Homestead YouTube
If you are like me, you dive into information with the use of Pinterest and YouTube. I wanted to take the time to talk about the 3 farmers I love on YouTube.
First, I fell in love with Roots and Refuge Farms out of Arkansas. This family got their dream when they purchased their place in the country.
Not very many acres but just what Jess needed to live her dream. She's a Christian, which I love and a momma/wife so I quickly related to their area and her passion. Her husband Miah works around the farm building and creating the things from her hopes for their little farm. They recently added alpaca's to their clan. Another dream of hers for many years. I am late to the channel but can literally turn on the channel and let it play. Listening to her adventures, garden tours, and her kids learning so much from being outside. I am jealous because although Lu helps more than ever expected, my oldest Blake is not so into it. Video games are too high on the priority list. He tolerates the chickens and won't care much for the garden since he's not a fan of vegetables. It won't stop me from trying to teach him though.
She regularly has the kids out there with her. Lets them plant whatever they want, doesn't matter if it grows or not. Just that learning experience and pride the boys have for their things to begin to grow. I share the same enthusiasms about my small crop. Just yesterday I saw where a seedling emerged from my melons I planted awhile back. I'm on the second leg of the planting season so I am coming in a bit late but like Jess says "gonna just try it out". We are lucky in this region that She's got a lovely personality and a sweet heart. Even her voice is just easy going. I cannot stand those channels where you can't get into what they are talking about because their voice is like nails on a chalkboard.
Roots and Refuge has taught me about chickens, tomato growing, gardens, raised beds, goats, seed selection, garden planning, pigs, and just not to be scared to try it all out. She has a great seed video since she's obsessed with growing from seed. I'll link it next. I really had no preference before starting my journey. I knew I would probably plant seeds at some point but had NO clue about the amazing options out there. Jess is all about heirloom seeds and who wouldn't be after learning what I have so far. Which introduced me to my favorite seed company....ya'll I can't get this stuff around here! Makes me so excited to potentially get into selling at the local farmer's market because who has ever seen a cherry tomato that is an array of purples, reds, yellows and oranges like their "Brad's Atomic Grape Tomato". They barely even look real!! The company is called Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. I seriously have not ordered one seedling and I am hooked. The variety and customer comments are a big +++ in my book. I may grow it and hate the flavor, who knows but what is the hurt in trying it.
So, you will not be disappointed in subscribing to this channel. I never felt pressure to subscribe like some other channels. I am kind of a YouTube snob in a way, there are so many options out there and I just got a picky bone about me. I have not made it through all of their videos but always enjoy each and every one!
Second favorite would have to be OFF GRID with Doug & Stacy. Doug refers to homesteaders as "homestead homies" and by first glance it's odd because he looks Amish & you check yourself about it since Amish probably wouldn't have a channel on YouTube. They are not Amish though, just got the look. He says it is comfortable and easy to move in plus when they began their journey they wanted to be as free as possible from the mainstream and he's learned a lot from the local Amish community. Wouldn't that be a fascinating learning experience--I know I'd geek out over the opportunity! They weren't always homesteaders, they came from 9-5 with a dream of being self-sustainable.
They do some amazing things with being "off the grid". Stacy loves her chickens and has taught me a lot about chickens that others haven't. She enjoys cooking and canning/preserving in some pretty nontraditional ways but also in the old ways version as well. She wants to make the best food for their bodies. She has a beautiful garden of a mixed variety of things. She's like Jess but she also does things a little different like her medicinal crops.
I love natural health processes and the more I can do from the earth without taking that medication the better. I barely take any medication. I could easily be caught up in pharmaceutical drugs but I choose to do what is better for my body. Like depression for example, I've had post-partum and everyday depression spurts. I have taken the medication and it helps but is it what is best for my body? I don't have a severe condition so I am not knocking people who actually need help. But did you know that sunlight produces those same happy hormones that the medication induces within your body? It does, I solved or rather cured my post-partum depression by sunlight. The medicine got it started but I weaned myself from that because it not in my beliefs. Peppermint oil and other essential oils are SO SO good for you. People think I am crazy and I'm not at all pushy about it. Peppermint oil will treat a headache, a fever, even a bug bite or two. I use a combination in my humidifier when my nose is stuffy and I have a cold: lemon, eucalyptus, and peppermint. Opens me up every single time. The worst part of being sick to me is not being able to breath therefore not being able to sleep.
Doug is a builder, maybe not by trade since I don't know what he used to do but 90% of videos about his daily activities involve building something. He's really great at it too! I even got a mobile chicken coop plan from them for a coop that only costs $50. Considering that once I get into meat birds. He also gave me the idea I plan to use for my raised beds. It's simple and quick without a lot of lumber costs. Jess or rather Miah initially gave me the idea of height and so forth but they reclaim their wood needs for their beds and that just isn't in my wheelhouse or at my fingertips. Doug uses 2x6x8 cedar boards and 4x4's, all I can purchase locally and roughly will cost me $40--I will be using treated wood but the good kind of treated wood so it saves me some money since cedar is not readily available. A four foot by eight foot bed is massive for just $40! I also thought prior that the soil is what will cost the most of the projects but honestly if you keep digging into videos, filling the beds won't cost a whole lot. Talk about that in another blog! I'll link that one below too because it's so simple. They're both so fun to watch--both have great senses of humor and are so easy to learn from. Doug will have you laughing the moment the video comes on. And I enjoy their take on the video filming. It's not always full of talking and opinions. Some of Doug's are several minutes before he actually speaks to what the video is about. It's just him working then he explains. It's cool to me that it's a little different.
No doubt you will love them as much as I do!! They keep you entertained and are super helpful about learning how they've done things to go "off grid". Be a homestead homie with me :)
Lastly, which was the hardest decision since the first 2 are like no doubt must watch shows, is Sow the Land (thanks to Jess again, see I love them so much but she suggested them and I just fell in love). A wonderful little family of Jason, Lorraine, and their daughter.
Jason was diagnosed with cancer in 2009 and from that wanted a life change for him and his family. He's the main presenter on the channel but Lorraine is so sweet when she comes on. Jason does some quick videos each week, he calls "Two Minute Tuesdays". They're packed with information about various different things like how-to or tips for farming. Never being just two minutes but still they're great. Their biggest farming consists of their meat birds. I do not do meat birds but he's got me convinced. And I am not jumping that onto my wish list hastily. He really has a lot of information about the pros of meat birds. How good they are or rather better for you than the grocery store birds. My family is all about chicken. We have it SO much during the week. I don't know if it's budget or just the fact that I super love eating chicken. Namely thigh meat and we love doing wings/legs roasted with different kinds of seasonings. I'll do an "about us" to explain further why just our preference typically lands with chicken. Jason also does some really cool wood-working and renovating old buses into mini homes on wheels. He does beautiful work. I wish I could afford one of his pieces for my office.
Beautiful right? And the buses--WOW is all I can say. They're amazing. They are very big on what goes into their bodies as well. Again in some different ways. I like that I can learn something new from each one just because someone has a different take on it. Here are some of my favorites from Sow the Land:
Leave a comment if you have any awesome channels to suggest!!
Love +4,
CRC Hopeful Homestead
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