For some time now we have been working to make the family farm more sustainable as well as more self-sufficient. If you have read any of our other posts, we are very big on being self-sufficient, sustainable, and as green as we can. In our other posts, you have seen our family farm is well on its way but there is always a way to improve your methods or add a new piece to your life puzzle. Today we will start with our new farm projects and how we are moving towards a more sustainable and self-sufficient food supply.

So we have been working on growing trees, plants, and veg that are not only sustainable but also that we can start for ourselves. We want our fruit trees, nut trees, and veg to be plants that we can plant and that will give us produce for years to come. But we also want our plants to be ones that we can start and grow from plants or seeds that we already have on hand. Of course, it is best to grow things that our family will actually use and eat.

Our two-year-old blueberry bushes gave us our first harvest this summer.

It is a great thing to have products that you can sell or trade if needed but if your own family will not eat it or can not use it in some way, it is pretty much a waste of time and space.

With this idea in mind, we made a list of things that we use daily or very often. We figured out the ingrediants for our most used foods. And then we figured out, which parts we can make for ourselves. Turns out, most things we can make for ourselves, with a bit of planning and forethought. You may need to change some of the base ingrediants to be able to make the end products that you want, but that is not as hard as it sounds. Many things have equal or better, natural substitutes.

So with this plan, we went to work. We are an actual working farm so we have a head start, but you do not have to be a full farm to start supporting yourself. You can start with one thing, get that one thing in full swing, and then add another. A self-sufficient food supply does not have to be great labor and it does not have to be done all at once. Whatever you can grow or make for yourself, is that much less that you will have to buy or find when you need it. Do not get discouraged if you can only grow a little at a time, any amount is a good start.

Yes, you see all these people that “did it” for themselves and that is great for them. But it is a lot of work and a lot of time, that many people just do not have. So for those that would like to start but are not sure how or where. Just start small and start somewhere. Do things one step at a time.

Do as we did, what do your use most? What are the parts to that? Can you make it or grow it yourself? Can you substitute some things that you can grow for ingrediants that you can not? The answer is usually yes. Again, start small and let it grow. One step at a time is better than a full-tilt run that will frustrate you and wear you out. Make a shortlist of things and just leave it on the table. Add to this list as you think of new things. Not everything will be doable in everyone’s living arrangements and that is ok. You are starting small and slow. You do not have to, need to, or want to jump in feet first and go in over your head.

Be aware of the “stuff” you use, the stuff you buy regularly. See if those things can be made or grown. Knowing your own habits and the habits of your family is important for this list to be reasonable.

For example, we use a lot of peanut butter. You can easily make homemade peanut butter with raw or roasted peanuts that you buy at the store. Of course, peanuts can be grown on our farm. So this spring, we started an experiment. We planted peanuts for the first time, our farm has never grown peanuts so we are trying it out in a small plot to see how it goes. Like you, we already have a lot going on, so adding another huge time-consuming project that may or may not work out, is just not something we wanted to take on. So, we planted a small plot of peanuts to see what happens. We will let you know, when our first harvest comes in, how this worked for us.

Yes, even a five-generation family farm has not tried it all and we do not grow it all yet. We are still in the process, we are trying things out and building. Again, step by step, slow and steady.

We have started adding a row of this new veg and a couple of plants of this new tree so see how it goes. Some of the things we are wanting to add may not work out, we know this. Not all plants will grow in our area or will grow but not do well so they will not put out enough product to make it worthwhile. We know this and that is why we are starting small with the new ones. We, of course, know what will grow well here and the products that the farm does well with and always has, that is easy. It is adding new things that can be “iffy” so like you, we want to try it out before we commit to a large project. That is totally ok. It is ok to be worried about the loss of resources and loss of time. That is normal and if you were just running, nilly willy into things, you will waste, time, money, and resource. You do not want to do any of that, you will burn out and stop trying. So take it one step at a time.

So when you have a few things on your list, look at that list and see what you want to start with. You may need to do some research on how each plant needs to be tended. How does it grow best? What temp, light, soil, and water habits for best for each one. Again, this is why you do one at a time. Learn that one new plant, master that one, and then move to the next. Do not get so caught up in getting new “stuff” that you do not have time to properly understand and care for your new projects. You will also need to consider the space you have available for this new project and future projects.

We love apricot jelly so we planted apricot trees so we could grow our own apricots.  At some time in the future, we will be able to make our own apricot jelly. Though so far we have only had one apricot from our trees.

We are not trying to discourage you but we are trying to make sure you do not get overwhelmed and give it up. There will be setbacks, there will be projects that work better for you than others, that is ok. This is a process, an experiment, not a failure, if it does not work, it was just a project that may not be suited for your situation and your needs.

Over the next few weeks, we will be doing talks on the things that we have added to our farm. As I said, we started peanuts this spring.

We also started trying to grow our own baby fig trees from the ones we already have.

We save seeds from fruits and veg that we eat and have started sprouting those seeds to see which ones we can keep multiplying.

Here is the first baby grapefruit from a seed we kept from a grapefruit we used to feed the mealworms.

We have bought raw nuts from the grocery and planted some to see if you can grow them, turns out some you can and some you can not. Or at least, some have not worked for us yet. And yes, I say not yet. We will try again with seeds and nuts from other sources to see if that was the issue.

 It is important to us to use Heirloom plants and seeds only. This way you know what you are getting and what you will get next time you plant this seed or plant. As an example of one of our failures, we ate a watermelon a few years ago. We saved the seeds and planted them the next year. Unknown to us, that watermelon was a hybrid. When the seeds came up we were very happy. As the little plants grew, we were surprised at how fast they grew, watermelons are not fast growers. When they finally started getting fruits on them they turned out to be butternut squash. It seems the watermelon we ate was a graft of watermelon with butternut squash. So when the seeds were planted, they reverted to the original of the hybrid, a squash. That was disappointing, to say the least. Just an example of one of our setbacks and why it is important to have heirloom seeds and plants.

Just about everyone knows you can grow plants from seed. But there are other ways also. We have started “spriging”, sprouting and growing from cuttings. There are many plants that you can take a “cutting off of and start a new plant. There are trees you can take a twig off of and start a new tree.

There are so many ways to get new plants from plants that you already have. But each plant has a specific way that it likes to multiply and a way that it works best. We are doing our research and trying things out. We will be sharing with you our trials and experiments and how they are going.

We are going to start with new plant growing projects, fruit, veg, and nuts. But we may branch out into what we do with those plants once we have figured out how to grow larger quantities of them. These plant growing projects will take time, plants do not grow quickly. Some of our new projects may take months to see results, some will take years to give off their first fruits and nuts. That is one of the big things with plants, they take time. But if you want a plant that will grow, be big, strong, and produce for many years, you have to put in the time, care, and patience. And a long-term, sustainable, harvest, is the whole idea here. We will start with plants, that is after all the basis of most things we eat.

We started our first experiment with Sunchokes this spring.  We like them raw just to eat. You can use them to substitute for so many other tubers in cooking.  And so far, Sunchokes have been easy to grow.

We will add making ingrediants, recipes, or other projects you can use plant parts for. As with our series on personal care items, body powder, DIY deodorant, and the like, which we did some time ago, you must have the ingrediants first. So once, you can grow our plants, you can make your raw ingrediants and then make your recipes or personal care items or whatever the goal is that you have set for yourself. As I keep saying, one step at a time.

We have started some baby arrowroot plants. Arrowroot is used in baking as well as for body powders, deodorants, and other skincare products.  It will be a while before our baby plants can be used as ingrediants but it is a start.

So we hope this talk has given you something to consider and a place to start your own list of “stuff” you want to try. Please do start that list, even if it is only a “what if” list. It could be fun to think things up. Be sure to see what “stuff” your family is interested in also. A plant project is always a great way to get kids involved and start them down a green path. Thank you for visiting and reading. I know this is a lot of info but do feel free to come back and consult with us often.

Thank you and please visit again for another edition of Out Standing in the Field.