My husband and I are interested in healthy living and sustainable agriculture. As a result, we're attempting to raise a lot of the food we consume ourselves. Both my husband and I enjoy cooking "from scratch" as they say, and we enjoy occasionally experimenting with new recipes. We eat very little processed food. I make my own baby food (and use cloth diapers, too!).
Almost four years ago, we purchased a home on about five acres in the mountains of Pennsylvania. Almost all of the land was grass-covered, with about three of the acres already fenced in, a three-sided "barn" in poor condition, and very little landscaping. We tilled a large patch of land for a garden, purchased 25 day-old chicks, and added several flowerbeds.
We haven't purchased beef in over three years. The last time we bought beef, we got a quarter Angus from a local farmer who raises grass-fed beef. Then we got two bulls (one Jersey, one Jersey-Holstein cross) that we raised ourselves on grass, hay, and a small amount of grain. Last fall, we had them butchered and have been enjoying their meat thoroughly!
I used to be able to say that we hadn't purchased eggs in over two years, but this winter our hens really slowed down and weren't laying enough eggs to meet our needs.
This year, I'm trying to raise as much of the produce we consume as I can. I started by making a list of the produce I purchase the most from the supermarket:
lettuce
tomatoes
onions
potatoes
sweet potatoes
carrots
cucumbers
garlic
I've grown all of the above before (with varying success) except for potatoes and sweet potatoes. I'd like to grow my own potatoes and sweet potatoes, but considering the terrible blight we had last year and the susceptibility of potatoes to blight, I'm going to wait until next year to make the attempt. Broccoli could have been added to the list above, but last year, I grew so much broccoli, I haven't been able to bring myself to eat any since.
