.  know, birds,  those are live  babies, know, live.
18:50Juveniles I just I Just have a really hard time getting past the idea of shipping something that may not make it to you alive  Yes, and I'm gonna say something that might be controversial, but I'm gonna say it anyway um I can't imagine being a day old or two day old chick Being popped into a box  put on a truck or a plane shipped across country
19:18and having to sit around in a box with 16 or 20 or 100 of my siblings  with a little bit of food and a little bit of water,  hoping that I stay alive. Yeah, and you know, that's, I feel like that's more of your hatcheries that ship your date olds. Most of the ones that, and I'm not saying  not every like farm does this or what have you, but I do know um a few farms that do ship  and
19:48They will not ship day olds.  They wait for a few, you know, even a week or so before they even ship because they do want them established. They do want them thriving, knowing that they're going to be okay before they do just put them in a box. Yeah. But yeah, I even, even being, you know, a week or two old and being sent out. Yeah. I definitely see your view and how you, how you look at that also. Yeah. Chicks are very fragile.
20:17They're very, very breakable. Yeah. And you know, then you have some that are even more so, you know, you get into your smaller breeds like your kiki rikis or your saramas. I mean, even call ducklings.  don't know  very many at  all  of, know, your individual small farms, hobby farms, homesteads, whatever,  um, that will ship even baby call ducks because of how even fragile they are.
20:47ah I do know that there is hatchery that  is shipping baby calls and I'm just like, can't even like that freaks me out a little bit. Like they're ultra sensitive  and you know, they do need that water. So it's, it's, you know, a very hot topic. Yeah. That's why I said, I'm going to say something controversial. And  honestly, if you're trying to get chips, chips, uh-huh.
21:16shipped to you, that's fine. Do whatever you're comfortable with. But I would rather find a local person  and get them from a local person where I can go pick them up  and gently take the box to my vehicle and then take the box from my vehicle to the brooder gently. And that way they're protected and they're safe. Oh, I agree. I agree. that's, you know, I can't speak for like every, every farm out there, but ones that I've talked to, even myself.
21:46Even when it comes to  eggs, I would rather be like, you know,  is there anybody closer to you? I, you know, I did ship some of my Turkey eggs to Oregon.  Um, and she said that, you know, she's, she was very insistent on, on these eggs. And I was like, okay, ah I will get them sent to you. And they did really, really well, but it is a long distance even for that, you know, um,
22:14And I do know that a lot of people will want eggs or, you know, like chicks or even eggs shipped to them, um, because they can't find them.  Um, you know, we'll go on back to like the Caldots. That is something that a lot of people are just like, I can't find them in my area. They're hard to come by. And they're, you know, even here,  they're becoming a little bit more popular. But when I started with them,  you couldn't really find them anywhere near you.
22:45Now, now you're seeing a lot more of them. um It's basically down to what colors even, you so it's kind of same with chicks as well. You know,  there are some chickens that are harder to come by. There are some that, you know, you see everywhere.
23:08Yep, absolutely.  So I'm going to ask a question I don't ask as often as I probably should. If someone wanted to get into raising ducks or raising chickens,  how do they get started? Because you've been doing this for a little while. So tell me how you get started.  So one thing that I do  even to this day, um especially if it's a new breed or anything like that, um
23:37I make sure to do the research.  Um, that will make or break you. It's when you  are like, oh my goodness, those cold ducks are so cute. I need them. want them. And then you go get them and you get them home  and you don't know how to care for them properly. You're going to end up with dead birds.  Um, unfortunately this last spring I sold some Sebastopol goslings  and some of them didn't make it because
24:06They were not brooded properly  and they got too hot because they were brooded as chicks and you can't, you can't do that. So one thing that I always suggest to people is,  um, you know, make sure that you know  what you're getting into. Um, dig around, ask questions. I'm always, always open to answering questions. anybody that has bought from me before, I, you know, it's always.
24:35If you got anything, reach out to me. Feel free. It's okay. um
24:43Talk to, talk to breeders, ask them questions. A lot of breeders,  you're really good breeders even,  will help you. They'll help you along the way, help you answer any questions, anything that you have. But the biggest thing is  knowing what you're getting into because not every  bird is the same.  You know, whether you're looking at chickens, not every chicken is the same. Some require different things.
25:13ducks, same thing. They're not all the same.  Like the sabbatical geese, you know, they're  the way they're feathering is  they get colder a little bit faster, you know, if the wind's blowing right on them. So they do need to be able to have wind block. These kinds of things are very important to know. And that's, you know, that is the very first thing that I tell anybody that, you know,
25:43hasn't owned ducks before. Do your research. Understand that you can't put like a call duck in  with your bigger ducks if you're going to have drakes.
25:56It won't work. mean, I know people do it and they have success, but most of the time it's because they've done the research and they're in a really big enclosure or they're free range. But then you have to look at those risks as well and understand that. So the deeper, the deeper you dive into it, the deeper you look into it and you ask all these questions, come up with all these scenarios.
26:26the better off you will be prepared for when you get your new chicks, your new ducks, your new breed. So basically educate yourself before you jump in.  Very much. You know, don't just look at pictures and be like, oh my goodness, they're so cute. Because they are. They are all adorable. Every chicken is adorable, except for I have a problem with naked. But that's okay.  But.
26:55You know, it really like if you're going to spend the money for the bird, know what you're getting. Yeah. And I'm going to add to that, know what it takes to take care of them of your time and your energy too. Absolutely. Absolutely. Because, know, just just like with the sabbaths of bulls and putting up wind blocks, that takes some time.
27:21You know, and they do need space. They do need to be able to graze even during winter.
27:28You know their main source of food is  basically, you know, your grass your dirt that kind of stuff  Mm-hmm. Not so much grain. You don't want to overpower them with grains Yes, there's so many things that go into having birds in general not I mean even if you were gonna have Pigeons, there's a lot that goes into bird care. Yes Absolutely
27:56And, you know, knowing, you know, what to do if a medical issue comes up, you know, like rhino or, you know, when they're hatching out of an egg, do they need help? You know, like, call ducks are notorious for needing help, but not every duck needs help, you know. So it's all a learning process. And one thing that, you know,
28:25I always tell everybody is we all started somewhere.  We all made mistakes and we all learned from it.
28:37So don't feel bad if you make a mistake. Just learn from it and keep going. Things happen and you learn. Yes, that is the joy of being alive and learning new things.  Yes, yes.  I'm going to pull this around to dogs because I have the best dog in the entire world. Fight me. She's the best. um
29:06We got her a and I thought that we would break her. We had never had a puppy before and she was eight weeks old.  And we know her former, we know the owners of our dog's parents, they're friends of ours. And their dogs have  at least one litter a year usually. And  the lady is always posting photos of the puppies when they arrive and then as they grow and then they go to their new homes.
29:33And every time she posts a new litter when they're about four weeks old,  I'm like, you can't just have one. I need another one. And my husband's like,  no,  our dog is the best dog  in the world. She's the only dog we need. And he reminds me of this. And I go, okay, fine. And so, so I just really try to enjoy those puppies vicariously. And if we have the chance to go visit them,  we go visit them and we help socialize them, but they do not come home with us.
30:02because  animals just like children need to be taken care of. Yeah. So it's all part of the homesteading and farming life, but  you got to know your limits and our limits are the best dog in the world.  One dog. That's it.  right. Yes. No, I,  I definitely hear that, but it's really hard to pass up more than one puppy because they're very cute.
30:30Oh my goodness, they are. have two little babies right now. They will be four weeks  old Wednesday.  And  they are the sweetest little things ever.  And I do know one is going to a fantastic farm in about two weeks.  Well, no, actually it's closer to three weeks.
30:59And I'm excited. I'm excited for them and I'm excited for the little guy. ah It's fun being able to have them, but also finding them a great home. And we do not breed very often um because of the breed of dogs that we do have. um The idea is to make sure that they do go to a good home. Purposeful breeding.  Yeah.
31:28Yes. uh Is it Rottweilers? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. They are adorable as babies and they are scary looking when they're big grown up boys. And I love them. I think they're beautiful.  And I've known some very sweet Rottweiler dogs. They are big loveys, but they will definitely put the fear of God into you if you are where you're not supposed to be in their guard dogs.  And you know, that is one thing that we have out here.
31:57partly for that purpose um to be a guard dog, but they do know their limits. They do know, you know, okay, if we tell you to stop, means stop. They are great dogs. They are fantastic. um Our oldest, which I like to call grandma now,  she  is the sweetest little thing ever. And she,
32:26I mean, you put any kind of baby in front of her, baby chick, baby duck, whatever, she does not even care. And it's a beautiful thing.  It's a beautiful thing to be able to do that.  And, you know, that's one thing that we work on out here as well. You know, are they going to necessarily go to a farm home?  No, but we still introduce them to  the birds rather early, you know, once they get their vaccines going and stuff.  Sorry.
32:56Um, we start the introduction just in case they do go to a home with even chickens, for example, that way, you know, they understand they know that is started. Does that make them a livestock guardian dog?  No. So please don't get that confused and don't, you know, think that, oh, I can just take any dog and, and create a livestock guardian dog. That's  two different things.
33:24It definitely is. And I'm going to say our dog is  an Australian shepherd and she,  she was sold to us as a mini, but apparently that's not a thing. She is a small Australian shepherd  and  she would be a great show dog because she's very athletic. She would also be a great herding dog. That's what she was bred for. She is not a livestock guardian dog either  because she's only 35 or 36 pounds.
33:53And any predator here, a coyote would take her down in minutes, a pack of coyotes she'd be done for. Right. So her job is to let us know if something is on the property that's not supposed to be here. She's an excellent watchdog. Yes. Yeah. And that's, you know, and that's just kind of what these guys are too. You know, they're just here to watch and protect.  But I do know a lot of people, um you know, they get into
34:21the poultry and then they're like, well, you know, this dog's really good with the chickens. They're a livestock guardian dog or whatever, you know, they just kind of have that mindset and it's like, no, that's not what they are, but it's good that they're good with your chickens. Yeah, we call Maggie the farm dog because everybody refers to us, our place as the farm, but she may be a farm dog, but she's not a livestock guardian dog. we're good with Right.
34:49All right, this was wonderful, Rebecca. Thank you so much for talking with me today. Where can people find you?  You know, just on our web page on Facebook, we do have  a website that we're building, but  we're having issues with it. So hopefully that'll be coming soon.  Awesome. Let me know and I will add it to the show notes when you have it up. Okay. Okay.
35:16As always, people can find me at atinyhomesteadpodcast.com, because I have a website, because I used to make them, so that's why I have one.  And please check out my Patreon, it's patreon.com slash atinyhomestead.  Rebecca, I hope you have a wonderful day. All right, thank you, you too. Thank you, bye. Bye.
 

Momma Dragon's Homestead

Today I'm talking with Susan at Momma Dragon's Homestead.
 
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00:00You're listening to A Tiny Homestead, the podcast comprised entirely of conversations with homesteaders, cottage food producers, and crafters. I'm your host, Mary Lewis. Today I'm talking with Susan at Mama Dragon's Homestead in Maryland, of all places. Good morning, Susan, how are you?  Good morning, I'm doing well. How are you? Well, let's be honest, you and I are both coming off of a two-week sickness. And if I sound rough, it's because I have had the most
00:26ridiculously miserable head cold upper respiratory thing  since two Tuesdays ago. And  how long have you had it? It's been about the same. I'm on week three and  doing so much better than I was before.  My tonsils decided that they were going to  get huge on me. So  but it's something that my kids brought home for sure.  Yeah, my kid went to see his girlfriend and she had been sick and I didn't know she'd been sick.
00:54And I think he brought it home from her place. So I'm kind of  mildly displeased with him,  but I love him. And so I'm just like, eh, it could have been my husband bringing it home from work. can't find anybody to blame. I just have to be miserable.  So  if  Susan sounds snorky or I sound snorky, that's why.  And listener, if you are smart,
01:19try to make sure you wash your hands and if you feel okay about it wear a mask when you go out in public because it is going around. Yeah it is. It's gross you do not want this. It has been so bad.  Okay so first off I'm so happy that you're you're well enough to chat with me  and second off why is it mama dragons homestead? um I  really really love dragons. um
01:47I was definitely uh kind of a horse girl growing up.  But then like in middle school, was like, you know what? I'm going to just make these look like dragons now. dragons  have just been something that  I've  loved for most of my life.  And I'm an artist as well. So I draw a lot of dragons. uh I  didn't want uh my homestead to be uh
02:17a name that I already have online elsewhere or anything. I tried to make it kind of, well, I love dragons. So I'm a mama. Here's dragons. Mama dragon.  Well, it's attention getting because I saw it on Facebook and I was like, hmm, what is this? Does she raise dragons? Do they exist?  My kids, my kids are all grown. But if you had figured out a way to find dragon eggs, hatch them and raise dragons, they would have been all over that.  Oh, if I
02:46you'll be the first to know because I'm all about that.  Yeah, the book that got my youngest hooked on reading  was Aragon and he talked about dragon eggs incessantly for months after he read that book.  I actually have read that one too. think I was um in middle school as well when I read that one. ah But my first uh big dragon series book was Anna Caffrey's Dragon Riders of Fern.  Mine too.
03:14love that series. Absolutely love it.  Me too. And what I didn't know when I started, the first one I read, we're going to get into books for a minute, was The White Dragon because I didn't know there were other books before that one. And that's the one that got me sucked in. And then  as a young adult, I learned that there were so many more. And then I think she's died now. think  Emma Caffrey has passed. So there will be no more Pern books. And I'm kind of sad about it.
03:44She did collaborate with her son. So her son has, they've got books that they've done together and some that he's done. So there's still some Anne McCaffrey magic out there. I may have to dig into it. I haven't read one in a long time. Okay. Well, anyone who's a reader and loves dragons and loves words, go find the Pern series because it is fabulous. So I don't want to get into books too much because I am a word nerd and a
04:12book geek and we could spend two hours and that's not what this podcast is about. keep joking  that I need to start a book podcast and I just don't have the time right now to invest in a second podcast.  So maybe if I do do one in a year or so, I'll have to have you come back and we'll talk books.  But  what do you do at Mama Dragon's Homestead? What are you guys going on there? um So  we just started out. This is
04:40This is my first year homesteading and I literally took a nose dive into it. um And in February, me and my kids  started planting our little garden. had  pumpkins, corn, uh tomato, every tomato. planted way too many tomatoes. um Zucchini,  we got that all going and I felt like really hopeful for it.  I'm actually terrible at keeping any kind of plant thing alive. So the fact that uh
05:09it was working was really exciting and encouraging for me.  And then I was going to be getting into canning. um But  on Mother's Day, I got  four chicks,  four little chicks.  And um I'm sure you know how chicken math works.  Four just wasn't enough. And so after that, I got um four more from another local homestead.
05:37and then three more from a different homestead. So we were at 11 chickens and  my partner was like, all right,  maybe we should think about this. So  I put a hard stop there and we were just raising those ones up. We got the chickens before we got  the coop. So we built the coop while they were growing up.  And then the same lady that I had gotten four of the chicks from
06:06Um, she had posted that she was also, uh, selling rabbits. So  I jumped into the rabbitry side of things.  Um, I'm also a registered rabbitry as a mama dragon as well.  Oh, nice.  Um, we've got rabbits going,  um, which,  know, we use for every aspect for,  for compost, for food, for, um,  I'm looking into getting into the,  um,  the shows this next year.
06:36And yeah, uh that's,  I think that covers kind of where we are at at current with everything on the homestead, uh animal and food wise. Fun. So, so why did you dive in? um So I actually had a pretty traumatic uh last year.  I became a single mother last year and uh one of my best friends and my boss  passed away.
07:06And ah I was just kind of spiraling in this depression  and not sure  how to like pull myself back out of it. um And, you know, financially was also  struggling and I was like, what can I do to be more self-efficient for me and my family when  these times are getting rough like this? um So that's kind of what sparked it and why we started with Garden.
07:36Um,  and then,  you know, when we got the chicks and everything, I just  really saw a big change in my mood.  Um,  you know, I'm, wanting to  go outside. I'm wanting to help take care of things and tend to the garden and stuff like that. And my kids are excited about it. So it's something that we're  learning and doing together at the same time. It's not something that I already know that I'm teaching them. It's something that we're learning.
08:05together as, you know, home team family doing.  And I think that really brought out this different side of me  and  brought out a lot of motivation and encouragement during  me being in a really dark place in dark time.  You chose one of the healthiest ways to deal with depression there is.  Thank you. Good job. I'm proud of you. ah
08:33Here at our place, our last name is Louis, obviously. So when we accomplish something, we go, yay, Team Louis. I love that.  And it's usually outside and it's usually really loud. It's a good thing we have neighbors that are a quarter mile away at the  least.  But  one of our neighbors is actually a county sheriff.  And he has a homestead over that way himself. So I'm sure that he and his family probably have some version  of hell's yes, we did it. Yeah.
09:01But ours is, ours is, Team Lewis or go Team Lewis or whatever it We yell outside. And it's so nice to be able to yell outside. Our neighbors don't come running like what is wrong with you? Yeah. Okay. So I've talked about our experience with rabbits a couple of times on the podcast in the last two years, and we tried it. We were going to raise rabbits for meat and our bunnies were not very good at procreating. We got one, one litter.
09:31in a year. And we decided that was not a good use of our time or our money because you've got to feed those bunnies. And so we called them and stuck them in the freezer and that was the end of our rabbit raising experience. I saw on your Facebook page that you have had more than one litter of bunnies gifted to you. So how's it going? Oh my goodness. I absolutely love it. So there is kind of
09:59Interesting story with the bunnies. So  the first two that I got um were specifically for my kids  since we did so well with the chicks. But uh I then  suddenly had eight bunnies  because  bunny math apparently hits a whole lot harder than chicken math does.  But um I had come across this lady that had rabbits for sale and  I went to go check them out.  And it turned out that
10:26They were in really bad living conditions and she was  she kind of said, hey, you're here for these, but I need you to take all of these rabbits  or I'm just going to call them all. I put me in kind of a weird situation because it was like, this is my first time here. I'm still new to rabbits.  I don't know what to do. But I felt really bad because like their cages were falling apart and  awful. And  so I was like, OK, put them all in the van. And. um
10:54Taking care of them and kind of like nursing them back to health and trying to find homes for them, I found out how much I love and just appreciated it. Majority of them were bucks though. So I went through the rehoming of that and then adopt, not adopted, but bought two more does and I gave it a shot.
11:21And I had read everywhere, you know, make sure you're breeding too so that if something happens to the first one, another one can help foster and stuff like that. yeah, the first two, one of them had, I think seven was the first litter and then the other one was 10. And I'm like, oh, hi, lots of babies. And that was really exciting.
11:46They come, they're like little beans. I think that's one of the videos I even said, they're like little jumping beans. But like it was a very special moment. I'm helping to create more life that's going to sustain me, my family, or be in somebody else's life. And then the next two that I had,
12:11um It was only a few weeks later, they both had their babies. And I think we're up to 29 babies. um And they're all doing amazing.  They're all fantastic mothers. Two of them are first time moms. Two of them have had  litters previously. um all  of the babies have made it that were born live. We did have three stillborn,  but she had, I mean that was...
12:37She had a litter of 13 and three of them were stillborn. So it was very large litter for  rabbit.  Yeah. But yeah, it's been fantastic.  It's another thing that this is my first time doing something like this and the kids are present for it. uh Though my oldest, who's seven, was a little freaked out when they were born because he didn't realize that they were kind of born naked. um So  he was like, you know, let me know when they have fur.
13:07um But my youngest has been really supportive and  wanting to be there for every time I go out there really. Yes, little naked mole rat popcorn kernels is what I think of them as. Yes.  You try to like check on them if they feel a vibration at all, they all just start popping around in the nest.  Yeah, they are the most adorable baby animal I've ever dealt with and that's going some because I
13:35love kittens and I love puppies.  I love baby goats and I love calves. So for me to say that baby rabbits are the cutest, they really are.  Yes, they make cute little squeaks and oh my gosh, they're precious. Though I'm jealous because I would love to be around some baby calves.  I don't have baby calves. The only reason I say I love baby calves is my grandpa's friend down the road when I was growing up had a dairy farm and we got to go see the calves every spring.  And my
14:03grandpa's friend would let us go into the pen with like two or three calves at a time and just hang out with them because they were they were little they were only a week old. And baby calves love to suck because that's how they get the milk from mom and so if you stick your thumb out they're gonna suck on your thumb it's very funny. Yes I visited a farm that had a baby one and I it was trying to eat like I would to pet it it tried to eat my whole knuckles.
14:30They're like, Ooh, that seems like a teat. Let's see, let's see what's in there. And you find out, they find out right away that there's nothing there, but they will continue to suck. It's almost like a baby, you know, a human baby. don't. that's how they learn. Yeah. mean, pacifiers are not a fantastic thing. I don't recommend that moms give their babies pacifiers these days, cause it's really hard to get that toddler to give it up. But it's the same thing. It's comfort. So. Right.
15:00Um, okay. So,  and so how many chickens do you have now?  Um, so,  um, I don't know if it was one of the posts that you saw or not, but  the same time that we were having  baby bunnies,  I actually just incubated and hatched  our first,  um, home hatch  of chickens. So we were at 11. We unfortunately did lose one, um, which if you don't mind, I'm going to say like a little PSA to everybody. um
15:30Make sure,  you know, if you've built your coop or you're adding onto your coop,  get one of those magnetic sweepers just in case any screws or nails or anything fall off. Oh, yeah. That's unfortunately how we lost our one hen. um Everybody else is good, but she ended up  eating one.  yeah, so just make sure if you do any construction or anything, you clean it up with that because they see shiny and they want to eat it. Yes. And that is a
15:59Perfectly fine thing to let people know  and while we're at it I've got one to add to  my husband and my son target practice on our property  and uh They will use the the 22  Caliber well, it's I'm trying to think of all the right words here  and  they were actually shooting at a possum that had gotten into the the chicken coop  and My dad told my dad about this and he was like are they using lead shot or steel shot?
16:29And I said, I don't think we have any steel shot right now. And he said, um you might not want to let the chickens free range where they were shooting at the possum.  He said, because they will eat  the shot. And if it's lead, it will kill them.  And I had never thought of that. It never would have occurred to me. So  that's another PSA.  If you're going to target practice or if you're going to dispatch an animal on your property,
16:56Don't let your chickens free range of where you shot that gun or where you aimed  the gun at. Yeah.  Because chickens are stupid. They will eat anything. They will.  I give them  as much, you know, like I mix up my own scratch and stuff.  But if they see styrofoam, they're going for the styrofoam.  Oh, yeah. They they're indiscriminate  and they don't self-regulate when they eat. I mean, we feed
17:25We fill their feeder full and  they don't self-regulate. They will eat through that thing in two days. Yep.  There's eat, need, need. And I'm like, you are not meat birds. You are laying hens.  Right. So we have to make sure that we don't fill the feeder all the way full. We feed them a specific amount every day. Otherwise we're going to go broke feeding chickens. uh But to answer... uh
17:54Back to what you originally asked. um So 10 grown right now in Lang and we hatched 18 chicks. So we've got 18 chicks now. uh And they're all,  know, some of them are from our flock and some of them are  from like my sister farm. She's got a whole bunch of different chickens too. So we've got a cute little variety going on right now.  Nice. And what is the plan for all the chickens?
18:20So we are going to look at getting our numbers up to 24. So we have like two dozen eggs a day. And then I have a neighbor down the road. They just built a coop and they'll get the remainder of them to kind of start their flock. Nice. Awesome. So do you sell your chicken egg? Are you going to? Yeah, we just started. a couple of weekends ago, actually it was the first Saturday in October.
18:48me and my kids launched uh our first farm stand. Like we're doing everything this year. uh And so we've been putting eggs out there and the neighbors have been coming and buying them and stuff. uh yeah, it's been really neat. It's been really fun.  You weren't kidding when you said you dived in. I did. I did a huge nose dive.  But that's good. I mean, honestly, if you can afford it.
19:15If you are ingenious enough to do it on a shoestring budget,  and if it's helping your mental health, I applaud you. I think you're doing a great thing. Thank you. Definitely. I've been taking advantage of Facebook Market and everybody who um gives away palettes and stuff like that. We've been recycling so much stuff for what we have. Palettes are the homesteaders, godsend of building materials.  That's what our coupes made out of, is palettes.
19:44Yeah, there's a place almost to the next town over. It's  a dental  or veterinarian something supply place and they have stacks of really nice pallets all the time and they just let people take them. we,  we took at least 50 of them in the first two years we're here. Yeah. Cause they're great. mean, you can use them the way they are. You can break them apart to use them for other things. They're fantastic. And free is always good.
20:14Yep.  Okay. So,  um, I had a question about your farm stand. Did you build your farm stand or did you like retrofit a shed or something?  Um, so we got  an old,  um, not old, but, um, somebody was getting rid of, uh, like a entertainment center, a TV stand,  um, that had like cabinet doors on it.  Um, so we went and picked it up  and,  um, I did,  uh,  cause it had just like the
20:43kind of cardboardy background or  back of it.  So we took that off and I put um wood up on it and I put really cute wallpaper on it. I'm very partial to wallpaper. um And we just added a few more shelves and we have it standing because it wasn't tall enough on its own.  We have it on pallets to make it tall enough. um And  we wheel it out every weekend, at least until we can get a roof on it so that like when it rains, doesn't.
21:13mess it up.  Very nice.  That's really smart. um I'm sorry, I'm trying not to cough.  No, you're okay.  Goodness. um We have a farm stand too, but we actually spent a lot of money on it because we had money at the time.  And it looks like a little red barn and I'm so in love with  it. it makes our property look so
21:41You need to understand and the listeners need to understand. I've talked about it before. When we moved here, it was a blank slate. There wasn't a farm stand. There wasn't a greenhouse. There was a pole barn, a house, and a three-car garage or two-car garage that is useless. We can't open the doors on it because it's old and broken. And a big old field to put a beautiful garden in and we did that right away. But we have very slowly been putting buildings in to suit our purposes.
22:10And I'm telling you, when my husband and son got the uh permanent greenhouse built, I mean, I had wanted it from the beginning, but that didn't go up until May 2 until  two Mays ago. So May of 2023. We had our little farm stand, the greenhouse is behind it. The barn is at the end of the driveway.  And I look out my kitchen or my porch windows and I can see the whole layout.
22:40And I'm just like, man, this is what I thought it was going to look like when we got to it.
22:47Yeah, that's gotta be like a dream to look out and just see it. It's so exciting and  it sounds dumb. mean, the greenhouse has been up for a year and a half  and the farm stand's been up for at least three years  and it still just makes me giddy to look out there and see those structures  built and being used. No, I think that's fantastic. I mean, ours is still very fresh, but it is like
23:14That's one of my favorite things to do. I used to never use the backyard because there was nothing in it  and  my kids would mostly play in the front yard and um just being able to go into the backyard and I am a, an addicted coffee drinker to the max. So to just go out there and have my coffee and  hear the chickens and see them.  and like, I never thought,  never thought that would be something in my life. So it's, it is still very like, wow, I'm really,
23:45and I'm really, um I don't know, grateful that this is how things have turned out.  Yeah, it's funny how when bad things happen, if you can just feel the feelings and breathe through it and realize that you have to keep moving through the bad to get to the good,  when you get to the other side, it's like the lights go back on and color comes back into the world. Yes, that's very true. It's so weird. My daughter,  my daughter is my oldest child.
24:15I have four kids. And when she graduated high school and moved out, everybody was like, are you okay? Are you doing okay? And I'm like, yeah, I'm fine. And she moved, she graduated in the end of May, first of June, years ago, and she moved out like the same day  and she was  gone. I mean, gone, gone. Like I didn't see her for months because she needed to make that break too. And it took until October for me to realize that I
24:45hadn't been fine. Like I was doing okay. I was getting through life, but I was depressed and I didn't even know it.  October hit and the leaves had changed and I had noticed and fall is my favorite time of year.  And  just as the foliage season was coming to an end, I was like, oh my God, the maple tree across the street is gorgeous. And my husband said, yeah, it has been for the last week and a half. Where have you been?
25:13And I said, I don't know. He said, I don't think you've handled this as well as people think you've handled this. And I said, well, I don't think so either, but colors are back. He's like, oh, that's good. He said, that's usually a good sign. I said, yeah, no kidding. Yeah. That's one of the first things that got pointed out to me. And it was actually by my mom. She lives in Colorado, but she just kind of noticed
25:43my behavior, and this was like, not this last February, but the February before where she's like, are you okay? And I'm like,  I don't know what you mean. And she's like, it kind of seems like you're disassociating.  that's not something that I had thought about at all. But when I sat back and thought about it, I'm like,  oh, yes, I have been heavily disassociating  for a long time, been missing  all the signs of it thinking I was okay.
26:12That's the worst part of it is that you as the person experiencing it  don't really realize that it's happening. Yeah. Yeah. Until you come out of it. Yep. And I don't want to make this into psychology 101, but  it's really good to have family and friends who will notice those things and be like,  I don't think you're as okay as you're trying to be.  I think so many  aspects.
26:41are intertwined with each other that it's still  relevant to this, I think, because I think a lot of people,  in my opinion, at least,  who do homesteading, it is kind of the having a purpose, having a reason to go outside having because just being outside is healthy for you anyway. I know I was like, gremlin in my basement for way too long,  but just being outside and moving.
27:08helps your mental state and I do think that's a big part of homesteading, at least in my experience of it,  as it's been very rewarding for my mental health.  Sure. And if nothing else, the vitamin D from the sun that you're getting while you're outside helps a lot. I have never been so Tam.  Yeah, absolutely.  So how big is your piece of property? Is it just a city lot or are you outside of town?
27:35I am  on kind of the edge of city there. So it's  nice that there's not as much limitations. I've got just under an acre. there's a house next to us that it's actually been abandoned for 20 years.  So I don't have to worry about neighbors on that side. um And the neighbor on the other side of us um is totally cool with everything, loves our chickens, loves the rooster. And I give her some free eggs. like.
28:03no problem with us there. And then behind us um is just woods  for I don't know how long, but there's no one behind us. And  it's a really  nice, like there's only a couple trees. So I've planted a few fruit trees in hopes that maybe in a couple years  something will happen with them. And I've planted a couple willow trees just to add some more.
28:28shade in the back there, but it's a good chunk of land for the kids to run around. I do have dogs too, so there's all that. And there's still a good section for my garden and the chickens and rabbits without it feeling like we're cramped or building on top of ourselves. Awesome. You can do a lot with just under an acre. We had a 10th of an acre before we moved to our 3.1 acre place here.
28:55And we  fed our neighborhood veggies every summer from our tiny little garden. So you can do a lot. um If you want to make yourself feel really special,  how many  fruit trees did you plant?  Three.  OK. Add two more and  you can say that you have a small orchard. OK. Is that what an orchard's considered? Yep. Five or more. Very cool.
29:21I'll have do that.  Yeah. I didn't know this until  I sent the draft of my article. It's coming out in the November, December issue of Homestead Living.  Like, like next month it's coming out and the editor said, um, so do you have an orchard? And I didn't know the definition of orchard. So I had to look it up and it said five or more fruit trees. And I said to my husband when he got home, said, did you know that we have a small orchard?  That's really cool.
29:51He said, technically. I said, yes. I said, considering we have 20 trees and that's just apple trees. I said, doesn't count the plum trees or the peach trees. I said, we have a small orchard on our property. He was like, that is fabulous. And he used another word in front of fabulous that I don't sound like podcast. uh So if you want to make yourself feel special and unique, add two more trees and you will have a small orchard. Susan. Awesome.
30:18Actually, I do have four, but one of them is inside right now because it's uh it's a Mandarin and I'm like, that's going to freeze. So it's inside. So one more trick.  Yeah. What did you plant for trees outside? uh I have uh an apple tree, peach and a plum. And it was kind of  we're going to try each of these and see. I think the apple  might not have made it just because when we got it  and I didn't know when I got it at the time, it had that the rust.
30:48Yeah.  Yeah. So I'm a little worried about it,  but the peach and the the plum seem like they're doing  really good. uh But yeah, we'll see how they  how they turn out next year. Hopefully they should. eh There was there was already like two peaches growing on the peach tree when we bought it. So  I'm hoping that means that next year we'll have a little more.  Yeah, peaches are pretty quick turnaround. We have peach trees and we got
31:17We got peaches the fall after we put it in.  So like the year a year later, we got peaches. The other thing about apples and I'm gonna tell you this because I didn't know this until we got apples and um one of our orchard friends like like he grow he has an orchard a big one. He gave us apple trees  as a housewarming present.  Gave them to us gave us six apple trees. Wow.
31:44And I said, we don't need six. And he was like, no, no, no. He said,  here's why I'm doing this. He said, I'm the one who has the orchard. Listen up. And I was like, okay, thank you, sir. Tell me,  educate me.  He said, I'm giving you four  honey gold apple trees. He said, they're a fabulous apple for baking. He said, and I'm giving you a Regent and a Harrelson. He said, the reason I'm giving you these is because you need  different kinds of apple trees to pollinate each other.
32:15Because you need more than one apple tree. So I'm going to tell you right now, Susan, if you want apples, you're going to need more than one apple get some more. Well, good to know. Thank you. Yeah. And this guy, think he's 70 and we've known him for at least 20 years. And we just wanted to buy some small apple trees from him. And we drove up and we were like, hey, you know, moved to LaSore, right? And he's like, yeah.
32:43And I said, any chance you have any small apple trees you'd be willing to sell us. And he said, well, no. And I looked at him and I said, did we do something to make you angry? And he said, no. He said, no, of course not. I'm going to give you some apple trees for your housewarming present. I almost broke down in tears. I was so tickled and so excited. And I was just like, you don't have to give them to us.
33:13And he was like, Mary, he said, how many times has Kyle helped me with stuff here? I said, at least six. He said, did I ever pay him? I was like, no.  He said, you guys have become friends and you have been wanting to this forever. He said,  I am going to give you apple treats. I was like, okay, fantastic. So it's, sometimes it's not what you know, it's who you know. In this case, we were very happy to know this man. So yeah.
33:40All right. So I think  I have asked all the questions I can ask in 30 minutes since we're at 3340. ah Where can people find you, Susan? uh Right now, I post mainly to that Facebook page. um I don't think that I've got a custom  URL for it, but if you look up on Facebook, ah Mama Dragon Homestead, you'll find it. It's right currently the avatar on it or the icon  is one of my rabbits.  And
34:08I'm hoping to launch  a site  in  the next coming weeks.  when I do, I'll post on there. It's either going to be Mama Dragon Homestead or Dragon Homestead because I know putting the mama in front makes it kind of long.  But I'll post there when  it's ready to go.  Okay, fantastic. And I'm going to give you one more piece of advice. I hope you don't mind. Oh, sure.  When you set up your website, make sure that you make an email address with  the
34:37the domain name thing, know, so if it's  Susan at mama dragons homestead.com or whatever you use  when you set up the email for it, do that for sure because then you start an email list and you can market using your email list. And number two, make sure you check that email.  I have,  I did not check my email for my podcast website for like three, three months because no one ever sends me anything but spam.
35:06And I was like, I suppose I should sign in and see if there's anything actually important in there.
35:12There was something important in there and I can't say what is yet, but it's exciting and it's kind of a, it's kind of a minor accolade for the podcast. So I'm glad I went and checked my email, um, two months ago and went, Oh, I should probably respond to that. Well, that's awesome. So definitely check your email on your website because if you don't, you might miss something really cool. Yeah. And I want to really say, you know, thanks for reaching out to, to invite me to this. thought that was, that was really neat. And.
35:42uh I don't know, it felt really good to get recognized, so I appreciate it.  Oh, you're welcome. And honestly, I don't have a podcast without you guys. If I don't have people to talk to, there is no podcast.  And I also really like talking to people who are just starting because it gives people who are interested in starting kind of an idea of what it takes to get going on it.  Yeah.
36:08And I also like talking to people like Joel Salatin, who's been doing this forever because he knows all the things  and he was very happy to share the things with people who are trying to learn. I love that. So I'm just trying to get people to realize that you can't rely  on grocery stores and the government to take care of you. There's some skills you might want to learn that might help you out when the grocery stores  don't have what you need. m
36:35The government might be shut down like it is right now.  Right, right. So I'm just trying to help. All right. People can find me at a tinyhomesteadpodcast.com and please check out my Patreon. It's patreon.com slash a tiny homestead.  Susan, this was great. I hope I didn't sound terrible. You sounded great. So I'm glad you're getting over it. I appreciate it. And I hope you have a great day. You too. Thank you so much. Thanks. Bye. Bye.
 

Hens, Hooves & Honey Farms

Today I'm talking with Paula at Hens, Hooves & Honey Farms. You can follow on Facebook as well.
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00:00You're listening to A Tiny Homestead, the podcast comprised entirely of conversations with homesteaders, cottage food producers, and crafters.  I'm your host, Mary Lewis. Today I'm talking with Paula at Hens, Hoves, and Honey Farms  in California. Good afternoon, Paula. How are you? Good afternoon. How are you? I'm good. It looks like it's sunny there. Oh, yeah. It's nice and warm down here today. Oh, well, I think it's not even 50 degrees in Minnesota where I am.
00:29Oh, wow, that's cold already. Yeah, fall is on the way. It's really sunny though. So if you don't think about it too hard, it still looks like summertime outside. So tell me about yourself and what you guys do at your place. So my husband and I bought some land about 15 years ago.
00:54It kind of started, my husband at the age of 32 was diagnosed with cancer  and  the cause of it from  what the doctors could understand was more environmental causes. Basically the water, the food, all the stuff, all the toxins and everything. So we kind of decided that we wanted to grow our own food, just kind of live a healthier lifestyle, so to speak.
01:23Um, so we got some land and we started small with cattle and pigs and then just slowly over the years,  um, we've just kind of expanded things and that's kind of how we got started.  How long ago was this? About 15 years ago. And how's your husband now? He's great. He is cancer free and has been,  I mean, since it went away about
01:5214 years ago.  Awesome. So whatever you guys did helped. Yes, hopefully. It never comes back. Good. It looks like you have a lot going on. So do you grow produce? Do you grow animals? Do you grow both?  Well, right now we grow animals.  We have some fruit trees and stuff growing that we've been slowly planting over the years to just kind of get everything ready. uh
02:20We don't actually live on that farm that we are starting, but we literally make the drive every single weekend. We live in Southern California and we bought up in Northern California. Oh, okay. We have a foreman that lives on the property  and he takes care of the animals during the week. then usually  Jeff and I try to make a three or a four day weekend trip out of it. And we drive up and down.
02:49and help take care of the animals, make sure everything's up to date, make sure they have their food, their pens are secured, run all the errands, and then we get to play with them and have some fun.  So  it's like work and vacation mixed together? Yes. Okay, what kind of animals do you have there? So right now we have mini Hereford cows,  and then we have our pigs.
03:18which we have uh Magna-Listas. ah And then we have about 40 chickens.  And we've got what else? Oh, we have a lot of Nigerian goats that we um have started breeding about two years ago.  We kind of dabbled into the goat world. We've always just done the pigs, the chickens and the cows and up by our property. We have a lot of poison oak, which my husband is highly allergic to. oh
03:48We decided to bring in some goats to help try to clear it and then we just kind of fell in love with the breed and we slowly grown them over the last two years. So um now we breed them and sell them.
04:06Okay. So I was going to ask you if the animals earn their keep. The goats do. Oh yes, the goats do and the, uh, the cattle do as well. So we kind of run them through a cycle. We have, let the grass kind of grow back. We let the cows go through and graze first, and then we'll kind of run the goats behind them to pick up cause cows are kind of a little bit more picky about what they eat. Yeah. And so the goats will go behind them and kind of get what they didn't get. And then.
04:35We'll send the pigs through afterwards and they pretty much take everything down to the dirt. And do you let the chickens go out there too or is that a whole different thing?  We do have them out right now. uh We're training our, we got some rescue puppies. We have two great Pyrenees, they're not puppies actually, that we got.  And one of them we rescued uh from a guy on Craigslist.
05:02who was  getting rid of her for free because she was killing his chickens. uh And we're like, that's okay, we don't need her for chickens, we needed her for the goats. ah So  she's done a phenomenal job with the goats, but she doesn't like the chickens. So we have a huge run area where they're kind of fenced off so she can't get to them. And then we have another great Pyrenees named Clyde that we rescued about six months ago.
05:32uh And we're working with him to make him be with the chicken so that, you know, he protects them. ah Which he's, he's okay. I just don't, I'm not quite sure I'm ready to leave them alone with them just yet. Cause that's, it's kind of hard when they haven't been raised in that area to train them. As soon as the birds flutter or run, it just triggers that instinct in the dog to chase them.  So.
06:01We work with them on a leash and make sure that he's calm around them. So it'll take some time.  But the goal eventually is to just let them roam freely and just have the dogs protect them. Nice. So  I'm assuming you got the great Pyrenees to  keep the animals safe from predators. So what do you have for predators around  the farm?  So we do have mountain lions up here and we do have bears.
06:31uh And there are some wild boar that come through, uh but we've actually been pretty fortunate. We haven't really had anything ah come onto the property because we have a total of four dogs up there now.  And we don't even really get deer that come through our property because the dogs will just chase them off. So we've been pretty fortunate and haven't uh lost anything yet to predators. So that's been good.  The biggest threat we have uh
07:01Up where in our area is other people's dogs.  Okay, yeah. If their dogs get out off their property and  a couple years, about a year ago, there was a problem up in our area where a couple of our neighbors lost their entire herds of animals from wild dogs. They kind of got out and went into this pack mentality and they just, they kill the animals for sport. They don't eat them. They just, it's fun for them.  So, uh
07:31That was a big problem and the poor guy lost, I think, all 18 or something of his sheep. was really sad. Finally, they finally got that under control. So it hasn't been a problem. And dogs typically don't come onto our property because of ours. Yeah. So we've been, we've been really fortunate in that area.  Good. And wild dog packs are not a good thing. And I really want to stress this because if you want to rehome your dog,
08:01Take them to a shelter or ask around if  friends would like to have them. Do not let a dog loose out on its own in the wild because they will gather up with other dogs and it becomes a problem. So don't do that.  Plus it's so hard on the dogs. They go from being pets and loved to trying to fend for themselves and then they become a problem. Yeah, it's unfortunate. It's really sad. Yeah. So don't, don't,  can't talk.
08:30Don't dump dogs. It's not okay. No, definitely not. And certainly don't dump them at my place or Paula's place because  I can't have another dog.  I have a dog. We're  good. So, do you sell chicken eggs because you have chickens? We do. We sell the chicken eggs  and  we actually just started this year with bees. So, we're hoping to be selling honey by next year.  How's that going?
08:59It's going really well. We were a little intimidated at first and we weren't sure. And we did a ton of research on it. I watched a bunch of videos, talked to a bunch of people that have done it. And we just kind of dove in and it was actually much easier than I thought it was going to be. Um, and it's, it's really fascinating. I completely enjoy it. I love going up there and checking on the hive and seeing the progress that they made. These are just absolutely fascinating to me.
09:28Yeah, I wish I was less scared of them and more fascinated by them. Yeah, they don't want to sting you. They don't want to die, but you know, they will protect their hive. Yeah, I used to be deathly afraid of anything that had a stinger  until I wrote an article about bumblebees for a magazine and learned about the life cycle of bumblebees. And then I looked in the life cycle of honeybees and I was like, okay, I don't have to be afraid of those anymore, but those wasp ones, I don't like those.
09:58Oh yeah, no, I got stung by one of those  once three times.  I was going, I reached down at a water faucet to turn on my hose and apparently there was like a tiny little wasp nest right next to it that I didn't see. And those suckers came out, hit me twice in my shoulder and once in my nose, it felt like I was being stabbed. hurt so bad.  Yep. It's not the honeybee because the bumblebees will get you. It's the hornets and the wasps that are
10:27They're just mean. Yes, they are. I hate them. I don't see any point in having them on the earth, but apparently Mother Nature has a use for them. I wish she would find it.  I wish she would find a less scary job for them. Yes. Or make them less aggressive. That would be nice. Yeah, that would help a lot. And funny how wasps and hornets really like farms and homesteads because that's where all the stuff they like is.  Oh yeah. I know they are always around our place and
10:56I actually got to witness the  honey bees attack one, because I tried to enter their hive. Uh-huh. Didn't go well for the wasp, did it?  No, it didn't. They had him on the ground, and eventually I think he wiggled free and just flew away. I was like,  oh, fight.  Yep. The girls said,  no, you don't belong here. Get out. Oh, yeah. They're like, you're not stealing our sugar water. Get away.
11:26Yep. I'm so impressed sometimes with bees. Again,  I was really afraid of them. I got stung when I was like four years old by a bumblebee on the bottom of my foot and that made a very big impression on me.  And once I learned more about honeybees and bumblebees, it is just, it is fascinating the system that is in place for them  to run their lives. Oh yeah. It's amazing. Yep. Loved it. Love learning about it.
11:55And I love honey. I make granola from scratch and I use honey in it all the time. And we use so much honey that we go through a pound of honey a week. Oh, wow. Yep. And I haven't made any granola lately because I've been busy in the mornings and I usually try to make it in the mornings. Plus up until today, it's been really hot in Minnesota. The last thing I wanted to do was bake. Oh, yeah, definitely. Don't want to turn the ovens on or anything.  Not unless we had to.
12:25And our AC broke a couple weeks ago, the central air system. So my husband was like, don't bake anything unless we really need to. I was like, OK. said, it's going to cool down in a couple of weeks. So just don't bake anything in the actual oven for a couple of weeks. I was like, OK. So I am probably going to be making granola tomorrow, because the low tomorrow morning is supposed to be like 39 or 40. Oh, wow. Yeah.
12:53Warming the house up with the oven now. And that's where Paula and I lost connection. You can find Paula at Hens, Hooves and Honey Farms on Facebook and Instagram.  And the website is Triple  H Farms  dot farm.  You can find me at AtinyHolmsteadpodcast.com  and check out my Patreon. It is patreon.com  slash Atiny Homestead.  I thank Paula for her time and I hope everyone has a great day.
 

Burrow & Bloom

Today I'm talking with Lulu at Burrow & Bloom. You can follow on Facebook as well.
Sean's book - Exit Farming: Starving the Systems That Farm You
 
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00:00You're listening to A Tiny Homestead, the podcast comprised entirely of conversations with homesteaders, cottage food producers, and crafters.  I'm your host, Mary Lewis. Today I'm talking with Lulu at Burrow and Bloom in Bismarck, North Dakota. Good morning, Lulu. How are you? I'm good. How are you? I'm good. How's the weather there?  Really cloudy,  really humid over here.
00:25Oh, well, it's really nippy here in Minnesota this morning for the first time in over a week.  Thank God. It's been very, very hot this past week. Yeah, we should be getting some good weather this weekend though. So I'm excited about that. I'm really happy for you. It's supposed to rain here this weekend and that's okay too, because we could use it. And  that sounds really funny coming out of my face because, you know, I didn't grow up as a homesteader.
00:53And so every time I say we need the rain, I sound like a farmer. totally understand. So tell me a little bit about yourself and what you do, Lulu.  So my name is Lulu and I'm the owner of Furrow and Bloom.  And  I started a micro  farmstead um in little  North Dakota.  What we kind of do is like we grow
01:23vegetables. um We raise rabbits. That was how we started on a fourth of an acre. And um we recently started to reach out to the community and provide some of our products. And there was a demand for a refillery store. So we started kind of taking on the responsibility of that. So we're just kind of growing and  taking orders like that. Awesome.
01:52And I know that you actually produce almost everything that you put out in the world. And so how in the world do you have time for all of that?  So I have to really sit down and make time for it.  I work  as an administrative assistant for a neuropathic doctor here in town. So that takes up a majority of my time, obviously.
02:19Um, but then I do have a passion for  baking. That's kind of how I got into the whole homesteading life.  And I learned how to make sourdough probably about four or five years ago now.  Um,  so because I enjoy it so much, I make time for it. It started off just  with me baking breads for our family. But then I started gifting it out. People started to really want it. And now.
02:48I um sell that as part of our farmstead.
02:54Okay. And what else do you make and sell? So I actually sell ravioli. So when it comes to food, it's bread and raviolis. um That's mainly what I put out and jams. And I try to source all the things here in town as much as I can. And also just like use the community  as  a, um I guess like a support system. Cause a lot of stuff we actually get
03:23donated or we go and pick up when people no longer need something or just want to get rid of it. So we do use a lot of things like that oh to make our products. Okay, so here's my big question for you. In Minnesota, we have a lot of regulations on  how we can do things like you're doing.
03:46And in our case, we can't really do pop-ups at businesses unless there's more than three people who are going to be involved, three businesses, three pop-up businesses at the business. Is that how it is for you or can you just like get hold of a business and say, can I use your parking lot for five hours? Yeah. So the laws,  the cottage laws specifically here in North Dakota and Bismarck kind of changed over the years when I first started out.
04:14Um, cottage bakers were not allowed to bake at all. Like there was no cottage food, um, really allowed without getting permits and pulling all the right licenses. It has now kind of  become, I guess, more accessible because there's such a big farm  life and like rancher life,  um, in the area. And a lot of them.
04:42don't want to pay, you know, extra licensing because they already have their permits and do all these other things. So a lot of people kind of banded together and the cottage law did change. Before you were only allowed to like bake in an inspected kitchen apart from your home. Now it's a little bit different. You're able to actually bake in your home. You don't need a whole separate kitchen to do that. So the laws definitely have changed over the years. I feel like they're more forgiving. ah When it comes to selling,
05:11I personally  reach out to businesses and I set up. I don't have other vendors with me. That's never been like something that's been an issue here.  As long as you have like the owner's approval, you can basically set up anywhere. And  a lot of the town is really friendly. So if I was to ever reach out to anyone in the area, I think they would let me set up.
05:37That's super because that is not how we're allowed to do it here in Minnesota. I wish it was, but it's not yet. Yeah, I think there's a lot of... um I obviously work in healthcare, so I understand  the public health aspect of it where you're trying to keep everyone safe. But at the same time, um I'm not a big grocery chain person. If I can avoid it, I will avoid it at all costs.
06:07I would much rather buy from a local farmer, rancher, or a baker just because I know that they take more time into sourcing where their products actually come from because we don't know what is actually put on our food, like fertilizers and stuff like that. Like even if it was a natural fertilizer, there's just so many things that could go wrong when it comes to having something that is in a big space like agricultural.
06:36talk likewise. So I like purchasing personally from small batch um operations just because they're able to control more things.  Yep, for sure. um I'm glad that you brought up that because we grew apples. We have apples coming in right now. They're pretty much done. And our apples are not pretty because we didn't spray them with anything. But
07:03Once you peel them and cut them up for a pie or an apple crisp, they are fantastic.  The problem that I have with the grocery stores is that the produce is always beautiful. Like the most beautiful section of a grocery store is the produce section.  The reason that that produce is so beautiful is because it has been sprayed with things that we don't even know about. And so if
07:31If you are someone looking for good food that you know what is on it, it doesn't have to be pretty. It has to be good for you and it has to be edible.  And  I don't love it when my apples come in with spot, but as long as they're not gross on the inside, I'm all good with that. Yeah, of course. And then, uh like I said, like even  backyard, um
07:58gardeners, there's other ways that you can prevent stuff like that. Like neem oil is such a good way to kind of keep pests away.  There's like natural remedies that don't affect the plant at all  and are safe for us to consume also. So  like I said, I think just small batch is always better. I personally think that's always the way to go.  for sure. And so did you end up getting a storefront for your refill store or are you still doing that at the pop-up too?
08:26We're currently just set up as a pop-up. We're working with a local business here in town to see if they will host us in a section of their store. It's definitely in the works. There's a lot of other steps that we have to go through to actually get that up and ready. But we're hoping to at least have it ready like by January or February, somewhere along those lines. We're going to continue to do pop-ups through the fall.
08:56And then in the winter, would be, we would switch purely onto a drop off schedule where people come to a certain location and they pick up unless there's bad weather or something like that. Yes. Northern tier state. Gotta love it. I understand. I grew up in Maine. I moved to Minnesota, which is another Northern tier state and trying to do anything outside from November until April is just bad.
09:26Yes.
09:29I'm so  thankful we have a farm stand that we can heat. And so we're going to continue to sell eggs that fall in this winter.  And we didn't do that  last year because we didn't have a way to heat it. But now that we do, we're going to sell eggs this winter. Yeah, that's exciting. We actually also thought about doing a shed model for our business. um the only thing here is that I'm in the capital of  our state.
09:58There is  a larger population in the area, which means that most of the business space is already occupied. um So putting in a refillery shed, I wanted to do it on  our little property, but our address is just so hard to find. When we did a, um like a trial run, nobody came because nobody was able to find us.  So even with signage that wasn't.
10:25an option for us. So we're kind of thinking about renting a lot to put the shed on. But even that is like so difficult to find. I feel like it's like a needle in a haystack right now to like try to find it. So that's why we've also been holding off that idea and we're working towards getting in stores instead. and that's probably safer for you right now.
10:52Only because that way your stuff is inside of an already established business where they have security and  cameras and things that would probably help too.  Yeah, exactly. um Our local farmers market has been looking for a place to do an indoor winter market for over a year now. And we're in a small town and they're having trouble finding stays. So it's not just you, you are not alone.  Yeah, it's really...
11:21It's a really difficult thing to like rent, know, unless you like have land of your own or a store of your own, it's hard to find  ways to get into these  spaces. Yep. Well, I will keep good thoughts for you that you find a space because these refill stores are something that people really do want. There is a demand for them.  And it's  so great that
11:46that you're trying to do it. I know that there's one in Maine, because a friend of mine used to go there. And  they're busy all the time.
11:58Yeah. I mean, here it's definitely a new concept. We did our official first pop-up on Friday of last week and nobody knew what a refill store was except for the people who are actually asking for it. So it's a completely new concept to a lot of people in the area, but we're hoping that, you know, eventually people will understand it and kind of, um,
12:26It'll pick up a little bit of speed. And I think  what draws people right now  to  our pop-ups is the fact that we make everything in  North Dakota. And again, like we try to source as much as possible here in the area. our products for the refill store, I think are only made up of like five ingredients, tops. So it's really  like natural and like basic and stuff like that.
12:56So we're hoping that that kind of drives people to kind of  want to shop more with us because we're not a resale store. We don't resell products. Like there's a lot of refill stores that have to order out just because, uh you know, they can't make things in small batch, but they order out from these bigger companies. And essentially it's like the same thing because you still don't know what is being put.
13:25into those products. And right now too, it's like a lot of these places sometimes greenwash a lot of things. They say they source them like ethically and then you turn around and you find them on places like Xi'an, like Glisted, know, like things like that you can buy in bulk from like Chinese retailers online. So.
13:51There's just a lot of, um I guess, like ethics behind it. And we're hoping that making sure that people know that everything is made here, it's made clean with minimal ingredients, you know exactly what's in there is like our main focus when it comes to our refill store. Yep, absolutely.  And you were saying that not a lot of people know in your area what a refill store is. Take the floor, tell people what it is. Yeah.
14:18Yeah, we're definitely trying to brainstorm ideas. There's a couple of like women's groups, so we're hoping to kind of like infiltrate in there, try to get in there. But yeah, it's just, it's difficult too, because a lot of people here, I guess you would say, are like somewhat of an older generation. So a lot of your demographic is like above like 40 years old in this area.
14:47which is not always a bad thing, but sometimes some people don't see the extreme value and things like that. So it's definitely going to be a journey trying to explain um what our products are for sure. Yeah. And I appreciate everything you just said, but what I'm saying is take your moment now to tell people on the podcast what a refill store is. Oh, okay. Okay. Yeah. So a refill store essentially is, um,
15:17uh Think about it as like  a  grocery store where you come in and you bring in your jars um or your bags and you fill in bulk or you come in and buy exactly what you need. Sometimes when we go to regular grocery stores,  there's only like a certain size that you can buy and you're also paying for the packaging of it. A refilled store on the contrary.
15:45You can always borrow packaging or buy packaging in the refill store. But the idea is for you to bring in your containers and just  refill them as you need instead of having to go out to the store, buy a new package every single time and add to the excessive amount of waste that we already produce.  Thank you. Awesome. That was a great explanation.  So how do you charge for the products when people bring in a container? Because I
16:15I honestly don't know how you would do that. So we have a donation system set up where if you bring in jars,  people can just grab those jars. So we don't charge for jars.  Then when it comes to the actual products, we  weigh them um by ounce. So you're paying, let's say for dish soap, like 30 cents an ounce.  So if you come in with like a six ounce container, that's what you would be.
16:43paying for, only the six ounces that you're filling up and  like I said, not the actual packaging. Right. Yep. Okay.  And what products do you have now that you're selling at the pop-ups for the refills? Right now we're starting with six products, which is our dish soap, our laundry detergent, and our all-purpose cleaner. We also have  some toothpaste powder, which is a concentrate. We usually tell people to dilute it with  either some water, if
17:13that's a consistency that you like, or I personally like mixing it with coconut oil.  We also have dog treats available  in bulk and those are  freeze dried, so they are shelf stable, and are powder  laundry detergent. Okay, cool. Awesome. So what made you get into this, um Like I said, I really like the idea of
17:41having a farmstead and  I'm big on the small batches  of uh products.  And it's just something that uh I've always really liked. My husband and I dream of one day getting like a huge property, at least like, you know, three acres minimum uh and going out and just having a homestead and having an area where we can uh raise animals and stuff like that and still do burrow and bloom.
18:11Okay. Are you, I don't, I don't want to be nosy, but are you in your twenties? I am. Yeah. I'm 23 and my husband's 25. Okay. My husband and I, I am 55. My husband is 56 and we bought our homestead five years ago. The advice that I would give you or anyone in their twenties who is looking to get into having three acres plus property and, basically busting your ass for the next however many years you're there.
18:41is do it as soon as you possibly can without putting yourself into bankruptcy. Because the older you get, the harder it is on your body. I promise you, it's better if you start earlier. For sure. um We have somewhat of a plan set up, so we're hoping that in the next three years we'll be ready to purchase land and start  the whole operation there. But yeah, I appreciate the advice.
19:10Yeah, it's a  lot of work and  I'm not sorry we've done it. I still love it. But in another five years, we may have to slow down because we're not getting any younger. uh And the other thing that I would say is if you can get friends interested in helping when you get your place and teaching them and  paying them in produce or eggs or whatever, that way you have bodies when you need help.
19:40Yeah, of course. Well, Borough & Bloom is actually, I want the business to be very community driven. Like even now, like I had mentioned, we source a lot of our fruits and stuff like that that we make our jams and our fillings from locally. Sometimes people will reach out to us and say, hey, I have an abundance of grapes. If you come pick it, you know, it's free. Yeah. And I always jump on those opportunities because I'm lowering costs for our customers.
20:09I can charge a lot less  when it comes to that.  And I'm building a community and contacts. future years when I just had  a couple tell me  to come and pick grapes that I'm sure that in the next two or three years, they will probably not be able to maintain that vineyard.  So it's just nice that we're really community driven, or at least we're trying to be.
20:36where we can help each other try to figure out that labor part because yeah, I totally get what you're saying. Like having a homestead is like so much work. Like I said, we  garden or farm on like a fourth of an acre and it's the most time consuming thing  and I raise rabbits. So even that, like taking the time out of my day to go and make sure the rabbits are okay, making sure they're clean and that they're healthy. It's a lot of work.
21:04So I totally understand where you're coming from. Yeah, and I don't want to discourage anybody from getting into this lifestyle, but I see so many posts on Instagram and Facebook and everywhere and social media where everybody's like, oh, it's beautiful and lovely and bucolic and fun.  And it is, but it's also a lot of work and you can't tell your cow you can't milk it this morning. Exactly. m
21:31Exactly, and it just comes with a lot of heartbreak too. You have to have like a really like thick skin when it comes to it um Because you can have like a lot of loss on your farm also So yeah, it's definitely something that you really have to sit down and consider and make like a commitment to for sure Yeah, absolutely um We we tried raising rabbits for a while and we just we were raising them for meat and they just were not reproducing
22:00still don't know why. And so we ended up having to call eight rabbits because we had them for two years and there were no babies. Oh, wow. And that was hard. That was a hard move considering how excited we were when we started it. So,  so yeah, there's a lot of joy and beauty here, but there's also a lot of  hurt feelings and heartbreak. And  you have to find the balance.
22:28Yeah, you really do. And when it comes to like those losses, you really have to kind of fight through them. uh We just recently had a loss,  our uh main doe that we had, we just got her probably about two months ago. She recently passed away like suddenly. And it was really heartbreaking because she was indeed pregnant and it was a miscarriage. sometimes even animals don't know what they're doing, you know, like, and if you don't have
22:56that knowledge on how to help them or specific things that you can  do to try to help them. It's really difficult even for them. um Because Ardoh was, we're thinking that she was really scared when um she was trying to,  you know,  give birth and  it ended up getting complicated and you know, their rabbits are really sensible. Like anything can scare them, hurt them.
23:23So she did end up passing away. So it was definitely like a huge loss for us,  like emotionally and also like financially because we were hoping that her babies were going to be able to sustain us through the winter because we were raising  her babies for me. Yep. Yep. It's so hard and it's not just animals. mean,  we've had two summers of really not so great growing weather here where I live.
23:51We were counting on this summer to be a huge tomato producing summer and it has not turned out that way.  it's like, knew, I knew from last year that we would have more tomatoes this year than we had last year. But  my husband came in and told me that we had the blight starting on tomato plants and I almost cried. I'm like, kidding me. Second summer in a row with very few tomatoes. And he was like,
24:20we're going to need to make some new choices. And I was like, yes, we are.  Yeah. Like this business is really about pivoting.  Like where's such a small operation? I can't even imagine like how, you know, day to day farmers that do this on a larger scale do it. Like you really have to be able to pivot to kind of like make back your money. Sometimes you just break even and you know, that's,  you just have to be satisfied with that sometimes. Yeah.
24:49It's a gamble.  Any kind of farming is a gamble and it's hard, but it's so, good when it goes right. you know that. of course.  So,  all right, Lulu, I tried to keep you to half an hour. We're almost 25 minutes. Where can people find you?  You can find us on Instagram, Facebook. And then I do have a personal TikTok that we're going to start sharing on there.
25:13but we're as Burrow and Bloom on everything. And then you can find us here in the little town of Bismarck, North Dakota. Okay, awesome. I love your business name. Burrow and Bloom is so pretty.  Yeah, we got an inspiration from  the bunnies.  Nice. Okay.  All right. As always, people can find me at AtinyHolmsteadPodcast.com  and please go check out my Patreon account. It's patreon.com slash Atiny Homestead.  Thank you again, Lulu. This was really interesting. Thank you.
25:43Thank you. Have a great day.
 

Carlton Hill Farm

Today I'm talking with Sean at Carlton Hill Farm. You can follow on Facebook as well.
Sean's book - Exit Farming: Starving the Systems That Farm You
 
www.patreon.com/atinyhomestead
Muck Boots 
Calendars.Com
If you'd like to support me in growing this podcast, like, share, subscribe or leave a comment. Or just buy me a coffee 
https://buymeacoffee.com/lewismaryes
00:00You're listening to A Tiny Homestead, the podcast comprised entirely of conversations with homesteaders, cottage food producers, and crafters. I'm your host, Mary Lewis. Today I'm talking with Sean at Carlton Hill Farm in North Carolina, is that right? West Virginia.  West Virginia. I'm in Minnesota. I am a Yankee. It is all the same to me. Sorry about that.  No problem at all.  Good morning, Sean. How are you?  I'm doing well. Good morning to you as well. How are you?
00:28I'm good. I'm going to start this off by saying I have a head cold. So if there's sniffles in the recording, it's me and I'm sorry.  How is the weather in uh West Virginia?  It's honestly pretty good. It was pretty dry and hot there for a while.  we last week, I think we got like an inch and a half of rain one day and weather's weather's starting to cool down in the mornings and everything. Everything's starting to feel like normal fall again. How's the weather up there?
00:54It's a little nippy. I think it's maybe 60 degrees and it's breezy and bright and sunny.  Oh, wow. Yeah, we've had a couple cool mornings dipped down into the high  30s. I actually had to start a fire the other morning. So it was it's it we've had some brisk ones, but overall, it's pretty nice. Yeah, even if I wanted to start a fire right now, I can't.  Our furnace is dead and we have a wood boiler, wood burning boiler  that hooks into our furnace with a blower.
01:23And so right now it's about 65 degrees in my house and probably will be for a couple more days, but then we're getting it fixed. Oh nice, well that's good. And just in time for the cool season.  Oh, of course, of course. That's what always happens. If the furnace is going to go out, it's going to be  in the fall.  And if the AC is going to go out, it's going to be in the spring. Yep, that's exactly right.
01:46Yeah, exactly. Because Murphy is an optimist and God love Murphy.  I have bad things to say about Murphy, so we're not going to go there.  All right. So  tell me a little bit about yourself and what you do. Yeah. So ah I'm an author and farmer from West Virginia. I farm a one acre property with my wife.  We farm rabbits and chicken and chickens and quail. um Prior to that, I spent 12 years working for the federal government  and uh
02:14we bought this property, started farming on it to feed ourselves first and  then we sell anything that's left over to the community and then we also have some giving initiatives where we give back, whether it be farm products or uh pantry items uh to the people that need it most in our community. Fantastic. So are you strictly rabbit, chicken and quail or do you have a garden too?
02:41We do have a garden. So we  grow a lot of produce, we grow a lot of fruit. We use all of our rabbit manure as the only fertilizer for  all of our crops and everything. So the rabbit manure is kind of where life begins for everything. It feeds everything that feeds us, including the rabbits. And it's kind of a  closed system. But yeah, we also grow wildflowers and um any sales of  things like wildflowers.
03:07A portion of those proceeds go to purchase pantry items that stock are giving initiative, which is called Farm for Better.
03:15Awesome does farm for better have uh a website or a Facebook page or anything?  Yeah, so it's it's just part of our normal website, which is CarltonHillsFarm.com slash farm for better Okay, cool because I'm sure that people want to go check it out because they're gonna be like poor Where can I find stuff about that? um Okay, so tell me tell me how you got in this because I looked at your website and you're about page and there's a story there So tell me the story
03:41There is a story there. So um I worked in the federal government for  about 12 years and my wife worked a high pressure director role in the private sector for  about just as long. And we got to the point where we  felt like we were part of all these extractive relationships.  The job took more than it gave. The families took more than they gave. And so we just felt  like we were being consumed bit by bit by bit. And so when we looked at our lives,
04:11We decided that we didn't want to be in debt. We didn't want to have mortgages. We didn't want to owe anybody anything. And that included our time, our emotion, and whatever that may be. So we took steps to start growing and raising our own food so we could step away from those systems and kind of build our own system on the margins of the one that failed us.
04:33Okay, and how has that gone for you? mean,  are you guys okay? Are you ahead of the game? Are you  treading water? How is it going?  It's going very well. So one of the things that we kind of burned from our former life was our mortgages. We were over a half a million dollars in mortgage debt. We had an  income property and then  our dream home. had  our cars and everything. Both my wife and I had
04:58six-figure incomes prior to making these changes before we liquidated everything and bought this piece of property that we now farm. was  some dilapidated buildings on it that we bulldozed and  converted a garage into our home.  And we're doing well. The community has accepted us. We like selling our products to the community.  And the nice thing about it is that because we made all those drastic changes and we no longer  owe anybody anything, we have no credit card debt.
05:28No mortgage debt. wiped over a half a million dollars in mortgage debt off the books.  so we,  anything that we grow or give comes from  the fact that we just don't owe anybody anymore. So it does make us better community members. It makes us better people because we can afford to be generous. It's not this relationship where we can give people stuff because we feel like we're owed it. We, we don't owe anything to anybody anymore. Yeah.
05:56In case you missed it, listener, this is all on one acre of land. It can be done.  It really can. So just to kind of give you an overview of our farm,  at any given time, we have about 40 meat rabbits at any stage of life. We have our main breeding herd and then,  you know, their kits that come off at various stages that we process into meat for ourselves in the community and our pets as well. We have about 30, 30 laying hens and a couple roosters.
06:23and then about 150 quail that we use for eggs and meat and things like that as well, in addition to our gardens that we  grow produce and wildflowers. Okay, awesome.  And  the turnaround time on rabbits for meat  is how long?  For us is 12 weeks from the day that they're born. So we actually just had a litter born this morning. One of our does, her name is Beans.
06:49uh She's such a sweet little rabbit. We name all of our breeding herd after vegetables. She's black and so we named her after black beans. ah She just had a litter this morning and we'll grow them out for about 12 weeks and then we'll process them into  meat for ourselves and our pets and the community.
07:09Very nice. And again, listener, it's doable. You can do this. I swear. ah I'm always trying to get people interested in producing their own food, whether that's produce or animal meat,  because  in this day and age that we find ourselves in right now,  inflation is making everything expensive. And it's not cheap to raise your own food, but it's  got its own payoff. It really does. Not only just
07:37the work that you feel,  just the accomplishment of raising your own food, knowing where it came from,  what that animal ate and how it lived. But um if you grow your own feed,  it subsidizes those costs even further. And I mentioned that we have 150 quail at any point in time,  but those are even more uh efficient than rabbits. They grow to  breeding age at six weeks. They're ready to process at six weeks and they're ready to lay eggs at six weeks.
08:09So six weeks is the golden number. Six weeks is the bar to beat in terms of  feed to conversion ratio. Rabbits are eight to 12 weeks. We butcher rabbits at about 12 weeks, but quail are very, very efficient and live in even smaller spaces than rabbits. I would equate quail to microgreens. Microgreens take like, I think it's 10 days from...
08:35planting the seed to harvesting. So I think it's the same thing in the produce world.  That's a great analogy. Yeah, it's very quick. We hatch all of the quail on  our farm ourselves and  six weeks just goes by way too quick. One day there are these little fluffy chicks that just popped out of an egg and the next thing you know, you're processing them into meat or they become part of your cubby to start laying eggs. Yeah, exactly. And  the thing about quail, and I've mentioned this on the podcast before,
09:04is you can't just get a couple of quail. You've got to get at least 20. And part of that is that I hear that they are notorious for  unaliving themselves by accident.  That's an interesting way I put it and 100 % correct. Yes.  They need special uh accommodations in terms of housing. So we custom build all of our quail hutches and they need to be in  somewhat combined spaces or  really open spaces. uh Quail like to
09:33to pop up when they're nervous or scared. And so they can pop up hard enough that they can actually kill themselves if they hit the roof above them.  So you wanna keep their height of their enclosure at a maximum of 18 inches  or a minimum of six feet. Anywhere between that, like 18 inches and six foot mark um is kind of a danger zone for quail where they can unalive themselves very easy.
10:00Yeah. And what happens is they startle, they jump up and they break their necks by hitting their heads. Right? That's exactly right. Yeah.  And the thing that's sad about that is quail are one of the most beautiful little birds I've ever seen. The babies are beautiful. The adults are beautiful.  They really are.  My wife, Alexis and I, talk all the time about how quail chicks are our top five cutest  farm animals of all time.  Um, but yeah, the, the grown birds, they're, they're absolutely beautiful. We raised Coturnix quail  and
10:29They have lots of different colored patterns. think there's something crazy, like 17 different variations and then all the hybrids between those.  And you get really interesting feather patterns and  just really interesting birds to observe and watch. They're really cool to be around.  Yes. If I was as good an artist as my dad is, I would be drawing quail with pastels because they're so...
10:56many different color variations with the browns and the tans and the whites and the blacks. Yeah, they're really wild and gorgeous. Yeah. The bird that I have seen on our property, have a five acre, sorry, three acre lot. We have a big pole barn and the barn swallows love the pole barn. everybody's like, barn swallows are just a pest. And they are, they're a pain in the butt. But if you ever get the chance to actually look at one when it's just walking along the ground, they're really pretty too.
11:25Yeah, you know, this might be kind of weird to say, but I kind of feel the same thing about pigeons as well. Pigeons are notoriously known to be rats with wings. And I think they're really pretty, though. There's a bunch of them down at the Rural King here in town that people feed popcorn to, unfortunately. But they're really pretty birds to look at. Yeah, I think, OK, this is going to sound really dumb. I won't say it anyway, because I don't feel good.
11:51I think that birds were given to us by whoever created the earth  for something beautiful to look at at any given time. I agree. Yeah, I don't disagree with that whatsoever. If you were to ask uh Alexis about our chickens, I have never met anybody more infatuated with chickens than Alexis.  I think she still likes spending more time with them than she does with me, honestly. But  yeah, birds are great to be around. They're calming.
12:15Um, they're, they're pretty and, and they, provide so much back, you know, just in terms of food and eggs and things like that as well. Yep. Absolutely. Okay. Do you guys have kids? We do not. Um, one of the, one of the things that we started when, when, when Alexis and I first started dating and then, and then we got married, we were, we were young. We've been married for 14 years now. And, um, we, at that point in time, we didn't want kids, you know, we wanted to, to travel and do things that, that, that young.
12:45uh young married couples do. And uh early on in our marriage, my wife was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. And so now she's  on a monthly infusion  and that doesn't mix well with kids, even if we wanted them.  so um just managing that disease in and of itself, aside from just uh the medication that goes along with those infusions, makes kids not really a possibility for us.  Okay. I was just curious.
13:15And sorry to hear that, but at least maybe you didn't want kids. Yeah, no, it's a reality of our life. It's a big part of the story of why we did what we did.  The food that we eat  is cleaner than any food that you could buy at any grocery store. And it doesn't cure Alexis's MS, but  it helps with symptoms.  A uh clean diet can do a lot for people. not saying that it cures diseases or anything like that, but it can help in a lot of different ways.
13:45So having a clean diet, less stressful jobs and everything like that has really uh helped Alexis manage her fatigue and all of her other symptoms that uh she gets through MS. Fantastic. Good.  Good, good.  I was just wondering because it's really hard to go from that half a million dollar home situation  to where you're at now when you have kids.
14:14And so I'm not, I'm going to say this right now. If you have kids, it does change the dynamic a titch. absolutely does. Kids change it, medical issues change it, anything like that adds nuance to the, to the, to the scenario that makes planning very difficult. And one thing  that I'll say about the steps that we took to go from,  um,
14:38like six figure salaries to just a quiet life in  Parkersburg, West Virginia farming rabbits is  just the fact that we  had to take all these steps  and  ultimately collapse everything that we knew  just to kind of  reset and really think about what we valued in life. And ultimately that boiled down to
15:03staying with staying home and staying with each other  and, just eating good food and treating ourselves the way that we felt that we should be treated instead of how our jobs were treating us or, or, our colleagues or our family or, or whatever the, whatever the thing is that, people are bothered by, whether it be politics or anything like that. It's just, we're tired of dealing with these extractive relationships and kids, kids make that even more challenging. Yes, I've raised four.
15:32Kids make everything challenging, just so you know. You're battling a head cold right now.  I was going to say thanks to my youngest who still lives with us, I'm battling a head cold and that makes things more difficult. So yes, it's true. um Okay, so I was looking at your Facebook page and I saw a post about your opinion about farmers markets.  Do you want to share your opinion about farmers markets? Because I got a bone to pick. Okay, yeah, know a lot of people have a bone to pick about this one.
16:00uh And this could be geographically speaking, uh our perceptions of farmers markets, but we don't participate in farmers markets because  we  believe a couple things about them. We believe they're kind of like neighborhood garage sales where  everybody's dollar is divided  among the vendors there.
16:24We are selling our rabbit, our egg and everything at a farmer's market. We might have to compete with somebody else who are selling the same eggs or something like that. The thing about our farm is that we offer quail and rabbit and chicken, which is something that none of the other farms in this region offer. And so we don't have to go  and set up for hours and everything just to get a little bit of money to bring home that makes that farmer's market worth it. We would rather
16:53sell that product here. um And if anything goes unused, the nice thing about our business model is we eat it, our dogs eat it.  We don't just sit on wasted inventory or anything like that. have the ability to,  it's not like other businesses where they need to move it or anything. It can stay in the freezer. And the nice thing about rabbits is they preserve just fine though, while they're still alive.  Yep,  absolutely.  Okay.
17:22Here's my take, you ready? Yep, let's hear it.  Okay, my husband does sell our produce and our eggs at the farmers market and occasionally there's some treats that go to baked goods.  And the thing that we hear  oftener than I thought more often, sorry, not oftener,  more often  than I thought we would is that there are people in our town, in uh town, that don't have a vehicle drive out to our place to buy our things.
17:50And so they really appreciate the farmers market because it's within walking distance of where they live.  And so that's my only caveat is that we're bringing stuff to people who might not be able to get out and get it from us. That is a very valid argument and I have one counterpoint to that.  I agree that farmers markets are usually held in centralized locations that make it easier for people to get to.
18:14But the problem with that is that in and of itself, they're usually held in centralized locations. We're located in more of a rural part of  the county. So people out here can get to us easier than they can in town. In addition  to that, they're usually held on weekends or at times when like bus schedules don't go or things like that to where it becomes
18:39a place,  again, geographically speaking, it might just be around here, but it becomes a thing where primarily privileged folks get to go to it. And so that's why we've tried to create our Farm for Better initiative and everything like that, not only to get folks out to our farm, but also to show them that they can have pantry staples and good farm products, know, rabbit quail eggs like that. oh
19:02and meet their farmer face to face at their farm instead of being in an open parking lot or something like that.  It just brings everything back to the farm, which is what we're trying to go for. Yep.  And as with everything in life, the answer is it depends. That's exactly.
19:21But no, I saw your Facebook post and I was like, I get what you're saying, but I also understand there are some minor benefits to farmers markets for people like we know. And it might be geographical. don't know. And that really... Okay.  Go ahead. No, go ahead. I was just going to say, and  that boils down to really anything. Our path to this farm and everything like that, everybody's mileage may vary.  Our path wasn't linear. It was stair-stepped and circular and everything like that. And so,
19:50Yeah, it just kind of depends and  geography is a huge factor as well.  Yup, and I feel like that's true of every place too. mean, my parents live in Maine and I'm pretty sure they don't sell fresh fish at the farmers market in Portland, Maine. Right.  Pretty sure because that would be difficult. That would be a very weird thing to try to do and have it be good for everybody.
20:18you know, a circular circular win as it were.  Okay, so we have about 10 more minutes and you have written a book. So tell me about your book.  Yeah, so that book is is  basically uh a memoir about  Alexis and I's path to get where we are. It kind of starts  in the middle of all the chaos when we were liquidating all of our stuff and kind of feeling hopeless and trapped in our in our former lifestyle and  and just
20:46everything that it costs to leave that lifestyle,  not only  actual  money in terms of trying to liquidate everything as quickly as possible just because  we needed out so badly, but also the emotional toll and  the loneliness that comes along with that.  had  to be completely honest with you.  My entire family has completely disowned me because of some of these choices. It talks a lot about that.  It's not one of those romantic ideas about
21:15homesteading or anything like that of  go live on a farm and breathe  clean air type of thing. It's about the collapse that happened before we got here and  kind of why we did it. Okay, cool. um Is it uh self-published or is it through a publisher?  It's self-published. So that's one thing that we try to do here is everything on this farm comes from us. We process our own animals, we write our own books, we publish our own books.
21:44That way we keep as much value on this property as possible. You can absolutely find that book on Amazon and you can purchase it there,  but it's  always going to be uh more of a return if you purchase it  directly from the farmer itself, obviously. um But yeah, the book can be found anywhere,  but we try to do everything ourselves. That way we  generate and keep as much value as we can on this little acre. I thought that might be your answer.
22:14I'm actually working on a book myself right now. Today was supposed to be editing,  but today is actually  talk to you and then go grab a nap. uh I'm writing a book called, well, I think the working title right now is Kiss Kitchen, K-I-S-S Kitchen  for Keep It Super Simple.  I'm trying to get this thing together so that there is a book that teaches basically how to set up your kitchen.
22:40Like when you walk into a new place, you're going to live and the kitchen is completely empty. Yeah, that's definitely necessary. I mean, I think that people would  definitely benefit from something like that, knowing just what things you need in your kitchen. Yeah, so basically, getting out your kitchen, K-I-T-T-I-N-G,  and then what you really do need to have in your refrigerator. You might want to have some eggs and some cheese to start with because you can make a killer omelet with eggs and cheese.
23:10And uh what needs to be in your pantry, whether you have uh a pantry closet or just a couple of cabinets that you designate as your pantry. you know, salt, sugar, pepper, flour, things to actually cook with.  And then some basic recipes to get you started. And I've  been working on this for about three weeks. I've got about 6,000 words into it.  And today was supposed to be whittle it down, make it pretty and get it up on Kindle. But it's going to be another couple of days.
23:38oh Yeah, really if if  if listener you're interested in writing a book and you like to write  it is really simple to write a book and get it onto Amazon's  Kindle platform. really is. It is very easy. Yep. And obviously they keep some of the money, but you you will make a couple dollars per copy. So.
24:05Yeah, yeah, absolutely.  The royalty structure on Amazon is pretty straightforward. um And yeah, it's very easy to get things up there. Another avenue that if folks are looking to publish their books, another thing that we did is bought a second ISPN through IngramSparks so that we can shop it around to bookstores and stuff like that because they don't usually buy Amazon books  that are published on  Amazon. So  we can offer wholesale
24:33uh retailer discounts through our publication through Ingram. That's how I buy all the books that I ship out from our farm type of thing. And so it makes it very easy to keep the Amazon stuff separate and the Ingram stuff separate as well. Yes, absolutely.  And the other thing I think I saw the other day when I went to save a Word file is that you can now save a Word file as an EPUB. Really? I did not know that.
25:01I think you can. swear I saw it. was doing something really quick and I saw it and I was like, I'm not sure I read that right, but I swear that said EPUB.  And if you can save it as an EPUB, then you can do a PDF and then save it as an EPUB and people can literally download your book from your website and there is no middleman. Yep. Yep. That's exactly right.
25:25So I gotta double check that later today, but I swear I saw it I was like, oh my God, if they actually did that, I'm gonna write a whole bunch more books. Yeah, the way that we sell our book is obviously through Amazon and Ingram and then our website and those EPUB files. um We offer the EPUB file and a PDF and a zip file through our website  so that we get 100 % of that return.  And that's what's nice about generating those EPUB files and selling them directly from your website.
25:51whatever the price, whether it be 99 cents or $9.99, you keep 100 % of that because it's just a digital file and you create it once and it makes money for you forever. Yep.
26:07Okay, so,  where can people find you, Sean?  The best place to find us is CarltonHillFarm.com.  That's  our website. We have a blog, a very active blog. You can sign up for our newsletter there as well on that website.  Our newsletter, we just sent one out this morning. It's nothing political, ah it's not  salesy, it's not, you know, come buy our eggs.
26:36It's a newsletter for people that still care about land and food and just want to read about some of the things that we're experiencing as farmers. And want to keep track of what you're up to, I'm sure. Exactly. Yeah. So  we use our website as kind of a hub for everything. don't rely on social media or anything  really anymore. We rely on our website and our newsletter. um We believe those are where  real conversations happen.
27:05people respond back to our newsletter and it's an actual community. Nice. Awesome. All right. As always, people can find me at a tinyhomesteadpodcast.com and check out my Patreon. It's patreon.com slash a tiny homestead. This one's a little short because I'm going to sneeze. Sean, thank you so much for your time. I appreciate it. Thank you, Mary. It was an absolute pleasure. Have a great day. You too. Bye bye.
 

Sproutside the Box

Today I'm talking with Deborah at Sproutside the Box. You can follow on Facebook as well.
 
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00:00You're listening to A Tiny Homestead, the podcast comprised entirely of conversations with homesteaders, cottage food producers, and crafters. I'm your host, Mary Lewis. Today I'm talking with Deborah at Sproutside the Box in North Carolina. Good morning, Deborah. How are you? Good morning. I'm great. How are you? How's the weather in North Carolina today? Actually, it's cooler than it has been. It's been staying right around 86.
00:27And we're getting a cold front on Northeastern.  So  it's a little bit cooler today, probably mid seventies,  but the sun's out. So  no,  actually it's not supposed to start raining until I think late Friday  into Saturday. And then Saturday is supposed to be, you know, pretty heavy rain. oh My daughter lives in Florida and she's on the Miami side. So I think she's probably going to be okay.
00:57but if she was on the other side, she'd probably be getting rain right now.  Okay, so tell me a little bit about yourself and Sproutside the Box. Well, my sister and I started the business um back in February  and our initial thought was to purchase a farm  and tower farm. So we purchased a tower  and started growing aeroponically and
01:26It was just amazing the vegetables  that the tower produces. so  then I thought, well, you know, it only had like 28 ports.  So unless you purchase a quantity,  you really wouldn't have anything em much to say for like a business or a farm stand. And so  at that point, we decided we needed something a little bit.
01:54faster with a faster turnaround time  and we came upon a website  for microgreens through Donnie DeLillo for  Donnie Greens microgreens.  Anyway, so we took that class  and we began growing microgreens  and it's evolved rapidly. um We deliver to homes, we do home subscriptions  and
02:24So we deliver in a 30 mile radius and we also have,  we've branched out into salads. And so  now we have a big clientele for our salads  and it's just expanding from there. Right now we're actually looking for land so that we can put a tower farm and the microgreens  with a barn dominium on one spot. So that's where we're at today.
02:54So much fun. Okay, so I have questions. The tower garden is the thing where it's a bunch of tubes and they have holes in them and you put a thing in and it has dirt and then you put those seeds in the dirt. Is that how that works? No. Okay, tell me. With this one it has a base that holds the water with a pump and it has one tube with
03:23seven pots and each pot has four openings.  So  in our case, when we first got the tower, we didn't know how to grow seedlings. And so we purchased the seedlings with the tower.  And it came in one package one day, we put it together in a matter of 20 minutes, maybe tops.  And we have the seedlings in there in the pump going, you know, within
03:52a couple hours  and you add nutrients to it and then it's on a timer. So it  waters itself. You don't have to do anything.  that's pretty neat. What kind of space footprint does it take up? Like how tall, how wide? um It's probably, I would say six feet tall with everything. We also have a caster, um like a little
04:21bench that it sits on so that we can roll it around if we need to change positions for a better sun. And then it's probably about maybe two and a half feet around. So it doesn't take up much space. And you can have one in the house, they have a smaller version that goes in the house. But ours was out on our deck. And so we just grew from February to April.
04:51We just watched it grow. We went out and sat down and watched it grow. We were growing microgreens in the meantime  in the house,  but not outside. Do you buy your towers exclusively from one company? Actually, we only have the one tower right now, oh but we did buy that from uh Tower Gardens.  They were out of Asheville, North Carolina.
05:20and they're very, very nice people. They have  a  greenhouse that ah services two five-star restaurants and a golf course. And so  they have a huge farm. ah And that's really what I was looking to do. ah But microgreens were a faster turnaround time with pretty  decent profit margin.
05:48Yeah, microgreens are like a 10 day turnaround, right? Yeah, some of them are even seven days, three days germination, four days to five days under the lights. So anywhere from seven to 10 days, depending on what you're growing.
06:03Okay, that's what I thought.  The reason I'm asking is we're looking at starting some of our own in our heated greenhouse in Minnesota.  And we're no competition for you because you're in North Carolina and we're in Minnesota.  I don't know if there's a market for them here in the area that I live in. I live  about an hour southwest of Minneapolis. So  we're doing our research right now and deciding whether it's worth it. And even if it isn't worth it,
06:28We're just going to start with a couple of trays and see how it goes. Cause it's a 10 day turnaround. If nobody buys them, we don't keep doing it. Right.  And the funny part is once you start and like when we started ours, anything that we had in the tray leftover, we made into samples. And then we handed samples out either to restaurants  or to the neighbors or anyone that would take one. We actually even gave one to an Uber driver.
06:58Um, so  it's just, it's a matter of getting the information out there to the people to let them know how nutritious they are.  Um, you know, they're 40 times more nutritious than the actual full-size vegetable. And so one of our biggest sellers is sunflowers. And then the second one would be broccoli  and  very healthy for you. And I think once you start growing them and you see them popping up.
07:27it's really exciting  to watch it. And I think you'll just go from there. ah Yeah, coming a huge, huge thing in the United States. I know Aero Farms has  built facilities in New York and Virginia.  And  these are all automated AI facilities.  And they're doing microgreens. So  the word is getting out.
07:55and it's going to be very, very popular. uh I know we're having great success here.  So,  and we have quite a few that grow in our area, uh but they're not doing salads. So I think it's kind of one of those things where you have to find your niche and then go from there. Yeah, like any small business, you have to find your people. Once you find your people, you're off and running.  Right.
08:22And it goes fast. It can start out with just a few people. then, you know, the next week, you have 20 customers, and then the following week, you have 60 customers. And so keeping up can be a challenge. But I'm up for it. So bring it on. Right. I keep saying on the podcast, I'm going to keep doing it until the economy gets better, which I don't know it's going to, but I'm hoping.
08:53Anyone who can't grow their own veggies at home,  go find a local farmer. And it can be a farmer like Debra where she's farming in her house and buy from them because it's better to support your local grower than it is to support a big  factory. Absolutely.
09:14So and uh we are just now putting our big outside garden to bed. Like this weekend is it whatever's left is getting picked and it's going it's getting tilled under so  We had our first heavy frost yesterday First  and probably only heavy frost because I think we're probably gonna get snow before it's gonna frost again, right? So I'm not looking forward to seeing snow at all I do have to go home uh to New York  where I'm from  one more visit
09:44this fall before it snows. So hopefully I can get that in soon. You don't miss the snow at all? I only miss the first snow, you know, and then once that's over and you have to start shoveling it. We lived in the snow belt and so, you know, it wasn't unusual for us to have anywhere from three to six feet of snow. I'm sure you probably have the same issue and
10:13When you're growing up in that, you get used to it. But once you move away from it, it's really hard to go back.  Yeah, I wouldn't know. I've always lived in a northern tier state. I grew up in Maine and I moved to Minnesota when I was 21 or 22.  I have no idea what it's like to live in the South where it's warm longer into the fall. So.
10:37I was going to say I love the first snow as well. And it's so funny because I am like a five year old when the first flurries start flying. I'm just like, Oh, it's so pretty. And then the next, the last snowstorm, preferably in March, but usually in April, I'm like, is it ever going to end? I'm over it. And part of the reason I love living in a Northern tier state is that when you're sick of the season you're in, it's probably almost the next one. So you've got something to look forward to.
11:07Right, exactly. Down here, it kind of blurs. So you have summer and then you have really hot summer and then you go into fall and then you only have a couple weeks, maybe six weeks of colder weather. And then you're back outside in shorts. I can't even imagine what that's like. It sounds amazing, but I think that I would really miss the seasons because that's my favorite thing is is
11:36I mean, yesterday they, cut the corn down in the field around us. Right. That basically tells me that we better have our ducks in a row for the winter because we got about three weeks before that before it could snow. Right. Yeah, that can be really, really unnerving.  I actually love it because summer, the last two summers have been so not great here for growing stuff that I'm glad to get everything put to bed.
12:05and start planning for next year and hopefully the weather will be better next year for us to grow more stuff. Well, if you need any assistance, you can always call us. We're open to all the new growers,  anybody trying anything, know, microgreens, veggies, aeroponics. uh We'd be happy to talk with you.  Oh, well, good, because I always need  a fellow farmer  on standby for my questions because we always have a lot. We've been doing this for
12:36goodness, 20 years, but we were doing a very small scale on a tenth of an acre lot in town. And now we're doing a 50 by a hundred foot. See how that grows.  Yeah. Cause we moved, we moved with the purpose of doing that. And uh the first two summers were glorious. We were swimming in tomatoes and cucumbers. were selling them. Everybody was happy.  The last two summers, the weather's been terrible  and our cucumbers didn't even come up this year. They grew.
13:05about  six inches tall and they got blight immediately and died. Well that's the nice thing about growing indoors  is you can grow your vegetables and you don't have to worry about that. It's all temperature controlled. Yes. You know so you might want to go that avenue try that even just to experiment because that's how we started out.  You know you have to  look at your
13:33I guess your pros and your cons of  outside to inside. And then,  you know, we did a little of each.  We had the tower outside, we had the microgreens inside,  and now we're going to seedlings. So  hopefully maybe by next year we'll be  all hydroponic, aeroponic, and no soil at all.  So,  you know, with all the vitamins and everything depleting from the soil, it's really  beneficial to find.
14:03other ways to farm to feed your family. So that's what we're looking at.  Yes. And I love that you're doing it inside because  I'm always telling people that they can grow things  in a small space. And  with the tower gardens, you absolutely can. You could grow a tower garden in a studio apartment if you wanted to. Absolutely. Now we have extra on top of ours because you can buy extra pots for them.
14:32And we just thought it would be better to have an extra one say for herbs,  spices, that type of thing up on top. And so  we bought the extra pot for that. But you can, you know, keep it to a minimum, whatever size you want. And they do have a very nice system  that actually has lights.  And so you can grow without the sunlight, which is really, really nice.
15:02Yeah, it's basically providing you with everything you need to grow food. And I think that's amazing. I have a question for you. How far up the tower do the plants start? Because we have a mini Australian shepherd who is about two feet tall and she loves lettuce. Our cat loves lettuce also. Actually, it's about two, two and a half feet, I believe.
15:31She'd be able to eat the lowest row. know she would. She'd figure it out. She'd not walk in over. She'd probably put her paws up on there. But  if you have the lights on it, if you buy the system with the lights, no matter which tower garden you purchase, most of them come with lights. So  they'll hang down  towards the base and that may deter her. But um my cat just loves lettuce. And so  a lot of times we'll just
16:00pick some off and let the cat have the lettuce. Yeah, probably don't want to grow catnip in the tower. Oh no, no, no, no, no, no. There's certain things they recommend and certain things they don't. Any of the tomatoes, you can grow them, but you need a apparatus that's like a cage, like you would have outside in your normal garden. Sure. And that holds the vines and stuff. But we haven't grown those.
16:29We grew bok choy, which was amazing. The plant was probably a foot and a half all the way around. It was just amazing. And it came out of this little tiny two inch pot, you know, that was in the side and the roots go right down  into the center. So you don't see any of that. All you see is the beautiful  vegetation  and it's just gorgeous. You definitely have to try that.
16:59It's a living piece of art. Yes.  Yeah. Do you have a YouTube channel by any chance?  We do not have a YouTube channel. We  are on Facebook. We're on Instagram under Sproutside the Box. um But as far as a YouTube channel, we don't have that yet.  OK, I'm going to recommend that you start one because  you should be taking video of your plants from when you put the seeds in until they're ready to pick. Like timer.
17:29I don't know what it's called, time-lapse? Time-lapse photos. Because that would be amazing as a video on YouTube. That would be great. We've been doing that the last few days with our seedlings. I was amazed at how fast these things popped out. um I think I planted them on Sunday and we already have like a quarter inch of vegetation popping up from  the top of the  little planter. It's just amazing.
17:58So pretty soon we'll be able to just fill our tower ourselves and  not have to purchase seedlings at all. Yeah. Yeah. It'll cost you a lot less money.  Yes. Anyone who's never actually planted a seed and waited for the sprout is missing out because it is so amazing when those little leaves break the surface. And it sounds dumb, but it's not.  It's really not dumb. It's really exciting. thing. thought, well, I can't wait to
18:28get the seedlings in the mail and put them in the tower garden. And then it  wasn't like more than three days and the seedlings I planted popped up and I thought, wow, this is so much easier than I thought. So yeah, you're right. It's  really incredible to watch them. Yeah, every February my husband starts planting seeds in the little seed trays on our kitchen table. We have a light that we hang.  So they get the  light to start growing. em
18:57I lose my kitchen table for eight to 10 weeks  because  all the seedling trays are on there.  And when he gets it set up, I'm like, m kitchen table's gone for eight to 10 weeks.  And then the minute stuff starts growing, I get up in the morning, I get my coffee and I turn the light on and I'm like, oh, they're so pretty. I don't care if I lose my table for eight to 10 weeks, it's okay. Yeah, I have like 5,000 pictures on my phone of seedlings and plants  and we've only been doing this since February.
19:27I used to have a garden when I was in New York  and it was beautiful. But when I moved down here, it's mostly sand.  so unless you have like a raised garden, it's really difficult to, you know, to do any kind of like outside farming unless you have a farm.  even flowers are difficult, you know, down here with all the sand, because we're pretty close to the shore here.  And
19:57You know, so growing inside has been really a blessing for us here.  Yeah. And it would be a blessing for someone who lives in the middle of a big city. Yes.  Actually, I saw a couple  gardens that were oh on rooftops  and in the inner cities, they're starting tower garden farms for the inner cities to feed everybody. So  I think that's just amazing.
20:25Yeah, isn't it, isn't it astounding that everybody is jumping on board with this and we could have been doing this all along. Right. I, I'm not sure why we were so behind on this  because, you know, our grandparents farmed and then our parents farmed and then  we kind of urbanized everything.  So,  you know, it's like with technology, everything moves really fast now. So, um, I think.
20:54It won't be long before you don't even see farms,  traditional farms. I think you'll see just vertical farms.
21:03Well, the thing that's great about that is that growing up means more room. Absolutely. And I will tell you,  grew butternut squashes one year when we lived at the old house and we grew them up instead of out. had trellises that could support them  and we had the most beautiful, gorgeous, humongous butternut squashes that fall. And my husband has grown the squashes out across the grass here.
21:33And we haven't had nearly the luck with the squashes doing it that way. So I think I have him convinced to put trellises up next year to grow them up instead of out again. think you can do almost anything like that. Anything that's vining, you can do it on a trellis or an archway. You can. And people think that the weight of the fruit will break the stem, but it doesn't. The plant will grow a stem thick enough to support the weight of the fruit. That's interesting. Yep.
22:02My dad thought we were crazy growing butternut squashes up instead of out. And he said, you let me know how that goes. And my dad's a gardener. He's been, he's had a garden forever. And I'd sent him pictures of these a foot and a half tall and six to seven inch wide at the base butternut squashes off those plants. And he was like, I will be damned. It worked. Absolutely. And I said, well, what was the, the other option? They fell off.
22:31I mean, even if it didn't work, at least we learned doesn't work. Right, exactly. And I've seen some beautiful, beautiful gardens  online where they put lights in them and people come at night and just sit. You know, they see all the lights and the plants and the vegetation and the archways and it's just beautiful. And they get to breathe all that wonderful oxygen that the plants are off. Yes. Yes, it's amazing. I love it.
23:02Okay, so you said you want to move to a bigger land  plot. I'm saying this terribly, I'm sorry.  So that you can have more of the  towers, is that right?  More of the towers, but we want them inside. We want the towers and the microgreens inside. uh we were thinking on the lines of maybe a barn dominium  or finding a farm that has a barn.
23:31so that  we can have it all temperature controlled and then no matter what happens,  cold, frost, we're inside. So  that's where we're at right now, but it really only takes  some of the biggest micro green farms are like  1200 square feet because they're all vertical. So  it's just amazing what you can do in a small space.
24:01to feed thousands of people.  that's  what we're looking forward to.  So do you sell your microgreens and your salad mixes at farmers markets or do you just do where people... You do? Okay. We do.  We started out with the clamshells. We had two different sized clamshells and we were doing subscriptions and that went okay. But
24:28it really took off when we took the live trays to the show. ah People were amazed. We  actually harvested them right there with a chef's knife, ah packaged them for them. They could pick what they wanted. ah They weren't just having to pick like a sample that had four or five different kinds in it that they may not like or they may not want to try. So we just allowed them.
24:54to decide what they wanted and they could either sample it or they could purchase it and it went very well. That's amazing. I love that. And they saw how it works. Yes, we had one gentleman that was quite a ways away. He was from another state. He was visiting with his girlfriend  and he said, will these keep? And I said, yes. You know, when you cut them with a knife,  they last like
25:23three times as long as if you cut them with scissors  or  a sprout or anything like that.  And so  we cut them, we put them in the clamshell, we just told them to keep them cool and try to keep the moisture off them.  If it was hot, don't leave them in the car. um And he said he would put them in his cooler  and he sent us a message and said they made it just fine. And he had them for approximately a week after he got home  and he loved them.
25:51And so now he's looking to grow his own also. Awesome.  Awesome.  I am so glad I found you on Facebook. This has been so educational and enlightening for us, for me, for us, so that we can start thinking about this more and doing more research.  And  I lost what I was going to say. um The sprouts.
26:17They can be for smoothies, can be for salads, they can be for a stir fry, right?  Right, they're actually microgreens. Yes, that, sorry.  No, that's okay. These are basically, yes,  these are basically just uh microgreens from seeds. And um we purchased the actual organic microgreens seeds. And then sprouts  are... um
26:44just the seed and they're grown in water. And so that's the first step. Okay. There they go to microgreens and then baby greens and then the full vegetable. Those are the four different stages. See, I'm learning new things all the time. Thank you. All right, Deborah, I try to keep these to half an hour. We got about a minute and a half left. What is your website, please? It is www.sproutsidethebox.com.
27:15Okay, and you're Sprout Side the Box on Facebook and Instagram, yes? Correct. All right, awesome. As always, people can find me at AtinyHolmsteadPodcast.com and please go check out my Patreon. It's patreon.com slash Atiny Homestead. Debra, I am so tickled that you had time to talk with me today. This was so much fun. It was fun. Thank you. I hope you have a great day. You too. All right, bye. Bye-bye.
 

Cottage Foodie Con - THE Conference For Cottage Food Producers!

Today I'm talking with Matt Rosen at Cottage Foodie Con. You can follow on Facebook as well.
"CottageFoodieCon will be an annual premier event dedicated to supporting and empowering small-scale food entrepreneurs operating under cottage food laws. This conference serves as a vital hub for cottage food producers, policymakers, educators, and industry professionals to connect, learn, and grow. Through a combination of keynote speeches, workshops, networking opportunities, and an exhibitor trade show. The conference will foster business development, regulatory compliance, and innovation in the cottage food sector."
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00:00You're listening to A Tiny Homestead, the podcast comprised entirely of conversations with homesteaders, cottage food producers, and crafters. I'm your host, Mary Lewis. Today I'm talking with Matt  at The Cottage Foodie  in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.  Good morning, Matt, how are you? I'm doing fantastic, Mary. How are you?  Good. See what I did there? I didn't say your last name. Do you want to explain it really quick?  Yeah.  So I question my family.
00:26Lineage so whether or not they are pronouncing our last name correctly because  it's spelled just like Rosen R O S E N But it's actually pronounced rosine like there should be a Z in there or maybe two E's uh So yeah, so it's uh I respond to both  Okay. Hey you probably works to does  people  or hey cookie guy. That's what seems to be uh Most popular here over the last five or so years since I started my college food business, so
00:56Yeah. And uh your business is sergeant shortbread and it's really hard to screw that up. So  the spelling is a little tricky. A lot of people mix up the spelling of sergeant. went with the, uh of course, spending 23 years in the military. went with the military version of sergeant, not the S A R G E N T that some people want to spell it. But, uh, so it's easy to pronounce, hard to spell.  Yeah. I grew up thinking the English language was super simple.
01:26And then I looked at other languages and went, no, we're just as messy as everybody else's languages. So,  has been on my show twice, I think already. And he came back to chat with me this morning about the fact that  he  has spearheaded the Cottage Food Econ that's coming up in April of 2026. So tell me what you got going on, Matt.
01:52Yeah, so it's a cottage food conference  designed specifically for cottage foodies uh or cottage food entrepreneurs.  And the premise behind it  is like the classes and the sessions and everything about this conference is geared towards uh the business side of running a cottage food business.
02:15A lot of people ask me like, can you have a cottage food conference? Every state, how can it be national? Every state is different and  all these products. I'm like, easy. I'm just going to teach you the business side of running a cottage food business. And I'm not going to teach you how to make sourdough. You probably already know how to do that.  And I'm not going to teach you about the laws in Tennessee. You should already know those because you're a cottage food producer in Tennessee. If you're not from Tennessee, you could care less what the laws are in Tennessee.
02:44So yeah, so that's the premise behind uh the conference is that it's designed to help cottage food entrepreneurs with the business side of running a cottage food business. things like one of the classes is food photography using your iPhone.  As we all know as cottage food entrepreneurs, we  don't have enormous budgets to hire somebody to take professional pictures. So  just starting out,  we'll teach you how to do
03:13great pictures and it's taught by a photographer. oh So she's going to teach us how to take,  you know, she used the lighting  and the angles and ah things like that. So it's going to be a hands-on workshop. So people are going to get to take picture. It might not be their exact product of what they're taking a picture of, but it's going to give them the idea of like what the angle should be and um whether you want direct lighting or maybe you want to pull a shade. If it's really sunny out, you might want to pull the shade so it's not quite as bright. So
03:42Yeah, teaching things like that social media. We've got a few classes on social media uh One of them how to win at social media without being an influencer. So  Yeah, and it's we have speakers coming in from gosh all over the country from California, Missouri, Colorado, Florida Pennsylvania Wisconsin and of course right here in the great state of Minnesota Fantastic so I have lots of questions  the first one
04:11The first one is what are the dates in April for this? It's April 23rd through the 25th. So it's a Thursday through Saturday. Okay. And what time does it open and what time does it close on the day so that it's open? ah So on Thursday, it's going to let me double check. Registration starts at 1 p.m.  on Thursday the  23rd  and it will go on Thursday. It'll go till I think it goes till
04:37630. Yeah, uh it goes till 630 on Thursday. And then we're going to meet up again Friday morning at 8 a.m. Do a little networking and grab a cup of coffee and visit uh until 9. 9 is when the actual  classes will kick off. And then  Friday, there is a VIP happy hour that if  those who sign up for the VIP ticket will have a VIP happy hour where we're going to have some food and drinks uh on me, on us.
05:07And  we're hoping that most of the speakers, we've already gotten commitments from quite a few of them. So  some of the speakers will be there, sponsors. So this is going to be a great way for individuals,  cottage food producers like you and I to hobnob and mingle with the speakers and the sponsors, those who have uh seen great success in the cottage food business. So we'll get to meet them on a more social setting.
05:36And then Saturday, it's 8 a.m. to noon. We got  to be out of the college by noon. Otherwise, they said I'm going to get in trouble.  And I don't want to get in trouble. Yeah, absolutely.  Okay. And then my second question, which is the big question everybody who's listening is going to want to know is how much does it cost? Yeah. So there's different ticket levels. So um there's everything from  the lowest cost is if you do virtual or if you can only come for one day.
06:02It's a it's the ticket is for Friday  in the middle because that's when I have the whole day. Almost the whole day is packed with nothing but classes. There is a keynote speaker on Friday. And  so but I packed as many classes as I could into that Friday right in the middle, because I did get some feedback when I was thinking about doing this  or planning to do this that a lot of people are like, well, I can't do three days. So if you can only do one day, come on Friday.  So the one day Friday and the
06:32The  is $99 and the VIP ticket is $249. That's full price. We do have early bird pricing going on right now,  25 % off of  those ticket levels.  We also have a special discount for those who are members of the Cottage Foodie, the online directory. So uh if you're a member of the online directory, the Cottage Foodie, or thinking about joining,  we're giving you a special discount for those members.
07:01Reach out to me for that Yeah, and then there's a couple of Levels in between there. So that's kind of the minimum and the maximum but it all falls within either $99 or 249 Okay, and did you say you're gonna be doing this virtually too? Yes. Yep The all the classes all day on Friday except the hands-on workshops that didn't make any sense to do those virtually obviously but but yeah the
07:28the actual sessions, the breakout sessions will be broadcast, I guess,  virtually. So you can log in. You don't have to attend in person.  Fantastic for us who are very  socially inept and  scared and don't want to be in a big room with a lot of people.  Thank you for doing that.  Yes, of course. Appreciate  it.
07:52Um, okay. So I was looking at your speakers and I saw that you have Stephanie Hansen and I saw that you have Michelle Sharp from meet the Minnesota makers. think it's her, her website. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. So Stephanie Hansen is going to  on Thursday afternoon, we have a panel discussion. So we have four, uh, CEOs, founders, um, influencers who have  made it big.
08:19in the world of cottage food. Like I think the one of them, she's got 150 to 160,000 followers and everybody else has even more than that. Like Maddie Gartman is on that panel discussion. Of course, if you're from Minnesota, you probably know who Maddie Gartman is, the decorated sugar cookie queen here in Minnesota. She's got almost a million followers just on TikTok alone. So.
08:45So yeah, there's a panel discussion with four panelists and Stephanie Hansen is going to be the moderator for that for that discussion. So super excited to have Stephanie Hansen coming.  And then Michelle Sharp. Yep. She's going to come and teach. ah Gosh, I'd have to double check. I think she's teaching a class and maybe even a hands on workshop.  But yeah, so Michelle Sharp will be there. um One of the keynote speakers  is um Tina Rexing from T-Rex Cookies. So she will be one of our
09:14keynote speakers. I believe she's the keynote speaker on Friday. So, so some well-known names, if you will, from Minnesota. So if you're from Minnesota, you probably have heard of one or all three of those. Yeah, I hadn't heard of Maddie, but I'd heard of the T-Rex cookies lady. So I interviewed Stephanie a couple of weeks ago, and she is the sweetest woman. I love her. Oh my gosh.
09:43You lose track of time when you are meeting with her or talking to her because her energy is just infectious and you just you don't want the meeting to end because she was just  She's a hoot and she's just so fun to talk to. She is just  yeah, she's amazing. She's amazing I'm just I'm so happy that when I reached out to her she came back and said yes I would love to do it. So I was just I was thrilled so
10:09Well, thank you for bringing that up. Cause actually that was going to be my next question. When you started to get this together, cause you and I had talked, I don't know, maybe a year ago and you had floated, you had floated the idea. were, you were mentioning it to me and you were like, I don't have any details yet. I'm just putting it together. So how did that go in, getting this put together? Yeah. So, so the, the idea came from, so as the cottage foodie, I went to cookie con in Reno.
10:39last spring and that was March of last spring  and uh just to promote the directory. And while I was there, I just had such a great response. People had never heard of me, which obviously for brand new, uh never heard of me, but we're super interested. Like, well, tell me about it. What do you do? Some people were like, oh yeah, I've heard your name before, but I don't know exactly what you do. And then some people were like, yes, can I sign up right now? I came here looking for you, know,  besides the cookies, of course. ah So
11:07So when I was at that conference, was like, gosh, I need to,  uh, I need to find a national cottage food conference, one that has not just decorated sugar cookies. And I couldn't find one. I couldn't find one. And I was just,  I was blown away. I was flabbergasted that I couldn't find a national cottage food conference that included all products. So that's when I, that's when it kicked into, into overdrive. was talking to, um, Lisa and Jessica from my custom bakes and borderlands bakery.
11:37And I was sharing a booth with them and  I told them, I'm like,  I need to do this. And they're like, we're in, we can't do, we can't devote all of our time to this because we're doing this over here, but  we're more than happy to help out. And so  the three of us just started from that point on, just started a weekly zoom call where we started the planning process and we've added a fourth person. So there's four of us now that we have a  weekly zoom call every Monday where we  kind of talk about.
12:06what's coming up and what we've done. uh yeah, so it's, uh that's when it kind of kicked into overdrive. And that's when it became a reality was the end of March of this year when  I couldn't find a national cottage food conference.  The only thing that I could find was they had a national cottage food conference, but it was a hundred percent virtual.  And uh the last time that it was,  that they had that was in 2023.  So, uh
12:33Super important for me, I'm kind of, I guess the opposite of you, Mary. I love people. I love  as many people around me  as possible, especially those in the cottage food world. It's it's so much fun to network with other cottage food producers. And so it was very important to me that this was going to be in person. Obviously a lot more expensive to do it that way, because there's so many more logistics and details, but I didn't care.  I had to, this had to be in person, but I also knew that it had to be virtual as well.
13:02Cause some people like yourself, like no crowds, not me. I'm logging in from my, my kitchen counter. Thank you very much. And some people just, I can't give up three days. I,  this is not my full-time job yet. So,  uh, I can only come for one day. And so,  or I can't even come at all, but I really want to take part in this. And so it was, it was important for me to, make this a hybrid conference to try to attract as many cottage food producers as possible.  Okay.
13:30And just to be clear, I don't hate people. I I just am not in on being in a room with a bunch of people. And it's not even the people, it's all the noise and the movement that people make. That's the thing that sets everything on edge for me. And then I get jittery and I love coffee. So I'm, I'm mildly jittery all the time anyway, but you add a bunch of people and I'm just like, I'm out. Bye. Yeah. Yeah. No.
13:58I know exactly what you mean. It's, uh,  um, there are certain  larger crowds.  It's, it's very uncomfortable for me as well as outgoing as I am.  Um,  I don't do real well in enclosed spaces where it's loud.  My, hearing from being in 23 years, uh, being in the military for 23 years, my hearing is not the greatest. And so when there's a lot of noise around me and a smaller room and it's a lot of people, I don't do well there. So,  um, as long as it's a
14:26like a bigger space and it's, you know, you don't feel so, I guess claustrophobic might be the word, but, ah but yeah, no, know exactly what you mean. I I'm with you on that. Yup. Which college is this going to be held at?  Hennepin Tech, Hennepin Technical College, the Eden Prairie campus. So it's a  less than a mile from the mall and all the eating places that you can think of. And,  uh, we have a couple of hotels lined up.  Uh, they're just, you know, a quick five to 10 minute
14:55hop, skip, and a jump from the college. So uh yeah, it's gonna be at the Hennepin Technical College, the Eden Prairie campus.  Okay, and how much room do you have? How many people can you accommodate as  attendants?  Great question. So in person,  we have three auditoriums.  Well, it's a main auditorium, and then there's like two uh kind of side auditoriums that all we have to do is uh move these like uh temporary walls.
15:25We open that up and then we have seating for  430 people.
15:31And then once we're, and that's if we want to have all, you if we have more than 400 and they need to hear the keynote speaker or the panel discussion. And then when it's time for the breakout sessions, then we will close off each one of those walls and the main auditorium holds roughly 230. And then each of the side auditoriums hold a hundred in each of those. So there'll be three separate rooms where we have at least a hundred people available or space for a hundred people in each one of those three spaces for the breakout sessions.
16:00Okay, so it's not a huge conference. We're not talking thousands of people. You're starting a little bit small. Exactly. Exactly.  It's never been done before. So I didn't want to rent out the Minneapolis Convention Center quite yet.  Let's see.  Let's see how year one goes first. But uh yeah, so it's going to be quaint. It's we've got some additional space  with those three auditoriums. We rented the uh
16:25The student commons and that's where the vendor market, we're going to have a vendor market going on at the same time. And then there's another space that we rented. It's a, they call it an event space, but the best way I can describe it is think of an old school cafeteria, college cafeteria. We have that space as well. And that has seating for over a hundred people, 150 people, I think is what it's, what that will hold. so realistically we can have, uh, close to 600 people if we, uh,
16:55If we have 600 people sign up, we do have space for 600. Very nice. So I don't know if you want to answer this question. If you don't, just tell me that you're not going to answer it. How many people have signed up? Do know off the top of your head? Yeah. So right now, I want to say I haven't looked today. Last time I looked, were right around somewhere between 40 and 50 people have signed up. Okay.
17:21And I will tell you this, that of all of those people who have signed up, only one has signed up for the virtual ticket. Everyone else is attending in person. So I'm just beyond excited that that many people have decided, well, we want to come and be there face to face. So just thrilled with 99 % of the people who are signing up are signing up to come here in person. So it's exciting. that's people from Florida.
17:50She was the one who signed up virtually. We have two people from Ohio, uh someone from New York.  Yeah. So it's not, and it's not just Minnesota. So it's just so exciting to see that, uh, that people are, are excited about this. And it's still six months out. Yeah, exactly.  So listener, if you want to go to the Cottage FoodieCon in April of 2026, there's time to sign up. There is time. The end of, we are
18:19our best rate, our early bird rate does expire on the 31st. in just over a couple of weeks, um once November hits, there will be another early bird discount, but it won't be as good. So the prices start gradually will start going up the closer we get to the conference. So, so yeah, I, I recommend  signing up now before the end of the month to save the most money. And we do have uh blocks of rooms that have special rates. Once those are filled, we can
18:48request more, but the hotel does not have to give us that  any more rooms beyond what we already have. So,  yeah, I highly encourage  individuals to sign up now. Now is the best time to do it to save the most money.  am so excited for you, Matt. This is going to be amazing.  Thank you.  Thank you. Gosh, I wish you would come. I wish you would just like sneak in and maybe we can, you I don't know.
19:14We'll find a spot in the balcony so you don't have to be, you  know, be a little more comfortable. Oh, I wish you would come. It would be so fun to meet you in person. Yeah, we've chatted how many times and  I would just, yeah, I would love to be able to meet you in person. So think about it. I will think about it. I will think about it real hard and I'll probably still say no, but I will think about it. I promise.  Good, good.  So now that we've talked for almost 20 minutes about this, what I do want to tell my listeners is that,
19:42You don't have to have started your business yet to attend this. If you're just looking to get information and maybe some guidance from people who have been doing it because you're thinking about getting into cottage food, you could do that too. That's exactly right. This is not,  you do not have to be a cottage food producer to  attend this. And to be perfectly honest, you don't even have to be a cottage food producer or thinking about it. You could just have a small business.
20:12food business that maybe you want help with social marketing, social um media. I'm not checking IDs to make sure that you're a cottage food producer, but I will tell, I do tell people who have thought about it, this is  directed towards a cottage food producer, but it still would be relevant even if you're not. But yeah, we have it set up where we wanted to have a nice mix  of those who have been in business for zero years up to like two years.
20:40And those who've been in business for  over two, three years  who maybe just need to refresh their logo. They've already got a logo, but they want to refresh it.  We have somebody teaching a class on how to create their own logo using something like Canva. That's a hands-on workshop. So  you do not have to be a cottage food producer. You could just be thinking about getting your cottage food registration and want to attend just to see what it's all about. Absolutely. You're absolutely right. Yeah. Because
21:10Right now, anybody who's not cooking something should be.  I've been saying this for  months,  months and months, probably since October of last year, that if you don't know how to cook, you should probably learn how. Because with all the inflation spikes that we keep seeing on ingredients  and the fact that fast food is not good for you.
21:36And the fact that your favorite restaurant has jumped in price astronomically in the last six months,  you can be making your own stuff at home for at least half the price you pay somewhere else. Yeah. And  I'm not saying don't go buy treats from Matt. I'm not saying don't go buy his shortbreads because I'm sure they're fabulous.  But you can't sustain buying food that's already made for any amount of time right now.
22:05It's just impossible. It's so expensive. Yep.  Yep. I agree. I agree. It's, uh,  you know, whether it's cooking or baking, figure out something, you know,  sourdough is so popular right now.  Um,  I wish I had the time or the knowledge of how to do that because I love sourdoughs. So that is one thing that I'm just going to have to keep on buying  because I have no plans of baking that. But, ah but yeah, something like cooking meals at home or
22:33you making your own homemade salsa or jams, you know, a lot of these things  are, they're not that hard to,  to learn how to do it. I mean, it takes a while to perfect it, but,  but yeah, these are things that  I think just anybody can learn how to do, whether it's, you know, baking or cooking. Yep, absolutely. One of the easiest entry points for jam is strawberry jam. It's really hard to screw up strawberry jam.
23:03So that'd be the one for me then. Got it.  For anybody.  Yeah, yeah. Because usually if you're buying strawberries for jam, you're going to be looking for good strawberries and good strawberries are sweet. So if you screw up and add too much sugar, oh well, you're going to have really sweet strawberry jam.  If you screw up and don't add enough sugar, you're still going to have sweet strawberry jam.  And it's got natural pectins in it, which means that you're going to have to add some, but it
23:32tends to want to gel on its own. And the only reason I know this is because we started canning a couple of years ago and I was like, oh, strawberry jam is probably  the gateway drug to making jam.  Yeah.  So and chocolate chip cookies are the gateway drug to baking. I swear. It's so hard to mess them up.  It's funny you should mention that because I cannot for the life of me make a
24:00even a tollhouse chocolate chip cookie. can't do it.  I can't do it.  I've tried and tried just like everyone's like, just  bake it off the package on the back of the chocolate chips. I'm like, I try. What happens is mine turned out like super flat and then there's huge chocolate chips sticking out at the top. So um yeah, I don't know what, I don't know what it is. I mean, I can make a chocolate chip shortbread like nobody's business, but a traditional chocolate chip cookie. I cannot do it.
24:26I've tried it multiple times and I cannot get them to come out right. So  it's funny you should mention that because yeah,  I can't do it for some reason. I don't know what I'm doing wrong.  is so weird because there's butter in shortbread cookies and it's room temperature butter, yes?  Not in shortbread. It's not?  No, shortbread you use chilled uh straight out of the fridge.  Oh, okay. Well, then let me give you a hint if you want to try making chocolate chip cookies again.
24:56The way that my chocolate chip cookies work is that I take out butter and I sit it on the counter for at least a day.  it's that our house is usually at 70 degrees. Okay. So it's uh room temperature butter. And then I whip that butter with sugar. That's the first thing I do until it's almost white  and it has peaks. And that's the thing that I think keeps my cookies from being flat.  Oh, so  you could try that.
25:26Yeah, good.  It's so frustrating. I don't know if I'll go back to it. uh It's funny. mean, it's frustrating, but yeah, it's funny. I can laugh at myself saying, here I  make shortbread cookies. It's my business, but I can't make a  regular chocolate chip cookie using a recipe off of a tollhouse package. Yeah, but there are different processes. Yeah, for sure. And I'm going to tell you, there's a big difference between making shortbread,  chocolate chip cookies, and a snickerdoodle bar.
25:55So  it's just, I think it's practice and I think it's skill and I think it's patience.  And  I think it's the want to do it. And I think you have the want and I think that you have the patience, but uh I don't think you really have the time because you're so focused on what you already do. Yeah, yeah, definitely.  Not a ton of time with, because I still have my shortbread cookies. Sergeant Shortbread is still around and the cottage foodie and yeah, now planning the conference.
26:23My time is pretty occupied on a  daily basis for sure. Yep, absolutely. And it's all good stuff, so keep doing that.  Okay,  so tell me how people can find you if they want to go to the conference. You're on Facebook, tell me that. Yep, on Facebook. um Facebook and Instagram, they're both the same uh social media handles, Cottage Food Econ. uh And then  we have a website.
26:53cottagefoodicon.com  and the website is where they can find,  we've got the list of all the speakers, we've got the  venue, so there's a link that they can click on directly, takes them straight to the  hotel to book their room under the block room rates. Yeah, it's got all the information  on the website. So  yes, you can go to social media, it's there, but the most up to date, would say,
27:22the website is going to have the direct link  to register and it's got the  coupon code or the promo code to get the 25 % off between now and the end of the month.  Just  right there so you can't miss it. uh CFCon25. So yeah, I would say check out one of those three things  and that should answer most of the questions. If not, my uh email address is matt at cottagefoodiecon.com.
27:51More than happy to answer questions.  Okay. Can I share that code in the show notes? Is that okay? CFCon thing? Yep.  Just, it's just important to know that it's only good until the end of the month. So ah it does expire on  Halloween as a matter of fact. So it's kind of a scary thought.  Okay. Cool. Okay. So I have one more question for you out of all this.
28:18When you approach the people who are going to be guests or speakers who were out of state about coming, were they like, tell me more, I want to know?  Yes.  I mean, it kind of, leaves me speechless because all of these speakers said yes.  They didn't even,  they didn't even hesitate.  A couple of them actually reached out to me. Hey, can I come  to this conference? Can I be a speaker? I have a few.
28:47I actually have a few speakers  on a quote unquote wait list, just in case any of the other ones uh back out for some reason. uh It was incredible. It was absolutely incredible. People found out what I was doing  and they were just, they were equally as excited as I was to be able to come and attend it for one thing. And then when I asked them to be a speaker, they're like, they were just over the moon excited. So yeah, it, uh,  it was actually fairly easy to, to get speakers. um
29:17I just found  some kind of industry  leaders and I emailed them and  almost every single one of them um said yes. One of them,  she said yes, but then ah a couple months later she's like, oh, you know what, Matt, I'm sorry, but it's not gonna work out this year.  Keep me in mind for the following year. So  I've only had one that said yes  initially and  then something came up so she wasn't able to come, but everyone else, uh yeah.
29:45All I did was email them and ask and they said, So I, it's like I said, I'm speechless. I'm speechless at how, um, how motivated they are to, be part of this. So it's just, it's very heartwarming. That is super cool. And I'm going to tell you something. I asked, um, Elizabeth Reese from twin cities live to be on the podcast, like a year and a half ago. And I didn't think there was a whole that she would say yes. And she did.
30:14And I interviewed her and she was great.  after we were talking, because I asked my guests not to leave because your file needs to upload from your side too,  we're talking after we stopped recording. And I said, you know, I didn't think you'd say yes. And she said, well, why wouldn't I? You talk about the things I love. And I said, okay.  She said, Mary, she said, always ask the big question. The worst you're going to get is a no. Yeah. And so you asked the big question and you got yeses.
30:44Yeah, exactly. And that's kind of with Stephanie Hansen. was like, you know, I,  I'm going to go big with this and see, ah see if she'll say yes. So I emailed her and I'm not even kidding you. I'd have to go back and look, but I'll bet it wasn't even  two minutes later. She came back all caps. Yes. Yes. Yes. Oh my God.  Awesome. Let's, let's meet so we can talk more. It literally was like less than two minutes later. She responded and I  was like,
31:13I did not see that coming.  So yes, you're absolutely right. Just ask the big question, because what's the worst that's going to happen? They're either going to ignore you or say no. I mean, harm is there in that? Yeah. And you may be ecstatically surprised, not just pleasantly surprised, but ecstatically surprised that you get a yes. It's kind of great.  Yeah, exactly.  righty. So as always, people can find me at a tinyhomesteadpodcast.com.
31:40and please check out my Patreon. It's patreon.com slash Atiny Homestead.  And Matt,  I am so thrilled that you're doing this and I will think about coming, I promise.  Good, good. Well, let me know because if there's anything I can do to sway you even further to come, I  would love to do it.  All right. Thank you so much for your time. Thanks, Mary. Have a great day. You too.
 

Erin's Acre

Today I'm talking with Erin at Erin's Acre. You can follow on Facebook as well.
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00:00You're listening to A Tiny Homestead, the podcast comprised entirely of conversations with homesteaders, cottage food producers, and crafters.  I'm your host, Mary Lewis. Today I'm talking with Erin at Erin's Acre  in,  I want to say around Faribault, Minnesota. Good afternoon, Erin. How are you? I'm doing well. How are you doing, Mary? I'm doing good. Is Faribault close enough? Faribault is close enough, yes. We do have an example address. Cool.
00:26Alrighty, I know how the weather is because we're in the same state. It's been a lovely day. It is a lovely day. It's very warm for October 2nd. Yeah, I would just assume it not be, but we're going to have that next week, supposedly. So that would be nice. I see a 34 degree out there next week is a low.  So we are coming to an end.  Yeah, I saw that too. And I was like, well, there goes the good basil that's left in the garden.  Right.  And in my farm, uh my flowers run
00:56July, I guarantee July through September and you know, any extra days into October are just bonus for me.  The first, the first frost will take me out. I don't have, um, hoop, hoop tunnels or anything like that. I'm  everything's outside. And so that, that first frost will take me out and I grow a lot of dahlias. so usually by  the second week of October, I'm ready for, let's move on to the next,  the next phase here and start clean up and getting ready for next year.  Yes, ma'am.  Um,
01:25I have a question about dahlias, but I usually say, tell me a little bit about yourself and your place. But first the question about dahlias. Okay. When do you have to have those out of the ground? When do you have to dig the bulbs out? So after the first frost, you can start cleanup as far as, you know, cutting down the dead greenery stuff that's on the top. They do recommend a real hard freeze to put that tuber into the dormant state. And then you dig.
01:55You know, Minnesota weather in October  can be all over the place. It's freezing rain. We've had snow. I've had to dig snow off to dig the tail, your tubers up.  Um, but you know, a real hard freeze, um, is great. And then if you can get some warm days to do the digging and pull them up after that is the best.  And then the other question I have is, will they bloom  until the first frost or do they kind of have a life cycle where they're kind of done? They do slow down. think, um, you know, our temperatures.
02:24Those cooler nights  will slow them down and just the hours of daylight too.  And I'm sure you've noticed we're really losing daylight fast right now But they will keep going  I've got oh I've got one variety called Baron Katie and she is my first to bloom and my last she will Keep turning out blooms until the last  last last moment. Okay. Well, we grew dahlias two summers ago just as a  shit and giggles thing, you know  grins and giggles  and uh
02:54I  didn't love them as much as people seem to.  They were pretty, but they're not my thing. And so my husband said to me that September, October, he said, do want me to dig the bulbs out? And I said, nah,  I'm probably never going to grow them again. And he said, are you sure? And I said, yes. He said, what about the gladiola? It's because you have to dig gladiola bulbs out too. And that was the year we tried those too. And I said, nah, just leave them.  said,  you really like.
03:22He said, you really like perennials, don't you? said, yes, I do. They are a lot of work. Yeah. And we don't really have a good place to store them. I mean, I could probably figure it out, but I'm just like, it's expensive. It's an expensive hobby.  And I also wasn't really excited about the gall situation with, you know, if they have gall on their, their roots. It's hard to cut, to cull and cut what you've been saving. Yeah.
03:50Yep. So I was like, it is way too persnickety for me.  am  not, I'm not into it. So we didn't do it, but they were very pretty. got the cafe au lait one  and that was  really, really pretty, but I don't know. I like peonies. Peonies are easy. You throw them in the ground. Three years later, they're producing beautiful flowers. Well, that's what's, know, with flower farming, everything, Betty kind of finds their niche, niche of what they enjoy  and what they can handle. oh
04:20Yeah, I've got a lot of dahlias. Yeah, I think that they're gorgeous. And if you are obsessed, please be obsessed because people love them. But I don't want to grow them. I'm not into it. It's not my thing. I'm bad at it. So I'm just going to let you do it. All right. So now that we've talked about dahlias, clearly you grow flowers. So tell me a little bit about yourself and about Erin's acre. Sure. So I did not grow up on the farm. I'm a transplant. I grew up in town and
04:48Didn't really do a lot of gardening until I got into my, I'd say early thirties.  I married a farmer at that time and moved to the farm in 2010. So I've been here for 15 years. Set my daughter off to college um in 2014, 15. And so that's when we really,  I found I had more time. My daughter was a three sport athlete  all through high school. So just didn't leave a lot of extra time until she was, uh you know, officially growing up.
05:17And then our garden really took off at that point. We'd been gardening, canning, lot of, know, big vegetable garden and slowly adding in flowers. And I'd say about 2016, I looked back through my Instagram posts because I, in the beginning there, I would say like 2016, one of my posts, had a little picture of some zinnias in a cup. And I said something about, you know, aspiring to be a flower farmer someday.
05:43And then I noticed my Instagram post said like hashtag flower farmer wannabe. Yep. And so that's, you know, 2016, 2017, I was, I was dabbling. was growing more and more flowers enough that I had flowers on my kitchen table and in my bathroom, bringing them to work and sharing them with friends. you know, your hobby's getting like a little more than, you know, you just, where am going to go with this? And so then I started.
06:11You know, that flower farmer wannabe tag, I really got kind of ingrained in my head of does it, are there flower farmers? I didn't even really ever think about it that, where did these come from? Other than, you know, buying them in a, in a floral shop or grocery store, you know, setting. So in 2016, that summer, we had a windstorm that blew through our farm. had a little, I would call it one of those little backyard, uh, kit greenhouses, like six foot by six foot thing.
06:41And it got completely blown away. uh Most of our buildings had damage, lost a ton of trees, just  a 90 mile an hour straight line wind. uh And so at that point we were out of our greenhouse  and  down a greenhouse that we used a ton just to get our vegetables and flowers started here early, you know, get a jumpstart on things in the spring. And we looked around the farm and we had a building that was uh underutilized. It would end up being just a storage shed for junk.
07:10And it had been a calf barn at one point, so it had a concrete floor with drainage. And we just took a hard look at that and we decided to convert it into a greenhouse. And so the winter of 2017, we converted that building to a, from this, know, calf barn at one point to a 20 by 40 insulated greenhouse with a green greenhouse roof. And.
07:34Through that process, we did a lot of research on winter greenhouses in Minnesota, deep winter greenhouses. Learned a lot about passive solar energy.  we added,  in my greenhouse, I've got,  like I mentioned, it's got insulated walls, concrete floor, and then we added 55 gallon water barrels filled with water. I painted them black and they absorb sunlight during the day.
08:03And this is mostly for like  in March, early March so that I can get things started. So in March, the days are getting longer, things are warming up. You still get really cold nights in March. And so with these barrels filled with water, they're soaking up the energy from the sun during the day and then they emit heat at night. uh we have found it keeps our greenhouse 15 degrees warmer than the outside air temp just with those barrels filled with water. So free energy. uh
08:32And just a fun way to get that started. We tried a few different things to keep that greenhouse warm all winter.  We had a corn stove going for a while.  We've got LP heat as a backup that, you know, when we get hit the really freezing  nights, then it keeps things  warm in there. uh learning about passive solar energy, you know, who knew that in my adult life, I'd be taking some science classes online. Yeah, we did the same thing. uh
09:03Last year, basically.  I  applied for a grant to get funds to build a greenhouse. Okay. And I really wanted a permanent building greenhouse. I didn't want the high tunnel thing where you take it down in the fall.  And got the grant. And my husband and my son built the greenhouse. And they're doing the same thing with the water in the  bins, basically. really works.  It really does.
09:32And so  we had to really look at how we wanted to heat that greenhouse because the whole point of having it was to keep it warmer longer  into the fall and the early winter. And my husband was like, well, I'll just get a wood stove. And I said, you do understand that you have to tend the wood stove and you do understand if something goes wrong and it catches fire,  I don't get another  grant.
09:58And he was like, oh yeah, let me do some more research. And he found out about the IBC totes with the water.  And he mentioned it to me and I said, well, that would get us October, November and into December. And that would get us  into February, March and April, you know, to put the seedlings out.  And he said, let's do that. And I said, yeah, let's do that. That way if they spill water doesn't really hurt plants. Right.
10:22Fire could really ruin that whole plant, but water's good. freezing nights, that's a catastrophe. And then when we had the corn stove, it was just so unreliable. just constantly, we had a temperature monitor and just watching that all the time was stressful. Yeah. I am a big believer in that homesteading and farming and ranching, because I was just talking to somebody else about this this morning.
10:52uh There's a word.  Reduce the amount of stress if you can because there's so much that you can't foresee. If you can actually foresee a problem,  do what you can to avoid it because that takes the stress down. Control what you can control.  I don't know what's with my brain today. I keep having thoughts and they're not coming out of my mouth the way I want them to. It's okay.
11:15Um, me keep going. in, in September of 2018, I  attended a two day flower farm workshop.  And that is what really, would say launched me into moving this from a hobby into, would call it a small business aside side hustles, moonlighting business.  Um, so in this flower farmer workshop was hosted by Adam and Jennifer O'Neill and they have pepper Harrow farm. And that's in Winterset, Iowa.
11:45And I highly recommend people check out their farm, Pepper Harrow Farm. They were so lovely to share all of their information.  They literally opened up their books,  their marketing, their pricing.  They did a lot of wedding work at that time. They've got a really unique farm. growing lavender now down in Iowa. Wow. But they shared growing tips and all that, you know, their resources.
12:12And they brought in, it was a small class. want to say there was maybe 10 or 12 of us in the class. Deborah Prinzing was there. I'm not sure if you follow her. She's an author. She wrote the book, 50 Mile Bouquet. Nope, but I will have to go look her up. Yep. Deborah Prinzing, she's an author. She started a movement called Slow Flowers that when I was first looking at becoming a flower farmer, it really intrigued me about
12:40Purchasing flowers locally in season um and being patient for that. If you've grown dahlias, you have to be patient. It takes a long time to get that bloom from  when you first start them. uh And just the idea of, oh as people are shopping locally for food, are they thinking about shopping locally  for flowers? And can you find flowers within that 50 mile radius of where you live?  And so it was fun to meet her. um
13:10at that workshop, but that really, I would say helped me get my mindset that I need to charge accordingly for the time and labor and product that I'm growing and creating, which is hard to do when you suddenly go from giving all your flowers away to telling someone this is going to be, you know, $25, $30 for what you've been giving them for free.
13:36is a hard, hard shift. And your first customers are, you know, your friends and family. Um, so that's tough. But I, so I want to talk a little bit about, you know, where, what my revenue is and where, who I  sell to.  A lot of flower farmers depend on those farmers, weekend farmers markets. And that just isn't going to work for me. I have a full-time job.  Um, I'm a HR director at a private school in Fairbough and it's a year round job. So.
14:06My Saturdays and Sundays are my garden days. So to cut and arrange and then be gone for most of a Saturday just doesn't work. Well, it won't work for me right now anyway. And so I've had to get creative and find different ways to sell these flowers and I'm growing. I have a CSA that has 30 members.
14:31And I've capped it at 30. I definitely could add to that. And I get asked a lot. I've got a waiting list,  but my, people have been with me from the beginning and no one's, no one's leaving that list. got, they know they've got a good deal. My CSA I deliver.  Um, and so on Mondays and Thursdays there's, there's two groups with it. Um, they're getting flowers every other week, July through September delivered to their, their home or business.  And it's prepaid, you know, they prepay in the spring.
14:58Um, so the deliveries go pretty fast in the morning. deliver, like I said, on Mondays and Thursdays before I go to work. But it's, you know, it's a drop and go, but I've, I've capped it at 30. just can't the time can, you know, consuming a vet of the delivery. I'm just, you're one person with a limited amount of time. That's how it works. So then I've, you know, I'm a little off the beaten path of things. I'm on a gravel road. I I've thought about it's like a, you know, the
15:28driveway, stand. I just don't have a ton of traffic  where I'm at. So I've done DIY buckets. I've sold a lot of those where I call it farmer's choice and I'll pick the best blooms that I have and I'll fill a bucket. ah And those work out great for people doing, you know, small backyard, baby showers, bridal showers,  girls get togethers,  you know, small parties. I've done those DIY buckets for them. But what I'm really trying to uh
15:57to get going and it's been the last two years I'm trying to work on on the farm experiences. We've built some areas here that can host  small groups. I've done Bible study groups and garden clubs and Girl Scout troops, small office retreats.  We've done a couple farm to table  lunch and a dinner. did a full moon dinner. Oh, fine. Where you come here, you experience the farm. We talk a little bit about oh
16:26The other farming that's happening here, my husband's a full-time beef cattle farmer. So we talk about that and where your food comes from. So we add some of that in and then everybody leaves with some pick your own flowers. So I'm really trying to push those events just because the feedback I get when people get out here is that it's, you know, a slice of heaven. It's peaceful. It's relaxing. It's quiet. It's so different from, you know, everything else they're doing in their life. And so I, and it's
16:53That works for me. I've got evenings and weekends. I can schedule and plan that. And then I do pop up. I do pop up. You pick events quite a bit in August and September. Just trying to get people out here in the, in the winter. I do some gift certificate sales for, you know, like a garden party in the summer. So you, would buy a gift certificate from me to bring, you know, yourself and five friends out to have a little picnic and pick flowers. I tried something new this year. I did a flower power pass, like a punch card.
17:24Uh-huh. And I'd like to try that again. You know, I think sometimes things take a couple of years to get going. I'm not going to give up on that one yet. I just, didn't sell it as many as I thought, but uh that's something I want to keep working on. Nice. So you've got all kinds of,  I don't know, tendrils  spreading out for your business on how you're doing it.  I've had, like I said, get creative because that's the standard farmer's market. don't think it's right now anyways, in my
17:53my phase of life right now isn't going to work. Yeah. Um, I now remember what I was going to ask you. What kind of flowers do you grow? mean, you grow dahlias, but what else do you grow? Sure. I grow a of stuff. Um, of the dahlias, I think I've got about 230 ish dahlias planted this year. And of those 230, would say there's about 36 varieties of dahlias in there. Mostly ball shaped water lily.
18:20Small cactus,  really no dinner plate. think that cafe au lait is probably the largest uh size bloom that I grow at the Dahlia's.  then um a lot of gumphrinia, cilicia, eucalyptus. My eucalyptus won the Rice County Fair, the open class champion cut flower this summer.  Very nice. Yeah. Small town fun there. uh Some sunflowers.
18:49Feverfew, ah yeah, I don't grow any tulips in the spring.
18:57Lots of dahlias.  Zinnias,  all different. And I try to find different zinnias,  not just the standard giant zinnias pack, but I've got  one called agave, uh Cinderella,  the Cinderella series, some kind of more specialty zinnias, I would call those.  Yeah, zinnias are a lot easier than dahlias.  They are.  They are. But I don't think people want to pay for a zinni when they can grow it with
19:27you know, $3 C-packet themselves.  Oh, yeah, absolutely. And we grew some and I was like, yeah, I don't like those any better. like Dahlia's, I'm sticking with my peonies. And my husband looked at me, he said, you are peony obsessed. I said, yes, I am.
19:41And then, um, I kind of go through my timeline. I started doing, you know, finding more things. I want to keep learning. Right. So I, I attended something called the slow flower summit that was in Minneapolis in 2019. And through that summit, I got to tour the twin cities, uh, flower exchange, Lynn, Lynn, uh, Len Bush roses, uh, another farm in Lakeville called blue sky flower farm. I don't know if you've ever seen them, they're great people and have, they have a fun.
20:12farm stand at the end of their driveway that they sell a lot of. And then in 2020, I took the U of M Master Gardener course and I did it in person. I worked with my employer and it was every Friday and Saturday, January and February of 2020. And it was up at the University of Minnesota's the Landscape Arboretum.
20:38You know, my college degree before this was in, in human resources and, uh, business administration. So I had never taken a lot of botany and pest management and herbicide classes. And I learned so much at that time. And that was a lot of fun. Uh, I'm still a master gardener. So they've got some, a volunteer component to it.  If you are a master gardener, they, they want you to be continuing to spread knowledge and  sharing.
21:06good knowledge, you research-based horticulture information, not just kind of made up wives' tales kind of stuff. And so I've been able to do that here on my farm and with the Master Gardener Group. Fantastic. I was going to ask you about that, but you got to before I got my question out. So this is going to sound like it's a really dumb question, but it's not. How hard is it to become a Master Gardener? Is it a lot of memorization or is it just showing up and
21:35being there and learning, not just reurgiting. No, not being there and learning. that's it. The time is the hardest part. They've got so much online now through the University of Minnesota's websites. A lot of the actual class, think, can all be done online now. was probably one of the, even with the pandemic out there, I probably was one of the last groups to do it in person up there. yeah, just time. It's pretty easy to get into.
22:05Yeah. And you mentioned the arboretum.  Minnesota has one of the best arboretums in the United States, as far as I am concerned.  And if you are at all into gardening or plants, or you just want to go somewhere that just feels good to visit,  that's the place to visit when you come to Minnesota.  Go to the arboretum in,  is it Chanhassen?  Chanhassen, yeah. it's, if you
22:28Even older, you if you've got somebody with mobility issues, you don't have to walk it. You can drive it. They've got a great driving path up there. Yeah. Yeah. And they're even open in the wintertime. So if you're, if you're a sound of body and have lots of energy, it's a great place to go cross country skiing, snow hiking. It's just beautiful any time of year. So I'm not, I'm not sponsored by them. I have no affiliation with them at all, but I've been there. I love it. And people should visit it. Great. Great resource for sure.
22:59Yeah,  Minnesota is so  good about those kinds of things. The  camping available here, the hiking available here,  just all the things that are outdoors. Minnesota really tries to provide that and it's one of the things I love most about the state. oh
23:20I made some notes here that I want to talk about as far as growing dahlias and how I do it, which is a Oh, yes, please. So  I have, all of my dahlias are up in raised beds and that's,  we've been working at, we've been adding raised beds every winter, building them in the winter and adding them in the spring. So I have 78 foot sections of  raised bed, which is a little different than how most people I think are growing. uh
23:49flowers to the scale I am. I've got everything growing in raised beds except for my sunflowers. Those are still uh in the ground.  But I do the raised beds.  My husband has designed and built an irrigation system with timers. Everything gets watered at night. And then I do use the weed barrier cloth and burn holes ah in those raised beds to help with the weed control. And it helps.  It helps a lot, but the weeds still  come up around.
24:19There's still some, some, uh, weeding that has to happen, but,  um, it makes the digging in the fall so much easier when they're up. And then  you're familiar with Minnesota weather last, last summer, last June. We just, I mean, we got rain after rain after rain and those raised beds were able to drain out.  And I think that saved me having them up, up off the ground.
24:44And then even this year when we've had some of those really heavy, you three, four inch rains all at once, uh it's got some way to drain versus just sitting there  in a puddle.
24:58Awesome. I'm trying to talk my husband into getting raised beds for some of our farm to market garden. he hasn't,  he has not gotten on board yet. And I keep telling him that that one corner of the garden that everybody has in their garden where it floods out. keep asking him if he would start there and just try a couple of raised beds there. Cause that way we don't lose everything if we do get a month of rain again.  Yeah. I highly recommend it if you can do it.
25:27It's  been an investment for sure, but it is paying out for us.  then the dahlias,  we got into the big dig that's coming up.  Some of my tips and tricks that I've learned over the years. Once I get everything dug, I do get everything back down to that greenhouse just to buy me time to sort and deal with it. uh I'm uh pretty fanatical about my labeling. I usually put at least two different labels on.
25:54Yeah. know, something rubber banded on something tied on just because all all dial you tubers look exactly the same when you pull them, pull them out of the ground. And so I like to know what I've got. I do wash my tubers. I get all of the  ground dirt off of them before I store them. So wash them then give them at least a few days to dry. And then I do pack them in peat moss. I have tried the sawdust. There's, you know, pine shaving.
26:22type materials and that hasn't worked well for me. I've ended up with some pretty rotten tubers with that. So heat moss that works well. And then I do move all of them up into our attached garage to our house that we keep at 45, 46 degrees all winter long. they, so they don't freeze up there. So that's, that's the time consuming part is just getting them washed and then stored. And then I don't divide tubers until in the spring.
26:49Some people do in the fall, but I'm a spring divider. can see it better. can, and I just, at that point I've got a little more energy to do it too. Yeah. I have a question about that. Do the roots continue to grow at all over the winter or are they completely dormant? They do have some little, little fine roots that will grow. And that's actually helpful in the spring to kind of really tell your healthy tubers when they're, starting to wake up and their, their little white roots are starting. Um, you know, for sure that you've got a nice healthy diet ready to go.
27:19Okay. And do you sell any of your,  is it bulbs? Is it roots? is it? Tuber's. They call them tubers. Yeah. I don't sell them and that's something else. That  could be a revenue stream. I feel like I've gotten the storage part down now so  I can kind of foresee what I would need to keep and what I would have for extra.  I'm getting closer to that. Yeah. then,  sorry, got tickled. um Do they...
27:49Do they spread like if you plant lilies, know, the tubes, the tubers will multiply. And dahlias are the same. Okay. Different varieties will multiply, you know, better or worse than others. But they all, you know, you start with one, one and you will get a clump afterwards. So, you know, some, I grow a variety called blizzard and a huge clumps of tubers come out of that. So, you know, one tuber from 2025 could be.
28:18know, 12 to 15 next year. Yeah, that's what I thought, but I couldn't remember. And I'm bad at this again. Dahlia's are not my baby.  They're your baby.  And you know all about it. So I wanted to make sure that people understood how it works. um I actually looked out my kitchen window this morning and I have one yellow daylily blooming right now. They haven't bloomed in a month and a half because they were done.
28:43One bloom. was like, oh, well, some bee is going to be very happy to see that and then be very crushed when it's closed tomorrow.  This weather has been nuts. I took my son  to the doctor a year ago at this time and the lilac trees that they had along the parking lot were blooming. And I would bet they probably are blooming right now. It wouldn't surprise me. My lilacs are not looking good this year.  No? Not a good year for those.
29:13I think uh I had some other perennials that didn't winter very well. We had really no snow cover here last winter. And I think  that frost really went down deep.  And I have some bee balm and uh black-eyed Susan, things like that. they came back, but not like they normally do. Yeah, because  interestingly enough, snow is an insulator. That's why we need snow in the wintertime in the cold states. Yeah, we don't mind having to shovel and plow and deal with it, but it does insulate.
29:44Yeah,  it's so hard right now being a garden person, Erin. It really is because you don't know what the weather's going to do. And I feel like that's always been true, but I feel like it's really been true the last two years. It's been exceedingly difficult. A lot of extremes, oh Yeah. And it worries me.  mean,  I'm not laying in bed, you know, staying awake at night worrying about it, but...
30:11We kind of need mother nature to cooperate, to be able to grow things. And if she's going to dump water on us every day for 40, 50 days in a row, that causes a real problem is trying to get your garden in the spring. Well, that's going to be directing control the things you can control. Right. So if you, if you can get, you know, add a greenhouse so you can get a jumpstart, you know, our season extension at the end, uh, the race, you know, raised beds. I've got.
30:38You know, like our irrigation is on timer.  you know, it's going to get watered if we're  in a drought.  I can turn them off  if we're getting too much rain. em know, pick the sunniest spots. You know, I've given tubers away and my friends have said, well, I only got one bloom. And I'm like, well, where is it? Well, it's on the side of my garage. Well, then it's, you know, it's not, I'm only getting half a day of light where I've got them there full sun all day long.  Yep.  Absolutely. There's all kinds of conditions that you have to have to make it
31:07perform the best it can. friend of mine lives on a lot that has lots of shade. She has so many trees, it's ridiculous.  And  she finally found the one spot on her property that she could grow a peony plant. And she got her first bloom this year after five years of trying to figure out how to make it go. Is she hooked now? Oh, she's always loved them. Okay.  Always.
31:33And so I don't know, I assume she is. She seemed very happy about having the one bloom. So  if I had my way, our property would be all peonies and sunflowers because that's what really grows here well for flowers.  But my husband says no because he wants his veggie garden. So  I just keep taking free em peony roots when people have them and offer them and we put them in. m
32:00By the time I die, maybe the whole place will be peony plants. I don't know yet. Do you,  in your sunflowers, this is one of the things that  in my goals every year, know, kind of like look back and make your goals. Yeah. Sixth session planning is always like, okay, I'm going to do it. I'm going to do it next year. I'm going to remember in the, you know, third week of June that I should be starting sunflowers again. And, and I always  just get caught up in, in,  in the,  what's in right in front of me and I don't get to that. So.
32:29Do you do any succession planting with sunflowers? We don't with sunflowers, but we sure do with tomatoes.  Okay.  Because we learned the hard way two summers ago that  if you plant again, they grow because the first planting of tomatoes died because of the water. Second planting died because of the water. Third planting did okay, but it wasn't nearly enough plants.  So yes,  succession planting is really important. um I'm assuming that...
32:57if we wanted to, could plant sunflower seeds in April, as soon as the ground's soft enough and warm enough. And then we could plant in June and you could probably plant again in August and you would have sunflowers all summer long. because some of those varieties are, you you can find a 65, 70 day. Yeah. You know, and then if you get weather like this in October, it would all work out. Yeah. And we learned the hard way the first time we put sunflowers in that you can't
33:26really sell great big double the size of dinner plates, sunflowers to people because they don't know what they're going to do with them, right? They don't know do with them and they don't have a base big enough for them. So we picked up some of the more, I don't know, ornamental sunflower seed plants. Yeah, I grow a couple. I grow one in the Pro Cut series and then there's a Vincent series. That's a smaller, smaller one.
33:53I have learned that the closer you plant the seeds, the smaller the blossom  is. oh if you pack them tight when you're planting them, you'll get some smaller, more manageable blossoms. People like pollen free,  if you can find the pollen free sunflowers for, if you're going to put it in a bouquet and then put it  on a table or something that it's not going to shed the pollen like some of the other varieties will. Yeah. Is the planting them close together for the smaller blooms? Is that because they're competing with each other?
34:21Yes.  All I know is we bought a variety. don't know what the name of it was now, but it was a burgundy center with like a cream ends of the petals.  Oh, so beautiful. I don't, don't remember what it was and I wish I could cause we'd get them again, but different.  So gorgeous.  buy a lot of my seeds  through a catalog. It comes in a catalog and online called Johnny's.
34:51And I, Johnny's is a great resource because they've got so much information. Every  seed that you purchase from them, the variety, they've got just all the data and  tips for when to plant and  just a ton of information with their seeds. And  I've got great germination rates from there.  Yes, I highly recommend Johnny's. Yeah. They're based out of Maine. Yep. Yep. I grew up in Maine, so I know about Johnny's.
35:20And I get seeds from all over. mean, Baker Creek,  Seed Savers,  some of my dahlias have come from Swan Island.  I shop,  once they find you on Facebook or in the mail, you're going to start getting seed catalogs from everywhere. ah I try to spread it out a little bit, but  Johnny's, would say, is probably one of my main sources for seeds. Well, shout out to Johnny's because I think they do pretty good too.  All right, uh Erin, where can people find you online?
35:48Aaron's acre and it is one acre not plural just Aaron's acre My husband farmed 700 acres and you know, there's a little joke in our house about Aaron's just a little one acre So Aaron's acre calm. I am on Instagram and Facebook Okay, awesome fantastic and as always people can find me at a tiny homestead podcast calm
36:15and check out my Patreon. It's patreon.com slash atinyhomestead. Erin, thank you for talking to me about dahlias because like I said, they're not my thing, but I think they're absolutely gorgeous. And I know lots of people who want to get into growing them. So hopefully the stuff that you shared will help them get started. Well, thank you. I appreciate talking with you today. All right. Have a great evening. Okay, you too.
 

Tiffin Community Kitchen

Today I'm talking with Emily at Tiffin Community Kitchen. You can follow on Facebook as well.
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00:00You're listening to a tiny homestead. The podcast comprised entirely of conversations with homesteaders, cottage food producers, and crafters.  I'm your host, Mary Lewis. Today I'm talking with Emily  at Tiffin Community Kitchen in Tiffin, Ohio. Good morning, Emily. How are you? I'm great. How are you?  I'm good. How's the weather in Ohio this morning? ah Wonderful. It's actually going to be 85 today. That's awesome. It's going to be 90 something in Minnesota.
00:29And I'm done. I'm going to be really happy to see this break this weekend. Yeah, it's time. It's October. It's time.  Okay, so tell me a little bit about yourself and what Tiffin Community, whatever it is, Okay. All right. So my name is Emily Reilly. um joined the, it's actually a nonprofit that runs the Community Kitchen, the Farmers Markets, and the Community Gardens.
00:57So it's Seneca County common ground and it's the nonprofit  and I'm the executive director of it. Um, I joined with them in January of this year. So I've only been with them for, was it like 10 months, 10 months now.  Um, so Aaron Gerlach, who is the reverend of the Episcopal church here, who started this whole program. Um, he had this huge vision. So once the kitchen was built, then they needed someone to.
01:26actually take what his vision was  and um actually start putting it into motion. So that's what I'm here to do.  So  I oversee the  community kitchen,  which is a our mission is to support  and improve local food ecosystems. um The kitchen has successfully delivered um kitchen training um and we're directly supporting our local workforce to help strengthen it. um
01:56I also run the farmers market, um which we operate every single weekend. It's awesome. It's fabulous. I love it.  I've never ran a farmers market until this time.  But my background is event services and hospitality. So it kind of falls  right in line with everything I enjoy doing. um And then the community gardens, which I'm not a gardener, but I oversee that part as well. And it's great because we're able to put  garden boxes throughout um Seneca County.
02:26So people can go and  grab their locally sourced tomatoes and cherry tomatoes and green peppers and  all that kind of stuff and not have to pay for it. Because sometimes it's not affordable for everybody and we always want to make everything affordable. So that's what the nonprofit kind of  is helping um develop in Seneca County.  That is fabulous. I love that all three parts  are one.
02:54you know, that they all feed each other. ah So where is Tiffin? What's the nearest big city? ah So it would be between Columbus and Cleveland. Okay. I have probably driven by Tiffin on my drives from Minnesota to Maine to see my parents.  Yep. So, okay.  Is Tiffin a small town? Is it a suburb? Is it, what is it? Yes. Tiffin is a small community.  It's a rural community.
03:22So, you know, you have Tiffin and then you have a bunch of rural towns around it. Like you have Hopewell and Bascom,  New Regal, Cary, Old Fort. So  Tiffin is like the center,  kind of like a little city um with all these smaller towns around it.  And we're a huge farming community.  So we are very rural.  It's cornfield after cornfield and then you hit soybeans. it's,  you know, that's why I love doing the farmer's markets because you have.
03:50all these locally sourced vegetables  and baked goods that are coming in um that you  sometimes don't get ah in the cities. I lived in Columbus for eight years, loved it, but I miss living in a rural environment. Yeah, I can't imagine living in a big city again. I don't ever want to if I don't have to. um So  if it's a rural area, then
04:19How is this helping? Because I would think that people in a rural area would already have these things covered.  me why it got started.  So why it got started is because um we want to make sure everything is accessible. at the farmers market, actually offer,  you can use your EBT and SNAP benefits.  We also accept the senior coupons and WIC coupons. All that is accepted  at the local farmers market, which makes it
04:48a little more accessible for families that don't have a lot of income, don't have a lot of money to spend on this stuff.  And we also provide training.  So we have taken, we took a group of 12 people from the community kitchen  to the local farmers market, showed them how the shop use their EBT benefits. Then they came back to the kitchen and they got to learn how to cook what they purchased.  And I think that is one of the missing pieces um in this
05:17in this community and  actually in the world now that people don't know how to take  fresh products, fresh produce  and take it home and cook it because  we're in a generation in a world now where we're always on the go. I have two kids, I won us in volleyball. So we have volleyball  and the minute I get home, we're on the go.  It's easy just to throw something in oven or pick up something on the way home. um But showing somebody and giving somebody the tools to help them.
05:43It just, that's our vision and that's what we want to do in this community and for this community. Okay. So, so my,  it's not really my assumption. I think it's a lot of America's assumption that if you live in a rural area, you're not in a food desert, but sometimes you are because you don't have the knowledge to use what you have. Yes, a hundred percent. That's a lot of it. And we've met, I'm on a food council policy group that we talk about food accessibility.
06:13and how that is something that we really need to turn our focus to. we're also in the center of, so Tiffin is in the center of two college campuses. So we have Heidelberg University and we have Tiffin University, two private campuses  that, you you have these students and if you're like, have a nephew  that um does not have the skills to cook. You know, a lot of those skills are not taught  in the  high schools anymore. So we actually have reached out to local colleges  and we're trying to get them into this building to teach them those basic cooking skills.
06:44That's nice. Very nice. It's so funny that you mentioned that kids, people aren't taught to cook anymore. I am actually 6,000 words into writing an introduction to how to set up a kitchen and how to stock your pantry and your fridge and how to do basic cooking because no one is teaching that anymore. So I'm actively in the middle of writing a about the basics.
07:14And that's awesome because we need more of that. We need to teach these skills to these kids so that, you know, when they become parents or they grow up,  that they're able to not just go through the drive-through or,  you know, go to the frozen section and grab something, maybe just throw it in the oven quick. That they're actually teaching their kids that, look, we can go down to this farmer's market every week,  grab what we need, go home and cook stuff from it. Yeah, absolutely. And there's such, I say this all the time on the podcast, there is such satisfaction in knowing how to make yourself
07:43a meal  from scratch. There really is. Yeah, there is. It's great. And it's really impacted our community. It's brought more. um I think the farmer's markets, it gathers, it's a gathering place. It strengthens  social connections, which I think people are losing now.  They're not socially interacting with people. So I think  having this downtown, having the community kitchen has really um brought people together, which is one of the things that  why the Episcopal Church really wanted to join in on  and start this community kitchen.
08:13because people gather around food.  You think in your holidays, you think at home, like that's what brings people together. So why not open a facility that kind of  promotes that?  Yes. And that leads me to another question. Do you guys provide our already made meals for people?  So we are actually working on that right now.  We are going to  start working on producing frozen meals  because our local Salvation Army recently lost their chef.
08:42So they're not able to hand out hot meals anymore at this point. So we're trying to figure out a way that we can  help them ah by getting ingredients from our local farmers ah and, you know,  make them all up, put them in the freezer so they could come here, grab something and throw in the oven. And it's not something that's like processed food.  It's, you know, those awesome vegetables.  you know, we have a lot of local farmers that  have steers and
09:10You know, so we actually were donated a half a steer to the community kitchen so we can use some of that as well um to help make these meals, these hot meals for people that are really in need. Wow. Wow. That's awesome. um Yeah. And stuff that isn't already prepared is more nutritionally dense  when you make it from scratch. And that's what people need. They need the things that strengthen their bodies because a strong body makes a strong person. Exactly.
09:40And I feel like I'm being very Pollyanna, but it's true. I swear it's true.  So we're rolling into fall. And so does that mean that you won't have as much fresh food because it's Ohio, it gets cold in Ohio. Yep, it gets cold. But so a lot of our farmers, uh Reem's Farm, which is right on 53, Reem's Produce Farm,  they have greenhouses. Nice. They do CSA boxes all year round. um
10:06Clay Hill Organic Farm, which comes to our farmers market, they do as well. They have  greenhouses that they can grow fresh produce all year around. um So the community kitchen would like to be a storefront. At some point, we're going to be a storefront and have people be able to sell local produce all year round so that people have a place to get it. Because yes, the farmers market ends  in the end of October, um but we want to still be able to make it accessible for people in town.  We have a gentleman that comes from uh Southern Ohio.
10:36that comes up and he has fresh milk and eggs and poultry and all kinds of stuff.  And he meets people every single week, every single week, even  when we're not in season. So he has that set group of people that, you know, want his,  you know, his, you know, organic milk and all the eggs and everything like that, that people are looking for.  is amazing. Oh my God, Emily, you guys are doing it right.
11:02We're trying to, mean, we've surrounded ourselves with a lot of great people. We try to collaborate with everybody within the town and outside of Seneca County to really figure out how we can help and really make this community grow even more. Wow. Wow. I'm so impressed. So I saw on your website that you guys have the classes. So do you just have like classes for just regular people looking to learn how to cook? Yeah. So we have a whole cooking series.
11:32basic cooking from, you know, how to cut things, how to chop things,  to using the right temperature and creating sauces like your mother's sauces.  We showed people how to make a roux.  I think over half of them have no idea even what a roux was.  Most people don't.  No, most people don't know.  So I took some culinary training when I was in high school, so I know what a roux is and all that stuff, but it's really cool because we also worked with the local juvenile probationary court.
12:01During the summer, so we did a six week program where  these students came in for an hour and a half to two hours every week and learn those basic cooking skills.  We're doing that same with the um women empowering women in this area so that,  you know, we have somebody that can watch their kids while they learn some basic cooking skills.  So, and we're also teaching a baking class because, you know, everybody's sourdough I think is really big right now.  And everybody wants to learn how to make it. you know, learning how to make different breads, learning how to make different, you know, pastries and
12:30carts and things like that. um And educating people in that aspect. And then we also have fun classes. Like tonight we're doing tacos and tequila.  So we try to like mix in, you know, know, some educational classes, but also have something fun.  So we try to, you know, meet everybody's needs in the community um with all different variety of classes. And I'm always looking for,  you know, anybody who offers any kind of suggestions. So people always say, you know, offer me suggestions that the farmers are. I write them all down because I'm
12:59I'll put anything out there and see if it goes. Nice. Nice.  Um, I have, have an idea for you may have already thought of  it. little kids, like what five years old and up, they are quite capable of learning to cook,  learning the basics. Do you ever do anything  with kids like littler kids? Yes. Good. We just finished. Yes. We just finished a cake decorating class. So I had a woman.
13:26that rented art because we are also a commercial kitchen that people rent.  So we  promote entrepreneurship. So I have one person that is renting it right now and I had another person contact me last night  that wants to rent it as well because they want to go past that,  you you can only do so much as a home baker. So if you want to extend your business, you kind of got to get into a commercial kitchen. So we make our commercial kitchen  affordable to rent.
13:52So  people can learn and really expand their business and we have a conference room that they utilize as well.  So we really foster entrepreneurship uh here at the Community Kitchen and as for Seneca County Common Ground.  So we do all kinds of classes. I  have young kids, my son loves to cook, but that's our next stage is offering cooking classes. So we did some cake decorating classes. They went over really well. um So now we're ready to move on to something else. Awesome.
14:20Awesome, good. Because I am a huge proponent for kids learning to cook as soon as they are capable and not going to get hurt in the kitchen. And clearly when you're five, you might need some help from a grown up. makes a lot of sense. And honestly, my son is 23, still lives with us. And sometimes he's like, mom, how do I do this? So it's not necessarily whether they're five or they're 23, it's where they're at. Yes. But
14:47The sooner you get a kid to learn how to cook their own food from quote unquote scratch,  the more likely they are to want to continue to do it. Oh yeah. 100%. My son is like that. He loves making cookies. I'll text him. like, can yeah. Go ahead. Oh, sorry. No, you can go on. No, tell me about your son. Tell me what you're going to.  No, he, so if I could, can text my son and say, Hey, can you start dinner?
15:17And he'll be like, yeah, what do you need to make? said, well, you know, turn on the oven, start this and I'll be home in like 15 minutes. So my son can start dinner and he's only 14. My daughter's not so much. So my son, yes, 100%. Uh huh. Yup. Boys like to cook too. They really do. We're having sloppy joes for dinner tonight because I really do like manwich, but I am not going to buy a can of that stuff.
15:41It's so simple to make homemade sloppy joes and the one part I hate is cooking ground burger because I'm terrible at it. I cannot get it small enough. I can't break it up enough. And so my husband and my son actually cook up the burger and then I make the rest. You know, I put the rest of it together  and um my son's like, why can't you do this? And I said, I don't know. just, that's one of the things I suck at cooking is ground burger.
16:09So he'll be doing it or my husband will be doing it and then it will become something very much like manwich or whatever you buy at the store. But the only ingredients  are brown sugar and tomato sauce and garlic powder or actual diced garlic,  a little bit of onion  and  that's pretty much it. And it's really good and nothing in there is bad for you. Yeah. And I think that people just don't realize how easy it is to make something simple like that. It's easy for the grab the can.
16:39But it's easier to have those supplies on hand. So then you can make it at any time. Yeah. And it's like 20 minutes from start to finish before you're eating.  just, it's so funny when I talk to people and I'm like, well, I don't really cook because I don't have time. And I'm like, well, how long does it take you to order something, get in the car, drive to get it, come home and eat it and it's barely still warm. And they're like, oh, half an hour. Like, oh, you could have made this in 20 minutes at home and be eating it hot.
17:09Yep, exactly. And that's why the community kitchen is great because I think it gives us that ability to teach that and to have those resources available. And if somebody can't afford to come to one of our classes, I never want that to be a reason why you don't come. So we have a fund that's paid through the church that allows people to take classes. If they can't afford it, they reach out to me and I put them through. Because I never want somebody not to be able to do it because of, you know, they just can't afford it. It's unfair. Everybody deserves to learn how to cook.
17:40Oh, absolutely. And they need to.  I keep saying this on almost every podcast I've done in the last few months. I'm like, learn to cook. It is an important skill. It is an impressive skill if you get good at it. Your friends will want to come dinner all the time.  And right now, if you know how to cook, you are going to save yourself about half on your grocery bill. Yes, definitely.
18:07And with the cost of food right now, I'm all for saving half on my grocery bill.  Same here.  It is downright painful right now to buy groceries. um Really thankful for our garden. We have like 20 gallon size Ziploc bags of tomatoes in the freezer that we're going to be canning in November when we can open the windows, we can cool the house off. And that's all going to go into tomato sauce. Yeah.
18:35I can't believe how much a can of tomato sauce costs right now.
18:42Yeah, it's crazy. My mom just canned all of her tomatoes that she had in her garden as well. Yeah. And that's another thing that I want to tell people is that you don't have to can what's in season right now if you have a freezer.  peaches were coming in at the store or at the My Fruit Truck thing or whatever months ago. If you don't have time to do that when you have the produce sitting in front of you,
19:11If you can freeze it, you can can it later.
19:15Exactly. And people just don't, they just don't, they don't know. You know what I mean? That they, you know, you can't do something that you don't know about. Right. Exactly. That's why I started the podcast. I was like, so many people don't know these little tiny things that would help them. And there are so many people doing these things. I was like, I need to talk to people who are doing it because then they can share their information and people will be inspired to do it themselves. I hope. Yeah, I think so too. I think when people come in the markets, they get, they get inspired.
19:45You know, they see all these fresh produce and everything that they can do.  And we uh even cook up some of the vegetables right there so that you get the smell and you, know, it entices people  to come walk by. What are you cooking? Oh, you can grill that? No way. You know what I mean? So just doing stuff like that, you know, it gets people excited. Yeah,  absolutely. So I don't want to be nosy.
20:07But I know that running an organization like yours costs money. is it, do you fund it with fundraisers? Do people donate? How does it work? Yes. So we have a great group of people that we surrounded ourselves with.  We do fundraisers.  I do a lot of grant writing  and we have a lot of donations. So this um church actually helped fund this building.  I think they raised two points, two point something million.
20:38to fund this kitchen, to fund this facility. I mean, it was a long campaign, um but they did it. I mean, there was a lot of help in the community. There was a lot of support. um I'm  still amazed of how much support we have for this kitchen from this community, because it is just amazing.  Everybody wants to help. Everybody wants to donate. Everybody wants to see it be successful.  And I think that's what's great about Tiffin is that we're very good at collaborating with each other. All the small businesses work together very well.
21:06So if I need something,  the owner of the turntable in downtown Tiffin, he buys all of his produce and stuff from all these local vendors at the farmers markets  every week. And he also teaches our classes. So it goes full circle, you know, he's going from,  you know, instructing people how to teach this stuff to making gourmet food, which is amazing. I am sitting here smiling so big. I love everything you're doing and everything you're telling me about it.  So I have
21:36I have a question you may not have an answer. don't know. um If someone comes in to the community kitchen and they take classes to learn how to cook and they become really good at cooking and they want to start a cooking business, like they want to sell  their goods that they make, do you guys like  mentor them into that business or do you have a connection with someone who can  help them with their entrepreneur journey?
22:07We do a hundred percent. So we are actually connected with Tiffany University has a fellowship for entrepreneurship. So we foster those fellowships. They come here, they learn about, um whatever they want to go into, you know, where it's like a big  brainstorming sessions  and you know, I want them to come with their ideas.  Um, and we have a lot of incredible entrepreneurs within, um, this town that really helps and really guides them.
22:35on what they need to do.  And this, another thing we're doing is I'm offering a small business seminar  that will have the health department here.  Miranda Hoffman will be here from small business. have local entrepreneurs that own restaurants and food trucks that are going to come and talk  so that I can give them the information that they need to be successful in whatever they decide to do. Because I think you can't be successful unless you have the tools and it's all about networking and knowing people.
23:04So, you I'm bringing in the resources I have  to help local entrepreneurs be successful because in restaurants,  own your own bakery, doing anything like that, it's hard.  It's not an easy thing. A lot of people think, oh, it's going to be lots of fun.  Let's open up a restaurant. they don't, until you get into it, you don't realize how stressful it is and how hard it is and difficult. um So I think having classes like that here um and giving them realistic expectations. Listen.
23:32There's times when you're going to go home and you're like, this is not going to work. And everybody thinks that, you know, and handing out those business cards. So if they have questions or concerns, um, that they can reach out to them and say, Hey,  I was at that seminar,  you know, you talked about this. Is there anyone who can meet? So that's what I'm hoping. And I already have, think 15, 20 people signed up for that class and it's free.  when is it?  December 1st. Okay. From, six to 8 PM.
24:01You know, it's free. Anybody can come. ask people to register just so I can set up enough chairs, but I'm welcoming everybody. I want people to come here and also see the kitchen. Um, cause this could be a space that they could rent as well. Nice. And how I don't want to, I'm so worried about asking questions that are intrusive. How much is it to rent the kitchen? So we charge, um, uh, from zero to 60 hours. It's $250. Anything over that is 500.
24:31So we made it so that everybody can pretty much afford it. I looked up in the surrounding area, how much it costs to rent a commercial kitchen. It ranges from 200 to 1500 to 2000. But I didn't want to do that. I want people, because the hardest part is finding a facility that you can afford. And when you starting out, you don't have money. So I wanted to make it accessible. And as the common ground and as our board, they wanted to make it accessible as well.
24:58So I said, let's start by charging 250 and  if it continues to build and we might have to raise the price, but I don't want it to never be affordable for somebody. I always wanted to be affordable.  Wow.  I'm even more impressed now. God, you guys are doing such a great thing for your community. Do you have a success story from someone that you had come in and take your classes?
25:28Um, so  we just started doing classes. mean, I have an entrepreneur that's in there right now. That's actually baking as we speak in the kitchen.  I would think that she's a success story.  Um, she's now selling at a storefront in Fremont. Um, she sells at the farmer's market. She's starting to get orders in. So I think that to me, that's a success, you know, we've we've helped her, you know, take on that. And I've helped her like, cause  she's like, well,  should I buy bulk food? I said, yes, you need to buy stuff in bulk.
25:57Because growing the Kroger's or going to Walmart is not going to be economical. so I introduced her to Smith foods, who is our local distributor here. Um, and so, you know, it just giving, giving them those, um, what's the word for it? Insider, insider, you know, those connections that like, Hey, you know, like she's talking about packaging. was like, Oh, I think I might know by somebody that does packaging. Let me reach out to them and see if they can set up a, a little demo for you, you know,
26:27But you know, I think that she's a success. name is Jen Inc. and she is Jen's Caked Up Cookies and they are delicious. She gives me one almost every day and I'm like, oh, I'm gonna need to stop eating all these cookies. Uh huh. Yeah, that's the worst part about being a baker is you cannot eat everything because you will be a house. Yes. What kind of cookies does she make? So she makes, she does a Dubai chocolate one, which is really good because that's like big thing right now. She does
26:56an upside down caramel apple cookie. Yeah, she does um a banana like a banana cream pie cookie. Oh, and she does a white,  white chocolate pumpkin cookie.  Nice.  They're everything she has is delicious. When did she start? She just started a couple weeks ago. So she made that of her house, but she didn't want to have to change your recipes.
27:23So  I don't know all the standards of the cottage law, but she wanted to continue using certain ingredients  and in order to that, she had to find a commercial kitchen. Yep. So she reached out to us and I was like, yeah, let's definitely let's go with it. And she started out renting a kitchen for the two 50 price  and she's picked up so much business that she's had to increase it. So she's here almost every morning baking. So it's incredible. I like seeing that it always smells delicious here.
27:52Yeah, I was going to say it must be unbearable. Probably why I eat them every day. Yeah, you're making me want cookies, Emily. This is not helping and I'm not making cookies today. So my mouth is literally watering as you talk to me about what she does. That's so cool. And yes, that is absolutely a success story and that is on her, but it's also on you guys and how you've helped. Yeah, I love it. It makes, don't know, it's a good feeling to help somebody.
28:21move forward and  to help them do something they really enjoy because I think in life you really need to find something in life that you enjoy doing. Yes, it helps. I love what I do. I love working in all these different areas.  Yeah, I'm going to illustrate this for the listeners really quick. My husband worked in a job that he basically hated for 25 of the 30 years that he worked at it  and he quit.
28:47He gave up. was like, I need to find something else. My mental health is suffering from my job. He went into the same industry at a different company and he loves it now.
28:59Yeah, it's crazy.  So yes,  you can't stay in a profession that you hate because it will kill you. It will ruin you. So I love that you and your organization are helping people to find the thing that they love to do that brings them joy and then pushing them forward into being successful at it. That is amazing.
29:25Thank you. Yeah, we love it. I'm happy doing everything I'm doing right now. I don't know how I just have I but I have a passion for hospitality. I've been in it for 20 plus years. So  I love this industry. I love everything about it. I love the fast pace. I love meeting all the different people. So I really enjoy what I do.  Good. And I mean, hospitality is one of those things where you can be doing what you're doing right now. Or you can be, I don't know, a travel agent who
29:53people who have more money than God into resorts that are crazy beautiful.  And honestly, think what you're doing is far more important.
30:05I would agree.  All right, Emily.  I try to keep these to half an hour. I so appreciate your time and sharing everything you shared. And  I hope when people listen to this, they have the same happiness bubble in their chest that I have right now because, oh my goodness, you're doing such a wonderful thing.  How can people find you? So we are located in Tiffin, Ohio. You can find us on Facebook at Tiffin Community Kitchen. We also have a website, tiffincommunitykitchen.com.
30:34So feel free to come look us up on Facebook or look us up on Google. And anybody can just get hold of you and be like, I'm interested in doing this help. Yep. Yep. Anytime. I'm always looking for volunteers. I'm always looking for  new ideas or really anything. So um yeah, I'm open to anything. You have an open door policy. I have an open door policy. Awesome.
30:59All right, as always, people can find me at atinyhomesteadpodcast.com and go check out my Patreon. It's patreon.com  slash atinyhomestead.  Emily, I loved this so much. Thank you so much for your time.
31:16You're very welcome. right. Have a great day.