June in Review + July Goals on the Homestead

For the most part, I don’t really know how June was here on the farm. My husband, little girl and I were away for over half of this month. While I am tired of being on the road, I do acknowledge that we’re lucky to be able to leave the homestead in capable hands. It’s an advantage of community, and something a lot of small farmers don’t get to experience.

As June comes to an end we are picking cherries like crazy, starting into saskatoons, and forever behind on weeding. The month was happily less dry than I expected it would be. Produce seasons are getting too plentiful to mention, but I am especially enjoying garlic scapes, spinach, raspberries, and blueberries at the moment.

Highlights of June:

-Meeting my first nephew. He took his sweet time getting here, and is half the reason we weren’t home much this month. However, the baby cuddles were well worth the wait.

-Attending the Mother Earth News Fair. There were so many good workshops and speakers. While suffering through the heatwave was a downside, I’m happy to have a stack of notes and new-found knowledge.

-Visiting Oregon in general. It has long been my favourite state and I enjoyed our farm stay, exploring beaches, and catching crayfish, all alongside my husband, child, and sister (they’re all the best sort of people).

-Newborn baby ducklings. Because cute!

Biggest challenge of June:

Long hours on the road meant we weren’t home to enjoy this fantastic time of year as much as I may have liked. Travelling with a toddler is always hard by its very nature, but it does make getting lost at midnight or trying to nap in a tent particularly difficult. We also travelled out of province to attend a wedding. It was a lovely celebration of two wonderful people, but it did mean another trip and driving through the night.

Additionally, I did more work this month. This was a win overall, but it’s typing time that I’m spending elsewhere instead of writing about things I believe in and stuff I enjoy here at Growing Wild Roots.

Goal check-in:

-Have everything planted (carrots and pickling cukes remaining): Done! We also planted zucchinis, sugar pumpkins, cabbage, and more spinach.

-Make strawberry jam: No. By time I got home the strawberry season was wrapping up.

-Make pickled garlic scapes: Done! And they are tasty!

-Hatch a batch of ducklings: Done! (by no effort of mine). We are 9 ducklings and two turkeys richer. Don’t ask.

-Share some new-gained knowledge from Mother Earth News Fair with my readers: No. I went. I learned. I did not share.

July goals on the homestead:

-Make raspberry jam.
-Start a vegetable ferment
-Stake and prune all tomatoes
-Hatch/purchase a queen for our hive
-Share a weekly post.

Some things I found worth reading this month:

–10 Awesome Uses for Rhubarb: So, people tend to think that rhubarb season is now over. Think again, people. While this humble vegetable (yes… It’s a vegetable), is often ignored by the presence of more exciting fruits later in the season, it is hearty and it thrives, especially if it’s kept in use. It works so well with berries and other fruits that it deserves a little attention. This post includes a few fun ideas and good recipes.

–23 of the Best Ways to a Healthier, Less Toxic Home: This post is like a check list! I enjoyed scrolling and down and reading the details on some of the suggestions that I haven’t considered. While I already do most of the things in this post, there are some good reminders about the little extra efforts that can make a big difference in our living environments.

–How to Use Milk of Magnesia as a Natural Deodorant: On my journey to reduce the bad stuff in my personal-care routine I have a few Achilles heels. Shampoo and deodorant are both stubborn areas that I haven’t managed to eliminate. This post raises an option I hadn’t thought about, and makes it sound pretty easy (and cheap) to try. I have nothing to lose by giving it a shot.

–How to Cook a Frozen Chicken: I’m a bad food planner. It’s something I need to work on, but until then I sometimes need to pull a chicken out of the freezer and have it on the table for dinner. I remember spending half and hour trying to Google this answer before. So here it is, all conveniently in one place. We froze our chickens in pairs last fall, so I often cook two at once and season them differently.

What are you looking forward to over the next month? What great resources do you have to share? Let me know it the comments (I will check them out!).