Ditch The Store

Income Generation for Homesteaders:  From Produce to Partnerships Creating a sustainable income is a vital aspect of homesteading.  Homesteading is just like so many other small businesses in that it produces a variable income.   And like many other small businesses, it can be seasonal. If you think of a gift shop in a beachy coastal area. You can guarantee they turn over a hig...

Financial Planning for Your Homestead   Creating a Homestead Budget You need to start with a detailed breakdown of common expenses, including animal feed, seeds, equipment, and utilities. Don't leave anything off the list, including household expenses so you know how much you have to spend on the farm and what you definitely don't have. Some of the expenses that you need to plan for are recur...

Interview with the Handy Helper We discuss everything from "Where did you grow up?" and what he thought about chickens and a veggie garden, right through to the first time he had to dispatch a chicken.  HH also talks about the craziness of goat ownership and beekeeping, and how he is now a convert.   We cover the topic of moving from the little farm to the big farm, and the trials and tr...

Modern Homesteading  Modern homesteading refers to a self-sufficient lifestyle—living autonomously, with minimum help from others. In a nutshell, it includes subsistence agriculture, renewable energy sources when possible, home preservation of food, zero-waste living, and, depending on your skills, even homeschooling, and craftwork. Modern homesteading is a lifestyle, and not one for those af...

Raising your own chicks can be an awesome experience, especially for a family to do together. Your children will enjoy watching the chicks grow and have a greater understanding of food production and the cycles of life.   You will also have the benefit of having hand-raised chickens! This means they, depending on the breed, will likely be very tame and happy to be handled.    Choosi...

Whether you're a seasoned poultry pro or just dipping your toes into the feathered world of backyard flocks, one thing's for sure – chickens come in a dazzling array of breeds, each with their own unique personality and charm.    In this egg-citing blog post, we'll take a look at some of the popular chicken breeds here in Australia and from around the world, and even delve into the intri...

Chicken Coops   Size and Space: The coop should be spacious enough to comfortably accommodate the number of chickens you plan to keep. As a general guideline, provide at least 0.3m2 (4 square feet) per chicken inside the coop and 0.7 - 0.9 m2 (8-10 square feet) per chicken in the outdoor run area.   Security: Even in an urban environment, chickens still have predators. It is vital that c...

Nutrition for Backyard Chickens Balanced feed: I know a lot of people who are homesteading like the idea of making their own chicken feed, and indeed I think you could provide supplemental feed for chickens from homegrown produce. However, that being said, commercially formulated, balanced chicken feed will always meet the nutritional needs of your flock. And as we will discuss later it's the vita...

Enrollments open on the 10th of June and close on the 16th of June. With the course starting on 17th and running for 6 weeks. Perfect time to do the course if you are considering chickens in spring. Go to the web page to get on the list and you can choose either a Free PDF with 7 must know’s or a webinar on which breed of chicken is right for you. https://www.mojohomestead.net/7mustknows https://w...

Enrollments open on the 10th of June and close on the 16th of June. With the course starting on 17th and running for 6 weeks. Perfect time to do the course if you are considering chickens in spring. Go to the web page to get on the list and you can choose either a Free PDF with 7 must know’s or a webinar on which breed of chicken is right for you. https://www.mojohomestead.net/7mustknows https://w...

The push for plant-based (vegetarian and vegan) diets uses the claim that is it better for the environment. Farmers have got blamed for so long but it really comes down to how many flights and drives you want to take each year and humans need to have endless supplies of electricity to their houses. Mono cropping is needed to produce the high level of demanded plant-based products. This style of ag...

I have been questioning my knowledge of diet styles in an effort to improve my own health. The information I have been gathering is indicating that we have been lied to by the dietary associations of our countries.  It disappoints me that government bodies that are supposed to help us are very likely making us sicker. Some of the things I covered in this episode are below, including the links...

CJ Discusses the things you need to consider when making an income from homesteading. Does it pay? We discuss the different products you can produce with homesteading, pricing and hard to enter fields. 2 things to keep in mind "Do the things you love" "Area's that are hard to get into have much less competition"

CJ gives you a rundown of what her average day looks like and the honest truth that this lifestyle may not be for everyone. Walking up around 4 am most mornings, feeding chickens and in summer milking goats are the first chores of the day. Then other animals and dogs need managing. Finally, it's time for a coffee, and shower and then human kids need prepping to get them off to school and I head to...

Bit of a language warning this week. I feel like as I get more comfortable recording my podcasts, my natural speech is coming out. Sorry, not sorry. Today I discuss Urban Homesteading. What it is? Is it legal? Who can do it? I also mention some people that I follow and love. Not going to lie, I have a bit of a fan-girl crush on some of these people and would love to interview them!!!  Holisti...

CJ discusses the chickens and how they are an entry point for homesteading. Keeping your own backyard chickens is a great starting point for learning and living a homestead life. Many breeds don't require much space, they are very easy to care for, you get an immediate return on your efforts and these little dinos are really friendly and social. Once you start keeping backyard chickens you will re...

In this episode, CJ interviews her daughter and son, MJ and OJ, about their thoughts on farming and living in a rural environment. The kids speak freely about the things they love and hate about living on a farm. They discuss the move, schooling, animals, sad moments and the happy ones. They also say what advice they would give to other kids moving to a farm. The kids talk about travelling to scho...

CJ talks this week about what it's like to have kids on the farm and what that means for both mother and children. She covers having kids doing chores and the good and bad of the life cycle. She also talks about how her children have coped with both seeing life come into the world and the opposite end - watching animals die. Kids can be very resilient, much more so than most people give them credi...

In this episode, CJ discusses the history of women in farming and the reasons for their underrepresentation. We cover why women have always been farmers even if they weren't counted, the roles women play on the farm and in times of need women have learned what was needed and just got the work done, like during the wars. We then go on to discuss the "alternative lifestyle" movement or hippies and t...

In this episode, CJ talks about how she became interested in farming and her background in working with animals.  From city kid to farm kid, doing correspondence schooling and milking cows. CJ had to adapt quickly to the family move. And what kid would not want to care for and manage a paddock full of animals?   CJ talks about growing up and away from farming as she travelled and wo...

Welcome to Not The Farmers Wife, a podcast for female farmers, girls who grow and homesteading women. No matter if you are in an urban block or on 100 acres, there is something here for all of you. This is our introduction episode so CJ explains why she had to build Mojo Homestead. Discover why she is trying to farm full-time and her passion for regenerative agriculture. CJ believes everyone shoul...