How We Built a 10 Acre Homestead in a Year (from scratch)

in 2017 our family's cell on an epic road trip the Great America farm tour to discover the greatest farms of America but also to find our place in America to make sure where we work is where we were supposed to be Richard Crenna key beyond was all around me the dream was a dream no longer I suppose I was here because this was something I had to do not just dream about it but do it 2018 was to be the year of building just how many systems could we put in place and see how much we could grow of our own food in the first year okay [Music] everybody ready come on oh here we are breathe the mountain air step away from the generator view first [Music] [Applause] oh my goodness here you go Beth hold this for me I'm gonna lay down right there but the tour came at a cost and my health took a turn for the worse and I was having panic attacks and couldn't sleep and my body was just stressed out I am recovering from the stress of the trip hasn't taken a huge toll on me going to some doctors appointments or pinpointing the problem getting better yeah you're getting rest you're taking care of yourself 2018 I think is fair to say would be a healing year when ya say it's my word for mm oh good it's it's a recovery year we're starting over the homestead we're not gonna be able to be where we were with me laughs because that was ten years in the making we'll be there faster than 10 years but oh yeah we'll be there faster we'll be like next year yeah we're broadacre the first thing we did was buy cows well the first one we got was a bull hey buddy I won't get too close this one's not handled so he's gonna be real nervous oh yes so happy to get a bull back on the farm that's sustainability right there yeah yeah what are you doin grab that bull by the horns no you want to grab the bull by the horns give in the stop hey just go go with it that's right there we go good well you're a determing little girl ah good girl hey you happy to have an animal farm yeah just starting to feel like a farm again guys yes good job you guys happy to be taking care of some animals again look at them buzzards even work so hard huh so far so good gurney the kids want a name in Buffalo I don't want to name them studmuffin we have to think of a name just gonna pay for it I'd say that's good what we're gonna do is he's gonna pull that gate open he'll go he'll get in then we're gonna then we're gonna slide this metal get you there were a slide this metal gate in front of the the problem is if this pool escape somehow there's no other cows here to show him where home is he'll want to be looking for other towels and he's unhandled so they ain't no catching everyone she's ready to get out [Music] I'm just focused long round [Music] heyget keep going in nice and slow [Music] he's already drinking [Music] yeah that's good he's comfortable enough to take a drink perfect and then we'll keep coming with it it's gonna pull out gentlemen over there gonna swing these door shut we did and then we got our milk cow violet when she got here one thing that surprised me and pleased me is that they before we could even quite all get out there they were leaving the cow off the trailer it was a nine-day difference from stud muffin who we had to back up how no leverage you didn't perfect had to back up right to the stall so there was no leeway because he was he's so uh you know he's unhandled and she's so handled they unload her in a strange place and walk her down into the stall yeah there Hayes in the corner there you want to show it to her oh wow she looked him right Pam I into him then since we wanted to establish some gardens we got some chickens not chicks grown adult chicks Oh chicks too we didn't care that they if they were even gonna lay eggs we just needed their fertilizer their tilling and scratching to begin prepping Gardens okay guys we're here we made it on time 12:40 so I'm going to remember how all these are stacks so we're going to put these in got whit shavings in there holes in the sides for these we're just gonna keep the lids cracked so that they can breathe well five and each big box five ten fifteen twenty twenty one two three then we don't even need that little one so let's do the big ones first put on the Box low easier test and they're super speedy I'm gonna be great [Music] yeah just put friend just to chew in it since we're gonna use the other box they want to be together now this isn't that very nice setup wood chip run nice wood shavings inside the cube aerated coop plenty of area I'm very happy about this have been fed non-gmo feed this would feel very comfortable with this we will drive 422 miles to get roundtrip 422 miles are you guys ready to go can you think can you thank them for the chickens thank you guys it's a wonderful gift we're going to a good place you could just keep following them but I know it's still sad and because they're wonderful creatures and so thank you back home the car ride after it was over was not as it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be we're home guys we let's hurry we've only got a little bit of daylight left we need to set up this area we've got to put the a-frame over there fix it up put the electric net around it Electrify it put these guys in the in the coop [Applause] so let's get the chickens out of that stressful situation and into here you don't want these chickens to go out because they don't know where home is yet and they'll just go anywhere so let's make sure they get in here okay there you go guys mom mom and pop mama and Gideon and Lily went inside we stayed outside got the chickens out we already got our first egg guys thank you guys so stressed hopefully you're so happy now let's hurry up and get him some water guys when we got there one of the first things that struck me was all those sheep coming to greet us and bleating is that what you call you wanna do one come on Johnny somebody do one look at it on its knees bounty my lair [Music] pleat bolete pleating [Music] b13 house only panting you ready for the fun part Lily Lily hang on just that come hold this okay turn into second y'all hold it right there you got that Oslo screws oh my word mr. Brown you're a mess you're making a huge mess oh you just died and gone to heaven up times up 327 Oh still got to cross posts oh and the glass some sort of plastic for back here everybody grab a corner yeah [Music] wow I'm impressed it doesn't lean even like it used to because you dug out you dug out a hole you ready Scott so what we're gonna do is you're not gonna hoist that up there okay and then you'll hold it in place and I'll screw it all right what should be easy what could go wrong what could go wrong with a 300 feet 300 pound piece of glass yeah that's it on the bottom where do we make him getting a bunny hat a bunny nose [Music] we got the tough one on now let's do the second glass we got it okay weenie always paid shovels and ports and airspace shovels for me there on the porch on the show just for enough so that you know we can still move it around and we can you don't want too deep and then it's because then it's hard to push the Spanish oil we started working it because we haven't done this in a while the kids are excited they're all jumping in all trying to get a piece of the action will you go get another Spade for mr. brown over on the a frame chicken coop the only way you know for sure if you've done it right is try it go ahead do it again the first one crumbled they like to do things but there are just some things I just can't do I'm gonna have to pack it in okay if you if you black one give it to me watch let me do it that's nice nice okay all right so you've gotten most of it let me just get a little bit more we want to really jam pack this tight doable X alright it's a science turn he's gonna do this tray and then I'm gonna do a tray okay that's good let me top it off make sure he topped it off profit how many how many are there yeah two three four five six seven eight nine ten finally though we were out of time I had to take over we had to hurry we wanted to get it done okay guys we're gonna have to step this up in a high gear but I'm gonna take over this job Johnny you gotta find me more train so we've got one two three four five six seven we need three more trays okay Josiah you guys will get to help plant seeds in a second okay let me get us going to say good job if you put more than one it's okay you can plant we have plenty to plan okay I did the like after nice so do your own beads wait where'd you did you urge those all the seeds he planted Cabot's v chard and kale [Music] in March of Eilat had her calf let's just see the cash no just go in there [Music] from what I could tell this captain's been born in a while she says that's the kind of man to pull a trailer right you want to bring her out all right we're just gonna get her out here in the light where you guys kiss her I like to say her well let's see it is a boy yeah it's a boy yeah it's a boy see the boss here see the balls and we started milking her well I'm milking her she's letting me milk her background back up we have milk abdul-jabbar they're insisting on milking it's exciting day one maybe day five will be bored it smells like it tastes like violet and for the first time we made butter oh that's that so what we have here is a miracle okay yeah I'm a butter we did make butter what are you doing man so now I'm just taking out of here yeah and I'm going to rinse it with water in regards to my health by March I've been working with a doctor and she had been helping me with my panic attacks and anxiety and we've gotten them under control and I was also working on my Hashimoto's and trying to recover from that and also it was brought to my attention with some of the testing that my digestion may be having some problems one thing that stands out for me this year is that we couldn't have done this without many of you fans volunteers friends coming and helping us with this farm one case where the Goshen's when they came and helped us plant our blueberry patch blueberry raspberry patch I mean folks we got shoveling fine they knocked out one row in like five minutes good job guys that's a work crew right there I think I figured out now why you all had so many kids [Music] we've got a cardboard beauty is starting to mulch it see that plant in there it could get lost in the smoke crazy we're done we're gonna move our mulch out from around it [Music] [Applause] [Music] it's 11:30 I think we're seeing I'm think we're coming near the end little bit more motes on this blueberries are good we're waking up the mulch from the middle of the row I think once we get all the mulch from the middle of this row fellows to put it all on the raspberries and we'll be good [Music] somehow while establishing a homestead tending to Rebecca's health we were able to complete the great American Farm to her documentary and we premiered that with lots of friends and fans like 300 ish in the spring and it was just so much fun Franklin was overhead Judy and I had both just had this you know people were applauding I mean that's one thing we wanted people to like it and they did they stood up for us and I couldn't even look at him I had to put my head down because I was about to cry it was just something so big took us so long I think this is like one of the biggest accomplishment of our lives and got one checks what you did it mr. Brown Jonah come out and you dip their beak in the water [Music] grunts of meat chickens snake right there whoa wrong way dude that's our house he'll keep the mice away you know what today is though it's the hundred days of growing food day one can you say [Applause] our goal is to see how much we can grow in just a hundred days we're gonna document what we bring in what we push out we're gonna vlog every day I cannot wait I'm personally very excited about it you guys excited about it you excited about it okay day one 100 days of growing food moving the sea monsters out moving the chickens up bring on the chicken let's get in there that's one way to get them over here wait no put them up there there water dip their beaks in the water just putting out their time no no there you go look mr. brown look how they forage right away they know exactly what to do how they're going under there second they got a birdbrain that'd be chasing bugs and scratching and maybe starting last year when we were traveling all of America on the great American Farm tour we came to a special person her name was Sonia and she was in Wyoming my name is Sonia Becker and I'm at Becker family stock farm and allow me at her place she had this amazing chicken system an amazing chicken system there she had this trailer that she had all her feed and water and everything on top of it they're gonna feed these little broiler some some homemade homemade chicken feet and the chickens the Cornish cross meat chickens were living underneath it wait a minute there were no walls wait a minute wait a minute where's the house where's their house their house there's no walls under there my first concern was what about predators there's nothing I have a dog that comes out and most of the time she protects them we did get a in not too long ago and lost some birds but usually she she guards the chickens and we leave them out we don't lose him to Hawks or anything like that with the dog and what I liked about that system is those chickens were free to range absolutely and if they are free to range they can get 20% of their diet from the grass and then we feed them on the ground and allow them to pick through the feed and use what they want of it and then they run free and and and get the bugs and all the goodies and any other ass or alfalfa leaves or whatever they want the only problem that I could see in her system for me was they had to pull with the tractor it was kind of a commercial level system I think she had hundreds of chickens I came back from our trip wondering how can i implement that concept without a tractor at the homestead level at like seventy-five chickens or unloved introducing the meat shop one person can easily move this we put it on the very edge right here it has no walls they're out roaming on the grass they've got their water right here they have shade they have protection from the rain but what about predators that's where this electric poultry net comes in it keeps the Predators out it keeps the chickens in what about aerial predators good point that's where the guard goose comes in just to reminder will you hurry up and grow up so you can guard our chickens I think with the simplicity of the system it's cheap and inexpensive to build it's easy to move the chickens have free-range [Music] Danko are gonna revolutionize the way we raise meat chickens on homesteads [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] we've come to the end of our very long electric poultry net we need to move them and they only got a day he left this is like a five six seven day system but you know it's better because they're wearing out this grass I think I'd rather pool Birds off of something like this wouldn't you so they'll be coming off a nice fresh grass into the harvest they ask that because they see the care I've given them that looks like a great last place to spend your last day fresh green grass clean well water nice shade you think they're happy Jonah day one I take them individually and give them magic water that's apple cider vinegar garlic honey it's a mix to keep them healthy yeah dip it in there i ferment their feed we put these guys on grass at just three weeks old in here they jump right in they get the other and they can't really they get the shade and then after a crow attack we put them back in built them a scarecrow all right buddy it's up to you and put them back out at four weeks old [Music] for men on a hundred percent access to grasp sunshine cool air fresh water every single day I'd say this is panning out very nicely chickens were trained to the fence the Scarecrow is working it was super easy to move him they were moved inside the fence every single day but I can make them even happier by moving their monster shop and got a new fence every several days now they're harvested in the most humane way possible put upside down that sedates them they're put into a restraining cone which hugs them gives them a sense of security comfort and then with a very sharp knife slit their throat they black out they don't feel a thing if love is an action then how do I give them so much love and then kill them look at mom jumping in and you're right like them is this part better for you than the gut folks sometimes ask questions like that from a soft spot in their heart for the animal but look at the alternative of the way an animal was raised dark crowded and in a factory but if we're gonna eat me and we truly care about the animal we would support grass based farming maybe even do it ourselves remember that the animals making the ultimate sacrifice so that we can live I think the least I can do is take on the weight of that responsibility fill it in my hands and do the deed at least once [Music] are you actually are you actually killing them back this one be your first one did you see how I was doing it Jenna come on and be careful my fingers okay you're gonna do it okay here goes guys she's doing the deed thank you time takes about five pounds of pressure just as it started yeah right above their job I don't know if that's the Jonas yes you're doing great mom line it up quick all right you did it that's your first yeah how does it feel to make the ultimate sacrifice in their sacrifice we're definitely like a weird cuz I want to have this chicken butt and you dive inside so it's like it definitely a weird feeling like I want to eat this but I'd take you guys as a serious Bank the Lambs came when it was dark oh my word its 7:10 we were just cleaning up outside calling it today but today I am guy texted they're coming the Lambs are coming and they prefer cash so beauty's gotta run to the bank does the stall I work down there guys let's go check it's the stall right work okay you know what I'm actually wondering Lily can we actually get the Sheep down here can we like bury them down here I'm not gonna be able to get down here with it struck me that be tamed I hope so hey honey bye how soon they're gonna be here the sheep guys here he says they're too excited for us to carry em he's coming with the truck he's gonna back up to this stalk [Music] these are new bunkmate these are they live underneath our bedroom [Music] the gentleman said to keep them in here five to seven days before we even put them out in the yard on the pants just to get them used to it yeah used to treat so what do you have to feed them a me in a room showing up the Lance what do I have to feed them yeah hey grass alfalfa okay we've got Kel salt oh I'm not gonna force him out it's best it cuz they're being so let them come out on their own so I'm gonna set this camera up on a time lapse so we couldn't see it happen [Music] look who's out and look who doesn't care that we're out here they are so happy eating that grass hole up there in the fence look how they they get together they're alarmed they eat oh wow look how much they ate they didn't even eat their alfalfa because they're so happy on this grass that's gonna be a problem we don't have any hay we won't have any treats when they're out on this grass cuz I'm very encouraged by the way they've taken down this plot they are doing their job they are excellent just a second they are excellent workers excellent mowers the bad news we're gonna have to move they're got to move from here to there I thought this would last a couple of days you know kind of break them in but let's get a move in we gotta build a sheep shelter soon look it down how precious look at the great mowing job they did before after man you guys you guys are keepers alright it's on we got testa every night can you kite keep that on your person sure everybody say good night everybody say good night to the sheet good night sleep tight don't let the Coyotes bite they've been they've been traveling what four hours I knew these people were giving them to us but I didn't know exactly why so ass you all have made such a huge impact on our family and recently my husband made a leap to quit his nine-to-five job in farm full-time and I don't think we would have had the courage to do that well without you all so we just wanted to do something to get back well bless you bless your heart thank you very much and best of luck and thank you so sweet this community is so amazing and hopefully it's not in vain hopefully we raise some awareness for the awesomeness of pigs the awesomeness of the american guinea hog they do not seem too stressed out today as they grow and get older they'll become more and more friendly once they get used to you like we have some that will drop for belly rubs so not that you will necessarily want to do them no it's okay Bailey they all know [Music] those are our feed and water pans will that do for a while absolutely okay and this is our stall of the Sheep where our plan is just to put them in here for a couple of days to acclimate and uh strain them to an electric fence yeah and then we'll move them out yeah okay you like ten there to come so they're used to they're used to kids if we stand over here maybe they'll come out you could tip it up John off you want slowly though there they go there they are you guys are gonna kill this up stir it up for us Anya [Music] and these guys are so chill they're so small oh well now these are a lot calmer than those sheep those sheep ran like jumping up the walls [Music] in the heat it takes a while to get up okay they love that they're getting about to eat all that grain then we got him some grass we got him some apple cider vinegar and some water good you want to come on she'll help you get me Adam are you nervous about this mr. brown I got you I got you I believe we could catch him and carry him if we absolutely had to so this is totally non-intimidating first-time Pig experience so far very happy about that and may we notice that violet wasn't shedding her winter coat and her cycle hadn't come through again and so we were a little concerned and we got the vet out to do a checkup she may go yeah everybody's good man maybe not but maybe I don't we buddy get hurt [Music] and how long does it take to get results well they send it I send it to the diagnostic lab and they send it on I believe to Pennsylvania and then we will have some answers so I don't know as far as the whole process how long it's gonna take but if we send it through the diagnostic lab the shipping and all the testing is cheaper what are you trying to find out here well we're hoping to see if she's copper deficient and see if she has is maybe we could treat her with like a copper bolus as opposed to just free choice minerals so it comes back she's got a copper you can do a Bullis and yeah take a chance yeah I know we can yeah I mean then we just know for sure I mean you love tests it's just so much better when you have a blood test and you can see the problems I mean like with my health issues like I'm about to do a some tests some different testing it's nice because we're gonna have it on paper what are what are some of my digestive issues and stuff like that so Gary got kinks this is the cast top mr. Brown I don't know where ever there [Music] come on Lily do you think we should get this kid so this okay so we'll take these boys really what does it feel like like it's real soft what's that feel like do you like it yeah are you gonna be a mouse hunter you look fierce yeah mama mom Lily's not gonna ever let this cat go it looks like they bonded yeah you want to go put them in the cage okay come on come on Lily we'll go for a minute or 39 days okay did I seem happy in there in the end of May we began to struggle with what ended up being one of our wettest seasons I have ever seen it began with 20 inches like almost 20 inches of rain in like two weeks you know we have the mountain runoff here we have some runoff here see the valley see the valley right here here here yeah come here and look patch of water yeah I think we might have hit one of those situations where mulch is the problem here huh potentially getting some kind of little creek or drain in here and letting it get out to that road because it's just it's just all sitting here yeah that's what I was thinking is there a way to stop it from coming in here in the first place like right there a berm a ditch is most of it actually coming from there like actually crossing the road it looks like it's in the street okay walk this whole area just kind of yeah I know the street pitches so basically we're getting basically a runoff why water the street I wonder if I should dig here at least just to drain these I might get these dreams I can't just let these sit here and drown [Music] look what I've uncovered it's like a spring look waters just flowing out of there it's not flooded in the tomatoes but it sure is straining by it look the wood chips have soaked up this moisture and not slowly releasing it and all these wood chips combined are it's like it's seriously like a little mountain spring look hey beauty yeah we did it let me have you seen out here want to come see it it's still flowing look wow it's like a little mini Creek hey mom look at this a little micro drainage ditch we'll see if that's part of our problem hey I mean you have water building up there my suspicion is most of us most of it is coming from the Bunge my digging team y'all ready for this you guys did good thank you earthworks just has got a mcaddy holding the umbrella for him good job guys saving our great brunch hey we'll work for food right yeah we're having ice cream night mango ice cream mango ice cream wrong raw milk mango puree ice cream sounds a little ridiculous that's what all this hard work is about it's been about an hour the rain has come let's see if it's filling up all my work guys look what huh it's sure look how much water is feeling look I'm sorry about doubting this house outing this is where our water sources but there is the micro Creek right there it's working yes look at all the water that's getting diverted here look it's going in right there no big deal Mama's gonna be thrilled yes hey did you see your drain you're just come here you're gonna want to see this you see I am I am in disbelief thank you got an umbrella you're not gonna believe this pinky the mulch and that might not be the bad boy we thought it was Wow it's filled up well you happy okay that's that's lots of water not touching your garden now how many eggs you need for our nice cream three I go to touch the raw milk maple syrup no Jacob scream two cups of cream one and a half cups of milk and then she just pushes the magical button our drainage got clogged up here I'm having a ton I'm having a bear I'm Barry it hasn't really seated yet so we just had a huge creek running where there's no may not a creek I know it was flooded up through there it's coming down the road it was too wet to even take the water camera on the choice look I am soaked and I had an umbrella at first too I was getting wet under the humber how I said for gay hey it's raining a little bit the father/son moment this rainy time ended up being one of my lowest times on the homestead this year it was a very busy time with the chickens and the sheep and everything else I had so much going on and then on top of that we had this endless rain and I can remember being particularly defeated one day and Pete one of my good friends was here and he asked me he must saw it I never complained about it but he must have saw it in my face I'm sure he said what so why do you do what you do and I was glad he asked that because he brought it back into perspective and I was like that's a good question Pete why do I do what I do and I had to think about it for a minute and be reminded that it was the I'm doing this because there's something bigger than me and my immediate results that I'm doing this for greener pastures for my great-grandchildren that I'm investing in this farm work it through the rain working for through the cold establishing these systems in this farm and better soil for my children's children that was the beginning of some of the low moment but we had to just keep going we had to get guineas right there you go guineas are like turkeys they're a little more sensitive with chips you gotta raise them with a bit more care in the beginning and then they're like beasts just like turkey you can't kill them look two three got in the car grip the pound tone please record your voice message when you are finished recording you may hang up hey this is Justin Rhodes we are out and about my family and I are looking for some dot for a dog today calling about your Australian Shepherds if you would give us a call we're available today if you're available to come look possibly get one so I just left a message with someone who's got an Australian Shepherd in Hendersonville watcher veteran now that that's our hometown yeah so this was not happening two months ago when we were looking into Australian Shepherds it's like what four hundred dollars not a thousand yeah it's cheaper than even I looked at a couple weeks ago so we left him a message we'll see if they call us back we're at the pound right now so we're gonna go we might as well go in and see what the guy yeah [Music] Wow I've heard of it I just I thought you said they were open [Music] they're closed what an anticlimax the cats don't knock on the window you looked it up and it said Sunday could you just look it up briskly I guess I went to that well let's go back to the farm and have good people cause back [Music] well I thought they were open wait you gotta text it's not them oh come on kids kids after getting mr. Brown in the text they'd add their text we should be back at the farm after 3:30 and home nurse today let me know when you're thinking I'll give you the address let's say 3:30 it's 2:15 yeah that is so cool and they live on a farm yeah okay we might get some Australian Shepherds no lie we really wanted we really liked that breed and we're looking into it they just weren't working out two months ago when we were doing then they were closed and we am mama text and Mama looked up where to get a dog and these people texted her she had a litter last year we kept two and sold the rest and they're very sweet are you guys nervous you're allowed to pet him right yeah sure huh we had her at the farmers market yesterday she yes was she's probably the cellist yeah you guys are adorable it's not gonna bite you [Music] [Laughter] [Music] we picked out a dog got Laurel then we went home she gonna be our eyes he's whining beside the OCO play it away from her family how's she doing now she's looking at home yet oh she misses her brothers and sister her family you'll be a home here soon okay she's calm down she's resting better rest slowly let's eat let's take our supper got her a little got her little indoor home for a while until she bonds with us good day I feel really good about it you guys feel really good about it no don't lock him in let not jump just say you feel good about it all right I'll go every turn Oh most work right there you're gonna do the most work okay oh good [Music] in June though we began to experience the first taste of a real loss we lost our goose oh it cooper-cooper for those you don't know is our guard goose and training growing up to be a guard goose over the flock there's miss feather it's just best to despair here's a big pregnant angle was he dead when you found him ours was still alive her so her Jonah came running in the house last night with pooper in his hands saying that she was dead and it was very disturbing I don't think I'd been that disturbed since King daddy - rooster died and it's my mane rooster it's our prized breeding rose jerk we're back on the farm we've had some deaths but nothing like an animal that you want to keep for 40 years dying so young initially we were panicked and just disappointed and what went wrong what do you think went wrong bring chase him in revenge he couldn't get out because I had to untangle him and if you think about it though we were doing pretty good at this point to have pigs chickens cats dogs cows Gardens success with a lot of success comes a bigger chance of failure so if we have hundreds of animals and hundreds of plants what do you think the chances are of something going wrong big and we started to get that taste that goose dying this year you really stepped up we noticed a big change in you after getting off the tour that you all of a sudden wanted to hit yep part of the farm grab my 18 inch we're gonna split we're gonna rip this remember to 1550 2 and a quarter nice hat buddy when we took about a year off from the farm to go on the great American farm tour we looked forward to and wondered what Jonah and Josiah would be like when we got back just something about you turning 10 just Olmstead and starting to have more interest in helping all right mr. Hannen you're not interested in playing anymore okay before the tour they're kids they like to help the kids like to help but is it really help not really but once we got back and we got into the groove of into the groove of things and as we develop this place as a Learning Center through the videos and through physical workshops and stuff we think you know we could use a farm hand maybe do you have your glasses yeah as we explored that and had some conversations with different people we realized I realized nobody's gonna work on this farm like this guy did you already rice knife this I'm talking about I'll tell you this journey you are my right-hand man there is no better worker for my right hand and you okay you're the best can I have a lot of fun working with you and it makes a lot more fun being out here ain't nothing this love this much let's go move the Sheep yeah but all I gotta do is roll up their fence wowwwww come walk with me feel the breeze come walk with me oh and dance come dance with me shall fall your fee come dance with me and I will tell you you all do how I love you just the same it only matters where we're going it never might sit from where you came [Music] with life it gets you down steals you crowd embrace your will Oh I'll pick you up brush off the dirt and hold you still I will tell how I love you just the same you don't let matters where we'll go never matter from where you can let's put this back jump we did our John I'm gonna kind of stay back here should be easy and they're brand new chick Shah 2.0 I'll see you guys haven't flipped it thrown the grain on the ground and courage tooling this is a future garden spot it's gonna be a cage fight go ahead oh look they're able to get in the dust box I wondered about that well this is a neat way to take the swivel bar down then you don't even have to lift the lid okay in this one the car you laid some in the dust box I started having pain in my abdomen that wasn't going away and I couldn't figure it out at 1:00 a.m. I decided to go to the ER and try to figure out what was wrong and that was when I learned that I was having appendicitis so they're hospitalized me and I had emergency surgery [Music] grandma and I have switched she's got the kids gentle had the chores we have arrived safely to the hospital let's go see her Hey and sheep started dying look another one died last night we went on a walk at 7:00 and I thought it was fine we came home at 7:30 and somebody was dead [Music] laying down but it could happen quick what that when you guys said it might be a selenium deficiency we went to a neighbor I've got some selenium as up today they haven't eaten any selenium de salt help me they don't seem like they're eating like they were land of havilah herbal one treatment similar tamales but different our neighbor also had this 1/2 teaspoon per animal ha smells really good hope they all come get it going getting it there's not even hungry for alfalfa based on that sign I'm afraid 106 is next and there's truth mutated I might have to drench it and get it to 106 we're gonna go this morning and take the one that died last night about 7:30 p.m. hopefully it's not too late they open at 8:00 and the show that when they open up get an autopsy see if we can't see what's going on we tried to save the Lambs but it was too late that first kill was super hard I doubted our decision the night before and you wonder because here's something that's alive and it's sick and obviously not doing well in a pain and misery [Music] can you do that now I could kill this and end all that or not and leave it and what if by some miracle they revived so it's a very tough decision and I think it's one of the the toughest decisions I've ever made on the farm we're going to help this little battery but once I did it I saw how peaceful it was and I saw him in no more pain I mean we've grown to be close to these guys because we nurtures hurt them so much at the end he was in no more pain I was in the mode and I felt that it was right so but the second time by the time became too big that's like yeah we got to do this you can't be alone she cannot be alone but been managing nightmare I feel like I was able to kill him and block him out immediately I mean once you cut that blood just something's brain they don't feel anything and I'm believe I was successful doing that and it went pretty fast I think it took about an hour and 15 minutes the position okay it's an hour and in six o'clock I feel like feel like we're almost done with this one just like I'm doing pretty good for no instructions the other one we ate and I guess it was good [Music] and the other part of me misses them because we grew to enjoy them [Music] now that they're gone it feels a beauty that was like one of my main things that I did I've made the drenches up I went down I was I helped Justin you know with her care and so like I haven't had that job today [Music] constantly check on them and just like knowing that they're not here weird [Music] and then there's another part of me that aches because we didn't make it to her and it'll go [Music] it's weird to say I missed them because the whole point with our life was eventually not being here [Music] again lesson learned with success more elements of the farm comes failure always trying to improve our systems we built a mineral shah for the cows [Music] wait watch yourself there you got it you're gonna take it we're gonna bring the minerals to this but then they're like wait a minute this moves easy a lot easier than mine mineral sled huh you sweatin yet back you got your extras mark nice handy girls we're gonna have to put that on shelf one day like a custom show it's all in here beauty has marked it on the two by fours we're missing one but we just need a tray or missing to trace because we ended up going with 18 whatever 16 isn't enough for us we had to have 18 minerals well we wanted to have some flexibility and we might as well add two and what happens if it's hard for them to get around the wheels and we switch it up over here [Music] [Music] and then we built a chick Shaw mini-me to follow cows on pasture with chickens to scratching their manure to continue fertilization to the pasture and just to gently massage it make it better [Music] Icelandic chickens out of the coop yesterday of course I let him out of the coop but we also opened up this electric fence they free-range during the day that came back today we're gonna move it we're gonna take down the electric fence these guys are gonna be total free birds and we're gonna move them three days behind the cows to encourage them to scratch the manure at that three day mark fly larvae has developed but not turning into flies and they scratched them nerves they spread to the newer and then they eat that fly larvae breaking the pest cycle [Music] you want to move them we're just moving them keep them keep them on this level area right here kickstand is up they're ready to move nice okay heavy fertilization right there on posture automatically I think I'll start carrying a bucket up with me bucket like Joel Salatin says never carry just one bucket one for each hand so I'll carry out the feet and then the water come on do you put out feed oh yeah okay release somebody [Music] come on you Freiburg [Music] [Music] and probably one of the most exciting happenings of the farm of 2008 a team for me was began here it began when we put chickens and pigs together and saw how they could work miraculously together this is my least favorite stage in the animal garden miracle where the pigs and the chickens have prepped this land but it's like ready it's ready to be planted it's bare mother mother nature does not like to be uncovered it's nice to be covered we're gonna move you guys fresh thin grass okay this is a risky part here Jonah you want to get their feed and get them a trough get them a truck here we'll let them through I don't think we're gonna have a problem thank you if they get done we'll just lure them back in with a bucket lift it up I see that while they're eating and picking out we hurry up and move this spin right times ticking [Music] they're done [Music] what you see them there is there anything in there okay [Music] and then we'll move everything else okay you're gonna put that down I'll Drive over it if the pigs don't get out first hold on you gotta help me with the fence you ready [Music] [Music] [Applause] by this time we had hit the bottom of the barrel and we were gonna have to make some really tough decisions about violet since she was not thriving on our native fescue grass violet has come down with a fever and we're doing everything the vet and synergy animal products have told us to do and she seems to be doing okay she likes that uh chappa'ai health off the jacket if you've been a longer time fan and you go all the way back to the spring you know that we've dealt with some of these seemingly same issues in the spring yeah she was getting hot she was panting she she didn't shed her coat she still has yet come into heat she's just hasn't been able to come into cycle to be bred but let's see if you're gonna be a little easier I know you've given some gallon milk thank you would you take this a little easier today I'll help you Papa but I know I can thank you buddy [Music] we were defeated naturally because it was a time when we had lost a lot of our animals it was a time when we had harvested some of our animals it was a time of rain so it was the time of rest and it was then became a time of new energy and a new beginning it was fall but we were working harder than ever on gardening and we really worked to implement a nice gardening system behind the animals get these big roots out or would you rather oh maybe you'd be a better ho oh ho okay so we want to weed this and thin this and then we want to cover this me a lot of work yeah but it's good work this is not that's not yet so just swipe that see I did I did a lot of weeding in between the rows yesterday yeah so no I didn't get close to the plants yet so it's gonna take some tender loving care like with in your hand let's get this big bad boy out I think it just set before it's too big that didn't help I'm not getting this take these weeds turn them into a solution take the problem turn into solution have it be the mulch for the path now we have the little stuff so close we don't have a little hook Casey and Tory told us about a rule that's a old hook and that gets around close to the plant it's known for now I'm just gonna show it mega live right here he's gonna be a perfect opportunity to transfer some of this bunch to right here [Music] [Music] [Music] it had been months since we called violet and I have been searching for Dexter's and someone in our member area suggested a farm where they had gotten their milk cow and they were completely grass based and so we gave him a call and I think it'd been good since it'd been months because we knew these four jerseys yeah then we kind of kind of had a bad well we had a very bad first experience we were nervous but we went anyway you see him well I see lots of grass our father's farm our father's farm we've talked to him on the phone your destination there hundred percent grass-fed I'm looking forward to here is well there hundred percent God said they're in milk production is that her that's her that's the freedom looks like this and that's brownie what was the Friesians name I don't know ever found it that's brownie brownie you're beautiful I'm sure she's got some nice teats oh gosh yes brownies experience and she's got a cap on her cuteness is okay but that's not the criteria they ain't see with us I think they just wanted to get back to the herd he said that she that she was a little bit antsy this morning but the calf was and we ended up buying those cows and paid for them to be delivered at a later date and then I got sideswipe with news for my dad that he has cancer my dad has cancer [Music] found this out several weeks ago actually and I don't know if there yeah I guess there I guess there are certain levels of intensity with cancer I mean it's all bad and terrible so he's got prostate cancer with winter coming it was time to refresh an old idea the ever flow waterer where we can feed water it down to our chickens from the pond run the water through then back down to the creek the idea being the water would be always moving so it will not freeze always moving so it's always cool always moving so it's always clean 4:30 we'll be doing great if it works also you don't know it's biting me you know thank you long you don't sit down too long in here huh coming all this heady rub his head no worries he thought that might be all it is because there's not that much going into it I've also used an electric water heater and that actually that actually works great but I the only problem with that is well it runs on electricity so you have to run a cord to it and your electricity has to be working oh that's the first time that this happened with this guy you're liking this huh I'm mesmerized so what are you gonna do in that situation you stop gotta clean it out somebody come drink I started looking at nature how does nature feed her animals during the winter well she keeps the water moving and when it's moving this stays clean cool and unfrozen so I said we've got to be able to mimic that and I came up with a crude prototype and it worked okay and it worked okay I think some drawbacks suit with that it was bold and the water is more likely to freeze because there's more steel water and so I thought let's build the trough let's post out till somebody drinks let's get rid of this dirty filthy freezing King if it's too hot for you and so now I'm happy to say that we finally after six trips to Lowe's got this ever flow water or working ever flow 2.0 still flowing who's gonna drink come on anybody anybody give us a drink give us a drink I'm thinking it might be a hair hair tall for the pigs that's a quick quick thing stuff [Music] so close come on now he's gonna go drink of it she's something now that don't make you want to stick with the guinea hogs want it I tell you what let's do let's set this camera up on time-lapse right there I'll get the drone I'll show you how we source the water uphill to the pond we come down there we go under the road and then we come into the chickens and pigs and then we go down a gradual slope all the way to the creek [Music] what that cool [Music] and then we made huge strides and organizing the animal garden miracle put in the pigs and chickens on a two-week system where we would rotate them plant behind them or mulch behind them and we could show the fruit the vegetation of what has came from that system this right next door looked like this two weeks ago so that's going to take them two weeks and two weeks we've got this work in a minute we're gonna rake this smooth pull out any major side two weeks before that they were in here they did this area we planted this in cover crop put some hay over it luck the cover crop is coming up just below the surface there you see and before that garden bed they were in here and look how well the cover crop is coming up in here by the way this is a cold hardy cover crop germinates down to 45 degrees grows down to 25 degrees and where were they before this this is where they were we had these low tunnels on because it's winter were protecting them from frost here's a patch that was planted in cover crop isn't that beautiful isn't that beautiful now for the best part surprise what's under these panels you notice I noticed huh unbelievable abundance look at these lettuces oh my word how beautiful all mine it just goes on for like ever we're gonna be harvesting file it out of there all winter long what's in the next one more salad more salad we like our salad it's just fun you guys want to see what's in the next one looky here our favorite good excellent with breakfast can anybody get endless row of it Swiss chard one more two more garlic see the garlic coming through the mulch and you guys name it your loyal blog fans name it yeah again analyst winter supply of kale yes and the pigs and chickens totally made me do it in October I started having liver pain and I got an appointment with the doctor and she ran some blood work and doing so realized that my enzymes were mildly elevated and so wanted to do some more testing does it make you feel back you okay I actually slept good last night which is if I know something's coming up by sometimes while having anxiety at night and I won't sleep good but I didn't I didn't have any of those problems so I'm I'm working hard at doing my tools and staying calm and I'm okay I'm just ready to no twenty minutes until on oh so it's like kind of crazy that if we did it so no I'm gonna find out um well I'm feeling pretty good um I'm I'm anxious about you know what was found or not found on the testing but other than that I feel like I've been doing a lot better overall yeah my heart rate seems to be lower in general and I've been doing a lot of you know just the emotional stuff trying to stay calm and not anxious I've been sleeping better overall so that's good um my liver seems to not hurt as much but I don't know great thank you we heard that there was gonna be snow and Papa would not to do some things and it started sleeting and it's lead it for a long time and then it started snowing a lot now let's see how our low tunnels have fared the co-op's some of it some of it has collapsed this is collapsing No it takes some pressure off [Applause] Wow we look at the drift in there it's coming off of the low tunnels we can have a foot and half of snow in there [Applause] this was totally crushed agribon this is a heavy heavy snow you can hear it hitting this hear that it's a it's a Asus now we'll see how the plants survive that [Music] let's get our snow has caved in expect them you know what I'm sorry I wonder I've been getting from this huh sort of wondering if I should go [Music] [Music] yes this was a good bet this was a good bet these bigger ones up it's bigger ones up here these low tunnels some parts of them are crushed but they're certainly not defeated I doubt the food's even ruined under there this weight took out lift it back up see [Music] [Music] the judge already doesn't sound like they're my kind of ready oh my oh it's time to eat there's no stop [Music] and then it started snowing a lot and we went out and played for a little bit did the chores we came back in we went to sleep did you share enough in the morning there was a lot more snow than there was the last day [Music] [Music] [Music] towards the end of this storm I knew the cows king welcome home she got down and she was laying weird on her leg the whole way you gonna try to get the Frisian out yeah okay take your time I see it Lily she's gotten scuffs and on the trailer or something are you just chillaxing you're kind of crazed okay I'm gonna get you guys some fresh hay you're good on water then we milked for the first time in 100 days it was an exciting event exciting it's pretty clean down there we're gonna see if she's bursting with milk I'm ready for this okay hopefully we're gonna be milk milk with our breakfast buddy that's great how would that be so she's not too dirty I'm happy about that we're gonna clean her anyway she's clean she's ready to go I'm handing the camera off to a real pro all right from art and Brie nope it's out guys I love these bigger teeth goodbye hey tiny Pete's I can barely get a hand in edgewise yeah I'm just sure I'm just going to town right here just look how still she is an experienced milker party is all get-out I filled her cut has healed her utter can very minimal for us how much more are we gonna get I would say half a gallon that's very I guess that's why when I guess just you know she's nervous she shat the milk was what three four days by hand maybe more with them I don't think they were milking her they just had the calf on her right set my expectations was [Music] I'm more concerned with her health oh yeah if she wants to give me a half a gallon and stay healthy right now get all the stress I'll be happy [Music] your hands ever not get sore hurt they always got so yeah almost a three right I never got to a point where it's just easy now don't give now do they you got a fight for every drop I've talked to guys who used to milk 10 cows like old old guys they're not ten cows okay my grandpa built 15 cows today and my grandma would do can imagine hitting them all day what imagine taking the fan I know people were just beasts back then yeah if I'm ill because it took me 20 minutes to go flying down I thought it's doing pretty good but if I was do 15 at that rate that take me forever that's it pop how long that tank he said and then take them on I'm like all right I just gotta get my loins man good Kim I'm called inspiration if I ever complained I have to milk one cow two cows remember grandpa it's so amazing mmm sure grab that teeth go [Music] [Music] Pepi farmer right here came for a half a gallon look one and a half gallons gosh I think that's great to be shaking to hold up this milk this is just like unbelievable we came out of egg right there yeah you guys came on I do it today so let's go get this in the cooler let's go folk to this get this in the cooler come on back out [Music] so excited about that milk let's get them back out to pasture [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] at the good mama right there taking care of her cat [Music] [Music] [Music] go for it buddy it was it good good good do you like it oh good all the kids like it oh you're gonna drink a whole half a gallon between everybody this morning good towards the end of 2018 I learned that much of my health problems were from we got and on 2019 I am hopeful to address those issues so again the biggest lesson learned in 2018 you can argue with me if you want but I think it's the idea of just plant that's been our motto that's been our mantra and we did that this year but I think what we can learn from that is the more you do that the more you expand the more success you had the more animals and elements and gardens is the more failures you're gonna have right and I think what we've learned is it's gonna be and I hopefully what we've shown it's going to be major ups and downs and you just got to wade through those downs sometimes literally like with us wading through the floods and the snows yep we waded through that and it was dark and lonely and discouraging at times but you do eventually come through and then if you start counting your blessings you realize well some of your sheep might have died but you still have chickens you still have pigs you still some of your vegetables might die but most of them are still going also towards the end of 2018 my dad pretty much licked cancer and it cleared up a lot of his problems and the doctors are a little bit baffled by it so if 2018 was a year of healing and building 2019 is a year of organization hit focus focus and we look forward to expanding on all these systems that we built the chick shawls that are in place the animal garden miracle that's being worked and prepared right now and just expanding on what we've already done yeah and making it better I hope you enjoyed my special year-end movie if you loved it of course share the love share with others I want you to know if you want to learn more about how to actually do some of this stuff that we covered here let's start with how do you design your own homestead to grow the most with the least amount of input whether you have just a backyard or a full-on permaculture acreage just like I have an intro to permaculture course will help you I show you how to design your best homestead ever in my intro to permaculture course it's a 12 part series guys you can get that for free I'm gonna leave that down in the description the cool thing about that is once you sign up for that you get the 12 part training series as we leak it out over these 12 days of Christmas if you're seeing this after January 5th then it's all there you'll get on my email list and you'll have the opportunity to have one of the first opportunities when throughout the year we open up my do-it-yourself abundance member area where we as a community hundreds of us come together on a private Facebook group in weekly how-to videos and you just stay current with us and you stay educated many many many folks are in that and love that and have hung on to that now for gosh we've been doing that for over a year so really what you need to do now is just see if it's something you'd be interested in just check out the free videos check out the intro to permaculture 12 part series it's in the description I'll give you a link down there check that out it's free it I have charge for it in the past as part of paid products but now I'm giving it to you for free as an individual product go and check that out see what you think won't hurt anything

Channel: Justin Rhodes

Views: 2,500,207

Rating: 4.8279653 out of 5

Keywords:

Id: Npse84DeO7A

Length: 106min 12sec (6372 seconds)

Published: Mon Dec 31 2018