I'm not a homesteader, and probably will never be. But I like you guys analyzing all those aspects of the life you've chosen. It gives a deeper honest look into what you run into. Thank you for your open mindset and letting us in.

Ben I think you are a creator in homesteading so staying closer to your welding and inventing seems to make you happier. God puts something unique and special in every one of us and if you can find ways to have that be central to your daily chores then it energizes the why!

Ben, that orchard soil will get better every year. You are doing it right!.

An acre is simultaneously massive and miniscule. Congratulations, Ben. It's wonderful, either way!

Hi, Jason, Al, and Ben. This has become a big highlight in my week. You guys are my favorite homesteaders. It’s very interesting and entertaining seeing you all together. Thanks, guys!

❤❤❤ Good afternoon! My favorite homesteads I have a suggestion. Have your wives cohost a pod cast. We know you gentleman don't homestead on your own. ❤❤❤

I’ve already posted to the Holler home channel but congratulations on the new acre of land! ❤

Question: How do you mentally prepare for your spouses if something happens to you? How do you prepare now for your homesteads as you get older? I am 63 and very healthy but I’m constantly thinking about less maintenance as I age. Will you pay others to take care of your homesteads or go smaller? I’d love to here your thoughts.

@caryrhea3974

11 ай бұрын

That is an excellent idea. I took am 63. I looked forward to aging. I made my permanent garden easy to maintain.

My trick for keeping the electric netting from getting tangled is to use a wheelbarrow to hold the netting. This allows you to place the post next to each other and have the netting hang off to this side, very similar to the new out of the box feel. It also helps in the situation that you have to stop mid task and resume later, otherwise as soon as you put the netting down it's almost a guaranteed tangle. If I hadn't figured out this system I would resent our weekly poultry moves, now I love it.

Thanks Al, Jason & Ben...your videos get better every week. This was a great one. It is hard to believe all the choices that have to be made to get just the right set up for your animals, your garden beds your orchards etc. The only thing you didn't touch on here, is don't try to get everything at once. It takes a few years to get it done. Thanks for sharing your time with us. Y'all have a Blessed day.

@faithrada

11 ай бұрын

Excellent point .. There's often two parts to homesteading.. the innitially set up, which takes a huge focus of energy... and later, the day to day, routine, seasonal stuff. Once one can establish some kind of workable routine it makes sense that things get a little easier. Indeed that takes at least a few years... depending on your Starting Point.

@margaretbedwell3211

11 ай бұрын

@@faithrada for sure, that's why some get burned out either going into too much debt to get a lot of equipment or too many animals to take care.

Thanks for the time fellows.

If you don't get any signups for the chicken tractor class you could always have a drawing for it when you get X number of subscribers or for everyone who puts a comment on a specific video. Who knows, that vid could go viral.

for me, im looking for a piece of land with water already established, with a house that probably needs "TLC" as they put it.

Awesome podcast. Thanks Jason, Al and Ben for sharing your experiences. 👏👏👏

I had a busy schedule today and knew today was Friday, podcast day so planned my day around having one uninterrupted hour so i could sit down to watch this. Again i was not disappointed, so much interesting content and learned a ton. Thanks guys, keep up the good work.

@Homesteadshoptalk

11 ай бұрын

Wonderful!

i have a friend he is building a hobbit home in the middle of a rural town and he had to jump through so many hoops but he stuck to it and its going well........... your son can do it free of town laws easier for him for sure hugssssss

@amandar7719

11 ай бұрын

For sure. But town laws/code are extremely useful to be aware of for various reasons. One being, after building his own, he could use his experience and learning “code” to build some for others.

One of you guys should build earth friendly pond. They are becoming huge in California!

Hi Y’all. I want to move to NC. I’m like Al but further up North in cold frozen Canadian winters brrrrrr

Bye see you next Friday. God bless.

Favourite homesteaders I also love listening to the modern yeoman 💕

Al knows about harvesting lumber 😊

Great talk guys... It was a delight to connect with The Lumnahs up at the H.O.N.E. meet up in NH. Al.. you came across as a Pro... like you've been doing this forever!. Thanks for sharing your wisdom.

I exactly know what you are saying . . . I grew up on a homestead and was the one who always did the farm chores, while my brothers were playing hockey or baseball, so it is little wonder why all the farms from my childhood are now covered with alders and spruce trees. The Kids of my generation didn't want to be tied to farm chores, instead they are unhealthy, overweight government workers. Cheers another most enjoyable podcast.

Mr. Lumna, Thank you for sharing on your videos about the feed. May God continue to bless you and your family.

I love the way you guys share your thought processes... it has helped me deal with a thorny allergy problem that is improving my health. I am GRATEFUL to your sharing! ❤

For your netting, make a U shaped rack on wheels, as you pull stakesout lay stakes on rails let netting hang down on floor or cart. Then next stake, loopnetting again on floir or cart. When undoing netting put stake in ground move cart away pulling netting out until next stake and so on.

Idea for Jason for dead compost pile Use tractor front end loader to re-pile when you clean saplings and fence lines. Think lasagna. Old cheap hay, wood chips on the bottom. Butcher day waste is ok inside three feet of outer surface. Need 3 feet wood chips base if composting meat waste. Cornell University has online information worth looking into for composting dead livestock. Having a working pile for animal losses is not a bad resource to create.

Al, Ben & Jason, I have lived in the city all my life and I am fascinated by your channels and these discussions. I have learned so much from you. Keep them coming. Thanks. 🌹❤️ NJ

I see Al's coffee is sold out

Hope that there was no infections in that hawk ? I still have the plans for the chicken tractor that you built there Al !!!!! A few years ago !!!!! Want some information on hog prosssessing s any future videos, back videos will help tremendously , Al did a partial a few years ago !!!!!! Double check all structures before purchasing , someone just might end up having to rebuild , I have seen this happen, looks good yet It really isn't !!!!! Be deligent !!!! Check out everything !!!!!! Amen brother !!!!!! Self suffeniency is the main goal for off grid living !!!!!! Let me know if I'm wrong !!!!!! Great job guys and thank you all again !!!!!!🙏🙏🙏👍👍👍

❤ happy Friday y'all. Great news Ben on the return of your acre! Hope the price was reasonable.

Having a 9-5job means you work for someone else & They have most of the responsibilities of that business. Having a Homestead means you are your own Boss & are responsible for everything, which means no sick days, no paid vacation & no weekends off. But you are in control of almost every aspect of your life. It takes people who are very self motivated to run a good homestead. Many people I talk to say "thats hand to mouth & too much work."

Another GREAT conversation from the fellas that know. So, very much information to share and to learn from. Thank you once again. God bless you all.

@Homesteadshoptalk

11 ай бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it

Great explanation of your orchards Ben.

Maybe I’m too old but my family farm was working with the Farm Bureau and even the FFA doing soil testing, and planning where we’d put our vegetables and apples trees. Also using the farmers almanac.

When you take up the netting you gather the poles together. Then roll the actual netting around the poles. That will keep it in order until you want to put it out again.

I've kept horses for years. Aside from quarterly de-worming they don't get anything odd chemically. Biggest risk is if there're persistent herbicides in their hay or grain. Grazon and the other amino-pyralids are getting to be a real problem for composting manure.

We are starting our homestead and we probably won't have a Milk cow for the reasons Ben shares at the end of this. We might get Milk goats later on

Al, i finally subscribed to your channel. I have been enjoying the three of you on this podcast. Im already a viewer of Jason and Ben's channels. What is so great about your podcast is i get to continue working as i listen 😊 Most videos i must watch, who can pass up watching you all as you take us along on your journey 😀 thank you for sharing

Hey Ben, watch the Kansas cracks! I'm in Wichita, and I built my own chicken tractor, 8x8, had it now for four years, ran a bunch of chickens through it and I think that I'm going to take that one apart and build two smaller ones. 4x8. Easier to move when you hit a high spot, I've gotten larger one stuck on high spots. And, when I built my 20x60 high tunnel, man, you put down that weed fabric and immediately find all the spots where you previously got your truck stuck etc. Lol.

When I first searched for homesteading channels. Al’s channel was the first one I found. The second was Deep South Homestead. Both ends of the spectrum 😊

I hope Ben & Meg can someday get a bit of that pastureland behind them, then they'd have it all. On the hobbit hole... earth bag?

Its awesome Ben that you got rye acre of land

@terresiagregg9326

11 ай бұрын

The

HI MY FRIENDS. LOVE YOU POD CAST AS MUCH AS I LOVE YOUR VLOGS. JUST A SUGGESTION WATCH ( JUST A FEW ACRES) HE TOO HAS ALL THE ANIMALS AS YOU DO WITH 40 ACRES HE ROTATES.❤❤ JOEL JUSTIN .BLESSINGS FROM PUERTO RICO.👀U

Homesteader university = a class with each of y'all and a Polyface Farms day.

🎉 Jason, I found a hawk on my patio in the dog water dish one year. It was really hot here as well. I thought it was just cooling off as it got up and eventually flew off. YO JASON! Ive probably got my power tools than my brothers combined! And I'm still using them😂😂😂

Good job guys. 🕊

Ben, you may have told your secret here first, but I saw it on your home channel first. 😊 Congratulations! I love listening to all three of you. Today’s program was really good for me to think about-to look at all the possibilities available to me when I get some land.

I'm just an old lady in my 60s and bought 1 1/2 acres last year and it is hard work but love it. Really enjoy your podcast . Very informative and I like hearing all your advice and experiences. And always entertaining. Keep it up

THE DAIRY COW THAT BROKE THE FARMERS BACK This will forever replace the saying “the straw that broke the camel’s back” 😂

Really enjoyed it guys.

I could tell Ben was feeling burnt out. It comes through in the negative comments on videos, but I could also tell you were struggling with that. You seem somewhat better now that the cow is gone. I do think your vision of creating close relationships is strong, but I hope you can find some balance and joy again. 💕

Speaking of building a chicken tractor, we finally built a cattle panel hoophouse greenhouse using Al's original chicken tractor how to video I think... or else it was the 2.0, now I'm getting mixed up 🙄. Anyways, his lumber list and how to was super helpful vrs. just figuring it out completely from scratch for us, even tho we've built a few little things b4. We did run into some confusion near the end, as we were putting in a door on each end, and an automatic ( wax arm) window on one, too, and covering the whole thing in greenhouse plastic. Then too, we had to shore it up a bit more as it was bowing in the middle of the bottom frame on the long sides, because we went longer, 3 cattle panels instead of 2. Of course it took us immensely longer than I'd originally hoped, and didn't get it done until right AFTER pur last frost, of course, so I didn't really need it for my seedlings anymore as they were already hardened off to direct sunlight during the day 🙄😒🙂. But it's been amazingly handy to have a place to stick larger tools n things out of the rain out in my garden - I had a large plastic bin I had misc. small stuff in. We're renting a relative's basement apt. and have no garage or shed space to speak of here. I did have a ( true, french ' Petit Gris de Rennes') cantaloupe growing in it and did get the fastest growth & earliest fruit from that plant vrs. ones same at transplant time, put outside. Definitely love the heat ! The wax arm works great, but It was so hot out since early June - for WI - that I also just left the doors propped open, til today I the closed one under the window. I'd planted tall and med. sunflowers along it's south side ( exterior) to provide shade in worst of summer. The cantaloupe probly didn't need it, I hadn't known at time what I'd have. Anyway, they did make shade. Anyway, thanks, Al !!

Love the hole in ground. Perfect for a shelter or root cellar away from the house.

I'm so glad you were able to buy that 1 acre part back to your homestead Ben. That's so cool that Brett wants to build a hobbit hole! Wow, three bedroom. I hope he does it and he doesn't get discouraged. You can get some timber from it too. That is a weird story Jason about the hawk. Remember the Amazon list you have too. Maybe some link to it from your new website? I love Lorraine's chicken apron I found through it and your shrink wrap bags. I hope your chicken tractor workshop gets sold out Jason! Nice, the ChickLift giveaway is worth going to the workshop! It's nice that they have sponsored your workshop. Wow Al, 350lbs of coffee! That sounds like a lot of mailing. It's great you talked about the chicken waterer trailer Al. I've got to do that because I'm still using the 5 gallon buckets. Wow Jason, horse manure that hasn't broken down! Ben we did our orchard on a hill too because trees don't want wet roots and it was the steepest part of our land. They have done really well. We did have to put up a large deer fence. Nice Jason, you have an orchard on a contour now. Yup, taking care of animals is a daily chore or they will be harmed. They seem to like us too so that makes it a little easier. I rub the goats head every time I see him and he likes it. It's kind of nice to have them be happy to see you. I love to hear the sounds the birds make. Free ranging chickens makes it easier. The meat birds are more work. I miss the turkey sound when we harvest them. I miss my guinea hen sounds too. The rooster ran them off so I'm raising more. I love my Khaki Campbell ducks and the wonderful eggs I get from them.

I am thoroughly enjoying these podcasts! I have been following y’all for a long time and now my husband is enjoying the podcasts along with me.

Great topic guys ! We are trying to shift our 40 acres from a cattle ranch to a much more diverse homestead and living it but the observe and plan part is sometimes difficult to have patience with, yet so very needed so we aren’t redoing the same work in a different location. Y’all are a huge inspiration and so very helpful

Ben, my daddy parceled off acreage for his eight children out of a hundred and sixty acres only three of us girls took him up on that, we each have an acre from his land and maybe that's exactly what this person did was parceled off acre for their child to build on. The original farmland was sold to cousin's who sols if to a local farmer. This land was in the family for several generations 😊😊

I think you’re doing amazing on these talks , I look forward to watching or listening every Friday! Very informative! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Al might want to think of more permanent paddocks for the larger animals where you just move the animals instead of moving all the fencing with them. More cost but less labor.. Just build it up over time. Add a fixed paddock each season so it is not a major investment all at once.

@markpashia7067

11 ай бұрын

Might look at the horse farms around eastern KY and how they do their rotational grazing.

i think that no matter what your doing you sometimes have second thoughts and good days and bad ones,Everything we do in life brings us to that. I loved the conversation as it was very informative. I enjoy all three of you. God bless your families, your weekend and all that you are trying to accomplish'

Great topic! This is one of my fav homesteading podcasts! Good insights and encouragement! Thank you!

@Homesteadshoptalk

11 ай бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it!

Red tool house is good.Native hillbilly myself. So Ben when are the Holler Homestead ball caps with the stick people family on it ,like the back of cars.

Thanks for all your work. We appreciate the entertainment.

Love this podcast! So nice to hear collectively your opinions, ideas and experiences on each of your properties.

Jason, have you thought about turning that manure pile? Maybe add your household compost materials to get bacteria to start it breaking down. Not to really build great compost but to get rid of it quicker and just spread it thinly in areas where it won't impact your food much. Might be good to let trees and grass remove the wastes diluted over time just to clean your land if you are worried about what is in it. Break it down, spread thin in areas that could build off of it without getting into your personal food chain. A little work today to naturally dispose of it over time.

@markpashia7067

11 ай бұрын

Or just load it out to the landfill so it does not bleed into surrounding ground if you are really worried about the contents. Looking away does not help and can sometimes be worse.

@markpashia7067

11 ай бұрын

We use to use a lot of rotted manure in our gardens but we knew the stables it came from and trusted the horse ranchers to be responsible in what they used for their animals.

Really enjoy theses pod cast

Al has a hurricane coming at him. Your welcome from NC.

Hey Gang, Always good to see the Three Musketeers, great posting as usual, God's Good Blessings to you and your beautiful family's keep up the great work love U guys XOXOXO stay safe and healthy

Ben I have learned so much from your talks love ya all

Jason try grinding up your horse dung and add it to your compost pile.😊

Jason, if you have some good active compost it would be worth it to try putting it on top of the horse manure like a foot deep and keep it moist and see if it changes in a couple of weeks. Horse manure will pack to where it's water proof and air proof and it can't compost like that. Putting live compost on it might let the little compost critters gradually work into the surface and liven it up. Stables I've been around had to turn their horse poop piles (some of them a hundred feet deep) with bulldozers to keep them aerated.

Jason, add your horse manureninto a working compost pile.

I have a friend that rescues birds. I bet you probably have someone like that in your area. Sounds like this poor bird was to far gone. 😞

@Roy-BBQn

11 ай бұрын

You can replace it by moving the hawk that just attached and killed one of my chickens while I was listening to your podcast. 😮

Thank you guy’s for your inputs on the homestead train’s of thought it’s never going to be perfect but it might be perfect for someone else

I saw a tractor important where you pull net and hang it on the 2 hook, then more them into next days nets not the same net

You guys are great I watch each of your shows as soon as they hit my ipad. JASON just a suggestion to put your Homestead names under your pictures may attract new members to your channels and enjoy your Homestead videos too. I know you say then at each beginning but looking at the page under the pictures it is nowhere to be seen. Just trying to help you out. Keep up the great work you 3.

Stay safe and sound in New England. Maybe if one wants to build his own place, start a KZread channel. Hawks hunt snakes.. snake bite.

I've seen in other country's using on goats a collar like a halo you can change grazing area on phone..but these collars have more of a box....3"x3"

Good evening from the uk 🇬🇧 Question for you 3 Does Al struggle to grow his own food with how cold it is where he lives and how short his growing season is ??

@DukeOOO

11 ай бұрын

It's not that cold where Al is. One of the best gardens I have seen was in Alaska. KZread channel: Simple Living Alaska

You’re doing fantastic! Love these 👏👏👏

Thanks for all the sharing and info!!

I have been enjoying this insight to y’all’s day to days. All the info is great.

I can't wait for that dark roast. Philip DeFranco started selling coffee and I ordered a pound of the dark roast beans and they're practically flavorless. I think the beans have been sitting in some bin for a couple of years. It didn't even have a charcoal note. It was just blah.

Ok..... maybe I can get all the way through this . Iv'e tried three times today.

Afternoon y'all, great podcast

@Homesteadshoptalk

11 ай бұрын

Thanks for listening

👋

Ben, look into drip irrigation for that third row of trees. You can do surface system to see how it works but that would be a great learning project for you. Having ponding like that is nice to have but how can you adapt it to your needs to help?

@markpashia7067

11 ай бұрын

If that works out for you, you can look into buried french drains to let the water move itself underground to the place you need it and not have to monitor it. You could add flow gates near the source to cut it off if it gets too much.

@markpashia7067

11 ай бұрын

By french drains, I am not talking about getting rid of the water, but rather making an underground channel that is part of the body of water. A level ditch that dead ends with a couple of inches of sand/gravel mix that connects to the ponding area. Then cover with the original dirt (maybe a filter screen between) and let the grass grow. This would make a moist layer underground to feed the roots of that third row of trees. Let nature and gravity do the work for you. The principles of french drains but in reverse to get water to move where you need it not get rid of it.

Great show as usual, it shows there is a human struggle to homesteading as well as your old life style, but realizing why you’re continuing on with homesteading. Thanks for sharing.

I am way past homesteading but I still enjoy listening to you gentlemen. Thank you.

Love these talks

So good!

Love supporting you guys

We enjoy your videos 😊 Great Topics !

You guy's are doing a great job

Another great session guys!💖

Good thing you didn't off him. It's probably a violation. As @kayrabey1344 said, best to contact a rescue to deal with something like that. Many hawks and birds that would eat a small road killed animals are hit by vehicles. Good chance that's what happened to this one ....

Are any of your homesteads in line of the current hurricane or are you all inland?

We are looking at a piece of land that is currently a soy bean field… is that a bad crop to have grown if u want to homestead? Pasture, garden, etc

@PICARDY610

11 ай бұрын

95% of soybeans grown are genetically modified. round-up ready seeds.

@cherylinoklahoma9624

11 ай бұрын

Sadly, unless organic, MOST soybeans are GMO and probably sprayed with glyphosate (Roundup)😢

👀👀👋👋❤❤