A Day On The Homestead

Two-thirty in the morning is an early start to the day, but it has to be done.  Because I do not make my living on the homestead a full-time job is a must.... I guess you have to pay for your passions one way or another.  After arriving at work my wife sent a text message informing me that our daughter is sick.  She seems to have caught the nasty bug that's going around.  One advantage to getting to work at 3:30 in the morning is that your work day is over around noon.  This allows for time to take care of the necessary chores when you get back home.  

Once I arrived back home I took the time to introduce our two female rabbits to the male.  With any luck we should have some little ones that will be ready to remove from their mamas just in time for Easter.  Job one done.  Now on to the next task.....Cutting logs to firewood size so they can be split.  

After cutting what has seemed to be an infinite number of logs down to size I now have a pile of logs that are ready for the log splitter.  That will be tomorrows project.  Winter hasn't been terrible this year, but we do live in the midwest and wood is the only heat source we use in our home.

I can't do too much in one day without neglecting the family and they are what really matter in this life so now it's time to relax with the wife and kids before eating dinner and getting ready for bed.  The process starts all over again tomorrow.

There are always different chores needing done so I work on them each day after work and finish any incomplete projects on the weekends.  Before long it will be time to build some more raised garden beds and begin planning for this years garden.

These early mornings make me thankful that I have children who can help out with taking care of the animals and other chores.

Properly Planting Tomatoes

Helping your tomatoes have the best chance of producing the greatest number of large healthy fruits begins with properly planting them. Many people get their tomato plants and set them in their gardens even with or slightly deeper than the root balls. Although this method will not harm the plant, it is definitely not the best approach to healthy tomato production. 

In order to encourage the most root growth possible, the tomato plant should be buried deep enough in your garden soil to cover all but the very leaves on the stem. Planting your tomato plants in this fashion will cause the entire buried portion of the plant to become giving it a very healthy and large root system.

Place tomato plants in the soil up to the last leaves on the stem.

The first year I planted tomatoes in this fashion, it freaked me out.  I thought for sure I'd kill them off; however, much to my surprise, I quickly discovered that these tomato plants would thrive and produce far better than any of the crops I had planted in years past.

Seven tomato plants in my raised bed garden

When planting your next tomato crop, give this method a try and you too will be surprised by the abundant health your plants will achieve.  The first attempt at this method will probably make you feel like you are destined to kill your plants, but I have had nothing but amazing results.

- Hard work and dedication makes self-sufficiency possible