Planning for Fall on the Homestead and Farm

It is almost that time of year when the weather cools down and a new season starts. Do you have your plans for Fall made yet? In this episode I am going to share tons of ideas you can use to prepare your farm or homestead for fall no matter where you live or what climate you have.

Transcript

Episode 9 PP

Planning for Fall on the Farm and Homestead

Well it is almost the end of July and Fall is right around the corner. Do you have your plans for Fall made yet? If not, don’t panic, because in this episode I am going to share some great ideas for getting your farm or homestead plans ready for the Fall.

Hello and welcome back to the Prepping Positively Podcast. I am Annie and today we are talking about getting your plans ready for the Fall.

Don’t you just love this time of the year? The weather starts to get cooler, the wind blows more, the leaves change colors. It’s a beautiful time of the year.

Where some are gathering their last harvests before winter sets in, others are just starting their fall gardens which will prosper and continue well into the later part of winter.

No matter where you live, it is time to start thinking about your plans for the fall season on your farm or homestead.

So how do you decide what plans to make or what goals to set? Well, it starts by looking at the big picture.

Let me explain.

Did you set annual plans in January for your homestead or farm? If you did, look back at those plans. What did you want to accomplish this year that you have not been able to do yet? Or maybe you had a basic plan for fall and just need to add the details.

If you didn’t make an annual plan this year, that’s ok. Let’s start with what normally happens in the fall and work a plan from there ok?

So normally on my property, fall is a time of planting. Living in Central Florida, our gardening is much different from many parts of the US. We have basically two big growing seasons and they happen in Spring and in Fall.

If you have a fall growing season, right now is the time to start looking into what you will be planting in August and September. Do you have your garden plots ready? Did you order your seeds or do you have seeds already?

Now is the time to get those gardens prepared, check the compost piles, get that fertilizer and those other amendments ready. You can draw out a garden plan now to help guide you when you are ready to start planting. Also be sure to check that a watering system is in place and working.

If you do not have a plan to start a garden for fall, but are coming to harvest season in your current garden then you need to plan for when you will be harvesting and even more importantly, what you will do with the harvest.

If you can your food, now is the time to make sure you have enough canning jars and lids on hand, and that your canning equipment is in top shape.

If you are freezing or dehydrating your food, now is the time to check that you have enough rolls of bags or plastic and foil for freezing, and that your dehydrator is ready and clean. Make sure the containers you will store your dehydrated food in is available too.

If you are drying herbs naturally, do you have enough room to hang them or lay them flat? And do you have containers ready for the dried herbs to be placed in?

Now besides gardening, what else should happen in the fall? Here on my homestead, the fall season means maintenance. We check the fences and barbed wire to make sure everything is intact and not needing repairs. This includes any gates too.

We use the deep litter method in our chicken coops so we completely empty all of the bedding from them, and fill the coops with fresh hay. We wash the nesting boxes, dust the cobwebs, scrub the feeders and waterers, and make sure no maintenance needs don’t to the roof, windows, walls, or the chicken run.

All of our animal pens are checked for hazards or repairs that need addressed. Our rabbit cages get a good scrubbing and sanitizing. The pigs get new dirt brought in the pens and fresh hay for bedding in their houses. Their waterers get scrubbed and cleaned.

We check the barns for the horses and the cows and make sure they have what they need and that everything is clean and safe.

Once our animals are done and ready for the new season, we move onto our house and our tiny house.

Usually in fall we pressure wash the outside of both houses and check for clogged gutters, leaks, and any maintenance that needs done outside.

Trees should be checked in the fall also. We usually do this in the summer since hurricane season comes heavier in September so we need to be prepared ahead of time. However, August and September is a great time to check for low hanging or dead branches that could be a problem come winter when maintenance on trees is much harder.

And speaking of trees, now is the time to figure out what to do with those leaves! Do you know how to make a ring out of old fence? You can make a few of these and fill them with leaves and grass now. Come spring you will have mini rolls of fresh compost for your plants. If not, have a plan for those leaves now.

If you will not be planting new gardens in the fall, this is a good time to clean up all the gardening tools. Changing oil in equipment, sharpening blades and a good general cleaning should be done before you store those tools for winter anyways. We keep up with ours on a monthly basis because we garden year round.

If you live in a colder climate, Fall may be the time for you to check those furnace filters and clean those vents. Maybe you have a wood stove that needs to be prepared for the colder weather.

Speaking of cold, Fall may also be the time for you to check your equipment for antifreeze. Make sure to do the maintenance needed for your cars while you’re at it.

Don’t forget, prices are rising for feed, and supplies. Make a plan now to stock up on feed for the winter, hay too. It is better to think ahead than waiting until the last minute. If you are trying to save money on animal feed make sure to listen to the episode called Saving Money On Animal Feed for some great ways to cut your feed costs.

So is there some maintenance that you do on your homestead that I may have missed? Drop me an email to annie@roadtoreliance.com and let me know so I can share it in another podcast episode.

That’s all I have for you this week. Make sure you hit that follow so you don’t miss an episode. Until next week, stay happy, stay healthy and stay prepared!