W 2:00 Homegrown Your Way

Join us as we explore the the diverse world of homesteading, what it is and why so many have begun to embark on this journey.  Draft your own homestead plan, learn different facets of the lifestyle from soil testing to seed starts and canning to fence building as well as different animals of the farm life. Then we will revisit our original homestead layout to evaluate its efficiency. 
 
Taught by Melissa Steiner
 
Homestead Classes  January 8th - Intro to Homesteading - open discussion POSSIBLE  slide show, students paper draft homestead plan  
January 15th - Weeds and soil prep - ways to test soil, signs given by weeds about soil and other factors like worms - students bring a jar of their soil from home to test using the the diy tests here (https://www.almanac.com/content/3-simple-diy-soil-tests )and a few weeds to ID  
January 22nd - Protecting your homestead - what do you have to protect from?  Possibly bring in different materials to use.  Open discussion on pest control, fencing, farm animals lights (maybe design a fence)  
January 29th - Composting - students bring 5 gallon bucket, raw food waste, leaves, paper and such make a compost bin  
February 5th - Birds of the homestead - maybe plan to have new hatchling to bring and have open discussion on the different birds, how they serve the homestead and design a popsicle coop  
February 12th - Raised beds vs non raised beds - discuss benefits and different types.  Design a raised bed.
February 19th - Goats, Cows, Sheep Horses of the homestead- open discussion of the animals and their purpose - possibly bring my momma goat she is smaller framed and MAYBE show how to milk (if I'm any better at it then)
February 26th  - Pigs, Rabbits, & other homestead animals - open discussion on purposes - (I have pigs and possibly bunnies by then - can do something with that?)
March 5th - Companion Planting - open discussion on what it is, the benefits - design a companion planting plan  
March 12th - Spring Planting, planting zones, when to plant (seasonal planting) - do toilet paper roll starters Probably touch on fertilizers too  
March 19th  - worms, lady bugs, bees and other beneficial insects - start a mini worm farm  
March 26th - Harvesting, Canning & Preserving - we can make refrigerator pickles maybe  
April 2nd - Teas, Tinctures and Seasonings (Herbs) - make some  
April 9th - Greenhouses - Build one  
April 16th - redesign a homestead layout