It is readily apparent that Roots and Refuge Farm has truly become Whispering Willow Farm and that the stewards of this farm are well equipped to dream and make that vision come true. I am about to celebrate my 72nd birthday, if I lived anywhere near there I would be out there collecting rocks every day. Thank you for allowing me to live vicariously through your vision.
I am 72 now and I admire that you would be able to pick up rocks! I might manage a few pebbles LOL. But I sure would be there for their Farm to table experience!
Happy Birthday! I'm 73 and we are moving from Colorado (expensive!) to Oklahoma (less expensive) at the end of Sept. Moving into a rental but will be looking for land to fulfill my life long dream of growing more veggies/flowers and have some chickens. Going to use the no-dig method. Seems the easiest. There will be emphasis on compost making! Gonna go and go until I can't go any more! Whispering Willows and Roots and Refuge as well as Charles Dowding have been my biggest influencers! Thank you.
Yep 😀 the same way my husband looks at me when I say I wish he was a farmer like my grandpa Robbins ...and when I say I want to sell our 2 1/2 acres Homestead and buy at least 10-15 acres for me a bigger farm ..so I can have a cow 🐄 ... We. Have a few goats .. we have a few chicken 🐓 .. we have 5 ducks ... We have big gardens .. but I want a cow 🐮 ...
Girl he's the biggest social butterfly when in public but put a camera in his face and he freezes. On the other hand I'm not really social in big crowds. Crazy!
You two just reminded me of my husband and myself. We moved to raw land and have been rebuilding our homestead and building our home. I shoot out allllll the ideas and vision and he sees work 🤣 and $$ being spent. But hey Nathan, tractor and milk goats seems like a fair compromise. Lol #teamGoatsForJill
I have heard great things about the Idaho Pasture pig :) As far as grass planting, build up. Lay cardboard and newspaper and paper bags etc. Cover it with layers and layers of grass and leaves and dirt and manure. Just keep building up!
I can't wait to see your dreams and visions come to life! You both deserve all of this and maybe one day, I'll have a chance to sit at your table and experience your hard work.
Hi guys ! Sounds like great plans.Tbere is somthing I want to give you a couple of things to ponder a bit.Are you planning to do Farmers Market ? Which is great ! As far as community garden at your place, careful there.Might want to do a monthly give away of produce to a food pantry and maybe still have a community cookout but in the community that all the growers could put on. In this world it may not be safe for you guys to have allot of people to your farm.I love your compassion for community but also you have to be safe.Its a differant world.You can have community in the community.I just want you to be cautious. Save your home for your home. You would still get the satisfaction of giving but please be safe in doing it. 💞🌱🌿💞 Pam >
One of my Mom's neighbors in Florida belong to the Church without walls. Their Paster has 10 acres of personal farm property. He does the majority of the farming on it, but the church members help with the harvest. They have a weekly food pantry that gets tons of donations of canned goods, bread, etc. The church supplements the pantry every month with whatever fresh produce they are able to harvest that week. It's amazing.
I love your dreams about a greenhouse & tunnel for flowers ... but I think your husband is going to get the tractor first!! Once you have that important piece of equipment, you can fly!!
I love the excitement in Jill and common sense in Nathan. You need both to succeed. I was Smiling the entire video watching it from a woman point of view and the giraffe and elephant was the best. Good luck you guys 😀
The world needs more people with the dream, the willingness to work and enjoy the process like you two. Looking forward to watching those dreams come to life! I will be in the crowd at one of those dinners! Thank you! 🌸
I believe your plan is something awesome. When I have a surplus of vegetables from the garden, I put it out in front with a sign to help yourselves. The sharing with your community aspect is so important for mind & spirit.
You might want to look into Idaho Pasture Pigs. That is what they have over on Living Traditions Homestead. They said they have a great temperament and a good one for filling the freezer.
I want to share a tip for tomatoes. When you are getting more than you can use, if you have freezer space, just wash them well, and trim off any bad spots carefully, then put in gallon zip bags and freeze. You can pull them out later when you have more time and process, or just use. If you want to peel them they will slip out of their skins after they thaw, if you don’t use the peels. I usually just put them through my blender and use the skins. Anyway this method has completely changed my loss of tomatoes from spoiling, due to being to busy. Also, dry some fresh tomatoes and pulverize in your food processor into a powder, it adds a lot of flavor to soups etc.
Are there any updates on the sale of your old property? I am really looking forward to seeing you realize your vision on your new property. It shows that there is more than one way to plan a space and nurture the land in order to enable food production, flowers, animals as well as the community engagement. It will be inspiring and educational for those of us coming along for the ride.
You've probably thought of this, but remember to dig down OUTSIDE the tree's drip line. If you damage the roots of the tree you'll lose it eventually which means losing the shade for the rabbits. 😉 Also you'll want to make sure it's not dropping any branches, you don't want any hurt bunnies. 😉
Two different neighbors of mine lost beautiful maple trees because they dug circles around their trees (for decorative mulch placement) inside the trees’ drip lines. A very expensive loss, both purchasing and to have removed.
❤ Good for you Girlfriend ❤ Good for you ♥ There is Nothing wrong with dreaming Nothing !! No matter what age No matter your income without dreams we really have nothing to live for ❤ and I'm Honored to be with you on your dreams ❣ and you are inspiring me already ❤ This is the first year I was not able to have a Garden due to my Mom's passing and moving in with my 92 year old father. who has 4acrs But its all wood's so I only have been able to grow 10 papers in these pots. the soil here is clay and rock's so difficult to grow anything, Thanks for sharing your dream`s with with us. Love and DREAMS From Western North Carolina ❣ Blessed Be ❤
one thing you might do is limit your community dinners to people that you already know (and their guests) or mix in dinners for members of your channel in conjunction with a workshop earlier in the day (for ex. harvesting rabbits or chickens that could be used in the dinner that evening) so you can constrain the headcount and also cover the costs of the process.
Jill & Nathan, you are precious. I love the way Nat looks at you Jill! So dear! Loved hearing your dreams and look forward to seeing them unfold! Blessings for a nice weekend! Beverly
I just love you and your videos. Such a sweet caring ramily. You allways can put a smile on my face. No matter how badd im feeling. Or how much pain im in. Love ya Hugs stay safe God Bless.
Jill looking forward to Community dinners sounds Awesome Beautiful Vegetables Homegrown 👏 Breaking Bread together and beautiful Flower 🌺 arrangement on the Table Everything grown On the Farm
What beautiful dreams! I hope that someday I can be one of those guests at your table and experience the beautiful community you talk about!! Dream on!!
When planting grass maybe throw in some Red & White clover & Alfalfa, different types of mint in with the seed mix. Gives the rabbits different greens to eat. I didn't know if you knew any type of blub plants are poisonous to rabbits. Sounds like you all got time to make your new farm grow. :")
I love your plans of the rabbit colony....I live in SC, very close to where Jess and Miah moved....the shade is a MUST for rabbits! People dont want to deal in rabbits here in SC in the summer months because of the heat, and your area is just as hot! My friend and I have been raising rabbits this way since 2015. It's wonderful to watch their family life....we dont keep them separated, the males are wonderful with the babies! They lay around with them and see to them more than the mommas! Once they are old enough to catch and sell, I have feeding stations for treats and they come get their treat and get caged for selling. They burrow and have their babies naturally in holes. They are sooooo cute when they start coming out to eat food with the others!....over the many years I think they have developed an underground CITY! LOL we've actually had to put plywood down for walk ways so we dont cave in areas.....it is a great idea to put them under shade trees and plant more surrounding shade for them! Our pen is aprx 15x30ft...lots of shade.... I love your spirit and zeal! May God bless you and your family in all the ways He has planned for you to reach your community!
I think 🤔 Nathan is right Jill ... You like myself would have all the animals 😂 🤣 ... Jess was that way at first too .. thank God for the men in our lives that help ground our dreams back to a manageable slower pace ...
Tips for your rabbit colony that I am finding out this year. If mosquitoes are heavy have a plan b for hutches that have bug screen in case of emergency. Mosquitoes have killed many of my rabbits this year unknowingly. I woke up at 5am one morning went out early and figured out why we would have a dead rabbit. Its been heartbreaking this year. Never in 6 years plus 3 years as a teen so 9 total have I ever had so many issues with raising rabbits as I have this year. Winter the owl figured out where my rabbits were and started picking them off. Deer netting Ive found allows snow to go through and still keeps out jerk birds we topped our pen with it. Then we had a break out of our Flemish male. We have never had Flemish until this year... and end of last year. Our other male super mellow sweet boy and our Wilbur Jr has decided hes gods gift to girl bunnies and his determination and strength helped him break theough our well built hutches. We fixed it and he found a new way out he did this 3 times one we moved him and my kiddo spaced and he jumped out the top and she couldnt catch him in time. We have colony girls mixed sizes. So yep he impregnated quite a few of our small 4lbs girls too. Boy bunny with like 20lbs genes..... hes not full grown yet but still thats his genes. We had two flemish females one he didnt get with because she wasnt into him shes in love with our NZ Midnight and hung out by his hutch. Colony girls can also be vicious any male that breaks in when they decide its not baby time risks death. I call them my Amazons for a reason. They killed one of our males. Wilbur Jr they all but our Flemish Spirit who wanted Midnight decided hes the pin up poster boy of bunnies. We built him a 4x10 pen within the girls pen he cant escape and they all sat by him trying to nuzzle him through the fencing...... This year has been constantly just trying to adapt to new problems. We get through that fiasco over the next couple of months trying to make sure mamas are ok and babies that make it are ok etc.... I normally breed two females same day with long breaks in between so that I can accommodate babies. Colony babies has been difficult for us but Saffron and Honey Homestead have fully penned colony rabbits males in pens within so the girls can get to know them and they can have social interaction since domestic rabbits actually come from European rabbits that live in groups unlike our wild bunnies in North America. Anyway back to the catch up we ended up with 6 moms with babies that made it all at once. We have a fenced floor. We built soil above the fencing rather than digging and burying it (we have rocks of various sizes all up in our soil there is no digging up a pen as big as I made to bury fence here). Then everyone starts losing weight some choke. We had an issue with our food we kept it in the shed for the first time and the humidity killed our rabbit food had to toss it and keep it in the house again. Then the mosquitoes caused them to stress and choke... then we put them in hutches with bug screen. Inside our rabbit babies were fine after the food was replaced or so it seems I believe grandma is giving them random treats they shouldnt have. Babies stomaches are sensitive Ive asked her to stop and she claims to have but Ive heard her tell my daughter to give them the treats since.... Oh fans. Simple cheap walmart boxfans can be kept outside if you protect the wiring. Even when they were loose we had some out there. It gives them the chance to utilize it if they need and its far less hassel than having a ton of frozen bottles on rotation.... now they are posted at their hutches. We have a new property that is close by where we can still look out for grandma not to mention my birth mom lives across the street we need our space I wont go into why but the accidental baby rabbit poisoning out of sheer stubbornness is like the last of many straws. We did all this with my pen etc to have happy animals seeing so many die and just constantly investigating and adapting has been too much at once. Weve had one issue or so here and there but this year its been one after another the most muggy rainy wet year we have had since living here in maine. Things I will change with the next pen long and narrow. Ill be netting the whole pen. If I knew Id need to net even deer netting my pen Id have not made it this wide awkward shape I made it lol. Long and narrow so I can get bug netting and deer netting (for winter when we need something bigger to allow for snow yet keeping owls etc out). The new pen will be 8' wide but very long. Right now my pen is like 20' -30' wide in some spots and like 60 plus feet long. Way too big to net or bug net. Also RHVD2 is a concern and even though it isnt here in Maine yet eventually it will be and mosquitoes can carry it. Its already in many places in the west and south. May want to keep this in mind whether they are in hutches or colonies. Besides mosquitoes can kill them anyway if they get bad enough but RHVD2 is Rabbit Hemorrhagic (they Hemorrhage to death it is horrible). So prevention would be good. If you fence your floor no one can dig in or out. If you bug net it keeps them happier without mosquitoes and can prevent serious diseases. Before all this my advice to you would have been many waterers (no one gets along all the time rabbits are no different in this girl rabbits arent typically as physically violent its more like gang initiation rather than trying to actually kill like it is with boy bunnies who are unfixed. What they ususally do to be jerks is deny resources and starve one they dont like out). Many waterers and many food bowls spread out is helpful they make their cliques and multiple sources is a good idea and prevents things from escalating usually. Keep an eye out for extra bullying behavior. If a rabbit is extra avoiding you they need a check up. Hermione is prone to ear mites compared to my other bunnies its one ear just one they love attacking. We know she has them when she avoids us because she hates getting her ears cleaned out. Our female who use to bully my girls started avoiding us back when we didn't know we werent suppose to give her that space (weve learned since make sure everyone is use to being handled so you will notice when someone is purposely avoiding you) as prey animals they hide issues they dont want to look weak. Anyway she bullied others they turned on her tired of her crap and decided to keep her from food and water. Far away she looked fine when she finally let us catch her it was too late she was too far gone. This isnt to scare anyone away from colony raising. Many of us have made plenty mistakes for you guys to learn from and hopefully get to skip some of learning things the hard way. Up until the crappy 2021 year of mugginess and if it can it does go wrong we had a good group who got along well after our normal ups and downs. I guess this year is to prepare us for whats to come learn fast so we are prepared for next year maybe. Fate/God (insert what you believe if you are reading the comment) trying to prepare us. One silver lining is with problems comes problem solutions and hopefully you can avoid the issues we have had. I definitely recommend narrow and long so if you end up making a screen for the pen that it will be easy to do. If you end up wanting to make deer netting for a top it will be way easier than what I had to do too if its narrow. I hope my comment is taken as it was intended to be helpful honestly I dont want to see what happened here to happen to anyone else. Oh also having simethecone/infant gas drops on hand can help in a pinch of they have gi stasis at any point if you catch it in time. It can save their lives. Remember to make sure they drink if they do need the gas drops I give them water by syringe should this happen just to make sure I know they drank something and its not that sugary stuff only. Oh back to the locationyou guys chose sorry got caught up writing my comment went back and rewatched, definitely recommend the deer netting to the top. Its not very easily seen like normal fencing so its not ugly once set up. The tree gives spots for the birds to pounce on them from right above. I added picket fencing trying to make my pen nice and block the woods tonavoid stressing them and I basically gave another close spot for the owl to wait out my bunnies and pounce. These are tough rabbits that chase of weasels. They were no match for the bird.
when I started watch roots & refuge & u all, & others it sparked my interest, u are so kind, giving to others, that dream is nice, but to give to the community is so cool!!
I totally believe in your dream and I believe it will come true I have seen an episode like that and I believe it's a wonderful thing for people for Farmers to get together to enjoy food they have grown let other people experience Garden life two especially beginners. I think the show is eating at the garden table something like that it was on PBS was a wonderful show my favorite!🤗💚💚
Jill ur so pretty sweet girl u have a beautiful family an a wonderful beautiful dreamer mind I love it good luck I can't wait to c what u guys do an ur excitement is the cutest thing keep it up ur little babies r beautiful
I want the Idaho pasture pigs because they are smaller and get to butchering weight in the same time as other feeders. I've also heard they are fairly friendly.
I love the idea of the community garden - in raise beds plus maybe an area for people that want to grow row crops such as corn(since Jess didn't have success with growing corn maybe community would have great ideas to improve the dirt)
Thank you for sharing both the vision and the realities of making the dreams come true. It gives me an understandiing of your desires and allows me to allign with you in the best ways. Love the idea of a giraffe too.
I’m with u Jill..u need to follow animal adventure zoo in upstate NY..they had ‘APril’ THE GIRAFFE..but she died this past yr..they have the male ‘OLLIE’and his woman JOHARI..whom is due anytime now with calf..they have baby cat Cubs also and both have cameras in their sheds and outside time.so intersting and fun to watch them..I’d have a elephant lol..altho they would eat me out of house and home..I lived in Ethiopia and was around a lot of animals like camels monkeys elephants and lions..I wish I had moved back as a adult..I loved it..I pray all the dreams u have for the farm come true..it’s beautiful !
Oh my goodness this is the second video I've watched today about a pick-your-own type of farm! I just love this idea and have wanted to do something similar where I live, but I don't have the space for it (yet 🙂). Love your passion for your dreams, I hope you are able to get the gears turning soon!
I know that this isn’t the same for everyone but I notice a common theme is that one partner ( you, Jess, myself) are the dreamers and another partner (Nathan, Jeremiah, my hubby) implement them. And I’m so thankful that my hubby, kenneth knows how to build a lot of my ideas. So thankful. And, I want to know more about casting vision, etc…
About the rocks...you could use them for a rustic outdoor fireplace near your outdoor dining area. Rocks are expensive, save them for future projects. 😉
Plant a row of fig trees behind the rabbit pen. Mix in blueberry and blackberry bushes. Persimmon trees would be great to plant by the pigs. Looking forward to seeing all your dreams come true. It’s a marathon not a sprint. Enjoy the journey.
I grew up on a farm many years ago, but remember it like it was yesterday! I’ve not lived there since 1961 but I can remember where my mother planted everything in her garden! Obviously, she didn’t change things much and her plants always did well. There was a grape arbor, a strawberry patch, lettuce bed, a “warm bed” for growing sweet potato slips. She had a spice area for everything from sage to dill! She and dad grew enough potatoes to last through winter, for the three of us. They always raised lots of corn and beans...our favorites. We had carrots, beets, lots of onions and more!. We did a lot of canning. Yes, we had our own pork and chickens. We ate frying-size chickens. Kept chickens for egg-laying. (I don’t know the differences). So, our farm provided most everything for our table except cornmeal, flour, salt, pepper and snacks like peanut butter, cheese and crackers, to na,e a few. We are at least two planting zones north of you and I don’t know what things you can’t grow in hotter weather. Someone in S. Alabama said she cannon grow rhubarb there and has no clue what it is. Oh, my, if you haven’t had strawberry-rhubarb pie, try it if you ever get the chance! It’s delicious! This year my niece and her husband started something new on their small farm...”Pick Your Own Bouquet! It’s a big hit! They have various flowers planted and a LOT of zinnias! My daughter and I picked our choice...all colors of the zinnias. They get ten dollars per bouquet. You know what you could get in your area. (You can provide large plastic containers for water until they get home with them or they can bring a vase or canning jar). North of you we do DO fall! We celebrate it! That means pumpkins and gourds on every front porch and some to sell. These vine, but the gourds will vine up a strick, fence or trellis. The pumpkin vines take up more space, but for just your own and none to sell, not much room is needed.
So glad to see you have wonderful goals and hopes for your farm. We've moved here from South Carolina to our farm in Italy 13 years ago and we are still setting tons of goals and constantly learning new lessons all the time, so I can't say farming is never boring! Good luck with your homestead❤️
When you said an Elephant I laughed. We are zoned for exotic anumals. When my children were little they wanted a camel or a giraffe. Never got any exotic animals but they had fun imagining.
It is readily apparent that Roots and Refuge Farm has truly become Whispering Willow Farm and that the stewards of this farm are well equipped to dream and make that vision come true. I am about to celebrate my 72nd birthday, if I lived anywhere near there I would be out there collecting rocks every day. Thank you for allowing me to live vicariously through your vision.
I am 72 now and I admire that you would be able to pick up rocks! I might manage a few pebbles LOL. But I sure would be there for their Farm to table experience!
Happy birthday!
Happy Birthday 💕🎂🍰
Happy Birthday
Happy Birthday! I'm 73 and we are moving from Colorado (expensive!) to Oklahoma (less expensive) at the end of Sept. Moving into a rental but will be looking for land to fulfill my life long dream of growing more veggies/flowers and have some chickens. Going to use the no-dig method. Seems the easiest. There will be emphasis on compost making! Gonna go and go until I can't go any more! Whispering Willows and Roots and Refuge as well as Charles Dowding have been my biggest influencers! Thank you.
I love the way Nathan looks at Jill when she's dreaming out loud! 💕
Nathan is like most men....it's her dream, I'm just her labour....lol
@@suzilouden5964 oh my goodness if most men were like Nathan a lot of women would be really happy! And I know the other side of that is true too.
Yep 😀 the same way my husband looks at me when I say I wish he was a farmer like my grandpa Robbins ...and when I say I want to sell our 2 1/2 acres Homestead and buy at least 10-15 acres for me a bigger farm ..so I can have a cow 🐄 ... We. Have a few goats .. we have a few chicken 🐓 .. we have 5 ducks ... We have big gardens .. but I want a cow 🐮 ...
I would like to welcome you to our 50 thousand + subscribers homestead. Welcome to your new family. 😀😀😀😀
Nathan "You would have an elephant"
Jill "I would have giraffe" 😂😂😂😂
OMG you nailed it!!!! I say....If you are not a dreamer you do not have vision and therefore you would struggle being a homesteader.
Nathan seems so quiet and private and uncomfortable answering questions. So funny! Jill always seems to be trying to pull things out of him. Lol!!!@
Girl he's the biggest social butterfly when in public but put a camera in his face and he freezes. On the other hand I'm not really social in big crowds. Crazy!
Trading a friend's help for food is my favorite kind of deal LOL. I'm in!
I loved that like you actually took a second and considered the thought of raising an elephant 😂 I’m on team Jill-needs-a-Giraffe 🦒
😂😂
You two just reminded me of my husband and myself. We moved to raw land and have been rebuilding our homestead and building our home. I shoot out allllll the ideas and vision and he sees work 🤣 and $$ being spent.
But hey Nathan, tractor and milk goats seems like a fair compromise. Lol #teamGoatsForJill
I luv watching your family and Jess and Miah. You provide a wealth of information 🌻
Build it!!!!!!! I will come!!! If I weren’t 60 you would have ignited me to do it!!!!
I have heard great things about the Idaho Pasture pig :) As far as grass planting, build up. Lay cardboard and newspaper and paper bags etc. Cover it with layers and layers of grass and leaves and dirt and manure. Just keep building up!
I can't wait to see your dreams and visions come to life! You both deserve all of this and maybe one day, I'll have a chance to sit at your table and experience your hard work.
Hi guys ! Sounds like great plans.Tbere is somthing I want to give you a couple of things to ponder a bit.Are you planning to do Farmers Market ? Which is great ! As far as community garden at your place, careful there.Might want to do a monthly give away of produce to a food pantry and maybe still have a community cookout but in the community that all the growers could put on. In this world it may not be safe for you guys to have allot of people to your farm.I love your compassion for community but also you have to be safe.Its a differant world.You can have community in the community.I just want you to be cautious. Save your home for your home. You would still get the satisfaction of giving but please be safe in doing it. 💞🌱🌿💞 Pam >
One of my Mom's neighbors in Florida belong to the Church without walls. Their Paster has 10 acres of personal farm property. He does the majority of the farming on it, but the church members help with the harvest. They have a weekly food pantry that gets tons of donations of canned goods, bread, etc. The church supplements the pantry every month with whatever fresh produce they are able to harvest that week. It's amazing.
I love your dreams about a greenhouse & tunnel for flowers ... but I think your husband is going to get the tractor first!! Once you have that important piece of equipment, you can fly!!
I love the excitement in Jill and common sense in Nathan. You need both to succeed. I was Smiling the entire video watching it from a woman point of view and the giraffe and elephant was the best. Good luck you guys 😀
The world needs more people with the dream, the willingness to work and enjoy the process like you two. Looking forward to watching those dreams come to life! I will be in the crowd at one of those dinners! Thank you! 🌸
Good luck on your new adventure. It is so exciting.
I'm happy you b got Jessica farm...I grew up raising rabbits,, ducks and chickens.good lucky to you all.
A community garden is awesome! So many don’t have a place to grow food! No space!
Every time I see that hot pink gate into the garden. I keep thinking you need to do something to make it your own. A different color maybe?
I believe your plan is something awesome. When I have a surplus of vegetables from the garden, I put it out in front with a sign to help yourselves. The sharing with your community aspect is so important for mind & spirit.
Your dreams/visions for your farm are quite admirable!! What a blessing you guys will be to your community. May God bless you and your family!
Hello Jill and Nathan That's a good idea to start with rabbits chickens and ducks to get a feel for things and then go bigger when you get ready 👌
My vote: Idaho pasture pigs (very docile and easy for first timers) and Dexter cow. Very docile and great for small homestead.
You guys will be awesome whatever you guys decide. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️🙏🙏🙏🙏
I love your future plans! Keep dreaming big and Nathan keep being the balance. You guys are a good team. Love from 🇨🇦
You might want to look into Idaho Pasture Pigs. That is what they have over on Living Traditions Homestead. They said they have a great temperament and a good one for filling the freezer.
Sounds like a dream!
I want to share a tip for tomatoes. When you are getting more than you can use, if you have freezer space, just wash them well, and trim off any bad spots carefully, then put in gallon zip bags and freeze. You can pull them out later when you have more time and process, or just use. If you want to peel them they will slip out of their skins after they thaw, if you don’t use the peels. I usually just put them through my blender and use the skins. Anyway this method has completely changed my loss of tomatoes from spoiling, due to being to busy. Also, dry some fresh tomatoes and pulverize in your food processor into a powder, it adds a lot of flavor to soups etc.
Great idea, thanks for sharing ❤
Are there any updates on the sale of your old property?
I am really looking forward to seeing you realize your vision on your new property. It shows that there is more than one way to plan a space and nurture the land in order to enable food production, flowers, animals as well as the community engagement. It will be inspiring and educational for those of us coming along for the ride.
You've probably thought of this, but remember to dig down OUTSIDE the tree's drip line. If you damage the roots of the tree you'll lose it eventually which means losing the shade for the rabbits. 😉
Also you'll want to make sure it's not dropping any branches, you don't want any hurt bunnies. 😉
Two different neighbors of mine lost beautiful maple trees because they dug circles around their trees (for decorative mulch placement) inside the trees’ drip lines. A very expensive loss, both purchasing and to have removed.
Hey Jill & Nathan... Ohhhh a garden walk 😍😍😍😍 I'm so ready to see your additions to the farm... I'm so excited for y'all ☺️☺️☺️☺️
❤ Good for you Girlfriend ❤ Good for you ♥ There is Nothing wrong with dreaming Nothing !! No matter what age No matter your income without dreams we really have nothing to live for ❤ and I'm Honored to be with you on your dreams ❣ and you are inspiring me already ❤ This is the first year I was not able to have a Garden due to my Mom's passing and moving in with my 92 year old father. who has 4acrs
But its all wood's so I only have been able to grow 10 papers in these pots. the soil here is clay and rock's so difficult to grow anything, Thanks for sharing your dream`s with with us. Love and DREAMS From Western North Carolina ❣ Blessed Be ❤
Hey ya'll👋🤗
LOVE the outside kitchen idea :)
You've got to get some Apple Yard ducks. They are so pretty! My neighbor got one, and I LOVE IT!!!!
Wonderful ideas but I think we should definitely add that giraffe 🦒 😂😂
😂 don't encourage her
My motto has always been 'One Day at a Time '
one thing you might do is limit your community dinners to people that you already know (and their guests) or mix in dinners for members of your channel in conjunction with a workshop earlier in the day (for ex. harvesting rabbits or chickens that could be used in the dinner that evening) so you can constrain the headcount and also cover the costs of the process.
Insurance liability and health dept?????
Jill & Nathan, you are precious. I love the way Nat looks at you Jill! So dear!
Loved hearing your dreams and look forward to seeing them unfold! Blessings for a nice weekend!
Beverly
yf
Try planting some clover too for the rabbits.
Living Traditions Homestead RUclips channel loves their Idaho pasture pigs! Good luck with your vision & dreams!!
I love the farm to table idea!
I just love you and your videos. Such a sweet caring ramily. You allways can put a smile on my face. No matter how badd im feeling. Or how much pain im in. Love ya Hugs stay safe God Bless.
Jill looking forward to Community dinners sounds Awesome Beautiful Vegetables Homegrown 👏 Breaking Bread together and beautiful Flower 🌺 arrangement on the Table Everything grown On the Farm
Your vision has God written all over it. I can't wait to see if come to fruit. God bless you and Nathan.
What beautiful dreams! I hope that someday I can be one of those guests at your table and experience the beautiful community you talk about!! Dream on!!
When planting grass maybe throw in some Red & White clover & Alfalfa, different types of mint in with the seed mix. Gives the rabbits different greens to eat. I didn't know if you knew any type of blub plants are poisonous to rabbits. Sounds like you all got time to make your new farm grow. :")
I love your plans of the rabbit colony....I live in SC, very close to where Jess and Miah moved....the shade is a MUST for rabbits! People dont want to deal in rabbits here in SC in the summer months because of the heat, and your area is just as hot! My friend and I have been raising rabbits this way since 2015. It's wonderful to watch their family life....we dont keep them separated, the males are wonderful with the babies! They lay around with them and see to them more than the mommas! Once they are old enough to catch and sell, I have feeding stations for treats and they come get their treat and get caged for selling. They burrow and have their babies naturally in holes. They are sooooo cute when they start coming out to eat food with the others!....over the many years I think they have developed an underground CITY! LOL we've actually had to put plywood down for walk ways so we dont cave in areas.....it is a great idea to put them under shade trees and plant more surrounding shade for them! Our pen is aprx 15x30ft...lots of shade.... I love your spirit and zeal! May God bless you and your family in all the ways He has planned for you to reach your community!
Big dreamer...make that money girl! So proud of u guys
you both are just so cute!
Can’t wait to see your teaching on your new land yessss . GODBLESS you all sweetie
Those are all wonderful ideas! I’d love to go to a workshop or a farm to table dinner. That sounds like such a cool experience.
Praying for your wonderful dreams come true. Love your enthusiasm.
My dream is to build a root cellar. The chickens look so happy 🐔
Slow & steady wins the race. Ha ha ❤️🙏🏻
Wonderful dreams.
Jill you're the sweetest!!!
Community sounds awesome 🥰❤️
Thank you so much for my sticker. It is beautiful
Thank you for supporting our journey ❤
Congratulations on truly a wonderful future. 🙏🙏🙌🇺🇸
I love your dream that sounds amazing !! I love the whole community coming to the farm and just fellowship together!
Wonderful plans...keep on dreaming big dreams... E-I-E-I-O
Enjoying sharing the Journey with you!
I think 🤔 Nathan is right Jill ... You like myself would have all the animals 😂 🤣 ... Jess was that way at first too .. thank God for the men in our lives that help ground our dreams back to a manageable slower pace ...
Having Nathan cooking for all of them 😁❤️
Yes, high tunnel full of cut flowers💜💜💜
Tips for your rabbit colony that I am finding out this year. If mosquitoes are heavy have a plan b for hutches that have bug screen in case of emergency. Mosquitoes have killed many of my rabbits this year unknowingly. I woke up at 5am one morning went out early and figured out why we would have a dead rabbit. Its been heartbreaking this year.
Never in 6 years plus 3 years as a teen so 9 total have I ever had so many issues with raising rabbits as I have this year.
Winter the owl figured out where my rabbits were and started picking them off. Deer netting Ive found allows snow to go through and still keeps out jerk birds we topped our pen with it. Then we had a break out of our Flemish male. We have never had Flemish until this year... and end of last year. Our other male super mellow sweet boy and our Wilbur Jr has decided hes gods gift to girl bunnies and his determination and strength helped him break theough our well built hutches. We fixed it and he found a new way out he did this 3 times one we moved him and my kiddo spaced and he jumped out the top and she couldnt catch him in time.
We have colony girls mixed sizes. So yep he impregnated quite a few of our small 4lbs girls too. Boy bunny with like 20lbs genes..... hes not full grown yet but still thats his genes. We had two flemish females one he didnt get with because she wasnt into him shes in love with our NZ Midnight and hung out by his hutch.
Colony girls can also be vicious any male that breaks in when they decide its not baby time risks death. I call them my Amazons for a reason. They killed one of our males.
Wilbur Jr they all but our Flemish Spirit who wanted Midnight decided hes the pin up poster boy of bunnies. We built him a 4x10 pen within the girls pen he cant escape and they all sat by him trying to nuzzle him through the fencing......
This year has been constantly just trying to adapt to new problems. We get through that fiasco over the next couple of months trying to make sure mamas are ok and babies that make it are ok etc.... I normally breed two females same day with long breaks in between so that I can accommodate babies.
Colony babies has been difficult for us but Saffron and Honey Homestead have fully penned colony rabbits males in pens within so the girls can get to know them and they can have social interaction since domestic rabbits actually come from European rabbits that live in groups unlike our wild bunnies in North America.
Anyway back to the catch up we ended up with 6 moms with babies that made it all at once. We have a fenced floor. We built soil above the fencing rather than digging and burying it (we have rocks of various sizes all up in our soil there is no digging up a pen as big as I made to bury fence here).
Then everyone starts losing weight some choke. We had an issue with our food we kept it in the shed for the first time and the humidity killed our rabbit food had to toss it and keep it in the house again. Then the mosquitoes caused them to stress and choke... then we put them in hutches with bug screen.
Inside our rabbit babies were fine after the food was replaced or so it seems I believe grandma is giving them random treats they shouldnt have. Babies stomaches are sensitive Ive asked her to stop and she claims to have but Ive heard her tell my daughter to give them the treats since....
Oh fans. Simple cheap walmart boxfans can be kept outside if you protect the wiring. Even when they were loose we had some out there. It gives them the chance to utilize it if they need and its far less hassel than having a ton of frozen bottles on rotation.... now they are posted at their hutches.
We have a new property that is close by where we can still look out for grandma not to mention my birth mom lives across the street we need our space I wont go into why but the accidental baby rabbit poisoning out of sheer stubbornness is like the last of many straws. We did all this with my pen etc to have happy animals seeing so many die and just constantly investigating and adapting has been too much at once. Weve had one issue or so here and there but this year its been one after another the most muggy rainy wet year we have had since living here in maine.
Things I will change with the next pen long and narrow. Ill be netting the whole pen. If I knew Id need to net even deer netting my pen Id have not made it this wide awkward shape I made it lol. Long and narrow so I can get bug netting and deer netting (for winter when we need something bigger to allow for snow yet keeping owls etc out). The new pen will be 8' wide but very long. Right now my pen is like 20' -30' wide in some spots and like 60 plus feet long. Way too big to net or bug net.
Also RHVD2 is a concern and even though it isnt here in Maine yet eventually it will be and mosquitoes can carry it. Its already in many places in the west and south. May want to keep this in mind whether they are in hutches or colonies. Besides mosquitoes can kill them anyway if they get bad enough but RHVD2 is Rabbit Hemorrhagic (they Hemorrhage to death it is horrible).
So prevention would be good. If you fence your floor no one can dig in or out. If you bug net it keeps them happier without mosquitoes and can prevent serious diseases.
Before all this my advice to you would have been many waterers (no one gets along all the time rabbits are no different in this girl rabbits arent typically as physically violent its more like gang initiation rather than trying to actually kill like it is with boy bunnies who are unfixed. What they ususally do to be jerks is deny resources and starve one they dont like out). Many waterers and many food bowls spread out is helpful they make their cliques and multiple sources is a good idea and prevents things from escalating usually. Keep an eye out for extra bullying behavior. If a rabbit is extra avoiding you they need a check up. Hermione is prone to ear mites compared to my other bunnies its one ear just one they love attacking. We know she has them when she avoids us because she hates getting her ears cleaned out.
Our female who use to bully my girls started avoiding us back when we didn't know we werent suppose to give her that space (weve learned since make sure everyone is use to being handled so you will notice when someone is purposely avoiding you) as prey animals they hide issues they dont want to look weak. Anyway she bullied others they turned on her tired of her crap and decided to keep her from food and water. Far away she looked fine when she finally let us catch her it was too late she was too far gone.
This isnt to scare anyone away from colony raising. Many of us have made plenty mistakes for you guys to learn from and hopefully get to skip some of learning things the hard way. Up until the crappy 2021 year of mugginess and if it can it does go wrong we had a good group who got along well after our normal ups and downs.
I guess this year is to prepare us for whats to come learn fast so we are prepared for next year maybe. Fate/God (insert what you believe if you are reading the comment) trying to prepare us.
One silver lining is with problems comes problem solutions and hopefully you can avoid the issues we have had. I definitely recommend narrow and long so if you end up making a screen for the pen that it will be easy to do. If you end up wanting to make deer netting for a top it will be way easier than what I had to do too if its narrow.
I hope my comment is taken as it was intended to be helpful honestly I dont want to see what happened here to happen to anyone else. Oh also having simethecone/infant gas drops on hand can help in a pinch of they have gi stasis at any point if you catch it in time. It can save their lives. Remember to make sure they drink if they do need the gas drops I give them water by syringe should this happen just to make sure I know they drank something and its not that sugary stuff only.
Oh back to the locationyou guys chose sorry got caught up writing my comment went back and rewatched, definitely recommend the deer netting to the top. Its not very easily seen like normal fencing so its not ugly once set up. The tree gives spots for the birds to pounce on them from right above. I added picket fencing trying to make my pen nice and block the woods tonavoid stressing them and I basically gave another close spot for the owl to wait out my bunnies and pounce. These are tough rabbits that chase of weasels. They were no match for the bird.
I think you guys should put a pond in a low area somewhere for the ducks and plant a Weeping Willow tree by it. I mean, it is Whispering Willow Farm 🤠
Love that idea ❤
You are amazing sweetie you will have your dream
I love these ideas and visions! Can't wait to watch it unfold!
when I started watch roots & refuge & u all, & others it sparked my interest, u are so kind, giving to others, that dream is nice, but to give to the community is so cool!!
I totally believe in your dream and I believe it will come true I have seen an episode like that and I believe it's a wonderful thing for people for Farmers to get together to enjoy food they have grown let other people experience Garden life two especially beginners. I think the show is eating at the garden table something like that it was on PBS was a wonderful show my favorite!🤗💚💚
Jill ur so pretty sweet girl u have a beautiful family an a wonderful beautiful dreamer mind I love it good luck I can't wait to c what u guys do an ur excitement is the cutest thing keep it up ur little babies r beautiful
I love the farm to table idea! What a beautiful idea! New to the channel and loving it! ❤️
Welcome to our journey ❤
Love the enthusiasm. Just please be careful when it comes to being welcoming to strangers on your property
I can’t wait to hear all about it!!!
When we grow grass we always cover our seed with either chopped straw or wood shavings!! That's the only way we every get grass to grow lol
I want the Idaho pasture pigs because they are smaller and get to butchering weight in the same time as other feeders. I've also heard they are fairly friendly.
The plans are wonderful! Dream Big! You can do it! Slow and steady will get you there! So happy for your family 💖
Jill, I can see your Berry Garden and your Flower high tunnel. I am enjoying your dreams and dreaming for you and Nate.
I love the idea of the community garden - in raise beds plus maybe an area for people that want to grow row crops such as corn(since Jess didn't have success with growing corn maybe community would have great ideas to improve the dirt)
Your dreams are amazing!!!!
Thank you for sharing both the vision and the realities of making the dreams come true. It gives me an understandiing of your desires and allows me to allign with you in the best ways. Love the idea of a giraffe too.
Based on my past experience with rabbits on the ground I would def suggest 12” deep around the edges and monitor tunnel activity often.
I’m with u Jill..u need to follow animal adventure zoo in upstate NY..they had ‘APril’ THE GIRAFFE..but she died this past yr..they have the male ‘OLLIE’and his woman JOHARI..whom is due anytime now with calf..they have baby cat Cubs also and both have cameras in their sheds and outside time.so intersting and fun to watch them..I’d have a elephant lol..altho they would eat me out of house and home..I lived in Ethiopia and was around a lot of animals like camels monkeys elephants and lions..I wish I had moved back as a adult..I loved it..I pray all the dreams u have for the farm come true..it’s beautiful !
This sounds wonderful!! How exciting for you guys! 🙏🏻
Oh my goodness this is the second video I've watched today about a pick-your-own type of farm! I just love this idea and have wanted to do something similar where I live, but I don't have the space for it (yet 🙂). Love your passion for your dreams, I hope you are able to get the gears turning soon!
Teaching self-reliance is such a great dream. I know you’ll make it happen! 🌱
I know that this isn’t the same for everyone but I notice a common theme is that one partner ( you, Jess, myself) are the dreamers and another partner (Nathan, Jeremiah, my hubby) implement them. And I’m so thankful that my hubby, kenneth knows how to build a lot of my ideas. So thankful.
And, I want to know more about casting vision, etc…
About the rocks...you could use them for a rustic outdoor fireplace near your outdoor dining area. Rocks are expensive, save them for future projects. 😉
Great idea
Work days where you feed your help are awesome!
Plant a row of fig trees behind the rabbit pen. Mix in blueberry and blackberry bushes.
Persimmon trees would be great to plant by the pigs. Looking forward to seeing all your dreams come true. It’s a marathon not a sprint. Enjoy the journey.
I grew up on a farm many years ago, but remember it like it was yesterday! I’ve not lived there since 1961 but I can remember where my mother planted everything in her garden! Obviously, she didn’t change things much and her plants always did well. There was a grape arbor, a strawberry patch, lettuce bed, a “warm bed” for growing sweet potato slips. She had a spice area for everything from sage to dill! She and dad grew enough potatoes to last through winter, for the three of us. They always raised lots of corn and beans...our favorites. We had carrots, beets, lots of onions and more!. We did a lot of canning. Yes, we had our own pork and chickens. We ate frying-size chickens. Kept chickens for egg-laying. (I don’t know the differences). So, our farm provided most everything for our table except cornmeal, flour, salt, pepper and snacks like peanut butter, cheese and crackers, to na,e a few.
We are at least two planting zones north of you and I don’t know what things you can’t grow in hotter weather. Someone in S. Alabama said she cannon grow rhubarb there and has no clue what it is. Oh, my, if you haven’t had strawberry-rhubarb pie, try it if you ever get the chance! It’s delicious!
This year my niece and her husband started something new on their small farm...”Pick Your Own Bouquet! It’s a big hit! They have various flowers planted and a LOT of zinnias! My daughter and I picked our choice...all colors of the zinnias. They get ten dollars per bouquet. You know what you could get in your area. (You can provide large plastic containers for water until they get home with them or they can bring a vase or canning jar).
North of you we do DO fall! We celebrate it! That means pumpkins and gourds on every front porch and some to sell. These vine, but the gourds will vine up a strick, fence or trellis. The pumpkin vines take up more space, but for just your own and none to sell, not much room is needed.
Thanks for sharing your lovely story
Always best to think it through and do it out loud if it helps. Take your time. 💘 🙏 and peace to you and your 👪 family
So glad to see you have wonderful goals and hopes for your farm. We've moved here from South Carolina to our farm in Italy 13 years ago and we are still setting tons of goals and constantly learning new lessons all the time, so I can't say farming is never boring! Good luck with your homestead❤️
When you said an Elephant I laughed. We are zoned for exotic anumals. When my children were little they wanted a camel or a giraffe. Never got any exotic animals but they had fun imagining.
Lol, so you have some big boots to fill Nathan! Will look forward to seeing the barn you build for the giraffe! Lol.