A Tiny Homestead

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.
 

Careful Creations Bake Shop

Today I'm talking with Marissa at Careful Creations Bake Shop. 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 Marissa  at Careful Creations Bake Shop in  Mankato, Minnesota. Good afternoon, Marissa. How are you? I'm good. How are you? I'm good. What a beautiful day we're having in Minnesota today. Oh gosh, yeah. I see that they're predicting snow the first four or five days of November. oh
00:29So I mean I'm used to that with just moving back from Sioux Falls. We barely got snow last year. So this will be  a nice change for us Yeah, the last two winters have not been too bad for snow in Minnesota Just so you know, so you may luck out again and not have a whole lot of Oh,  man, my youngest children will be disappointed with no snow then
00:54Yeah, I don't know. This weather's been nuts. And that's why I always start the podcast off with, how's the weather? But because you're right down the road for me, I was like, oh, it's a gorgeous day for both of us. Yeah. So tell me a little bit about yourself and what you do. So I am 28. I'm married. I'm a military wife. I have four kids. My husband and my eight-year-old daughter both have
01:24tree nut allergies. My eight-year-old,  also has sunflower allergies.  my goal has always been to  make the environment safe for them. And  when we go to the store,  we can't really buy any baked goods because everything has some sort of manufactured on or near
01:53nuts, then 90 % of store products do have sunflower of some sort. creating my own bakery company and business has been a dream come true because now I can keep my loved ones safe and other people's loved ones safe. love that you would not believe how many people I have talked to in the last two years.
02:21who had a need for themselves, figured out how to fill that need and then were like, oh, I can help other people who have the same need. I love everybody in this community so much.  Yeah, it's a whole new ball game for me, but I am definitely excited to be able to  provide those special dietary needs for  my clientele and customers.
02:48Mm-hmm. So how have you been getting the word out because you just started the business a little bit ago? So  this morning at about five o'clock, we actually launched  our website that is also  on my  Facebook page.  We have  a public group. We have a public page.  And also here in Mankato, we have been taking advantage  of the free public
03:17bulletin boards and we have putting flyers out as well. And then Friday we receive our business cards so we'll be able to hand those out as well. Awesome. Tell me the website address if you know it off the top of your head now and then you can tell me at the end too. It is www.careful-creations-bake-shop.com. Okay, awesome. And I'll ask you again at the end so people can catch it at the end too.
03:48So, so what are you  I know nothing about tree nut allergies or sunflower allergies because  I haven't had that in my family at all. So  are you just avoiding making things with nuts or have you found some kind of substitution for them? So  we completely avoid them altogether.  There are  things where we do substitute. So if like it is something for example
04:16My favorite thing to make  is butter chicken, but traditional butter chicken requires cashews,  and that is the deadliest for my husband. So  when I make it, I actually leave it out completely. I just add a little bit of extra butter to make it a little nicer. Butter makes everything better. Oh yes.  But  most of the time we just avoid.
04:43If there are recipes where we need to substitute, we usually use flax seed or we go ahead and use chia seeds. Okay, yeah. Can you use pumpkin seeds? Yes. Sometimes we will use pumpkin seeds. They're a little nuttier than sunflower seeds, which I personally like, but some people just don't like that. So we, if like,
05:13One of our recipes calls for a tree nut. You know, we just ask, hey, you know,  do you  have an allergy to this?  Do you like the flavor of it?  And  if the customer states that they'd prefer that we leave it out, we work around.  Awesome.  I'm actually going to pull up your website because I had  questions about your menu  and I need the web to be able to do that. So hang on just a second.
05:43Okay. Oh, there's the menu right there. Sourdough or yeast breads and muffins and cookies, quick breads, tortillas and English muffins. So that's awesome. But  can people just request a certain kind of muffin or cookie or are going to have a like a?  Are you going to have a list of things that you would make, you know, just regularly? Yep. So those are kind of just going to be like  our.
06:11we're going to have it as like seasonal. like the pumpkin and apple is gonna be seasonal. Banana bread to me is my absolute favorite and like banana muffins, those are my absolute favorite. And those are, that's gonna be one that just kind of stays there. But throughout the seasons, we will change it up.  And there's also a form  if you have a special
06:40order requests, you just send in that form and we will fulfill whatever  you would like. All of our items come with  one to two inclusions.  If you want like a special topping on top of like your muffins or your breads, we're just gonna ask that, hey, you you pay the extra inclusion charge. And then everything
07:07special dietary need will also be special order. We just ask that you give us 72 hours so that we can fulfill that order in the safest  possible manner. Absolutely. And you mentioned a couple of things I want to hammer home. Number one,  baking takes time. So don't expect to send Marissa a form and say, need 25 cookies in the next two hours because that's probably not going to happen. Yeah.
07:37And number two, homemade baked goods are going to be probably at least as expensive, if not more expensive, than store-bought baked goods. And the reason why is because you are paying for the person's expertise and you are paying for the really good ingredients and the special things that the grocery store is not going to provide you. Absolutely.  And the time and energies  of creating.
08:07these masterpieces.  Mm-hmm. Yep, exactly. And that's part of the reason that I am not diving into the  making things and selling them yet out of my kitchen. I have my registration and my son  has said that he will help me get into making some Christmas cookies in November. So I will be selling some things with my registration in November and December.  But it is really expensive right now to buy ingredients.
08:37to make baked goods. And in your case, it's probably even more expensive because you're having to find work around.  Yep. Yep.  But that does not mean that no one will spend money on treats because even when money is super tight, treats are a blessing and you are providing them, Marissa. Exactly. Also with people who have similar allergies  as my husband and my daughter, I have found
09:05will pay whatever price  that they need to in order to  feel safe and secure being able to eat their nostalgic treats as well. Yes, and everybody should be able to eat a cookie. I don't care how many allergies you have, a cookie is God's gift to the tongue, I swear. Well, and when you go to stores and you look at the labels, it says,  may contain,  and then it
09:33always has tree nuts and I'm like, well, my  husband and my daughter can't have this. So I have to go home, I have to make cookies. And what better  way to honor  my husband and my daughter than starting a business around them? Yes, absolutely. So it's called Careful Creations Bake Shop. So I have a big question for you. Yes. Did you name it Bake Shop because you're hoping to expand into an actual shop at some point?
10:04Absolutely. All right. Tell me about that. So our goal for right now  is  the first couple of years while we take off running,  I'm to be working out of my home. And then  right around that two year mark, we're hoping to get into a storefront. And our goal is to actually have a storefront near home  because  nothing feels like home than baking.
10:34And home doesn't feel like home unless I'm baking. So to me,  it's  a big deal. It's all tied together for you. Yes. Yes, absolutely. And by the way, you mentioned banana bread.  I love banana bread. I also love apple bread. Oh yeah.  We  are very big banana bread lovers in our house. I make it at least  every  two to three weeks.
11:04unless I forget to buy the bananas and we're kind of pushing it once a month. Yeah, the grocery store that was a mile from our house when we lived in town five years ago, they would sell the bananas that were going  off. They weren't still pretty at like 29 cents  a pound instead of  the 35 cents that they had for the good bananas. And so we would always buy a bag of bananas every week at the 29 cents a pound and we would just let them continue to get  spotted.
11:33And then I would make banana bread. And  my kids loved banana bread when they were young. I don't know if they still do, but they did. So. See, every once in a while, I think it's like once a month maybe, Quick Trip actually does 29 cents a pound produce. So that's when I buy my bananas in bulk.  I'll buy like 10 pounds  a week during that timeframe.
12:04then I make a lot of banana bread at that point.  But one of our quick trips actually does  a plastic bag with bananas that are just at like that perfect ripeness for banana bread. And they sell them for like 50 cents a bag. Nice.  Nice, that's so helpful.  other thing that I learned when  I was doing this, you know, in the wintertime with the kids.
12:32is that you  can pull the banana out of the peels. You know, the banana's ready for banana bread, and you can put it in a Ziploc bag and freeze it, and it stays good for banana bread for a year. Oh yeah. Yep, we usually freeze bananas too, so I know that feeling. Yep, so that's another trick for anybody who's hankering for banana bread right now, which I am because I hadn't thought about it in forever until I talk to you right this second.
13:02So you do sourdough bread. Is that it or have you been doing that for a while?  So I actually started my sourdough about two months ago. I'm actually working out of a one gallon jar  now  because I have so much sourdough starter. Yes.  It takes a lot of patience  and a lot of practice. My first two to three sourdoughs
13:31didn't  work very well. But then  as soon as my starter was good and ready to go,  I made my first loaf  and it turned out perfect. You are really lucky because my first loaf that I made turned out like bagel texture. It was really yummy, but it was very dense. Hey, bagels are good. I make those with sourdough too.  Yeah, this was completely on accident, but it tasted really good with cream cheese. I loved it.
13:59And then I made a second loaf and it was dense. And then my sourdough that was doing really, really well got the pink mold on it and I had to toss it out.  Oh no.  Well, I wanted to cry. It was, you know, when you reach into the jar with a spoon and it like crackles because it's got all the bubbles in it. Yes, that's the best feeling. It had gotten to that stage and I got up.
14:24I got up to feed it the next day and it had the pink mold on top. was like, what  happened? What did I do? haven't had that issue yet.  Mine,  they just, I don't know if it was  the type of flour I was using to begin with, but just didn't work. m Yeah, it's a trick. mean, it's not  hard, but there is definitely patience involved.
14:51and things go wrong that you can't even know will go wrong with it. So it's patience every day. Oh yeah. So I haven't started a new one yet, Marissa. I'm going to this weekend, but I've been giving it a week to be not angry about it. I mean, I have a little bit extra if you'd like some. Like if you stopped by for my bake sale this weekend, I would gladly give you some. I am up in Lesor and I'm probably not going to be down in Mankato this weekend because it's my husband and my 20th
15:2223rd anniversary this weekend. Well, happy early anniversary. Thank you. And we're going to stay in and have really yummy food from a place that we love and hang out and make a plan for next year's gardens. Oh, that sounds heavenly. Yes, that's the way we party at our house because we're 55 and 56. I mean, see,
15:47My husband and I are 28 and 30  and we like to have a night in just watching a movie  and  making each other our favorite meals.  It's just what we do best and it's what we love to do. We're coming up on nine years together. Nice. Nice. My husband and I would be coming up on many more years together, but we didn't meet until we were like 25 and 26.
16:15So if we'd met sooner, we probably would have had a lot more years together, but I'm really good with the 23 that we've had so far. So, but I will be starting some more sourdough probably Saturday morning. I'm having terrible trouble with my S's this morning or today.  Sourdough on Saturday. There we go.  And hopefully by next weekend, it'll be going along at a good clip and I'll be able to make sourdough bread in two weeks. That would be great.  yeah. My sourdough.
16:45I learned that when  starting my good batch, a lot of people recommend using whole wheat flour. I just went straight to all purpose bread flour  and she has taken off. Yep, that's what I was using. And again, it was perfect.  When I saw that pink mold, I just wanted to cry. So yes, bread flour is totally fine.
17:12I keep hearing about people using the ancient grains for sourdough. And  that's way cool too, except that I have bread flour in my pantry that I can use that's already paid for stuff. Right. Yeah, I tried to use whole wheat flour and  my starter just did not like that whole wheat flour. Yeah, it's finicky. I don't know.  I'm really hoping. oh
17:38I don't need to make this all about my adventure with sourdough, but I'm really hoping that this next batch works. I can perfect a loaf. I can get comfortable with it and make sourdough all winter and put it in our farm stands so that people can have good sourdough sandwich bread this winter.  Oh, absolutely. That would be amazing because so many people search for that during the wintertime, especially since wintertime is chilly and soup weather.
18:07When I think of sourdough, I think of comfort. Uh huh. Yep. Absolutely. And you're going to laugh. I thought I hated sourdough bread. I really thought I didn't like it because I don't like it really soury. I don't like it with a real tang to it. And then I did some research and it doesn't always have to have that sour tang to it. It can be sourdough and not be sour, you know, to the point where you really notice it. Yep.
18:35Personally,  we like the sour taste. I do have one child that he's not huge on the sourness, but with the way I make it, he loves it. Especially when I make my jalapeno cheddar loaf, he's like, wow, I didn't know sourdough could be good. And I'm like, you just need to know what inclusions to have, buddy. Yeah, and the inclusions make it so much fun, because you can do almost anything with it.
19:05Oh yeah, I made a  lemon blueberry loaf the other day  and it was a huge hit. So I have a question about that. Did you put any sugar in the sourdough  dough so that it was a sweet bread with the lemon and the blueberry? So the lemon actually brings out the natural flavors and like the  more like sweet natural flavors to the blueberries.  And it was really nice. Awesome.
19:32I'm dying, I can't wait to be able to try all that fancy stuff, probably in the spring once I get the basics down this winter. And then you have cookies on your menu. So what kind of cookies would you be willing to make? mean, what's your favorite cookie to make in the first place? So  my favorite cookie to make is actually pumpkin chocolate chip. It's my favorite. My second favorite to make is
19:58snickerdoodle and that just happens to be my husband's favorite. But I am willing to make any combination of cookie, even if it's the weirdest combination ever. I love going outside of the box and creating things that people will enjoy and love and feel the love that I put into making their special cookie. I love your heart, Marissa.
20:28I love that you're doing this. This is amazing. Okay, so I don't know what else to ask you because you're very focused on baking. One of the things that I would share is that I know it's October 1st because I have a beef roast in a crock pot downstairs cooking away and it smells amazing. And I feel like you picked the best time to start this business because fall is when people want baked goods. And this is gonna be a weird question.
20:58The last few years, my dog's barking, the last few years I have been trying to find the assorted Christmas cookie trays that they used to sell at like Sam's Club and the grocery stores and no one is doing it anymore. Is that something that you would do if somebody asked? I mean, you cut out what was the- Assorted Christmas cookies, assorted Christmas cookies, different Christmas cookies on one platter. Absolutely, I would-
21:26love to do that. That is one of my favorite things to do.  I am  not the type of person that sees  money being the most valuable thing, but love being the most valuable thing.  And when it comes to birthdays, anniversaries, Christmases, my favorite thing to gift is cookies. Yeah, baby.  So at Christmastime,  both sides  of my husband's family and my family
21:55they get baked goods. So I tend to make cookies that I know that they like and enjoy.  So, so if somebody, I'm not, I'm not asking for me.  I will be making cookies and we'll be selling cookies  in LaSore this winter as far as I know.  if somebody said to you, I want thumbprint cookies with the Hershey's kiss in the top, you know, that they do.  And
22:25I want, I don't know, the  candy cane cookies, the ones that are the two different color dough that you  wind around each other and make a candy cane, do know what I'm talking about?  And I don't even know what people make in Minnesota, because I'm not from Minnesota, but I swear there's one that's like a white cookie with cherry bits in it. It's like a cherry. I'm not sure about that, but I know an all-time favorite like Christmas cookie.
22:54In Minnesota is a spritz cookie. Yes. Yes. The one that you have to use the little tube to put them on the tray. that what you're doing? Yep. Yep. Those are the ones that I get at the store  and they actually do a really good job and they're very buttery. Well, maybe you'll have to come  and check me out at Christmas time and  I'll have those on my menu. That would be amazing.
23:21My husband actually works in Mankato. Maybe I could have him just swing by and pick up whatever we decide to order from you. That would be cool.  And the other thing that  I assume you know about is supposedly we're going to be able to ship baked goods if we have our cottage food registration starting in 2027. So that'll help too. A lot of us trying to get our stuff across the state. It's not, we can't ship out of state, but we can ship in Minnesota as far as I know, starting in 2027.
23:51which will be really nice. I know I've had a lot of inquiries about shipping my products and unfortunately I have to tell them because of the cottage slice and legally cannot ship products. It has to either be picked up or delivered personally by the baker. Yes.
24:15One of the things that drives me insane, I'm going to say it again, I've said it at least five times in two years I've been doing the podcast, is I can make a batch of cookies, put them in a container, put them in a box with bubble wrap or whatever, ship them to my folks for Christmas in Maine. And that's totally fine because they're not buying it from me.  But I can't, my sister wanted to buy cookies for a business thing at her job in Maine. I can't send them to her. I would have to just give them.
24:45to her and ship them to her. Which is rough, especially when you're trying to get yourself out there  and  start your business.  Yeah, it's crazy. Like, I was so excited when I saw the email come through from whatever,  from the registered people thing. I don't know what it's called. The Department of Ag, I guess, is who it's under. But when the email came through saying that we would be able to ship.
25:15I was so excited. And then I saw starting in 2027 and I just completely deflated. Ugh, I know. My husband and I were talking about it last night and I was like, you know, we, the day before we had actually just talked about potentially just doing my  LLC and then this dropped and I was like, we can just, we can just wait.  Yup.  And
25:41We're already under an LLC here because we're a farm to market farm to table place. So  we decided to get to our businesses in LLC. And so everything is under that LLC, everything, even the podcast is under that LLC because it's all a tiny homestead. So,  but yes, definitely if you're going to really get into this, do something like an LLC because it's really important that way if you get sued, they go after the business assets, not your personal assets.
26:10Yeah. And  I can't imagine you'll get sued, but covering your bum is a good thing to do if you're going to start a business and that's for you or anybody.  Well, and that's why we've been looking I am so excited for you. Yeah. Go We've been looking  at  insurances and stuff  or situations like that.  Not saying it's going to happen, but there's always going to be that one person who could
26:39potentially make those accusations  and we want to have our bases covered there.  Yes, and the other thing is, and I say this with everybody I talk to about this, is that not only are you trying to protect yourself, you're trying to protect the other people who do business with you. God forbid someone does get sick from something that you made. No, I mean,  it happens. You want them to be protected too. Yeah.
27:07So it's not just about you, it's about the whole thing. It's the whole circle. So anyway, I was gonna say, I'm so glad I had a chance to talk with you today. Tell me where people can find you. You can find me at www.careful-creation-shop or dash bake-shop.com. And on Facebook, right? Yep, you can find me on Facebook.
27:37just go to the search bar, type in Careful Creations Bake Shop. You will not only find my public page, but you'll also find my public group where we do  monthly promotions, giveaways. And then you can also find me Instagram, careful.creations.bake.shop. And is that it or are you on YouTube or TikTok?  Nope. I haven't gotten my TikTok.
28:06established yet, but it's in the works. Awesome. Good.  Use every free channel you can.  I swear, just do it because it will so help you. Yeah, no, that's where I plan to do all of my live videos for showing them my process of keeping them safe. Fantastic. Great. All right.
28:33As always, people can find me at AtinyHolmsteadPodcast.com and go check out my Patreon at patreon.com slash Atiny Homestead. Marisa, thank you again. Thank you for having me. Have a great day. You too.
 

Red Feather Farm

Today I'm talking with Ruby at Red Feather Farm. 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 Ruby at Red Feather Farm in Ohio. Good morning, Ruby. How are you? Good. How are you?  I'm good. How's the weather in Ohio this morning?  It's actually kind of chilly, but sunshiny, so I'll take it. At least it's not 100 degrees. Yeah, we're looking at 90 tomorrow or Saturday in Minnesota. Oh  man. We had that over the...
00:29past weekend and it was miserable. I'm so excited for fall. Me too. And I'm going to update everybody on the weather here and then I'll tell you why I me too on fall and then I get questions. The weather here is bright and sunny and I think it's 65 degrees and there's a light breeze, but they're saying hot and really windy all weekend, which means that a lot of the stuff we wanted to get done outside isn't going to happen because we can't do it with high wind. Oh, great.
00:58So indoor things this weekend, which is good because we have lots of indoor things to take care of because it's end of summer season. You know how this goes, right?  Oh, yes. Yeah. And ah the reason I said me too is because fall is my absolute favorite season.  am  so excited to get into soup season and sweater season and candle season. I'm thrilled. Oh, me too. That's my favorite. I love soup.  It's so easy too.
01:25Yeah, I was looking to see if we had any canned beans, not like we canned them, but store-bought canned beans, because I was thinking chili sounded good next week.  And uh we don't have any, but we have the beans in a bag, you know, the dry beans.  So I will be soaking beans at some  point next week so we can make chili and cornbread, because that sounds wonderful. Oh, yes.  I'm ready, ma'am.
01:50I'm so ready. All right. So tell me about yourself, a little bit about yourself and about, um, red feather farm. Well, my name is Ruby and me and my husband started red feather farm. I'd say somewhere like 2015. And basically it started out with, we named it after we raised red Angus beef cattle and we raised boar goats. both red. And then we raised all kinds of poultry. I.
02:19pastured them and sold them that way to customers.  And we've kind of evolved a little bit and I've completely gone in a different direction. But basically now I guess you could call me a homesteader. I think most of my followers on social media know I hate that word because nobody knows what it means. But  we have dove into basically producing all of our own food for our family and some other families and
02:46Red Feather Farm is now just kind of my social media presence  where I am teaching and trying to empower people that are either just waking up and trying to escape the matrix of being dependent on grocery stores  or people that have been doing it a little, a long time like me. And just be encouraged and know that this is a great life. It's hard. You've got to be willing to work hard  and preserving your own food and growing it is not that scary. It's not that serious and we got to quit being afraid of it.
03:16So it's kind of, it's been kind of fun doing this social media thing and teaching other people. I've taught a lot of people how to can and all that good stuff. yeah, that's okay. Fantastic. And you're right. It's, it's not hard to preserve food  or it's not scary to preserve food or any, or make soap or any of the things that we do as homesteaders,  but it is hard work and it's not convenient. And the reason that
03:46people like stores is because it's convenient. You go, you buy the thing you need. You don't have to buy the stuff to make the thing you need. Right. And then make the thing you need.  so  yeah, I think I'm going to define home studying as number one, a lifestyle  is not necessarily having a hundred acres  and 40 cows and 20 goats and 50 chickens.  It's for me, it is being able to make things that I need.
04:15out of the things that I have available to me with my own hands and my own mind. I like that. That's how I see it. I kind of, I'm having a hard time too with the homesteading versus farming versus ranching  because everyone who is in  whichever realm of it, you know, if you're talking to a rancher, they're a rancher, they're not a farmer. If you're talking to a farmer, they're a farmer, not a rancher. If they're, if they're a homesteader,
04:44They're neither a farmer or a rancher. And, and really, I think that they all fall under the heading of wanting to do good in the world, to grow our own food, to take care of ourselves and be independent. That's kind of how I see it. Yeah. And I have an interesting perspective because I'm married to a farmer. we grain farm too, and live on an old dairy farm as well. So I'm kind of a weirdo that I'm a homesteader, not really a farmer, but kind of a farmer too.
05:13And I'm kind of in the middle of all these different lives. So it's, interesting. I've always just kind of considered a farmer produces food for other people and feeds the world and homesteaders are trying to feed their community and keep it close. Maybe two. I'm not sure, but I guess you can beat a dead horse trying to define it, but. Oh, for sure. Yeah.  And, and I'm to tell you a secret Ruby.  We're all weirdos in our own way.  Believe me, I quit trying to fit in a long time ago.
05:41Yep. We're all beautiful in our own way. We're all smart in our own way and we're all weirdos in our own way. And I kind of love that about people.  All right. So you, I know you have animals  that you said you have cows and goats, right?  And then on your website, it says that you have misfit animals. So what are the other animals you have? So I have a quarter horse I've had since I was 13. So he's kind of elderly now, a little bit grumpy.
06:10And then I have a donkey that was kind of a rescue. He was not treated very well. So he's kind of crazy and I'm the only person he likes  and he's not friendly at all, but he's, his name is Brad and he is very much a misfit because nobody likes him.  And then I'm basically call it my misfit crew because I just kind of have some animals with some weird personalities. got just some goofballs around them. My Alpine goats that are raised for dairy.
06:37They've got big personalities. They're basically my best friends because I spend almost all day every day with them, which is interesting to say my goats are my best friend, but here we are. uh And then I have chickens. used to raise geese, turkey and ducks too, but we kind of got out of that. I'm trying to think if I'm missing any animals at this point. Dog, cat. Yeah, we got some dogs.  They're rat terrier mixes that don't do well with chasing rats.  And we've got some barn cats. So.
07:07That sounds like a home setting slash farm to me.  Yeah, we got all kinds of stuff going on. So. Okay. So I was, I was looking at your Facebook page because  once you guys say yes to talking to me, I have to go stalk you to find questions for you.  And I saw something about canning beans, like actually in a jar. So I didn't realize that that was a thing. I mean, I knew you could store dry beans in a jar, but is it actually canning beans? Yeah.
07:36So  if you try to store dry beans  for probably more than, I don't know, two years, even in mylar, it's sometimes they'll go a little bit longer. They get that chewy center and they don't store well and they never rehydrate. And I always have people telling me, oh, you can put them in a pressure cooker for three days and they'll rehydrate. No, once you have had a bean like that, you will start canning them and you will never turn back. So for me,
08:01I got into canning beans because  one, they're ready to use. I can eat them cold out of the jar if I'm feeling gross. that's kind of,  I always tell people if you're learning how to can and you want a pressure can, start with dry beans. They're cheap. They're easy to come by. They're easy to grow and they're easy to slap in a jar, put in your canner and can. And they're so much better than anything you're going to buy in the store. Okay. So I'm, I'm still confused. Are they dry canned or are they wet canned? So you can.
08:30They're like taking the dry bean and cooking it inside the jar and then it's shelf stable. Okay. I couldn't tell if it was dry or if it would use water. I didn't watch the whole thing because I was in a hurry. I'm sorry. I would dry pack green beans because they're wet and already hydrated. But any of the small dry beans like black beans, Pinto's, all that I can with water. Awesome. We're going to have to try that because we have a pressure cooker that I am deathly afraid of because I'm crazy.
08:57But my husband is not. So when he's like, we're going to pressure cook, I'm like, you're going to pressure cook. I'm going to stand back and watch and pray nothing goes wrong.  And I know it's safe. I know, I know it is, but I still have that little thing in the back of my head from my grandparents and my mom  with them being very careful with their pressure canners. And I know that was a very long time ago. Yeah. I have a lot of people that are scared of pressure canners and once they run it once with me, they're like, well, that was dumb. Why was I scared of that?
09:27And once you know all the safety features and how they work and how like you actually have to try to make these modern pressure canners break, it kind of makes you a little bit more confident. So maybe once you get a couple runs under your belt, you'll feel a little bit better about it. Yeah. I'm even afraid of our Instapot to the point that we barely ever use it. I do not like hot steam. I got burned with a, with the steam from an iron at once, cause it went on,  it did the woosh and caught my hand and I  had a pretty good blister for about a week.
09:56And so it made an impression on me. So anything that is hot steam, I'm like, eh, I don't like that.  But it's fine because it's all part of learning and growing up. And by God, I am almost 56. I think I can get past my fear of hot steam. It'll be okay.  So, um do you grow a garden too? I do. Okay. How was that this summer?
10:20It was good. started out going very, very well. And then Ohio got very wet. It rained off and on for like a month straight. So the weeds got out of control. So I've always been pretty transparent in my stories and on social media that your garden does not have to be picture perfect to grow food.  You can wade through six foot tall amaranths and pick tomatoes. It will be okay.
10:45For sure, yes you can. And it's been a great year for growing weeds in Minnesota as well.  My husband  is the gardener, I am not. I am happy to help him plant it. I am  happy to help him pick out the different plants.  I am not happy to be out actually gardening. I want to be doing the things in the house with the food that gets grown.  And I'm very honest about that. But he  just didn't.
11:13keep up on the weeds because they were coming so fast and furious this year. And I'm kind of glad that he wasn't able to  because for some reason we had basil that was growing and it was surrounded by weeds and he was doing a tour of the garden a couple weeks ago.  He came in and he said,  I just pulled a whole bunch of weeds around the basil that I didn't even remember I planted. And I said, okay.  He said, it's gorgeous. He said, we will be drying basil in two weeks.
11:41We've been drying basil for the last two nights and it smells  so incredible. Oh, I can imagine. I love basil. I thought it was done. I thought it was over because we had a couple of cold nights, I don't know, month ago.  And once they get the little black spots on the leaves, they're not very good anymore. They don't taste right. And that's from the cold. So I was very excited to know that we had a second chance at drying basil. Yeah, that's awesome.  Yes. And dried basil from your garden is the best thing.
12:11for spaghetti sauce in January I have ever tasted.  I will agree.  So there are definitely some perks to growing your own stuff and that's one of them.  Um, did I see that you make soap too? Yes, I do. Okay. And do you use your goat milk for the soap?  Yep. Okay. Normally use tallow and lard from  our cattle that we raise and then my parents raised pigs. So I usually use one of those.
12:40So everything that is in my soap is from our farm. So that's pretty cool. I love that. That's amazing. And do you sell it? I used to. I dabbled in it, but it just, I didn't enjoy that part of it. Okay. So do you sell anything from the farm or is it pretty much just for you and you share it with the community? We do custom beef with our beef cattle. So we will deliver a beef to the butcher and then
13:08Our customers get to pick all the cuts they want and we charge them per pound by the hanging weight. um We also,  I do herd shares with my dairy goat herd. So I have families that come and get milk from their share of the herd that way too. But other than that, public facing and all that stuff is not our jam. We do not enjoy selling things that way. Okay, cool. Not everybody has to, I promise. uh
13:35So I was, when I was looking at your Facebook page, I saw the thing about the herd share and  we don't really have that here in Minnesota. I mean, I think some people do it, but it's not all that common because here  we can sell goat milk or cow milk as long as the person comes to the farm where the cow is and brings their own containers.  So is that a thing in Ohio or is the herd share a way to get around being able to sell the milk? So in Ohio, raw milk is illegal. Okay.
14:05And you can use a loophole that says you're selling it as  milk only.  like it's only for their dogs or their cats. And then you can do whatever you want with it, but I don't like that. Yeah. So I worked with,  um, a lawyer and like a defense fund and they helped me form this herd share and my contract and all the legalities. So because basically in Ohio, if it looks like you are selling any kind of milk, you are up a creek.
14:34And so the herd shares, the easiest way to get around that because her chairs are legal in Ohio.  And I know there is a couple of lawmakers trying to make raw milk illegal in Ohio, but I'm not excited about it because they're going to make producers get a license.  I don't enjoy the government having any type of control on what I do. So  that would open you up to being inspected and having people look at your farm and that stuff. And I'm just not a fan.
15:05So right now we just do the herd shares and it's pretty easy. I have some really great families that have joined in that I get to see every week during their milk pickups and it's a lot of fun. So  we'll just do it that way. Okay. So I have a couple of questions.  I don't know how to ask the question right.  Say I want, I don't live near you, but say I live near you and I wanted to be part of the herd share. How does that work? What would I have to do?
15:32So people normally hear from me from other members in my herd share. They see it online and they just ask about the herd share. So then I can give them  information on what it entails, how much milk you will possibly get every week because it's on a share basis and I can't really guarantee the exact amount because then that would be selling milk.  Um, so basically  I can figure if you own like one share of a goat, you have to
16:01purchase in and buy that share of the goat and what it's worth. And then you pay a monthly boarding fee for me to take care of your share of that goat.  And I make sure I explain that to people. And that's when they show interest and want to join, we go through that. They pay the fees and then every week they're entitled to whatever fraction of  milk that my herd produces that week. If that makes sense.
16:26Yep, that makes absolute sense. And I just asked because I sort of know how a herd share works, but my listeners might not. So I figured you'd be better at explaining it than I would be.  And then um do the people that sign up to be part of the herd share, do they need to sign a waiver or anything saying that they understand that they are doing something that could possibly  maybe  ever hurt them?  You know, because that's part of the thing.
16:54My contract basically just says that you  agree that you're consuming raw milk. This is how I handle it.  And I make sure when I onboard a family, they come with me during milking time. And that's probably not everybody does that, but I want them to see how I handle the milk, how I milk the animals and how I clean my milking equipment, whether I'm hand milking or using a milk machine. I think that is very, very, very important. So
17:24My brain just shut down for a second. Mom life. Yeah.  Um,  I asked, I asked if they needed to sign a waiver or anything. And it basically just says,  I, I'm trying to think of how it's worded. It's  mostly just saying, I'm drinking raw milk. I understand that there are risks and benefits to it. And I am assuming all of that.  And  I make sure that they understand they are not buying milk for me. They are part of a herd share and they own a share of my herd.
17:53I really beat that into people's heads because I'm not selling milk. We're not going down that road.  But I  don't agree with the whole raw milk's gonna unalive you and make you sick. I think it's just how milk is handled, whether it be raw or pasteurized, that can make you sick.  And I want people to understand that in that process.  Oh, absolutely. Raw milk will not unalive you. It is okay. And it is about the practices of the farmer.
18:23and the person who takes care of the animal  and how they clean the udder and how they do the milking.  That's where it gets dicey if someone isn't doing it correctly or safely.  I love that you have people come see how you do it because full transparency  is the best way to go on this stuff.  I'm a big education person. mean, you saw my Facebook. That's basically what I do.  Especially with raw milk, you got to be smart.
18:52Because there's, I know there's some conspiracy in that stuff behind why raw milk is illegal, but there's also a reason why raw milk can be dangerous. And in this day and age,  everybody's doing it, especially here in Ohio. So I believe you really need to know your farmer. You need to know what they're doing and you need to make sure you're okay with it. Because some people you get the non-toxic groups and that, that we can't use bleach. We don't want to use all this stuff. But if you're using a milk machine and you're not using bleach or a dairy.
19:22cleaner and acid to get rid of that milk stone, you can make people very, very sick. So I want people to understand, even if you're not going to join my herd share, I want you to know how to get raw milk and I want you to be safe about it. Yeah, for sure. um I'm going to switch it over to eggs. We sell eggs from our chicken butts.  Eggs come from chicken butts, people. They really do. um And we try to sell the nicest, cleanest eggs in our farm stand in a dozen.
19:51you know, container. And sometimes the eggs still have some chicken poop on them.  And we have a little card that we put in there that says how to handle the eggs, how to wash the eggs,  that you really should  wash the eggs before you use them. And it explains about the bloom and why we don't wash them before people buy them.  And I would feel real bad if we didn't put that card in there for people to know how to handle those eggs. Because if you wash the bloom off of an egg,
20:21you have to put them in your refrigerator. If you don't wash the bloom off an egg,  they can be on your counter for a couple of weeks and be fine.  And so it's the same thing, anything to do with  dairy,  eggs, or meat. There are things you do that keep you safe and make it a pleasurable experience to consume the thing that you bought.  So it's fine.  Nothing will hurt you.
20:47from an animal, it's how the product is handled after it came from the animal that's the problem.  If people aren't doing it right. Right. So I think we've beat that horse far enough. I think we're probably good. ah Okay. So how many kids do you have? I have two.  Two. Are they young? Yep. Seven and three. Okay. Is the seven year old involved in the stuff that you're doing? Yes. He helps me with chores every day. He's actually
21:17Very, very helpful in my three year old gathers the eggs and feeds the chickens now. And do they love it?  They absolutely do.  Good.  Good. The answer is usually, uh, not so much or yes, they do. I love the yes, they do answer because the not so much I'm like,  Oh no,  because we need, we need, I can't put enough stress on that word.  We  need young people to come up into this and be ready to go.
21:47in 20 years because the way things are going, it's getting scary. And I tell my kids now, even if you don't want to do it, do it because it builds character and you'll want to do it when you're an adult. Ask me. Yeah. Part of the reason that I got into this lifestyle is because my mom and dad hunted deer. They canned, they grew a garden every year. My dad is 84. He just put his garden to bed this past weekend.
22:18Just  like he was not going to do a garden this year. And my mom said to me on the phone, she said, I think I have him talking to doing a garden this year. And I took a big deep breath and I said, do you,  do you really, is it okay? Is he up for this? And she said, I think so. She said, he would have really told me no if he didn't want to.
22:42And I said, okay, because you know, my dad's 84 and he acts like he's 50, but he is 84 years old. That is not a young man. And my thought in my head, which I didn't say out loud to my mom, because I didn't want her feelings was if he dies putting in a garden, I'm going to be real mad. But he would be so happy. I'm sure that's exactly what he wants to be doing.
23:05And so they got a bunch of really lovely beets and tomatoes and they have like four or five pumpkins that are ready to come in. And they're both really excited about this. And it's a small garden. It's maybe 40 by 50 feet, maybe. And I'm sure that come January, when I talk to my dad on the phone, he'll be like, I don't think I'm going to put a garden in this year. And I bet you he'll be out there in May next year or June putting in a garden.
23:36I love that. Yep.  And my mom goes out and helps him and weeds and does all the things and she's 78. I'm sorry. No, she's 79. So, so yeah, it's just it's in your blood and it's in my blood. And I  absolutely love the fact that I learned last week that roasted beets are actually yummy. I hate beets. I hate raw beets. They taste like dirt to me.  Oh, come on.
24:05Oh, can't do it. But roasted, all the natural sugars come out and they're really yummy. They're almost like candy. Now you need some goat cheese to put with it. That is my favorite meal. Roasted beets and goat cheese. Really? Mm-hmm.  Huh. I'll have to try it. But uh yeah, no, I've always hated beets and my mom used to make pickled beets, like pickles only with beets. she did the sweet pickle beets and those were okay. I still didn't love them.
24:32And then my son happened to pick up some roasting vegetables in a bag from the freezer section at the store  and there were  chopped up beets in it. And I could smell it cooking and I was like, what smells so sweet? And  I said, are the carrots in there? And he was like, no. I said, sweet potato? He's like, no. I said, what is it? And I came out  and I saw the purple and I said, oh, it's a beet. And I took one just on the off chance that it tasted the way it smelled.
25:00And I was like, oh, we have beets in the garden. I know exactly what's going to happen with those. We're going to roast them all this winter.
25:08I love it. I could eat beets every day. Yeah, I had no idea. I felt like such a doofus. If I had known, I would have been eating beets for last 25 years. Got some time to make up for, Yes, and they're really good for you. Oh, yes. Not that you could have told me to eat one a month ago because I was like, nah, I don't want beets. Yuck. So you can teach an old dog new tricks apparently. Yeah, there you go.
25:37So, um, okay. So are you guys getting things wrapped up for the fall at this point? Well, my garden's wrapped up, so I'm wrapped up canning and we're gearing up for harvest now with corn and soybeans.  it doesn't really calm down for me until like January. Oh, wow. Okay. Yeah, but it's okay. I don't mind it. I love this life that God has blessed me with. So I'm gonna trade it for the world.
26:02Well, sure, but it's nice to get a little bit of rest before you have to hit it hard again. Oh, definitely. And I do get to sit down every once in a while, but I'm kind of one of those hyperactive, energetic people that always wants to be moving and busy anyway. So it's kind of, it's good for me.  It is and keep doing it because if you stop for very long,  you will stay stopped and that's not good. Yeah, exactly.
26:28With the corn is it field corn or it's not sweet corn. It's too late for sweet corn, right? and  is that just for your animals or is that do you sell that  off as part of the farm? We sell that too, but we do feed our beef cattle with it as well. We grassy and grain fed  Okay, and I'm gonna ask you a crazy question because I am curious and I will ask uh
26:53Do you guys ever do like, you know when you drive by a cornfield and it's got the little signs that have a number on it and basically it's  a test crop?  Do you guys do that at all? I think they've done it in past years, like a little plot for people if they've asked, but we don't do it a lot now.  Okay. I was curious because the corn that the people that own the property around our property, they planted this year.
27:21It is at least nine feet tall.  Oh yeah. It's gotten really tall in the last few years. Yeah. And this is the first time, I mean, they've been growing it. This is the third summer, I think it was soybeans  and it's never been this tall. mean, it looks gargantuan.  And I said to my husband, said, I wonder if it's a test variety or something. And he said, I don't think so. He said, I think the weather has just been incredibly good here this year for corn.
27:49He said, because all the fields in the area are tall this year.  It is over here too, but we got really dry starting in, I think the end of July and it didn't rain until like last week. So our corn's tall, but it get a little thirsty there for a minute. Yeah. And the ears on this corn are gargantuan. I've never, I've never seen field corn ears this big. I'm like, wow,  they're going to be really happy with their crop when they get it in. Yeah.
28:18Now we just need corn prices to go up.  We need a lot of things.  I almost wish that I could talk politics because I have so many things on my brain right now.  But we don't talk politics on the podcast because it just hurts people's feelings and I can't do it.  So I just keep my fingers crossed that people like you and people like me and people like all the people I've talked to over the last two years keep doing the good things they're doing because  I keep saying that positive energy
28:46does counteract negative energy.  So keep doing the good things, please. uh Where can people find you, Ruby? They can find me on Facebook and Instagram or my website. Okay, what's the address?  Your website is what? What's the address? Redfeatherfarmohio.com. Okay,  and you just wrote Feather Farm on Instagram and Facebook? I think I'm Redfeather Farm Ohio on Instagram because there was
29:15I think there's a hatchery somewhere that's Red Feather Farm and there's somebody out in it's either Wyoming or Wisconsin that I keep getting invited to speak at something and I'm the wrong Red Feather Farm. So I added Ohio to things so people would know I'm the wrong one.  Okay, cool.  And  as always, people can find me at atinyhomesteadpodcast.com  and go check out my Patreon. It's patreon.com slash atinyhomestead.  Ruby.
29:45Thank you for sharing everything. That was so fun. Yes, thanks for having me. Have a great day. You too.
 

The Forbidden Farm “our farm, your secret”

Today I'm talking with Andrea at The Forbidden Farm. 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 Andrea at The Forbidden Farm in New Jersey. Good morning, Andrea. How are you? Good morning. How are you today? I'm good. How's the weather in New Jersey this morning? It is actually bright and sunny and it was supposed to rain. Oh, well it's bright and sunny in Minnesota too, but it's nippy. I think it's maybe 57 degrees outside.
00:29Already? uh My brother was from  Minnesota. Oh cool. Where did he live?  Don't even tell me I went. Like one time went to the Mall of America, which was amazing.  That was it.  Okay. All right. Cool.  So he must have lived somewhere nearby. Yes. that's where the mall is. Yes. Yes. Okay.  All right. Awesome. So
00:55Tell me a little bit about yourself and why it's called the Forbidden Farm.  Well, you know, that's a little secret, so I got to keep that to myself.  Oh.  I  started out running an environmental company for 20 some years.  And when I left that company, I came home  and literally decided I really I just had a little temper tantrum, was stomping my feet and said, I'm going to get goats  and make soap.
01:25So that was May, June,  I  LLC'd my company. And then from there, I had my first event on, I started out in my, my sunroom,  um, making all my products and doing stuff out of the house with my middle son, Dean. He was the big help in the beginning. We made all our soap together, just him and I mostly. then
01:51we decided to branch into  like fairs, like wineries and stuff like that.  During this timeframe, my mother uh was diagnosed with dementia. So we had um set her up  in one of um the nursing homes actually ends up being right across the street from my now shop. ah And then she came to live with us.
02:19So I had to move the stuff into the basement. So we continued doing that. We had our first event in September of last year on a Sunday at Terra Nono Winery, which was amazing. It was so much fun, had a huge setup, never done anything like this. And that was on Sunday and Thursday, I ended up getting the shop, which was insane. All within like a three month timeframe.
02:48all again while my mother was going downhill.  So it was a huge struggle. ah family, everybody pulled together. uh Sadly, my mother passed and we buried her and then opened up the shop the next day, which was a struggle. But the community has been amazing. Like everybody, like I wear my heart on my sleeve. I don't hold anything back.
03:17authentically myself from the day you meet me, probably too much so, but you know, open book. I'm like that too. And right now I feel like there's a lot of wearing your hat on your sleeve because things are just so crazy in the world. really feel like you have to. Yeah. I talked to my daughter who lives in Florida for three hours on the phone the other day and
03:42We both teared up at least six times in three hours over things that we were talking about that are impacting the world right now. And I ended up with a terrible migraine from it because I'm one of those people where if I try to like stem the tears, it makes my head hurt. Me too. Oh my God. I was like, I love talking with her, but I wish it had been more positive. And we tried. We tried really hard to find positive lights in things, but it's just so hard right now.
04:10Sometimes you can't, it is hard.  So I  need to clarify here. So you have a shop where you sell things that you make, is that right? I have a shop and cafe. Okay. And then do you still have your goats?  I do.  Okay. So do you live on like  acreage or do you just have No, the farm is outside of where
04:40We live, it's not in Vineland. Okay. So  I'm trying to get to this. uh So my podcast is conversations with homesteaders, cottage food producers and crafters. So you  sort of are doing homesteading, yes? Yes. Well, I am getting closer and closer to like creating, cause I'm looking for, cause  obviously you'll know, they always say to everybody thinks you need.
05:09like 10 plus acres of land to do, I feel a good five acres is a solid like amount to create your whole homestead on,  least in my head. So I'm actually uh the beginning of next month looking at a piece of property that has the acreage that I want, a house  and a building for possibly like the shop because we,
05:35Even I'm also a real estate agent, but I'm working with one of the agents in my company because I'm like, I don't want to play agent. You'd be my agent. She's like, I think this would be perfect because you'll have everything all in one. So we're not  running around everywhere doing like, you know, like planting the lavender and like we at my house and then running over to the farm and then back and forth. You know, want it all centrally located. How exciting.
06:03I really hope it works out. exactly. And then you have your shop. So tell me about your shop. What's  it like? um It's a dream come true, honestly. It's not like work. It's been a struggle, but more so because  of just everything that I've gone through personally while opening it. And we haven't even hit a year yet. So it's insane.
06:31but I love it. love um making things for people,  using my hands, using  everything  as a whole being. I'm also um currently uh studying for a holistic practitioner. So I'm super excited because I started with the soap and the creams and the oils and I love that. And I will never stop doing that. But I have branched into so many more  like
06:59items and I'm loving the holistic aspect of it. But again that was always my whole life I was the one if you were sick, I was making you something like  you know I used to do the handmade gift cards and just basically encompassed everything of myself into the shop and then I have a love for coffee so I'm like oh I really like basically redid the coffee nook in my house into my store.
07:26And we were actually just voted top five for South Jersey Community Choice Awards. Congratulations. Thank you. That's fabulous. Back when I lived in town, we've lived in the middle of nowhere for five years now. We live in the middle of corn fields and soybean fields now. Oh my God, I'm jealous. But we did live in a small town and we were right in town, so we had many neighbors around us.
07:51And anytime anybody was sick, everybody knew that I made fabulous homemade chicken soup. Yeah, has.  And they would message me or call and be like, do you have any chicken soup in your freezer?  It makes a difference.  Yeah. And uh everybody swore by it. And I was like, I am happy to help.  And one of my neighbors even bought a couple of them.
08:14frozen whole chickens to put in my freezer so that I could make more soup for the following season, which I thought was very sweet. That's amazing. I love that.  Yep. So I get it. I love helping people and I still do help people. just help people in different ways now because my nearest neighbor is a quarter mile away. ah I cannot, I cannot wait.  cannot wait.  Yep. It's so,  I do not.
08:42I do not recommend anyone to move to the middle of nowhere if you're really, really social and you have no way to keep that social outlet because I'm not, I am an extreme introvert and I really do love just being in my little pretty house and having my chickens and my barn cats and my dog. And my husband and my son are kind of important too, but it's just really nice to have the
09:11I don't know this piece,  this place where people aren't just knocking on the door out of the blue, you know?  I know. I always would say like my backyard too, just even now,  when you walk out, like it's my own little like oasis.  And we do have a very quiet neighborhood, but it's still a neighborhood, which I love it. It's  wonderful. It has served its purpose. And I will always hold onto that house.
09:40but I'm ready for, I want like a ruse of lavender. I want like my girls like running like crazy all around my chickens just roaming.  Like I'm ready to have that right there.  Yes. And you are actually making my point for me because  you were saying that that  you've been looking for a bigger piece of land.
10:04And the point of homesteading is not necessarily big land. It's about actually doing the things that bring you joy that have to do with nature. Yeah.  So anybody can do it on any size property. um just interviewed a lady who lives in Minneapolis and she has,  I think she has a third of an acre and she has backyard chickens and she adores them. Yes. Yes.
10:31You can. mean, you don't need, like I said, you don't need the, I feel that way. Like you don't need all the way. And mean, I would love all the way. And I have so many things that  I want to do. Like, but it's different. It's a different, it's, it's not what I would have said five years ago, because I always was going this direction.  But like five years ago, it'd be like, Oh, I just want like, you know, all of it and put this here there. But now it's like condensing, even with the house, like I want.
11:01Just like a nice size little rancher. Like I don't need all the stuff. Like I don't want all the stuff. Put it in the back. That's what I want. I want the stuff in the back.  Yeah.  My project for this winter,  one week at a time, I'm going to be going through all of my stuff. I'm starting with the  closet at the top of the stairs, because that's the one that doesn't really get noticed much. It's got our winter coats and stuff in it. Yes, yes.
11:30But it's also got a bunch of crap that needs to get out of my house.  And so, so this winter is going to be pack it like we're moving, even though we're not moving, get it out of my house. want,  I want things to be more minimalist because we moved all of our stuff from the place we lived in for 20 years into this house by ourselves. Cause it was during COVID. So we didn't really have much help. We didn't feel safe asking people to help. Right.
11:59And so we slammed everything into this house and a lot of it ended up in the pole barn. And it is now time five years later to actually sort through it and get rid of some things. That's the project for the winter. And you know that five years probably flew by too, didn't it?  Oh, it's nuts. I can't believe we've been here five years. just... It's crazy. I know.  I just shared a  video of our puppy that we got five years ago. You know, like of her at eight weeks old this morning, because today's her gotcha day.
12:29And that dog is now a dog and she is amazing. We were so afraid we would break her because we'd never had a puppy before.  I can say this right now because my husband will be back for this episode airs. He's actually out of town this weekend and she adores him.
12:50And I was afraid that she was going to be obnoxious last night because usually if he's out of town she comes in and jumps on the bed like six times during the night if she's looking for him. And she was such a good girl. She didn't even come in my room last night. What type of dog? She's a mini Australian Shepherd. Oh, I love that. You got the whole thing going over there. I love it. Oh, we do. Yes, we do. And I actually have
13:17eggs in my kitchen right now from our chickens because I told my husband I said I'm not putting I am keeping a dozen eggs this weekend because I would like to make some eggs because we usually just stick them in the farm stand and they go like hotcakes they're gone. Really?  Yep. So yes we are we are doing the thing and another lady that I interviewed on the podcast she calls it doing the damn thing she says do the damn thing.  So we're doing the damn thing. My children are so sick of eggs.
13:47Like I can't give them away fast enough. It's like, oh my God, if I eat another egg right now with our, we have 13 chickens. just like, Yeah, we have 20 and we did have 26, but as I've said many, many times this summer, raccoons got some of our chickens this year, but we end up having just enough eggs to have two dozen going into the farm stand almost every day.
14:15That's amazing. And they're gone by three o'clock in the afternoon. People have bought them. Gone. It's like, listen, you're a dealer when you have eggs. It's hysterical. The thing that's amazing is that a lot of the people that buy our eggs, actually bring cartons to us so we can just refill them. Mine do too. I mean, I don't sell them, but like my friends are like, here. I was like, okay.
14:44Yeah, and it's great for like two or three times and then you want to toss them because they do the egg curtains can get gross after a while.  So it's so fun and it's such a little piece of  sustainability. But the things that we do on our farm, I keep saying that if you can do just something small positive, it does counteract negative.
15:13So we just keep trying to do good things here. I love that. I love that. I'm very excited. I'm getting like a 10 by 10 greenhouse. Yeah. And I have a, had this huge like blackberry bush that we had and I plant and I always plant all the like vegetables and everything. So I am so excited to like keep it going throughout with this. So hopefully, hopefully soon it gets here.  Nice.
15:41Yes, greenhouses are amazing. have one of those. We have one of those too. I love it. And if you would like a hint on how to keep it warmer, because New Jersey is not exactly the warmest state in No,  any suggestions. Give me all of them. OK, you said it's 10 by 10? Yes. OK, if you can get a couple of the rectangle water containers that you can get at the store where stores actually sell water where you go and refill your containers. OK.
16:11If can get those, as long as they're clear, you can put those in your greenhouse. The water will warm up during the day and it will disperse the heat at night. Really? Yeah. We have the big IBC totes in our greenhouse because our greenhouse is bigger than yours.  And  it really does help. oh So you could try that. Yeah. It will not help on like a minus 30.
16:38temperature night. No, but still, yeah. But it will gain you some time, know, gain a couple I figure I'm going to start small with this and then hopefully, you know, down the line when all the things come together.  Yep, but you can try that.  We did it last year and it gained us two months past, well, it gained us October and November for growing in there. Really? And then it also allowed us to get our seedlings that we started out in our kitchen out there sooner this spring. That's awesome. All right, perfect. Thank you.
17:08So  it's a fairly inexpensive trick  and your mileage may vary, you know, but now listen, any little bit helps, right? Exactly. Yup. So tell me, I was looking at your Facebook page and you have little boxes that you sell.  One had an orange flower on top.  Oh, yes. I just made them the other day, my little like fall like, um,
17:33Like I call them like grab and goes, cause I have a ton of people come in and I make baskets,  uh, like  quite frequently and I love it. It's my favorite thing to do. And I  honestly, go ham with them. like all the little details and I always cutting down flowers and putting stuff in,  but I'm like, Oh, let me do some of these little grab and go boxes with little, almost like a sample box as well too. But more so if you're,  know,
18:01run into somebody's house and you want something to bring.  did,  I made the goat milk. I made a pumpkin spice  soap  and I think I did the  fall leaf and little pumpkin. I did gingerbread uh sugar scrub. And I use about five different types of like sugars in that and like almonds,  avocado and sunflower oil. And then I did  a pumpkin spice cream.
18:29but I also have like the cutesy like spa type ones, your traditional lavender or vanilla as well.  Nice. They're really pretty. The boxes are really pretty. I do that with these soaps too. I like wrap them and then I do the little,  I felt like getting real creative this week, like with like that stuff. I felt like my soul needed that this week. So it made me happy.  Yeah. Listening to you talk, I was thinking about this the other day and I was wondering if I could work it into a podcast somewhere.
18:59I love to cook. I don't necessarily love to craft, but I love to cook. And I feel like a lot of these activities that are involved in homesteading, whether it's you're making crafts or you're cooking or you're growing plants or whatever, it's about play. It's a lot of play, even though it's a lot of work. It's like when you were a kid and you were pretending to make pies with mud or you pretending to make a crown with flowers.
19:29It's the way that we as adults express that playful spirit. Agreed. I actually have in the front of the store,  I call it like you scoop it. It's a bunch of different bath salts. Each one is a different property, like let's say joint and muscle,  you know, and then you have your traditional lavender and then your stress and anxiety and you know, so forth and so forth. But it's like the old school.
19:58where you would like scoop the sand part.  So you can layer it. And I did one with like a layer and I would show like the adults and they were like, oh my God, I'm like, just the act of scooping it is so much fun. And then when I make, when I do classes, especially with the body scrubs, I had my first class, I had the recipe and I was all like, oh like freaking out about it. And then I just threw the recipe to the side. I'm like, listen, this is all about consistency that you like.
20:28I'm like, this is the basis and  these scoops that I got, these wooden scoops, I did the big glass containers. So all of it feels good, like holding the scoop in your hand, like scooping the sugar out. I'm like, just dump it all in and then it's like making um a sand castle. I'm like, get your hands in there and you get the consistency of like, think when you're on the beach and you squeeze that sand and you're like, all right, that's enough water so it will be able to mold.
20:58I'm like, that's how we get with the sugar scrubs and just make a mess. I always say everybody gets all nervous.  Even when I'm pouring soap, like if people are helping me and it spills, I'm like, listen, soap is the easiest thing in the world to clean up. Let it dry, scoop it, boom, done. I'm like, don't worry about it. don't, I go through, it's like a tidal, like a tidal wave of stuff everywhere. I'm done.  Yeah. I feel like when everybody got tablets and smartphones and stuff,
21:28We all were so enamored with this thing that we just basically touch with our fingers that we lost sight of the actual needing to play and make things. Exactly. They don't do anything. You don't even write anymore.  And now, now people are coming back around to, yeah, it's fun to create stuff with actual physical things. Yes. Yes. And we paint soap too.
21:54It was one of the first classes I had. I'll do like the, like just like a vanilla scent and like, just the plain. So it's just white.  But I'll do fancy molds and then we'll take the mica powder and then they paint it. And it's like,  you should have seen mine. I'm like, I'm not doing these classes anymore. I have a girlfriend who's like really good with this. And  my customers were amazing.  Like when they paint this, it's like.
22:18a work of art. Mine looked like toddler, like just stamping paint on this thing was terrible. And these women, they get so excited when they're doing it. It's so much fun to watch all of it. Just get messy. Like you said, you get messy and it's okay to get messy. And it's fun to be messy sometimes.  Absolutely. um
22:40We  used to make candles. We haven't made candles in a while, but my husband was the candle maker because I do not like dealing with hot wax. I've burned myself before. don't love it.  And so he would pour the  wax from the pitcher into the candle jars. And the first time he did it, he was like, oh, I just drip wax on the table. And I was like, it's wax. It'll dry. Just use a spatula and scrape it out.
23:07And he was like, won't that scrape the table? said, not if you use the uh plastic spatula or  pancake flipper or whatever they're calling it now.  And he was like, oh, and so now  if he's in a hurry, he just like  across the jars and he wastes some of the wax, but not much.  And I said,  you know, if you scoop that up and put it in a container, I can just melt it down and we can keep the  different.
23:35waxes for candles for us. what I do for the soap. Yes.  And he was like, Oh yeah, we're gonna throw it away. And I said, well, I'd rather not.  Waste not, want not.  Yeah. And especially when it's the coffee scented candles, because I love coffee. so, so he did, he spilled, he spilled quite a bit of coffee wax one time and I was like, do not throw that away.  I have to send you  our coffee bean oil, actually the customer that
24:04came up with this for me. So funny. She brought a jar in. It was like I have I'm like a hound dog with my nose. terrible. It's good, but it's not. And she was like, Can you replicate this? And I did. And she's like, she loves it. She buys like two of them like I swear once a month. It's like it's hysterical. I was like, you. I'm like my problem like the worst business owner. I'm like, this will take last you forever. All you need is one. But it's I again, I can't just truthful.
24:33but I have this forbidden bean oil  and  the body sugar scrub and cream and she loves it. It smells so good. If you like coffee, I'll send you that.  Oh, that would be lovely. Yeah, you'll love it. It's so good. And I make it with like my my coffee beans, the grinds. So it's really good. Well, you'll like this story then. uh My kid needed some  lotion for his face.
25:00because he was using  some stuff on his face that was drying his skin out. And the doc said use some face lotion. And I didn't have any of my favorite, which used to be Burt's Bees.  And so I was like, there must be a recipe for a lotion you can use on your face  on Google that I can make. And there was,  and it called for uh raw cocoa butter.  And I'm all for that, that's cool.
25:28And it didn't really come out.  It was a lotion  and then it actually hardened up and now it's more like a salve. Yes. But what I didn't know is that raw cocoa butter actually smells like chocolate. I had no idea. Really? Yeah. So anytime we use that for hands, face, elbows, feet, doesn't matter. It's good for everything.  All you can smell for about 10 minutes is just like hot chocolate and it smells amazing. smells like Hershey Park. Yeah.
25:58And  I am okay with it. I don't like to use it on my face because I don't want that smell right up in my nose, but on my hands. Oh my God. It's lovely. Oh, in the winter I can imagine too. Yup. So that's the other part of making things is that sometimes you discover that a thing that you were making because you needed it is actually just fun. It's true. It's true. And then, and I, my customers too, I have so many
26:25things in my shop that I never thought I would make like  not once did it ever cross my mind.  And I like my I love these this these people that come in this community like it's they are amazing. ah I've got I put in like sea moss like facial clean like cleansers and like all that stuff. But tallow.  I never wanted to get into tallow it takes so long to make it's exhausting.
26:54I never ever thought I would use that because I'm like, no,  no, I don't want it on my face.  I use that for me. The magic number is like every other day, every two days. So it doesn't for me. I always say every body is different. So it for some might not work for others, but, especially within my store, I have a lot of products that do all the same things, but you just have to find what fits for you. But that tallow, I am obsessed.
27:24I'm like, can't,  does, it is for me, like a little on the, obviously, because of what it is, the greasier side, but  my skin now loves it. It absorbs perfectly. And I have this like dewy, youthful look. I'm like, oh my God, I'm like, damn that tallow.  So, and I fly,  I feel bad because, you know, it takes a long time to make a little bit. So I try to like stay up on it, but I was out for a while and I put it all back on the shelf and
27:54came right off. Wow. Yeah, tallow is a big thing right now. I don't do that. I haven't gotten into that at all. I should. I've got like 20 pounds of beef fat in my freezer right now. Oh, well, you know what? I'll put a little sample in there because then if you love it, then you can start making it. Yeah, you're like somebody's got to like get because me I would have never until like I was almost forced to and I was like, OK, I'll try it. So yeah.
28:23Yep. have melted down raw beeswax from the hive and done candles with that. And that's not nearly as hard as tallow. Tallow takes more work. Do you find with the beeswax, because I put the beeswax in my tallow because it was, you know, to make it like thicker. I melted it down. did the whole, you know, my science project looking thing  and I, the one I have at home. So I have not put beeswax in since that. So maybe you could give me a trick for this.
28:53but it all went right back to the beads, no matter what I did. So I didn't know how to break it down. I'm like, thought I broke it down as I was supposed to, but then when it all came back together, the little, I guess, beeswax beads came, which is fine, it still breaks down, but I have to work it with my fingers first before I put it on.
29:18Okay, the only suggestion I can give you is do not buy the beeswax beads ever again.  Get  honeycomb that is from an actual hive. Okay. Because I  don't know how they make the beeswax beads, but I hate them. We bought some and I will not use them. I used like a half a bag. We bought two bags and  they're sitting. They're too. I used it the one time and I'm like, nope, nope, never again.
29:48Yep. I just,  there must be somebody who keeps bees in New Jersey that is nearby that you can talk to and ask if you can have, it's basically the caps from the honeycomb when they, when they get the honey out. Okay. And you just melt it down in water and the wax floats to the top. All the impurities go to the bottom and you just peel the wax out when it cools down.  Thank you.
30:15So don't,  if you want good beeswax, get it from the real bees. Okay. Yes. And we do. We have a bunch of them, a local here. So I will reach out to them. Yep. And your whole house will smell so good because there is still honey in that wax.  Oh, that sounds amazing.  Oh, when I did it, oh everybody in my neighborhood could smell the honey. Really?  Yeah. That's awesome.
30:43Yeah, my neighbor called me when she got home from work. said, what are you cooking? I said, I'm not cooking anything. Come on over. She came over and she's like, what is that? And I said, that is raw  beeswax from  the caps from the hives from Joe,  who I got it from.  And she was like, oh my God, it smells like you are making mead. I said, I wish I was making mead. That's amazing. So.
31:08Anyway, I try to keep these to half an hour. This has been a lovely discussion. Andrea, where can people find you?  I  am um online at the Forbidden Farm and Cafe. Excuse my website. It's a work in progress. When I get time, I will get to that.  Facebook, Instagram, and we are in Vineland, New Jersey.  Fantastic. As always, people can find me at atinyhomesteadpodcast.com.
31:36And if you'd like to learn some of the things that Andrea and I have been talking about, I have a Patreon.  It's patreon.com slash atinyhomestead.  Andrea, thank you so much for your time. I appreciate it. Thank you. This was amazing. Very hot, like eye opening. I appreciate you.  Oh, I appreciate you too.  Have a great day. Thank you.  Bye. Bye.
 

Bright Acres Homestead

Today I'm talking with Jenn at Bright Acres Homestead. 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 Jen at Bright Acres Homestead in Florida. Good morning, Jen. How are you? Good morning, Mary. Well, thanks. How about yourself? Well, I'm good.  I have a runny nose that's been driving me crazy. Oh, yes. And so if I'm sniffly, that's why. ahh How is the weather in Florida this morning?
00:29It is doing all right. We've had some really nice cooler mornings lately, but  by midday it's back in the  90s.  It's crazy. The swings are crazy.  Yeah. Where are you in Florida? We are just south of Tallahassee,  right on the Gulf.  Okay. Yep. So you get the ocean breezes.
00:49I kind of feel like the Gulf of Mexico or Gulf of America, whatever you want to call it these days, is like a dust bowl  for allergies. Okay. Yeah.  It's kind of wild. It's different than living on the East Coast for sure.  Yeah.  My parents still live in Maine. I grew up in Maine and my dad is always talking about how the winters are so much warmer now  because of number one, global warming. But number two, because of global warming, the oceans are staying warmer so they get the
01:20the insulation of the warmth of the ocean in the wintertime. And every time he explains this to me, I'm like, you've told me this a thousand times. And he's like, yes. And I'm like, I still don't quite understand how it works.  And he said, does anybody really understand how nature works? And I'm like, no, if we did, I would be much richer.
01:39Um,  is, it is overcast in Minnesota again this morning and we were fog locked for the second day this morning. could not see more than eighth of a mile down the road and my husband had to go to work and I was like, please be careful. Please. Yes. Yes. Completely understandable. Do not want to lose that man. And, and, and every time it gets foggy like this, I'm like, please don't let somebody hit him or please don't let him hit somebody. Oh, I totally understand the fog.
02:08It happens here too, especially like down the road from us, because there's such a change between we're right near  what we the Springs. And so like the Springs are, you know, the river runs through town and  it's much cooler. And then you have like the Gulf, which is very warm. And so it creates like this, I don't know what you want to call it, but like this tunnel where the two collide and the fog is crazy. um So it's kind of wild.
02:35Yeah, I don't like it. I really don't. I like to be able to see a mile away. It makes me happy. I want to take a moment before we dive in to thank you and all my other guests that have been on the show and my listeners because this podcast is one of my favorite things I've ever done and I appreciate everyone's time so much. I love that. Happy to be here. Good. I'm happy to have you. So tell me a little bit about yourself and Bright Acres Homestead and I love the name.
03:05Oh, thank you. um So we  see my husband and I, guess way back before we even knew each other, always both really loved farms.  I remember my parents used to tease me at some point I'd live on a farm and I'd have all the things. um And my husband also felt the same way.  His family kind of grew up that way.  A lot of canning and  they've lived in Florida before it was even a state  way back in the day.  so
03:33There's a lot of tradition there. And so between the two of us, after we met, we always had this dream of, let's do it. And so we're kind of living that dream. We both have real jobs on the side, of course. And so I should say real jobs for most of the time. This is the on the side deal, but it's been pretty incredible. We have 27 acres and we have 11 cows and five.
04:00pigs  and we garden pretty much year round in Florida as possible. so, um you know, having three to four gardens a year, depending on the season um and just really enjoying,  you know, living off the land and all the things that come with it. um It's been pretty awesome, especially for our kids,  for them being able to have responsibilities outside and see that, you know, working hard is, has fruits of labor, right? um
04:28with all the things that we put on our plates at dinner and that we're able to offer up as gifts or  just started selling in our shop, which is pretty cool. Okay. Thank you.  I have a very specific question. even wrote it down on a notebook so I wouldn't forget.  planted Roselle plants? Oh yeah.  What are they? What is that? So Roselle, it's a Roselle hibiscus. It's a type of  flowering plant.
04:57And after it flowers,  it produces ah what's called a calyx,  which is fruit.  And inside the fruit is a seed pod,  but the fruit itself is edible. uh It makes  tea, really good tea. um A lot of the tea blends that you find out there, if they say hibiscus, it's made from roselle.  It's in one of my personal favorites, uh the lemon zinger tea. ah
05:25from celestial seasonings. Roselle is actually in that mix as well. So it's kind of neat. had no idea. And this is the other reason I love my podcast because pretty much every episode I record, learned something new, but I didn't know the hibiscus produced a fruit. had no idea. I thought that the hibiscus tea came from the petals, but I guess not.
05:50No, yeah, it's actually really interesting. And there's many different types of hibiscus, right? Like you have like your tropical hibiscus, which are,  you know, the big yellow and pink and purple flowers, and they don't do the same thing.  It's a different variation as the roselle hibiscus. Okay. Well, thank you very much.  I had no idea and I love it when I learn new things.  I have got to know itis. That's what my dad calls  it. I love that.
06:18or otherwise known as perpetual curiosity. fantastic. All right. So I have, I have other questions.  How do your animals do with the high heat in Florida? Yeah, they actually do pretty decent. They all have shade  and there's plenty of tree hammocks out there. And,  um, we,  um, we had for a while until some of the trees got larger. um
06:43You know, those sun sails.  so they just really enjoyed hanging out under there. They,  it's amazing how much water  they can go through in a single day,  trying to keep themselves hydrated and whatnot, but  they actually do all right. It was kind of funny too. It snowed in January here in Florida. And so they had like the polar opposite  in terms of temperature. And they actually did really well in that too. So I think, you know, the breeds that we have are pretty hardy.
07:11Um,  especially for heat and drought. Um, but yeah, they, tend to make it work for themselves.  What breed of cows do you have? So we have,  um, two Sharlea.  Um,  we have one, she is  a,  um,  Thailand black Angus mix. Um, she's my pet. Her name is Flora. She, she is a bottle baby. Um, and then we have,  um, red limousine.
07:41And our bull Bruno, he is a Brahma, Brahma tiger stripe mix. He's an F, he's an F1. He's like first generation and he's pretty handsome. bet. Yeah, he's striped. He's got like zebra stripes. Like he's really cool looking. Okay. So do you have the cows for milk? Do you have them for meat? Do you have them for both? Yeah, they're mainly for meat and
08:10Uh, we're selling babies,  um, once they're weaned.  Um, we haven't actually had to bottle feed any of our babies.  Um,  when I bought Flora, um, she was a bottle baby when we got her.  Um, but all of our mothers have been producing well. And so, um, all the babies are growing up big and strong and, um, taking care of themselves. So yeah, they're for market and, and for meat consumption. oh Do you use any of the milk from the mama's for yourself?
08:40No.  Okay.  Cool. um The Brahma  breed. That's the one that looks like it's naked. It looks like it doesn't have any hair, right? Well, I guess. mean, Bruno looks like he has hair because he has stripes. ah But I do know what you're talking about. They have the longer ears. Yes. Ears that kind of hang down. um And a lot of them have a hump. Yep. That's the other thing I was going to mention. Yeah. Yeah. They're from
09:10Is it  Africa? India? India. Yeah. So I thought okay.  Yeah. And I hear that they're really docile. But is that not true? Oh, no, it's true. He is he doesn't realize how big he is. And honestly, it's kind of scary because, you know, he loves to like lean against the fence and he loves headpats and whatever, but he's huge.  So,  you know, it can be em it can be a little concerning  when he decides he wants to be lovey.
09:38Um, cause, cause of his size. He's aggressively affectionate. He's aggressively affectionate. Yeah. And yes, very loving. We had a barn cat for a couple of years, female, and she showed up here as a six month old stray and she fell in love with my son who still lives with us. And she was aggressively friendly from the very start. Like she would sit on his shoulder and lick his ears. I love it. Yep. So I am very familiar.
10:08with aggressively affectionate. Yes. And I think like the pets that find you  are just a different breed. Like they really are. Like  we, I've had multiple cats um that have found me  and Lucky, our current barn cat, she, found her in the middle of a road.  Some truck almost ran me off the road trying to avoid her. And so I stopped and I picked her up and I took her home and she's still here.  And she is that way. Like she doesn't have all the good manners.
10:37that they typically learn from mom. But she is affectionate and she loves to chew on your finger, oddly enough. Yeah, we're so sad because the one I was mentioning, she disappeared. We don't know if she got hit by a car or she went to a neighboring farm or where she went. But she had three litters in the two years that she was here and she was such a good mama. And I really miss this cat. I mean, she's a barn cat, but I miss her. She was so pretty. was a long
11:06very long-haired calico cat.  Oh, how pretty.  and she was my son's best friend for a while. he was like, I said, are you sad that she's gone? And he was like,  well, we still have the black cat that the Humane Society said we would never be able to pet. And he's pretty friendly. So I'm OK. I was like, OK.  That counts for something. Yeah, for sure. Yes,  it's so funny. We adopted him, um God, four years ago now. And they swore up and down.
11:36that we would never be able to pet this cat.  They swore he was aggressively feral.  They had a hard time vetting him, trying to give him his shots and check out his health and get him neutered. He scratched the hell out of people. oh They warned us when we got him to wear gloves when we let him out of the kennel the second day when you're supposed to. m
12:02And  that cat has been nothing but nice and friendly since about a month after he got here. Yeah. So he took him a little time to adapt and then he realized you guys are friends. And he was like, okay, I guess I'm It's all right. Yeah. And he loves our dog. So  it all worked out, but  they were so worried that he was going to hurt us. And I was just like,  I think we got it covered. think it'll be okay. oh
12:31All right, so I saw that you make jellies and they're gorgeous. Tell me about your jellies. Thank you. um Dan's family has always made jellies and Dan and I picked that up years ago. um And we used to just make them for ourselves and we give them as gifts. And then  people were like, you should start selling them. So we've started selling them. um But I love different flavors. I don't like  just the regular apple or, know,
12:59grape, even though I make a mustard and grape, uh pretty much you can make jelly out of anything, right? So I have a lot of plant based jellies. have like rose petal and camellias, which are flowers and ah dandelion, which is one of my personal favorites. It's a bright yellow, just like all those bright yellow flowers you see on the side of the road. And it tastes like honey. It's truly like sunshine in a jar. Like it's delicious. uh And then  we grow a lot of things in the garden that we use. So
13:29have a bunch of different jalapeno varieties. um Jalapeno pineapple is probably my favorite out of all of them.  It's delicious with like a pork chop or um chicken. It just gives it a  nice flavor. um But yeah, all the different berries, we grow our own fruit. So we have close to 80 fruit trees.  Yeah.  And so whatever is coming in season, we're using for um
13:59for whatever we're making, which is pretty great.  What kind of fruit trees do you have? Oh, we have so many pears and those just finished producing for this year. So that was pretty exciting.  So pears and plums, peaches, um apple,  persimmons,  fig,  pomegranate, which those are so sad.
14:24So my pomegranates, just they produce pomegranates, but the fruit just never makes it to maturity. So  I don't know, I'm going to have to do a little bit more research on how best to feed them,  because I think they need a little extra something.  But a whole bunch of different things, for sure.  Nice. I had to look up the definition of an orchard the other day. I have an article coming out in  Homestead Living Magazine.
14:53They're going to every, they were every month and now they're going to be every two months. And so it's either November or December, I don't know how they've got it set up. And  my editor said to me, she said, so you said you have fruit trees, do you have an orchard? And I had to look it up because I thought an orchard was like hundreds of trees.  It is not. If you have five fruit trees, you have an orchard. Oh, well, there you go.
15:20We have 20, so we have an orchard. We have a small orchard, I love it. I  love it.  And then my husband, I was telling him this, said, did you know we have a small orchard? And he said, no, we don't. And I said, by definition, we do. And I read it to him and he was like,  oh, he said, not only do we have an apple orchard, he said, we have a fruit orchard. And I said, we do. And he said, yeah, we have wild plum, we have um alderman plum.
15:49We have  two peach trees,  we have  wild black raspberries.  He said, we have an actual orchard. That's amazing. I love that. We both just laughed because we had no idea that we were by definition growing an orchard. I think my husband always said we had an orchard and I was like, I don't know, babe. I don't think we have enough.  You do. You absolutely do.  So for sure, that's awesome.
16:17And the other reason it's so funny to us is because our acreage is 3.1 acres and we have a small orchard on 3.1 acres. I love it. That's so cool though. Just laughed ourselves stupid. It's the best laugh we've had in probably a year. I was like, wow, that felt good. So it's exciting. I don't know about you, but I absolutely love everything we do on our property. The garden, the fruit trees, the berries.
16:47the cats, the dog, the chickens. I mean, there are days where I'm like, man,  did we do the right thing? But every morning when I get up and get my coffee  and sit on the porch and watch the world wake up and listen to the chickens start  making noises, we don't have a rooster, so we don't have a crow,  but we hear them  clucking to each other. And I just,  have this  amazing sense of peace in the morning.
17:16So what about you? How do you feel about it? Yeah,  I think it  is very rewarding. It's very peaceful. It's kind of like our own slice of paradise, I guess, right? Like just all the things that we enjoy.  it is. It's a lot of work. But I feel grateful um that we're able to  be so self-sustaining, um you know, and to be able to share that  with people.
17:46in so many different ways. um I just think that is  one of the coolest parts of it.  And I love it for my kids, like for them to have autonomy, right? To be able to go outside and to have independence  and um to go over and pet the animals and, you know, to go over and pick whatever they want and eat it off the tree. Like, I just think that is  super special and such a tribute, right, to um so many generations before us.
18:15Yeah, and your kids know where their food comes from. Yes. And it's so important. I,  every time I hear a little kid say that milk and eggs come from the grocery store,  I have to bite my tongue. I have to think before I speak. And I have to look at the parents and say, can I share something with your child?
18:44And I say it really nicely and with as genuine a smile as I can. And they say about, and I say about where milk and eggs come from. And they go, sure. And  I explained to them that I grew up in the state of Maine and my  grandpa's friends down the road  had a dairy farm  and milk actually comes from cows.  And I explained that we have chickens and that eggs actually come from chickens.  And  kids look at me like I'm crazy.
19:14And then they start asking questions and that's my favorite part so I can like educate them  about how that works.  And I have never had a parent get mad at me for explaining it ever. Yeah, I can see. I mean, it  makes you wonder if parents even understand truly the cycle of that part of it, right? Like,  you know, that there are large, large farms, right, that are producing and they're sending it to the store, but it goes through all this process before it makes it there, right? What is it like?
19:43just for it to be next door. Yeah. think there's a lot of that missing. Yep. I can remember drinking milk at my grandpa's friend's house the first time. I think I was probably six. I don't remember much before I was six years old.  And um B,  I used to call her Aunt B. She wasn't actually related to us in any way, but she was so close to the family that that was what I called her.  Loved this woman. Like every time I think about her, my heart gets big.
20:10And she asked me if I wanted some milk with the cookies she made. And I was like, sure. And she poured me milk from a pitcher, you know, as last pitcher from the refrigerator. And I remember taking a bite of cookie, swallowing the cookie and taking a sip of that milk and saying, what is this? Yes, it's so different. It's so good. She said, Mary Evelyn, it's milk. And I said, um, it is. And she said, yeah.
20:38And I said, where did you get it? And she said, from the cows in the barn that you met last year. And I'm like, oh, from the babies? And she's like, well, not babies anymore, but yes. And  I said, um why does it taste so different from the milk in the fridge at home? And she said, because it's right from the cow. And she very carefully explained to me about pasteurization and how they pull the cream  off and blah, blah, blah.  I was six.
21:08And I said, oh, I said, can you send some of this milk home with my mom and dad? And she was like, of course, sweetie, I can.  And so we had fresh cow milk for about three days because the other two siblings wanted it too. I was so bummed. I'm sure.  It's like that was mine. So to this day, when I can get my hands on fresh milk, I am all over it. It's so  good. It is so good. And it's so different. I  don't know,  even cooking with it just completely changes the taste.
21:38Yeah, and wouldn't you wouldn't think that it would be that huge a difference, but it really truly is.  Um, so you were saying that when you started making your jellies that friends were like, you should sell these. I have, I have some thoughts on that whole thing.  Making, making and selling a product is completely different than putting your heart and soul into a small batch and giving it as gifts. It's expensive to produce for sale.
22:08And we did it for a year and we do a little bit of it now, but we do not sell  handmade goods as much as we used to because it is so expensive to source the ingredients. Yeah. I think,  um,  there isn't much that we have to buy, right? Like we have to buy the jar  and  you know, we'll buy pectin, but sometimes we don't need it because we will have had some from whatever it was that we picked.
22:37Right. Like some things have natural pectin, so there's no need for anything there.  Um, you know, and then there's the sugar and, know, lemon juice is easy to come by,  um, just from our own personal trees.  Um, so, I mean,  I, think it came out to like,
22:57$25, $50 to  craft a jar  of jelly. If you sell them for  $8 at  a local market, that's not bad.  Selling online, you have to add in shipping and whatever the fees are. The margin is not, we're not going to get rich, but  it's a really good retirement plan.
23:26at some point in the future. um And I just,  I enjoy it, I think really, like, there's so much more to it than just, hey, I'm gonna make this and I'm gonna sell it. It's what can I craft out of this that's different that someone might enjoy? Right? Like, I feel like that's more of what where it is like where we're at. um I don't know, I just I
23:52My husband and I both, he's like the pickle master. That is like his all time favorite thing to produce. um And they're not really that hard to do. m
24:06I mean, yeah, we're not  we can't quit our day jobs, right? em But I find that there is
24:14It's a very self-rewarding task. It's a selfish act that becomes a selfless act. You are self-rewarding in the fact that you enjoy it, but you are being selfless in getting it out to other people. Yeah. That's a good way to think about it. Yeah. There are so many times where I feel so selfish about the things that I get to do and that I want to do.
24:43And then when I share it with people, like, but it's not selfish because I'm sharing it with other people. Yes. And so it takes some of staying out of that immediate thought of this is selfish. I should be spending my time doing something else.  So yeah, it's, it's a weird dichotomy when it comes to that. But the reason, the reason I said that it can be expensive to produce to sell is  if you have all of the things available to you that you already own,
25:11to produce the thing you're producing, then  it's probably way less expensive because you already got it. But in our case, we had friends,  we started making homemade soap years ago because store-bought soap made my skin itch.  And I had bought a  bar of um cold-processed lye soap at a Renaissance festival, and it was handcrafted, and after I used it, my skin didn't itch.
25:37And I was like, can we try making soap? And my husband was like, yes, let's do it. And so we made some and we gave soap for Christmas presents. And people were like, can we, can you make more? Can we buy it from you? And that's all well and good, except that the stuff to make it doesn't exactly grow, you know, here. And so we ended up having to sell bars of soap at the time for $5 a bar. And that was on the low end. And.
26:06Now we're selling them for seven, I think, when we make them. And that is way less than what it costs us to make them, but no one's going to pay $20 a bar for a bar. they're just not going to. the reason I bring this up is because most everyday Americans don't know what it costs someone who is hand making a product. They have no idea what it costs that person to do that.
26:36the money and the time  and  the oopses that happen.  We've tossed batches of soap in the trash because we something wrong.  so it is all well and good to be passionate about something and enjoy doing it. And if it makes sense for you, then yeah, produce it and sell it and make people happy. But you don't have to sell the thing that you love to make. Very true. No, that's very true.
27:06So it's been,  it's been pretty awesome to be able to share very Florida esque things  with people across the country. Right. Like  my Etsy shop, I do shipping for my Etsy shop. And it's been incredible to share with people things that grow here, right. That maybe don't grow there.  Yeah.  I've had a lot of people reach out that it was very interesting earlier this year, someone there was an article or news.
27:35news, something in the news about Redbud Jelly in Ohio.  And within three days of that, like I was out of Redbud Jelly because everybody from Ohio bought it because they were interested in what it was because of some news segment, you know, so  it's just been interesting to me to, to be able to share it. it's, I don't know, it's just, it's, it's a different, it's a different thing, right? I mean, we've always done it for ourselves. So I guess
28:05You know, we have everything to be able to produce it.  Um, that is just making a little extra, right? To be able to pass it on. Yes. I think I'm going to learn another new thing from you. What is redbud jelly? I don't even know what it is. Oh, red buds,  um, flowers.  Um, they're spring flowers on a redbud tree. Okay. Um, and you pick the flowers and then you pretty much process them like any other  flower. Like you make a tea.
28:33out of them and then you use the tea um to make jelly. Okay, cool. What does it taste like?
28:43I don't know, it's different. um
28:47It's florally. It's got a little bit of lime, I think, to it. I don't know, it's red. It's a very pretty red color,  like a dark pinkish red. um I don't know.  They all taste different. It's hard to explain.  Well, that's fine. I'll just have to find a jar sometime and try it. for sure. A friend of mine, years ago, she was visiting my house where we used to live.
29:15And my neighbor right next door had these hostas that bloomed pure white, not purple, white. And she was like, can I take some of those hosta buds home? Do you think your neighbor would share? And I was like, let me check. And my neighbor was, is generous to a fault. And she was like, yeah, how many do you need? And my friend said, she said, can I get like a gallon size Ziploc bag of them?
29:44And my friend had a whole buttload of these plants.  She said, grab a bag  from Lynn, my nickname is Lynn.  she said, come over and pick what you want.  And so my friend went home and she made Hosta flour jelly.  And she actually mailed me a jar because she wasn't going to be down to visit for a while.  And it mostly tasted like lemon and honey because that was part of the recipe.  But there was definitely this beautiful um
30:14floral note to it. And I know that people make jasmine jelly. Yes. And it was as close to jasmine jelly as I think I've ever tasted. It was really nice. So it's kind of amazing the things that you don't think of as food that actually are food. Yes. Oh, 100%. I think that's the most fascinating part of it, right? Like just what can you eat that you don't normally think of eating or ingesting?
30:41And honestly, like the benefits of a lot of those things are pretty amazing. Like  most flowers have a very high content vitamin C and  D. even when you cook them down,  know, there's some of that is still there. So it's, it's kind of a really cool, really cool thing. Yeah. There are just, there's so many things. And when I started the podcast, my husband said,  aren't you going to run out of things to talk about? Aren't you going to get bored? And I just giggled.  I said,
31:10I said Google homesteading and he pulled out his phone and he did. And I said, how many results does it say? And he's like millions. I said, yeah, we're going to get tired talking about this ever. And thank God I get to talk to people who like you who teach me about things like Roselle hibiscus plant and red bud jelly because I didn't know about either of those when I woke up this morning. have something else I can share with you that I think you'll be like, what is that? So tell me.
31:40One of the other things that I really enjoy making are different vinegars.  So like vinegar is acidic, but it's an awesome probiotic. And so I have so many of those  in  different states, right? Of,  of fermenting.  Um, one of my favorites and one of my  best sellers is fig vinegar. Oh, Made from the fig leaves. So it has like this coconutty vanilla taste to it. It's incredible.
32:10It is so good. Like a Greek salad with a little bit of feta cheese and some tomatoes and mix it with a little bit of olive oil. Oh man, it is delicious. Do you sell it? Yes. My husband's gonna kill me because I'm gonna have to look and maybe try to convince him to buy some. He's the one with the jobby job. So anything that I want to buy, always kind of run it by.
32:41Because I respect him. works his ass off to keep us fed and housed. think that I need to ask before I buy things.  And hopefully someday the podcast will make me money and I can be like, um, I spent $20 of my money on vinegar and he'll laugh.  All right. I try to keep these to half an hour. We are past that by two minutes, almost three.  So where can people find you?  Um, you can find us on Etsy. We are bright acres homestead.
33:11And we also have a website, brightacreshomestead.com.  And your Bright Acres Homestead on Facebook. you on Instagram too? We  are. Yes. Although my husband is our social media man. And so he pretty much mans the Facebook and he's in charge of posts.  But yeah, find us out there. We just hit 3000 um followers this week. So that was super exciting. um And I'm looking forward to seeing where this goes.  sure.
33:40Congratulations on 3,000. I think I have maybe 800 followers on my Facebook page. Maybe you'll get some traction with this.  I am always looking for traction with the podcast every day, every waking moment, and sometimes sleeping moments too. Sometimes I dream about the podcast. ah I had a question.  Oh, do you guys have a YouTube channel?  No.
34:04But I'm thinking maybe that's something we'll do in the future. We have definitely kicked around  the idea of doing classes um for like lot of our local folks um and probably videoing them and putting them up on a YouTube channel.  So I think that is definitely the next phase um of something that we want to be able to do. That would be so much fun and so good for people to learn. um
34:33As always, people can find me at AtinyHolmsteadPodcast.com and  go check out my Patreon, P-A-T-R-I can't talk,  PATREON.com slash Atiny Homestead. um Jen, thank you for sharing your information with me. Thank you for teaching me two brand new things. I'm always amazed when I find out new things. It makes me so happy.  And I hope that you have a wonderful day. Thank you so much. Thanks for having us. All right. Bye.
 

Hairy Farmpit Girls

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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. Talking with Swan at Harry Farm Pit Girls. And if you laugh, that's okay. So did I.  And I know she's in the South somewhere. Where are you, Swan?  I am in Bowman, Georgia, which is just kind of,  um, East, uh, Athens, Georgia. Okay. Cool.  So it's the northeast corner of Georgia.  All right.
00:29That makes a lot of sense. That helps. How's the weather there this morning? I think that we're going to get into the mid 80s. So, you know, it's a little warm. It hasn't actually been too bad. I think it's probably about 70 something right now. So it's the delightful time of day. Give it about another hour and we'll be scorched again. Well, how cool do you guys get in January? Well, we have a little pond on our property and in January and
00:58February in the summer upon freezes all the way over. Um, I'm not willing to walk out to the middle of it, but I can stand on the sides.  Um, so it gets to, I think about we've only been here for about four and a half years, but it gets to the twenties and the teens a little bit.  Um,  just a few times, but for the most part, we, during the day, we typically stay at the coldest above snowing temperature. Okay. Awesome. I just, I've never been further south than, uh,
01:29I think Maryland. So I have no idea what it's like in the south in the wintertime. I don't think anybody's ever considered Maryland south.  it's not, but that's as far south as I've ever gotten, you know, in the United States. So the weather here in Minnesota this morning  is cool and overcast to the point that we are actually fog locked on my property. can't see an eighth of a mile away.  Oh, wow. Wow. That's incredible.
01:58Yep, my son calls it uncanny valley when this happens because it makes you feel like you're the only person on earth.
02:07My son, whenever we have a foggy morning, which we don't really have right now in this time of year, but he calls it, he's five. So he says it's froggy outside and we have always uh decided to never correct him from saying, from calling fog frog. So he says it's froggy or he can't see through the frog outside. So.  Oh yeah. We call it froggy. We also call, we also call humidity humdidity.
02:35We call it a humidititty. It's the South. Yup. And there's one other I was thinking of when you brought that up. And of course it's gone because I have over 50 brain and I think of things that are funny and then by the time I get to say them out of my mouth, they're out of my brain and I can't find them again. I'll do that exact same thing and I have under 50 things. So. Yeah. It's just, I think it's just the way that we live now.
03:02Yeah, there's just too much information and your brain can't possibly sort it as fast as say AI can. Ugh. So  anyway, uh we've tried to do a podcast twice before and had terrible technical difficulties. So Swan is back for the third time, hopefully the charm,  so that we can actually talk with Swan about what she and her wife do in Georgia. So tell me a little bit about yourself and what you do Swan.
03:29All right, well, we have  a little 12 acre farm out here. um We are called the Harry Farfit Girls. And we started off just as we started off at a different farm  down in South Georgia.  Whenever we started building that farm, we had come from the city and we started building that farm.  I just started writing about it on social media, particularly on Facebook. um
03:53So just watch, letting people like kind of watch our journey. Cause I know that not everybody could do what we were doing. And so just wanted to share it and I didn't want to bog all of my other friends down with like 4,000 photos of chickens. So I figured out if the internet wanted to see 4,000 photos of chickens, they could come and see them all the time with a social media page. So at first I just started writing about it and then we got pretty popular cause I have a little bit of a sense of humor.
04:22So we added a product. started  raising goats and making goat milk soap and lotion and do with farmers markets and little shops around South Georgia. um And then we got more and more popular and we were able to buy a second farm up in North Georgia  and move all of our stuff to online.  So now we make soaps. m We make soap, goat milk soap still. But also um I've got a lot of people that just have gotten
04:49have fallen in love with our animals over the past decade. We've been sharing for a little over 10 years. Oh, it's actually going be 11 years in January. We've been sharing this journey for 11 years now. And so now we have patrons that support us every month, usually from three to 20 bucks a month. They pledge and my dog's a barking, but they pledge some money. And so we're able to our goats and take care of our animals.
05:16that support and this money that we make off of social media and just sharing about everything. So  everything that I post gets a couple bucks here and there  and we still sell  our solutions every day.  Nice. have learned recently that  the  system that you are doing where you make money from doing things online  and people get to enjoy the things that you're doing  is called value for value.
05:46I didn't know that term until like three weeks ago.  I knew what it meant. I just hadn't heard it put that way before. Yeah, there's a part that, I mean, people have gotten to feel like they know us over the past decade.  And I mean, I definitely feel like we know some of our fans, I guess you would call them as well.  But  it is a value for value system. like things like one of the things that I'm very into these days is crocheting and doing all sorts of things with.
06:15yarn and fibers and,  um, and I, it's crochet, if you're familiar with it, it's pretty hard to sell for as much work as you put into it. oh I am familiar. Yes. But my accountant, because I make money off of social media and just sharing things makes people happy. My accountant lets me write off all my yarn purchases and all of anything that I do that's fun that I talk about.  Um, I get to, you know, how our business.
06:43cover those expenses and  so what, while I might not be sharing or selling the sweater that I'm making, I get to um still make it and make it for that value that other people are seeing and sharing it. And one of the things that I've done over the past year or two is kind of move our page a little bit more towards the art side of things.  So where I encourage everybody to share their art and everybody to have their community around um our farm, but then also like our
07:12their own outside community. So I've built little places for eerie, far-fit girl followers to talk, interact with one another all over the place.  Nice.  Awesome.  So you've built an actual real community out of this and  I think that's what everybody's trying to do who's in this space. So one of the ways that I've done that is we have a Patreon. Are you familiar with Patreon?  Yes. I finally got mine set up after talking to you two years ago.  Excellent.
07:42So we have a patreon and that is a wonderful thing and one thing that we do um So we have just people that want to support us. So they pledge three dollars a month. I think that's our beginning  um Our beginning tier but once you go up to six dollars a month you get access to me almost all the time Um, so we have tuesday wednesday and thursday. We have patreon calls and we do a big zoom meeting  and I think this one or
08:09100 % tight that some of the people in our Patreon calls have become some of my best friends and closest friends.  So we talk face to face for two hours to sometimes five or six hours, three minutes a week. have text message chains. I've met a lot of them face to face. um And they've become like family. So, and then building that family and that kind of community, you know, where I have,  I have one group.
08:36Uh, that's like 3,500 people full that people can all interact with one another. While I might not always be able to be there, I've got moderators and it's a like little happy place on the internet. And so whether you want to be a small group or a little group, just Harry Farfitt girls, kind of know, you know, people aren't really going to find us that don't share some of the same values. So it's kind of a nice little fun place where you have a sense of humor. You're crafty, you're a little bit feral and you just.
09:06play around and you came together probably because of a story about a goat.  Yes. um You've told me the story twice already, but because the podcast episodes went into the ether,  I didn't get to put it out. So tell me about the goat, because you have a story about the first goat. um Oh, about Vincent being goat? Yes. Okay. So Vincent being goat.  And I know that you have a lot of people that kind of do home setting stuff that listen to you.
09:35So lot of them might know about buck goat behaviors. Um, Benson being goat was our very first intact buck goat. Got him as a baby, but he was going to be used for getting our other goats pregnant.  Benson has some proclivities that other buck goats share, but he also  is not, he's also extremely, extremely sweet and friendly. um, Vincent is a very limber goat.
10:04who has at times failed to get any of our other goats pregnant because he um likes himself as much as he likes female goats. So one of the ways, the first ways that I got popular was,  are you familiar with the goat mating call?  Sort of, kind of. uh I'm going to embarrass myself here and I don't know how it's going to come off on the podcast, but a goat mating call. Basically you stick out your tongue and you just go,  yes, yes. And it's really, really loud.
10:34So Vincent van Gogh lived with one of our donkeys named David Asselhoff and they began a romantic relationship and Vincent's face, Lynn, goes right up to David's. So I'm going to say it because I use this word all the time, his butt hole. So we started marketing something with Vincent Vingo called Screaming into Butt Holes.
10:58Um, because everything that he was doing rather than focusing on the girl groups, he was focusing on streaming into David's butthole  as well as some of his own limber issues. don't mean, I don't know what I can say on this podcast. Can I go all the way? No, no. I'm  just saying I'm going to, I'm going to self, uh, my fans will know what I'm talking about.  Um, and your fans can, you know, know about that.
11:26He was enamored with his own body parts. He was very enamored with his own body parts. Is that correct? Yes. Yes. To the point that because we make goat milk soap and to have goat milk soap, we have to have milk and to have milk, we have to have baby goats. Vincent was so enamored with himself and with a rototiller and they would ask a lot that he failed to get anybody pregnant or only one goat pregnant one year.
11:54So then we had to get another goat named Jack Goatbloom. um that's Vincent and his proclivities and his sweet face. is, most buck goats are not cute. Vincent is cute. Most buck goats are not sweet and personable. Vincent is so personable. He wants to be loved. He smells like an ammonia factory, but he loves love. um So he's kind of stolen the heart of everybody and kind of.
12:22launched us into that popular, over that hump of, you know, online farms being a mega popular online farm  that people follow and have just.
12:35watched this adventure go for so many years. So that's my story  of Vincent a little bit. a circuitous route to become famous. Yeah, there was also a vulture in my chimney involved and a little peacock. So  there have been quite a few times that I've gotten a little famous from some things. We've just, you having you're sitting at you're sitting on a farm.  These animals become your family  and just being able to use my
13:04I'm a writer, so just being able to put the things that I see into a fun and unique perspective has kind of helped everything move along and support us for the past, you know, 11 years that this is what we do. And that's pretty incredible. We don't sell anything other than goat milk soap and lip balm and stickers and stuff like that. But our online stuff, it's paper.
13:34for all of our stuff for that long.  Awesome. You mentioned lip balms and soaps. We make our own for us and we sell them at the farmers market.  the thing that I love about making lip balms and soaps is that we are never without lip balms and soaps. You know, you can say that.  I own a company that makes lip balms. We make lip balms by the hundreds and thousands sometimes.
14:02whatever we make some matches of lip balms,  I still can go into rooms of my house and  I'll be like, I don't have any lip balm anywhere. that's one thing. I know I'm never without soap, but I still manage to lose lip balm even though there's a good hundred tubes probably in this house and then in our studio, there's thousands. just try to find  that.
14:31I think the only room that doesn't have lip balm in it right now is my kitchen. I know there's lip balms in the bathroom drawers. I can see lip balms on my dresser in my bedroom, which is where I record. I know my son has three on his bedside table in his room. And I know there's like three bags of lip balms in our living room right now. It's very convenient. I imagine that north where you are, you definitely need an extra there.
14:59Oh yeah, we go through a lip balm like people go through uh chewing gum, guess. We'll use that as an analogy. um And the other thing about our lip balms, as long as they're not flavored or scented, you can use them as like for your dry elbows or your dry feet. Just make sure you know which ones you're using for that.
15:21Just one second. Is my dog barking bothering you? That's Sarah Jessica Barker and she has one volume. I can go move her if you'd like me to. didn't know if you can hear me or not. I can hear her and if you'd like to move her that would be fine. Okay, I'll be back in one minute. Let me just go toss her somewhere.
15:40Bye bye.
15:46Ready? back.  Sorry. Is she a big dog? Oh my goodness. I have so many dogs right now. So Sarah Jessica Barker  is a 70 pound lab mix. She's, I think she just turned, she just turned 10. We have five dogs right now. We also have a 13 year old terrier who's always itchy. And he's very stuck in his ways and it's the quietest one out here.  And his name is Lionel Itchy.  It's here. We got.
16:16puppies. So we decided, we have been discussing, we have a lot of coyotes out here. We've been discussing getting livestock dogs for a while  and Jen finally caved and was like, okay, let's do it. So we got a pair of Pyrenees mixes as puppies. Like we, we knew what they were  because they had been conceived. They were a combination of two of my different neighbors' And so we knew their parents and their grandparents and they were conceived right in front of our trash can.
16:46Nice.  So this was  a year and a half ago. So we were able to find  their mom dog. We were able to find her a better home and get her fixed and everything like that later on. But whenever we found her the better home,  she moved, they had moved up to Ohio and they contacted like us and they were like, hey, is there a chance that this dog is pregnant? And I was like, you know what, there is a chance. And if so, I am so sorry. uh also like, because I said, this was a
17:15neighbor's dog that came over to our house and, came over to another neighbor's house. And it was just kind of a community dog that one neighbor wasn't, was no longer interested in her.  So  I said, you know, if, if she is pregnant and if she has puppies, I'll actually take two of them because I would like to start livestock dogs from the start. And I knew that they were going to be Pyrenees Nixies. So they drove to that, at the pick of the letter, they drove these two dogs down from Ohio back to Georgia.
17:45Um, and so now I have two livestock dogs that decided that they are more comfortable in the house than on the couch. Um, eating shoes and couches and everything. Um, so now I have 120 pounds, um, male dog and about a 90 pound dog, uh, female dog, Marfa and Wolfess, um, that live in our house and Marfa.
18:11just chase a tractor down the street. So she's gone to make sure that that doesn't come to our property, I guess. um And then we have  back in April, we were driving to town and there were three little tiny black puppies that had been, they're about six months old, that had been dropped off in the middle of the road. And  I can't leave anything, so I scooped them all  up. By that weekend, um we were going to visit Jen's family who live up in uh
18:39Kokomo, Indiana. So we had to bring all three of these little puppies with us and a little pack and play like, you know, like we're baby sleeping. We brought that to her mom's house. m And I had somebody come over from Massachusetts and adopt one. It was one of my Harry Farbitt girl followers online.  Shout out to Erin and Lisa. Hey.  And then I had somebody come down from Minnesota.
19:08Um, as well and came down here. She drove down a couple of months ago  and adopted another one. And we still have one left. Her name is Donna. And we decided that we're going to keep her unless we could find her a perfect home. She doesn't, um, she doesn't necessarily do the best on a farm. She's the sweetest dog, but she kind of gets bullied around by the other bigger dogs and she's scared of them.  Um,  and she also wants to chase chickens and goats and stuff like that. Yeah.
19:37But we love her and we'll take care of her forever. And if anybody is interested, all they have to do is just reach out to Harry Farpett Girls on social media and  we can hook you up with the world's sweetest little puppy. we have her. So we have five dogs.  And her name is uh Donatella Versace.  I love all the names you come up with.  Thanks. Everybody's a pun out here.
20:02Yeah, we have a dog and her name is Maggie. It's not anything funny.  just, well, maybe it is.  I lied. um I have this thing where I am not the most Christian girl ever, but I really like names from the Bible. Okay.  And  I don't know why, but I was thinking of Mary of Magdalene when we decided we were going to get a puppy and if we got a female.
20:28I wanted a name or Maggie because of Mary of Magdalene and I'm like, I'm Mary Magdalene. Whatever you say. And my husband was like, what is your obsession with, with biblical names? He said, you're not even, you don't even go to church. And I was like, I don't know. There's just really neat names in the Bible.  You know, sometimes you just get a theme and you just kind of go with it. Like I have some friends that name all of their animals, like just really blunt human names, like Ligery and stuff like that. Yeah. And for me, I do most things.
20:58based on celebrities or politicians or somewhere along there. I have just, everybody gets a pun and musicians and everything like that. So I have the puns, but go with your theme. If you like all the biblical names, go with it. I have a chicken out in the yard, a rooster, who, whenever he was a little, I hatched him from my own eggs. Whenever he was a little chick, he used to always stand in the water bowl. So I would say he walks in water. So of course, you know.
21:27I had to name a one thing, but then I decided just to put a little bit of a spin on it. So that way I wasn't going around calling him Jesus all the time. So his name is Jesus.  He is about nine, nine years old now, I think. And he's still doing this thing and rocking it, but he's got the best little rooster or huge rooster. Um, so yeah, I get it. So, so I have my own biblical name.
21:51The thing that really got me is that my son, my youngest still lives with us. He's 23. He'll be 24 in December.  And we got barn cats from the Humane Society.  And  one of them was a two to four year old black cat, male, fixed.  And they told us that no one would ever be able to pet him. He was completely feral. They had a hard time vetting him and getting him his shots and stuff.  And so my son decided to name him Satan.
22:21And I looked at this kid and I was like, oh, so I'm the one who's weird because I like biblical names, but you named the cat Satan. I love it. mean, not like that, but I think it's hilarious.  And turns out, turns out that Satan actually is a lovely cat. My son is a cat whisperer  and Satan and my son are the best of friends. That cat comes up to him and licks his feet. If he's barefoot outside,  he wants pets, he purrs. He's fine.
22:50So  Satan isn't necessarily a good moniker for this cat anymore, but that's his name.  I have some, we have a five year old  and  one thing that I love doing is he is  very creative and he has very different naming protocols than I do.  And I think his is just based on obscurity or whatever he's thinking at the moment. And so I let him name random things. um
23:18Right now he is named,  we have a chicken that he named Rocks Flat.  This was whenever he was four. So he named her Rocks Flat. And then we have Dale, who actually stands for Drink A Lot Energy.  We had Treia, which was Tummy Rumble Eat A Lot. So a lot of times I'm kind of trying to reach for  the  acronym to try to give them a normal name as opposed to giving a, here Tummy Rumble Eat A Lot, come here Drink A Lot Energy. uh
23:48We have a fish named lightning fast  and we had to compromise.  have a new kitten. We had to compromise on naming her. So I wanted to name her Tabitha Christie and he wanted to name her fluffy. So we compromised on fluffy Tabitha, mighty super cloud Christie. So I'm sure you can figure out who gave her the middle name of mighty super cloud.  is a, that is a huge name for a little cat. mean,  it's, it's.
24:14Naming is very important. So that's her Christian name. That's her baptism name, I guess. Uh-huh. That's very funny. Yeah. Your son is adorable. The pictures that you share of him, he's beautiful. Thank you. I'm sitting here as we talk, as we do this podcast, I'm actually sitting here. Did you see my new project about crocheting the whole class cardigans? Yes. So I'm, oops, are you still there? Yeah. Okay. Sorry, my computer just went black and so I think it just went to sleep. So
24:43m Currently, if any of your listeners are there, I make hexicardies, which are just making a hexagon, two hexagons and folding them together and turning them into a cardigan. And I let our son design all of his own. um So he has very opinionated color taste and style choices. And he's always going to school dressed in just brightly colored, amazing little cardigans.
25:11Because we're rural, we live in a very small community and we have a Title I school. One of his teachers reached out to me last week or on Friday. I was like, Hey, did you ever sell any of the sweaters that you make  your son? We call them little carpet just for his own privacy. um said, you have any of those, do you ever sell those sweaters that you make your son and preferably in adult sizes? And I said, I don't sell them. You know, with crochet, too much effort to sell and make anything back. And so you just do it because you love somebody.
25:41Um, I said, don't tell them, but you know, have it under good authority that you'll probably be getting something handcrafted very soon. And so if you just want to tell me your favorite colors, let me know. So this teacher told me her favorite colors and the other teacher's favorite colors.  And, um, and I started thinking about it  and the kids, you know, it's starting to come up on fall and winter and the kids go to school and you know, it gets chilly and sometimes it's chilly in classrooms.  Um,
26:11It gets chilly and putting on your winter coat or whatever is not always the most cozy thing to do while you're sitting there and trying to learn. So I decided to make, I want to make every kid in his class, a little cardigan all in bright colors. And so little farm pit is actually designing all the cardigans for his class. went online and we registered for yarn. We put up a, like a little crowdsourcing idea of, Hey, if you may wants to send yarn to us, you can mail it.
26:40here, you know, bright and colorful acrylic, so it's easily washable.  Um, and so  I, this week is going to be,  um, a test and seeing how much I have a feeling there's going to be a lot of yarn that shows up at my house and at my, I use a, my favorite local yarn shop, LCD originals in Hartwell as a public mailing address.  Um, so I have a feeling we're going to get a lot of stuff and I cannot wait to see.
27:08how these kids look and how they react to these cozy little cardigans that I'm calling classroom cardigans that they can leave there, they can take home with them. And then that way they can have something nice and warm that the teacher wants to take them home on Friday and wash them and dry them and bring them back to class. can't.  So, but nobody knows about it. Like I don't, imagine that nobody really knows who we are in this town because we're rather new here. um I haven't recognized a little bit in this town, but not.
27:38much more so because I was MTV for cicadas in my yard.  Um, but I'm really excited about seeing how this little cardigan project goes and all the yarn that comes from crowdsourcing to our awesome followers online. So it's going to be super  cute. I have two things on this whole train of thought.  Number one, how generous of you to take the time to do that. think that is so sweet.
28:06Oh, love it. Number two, I really hope that little farm pit keeps his, I don't know, freedom of expression. Oh, me too. That's one thing that I try to protect in him so much. Like he wanted all of his fingernails painted a different color yesterday. And a little part of me is like, Oh, I hope that he doesn't get picked on a skull. like, but he's not going to. Kindergarteners are cute and they're going to be envious of his gold and green and purple and blue fingernails, you know? So.
28:36I hope so too. This, um, sat this Friday is hat day at school, like where you can pay a dollar and it goes to the PTA or something like that. And you can wear a hat to school. And most people just wear a baseball cap. Little farm cat wore a hard hat that he put, uh, metallic cat stickers all over for his first hat day. And so last night, whenever we were doing story time, said, Hey, you know, you have another hat day coming up. Do you want to design another hat?
29:04And he said he did, and he was very particular, said he wanted it to be pink and yellow and purple and maybe a brown stripe with grapes all over it. So,  um, it's a little farm. I am currently designing a little farm that's pink and yellow and purple hat,  um, for Friday's activity. And I'm trying to figure out how to put grapes all over it, um, for that. So while every other kid is wearing baseball hats and stuff like that.
29:30He's going to, you know, be representing his own style. And I'm trying to keep that as long as he can keep that because he's just, he's magical.  I love his vision of the world.  Well, is such a great age too. mean, as long as no one stomps on him for expressing himself,  he has, he has so much potential to just have the best life ever. He is, I hope so. He is, and I will, like I said, I will protect that.
30:01Love it. So I love it for him and I will do everything to make that little kiddo have all of his little colorful dreams come true. Cause you know, I'm be able to wear ridiculous hats and sweaters. I mean, all over the place, whatever you want. And I hope that he does. I hope he's able to for his entire life, but you know, just letting him have that little bit of autonomy and pride of designing, you know? So.  love it.
30:30I love that you support him in that. That's so great.  My daughter used to get clothes at the thrift shops and at Goodwill because she loved thrifting.  She would rip clothes apart and redesign them the way she wanted them and they looked better than when she bought them.  That's awesome.  Yeah. I don't know if she still does it. I think she does like  little projects now, but she used to just revamp her entire wardrobe. It was very fun to watch.
30:59I've been embracing my, for the longest time, always just kind of, didn't really care about clothes that much. just, I think everything in my closet was black or brown or dark green. uh But now in my kind of, I don't really, you know, I don't care too much what people think anymore. I'm just embracing the eclectic art teacher vibe. And so I've been wearing brightly colored mu-mus and comfortable shoes and
31:27bright sweaters that I make all the time. And I am so happy. I get so many comments from other people out just like, Oh, I love this. I love that. And I'll find other fiber artists that'll automatically like see something I'm wearing and they'll know like, Oh, I know you made that.  I love just the show it off, know, be like kind of peacocking a little bit with our clothes and with our coziness and just enjoying what you're putting out there.
31:57Mm-hmm.  Yeah neutral colors  Yes, exactly  Um, so I feel like we haven't even talked about your animals. I want to do that real quick  You have you have chickens and I know you have silky chickens, right?  Okay, so I have I think 30 something goats  I know it's I don't count That often maybe I have in the upper  20s, but I have a bunch of goats um
32:24I have Nigerian dwarf  and  that's how I started off with Nigerian dwarf. I think that was a good starter goat.  Now I believe I would rather have a small herd of some bigger goats, but  Nigerian dwarf goats are all getting older. ah So I think my, you know, my, I'll get some good corner store stone, big goats on my next go round. uh
32:47But I've been breeding Nigerian Dwarf goats to La Manchas for five generations now. And so one of my things that I've been doing is trying to make a more efficient milk goat. So a goat that eats a smaller amount of feed like a Nigerian Dwarf that produces a large amount of milk like a La Mancha. So I've been breeding, I've got down to, I think F5s are my smallest La Manchas right now, which is...
33:14Are you familiar with like the F5, F3, whatever? I am not. So tell me in poundage, how big is the  goat that you're going for? Oh, the one that I have right now,  my smallest mini La Mancha is about 50 pounds. less uh than the La Mancha, but she melts really, really well. um But the  F categorizing is just like the generations. So an F1 would be a Nigerian dwarf and a...
33:43straight limaunch and mixed together. And F2 would be the next generation down, know, bringing the Nigerian Dwarf to that goat. F3 will be the next generation down. And so you're getting the smaller and smaller and getting further away from the pure genetics of the others. So you're kind of making a nice little combat. I also have four miniature donkeys named David. Everybody loves my donkey's names. David Hasselhoff, who I already mentioned.
34:13And then Jacqueline Oasis, Butch Acety and Mama Ass. uh You know about my silky chickens,  but I also have uh regular chickens of all sorts and types at a big barn.  I have chickens and guineas out there. And  recently I've been campaigning for the past two years to get emus. I don't know why I want emus, but I do.  And  it's like an obsession. So Jen has, my wife has finally given me a
34:42go ahead for the emu and um for emus and so in march  i will be getting um i found somebody local who hatches emus and has them and has agreed to sell me a couple so come march i will be getting baby emus  whenever they hatch and i'm so excited because i love ridiculous animals and the only reason why i want emus is just for the ridiculous dancing and i like to laugh
35:11And I have two miniature pigs.  Okay. All right. So you, definitely have a farm going on there.  We have 12 acres out here.  Um, since we talked last, I just finished a big,  uh, five and a half acre pasture for all my critters to move over to. So, or, or at least all  the, the critters that don't have parts and won't get each other pregnant to move over to. Yep. We have, um, they have all sorts of stuff going.
35:39It sounds so fun and it sounds so messy and I think fun and messy are supposed to go together. Oh yeah, no, my wife will definitely tell you I am an absolute mess and there's no Joey and I games in here.  We're not painting everything white and keeping things nice and clean. Like there is a mess every two seconds  and we painted our, you know,
36:04Do you have T-post at all in your property? keeping your animals in? Yes, we have T-posts in the garden. With my little beautiful rainbow child, we got six different colors of spray paint and went out and painted every post uh in rainbow.  So like one post will be purple and the next one will be blue and the next one will be green. And so for five acres, you have a rainbow fence going all the way around. So oh we let him play like.
36:33pretend video games out there. Like we'll go and we'll put things along the fence post and give him clues and he'll go and just be Oh, I have to find the yellow fence post and I'll find a star there and do this. um, so we've just, we just let ourselves do what we want to do because why not?  You know, have some fun.  Yeah. Any dignitaries out here?  No, absolutely. And  I would love to see a photo of your rainbow fence if you have one.
37:03Uh, there is one on, uh, on Facebook right now. Okay. And so if you want to, I will, I know that we have communicated on Facebook, so I will hunt that one down and send it over to you. So if you want to put it in your show notes or anything that you do. Well, I don't, I don't put pictures in the show notes. It's a total pain in the butt to do, but I will, but when I share the link for the podcast, when it's live, I'll, link to that picture on my Facebook high episode today is blah, blah. So.
37:32Excellent. All right. So where can people find you, Swann? Predominantly on Facebook because I write. I'm very, it's the only place that I can really do long form on social media. And I've realized that I make, I can reach more people on social media than I can just do my own private webpage. But now I do have a website, which is HarryFarmpitGirls if you want advice. So just harryfarpitgirls.com. I'm on Facebook and Instagram somewhat.
38:02I don't really care for videos, so I don't do the big video sites, but also I am on Patreon. So if you want to, our biggest support comes through Patreon. So if you do feel like supporting a small farm, you can do it. You can pledge $3 a month. And it comes out if you want to have weekly and regular access to talking to us and just kind of hanging out. We meet on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. If you sign up for our Fiber Fanatics for up.
38:31level, which is a month and you'll get a little zoom link and you can just come and hang out. Sometimes it's like,  sometimes there's only three of us. Sometimes there's, there's more. So,  um, you can come and hang out and just chill. We call it stitch and bitch and you can sit or you can, you know, talk about your day.  So, um, and you don't have to do anything. You can also just sit there.  So is that, is that patreon.com slash Harry farm pit girls or is it?  Okay.
39:01uh And there is also one more thing. There is a private group online, but you can find it through our Facebook  and you can send a request and join it. It's called Harry Farmer Girls, a Safe Pastor. And what that is,  is it's a group that you have to be a member of, but it's a page. So it's a group so that way you can make your own posts, you can comment, you can talk to other people that happen to have found this little nook on the internet.
39:31And like said, we build community all over. I've tried to build community all over while I can't necessarily always be there through every single thing because I'm  but one human. ah You can still interact with, we find a lot of our people are very similar, have similar loving, empathetic values  and  just, and great sense of humor. So if you want to,  join Carrie Farmer for Girls of Safe Posture on Facebook and
39:59I think there's 3,500 members right now and it's a very active group. Wow. Okay. Awesome. Thank you for giving me all of that because I think after people listen to this podcast, they're be like, I want to go be part of that. sounds fun. And  as always, people can find me at atinyhomesteadpodcast.com  and I have a Patreon now too. It's patreon.com slash  atinyhomestead.  So Swan, hopefully this one worked.  I hope so.
40:29It's always a joy to chat with you. had a great time talking with you too, Mary. So I'll stay online.  Maybe we'll do this again, but hopefully this one will work.  All  right. You have a great day. Thank you. You too.  Bye.
 

Vinestops

Today I'm talking with Jim at Vinestops. 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.
00:11Today I'm talking with Jim at Vine Stops in New York. How are you, Jim? I'm good, how are you? I'm good.  How was the weather in New York? It's beautiful today.  We're in that part of the season where  one day it's beautiful and the next day it's starting to turn super cold.  So it's going into flu season, I guess.  Yay, that's exciting.
00:37I am actually, my bedroom is where I record  at my desk in my room.  And uh my bedroom, it feels like a refrigerator this morning because when I went to bed last night, I had to have the AC on  and uh my husband didn't turn it off when he came downstairs this morning and shut the door. So  I am almost shivering talking to you in my room.  Yeah, we do that all the time.  We love it. We like the cold, so we're okay with that.
01:05For sleeping, it's great, but for sitting at a desk with my hands needed to move the mouse and stuff, it's not awesome. Okay, so tell me a little bit about yourself and what you have going here. So obviously, my name is Jim. We bought this farm during COVID and it kind of changed our lives significantly. was
01:31in the corporate world and  also in the film industry and some law enforcement experience. so that was kind of  everything I did, you know, seven days a week was somewhere in that realm. And then  COVID hit, obviously all of our lives had changed, but we had the opportunity to buy this small  1800s gentleman's horse farm, about 10 acres. uh And it was where I grew up.  And so I wanted to come back closer to my mom anyway, because she was getting sick.
02:02Yeah. So he said, you know what, let's do it and rehab it.  Because my wife grew up on a farm in Oklahoma, so she always had horses  and she always wanted to get them again.  So we decided to do it. And  very quickly, we went from  that fast paced or I did anyway, that fast paced life to kind of country life. You know, we bought chickens and then I started like, you know, I put a little stand on the side of the road and we started  selling our extra eggs and then
02:29You the whole chicken math thing happened. You start with six, you go to 10, 20, then you're fluctuating back and forth. And next thing you know, have 150 plus chickens in our yard. And, uh, and then, you know, towards the last year of COVID, uh, which was the, this is the year that we purchased it. Um, we put it, when we bought it, we put in about, I don't know, 50 fruit trees. And we, just wanted to start kind of a hobby farm. You know, I didn't do the whole homesteading thing yet.
02:58and I just wanted to kind of grow extra.  So we had some fresh food because I was frustrated with what we were getting in the supermarkets. know, if like when the egg crisis happened,  you couldn't find eggs anywhere. And when you can find them, they were like $10, $15, you know,  a dozen. was just ridiculous. And so  I eventually, I just started changing. I started eating so much more from my garden and from my trees.
03:23spending less and not going to the supermarket and all my health numbers, my doctor's office, they all started getting better. And I like really realized like, holy cow, know, that all that fast food and that crap put into my body, it really does make a difference. And so kind of the homesteading was born, you know, of having the passion of, you know, growing my own stuff and then, you know, running a farm stand on the the on the front of the driveway. So, you know, after
03:53after that was kind of successful the first year. The next year I doubled everything, the size of everything, added more fruit trees, bought more chickens. And then my farm stand that I made kind of fell apart. And it was funny. So I was like, all right, I got to buy a farm stand because like, I need something that's gonna last. And
04:18I went to go look for one and I couldn't find anybody that sells farmsteads like Home Depot, Lowe's, Tractor Supply, even on Amazon. know, when I was  like, you know, where can I buy a farm stand or, you know, farm stands and  nothing came up. And I was like, huh. So I took some time and uh I refined the farmstead I had and  I was doing a lot of research what people were doing, like farmstead groups and uh social media groups and whatnot.  And I just.
04:47developed my own and started testing it out to see what the pros and cons of it were. And I ended up getting into designer and I said, hey, can you build me this on paper that would be structurally sound and good quality? And so we did that and that's how my farm stand was born. Nice. Okay. I have a question that doesn't really have anything to do with farm stands, but I'm curious.
05:17um You're in New York, so you have the same growing season we have in Minnesota. It's basically May through  end of August, end of September. Yep.  Yeah. So when you get your first thing that you've grown fresh in the spring, what's the first thing you are picking and eating? um I would say it's a mix between sun-gold cherry tomatoes and strawberries.
05:46Okay, for us, it's rhubarb, because we have rhubarb here. Gotcha. Yeah, I didn't know what rhubarb was and what  mistakenly,  I tore it all out. no.  Yeah, because it was a very overgrown property,  because it was kind of let go.  And so I was just cleaning out all the beds, all the weeds.  And  the lady that I bought it from  showed her pictures. She's like, Oh my God.
06:14Did you clear out that whole section? I like, She goes, I had all  rhubarb in there. I was like,  oh, sorry.  I didn't know. I didn't know what it looked like. didn't, you know, I knew nothing about it. So, oops.  Yeah.  Well, it's our favorite thing because it means that spring is officially here because rhubarb isn't ready to pick and eat  until spring has been established.  And so every spring we may, buy strawberries cause we don't get strawberries the same time we get rhubarb here.
06:44We buy strawberries and we make a strawberry rhubarb compote and we put it over French vanilla ice cream.  Wow. That is our welcome to spring. That sounds delicious. See, I cheat a little. don't cheat, but  I, uh, I start my seeds in January inside my house.  Yeah. And then I have a greenhouse attached to the house with a door that goes from the basement into the greenhouse.  So I'm able to kind of get way ahead. So by the time I'm putting plants in the ground,
07:11some of them have little cherry tomatoes already on them, you know, so. Yeah, a heated greenhouse is one of the biggest blessings on a homestead. We have what I am affectionately calling now an almost heated greenhouse. We, it gets us a couple more months of growing season instead of everything ending in September. It's kind of done in November, but we're working on.
07:37ideas on how to get it just a little bit warmer so we can grow things in January and February too.  Yeah. So I get it. A heated greenhouse is an absolute blessing.  Okay, so back to the farm stand thing. Sure. um I'm not surprised that you couldn't find an already built farm stand or the components and  the plans together to buy it and put it together yourself back then.
08:05because  most people  tend to just take a shed they already have and  retrofit it for the farm stand  or they get like a, don't know what they're called, just  the bottom part of a trailer, the metal part, the frame. And then they lay wood over it and then they put, you know, boards  up.  What's the word I want?  Sides, corners, corners, open. It's an open farm stand idea.
08:35And they put  the two by fours up on the four corners and then they put a roof on it  and that's how they started. And then they put the siding on it and then it becomes a farm stand. Yep. And I don't think people were looking for quote unquote ready-made farm stands back then. Yeah, no, they, uh, you know, at least, uh,  I started to,  but  it's certainly something that
09:02It's like a niche person at that time.  Like these are like, you you're talking about rural areas, people that already,  you know, have green thumbs farm, you know,  like a normal person with an acre probably during COVID time,  wasn't really looking to try to figure out how to grow fresh food.  That whole movement really picked up in the last couple of years, you know?  And so there are a lot of people, you know, as I've kind of developed VineStops  and started talking with people and they're...
09:30We found there's a lot of people like me that don't have the tools or the knowledge to build a farm stand  and would love to get one. It's just, there's really nothing out there to buy. So you jumped on this and you're now selling farm stands, right? Well, yeah. And we're not technically live yet as a company. So we have not put it out there to sell, but I've built a couple to, you know, people that contact me and say, Hey, you know, I'd like a farm stand and I build it.
09:59drive it out to their house. There's a couple out there, but we're trying to get everything launched for the next growing season or next year. Yeah. Tell me the size of the ones that you're building. Well, it's just, if you look at the website, it's that one size. It's about, it's I think 40 to 50 inches deep and wide 40 inches. There's two 18 inch doors. So
10:26And the height, 83 inches. whatever that turns out to be. Okay. So it's not big, but it's not tiny either. No, it's not. It's heavy. It's definitely a couple of hundred pounds. You know, this initial concept was designed to be like a standing structure. You know, we've since retrofitted one to have wheels on it. So it's movable.
10:53Oh, nice. And then we also developed a one that has,  you can add components to the sides now to like, you it would, uh you would have your farm stand,  like the core.  And then if you wanted to put like a four foot box to the side of it, it would like slip onto the farm stand, like an accessory almost. So you can expand out your farm stand.  So, but again, you know, that's  some of the stuff still in test and we're hoping to have everything done for  next year.
11:23Awesome.  Um,  I was telling you when we talked on the phone to get this scheduled that we have our farm stand, obviously.  Yeah. And it's basically a, a shed from, um, tough shed, the company tough. Yep. Yep. I'm familiar. And it's a barn red and white shed. And it's got the little X on the door, you know, it's a red door with the accent and the bottom part.  looks like a little barn  and, uh
11:50We love our farm stand. mean, I look at that thing every morning when I go out on the porch, drink my coffee and make sure the barn cats are still hanging around because you know what happens with barn cats, they disappear for no reason. uh every time I look at that farm stand, I just smile because it's adorable. And I smile because we're helping our community by providing good food for them. Yeah, that's the biggest thing too is, you know, getting back to
12:16really  having more options, more local fresh options for  the community. Everything the government is doing, and I'm not totally anti-government, I understand there's a purpose of it,  but uh the regulations and  just the costs for these big farms to operate are...
12:37are out of control. And  I know in New York here, we are seeing a significant, I can't remember the percentage, there's a significant decline in  farming and farms in New York.  Because what happened here was New York State started pushing this solar big time.  farmers were getting offers from solar companies to basically  lease out their land to them.  And so now they're just taking, they're closing down century old farms and  you're just getting like, just
13:06acres and acres of solar panels everywhere.  For the farmer,  it's come to a point, what happens is they're like, well, listen, I can either struggle  and have to deal with the government and deal with New York state and all these regulations and all these inspections and barely make anything, or I can sit back and relax and retire and collect money from this lease.  What are they going to do?  A lot of people are at the age where it's just time. It's  like they're seeing the end of it now  and it's disappointing.
13:35So I think really the next revolution is going to be, my perspective is going to be everybody that has a couple acres or an acre trying to figure out how to grow a little extra on what they have and then offer some of that extra out. Right? So there's more smaller farms and smaller homesteads and even just regular people with bigger backyards putting fresh food out there rather than everybody relying on these big farms that are starting to close down. Yeah. m
14:05I,  it is so  frustrating that that's happening. And I was actually watching a news show and they were talking about the solar farms and somebody who was a farmer had gotten the solar panel things put in, but he had sheep. And what happens with the solar panel things is it's really hard to keep the weeds and the grass down under them.  And so he  kept his sheep and he used his sheep.
14:35to keep the field where the solar panels are  raised and it was food for the sheep and then he still had a farming business. Yeah. And there's definitely ways to go around it.  It's, you know, to utilize your farm.  But again, it goes back  to,  it worth the aggravation and the time or is it time to retire and  just move on, you know?
14:59Yep, exactly. And so few of the younger generations, like under 30,  want to go into farming because they've seen how much work it is. No, yeah. mean,  the kids of these farmers  are growing up now in a different world.  It's not about farming, it's about technology.  And most of them realize the money is in tech  and they don't want to work seven days a week,  you know, waking up and doing all this stuff. uh
15:28that you have to do on a farm, they  want to be at a Starbucks and  work in an office or work out of their bedroom.  It's just different.  It's  kind of like the trade industry, construction, electricians, plumbers, they're all disappearing because the kids don't want to do it. And it's a really big problem.  It really is. it's kind of scary because if things keep going and following this trend,
15:57Who, number one, where are we gonna get our food?  And number two, who's gonna fix the tractors that we use to help grow our food?  Who's gonna fix our well?  It's stuff like that  that is really kind of frightening.  And the thing is, the people that do do it,  there's so much demand, at least around here. They can  name their price  and  it could be absolutely ridiculous. And they'll say, okay, walk away and there's 10 other people waiting for them.
16:25And if you do decide to say, all right, you know what? I'll pay it. I know I'm overpaying for this, but I have to get it done and there's no one else to do it. They're gonna be like, okay, I'll be back in a month because I have five other jobs before you that I have to finish. So it's really frustrating to get work done on the house. I do as much as I can, but my daughter, I put her in welding, believe it or not. She's 17, she goes to trade.
16:52Bocey's trade school and she's been doing welding for two years now. I told her, I was like, don't care what you do. If you want to do your TikToks and all that stuff, fine. But you pick a trade here and go study it. And she picked welding and she loves it. I think that's almost be in every school district there should have, they should have trade classes. And instead having these ridiculous classes that these kids are taking, that, you know, or two study halls, they should have, it should be mandatory.
17:21that it's an electric shop or a  plumbing shop or a class, I mean, you know,  some type of trade class. Yeah, where kids can learn how to do actual things with their hands and their brains.  Mm hmm. I agree.  And that's how it used to be. I'm 55 and we had shop class in my high school.  I did not take it because I was a girl and that was frowned upon back then. Yeah, but not now.
17:49Yeah, I think there was maybe one or two girls in my graduating class who took shop and my graduating class was like 450 people.  Well, think, uh, I don't know. It's so hard to see what's going to happen in 10 years, but it's, it's, I'm, I'm already scared to be honest with you.  You are not alone in that gym. I promise you. It's not just me. That's agreeing with you. think there are other people who are very concerned about what the future looks like for our kids and our grandkids.
18:19So yeah, it's an interesting world. It's actually why with VineStops, as we're developing this company, I work at Starbucks, is a very socially responsible company. You know it's a corporate giant, But the years I worked there at least is 2000 to 2009. They were very, very involved in the communities. They've ran a lot of community events and like,
18:48like Earth days and  just local things.  They just did a lot.  And I learned a lot of the social responsibility portion of my life from  Starbucks. I'll give them that. uh So for Vine Stops, it's the same thing.  When I started putting the company together,  I had already started thinking about the social responsibility part of the company,  being involved in Earth days,  identifying schools that have uh garden programs.
19:17and then getting them a farm stand to put in front of their school. So the kids don't  not just learn about how to grow gardens, but they're going to also learn some entrepreneurship behind it of taking that stuff they're growing,  putting it at their school farm stand where the teachers and the parents can buy it.  And then they're making money to put towards their class trips or supplies or something like that.  And so as I develop out this company,  most startups or  entrepreneurs aren't
19:47thinking about that type of stuff in the early stages  where I want to make sure we have that roadmap out there so that when we are successful at building this, that we can implement that  community focused  part of the company and get these kids involved more.  love that because  you're going to plant the seeds of how much fun it is to grow food and sell it and maybe they'll become farmers. Yeah, or go into agricultural and some
20:17wave shape or form, you know?  exactly. So  I know that you're just developing the company  and I know that there are certain things that you can't share, but what can you tell me about Vines Stop and what's in the works? um So  what we found with Vines Stop was that  there's a brand out there oh or several brands like in a lot of the industries and categories. like you look at Uber or Grubhub, DoorDash, right?
20:47When you're thinking,  let me  find some food. You go on Grubhub or DoorDash, right? Cause that's where all the food is that you, know, if you want to get something delivered,  but there's nothing out there that says, Hey, check Vine Stops or, you know, check for the, what's down at the farm stand down the road. Right. So  now I say this brand by brand, mean like, you know, something that  immediately comes to your head, whether in you're in New York or in California, there are a lot of.
21:17Uh, little apps  and little groups and,  uh, platforms out there that, uh, do a piece of  what we want to accomplish. But again, it's not something that rolls off somebody's tongue. Like it's just, it's,  it's world known or, or, or known throughout the U S right. Not a household name yet. Yeah. Not a household name yet. Exactly. And so, uh, what we want to accomplish is for Vine stops to be a household name to where.
21:47If you're at your house and you're pulling up vine stops and you want to have a fresh salad with your dinner, that you can go to the app and search, hey, I'm looking for this, this, and this. And it's going to locate all of the farm stands in your area and show you the availability of all the ingredients that you're looking for. That way you can find the best one and then go ahead and communicate with that person and order it. And in the future,
22:16Other things might happen. I can't get  into that yet,  but ah it's  it's  it'll be a really cool journey. And  then also now you're visiting  friends in Florida and that and that app and process is the same down there because  it's it's now it's now known, right? It's a known brand. And so um that's part of it is the access  where we want to get people like me.
22:43to start growing extra and teach them to do it. oh Having some partnerships with some social media influencers that  deal around farm stands, homesteads, things like that, to actually  have some of their content available for  people to learn what to do.  It's really, just wanna, we wanna build that network. We wanna make a second distribution system  of fresh food outside of our current supermarket.
23:12distribution system that if that fails,  we have plenty of options available and known where they are uh for for people to go. The marketing and visibility  of people with homestead or farm stands, things like that, is some of the some of the biggest things that people I talk to struggle with. They keep on saying I need to get people to my door. don't, you know,  but  when when we're talking about people that are
23:40not low income, but they just don't have the money to put towards like creating a website,  you know,  paying for all, know,  all like advertising and this and that. Like they just, need to get people to the door so they buy stuff so they have some extra money.  And so  we're gonna, we're gonna do that for them. And that's the whole goal is to  kind of let everybody have a platform for themselves where they may not have the knowledge or the skills to create on their own.
24:09and then bring it all together.  And so  that's like the big thing with VineStops is really just creating a community from all of us. It's not about competition. It's about availability and having healthy food for the people that live around us.  Yes, a rising tide raises all ships. Mm-hmm. Yes.  I talked to a girl, because we're putting together a test group, which you're familiar with, uh
24:38the stories that I'm hearing from people like me are  really cool.  And she's like, oh yeah, I started a farm stand and then across town, this other girl started a farm stand. Now I got competition. I'm like, yeah, but you know, don't think of it that way because  you're going to have stuff and she's going to have stuff. if,  she's a couple of doors down from you, there are plenty of people out there that would buy from your farm stand as long as,  as long as she's running it properly, obviously, right.  But think of her as a
25:08partner in a way. I mean, you might not grow potatoes and she might not grow tomatoes.  So maybe you swap so you both have potatoes and tomatoes or maybe you know, you're not growing potatoes, but you guys eat them a lot and you say, hey, I want to trade I'll trade you, you know, all these tomatoes for some of your potatoes. This is what they did back then, right?  Back in the back in the, you know, 1800s, they traded for things.  And so it's kind of like that just think of her as another option for your family to have other things available for fresh food.
25:37And that's the thinking we all have to do, I think.  Yeah, absolutely. um We're selling friends of ours duck eggs in our farm stand because  they're not, they have acreage, but it's a lot of it is a ravine.  And so they don't really have a good spot for a farm stand. And she  messaged me this spring and said, could we sell our duck eggs in your farm stand this summer?
26:04And I was like,  yes, yes, you can. And I didn't even know if it was okay.  I still don't know technically if it's okay for us to do that in Minnesota. We've been doing it all summer.  And what's been terribly interesting about it is that I was mildly like a little tiny bit concerned that people would buy the duck eggs over our chicken eggs.  And  no, people buy duck eggs and chicken eggs at the same time.  Yeah.
26:33Duck eggs are I guess popular baking. never knew that.  I didn't either and I still haven't done it. I keep saying to my husband I need him to bring me in a half dozen  from the farm stand so I can use them to make cookies and see if it makes any difference. And  my husband has ADD real bad and I can say, Hey, I need duck eggs.  And he'll say, yep, I'll get them in a bit. And they never come in the house. So  I need to remember to say, Hey, I need duck eggs  now. Could you go get them  now? And then he'll go get them for me. Yeah.
27:03I live this world, Yup, yup. is one of the biggest, I don't know, struggles for us because I don't have ABD and I do not ever want to the inside of how his mind works because I think that I would have a heart attack. He tells me stuff and I have to go, okay, back up.
27:28Tell me specifically about this thing you mentioned five minutes ago and can we go from there? So yeah,  it makes communication really hard sometimes, but  I love him and we've learned how to  slow down  and maybe clear up confusion sooner than later. So doesn't lead to arguments.  Yep. So ah I have one more question for you. When  do you think?  Cause this is a  work in progress for you.
27:58When do you think that this will all be ready to go?  I think we're looking to  get the platform out there within 60 to 90 days.  Oh, nice. For people to actually start utilizing it. um And then  we hope that everything's kind of buttoned up  by the  start of the growing season next year, like April.
28:24And we hope again, even in April, May, you'd be able to see uh availability in some stores to purchase farm stands. So  that's the goal right now.  That's fabulous. I can't wait. And I want you to come back. We need to stay in touch. And when you're getting ready to launch it and when you can say more about what it is and how it works, I want you to come back before it launches. And that way we can get the word out to people. Yeah, we're going to start starting this first test group  very shortly.
28:54and  we're gonna put another second test group together. um So, if  there's anybody listening that's interested in kind of testing out our platform  before we really go live with it  and giving us some feedback,  they can contact me through social media, Find Stops, um on Instagram or any Facebook or Meadow, whatever they call it  Or they can go through you also and you can  send them  to me.
29:23Yeah. And your website is? So, Vinestops.com is live. Okay. And it's kind of, again, it's a test site. So there's some quirky things on there that may not make sense. It's not going to look like this. This was more put together for some investors to look at. Oh, okay. And for job applicants, we've been building our team. But we left it up because we are seeing kind of organic visits. And so it's good to actually see where people are.
29:53you know, visiting the site from and whatnot. So we just leave it up to, you know, let people explore it. Awesome. Fantastic.  All right. As always, people can find me at a tiny homestead podcast.com  and please go check out my Patreon because I just got it set up and I'm adding things to it every day. It's Patreon. Well, it's www.patreon.com slash a tiny homestead.  Jim, thank you so much for your time today. I really appreciate it. Oh, pleasure. Thank you.  Nice to meet you.
30:23Have a great day. Talk to you later.
 

Homesteading In The City with Elizabeth Ries

Today I'm talking with Elizabeth Ries at Home To Homestead. 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 Elizabeth Ries at um three different places, I guess. Well, four actually. You've got Twin Cities Live, you've got My Talk 107.1, you've got...
00:22HomeToHomeStead.com and you've got bestofthenest.com and Elizabeth is in Minneapolis. So good morning, Elizabeth. How are you? Good morning, Mary. It's nice to be back with you today. Thanks for asking me. You're so welcome. I loved our chat back in March of 2024. That's how long it's been. It's been a while. Yup. And I was really nervous because I'd only been broadcasting for like six months at that point. And I still had no idea what I was doing. And I listened back to it I was like, God, I'm so glad I'm more comfortable now.
00:50It is, a lot of it is just getting the reps in.  I think that that is a huge thing with broadcasting or interviewing or asking questions. It's just the more you do, it's just like anything.  It's a skill  and the more you do it, the better you get at it. And I hope you look back on those early days fondly and think about how far you've come because I thought you did a great job that time. So I can imagine it's only going to be better today.
01:15Thank you, and I do look back. I went back and listened to the very first episode of, I can't think, a Tiny Homestead podcast. And it wasn't awful. Like when I listened to it back the first time, I was like, ugh. And I listened to it back about six months ago, and I was like, you know, it really wasn't that bad. People learned things, it was a fun chat, I'm okay. So, I don't want to get too far into...
01:42what you do because  you did a huge intro on the episode that we did before.  And if people want to know all about Elizabeth's professional life, you can go listen to the original episode. The OG.  Yeah, exactly. The OG Elizabeth Ries  But you are the co-host for Twin Cities Live.  You and Marjorie Punnett do a show together  on  what station is it? Well, we had a radio show together on MyTalk107.1. uh
02:11for a couple of years. And then um we both ended that because we moved on to different things. Oh, you're not doing that anymore. Right. And then the podcast is called Best to the Nest. So Marjorie and I teamed up for the podcast and we kind of joke that it's like the show within the show. It's the conversations that we were having during the commercial breaks about  life and home and family and relationships and all those things that then we brought into the podcast. But I do still get to fill in over at MyTalk.
02:40pretty regularly and it's always fun to show up. They just got new studios, so now I really like going over there. uh It's all bright and shiny in there. It's nice. Okay, so I want to, I got questions about your homesteading stuff in your city  home, because you don't have a homestead. You live on a city lot, right? Yes. Yes, I do. I am on a city lot. on about  about a third of an acre in the city of Minneapolis.
03:07Prior to living in this house, we've been in this house for six years. Prior to that, we were on 0.13 of an acre in the city of Minneapolis and really did a lot of the same things  that we do  here. Yeah. So did you do a garden this year? I did a garden. I have the garden going.  And um I have four raised beds in the backyard. Two of them are like four feet wide by, um I think they're 10 or 12 feet long.
03:37however long my husband made them.  And those are wooden raised beds. This year I added an arched,  a cattle panel arch trellis between the two of them, which has been really, really fun. And I'd wanted to do it for a long time. And then finally, you know, spent the $75 and has sent my dad to tractor supply with his pickup so that he could make himself useful during retirement and bring me the cattle panels.  then- That's what dads are for. That's what dads are for. That's why dads get pickup trucks. That's exactly it. And then um
04:05I have two of the, like they're those Veggo garden raised beds. They're that metal and I've really liked those too. Those are really easy to put together. And then I do a lot of trellising. So I have trellises kind of growing up everywhere so that I can maximize my space. So it's definitely not huge. It's not overwhelming, but it's amazing how much food you can get out of a small garden.
04:35Sure. And growing up instead of out is so efficient on a small piece of property. Yes. And it's just easier and it's pretty. That's the other thing I like about it. It's just,  you know, I don't have a picture perfect manicured garden. um But when you grow up and you have things kind of, you know, I don't know, climbing up to the sky, there's something really magical about that. So I really encourage,  even if you have little pots to
04:59put some kind of little trellis in it so you know, your mint in a pot can grow up. I just think it looks really lovely. Yeah, and it supports the plants. I mean, pretty and supportive is always good. Yes. Yes. Do you still have chickens? We do have chickens. Yes, we have chickens in the backyard. We've had chickens. I think I've had chickens for almost 15 years. So I have been a crazy chicken lady for a long time and we have a little coop in the backyard.
05:30that is currently overrun by squash vines. I maybe overplanted the squash situation and it's taking over everything, but it's very fun. No such thing as overplanting squash.  They're everywhere. They're escaping into the alley even, which  my neighbors are finding to be quite entertaining  as they walk back there. But yeah, we have the chickens um and the chicken coop is located close to the garden too. So I do kind of have to shoo the chickens out of there. um
05:59And because I can't bear to keep them in the coop all the time, I let them loose. So I have to use different,  you know, little things to keep them out. Chicken wire and,  you know, all sorts of stuff. But it's an adventure and it's definitely my happy place. I have a little table and chairs out in the garden too. And I love to just bring coffee out there, sit out there. Sometimes, you know, if I'm on calls for Twin Cities Live or whatever, I like to just do that from the garden. It's definitely my happy place.
06:27Yeah. And being outside is so good for everybody. get the vitamin D from the sun. You ground your feet in the grass or in the dirt. It's just good for you.  And, uh, I love that you don't like to keep your chickens in the coop. We actually just let our 20 chickens have full run of the property for first time since spring because the garden is pretty much done. We don't want them in the garden, so we don't let them free range all summer. They have a run, you know, we don't keep them in a box, but they,
06:57They now have full run of the property.  And my husband stepped outside on the cement pad in front of our house this morning  and there were two chickens over by the useless garage.  The useless garage does not get used for anything. It is ready to fall down and we just haven't.
07:13pulled the trigger on taking it down. just pushed it, you've pushed it over yet. No,  we can't actually push it over, it's not that bad, but I would not want to try to park anything in there.  But there were two chickens over by the garage, digging in the dirt right around the edge of the foundation. And then two more over by my peony bushes. And they all decided to come gather around my husband's feet. And then the barn cat, the youngest one, came over and was trying to get pets. And I was just watching and I'm like, oh my God, this is why we live here.
07:42Yeah. I think that is so fun. I I know there's different schools of thought with chickens and I definitely understand keeping them safe from predators. uh We live right by the Mississippi River, so we have quite a few birds of prey around. So I've got fake owls strategically placed all over my yard. how  I really look at it is I know how chickens want to live. Chickens want to be outside scratching and pecking. I know you've talked with Joel Salatin and
08:10you know, again, letting a chicken express the chickenness of the chicken or the pigness of the pig. You know, that is such an important tenet  of his animal husbandry philosophy. And that is something that I really take into consideration too. I mean, we have a fenced in yard. We have this understanding that at some point, and it has happened before, we've lost a chicken to a hawk or to an eagle or to an owl. But, you know, I say to my kids,
08:38we want to provide them with the best life possible and however long that life is then. And of course we  lock them up at night. So we're protective in terms of like, we're not just letting a raccoon get in there at night or things like that, you know, and the coop is secure.  But as far as being out in the day, I just want them to be out living their best life for as long as that life is.  And  you know, chickens, I mean, they're fragile. one  can...
09:05you can look at it wrong and one of them could keel over.  you got like,  you just have to understand that you're giving them the best life possible. You're so grateful for what they give to you in return. And then, um and then just understand that that's how nature works.  Absolutely. And honestly, if you put a human in a cage for no good reason,  they would not live very long either. So,  um, so I've said this on the podcast quite a few times since spring, but we got 26 chickens back.
09:35last spring, you know, this year.  And we lost four to, um, raccoons,  raccoon family,  mama and three babies show up.  I mean, trash pandas, but boy, are they cute, cute little faces on those guys. Holy  man. The babies. Oh my God. So sweet, but so bad.  And so we lost four, we lost five, but
10:00But we don't know if the first one was taken by those raccoons, but we're pretty sure the other four were taken by the raccoons.  And then apparently we lost another one because I asked my husband the other day, said, do we still have 21 chickens? And he said, no, we have 20. And I didn't even bother to ask. I'm like, okay, that's good.  But we have barely been able to keep eggs for us because we purposely bought a bunch of chickens to be able to sell eggs in our farm stand this summer because eggs were so expensive back
10:29this spring. And people have just been buying them. We put two dozen out in the farm stand a day and they're gone by three o'clock in the afternoon. And it makes me so happy that we're helping because our eggs are $5 a dozen. And I feel like that's a little expensive, but it's really not. Oh, listen, I think you should up it to seven today. Nah, nope, I'm not doing it. Oh, gosh. know, but you know what?
10:58people are, if you go to the grocery store to buy past your raised eggs, that's how much they're $9 a dozen. That's what they are. And so know, I don't want to, I want to stay at five. And I had talked to my husband about upping it by a dollar and he was like, no. And when he says that I go, okay, I agree. But why? And he said, because we're trying to help our neighbors.
11:26He said, if we need more money, we will up it, but we don't desperately need that extra dollar. He said, I want to keep it at $5 a dozen. All right. also selling duck eggs from a friend of ours that has ducks. And that's been fabulous because we, I posted on Facebook and I said, we now have duck eggs from our friends at O'Connor Family Acres, or I think that's what their name is. And we're selling them in the farm stand. So if you want duck eggs instead of chicken eggs, come on by.
11:54And it's so funny, people will come and buy two dozen duck eggs and two dozen chicken eggs at the same time.  So we really tried to set ourselves up to have eggs that were good for us. And  we maybe have French toast once a month. So I'm like, hey, can you hold back 12 eggs, please, for me so I can make French toast?
12:15And my husband's like, yep, I'll bring you in a dozen. I'm like, thank you. Oh my gosh. And I've got  my 23 year old son convinced to help me make baked goods so we can keep the farm stand open through December. And we're going to  use some of the eggs that we're going to keep back to make baked goods so that people have cookies for Thanksgiving and Christmas. That's great.
12:37Because I don't know if you've noticed, but in the last three years, a lot of stores are no longer doing the  assorted varieties of Christmas cookie trays. They're just selling cookies.  And I miss those assorted trays really bad. That's so fun. So I've got my kid convinced that he will help me make, know, I don't know, five days a week in the morning, we'll get some recipes and make  a batch of
13:03five different kinds and put together cookie trays and put them out in the farm stand for people.  They're going to sell like hotcakes. Absolutely. That would be really fun. That's so fun. I love seeing the success of these farm stands.  And um I just love seeing  the hunger for real food that is really happening. That has definitely been, um you know, I've been focused on really the quality of what I eat since I was about 20.
13:33you know, that's 20, almost 25 years now.  And  I just really,  remember feeling like I was very alone and nobody really cared like I cared. And I think the progression of seeing people really start to realize, oh man, you know, I feel better when I eat better. I feel like I can tell the difference. I can tell the difference in  eggs that were raised.
14:01from happy chickens, the flavor. My kids are so funny because they've been raised on um pasture raised eggs from our yard. then usually I have to,  I've got a lot of people in the family. So sometimes I'm supplementally buying eggs,  but I always buy pasture raised eggs from a local farm. um if we go to like a restaurant or like a hotel and they have just like generic eggs, they go, mom.
14:29this doesn't even taste like egg. Like, what is this? This doesn't taste like egg. And I  love that so much because,  you know, everything that we eat should taste like what it is. That should be like the very basic, um you know, and when food is well raised, you can absolutely tell a difference.  Yeah. When we got our chickens this past spring, we hadn't had our own chickens for like five months because we called the older ones to
14:59two falls ago, so a year ago. And I was avoiding eating eggs from the store because I knew they weren't great. And my husband bought some eggs from the store for something and I scrambled a couple because I wanted scrambled eggs. I hadn't had scrambled eggs in months. And I bit into this and I was like, this doesn't even taste like egg and it's rubbery. I don't like this. I'm not eating this. And I dumped them in the trash. That's how gross they were. Isn't that sad? And then we got our first eggs from our chickens, the ones we bought.
15:28And I was like, okay, I really could go for some scrambled eggs.  And I scrambled up a couple eggs and I sat down to eat them and they were silky. I never realized that good eggs are like silky on your tongue. That's great. And I must have made a yummy noise as my dad says, make a yummy noise because it tastes good. And my husband looked at me, he said, what? And I said, these are really great eggs. And he said, they're eggs. And I'm like, no, you don't understand. Yeah.
15:56And I explained the same to him that I just told you. And he was like, oh yeah, he said they are, they're silky. They're very smooth on your tongue. And he said, I hadn't even thought about it until you mentioned it. And I was like, uh-huh. Yeah. It makes such a huge difference. People ask a lot, know, okay, what's the difference between an egg you raise at home and an egg you buy at the store? And I'm like, okay, imagine the difference between a strawberry that's been shipped in from Mexico in the middle of January compared to a strawberry that you pick.
16:25fresh off of the plant in season in Minnesota. And they just get it. And they're like, oh, or a tomato  that's been shipped in from halfway across the world um in the middle of winter or a tomato that you pull off the vine and eat. It's just,  it's the essence of what it is, is absolutely tasted when you eat it.  Yeah,  absolutely.  I agree completely. oh
16:53I had one of those over 50 moments this morning. was grabbing some frozen ground beef out of my big freezer in my kitchen and I opened the freezer and I saw something that looked like strawberries in my freezer and we have no strawberries in the freezer. I know this. And I was like, oh man, we have strawberries. And I was like, no, we don't. have tomatoes that are cut up to can in October because it looked exactly the same in the plastic bag.
17:20I had that moment of,  number one, my brain is not working.  And number two, boy, I wish those were strawberries.  I think, yeah, that idea of  buying fruit in season  and  then just freezing it is  such a hack. The deep freezer is like the greatest invention. The next thing that I upgrade in our house, though, is going to be uh
17:44a stand up deep freeze in the basement that I open with the handle and has shelves versus like the chest freezer because we have a hand-me-down chest freezer from my parents from years ago, which  is super useful and great, but I like lose things. Like we moved to this house and I finally cleaned out the deep freezer and found zucchini that I'd frozen shredded in bags in the bottom from 2015 from the garden. I mean, it's pretty easy to lose things down there. So  that'll be
18:13be the next one. But I'll try to buy. I do um a big order  through my local farmer  of  Colorado peaches. And then  I just slice them up. I don't even take the skin off. I just slice them up. I lay them on sheet trays on parchment paper and then um freeze them and then pop them off and put them in um freezer bags. And then we've got
18:39frozen peaches for smoothies all year round or for whatever kind of baked thing or making jam or whatever.  And I'm trying to get better about doing that with as many fruits as possible because even just avoiding recalls of when it's like, okay, this bag of whatever from Costco is being recalled. It's like, oh gosh, you can avoid that if you're the one really processing your own food. Yep, for sure.
19:04I love talking to you because you have all these things that I do or used to do. um Now that we only have the one kid at home, we don't stock up quite as heavy as we did when we had four kids at home.  But this actually helps me out a lot because I finally got my Patreon started. Do know what Patreon is? Yeah, I've heard of this. don't use it.  I finally got it started and I have been adding  PDFs of hints.
19:33of things that you can do to get started on the gardening or homesteading or cooking. I know you're a bone broth girly, right? All the time. Listen, I'm big on broth. We eat a lot of soup in our house. I'm lucky to be married to a man who believes that soup is a meal. Some men don't believe this, Mary. Some men are like, I don't want soup as a meal. But if you make them like I do, I think they're very hearty.
19:57As long as we've got some sourdough on the side and some good butter, then soup is absolutely a meal. So I  make broth all the time.  I think if you can, that is like a fundamental thing. If you can get into the groove of making your own broth, particularly if you can make your own chicken bone broth,  beef bone broth is really easy to make too. But I do a lot of chicken bone broth and  it takes your cooking to an entirely new level.
20:26There  are a lot of store-bought broths that I think do a good job. There are none that do a great job. It cannot compare to what you make at home.  Absolutely. I used to roast two chickens, whole chickens,  in my big  turkey roaster thing. You plug into the wall. Yes, the electric roaster.  My parents have one of those. love it. Used to do two of those at a time. And with six people eating, one chicken would be demolished, of course.
20:54And then we would rip up the other chicken, freeze the meat. And I would take the stock from the pan, you know, the roaster. And then I would also put the rest of the chicken into another pan and make more bone broth. making a soup with that chicken stock was  unbelievably yummy  and  rich and deep and layered. And  I keep telling people,
21:20all the time, whether it's on podcasts or people I know or people I talk to on the phone or in messages, learn to cook. It is the most important skill you can have. I totally agree. Yeah, I completely agree. think, you know, the nice thing too is when you are investing in really good food, you know, we in the United States, we spend a lower percentage of our income on food than many other nations. And
21:49It shows because the quality of our food is not great. We are accustomed to cheap ultra-processed food.  you know, I always make the argument that cheap food does not come without a cost. We're paying for it somehow.  There are myriad ways that we're paying for it in terms of, you know, exploitation of farm workers, in terms of, um you know, just  raising crops that are nutritionally void  and um
22:16and then also the healthcare costs that are attributed to our lifestyle and our diet. But when it comes to investing in real food and great food,  you're going to want to maximize what you  buy because it's expensive. And so when I buy a whole chicken from the farm,
22:36um I'll also buy an eight-piece cut up chicken, which I do like to do because it's really easy. It's a little easier to roast on a weeknight. um I can just put the pieces on a sheet pan if I'm busy working. That's a nice little shortcut. But I save all of the bones  from everything that we eat. I throw it in a freezer bag. I do the same with the ends of onions, the ends of carrots. And so I've got kind of like a veggie bag going, the ends of celery, things like that.
23:05So I a veggie bag going and a chicken bag going. And then once they're full, I take my giant pot  and I put the chicken carcass, then the veggie scraps, and then I'll add some peppercorns, um a bay leaf. I'll add um usually some other sprigs of herbs from the garden. If it's in the winter, then I just add some dried herbs and then uh some salt, a little splash of apple cider vinegar or a squeeze of lemon.
23:32then I just simmer it for 24 hours. I put it on low on my stove and let it simmer for 24 hours and then I strain it and put it in wide mouth glass jars and freeze it. The hands-on time is 20 minutes because even to package it up at the end is very, very easy. Then you end up with this amazing broth. When you're looking at buying organic pasture-raised bone broth at the store,
24:00know,  it can be 12 bucks a quart, easy.  so when you're buying a chicken that is going to cost significantly more than a Costco rotisserie chicken, you want to make sure that you're getting every ounce out of that food. And so that's a real example of, I think, being thoughtful about what you're purchasing, making the most out of what you're purchasing and showing respect for the life that was taken in order to sustain yours. And that respect is important.
24:29Yes, it is. um The other thing I would not suggest is that people try to do this with Costco rotisserie chicken. Do not do it. Thank you, Mary. Thank you. Too much fat in them and it will ruin it. And it's not good for you anyway. Yeah. And the bones are really brittle. And I mean, that's the thing. want to be, you really want to be thoughtful m about  what you're eating. And I have found,  you know,  really through this
24:56a sort of evolution over time though, that  when you're eating this way, and by this way I mean nutrient dense with a focus on regeneratively raised products where you're looking at traditionally prepared grains, all of those types of things when you're eliminating ultra processed foods. think when you're eating this way, um
25:22Sometimes people get overwhelmed by going, oh my gosh, how do know if I'm choosing the right thing or whatever? What I have found is that it's actually incredibly liberating  because when you're shopping, it cuts out 90 % of the options. You know what I mean? When I'm going to go buy pasta, pasta is always a great example. I am only going to buy pasta that is non-GMO, organic, that is slow dried and bronze cut.
25:51That means that when I'm at a store, if I'm at like a regular grocery store, there's two brands that I'm picking from. And then that's it. I'm picking from those two brands versus when you go into a mainstream American grocery store, there could be 18 brands of pasta sitting right there that you're choosing.  when you eliminate some options, it's actually very freeing. I think we have this idea that having unlimited options is good for us when I think it's often
26:20it's brain paralyzing, you can't make a decision, and it's all kind of the same junk where what you're really looking for is the ultimate quality, nutrient-dense, amazing product that you're going to love. Yes. And in Minnesota, we're really lucky because there are so many people who are growing their own food, whether it's animals or produce or fruit.  And food is produced, but same diff.
26:48that you could literally spend a weekend shopping at farms instead of the grocery store  and come home with everything you needed for the week  for food. Yes. Oh, absolutely.  I think, you know, and I always, think grocery stores are important. They play an important role. I'm, you know, I shop at my local co-op. There are a lot of, there are local grocery store chains that really do uh a good job focusing on local.  And, um but at the same time,
27:17in order to really financially support farmers, we have to find ways to directly buy from them.  And that because it just takes out the middleman.  And if you can, if you can  do that, it really makes a huge difference. So I have a couple different farm. I mean, I live in the city and I have farm delivery services that deliver to me that I buy directly from the farm  and they drop them off, which is amazing because I'm able to buy direct from them.
27:47And I think thinking about those types of like even your farm stand or other small farm stands, if you're going and you can go, I'm going to get my few things from there, adding in that extra stop to go directly to a farmer makes a huge difference. And of course, one of the easiest ways to do it is to get yourself a giant freezer and then buy, you know, a half a hog, buy a quarter of a cow, you know, finding farmers who will do that where you're really
28:14maximizing the transaction for them because every transaction also requires the effort from the farmer. So if you can say, all right, I'm going to spend a thousand bucks  on um a ton of meat, beef for the year and I'm going to go do one transaction, give them a huge chunk of money and then I'm going to have it in the deep freeze and I'm going have it ready for the year, that's a really  great way to maximize everybody's time.
28:38Yes. And the other thing that's interesting about buying a quarter or a half or a whole beef, depending on how much room you have,  is that you're paying a certain amount per pound for  all the meat. It's not, it's not the same as when you go to the grocery store and they want $25 a pound for filet mignon  and they want $10 a pound for burger. Right. And I love that. We just haven't been in a position to buy a half lately. So.
29:08It's so hard right now. I was listening to uh a podcast from another friend of mine yesterday and I literally was incensed and  sad at the same time because her guest said that on average in America right now, if you are a couple with four children and you are making at least $85,000 a year,  it's still not enough. Yeah. Yeah. And I just wanted to cry and scream at the same time because this is not okay. No.
29:39So if there are ways to bring down your costs of living and costs of eating and help out your local producer and make that food go further, I say do it. Yeah, I think you're right. I also think we are living in a world where we just
30:05we waste a lot of money on a lot of stupid stuff.  I say this a lot um and everyone's financial situation is different and my financial situation has certainly been different in different times of my life. um But if  you're getting your nails done, you have money for grass-fed beef.  This is what I said. It's expensive. It's a lot to go and do those types of things. think even like
30:33subscription services to uh different TV things. And I work in TV. I love TV, but you can also get over the air free TV, which is where Twinsities Live airs.  So there are real opportunities.  think sacrificing food should be the last resort because food is so important when it comes to everybody has to make priorities. Everyone has to shift their priorities, but sacrificing the quality of the food that you eat at home
31:03ah I would hope would be the last resort for most people. And then there, you know, there's of course different levels.  we're talking about  poverty or homelessness, we're talking about a completely different situation. I'm talking about for the  average American.  absolutely.  And  I am so concerned for the people who are under 25 right now, who are just, just starting out their adult lives in this, I don't know, climate, this
31:31economic craziness that's going on and how in the heck they're going to make it, you know? Yeah, it's an interesting time and an interesting shift. think it feels to me like  there's maybe a realignment on the horizon.  I'm hopeful about that. um I think as a  nation, we've been living beyond our means for a long time  and it's not sustainable.
32:00and it never has been sustainable. And now we're sort of seeing that and the consequences of that long time lifestyle really come to fruition. I think what a lot of us look back at maybe, you know, how people came together during World War II and grew victory gardens and how, you know, a more modest life was appropriate. Now it's, mean, so many people are swimming in debt.
32:27There has been this pressure to kind of keep up appearances no matter what  and there's been plenty of credit card companies willing to let you  just create a giant balance and not really pay the price for that except for in stress.  And I think  both ways, we need a systemic review and then we also need on an individual basis, a review of what's important. How can we understand that?
32:55cutting back, that not needing  a new car every three years.  This kind of  new and constant  is not sustainable. It's not, and it's going to kill us all. It's just a bad plan. Yeah. Okay. So I appreciate everything you said about your growing things and your  take on how to  help out the local farmers and help out yourself in doing so.
33:24But I have to tell you, I have been listening to best the nest. Basically since I talked to you in March of 2024, because I didn't even know it existed until then. And I love what you and Marjorie are doing with that. It is so beautiful and so helpful and so fun and sometimes so sad. Yeah. But everybody has so many different emotions that it's all going to come up. Thank you.
33:53It's  probably my favorite project that I do out of everything that I work on. The podcast is, we call it the podcast that brings you home. And it really is focused on  making a daily practice  of creating a home that you don't need a vacation from, creating a home that reflects you, creating a home that reflects your values and that is a sanctuary and is a place where you can be your best. And then you go out into the world with that.
34:23safe place to land. And so we always say it's a journey. It's not like either of us have arrived at that. And part of life  is grief. And a big part of  the sadness that you're referring to uh is my co-host Marjorie Punnett lost her husband uh almost two years ago now. And it was very unexpected. And he uh declined from a quick illness. he,  was very close to me and my family. We're very close with Ian and Marjorie. And so uh
34:52walking through that grief has been  difficult and kind of figuring out em where Marjorie goes from here and  how  this is a universal experience though. It's a universal human,  part of the human experience to love and then to experience loss. And so those conversations have  been really great. And we integrate a lot of conversations about
35:17um food, because food is so much at the heart of the home. So we talk a lot about food, we talk a lot about being intentional about the things that you're bringing into your home. um We talk about that with regards to textiles, with regards to, you know, all sorts of different products. And so it's, um they're, they're really fun conversations. Yeah,  it is. It's really fun to listen to. And I love it because I will pull it up on Monday.
35:42when I know it's there. And I will listen to it while I'm doing dishes because I always have dishes to do. My hands are always in hot water. Isn't that strange?  You would think after getting three of the four kids out of my house, I wouldn't have as many dishes to do. But no, there's always dishes.  Or I listen to it when I'm folding laundry, which I think is funny because it's called best to the nest. And where do you do laundry and dishes? In your nest.  I get so much done when I'm podcasting. Audiobooks like save me with laundry. They make laundry.
36:10It's like meditative. don't have to think, but I'm still accomplishing something while I'm listening.  Thank God for earbuds. Yeah.  I could not do it without the earbuds because I can't have uh a cord attached to headphones to my phone to listen. It just doesn't work. ah But I was very excited and very pleased when I listened to your episode yesterday. I think I listened to it yesterday  that Marjorie can talk about Ian without crying now. That is growth. Yeah.
36:39She's, so proud of her and she's really, I think she's really known that the only way is through.  You can't get around, you can't go above it, you can't go below it. I mean, the only way is through and that um life looks different now, um but the only way is through.
37:04And she's doing a really beautiful job navigating that while experiencing all the feelings that come along with it.  Absolutely. It's so hard and it's so,  it's one of the worst growth periods of your life when you lose someone that you love.  And I've said this before and I will die on this hill  when people that you care about  die. It's not that you're grieving the past. It's that you're grieving the future that could have been. You're right.
37:33It's so frustrating. hate that part. ah But I love you guys and I am so tickled that you do this together because you guys have such a loving friendship and  I think people need to hear and see that. Oh, thank you. Thank you. We'll just keep on going. We keep on recording episodes.  Please do that. And  I always have to laugh when you say  our podcast is the best podcast in the world because I'm like, excuse me over here. Hi. uh
38:01I'm a good one too. A little bit of shameless self-promotion never hurt anybody. You know what?  If you're not going to pump your own tires, who's going to?  Every time you do it, I just laugh out loud. My son looks at me he's like, what? And I'm like, you would not understand. Just let me laugh. It's fine. um So I'm going to go back to the Patreon thing for a second because I'm obsessed with it. I have been trying really hard to put something together for a couple of years now that isn't just a podcast because the podcast is like
38:29the tip of the iceberg with hints and tips and tricks and what people are doing in this. And I was like, where can I put stuff where maybe I could make just a tiny smidge of money and give people value that actually matters. someone said to the other day, why don't you just set up a Patreon because people can subscribe and then you are going to save them at least double what they pay to subscribe to it.
38:56by all the things that you teach them to do. And I was like, Oh my God, I'm so dumb sometimes. Why have I not done this?  And so today I'm going to be adding the  whole, how do you, how can you completely use a whole chicken?  Like break down the chicken, cook the chicken,  put the, whatever you don't eat. Once you've done all that stuff, that's food, put that in compost. Cause then that goes back into the ground and you have more dirt  to make more bugs  and plants feed your new chickens.
39:26the whole cycle and things like that. And I just want people to know that this is here because half an hour is not long enough to really give people the nitty gritty of how they could be helping themselves. It's just kind of like a teaser. That's so smart. And I think there's such an appetite for that type of information. And when you find community, it makes you feel less alone. So when you're understanding that people are doing
39:55people are integrating these principles of homesteading in all sorts of different ways.  I always say that you're a gardener if you're growing a plant in a pot. It doesn't matter.  People are growing things at different scales. You could always look at some Instagram influencers, beautiful, massive homestead with picturesque goats and 50 acres in the middle of nowhere and think, oh my gosh, I'm not even making a dent in it. But the whole point
40:25of even what I share on my little decidedly non-fancy blog called Home to Homestead is about homesteading principles. Now, the principles of homesteading can be applied to any home that you're living in. mean, I would grow
40:41herbs and tomatoes on a balcony of my apartment in Green Bay when I was 25, you know, and working early in news and I bought cheap pots at Target and some soil and a couple of tomato plants and I was able to grow tomatoes and it was really fantastic. And so that, I think that feeling and that, that sense of pride and accomplishment that you get when you grow something, when you produce something is just, we've become so detached from that.
41:10And I think it's a cultural crisis because our bodies and our minds and our hearts and souls were designed to work along with nature, to be part of nature  and to not feel separate. And I think that separation from nature that we found ourselves in and even, you know,  the that idea of we have to save the environment, I think was like a misguided  way to have that conversation because
41:40We are the environment. We have to save ourselves. We have to be  respectful of  our bodies, of human life,  of  the creation that we're in. And when we lose that connection and that respect, we find ourselves just  untethered  and  unable to make the right decisions because we're not connected to the thing that's the most important.
42:07Yeah, I thought on mord, but untethered is the same thing. We find ourselves on mord. We're not, we have nothing to hold on to. You're right. You're right. Yeah. And I think we're seeing that a lot. You know, I mean, the news has obviously been very heavy lately, but as I sort of critically look at the mental health crisis that we're in, the sort of identity crisis that we're in, um the like frantically searching for some sort of tribe to belong to that we're in.
42:37I think that those are reactions to a collective disconnection from our environment and our faith in something bigger. Yes, the news lately has been incredibly heavy and I don't even want to talk about it because it's been just so  hard to try to find words for everything. And I don't even know if it's worth words right now.  I think it's worth
43:04thinking about what  we ourselves are doing in our little part of the world and trying to do something good to counteract the bad as often as we can.  And so  I keep telling people just do something nice for somebody. Just once a day, find  something nice that you could do and do it because positive energy does counteract  negative energy. And if we all do something good,
43:32It may not change the bad, it might improve things later. Yeah, I think you're right. was thinking about this a little bit last night. I was actually running to the co-op in my neighborhood to get uh a couple of ingredients for a segment this morning. And this  gentleman was walking towards me, and I was walking towards him because he was walking out of the store and I was walking in. And then we sort of did that funny dance where like,  tried to get out of his way, but I went left and I should have gone right. And then he went.
44:00the same way. And then we were like, and then we just both started laughing. Like we were just laughing because it was just such a funny, awkward interaction. And we'd both been kind of had sort of like serious faces on because I was thinking, okay, I've got just like 15 minutes. I got to run in here. I got to get this stuff. I got to get home to the boys and make dinner and blah, blah, blah, you know.  And I'm sure he had things on his mind, but we just like we had did this awkward dance in the parking lot and then just started laughing. And I thought  I just was thinking about that as being such a sweet, funny interaction.
44:30that if  we took  some of these awkward moments and just made them funny,  how much lighter the world could be. Because then I went into the co-op feeling just like a little bit lighter because I just laughed with this person. It was very interesting.  I love that. Yeah, I call that the zigzag dance at the grocery store.
44:51We were in the parking lot. I was like, oh, what's happening here? And then we were just both, we were both just cracking up. And it turned out he had a big, great smile. And, you know, I got to see it because we had that awkward interaction and we decided to laugh about it.  Yeah. And that's, that's the other thing. When I moved here,  God, a long time ago  from New England,  Minnesotans back when were very to themselves. That was the take I had.  I went out of my way.
45:19when people made eye contact with me to smile. Yeah. If not say hello. Yeah. Because I just, it was so weird for me because back home in Maine and New Hampshire and Massachusetts and Vermont,  the four New England states I've been in,  people talk like they get in line behind you or you're in line behind them and people just start out these, start up these random conversations about whatever.  And Minnesotans don't really do that. I know, I know. And I got
45:48I got very strange looks at first. And I just made it my mission that I would have uh a positive interaction with someone when I went out in public because I had to do it. Yeah.  And I've noticed since COVID people are a lot more willing to start up conversations because they had, you know, a year and a half of not really being around anybody. Yeah, they realize you realize what you miss out on when it comes to social interaction and connection with people. And, you know, I think it's also just a reminder that
46:17It's very easy to get in  when you're looking at social media or you're looking at the media in general and you're kind of seeing the extremes of different sides  of, you know, the ways of looking at the world that  it's easy to think like, oh, everybody is against this or for this. And the reality is, is that most people are really in the middle and most people, if you have a nuanced conversation with them, um you can find out that most of us want the same things and
46:47value the same things and uh might just not know how to get there.  Yeah, I think every human being wants shelter and food and water  and rest. And if they can get that in some way that keeps them healthy and strong, it makes them better people. Therefore, they can go out and spread good in the world.  The problem we have is that not everyone has enough  of the things that they actually need to be a good human.
47:16Yeah. And beyond those basics though, I think so many people are just searching for something on the outside to fill them up and not looking for what's inside because the reality is that having those basic needs met  is very important. The vast majority of people have those basic needs met. There certainly are people who don't and that's an important problem to solve. But the vast majority of people have those needs met and it's just there are
47:45There are holes in people's hearts that make them feel like,  if  I get this, if I'm just this, if  I have that, that then I'll be happy. And that is never going to work.  It's just  never gonna work. You're never gonna find something on the outside of yourself  that you have accomplished or obtained or achieved that will bring you happiness.
48:12It is a completely different process that fulfillment and confidence and enjoyment of life has to come from within and has to come from a creative expression of who you are. And that's what I'm saying also by being unsustainable. mean, we're looking at now, I don't know, really since like, I would maybe say the 1950s of just like this
48:40The, m I think advertising has changed now, which is good, but you look at like  so much of the early advertising was really about your life isn't great. If you have this, it will make it better. And we've internalized that message. And I think that message is problematic. Yep. I agree. But I also think that the three or four things I mentioned, that's a good start. Great start. So that you can look inside yourself because you are
49:08you are healthy and you are rested and healthy and rested are two of the key cornerstones of having the room to dig inside yourself and figure out what it is that you need or you want or how you can help.  Yeah. And what it is that your gifts are. What are your gifts? What are your unique talents? What are the things that you are able to bring to the world because everybody has them  and, um you know, not subscribing to this idea that success has to look a certain way. Success
49:38is,  I think, when you're able to fully express who you are. It's funny because now we kind go back to the beginning  of the conversation where we're talking about the chickens expressing the chickenness of the chicken.  Humans, I think, are a little bit more complex in terms of we have many ways to express our humanness, but it's because we are such a diverse species. But how
50:04could you look at how do I express the Elizabeth-ness of the Elizabeth?  How does Mary express the Mary-ness of the Mary?  And thinking about what are your instincts, what are your gifts, what are your talents, what are the things that you gravitate towards, what are the things that really light you up in finding a way to express that on a daily basis, um I think can help us on that path to finding joy and fulfillment.
50:31Absolutely. I've said absolutely a lot this morning. That's good. That must mean we're on the right track. I think so. I hope so.  All right. Where can people find you, Elizabeth?  Oh gosh, all sorts of places. You can watch Twin Cities Live. um I have been on Twin Cities Live now for over 17 years. um And  we like to think of it as your bright spot in the afternoons. If you're in the Twin Cities, it's on from 3 4.30 on um the ABC affiliate in Minneapolis. Also,
50:59on WDIO in Duluth and ABC6 in Rochester. And then you can stream us on TwinCitiesLive.com.  And  I co-host that with my friend Ben Lieber, who is a former NFL linebacker. If you're a Vikings fan, you probably know him and love him. played for the Vikings for many years.  And then uh the podcast, Best to the Nest, is available wherever you get your podcasts,  Spotify,  Amazon, all the things. And then uh
51:27The blog is called Home to Homestead. I always warn people it's a non-fancy blog. You're not going to find like,  you know, 85 stunning pictures, but it's really just a little bit of a recipe journal. I talk about, you know, the garden and the chickens, and hopefully it inspires you to just, as Mary said, get cooking because it is really, I think, one of the most valuable skills. And I think it's something that you learn to love the better you get at it. So I challenge people who say like, oh, I hate to cook or I'm not a good cook.
51:57um I think you are. I think you can be. think it's in your bones. you just have to  start small.  Start by learning a couple of things. I started with soups.  mean,  when I got my first apartment um in college my senior year, I got a slow cooker and I started making soups in the slow cooker. And like my roommates  would love it.
52:26The guys who lived down the hall loved it. They would come up, know, everyone who would come and grab some soup. And um I remember finding that so rewarding and thinking like, okay, I can do this. And soups are very forgiving. They're also  very adjustable in terms of, um you know, ingredients that you like or maybe don't like.  And  they really, I think, help somebody build confidence in the kitchen, which is super important.  And you're Elizabeth Reese on Facebook, right?
52:54Elizabeth Reese on Facebook and Elis Reese are IES um on Instagram. And Instagram is another fun place if you want to see, you know, my chicken propaganda. You know,  I'm trying to get everybody to get a chicken coop.  When I run for president, when I'm school president, student council president, everyone will have a chicken coop  and everyone will have a sauna. It'll come with your house.  Nice.  It's a free gift with purchase. do think um
53:23It, that  those investments have been really great. The practice of chicken keeping is just  good for my soul.  Um, even though it does sometimes drive me crazy that they poop on the sidewalk, Mary, like then I got to dodge the chicken poop on the sidewalk, but it's a small price to pay. Well, it's kind of like when we have our, we have our dog and she goes potty in the yard. Cause that's where her run is.
53:48husband stepped out this morning and tried to get her to come in because she was being a brat and didn't want to come in. He was in bare feet and I was like, be careful of the uh deposits. His  hands were like, eh, it washes off. know, but it's a gross feeling to step in it.  mud is better than  that. That is absolutely true.  think, and getting outside and  getting those bare feet in the ground, um those things are life-giving.
54:18then you just can't, I don't think you can overestimate the power of just the small choices  that you're making and the little inputs um in your life. But I love that tip too of roasting a couple of chickens. I think doing that once a week or once every couple of weeks is a genius idea.  It helps, especially when you're raising four kids on one income, which is why I did it back then.
54:43This winter, I'm hoping to get back to that because some chicken soup and some chicken salad sounds really good. Just always so good. You know the other thing too, I've been brining my chicken. Do you brine your chicken  before you roast it? I usually melt like half a stick of butter and pour it over it. That's a great idea. And then I just, what is it when you stick the ladle in the broth and pour it over the chicken? Oh yeah, like a basting. Thank you, yes, basting. Yeah, so I have been making a really simple brine.
55:12with some sugar, some salt and some seasonings and then you dissolve that in water and then you put the chicken pieces or the whole chicken in it and let it sit all day in the fridge brining and then pull it out. And then I do like a compound butter with some garlic, some herbs, some lemon zest, stuff like that and rub it on the inside between the skin and the chicken meat and then on top and then roasting it. I think
55:38Especially if you're making the transition into pasture raised chicken, which pasture raised chicken can be, ah because they're just not bred the same  as conventional chickens.  Some people can think that it's like a little bit tougher or a little bit drier, but it's really about  how you treat the bird. And I think brining has made a big difference for me. So if you've ever struggled with a pasture raised chicken, that has been a great solution.
56:04Listen to Elizabeth. She knows what she's talking about because I've never brined a chicken in my whole life.  have brined a turkey. So I'm it's the same. And this is why I thought of it, Mary, because I'm like,  so you do that for a turkey.  Why couldn't you do it for a chicken?  And a lot of times when you have really great chicken at restaurants, they're brining it. And I think  that can be a key to making it better. We have a lot of chefs on Twin Cities Live, so I get lucky. I get to pick up some good tips and tricks from them. It must be so fun. uh
56:34So thank you so much for your time, Elizabeth. I really have, I really love talking with you. You're so fun. I agree. The feeling is mutual. Thanks for having me. It's a joy to get to chat about all my favorite topics. You're welcome. I really enjoyed it.  Um, so as always, people can find me at a tiny homestead podcast.com  and go check out my Patreon. It's patreon.com slash a tiny homestead. Cause you will find all kinds of hints like what we talked about today.
57:03Thank you, Elizabeth. You're so welcome. Bye.