Create a Little Farm Life That Fits Your Real Life https://littlefarmsummit.com/sign-up/?sc_ref=dOgd0q5w3P7X7xbC&sc_vis=To1z7pe289JZymftBVKs7u2S4qqFh7

Saving your own seeds does more than save money. It lets you keep varieties you like, share them with others, and slowly select plants that perform well in your specific conditions. Each season you can save seed from the plants that stood out—better flavor, stronger growth, earlier ripening, drought tolerance, disease resistance, or simply the ones that needed the least help. Over time, that repeated selection can gradually shift a population toward traits that work better on your property. Open-pollinated and heirloom varieties are usually the easiest place to start. Hybrids can still produce seed, but the next generation may vary a lot. For me, it comes down to this: Grow. Observe. Select. Save. Replant.

Living in the country brings all kinds of pest challenges. This morning I was moving some hay around and found this guy. He's a beauty! And a very valuable part of our ecosystem here!

Willard Kitchener MacDonald spent much of his life living alone in the woods of Nova Scotia. He hunted, fished, trapped, and lived with very little. When he needed something he could not provide for himself, he went into town. At first glance, his story looks like complete self-reliance. But he was never completely alone. People from the surrounding community visited him, brought food, books, clothing, and supplies, tried to help as he grew older, and respected his choice to live differently. When he disappeared, more than 100 people eventually took part in searching for him. That is the part of his story that interests me. We can teach our families to grow food, preserve it, repair things, manage water, and handle more of life's ordinary problems ourselves. Those skills give a family options. But resilience is not about separating ourselves from everyone else. A strong family should be able to take care of more of its own needs while also being connected to people who notice when something changes, offer a hand when needed, and know they can call on us in return. MacDonald lived about as independently as a person could, yet even he benefited from community. Maybe family preparedness is not just about what we store or what we know how to do. It is also about the caring relationships we build around us. What is one skill your family could strengthen, and one relationship outside your household worth strengthening along with it? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2eMqaNrqEQ&pp=ygUYVGhlIEhlcm1pdCBvZiBHdWxseSBMYWtl

I had recently heard mixed reviews about having horses on my land. While there are lovely animals... at least the ones I'm with.... they eat lots of vegetation where I'm trying to get my ground covers up and running. There are 2 concerns that I have .... - Stomping the ground and compacting it - Eating ground covers/grass till ground is bare They do fertilize with their dung and hydrant pee which is great. 👉🏻 So, what's your opinion? The area that the horses are in is about 1 acre. 👉🏻 If you do have animals on your land, how do you know when enough is enough?