Today we are proud to announce that the Silly Couple is leaving St. Petersburg and starting our homesteading journey here in north-central Florida. 2020 has been a rough year for everyone and while we may have failed to find our footing online this year, we’re happy to be putting down roots on some land and starting on a new journey.
Becoming Millennial Homesteaders
Those of you who know Joseph, know he’s had the dream of self-sufficiency for as long as he can remember. The idea of living off the land and in harmony with nature is something that he’s sought after his entire life. And while Victoria was a bit hesitant at first to embrace this same dream, she is bringing enthusiasm and support the whole way. From her plans to start a sourdough this year to the acquisition of bees, she is as ready as anyone to begin this journey.
But, what exactly does this look like for The Silly Couple?
Well, for starters it means we’ll be working to chronicle the next step of our journey. At first, this will likely be slow-going. We want to take our time and not bite off more than we can chew, but our goal is that over the next 3-5 years we’ll be able to produce or grow all the essential, perishable food items here on our homestead.
Is that more than we can manage? Time will tell. And, in time we’ll deliver more details of our plans and how we are progressing (make sure to sign up to get reminders whenever we make a new post). For now, let’s go over the basics.
What is Our Objective as Homesteaders
The first thing to remember is that we are not in this to become big-time farmers (or really farmers at all). We’re interested in being homesteaders. And, while there may be some different definitions, the way we define the difference is simple: farmers produce for a living while homesteaders produce to support their family. In other words, our goal isn’t to produce mass amounts of eggs, honey, milk, vegetables, etc. Instead, it’s to produce enough that we are never short of these goods.
The Right Land for the Job
With that in mind, we’ve purchased a house on 5.5 acres of land. Much of this land is forested, but there is a decent-sized clearing around the main house. Not only does this property already have a main house -it also has a detached 2-car garage and a separate 3-car garage with a loft apartment. This ensures we have space for storage in the big garage and guest accommodations should family or friends every want to stay (and help around the homestead).
In addition to the human accommodations, you can see we have a decent dog-house in the back should we ever decide to add a canine to the family. And, of course we’re excited for the inclusion of the chicken coop and run. But, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. The truth is, we still have a lot of planning to do, but we know we have plenty of space to do what’s needed here. So, what are some of those plans?
Getting Started with Self-Sufficiency
As mentioned above, we don’t want to take on too much all at once. So, as we wrap up 2020, our only plan is to survive until the new year and close on our house in St. Pete. That leaves 2021, where we plan to (in no particular order):
- Start a vegetable garden: We have a spot already picked out in the front of the property where we plan to start growing herbs and some vegetables.
- Get some backyard chickens: Since the property already has a chicken coop, our first producing member of the homestead animal family is definitely going to be chickens.
- Purchase some fruit trees: We haven’t picked out exactly where we intend to put these, so the first step is sorting that out. But, we know we’ll want oranges, lemons, and limes at the very least.
- Research goats and other animals: Bees, goats, chickens…are these the only animals we’ll add to the homestead? Time will tell. But, getting better acquainted with these animals and how to care for them is going to give us no shortage of things to do.
- Just spent time on the land: Yeah, it might seem like a small list for year 1, but we’re not in a rush. Now that we have land to roam, we need to get used to the difference between a small city lot and this beautiful 5+ acres we now have to maintain and care for -that alone is a big new responsibility.
Well, there you have it in a nutshell. We’ll try to keep up with posting on a regular cadence here, but if not, make sure to find us on social media for updates. At the very least, you can expect a post in just over a year outlining what we accomplished in 2021.
Until then, stay blessed and stay safe. Thanks for reading, and we’ll see you around the homestead!