With the year coming to a close, I’ve been thinking about how this year went for us. We had a somewhat successful growing season for being new gardeners, put in some additions, and test drove some new skills. Of course, playing anything by ear comes with fumbles and screw ups.
The Garden
This year we gave chaos gardening a go. I thought I could just chuck a seed packet into whatever container or plot I set aside for that plant. Whatever grew, made it and what didn’t could be thinned out. Or so I thought. What happened for quite a few of the plants I put in that way was that almost all of them died fighting each other for the nutrients. The peas tangled up in each other, the garlic was so packed together growth wasn’t an option, and the broccoli shielded some happy cabbage worms from discovery.
On top of chaos planting going poorly, the pests were very harsh teachers this year. Birds killed off my corn before it had a chance to sprout, and what did grow was overrun by insects of all kinds. Cabbage worms decimated the broccoli every round that it had managed to grow. And something we never found REALLY loved our tomatoes.
Next year, we’re listening to spacing suggestions. A few good plants with multiple fruits will definitely be better than a hundred plants that don’t make it past sprouting. Compost and mulch are high on my priority list as well. I’ve been terrible about mulching. Something about the price of chopped up bark doesn’t sit right with me. But it’ll be worth it to see my plants make it to harvest. The new irrigation system should show us a huge improvement from this year.
Garden Plans!
Berries are going to be the main additions for 2025. Blueberries and blackberries went in this year to get established, and elderberries are on their way come springtime. The plots for corn, potatoes, and beans were expanded so hopefully the extra room will see a better harvest. I think it’d be cool to add a couple of plots for wheat and cotton, but we’ll have to see!
Livestock
I’m still in the research phase of all things livestock. I don’t want to experiment on the best practices for living creatures. Even if the end result is culling for meat, animals don’t deserve to suffer while I figure things out. This summer, Marcus and I bought a couple of meat rabbits to see if we would be capable of dispatching and butchering an animal. The way we saw it, there would be no point starting a rabbitry or meat chicken coop if we weren’t able to do that ourselves. Not only did we dispatch, skin, and butcher the pair, we tried a few recipes and even tanned the skins. Two rabbits gave us a glimpse into multiple skills!
Livestock Plans!
Even though we feel confident in raising rabbits and meat chickens, they need a home and supplies. I don’t know that livestock will be happening this year, but we can start the building process. I have a ton of ideas for coops, hutches, and runs. We can start planning out the areas for a rabbitry and apiary this year as well. And being on a smaller plot of land, larger livestock feels much further out. But the dream lives on!
Personal Goal
As skills go, I’d like to do more with preservation. I’ve canned dandelion, violet, and goldenrod jellies before, but I haven’t had the confidence to can other foods yet. We also just got a lot of pork with a ton of fat on it. I want to try rendering lard with it. I’ve heard there’s a lot you can do with lard and tallow.
And like I’ve said before, sourdough hasn’t been my friend this year. I’m on starter number three and it doesn’t seem to be acting quite right either.
I have high hopes for our homestead in 2025. I wish you well with your next year’s endeavors as well!
Happy Holidays from Chayotix Homestead and have a Happy New Year!