restoring the roost

North Carolina Country Living and Farmhouse Style

North Carolina Country Living and Farmhouse Style
since 2010

Homesteading

A Woodstove for the New House

· Homesteading, new house

I have a fireplace dilemma for the new house–I can’t decide if I want to have an open traditional wood-burning fireplace or a wood stove. There’s also the option of a wood stove insert for the fireplace–but I’m not a fan of the look of these. Alternatively, we could put a small wood stove inside of the fireplace, which I like much better but it probably would not heat the entire house.

Below are some of my favorite Pinterest inspiration images for wood stoves:


via

I love the idea of being able to heat our whole house with a wood stove, but I would also miss not having an open fire in the fireplace. Placing a wood stove inside of the fireplace might be a nice compromise, but it would not be as efficient as a wood stove insert. I would be sacrificing some of the functionality for beauty I suppose….

I’m sure this is just one of the many decisions I will have difficulty making in this journey of building a farmhouse. What would you do?

Sharing with:
Feathered Nest Friday

Homestead Design

· Homesteading

There are so many things to consider when designing a homestead. It makes my head spin!

Not only do we have to think of where all the gardens and animals will go, but things like the direction of various features towards the sun, water runoff and retention, and the siting of outbuildings are critically important as well. I hope to incorporate as many permaculture principles as I can into the design.  If you are just visiting for the first time, I’ll catch you up on the news: my husband and I have decided to embark on a journey of building a farmhouse and homestead on 10 acres of land in the country. You can read my post on homestead inspiration here.

I thought I would go ahead and take a stab at designing a site plan layout for our property–and I’ve found it to be a lot of fun actually!  Here is a rough draft of the site plan so far:

We have placed our kitchen garden at the south of the property beside the house so that it receives full direct sun, with the tool shed and cold frames behind it for easy access. We also wanted the tool shed/small barn to be close enough to the driveway that a car could drive up to it if need be. The row crops and orchard will also get full sun and they are actually sited on a slight slope. The chicken coop is behind and away from the house but not too far (gotta keep an eye on things and gather eggs!) and our compost area is nearby so that bird droppings can be conveniently deposited. We will also probably set up a compost bin near the kitchen garden as well.

I thought planting herbs at the rear elevation of the house would be the most convenient place for going outside to gather for cooking. This leaves the south and east (front) elevations of the house for my favorite types of flowers and small shrubs, with shade loving perennials on the north side. We will probably fence off some of the area behind the house for pasture and potentially for chicken tractors to house meat birds.

There are certainly things that can and probably will change from this draft plan. Everything is still all very flexible at this point. I am really enjoying the planning process! Any tips you more experienced homesteaders can give me?

Homestead Planning Inspiration

· Homesteading

I will admit I’m a little overwhelmed with the idea of designing and planning a homestead or mini farm from scratch. I know I want the design to be practical, sustainable, but also beautiful at the same time.

I’ve been scrolling through lots of Pinterest photos lately, and I have found so many inspiring images. Too many, sometimes 😉

 via

 © Copyright Jim Champion and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

As if the design of the farmhouse itself isn’t enough of a job, we must also have carefully planned spaces for various animals should we choose to keep them in the future. Of course you know this girl will be keeping her chickens!  😉

 The placement of the gardens and orchard will be critical, and we can’t forget outbuildings and other features such as proper water drainage, sunlight and permaculture design.

 

For our homestead, we hope to carve out areas for several functions–I’ve made a list below:

  • main house
  • barn or tool shed
  • small greenhouse or cold frames
  • kitchen garden
  • row crops
  • chicken coop and pen
  • composting
  • orchard and berry bushes
  • pasture areas
  • honeybees
  • possibly pig and goat shelters?
  • fire pit
  • perennial beds for flowers and medicinal herbs
  • rain barrels, swales to control rainwater runoff
  • play area for the girls with a swingset and a sandbox
  • wooded acreage for timber, foraging, and wildlife

I’ve started sketching out some rough drafts of a homestead design situated on our acreage.  I’m definitely no expert in this…..but I’m enjoying playing around with the design. I can’t wait to share it with you!

 


Big News on the Homestead

· Homesteading

Well, we did it.

We made a decision to start the process of building our own farmhouse on 10 acres of land generously gifted to us (provided the appraisal goes well). **deep breath**



I so SO wanted our next house to be a historic house that I could rehab/restore. I also wanted to live closer to our parents and extended family. But it just hasn’t worked out that way–at least not right now. The Lord must have other plans for us–we can’t seem to find a property in this area on enough land in our price range that would work for our needs.  I’ve even looked for old farmhouses that people need moved. It makes this preservation girl a little sad….

Georgia has no fear–she loves exploring 🙂

On the other hand, I’m excited to be building a house that we get to design from the ground up, sort of–at least tailored very much to our needs at this point in our lives. Friends, get ready to hear all about our adventures in building this little homestead. Eeeeeeeeekk! I can’t wait!!!
 If you are a homesteader, I would love to hear suggestions or advice in what you would plan to include or how you might design things differently. I’m going to need all the help I can get!

January Chickens

· chickens, Homesteading

If you have chickens, you know that sometimes the winter season poses special challenges to tending for your flock. Dealing with very cold temperatures and fewer critters and greens on the ground for the birds to eat can become problematic at times. Not to mention it just plain stinks sometimes getting out in the cold to do the chicken chores.

My chickens loved the warmer temps we had this past month but all the rain this fall made their quarters quite muddy and damp.

A very important wintertime chicken chore is ensuring that your flock’s source of water does not freeze. By using a water heater base underneath your chicken waterer, you won’t have to worry about the risk of their water freezing in icy temperatures.

Be sure to check the combs of your birds for frostbite. Breeds with single combs are more vulnerable to this condition. If it appears they may have some damage, apply Vaseline to help heal and protect the comb in really cold weather.

Supplement your flock with scratch grains, cracked corn, and kitchen scrap leftovers. Since there aren’t as many wild insects and bugs roaming around in the dead of winter, it is nice to give your flock a little supplement to their diet.

Continuing with my herb naming tradition, my two roosters are named Basil and Dill 🙂  I haven’t named the girls yet…..any suggestions?

Basil likes to get a little too friendly with June and Georgia, and a couple of times they have triggered biting or an attack by running away from him (he thinks they are his hens). Most of the time he just gets too close because he does his “dominance dance” around them anytime they are outside and he is out of his pen. We usually try to keep him in the pen but if he gets out I try to pick him up and carry him around a bit to assert dominance over him.

My little flock will be a year old this coming spring and I can’t wait to let them hatch some baby chicks!