One of the greatest joys of homesteading is sitting down with the family to enjoy a meal that you have grown, or reared, yourself.
This happily is becoming a more frequent event for us as our homesteading, gardening and stock rearing skills improve year by year.
Last year we achieved 'vegetable independence' for 4 whole months in the summer when we didn't have to buy any vegetables or salads from the store or supermarket.
We ate more healthily and with greater variety. It is so easy when you buy your groceries from the supermarket each week to get into a vegetable rut. You just get the same half dozen or so items each time - carrots, potatoes, onions, broccoli and frozen peas perhaps. And do you know what varieties of each vegetable you are buying - for sure no!
When we grow our own veg we like to try new things every season. This year we have kohlrabi, borecole and cucamelons for example - never had any of these before. And we have four different varieties of courgettes (zucchinis) - you can never have too many courgettes can you 😉
We have been 'egg independent' now for over three years. Our hens just keep on a-laying come rain or shine. Thank you ladies.
This year we got another batch of broiler chickens to raise for meat. Last year we tentatively raised five birds, this year we went up to 9. The birds we got were Ross Cobbs - similar to Cornish Cross in the US I believe.
We have got plans to move up to 50 meat birds in a year or two to give us 'chicken independence' with a bird a week in the freezer. But we would like to be able to rear our own meat birds rather than buying in the chicks each time.
Yesterday I dispatched the remaining five of this year's birds and today we had first of them for tea. We had let these last five free range and run to 14 weeks rather than the commercial, intensive feeding 8 week target to give them something of a better life.
We slow roasted the chicken for 2 hours and it was delicious. Served with our own potatoes, carrots, courgettes and beans there is nothing that beats a home grown meal.
That is my homestead happiness. What's yours?
[all images taken by the author]
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