Anyone still have that long list of what I want to do on the homestead this year?

bcabrobin

I think for everything I check off this year, 3 more go on!

I'm on hold on 4 big projects till I can get the supplies:

Need more pallets to finish the fence that runs around the 4 + acres right around the house. Need about 15 more to finish but on hold. This fence has metal post every other pallet, wired together and screwed with boarded across on the inside. Hoping this will slow the bears from coming in, and keep goat & sheep from getting out.

Need lumber to finish building in a porch to make it better in the winter. We get slammed but the wind (great when it's hot - not great when it's freezing out). We've had a small entry but want to add a 4 x 12 area.

Doing water tanks - different then we ever have.

Want to have solar or wood heat in that area, again wanting on wood.

Hope to get some delivered this week. Hope old man winter waits a few more weeks.

Acequiamadre

I have a spreadsheet LOL. But no, I do.

This time of year we have apples and grapes to harvest and process.

I am planting another round of starts for our fall garden.

Building a new compost site.

Setting out some beds layer over the winter--hope to have them ready for spring process.

Building a worm bin out of an old freezer--again, hopin' for black gold come spring.

Building some chicken feeders.

Weeding and cutting back perennials.

Figuring out how to winterize our new bees.

And a mountain of other things. It is the one thing that makes December awesome: my list grows smaller!

Acequiamadre

But really, here is my spreadsheet. I have tried to list all of the tasks by season. What did I miss for early autumn?

Feel free to make comments--this is a copy of the one we use.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Sx4LZc5zP6VR5mbzc9jFKahgBwmx26zEAO9fxYXOkJk/edit?usp=sharing

MelissaLynne

@Acequiamadre your spreadsheet is fantastic! Thank you for sharing!

soeasytocraft

Oh man!!! The list only ends when ground freezes and snow hides the unfinished projects!

Acequiamadre

@MelissaLynne  feel free to copy and use. Do you have any suggestions?

This keeps me real--I would love to grow and harvest meat chickens/raise sheep, milk goats, but my spreadsheets tells me, girl, you ain't got the time.

MelissaLynne

https://community.thegrownetwork.com/discussion/comment/873615#Comment_873615

it is the same way at our place. this year most things are on hold for a while because of the wildfire smoke. I made the mistake of working on a few things in the garden this morning. My lungs have been hurting ever since...

Lisa K

Always! My list never seems to end, once I get one project done I come up with at least 2 more. 😂

Merin Porter

We're on the same wavelength here. Always something else on the to-do list, and since we bought a fixer-upper that needed a LOT of work because we loved the property and location, a lot of our tasks aren't super glamorous -- more necessary than innovative. Latest project was building a bridge across our irrigation ditch (which bisects our property) and doing exterior repairs to the house prior to painting, including replacing lots of trim around the windows. But the house and property get better with every project, and it's a great feeling to have something else done! :)

Ethereal Earth

I have a long list of what to do on the homestead and I still live in an apartment and own no land 😅

For serious though, there can be as much planning before starting a homestead as there is once you have one up and running.

Lisa K

@Ethereal Earth very true!

seeker.nancy - Central Texas

I've often said that if I cannot die until I finish my to-do lists I will live forever 🤣

blevinandwomba

I still have seedlings on the front porch that never quite got planted, looking at me reproachfully every time I go through the front door. Most of them are annual; there isn't much point in planting those now.

moreyshadypines

@seeker.nancy - Central Texas that is too funny. I must adopt that quote! Thank you.

I make a list everyday - sometimes one for inside the house and one for outside. I rarely get all the things on it done. That is okay, I just transfer it to the next day. On the frig I have a "long term" list, similar to ones mentioned above - winterize garden, fix porch, etc.

With memory being what it is . . . I need all the external memory support (aka written list) I can get. Oftentimes I do other things and put them on the list, after they are done as an acknowledgement of my accomplishment. In truth, all the things I do, have to be done at some point. Some things are more urgent, feeding livestock, water when drought - but they all get done - not always in the order I want, certainly not in the time frame I have in mind. But I love doing what I do, it makes me smile everyday - and I wouldn't trade what other people call "work" for this fantastic opportunity I have to explore new ideas and methods of self reliance.

Thank you to all who participate in this forum. You are outstanding!

Best Regards, Diane

Lisa K

I get to add to my list repairing my mini-greenhouse which a rat chewed a hole in.

lewis.mary.e

Oh my! Do we have a list?! Yep.

We just bought our homestead at the very end of July, moved in on August 7th, and we've been busting our behinds since. 😮

The list right now is...

Cut, split, stack 3 more cords of wood to be added to the 3 we've already done.

Plow the 1/2 acre garden space to prep it for next Spring.

Give the chickens more fenced in outdoor space. We can't free-range them because we live just off of a very busy highway.

Install a railing along the top of our stairs, before someone takes a header down them.

Puppy proof our main floor before we acquire the puppy on October 3rd.

There's more I'm sure, but those are the priorities for now.

Brindy

Wow! Y'all have so much amazing information and are so thorough. I found a few things I had not added to my many lists. I use my phone calendar for my lists, but from all of your posts I have gained some new ideas and can't wait to implement them. @Acequiamadre thank you for sharing your spreadsheet, so amazing!