…And a planning useful resource that will help you sort out your personal small farm initiatives.
Joyful New Yr! Don’t you simply love the brand new 12 months? An opportunity to begin contemporary, clear out the outdated and an entire 12 months forward of you to get all these small farm diy initiatives finished.
Yearly, through the first week of the New Yr, I like to take a seat down and assume by my plans for the 12 months. Not simply resolutions or targets. As a result of I’ve these too.
Properly to be fully trustworthy, I’ve stop resolutions. They by no means work for me. Years previous I’d determine to “Be extra Organized” or “Get extra Finished” or “Lose Weight” (fairly positive all of us have one or two of these). However 99.9% of the time I’ve fully misplaced observe of these resolutions by the tip of January. So, no extra resolutions for this lady.
As an alternative, for the final couple of years I’ve begun setting Targets. Why targets? As a result of, not like the ye outdated decision, targets are actionable and measurable. Targets are enhancements I can truly get finished after which see that I obtained them finished. As an illustration, considered one of my targets this 12 months is to put in writing 50 posts for this web site by the tip of 12 months. Most individuals would break that into 1 per week, however I are inclined to work in bouts of mad ‘genius’. So my schedule will most likely wind up extra like 10 one week, two the subsequent, 5, 1, you get the concept. Scheduling just isn’t my robust go well with.
So, firstly of every 12 months, I wish to give you my targets. However even higher (or no less than extra enjoyable), I wish to give you my initiatives. Not going to lie, arising with initiatives is MY FAVORITE PART OF THE NEW YEAR.
My mission record is my want record for the 12 months of all of the small farm initiatives I need to do or enhance upon round right here. And naturally as a result of we’re farmers at coronary heart, these are virtually all the time DIY initiatives.
If in case you have spent any time in any respect studying on this web site you most likely understand by now that I’ve; what I wish to name, Challenge ADD. I really like initiatives and need to do ALL THE THINGS! However ALL THE THINGS will get overwhelming quick.
I’ve realized by trial and error (aka full overwhelm) that it helps me, firstly of every 12 months, to Mind Dump ALL THE THINGS and make that my mission plan for the 12 months.
If you happen to aren’t positive what I imply by Mind Dump otherwise you need to know extra on how I plan for ALL THE THINGS, try my put up Get More Done! Avoid Project Paralysis. Bonus, it has hyperlinks to my free mission planner.
Or, preserve studying and you’ll obtain it under.
And now, with out additional ado, The Massive Record of DIY Small Farm Tasks we’re Tackling this Yr!
1 – New Siding for the Barn
this one has been on the record awhile however I’m decided
that this 12 months it WILL occur. Simply in
case you’re questioning why we is likely to be residing the barn. Nearly 15 years in the past we sided the barn with
3/8″ plywood and a few crappy paint.
Quickly.
Lesson 6 of 6 Life Lessons Learned on the Farm: Free is Nice however Cheaper isn’t all the time higher.
2 – Actual Energy for ALL THE THINGS
This one is a small farm diy mission we should always have tackled a very long time in the past. Like 9 or 10 years ago-ish. You see, virtually 10 years in the past we constructed our farmhouse, and in that course of we moved the facility provide underground as a result of its prettier and , hurricanes. Doing so meant shifting the facility feed from one aspect of the farm to the opposite. And after we moved the facility we reduce off the barn and animal areas. So we, briefly, (anybody else see a development growing?) ran energy to the barn with extension cords. Yep, extension cords, for 9 years. Now earlier than anybody will get all judgey and calls the facility police. They’re massive cords designed for outside use and so they get checked and changed as wanted. However nonetheless, 9 years, extension cords. Sufficient mentioned.
3 – Breeding pens for the Chickens
So, this one has solely been on the record for a few 12 months and
we’ve got truly began a part of it. We
cleared the world and put up new paneling on the wall they are going to be constructed
towards. However considered one of my small farm
initiatives that’s livestock associated has been to breed and promote chicks from
a number of uncommon breed chickens.
Significantly the flowery English Orpingtons. However to
do this, we have to end the pens.
4 – Goat Homes
We’ve got wanted, for awhile now so as to add some further
shelter choices to our goat pens. The momentary
(Lord, I’m starting to hate that phrase)
shelters that we’ve got been utilizing are falling aside. So I’ve on my record a brand new buck home* and a
bigger doe home.
*Replace – Yay! we’ve got accomplished the buck home. I might be
posting images and a tutorial of that within the coming weeks.
5 – The vertical backyard
This one is a small farm mission experiment. To clarify, hub’s household is what I’d contemplate a real blue farmer. Not a small farmer or passion farmer like me, however somebody who depends solely on the farm as their supply of revenue. And one of many issues they develop are strawberries. Ya’ll we’re spoiled rotten round right here in the case of strawberries. The farm child received’t even eat retailer purchased strawberries, she turns her nostril up at them like they had been broccoli. Critically although, the farm strawberries are AMAZING.
However, with farm labor charges skyrocketing in our space, it has develop into tougher and tougher to search out pickers for the berry crop and nonetheless make a dwelling from promoting them. For awhile now the household has bridged the hole by doing a whole lot of the selecting themselves. However when you have by no means picked a row crop like strawberries; it’s brutal, again breaking work. So within the curiosity of preserving our berry provide and as an experiment to make harvesting simpler for the household, we might be experimenting with vertical strawberry rows. I’ll preserve you posted on how that seems.
In case you are all in favour of studying extra about planting strawberries vertically, try this put up on Growing Strawberries in Gutters.
6 – The backyard shed and greenhouse
You is likely to be stunned to know that we don’t have a backyard shed or a greenhouse. We do have a shed of ALL THE THINGS. That factor is critically scary and thought of to be a particles area by our hurricane insurance coverage supplier (true story). And due to our heat climate we don’t want a greenhouse all that usually. However the farm child has lastly outgrown her playhouse and one of many issues on my small farm diy initiatives want record is changing that to a backyard shed with connected greenhouse. I’m so excited!
7 – Beautification
This one is a two half (probably extra) mission.
Perhaps as a result of I’m a kind A persona, or perhaps as a result of I come from a design background or perhaps, as a result of I simply don’t need our farm guests to be fully appalled by the state of our farm. However preserving our house and our farm wanting good is necessary to me. It might not be essential to our operation or perform and we could not want it to develop good livestock or produce, however it’s essential to my psychological well-being. And that poor sucker is a lot harassed as it’s. So, beautification is on the record.
This 12 months I need to work on the landscaping behind the farmhouse. I need to set up one thing straightforward and low upkeep that also truly appears to be like like we care.
And I need to fence off the entrance of the barn space in order that when guests come to the farm they will work together with the animals with out getting knee deep within the poo and dirt. I can’t let you know what number of occasions I’ve needed to clarify to children that the little spherical pellets aren’t rocks.
In order that’s it, the 7 (or 8-ish) Small Farm DIY Tasks we’re planning to sort out this 12 months. It’s a brief record with some large initiatives and there’s a risk that we received’t make it by all of them this 12 months. However, identical to my targets give me actionable issues to work in direction of, my mission record provides me measurable targets to attempt for.
What about you? What Small Farm DIY Tasks do you need to sort out? Let me know within the feedback or by e-mail. I’m all the time searching for new initiatives so as to add to my record.
Wish to know extra about how I plan to get these initiatives finished this 12 months? My put up, Get More Done! Avoid Project Paralysis has all the guidelines and tips I exploit to sort out even the largest initiatives.
Or you may obtain the free mission planner under for all of your small farm diy initiatives. This has house for that mind dump I discussed, in addition to actionable steps, materials lists and value planning that will help you get extra finished!
