Preparing for a Garden

Posted on by A.R. Geiger

We are so, so close to gardening weather here in Colorado.

I’ve been waiting. And counting the days. And checking the temperature.

See, Colorado is cold. And it stays cold for a long, long, long time after the ‘first day of spring’ that the rest of the country enjoys. Our first day of spring is usually a signal for the first day of spring storms.

Snow storms.

March is still considered the middle of winter for us.

But! We are now moving into June, and in June—when we aren’t preoccupied with weddings and other such very exciting events—we will finally be able to plant our garden without worrying about a late frost coming and destroying literally everything.

I can’t even tell you how many times that has happened to me.

Last year, in an attempt to curb my winter blues and hurry spring along just a little, I planted a large part of my garden in my house in pots. You know, getting those seedlings started, giving them a bit of extra time to bloom and get going.

Yeah.

That did not work.

Something about Colorado winds and needing to be planted outside first so that they start hardy and strong.

This year, I have managed to restrain myself, and have planted nothing but one garlic plant.

And a few onions.

And two blueberry bushes.

But nothing else.

In the meantime, I’ve been working on the garden in front of my house. I figured that I can dig up and fix the soil, even if I can’t plant, so I’ve been carting buckets of mulch around, widening the borders, and working on my compost bucket in preparation for planting. Now it’s almost ready, and I’m so excited to get seeds in the ground and begin defending my tiny seedlings against squirrels, deer, turkeys, dogs, hail storms, and the rest of Colorado.

We’ll see how I manage.

Are you gardening this year? Tell me about it in the comments!

Spring and Homesteading

Posted on by A.R. Geiger

Now that I’m freelancing, my schedule is a lot more flexible than it was.

Sure, I’m still working full time. But how—and when—that work happens is up to me.

Which allows for some wiggle room and a bit of discovery.

Discovery is one of my goals for this next season. Discovering more about myself, discovering what life as a freelancer looks like, discovering what I’m capable of, and what I’m brave enough to tackle. Now that spring is—hopefully—here to stay, that includes making our household more sustainable and moving toward homesteading my family’s property.

We have big gardening plans in the works.

I’m excited.

One of the ways my husband and I have made our tiny house a little more sustainable in the last few months has been clearing out the back closet and buying ourselves a real live washing machine. Now that we’re not hauling all our washing next door, laundry duty has become MILES easier, and I’m finally excited to wash my clothes again.

Can I get a ‘Hallelujah’?

Since our space and budget were limited for this project, we decided against buying a dryer with our new washer, and I’ve been line drying all our clothes.

This is my new favorite chore. I kid you not.

Not only does it get me outside, but since my newest obsession is turning our property into a homestead, line drying our clothes adds very positively to the aesthetic. And, you know, it saves us money, helps the environment, and makes our clothes last longer.

But having a line of washing flapping outside my window while I have bread dough rising on the counter gives my tiny house a cozy, farmhouse kind of feel to it, which I deeply appreciate.

I had a few concerns about stiff clothing and stretched out fabric before I started this project, but thanks to the magic of Pinterest and a half-dozen articles from experienced line-dryers, I’ve found clever ways to avoid those problems, and line drying has been a breeze.

Literally.

Homesteading is always a process, and we’re taking projects one at a time to get our little farm up and running again. Our fields have gotten a much needed reseeding, and two sweet bunnies have made an appearance in the barn. The rest will have to wait a bit until we have some sheds fixed up and a few windows replaced in the barn.

Spring is coming!

What are your plans for this spring? Tell me about them in the comments!