A Year of Homesteading: Animals, Vegetables, and Achievements

🐮We had a successful year with our beef cows, with 9 out of 10 cows calving and adding to our herd.

🐷We made the difficult decision to stop breeding Idaho pasture pigs but will continue to raise them for our own consumption.

🍅Growing tomatoes and peppers in the greenhouse was a huge success, and we plan to focus more on spicy pepper varieties this year.

🌱To overcome poor soil conditions, we switched completely to raised bed gardening, which proved to be a game-changer for us.

🌽We had a bountiful harvest from our garden, including cucumbers, green beans, quail, rabbits, and ducks.

Why did you decide to stop breeding Idaho pasture pigs?

—Breeding and raising pigs over the winter became too challenging without proper infrastructure, and the local market for the breed wasn't as strong as expected. We will continue to raise them for meat consumption.

Why did you switch to raised bed gardening?

—The rocky and poor soil conditions on our property made growing in the ground difficult. Switching to raised beds solved this problem and allowed us to have a more successful garden.

What was the highlight of your year with the beef cows?

—Out of our 10 cows, 9 of them calved successfully, adding new calves to our herd. It was a rewarding and exciting experience for us.

How did the greenhouse gardening go?

—Growing tomatoes and peppers in the greenhouse was a huge success. The controlled environment and shade cloth led to an amazing tomato year, and we plan to explore new spicy pepper varieties this year.

What other vegetables did you harvest?

—In addition to tomatoes and peppers, we had a bountiful harvest of cucumbers, green beans, quail, rabbits, and ducks. It was a productive year for our garden.

00:00In this video, we review the highlights of our homestead in 2023, including animal breeding, meat production, greenhouse gardening, and switching to raised bed gardening.

01:59We had a successful year with our beef cows, calving 9 out of 10 cows and adding to our herd.

05:28We made the decision to stop breeding Idaho pasture pigs due to challenges in winter care and a limited local market for the breed.

08:25Growing tomatoes and peppers in the greenhouse was a huge success, and we plan to focus more on spicy pepper varieties this year.

11:57Switching to raised bed gardening was a game-changer for us, overcoming poor soil conditions and allowing for a more successful garden.

12:56We had a bountiful harvest from our garden, including cucumbers, green beans, quail, rabbits, and ducks.