Hi Jess, I am a veteran gardener who lives with chronic pain and gardens in Canada. My garden is very adapted these days and our first frost was weeks ago. There is no such thing as a winter garden here. I am also not a Christian...But this is what I love and need from you - I watch to the end every video to be blessed, I love a beautiful esthetic and well thought out functionality (thank you Jerimia). I will talk and listen about gardening; anywhere, anytime, all the time. watching you build your farm has been a joy. Make the content you love, and I will watch it. I invite you to indulge your photographer's mind. Bring us beauty - a close up of a seed, a worm, a flower, a turnip. My heart will sing. I have been living in a season of paced restfulness for a decade. I have learned almost anything can get done in 10-minute intervals with a 20-minute rest in between.... And thank the powers that be for a well-placed chair! Thank you for walking with us. I bless you back!!
I appreciate you saying that you're not a Christian. I'm not either. I also appreciate Jess saying she blesses us, until next time. I don't see that as a religious thing, just a love thing. People (like @Millie Arnold) hopefully can come to understand that there is a whole world of people out here that are not interested in religion. And that's okay.
When my husband passed unexpectedly last year I let my garden die that he took joy in watching my excitement over a tiny strawberry plant and how he thought the morning glories opened up every morning just for him to see as I waved him off to work. You got me through the darkest winter of my life and got me excited to pursue the dream my husband and I shared so I made more garden beds than I could handle and planted so many more things than I knew how to take care of and even grew a quarter acre garden an hour away on our friends property. I cried when I got my first carrots this spring all I wanted was to show my husband. So I love seeing how your farm works and grows and learning from you while my trailer park garden provides beauty and food. Keep doing what you’re doing you are blessed💕
@Marcy Jo You are so loved! Even still! Your husband would have wanted you to continue experiencing the beauty of the garden. When you look at the plants, remember his smile. Hold on and capture those memories!
Heart breaking. I'm so sorry. I'm glad that you are finding joy in gardening again, and that you have a supportive friend. Keep going! I know grief too. Grief is the price we pay for love. That pain lets you know that you loved mightily, and were loved the same in return. I hope you garden always, and always find joy and love in doing so. Bless you.
Perhaps you could do a series taking clips from early videos, and compare them with how you do things now. You could call it “What I’ve Learned Since Then.” Of course, you could also sit in an easy chair with a cup of tea and chat about what’s on your heart. No matter what you choose to do, I will be there from opening to blessing! Thank you for being you, and sharing yourself with us!
I miss regular garden tours. Even if they were every few weeks. As a new gardener who learned to garden from your videos, it was invaluable to see the progression of plants growing. To get a sense of how things grew. Overall I enjoy your content even if it’s not relevant to my current or future garden/homestead. I learn a lot! Thank you for making me a gardener, I no longer consider myself a plant killer.
I agree, I learned to garden from you 3 yrs ago. I loved watching your garden tours and watching you planting seeds in the raised beds. I will never have livestock but, I have learned to make bread and canning food, also I am intentionally cooking from scratch for my family because of you.🥰
Hi Jess, just wanted to tell you that after listening to you say 'Happy Birthday' to your new seedlings many times, I've found myself saying it to all my seedlings as they pop through the soil... and it makes me smile every time! So I have to thank you for giving me that good feeling every time I say it to a new baby plant. Blessings to you and all your family.
Jess I am 80 yrs old and have been watching you fulfill your dreams and after listening to you today I want to encourage you to always speak from your heart and never forget where you came from. I had a bakery back east which started because I couldn’t afford my daughter’s wedding cake. I cooked out of my home kitchen and trusted God for gifting me with the gift of teaching others and sharing the gifts he had given me. Thank you for staying true to Him first and all the rest falls into His plan. God bless you and all of your family love Linda from Az
Linda, you have me by 9 years and Arizona here as well. Growing in the desert (North Scottsdale) is a beast of a challenge. Jess the soil amendments were eye opening for me...didn't know that could happen. We don't have earth worms, we have...caleche and gravel so above ground I went but that soil thing just fixed my thoughts on my "found" soil I had to use. Couldn't find dirt sooooooo found a bit here and there. My garden does ok, but who knew?? And Linda I now have to redesign my two beds to accommodate an old woman not so able to do so much bending and stretching to get under my hoop/chickenwire/hinged covers..of course my garden area is the chicken world as well...and so it goes. Thank you Jess for the most beautiful prose I have ever read on your stories...Now that is a gift that our Lord gives to few and He certainly blessed you there as well as...here! God is good all the time!!
“When everything you dreamed of becomes common place…it’s good to remember how bad you wanted it and…it’s good to remember how much it moved you when it was new. When something wonderful becomes ordinary…it’s an opportunity to share it.” I love your perspective.
You could literally walk around your farm without saying a word and the beauty of it would move my heart! My sister thought I was losing it when I said “the thought of milking a cow every day is so romantic” 😂 but to me, it is. Seeds, a beautiful loaf of bread, rich dirt, the sound of chickens or ducks, it’s all so romantic to me.
Yes, what Cara said! Justin Rhoades has made a few lately, where he's just taking us along for his day. No teaching, no commenting or "waxing poetic" (but don't squelch the Spirit! 😄)... Just joining him on "a day in the life". Simple Living Alaska does this brilliantly - we hear the couple's conversations as they're making their day-to-day decisions and observing their crops or cooking or preserving harvest. It has that feeling, as you often say, of "having a seat at our table". ❤️ P.S. Coffee roaster? The store? Surely that's coming soon! DYING to hear about that! P.P.S. I know this isn't your MO but I think it would be amazing to see you consult for beginning gardeners. Like just a 30 minute tour of a local friend's home garden, and you giving them advice on what they could do to improve their soil or produce more fruit. Maybe a small series for the future? PPPS. I sure hope they have RUclips in heaven because my Daddy and Mama would love your channel!
I am largely the only person on our homestead who does the hard work. My children are small. Videos of the day to day hum-drum help me to stay motivated to do it all.
Sweet Jess … don’t you know that all any of is want is to see your face, hear your voice, share your journey? Yes … you have changed. I remember when every birth on the farm was an EVENT. Now it’s … yeah, we had a litter of pigs last week. But life is happening the way life happens. We change, we grow … it’s a JOURNEY. God has gifted you with the ability to speak peace and calm to our troubled spirits, no matter what is happening around us. While I do not miss a single vlog, my favorite vlogs are the ones where you just share your heart … for better, or for worse. Remember the disastrous family reunion trip? Your passionate outpouring REALLY spoke to me. THIS, sweet girl, is why people flock to sit at your feet. You truly are very, very special. So … to sum it up … film it, and we will come. Love and blessings ♥️♥️♥️
Hi Jess. The thing that drew me to your channel at the very beginning was your childlike wonder for this world we live in- the careful observation and appreciation of finding beauty in all things, from unexpected seedlings sprouting to the biggest, juiciest tomatoes you can imagine. As life has changed, your channel has pivoted away from garden magic to homesteading, and with it has come a new burden of keeping up with the demands of a full time farm, hoards of viewers, and a growing business. I accept and appreciate this change in season and change in tone. But man, I sure do miss when the stakes were lower and you created only because it spilled from your heart. So to answer your question, I don’t think it’s about what we would like to see- I think what’s more important is rediscovering what YOU would like to see and then bundling it in your unique vision and words as only you can. Jess, I hope you still find joy, fun, and wonder in this.
Yup... I don't have the dream of a homestead, and so much of what is shared these days just doesn't apply to me. Jess, you taught me a lot about gardening and I will continue to have a small urban garden and find joy in it. I appreciate what you shared when I needed it. I accept the changes and understand this is your dream... I'm just along for the ride now.
Wow when you said “my rooster crows and I don’t even hear it anymore” I got chill bumps. It’s so incredibly motivating for me to watch you live my dream. And I like that my heart is HAPPY for you!! I wrote in my journal recently that when I finally live the life I’m praying for now, I take care to remember the yearning and passion I feel now. And I wrote to never forget that everything I have, came from and will come from our Good Lord!
Genuinely, watching you touch the dirt is what I’ve missed the most. (And I know this is because of your health and coming from someone with fibromyalgia, I get it 100%!) Seeing you placing seeds, pruning plants, admiring and talking details about the crop with closeups of the details that make that plant interesting, useful, or different. That’s what I look forward to seeing as you heal! Love you all!
Thank you Jess! I can never express to you how powerful your motivation was this past season. I purchased contaminated soil from the same company you did this spring for my raised beds. (I live about an hour and a half north of you in NC. ) Had it not been for your video I would have thought it was my fault that things died. You kept me going and showed me how to heal my soil. Your inspiration and wisdom was what led me to have a little success in what seemed like total failure. Thank you for never forgetting the small, backyard gardeners who are trying to grow food but are learning as we go. You are a great teacher and someone who puts her heart into everything you post on RUclips! Thank you! ❤
I've always loved those quiet moments you spend just sitting and reflecting on what you have. The walks beside your darling goats and pigs and the other animals you had. Just seeing the beautiful faces of your cows as they show off their latest shade of eye shadow. The mist rising above the water and the grace of your water birds gliding through the water, the cameo appearances of your sweet boys and that 'alright' dude that walks beside you as you journey through life. And your excitement in seeing a new bud and that one exquisite garden spider.
Honestly you planting seeds, designing garden beds and have that out loud conversation with yourself. That's what helps me. My garden isn't necessarily going to be designed anything like yours but your enthusiasm, gives me enthusiasm. Your garden tours and seeing the progress, keeps me going.
I watch Roots and Refuge to see the every day goings on, the happiness in everyone's voice, the encouragement of a dream, the love between family members, and the "can do" attitude. If it's not broke, don't fix it. Thank you for caring, Jess.
I love the devotional times. I have been going through a stalking situation for almost 15 years. When do your devotional episodes, I always walk away with an inspired and don't stop believing demeanor. I start again to believe that I will gain my freedom and will be free to work on my God given tasks again with the threats. I really am so grateful for your devotional times. Thank you.
God bless you, Milly - God has angels here on earth to teach and protect us and we each have our own personal angel that has been with us since our birth. I can't imagine having to go through what you have for 15 years - I will pray for you, dear Milly - just please believe that God will protect you and it will be done. We don't know sometimes why we are asked to go through some of life's lessons but our Lord never asks for something of us that we cannot handle. We are all challenged in this life on earth to make us stronger and worthy to live for eternity with Jesus and His Father in Heaven. God willing, we will look back on our life here and realize it was a short time here compared to eternity. Looking at it that way, I can handle anything - Jesus went through so much worse than us while He was here. God bless you!!
I planted tomatoes in a half finished garden bed this year because you reminded me that things don't have to be perfect. I am raising meat chickens in my friend's back yard, getting up at 5 am to go feed and water them in the dark before getting the kids up for school and working, because of an inspirational video you made telling us to listen when we think we are being called to do something. I love the garden tours, when you wax poetic, the times you just talk to us and inspire us, your devotionals even though I don't consider myself very religious, and when you tell us about what has gone wrong. The homesteading life seems so romantic and I long for that, but thank you for also showing us that it is hard and imperfect.
I have always appreciated the day to day content. Because it holds the line, so to speak, on the IMMENSE amount of content that is unrealistic and not applicable to so many. Your frosted plants and open honesty of lack of control over every aspect of the garden, was just what my heart needed. As we had our first freeze and I watched the rest of a season slip into slumber. I felt seen by the sharing of your seasons changing too. And your openness to embrace it.
Firstly, thank you. You have no idea how much life you breathed into my hopes and dreams just by being true to yourself and your faith! It was 2015 (and I was approaching my 60's), that God burst this dream in my soul like heavenly fireworks. Every spare second of my day was spent *devouring* all kinds of content from a multitude of media; and then I landed on you and you became an oasis in my desert of prayers and dreams. Your video on "infinitely more" aka God's blank check, set my wheels to the road. I was getting older, broker than the Titanic, and suffering from all kinda health issues, but I believed my God was/IS greater. So I started making real plans. I moved to a new state where the COLA is fair more reasonable, got a tiny piece of land (.93ac) and last year praise God, I put my 1st seeds into the ground. I got 2 strawberries, a few flavorless tomatoes, and a bunch of unproductive peppers and brassicas. 😆 But I wasn't discouraged though. Seeds in my hand, and dirt under my nails brought such joy, that what I *did* net was just proof it could be done - I just needed to get better at it. So back to your videos (and others) I went This year I did much better - had *THE* best tomatoes I've ever tasted in my life; yielded way more cukes, peppers, herbs, pumpkins - In a few small patches - to be sick of and give away gobs! But I still think that was more the grace of God than I. I have chickens, incubated my next gen of layers, and am contemplating getting goats. What would be helpful to me is more info relating to companion planting, especially to maximize space, accessibility gardening (dirt cheap raised bed construction ideas), the pros and cons of hot vs cold composting, goats - to be or not to be, what should I consider in deciding to make the leap, pollinators how to attract and are they crop specific (i.e. bees and butterflies for blooming crops but are they the best/only ones?) Fruiting plants and trees - when, when, and how to plant, direct sun vs partial shade plant types... I want to know it all! ☮️
Oh sweet Jess, you were literally my biggest inspiration to start our garden jouney. I found your channel just before the pandemic lockdown. I felt how important it was to work hard towards sustainability. Thank you for inspiring me to start gardening. Also thank you for teaching in a way that didn't imply we'll starve if I didn't grow a big successful garden right out of the gate! I would have been overwhelmed and afraid if I believed I had to grow a big fully successful garden right out of the gate. I've been raising my grandson since he was one and now he's Ben's age. We are juggling learning to garden, how to raise laying chickens and keeping up with our busy pottery studio. I watch your videos for inspiration and you've become a comforting friend who reminds me to be in the moment, and not just rush through the motions. There's lots of channels that provide instruction. But I look everyday to see if you've posted because I like getting the big dose of "believe" that you share with every lesson. I'm glad you remembered the magic of the roosters crow.
You know what I would love to see you do is set a backyard homestead model. Maybe 1/4-1-2 acre space. I think it would be immensely helpful for those who are “turning their waiting room into a classroom “ and those who may not want a big farm but would still like to grow their own food. I know there are good channels that cover this , but I would love to see your take on it.
Go watch Jess's older videos of their old place. She shows you almost what your asking for. It's sweet watching her begin and grow as far as she has to now. Good luck and keep it up.
I’m interested in seeing recipes/dishes using whole food from the garden. It is really helpful because sometimes I don’t know how to use certain things that i harvest in different and interesting ways. Also I love seeing diverse and “new” varieties that you can’t get at the store. That’s something that excites me about gardening.
Yea!!! 🕷️🕸️💕 That made me tear up when you spotted her, knowing your story. Congratulations. What excites me, as a baby gardener and as an experienced gardener - is intimately becoming acquainted with your garden, like I'm there, in all it's romantic glory. I miss those quiet, precious golden hour escapes. Its like if we could do what we wanted instead of just rubber necking other peoples gardens (as we drive by), getting noisey and quiet in the space with simple or complex conversation and observations. It's just my favorite thing. But I adore it all. ❤️
I guess, I like watching the weekly progression- The thrombocino squash taking over week by week, the mammoth sunflower finally blooming. It's intimate.
THIS!! Jess, this very video and your heart that you just shared with us....showing how grateful you truly are and how you realize how far you have come....that is what we love to hear. You are so real and charming and so totally grounded in the Lord. He never would have blessed you with us and us with you if he thought you weren't mature enough to handle it all. We love hearing from your heart, about how these changes in your life have moved you. Keep sharing "these kinda moments" with us. I can't be the only one who enjoys them.
I love devotional time with Jess. Understanding how to garden or work the land we have no matter how small our space by being the stewards of God.. I go back to your teaching styles for years ago a lot.. but most all even though I don’t have a huge piece of land I live following your journey through life and all it brings to you and your family. God bless Jess!
Oh I don't know how to narrow it down. I love planting videos, planning videos, garden tours, harvest videos, animal videos, building videos, devotionals, kitchen videos, life updates, videos where you share the beauty you see in the world....I love them all. You have a way of sharing the beauty of the homestead that touches and inspires no matter the specific topic. You say that some things seem ordinary to you that once moved you, yet you share the simple awe at how tall okra plants grow and the beauty of a variegated plant variety with a poets hearts. Your excitement is palpable, and your laugh is contagious. I think you could read the newspaper and still make it a great video.
I wish I could call myself a homesteader. After my husband died I was in a terrible place. My sister and BIL invited me to live on their property. I mean the place I live isn't mine, but it's mine as long as I want it and can do what ever I wanted with it. So I built a 30x50 pole barn, put in a well, septic, and electric. I proceeded to create a few garden beds and grew alot if food us, my daughter, myself and sisters family. I've since covered every spare space possible with garden beds and I'm still growing food. I'd love to have chickens, but way to many preditors and it would break my heart to lose them. My BIL has beef cows and has offered me another 50x30 growing space.
You and Miaha are sharing exactly what I need you to share, your everyday chores, your experiences, your errors, your wins, your sad moments and your inspiring moments. All is as it should be.
I would love to see the farm to table, starting off with making your coffee in the morning. For some reason that really brings me joy, that small act of making coffee and walking outside to share your beautiful land with us.
Hi Jess, I have been watching for 4 years, i watched all your videos while i was heavily pregnant and now my 2 year old son watches you, knows your name, and miah and bear🥰 I have learnt so much about gardening while building my own garden I have started a small food seedling business (all grown organically of course). We are now on our way to buying our first piece of land for our homestead 😁 not only have you taught me so much about this lifestyle and the love of it you have shown me God, I was never in my life a religious person, nor do i see myself as one now but listening you and the way you speak of him in your devotionals all makes sence to me, now I see him, i hear him, i speak to him so above all else I want to thank you for sharing your faith and know you have not only opened up a love of homesteading but you have opened faith in people that never dreamed of it. Thank you Jess All the way from New Zealand xx
I feel like the lack of control in the garden is a metaphor for life. Keep chugging’ along and enjoy it while you’re here, because it could frost at any point.
I'm from the Virgin Islands and I miss hearing the roosters crow. Honestly, I watch your videos because I like you and how you see the world so most of the topics are wonderful. I especially love learning about the garden (even though I don't have one) and beautiful slow shots. I think watching your videos remind me of home.
Full Circle for you and that Spider! What a lovely Surprise to find. Because of you and your story of the Spider many moons ago, I let them live in my tiny flower garden. Not sure if enough people tell you how loved you and Miah and your precious family are. Even all the Animals we know by name are loved. My one true wish before I leave this earth is to have my pond I've always yearned for. Sit in your tree swing and share with us. You make this world a much brighter place. And look at all the lovely things you have shown us. And the people we have come to know and love. Mathew and Jill and The Honeystead. Thank you for making our World larger and sweeter with your love of the Garden.
Oh Jess, one more thing. As you get your orchard going strong, please share all you can on starting, and caring for a healthy thriving orchard. Oh and the berry bushes too! Thanks for listening. I bless you again!
Well, I'm gettin misty eyed too. For me the things that make Jessica and Jeremiah Sowards unique are that you guys making me feel as though I am there at your farm sharing these outdoor gardens and indoor cooking times with you. I know your kids, I know your friends, I know your animals and they are, in my long distance presents there, important to me. It makes me feel excited when Jeremiah makes something to surprise you. It makes me feel emotional when I see the struggles you've experienced with the poisoned soil. I've dealt with that here in Humboldt Co. It makes one feel so small, so useless. Then we lift up our boot straps and say, "I'm going to figure this out and with Gods help we can fix this." God bless this homestead.
Hi Jess! I don’t even know if I can properly convey in words what you have done in my life. Without knowing it, I prayed to find you. I have had “food issues” my whole life and it was the one thing I did not want to pass along to my daughter. I had been praying to find the “magic” that it seems other people experience when they discover a food they love. I needed to have a healthy relationship with food and the only way it was going to happen for me was to change my perspective about it. And then you came… and not only did you blow my mind with all that could be grown; but your wonder and appreciation of the process, your constant encouragement, you….just being you… I heard God say, “I’ve got you… trust the process.” (And boy! It has been a process!) But because of you, I have a daughter who is being raised with an (ever-expanding) garden, fruiting trees, and chickens. She has learned her colors through the vast array of flowers (that I never thought I could have grown), and I finally had my “breakthrough” 20+ years on the recovery side of an eating disorder…by learning to just appreciate the process. That we miss so much beauty by picking our food off the shelf all the time. To show ourselves grace. I found that each time I connect with the soil…that God, the earth, and the environment around me…are able to connect with me too. It is UNCANNY how many times I have prayed, and then your next video further affirms what is in my heart. Any time you say, “This has been on my heart”… I buckle-up because I know whatever it is you have to say is real. My gratitude for you, and sharing who you ARE with us, is inexpressible. So, thank you…and I bless you.
It’s ALL of it! I love seeing all of what you share , the animals , the canning, the cooking, the planting. I have never turned your channel off from boredom! Your everyday life with your family is inspiring Jess. This is what I want to continue seeing! ❤
I don’t know a single person (in person) who truly loves to grow things. I don’t know a single person with passion for the garden or dreams about a homestead. I don’t have someone to swap seeds or seedlings with. I don’t even know anyone who likes to grow from seed. My family is very supportive, but they could care less that I found a squash that might survive the vine borers. Lol. Thanks for keeping me in company.
Honestly? Your delight in the garden and the farm and your family is why I'm here. Don't ever let that become too routine for joy, and if the stress overwhelms take a step back for all of us.
Honestly, I know you are looking for ideas for videos that benefit us, but to me it doesn’t really matter what the video is about as long as you are in it. You and your beautiful family bring so much joy to my heart. You are such an inspiration and God is truly working through you. I love that in every video you make it feel like a conversation. You make me feel connected to you and your life. As for ideas for videos that would benefit me, you could further explain the winter garden, because I don’t know what I can grow through the winter. I’m in North Carolina in zone 7b. I don’t know what will survive the cold nights and still produce. I bless you, until next time -Mason Coats
Jess, your generosity of spirit amazes me… Your intuition for your followers is unparalleled… I have loved watching the journey from moving from Arkansas to South Carolina, but I had started watching just a little bit before you announced that you were moving. And I was in love with your videos, began going back and watching the old ones, learning from you and loving your garden and the way you loved your garden. You were the first one I started watching, the first one that gave me a clue that the yearnings I had could actually be something I could achieve with a little dedication and a little time. And I’m making strides towards it now, I have a long way to go but I have accomplished so much with the attitude that you gave me of making my waiting room a classroom. For me, I would love to see more of the garden, the slowing down And talking about the different varieties, anything gardening…and just speaking from your heart about what you’re experiencing… I would never expect or ask that you make it like your old videos, because this is your journey and I’m so privileged to be able to come along for some of it, but my favorite videos are where you have your hands in the soil or are greeting your new and growing plants like dear friends. I’m especially looking forward to any perennial systems that you set up. I really appreciate that you have reached out to ask what I would want to see, it is so beautiful and humbling…You’re such an inspiration as a gardener and a person! And I’ve got about 12 years on you… but I still want to be like you when I grow up. 😊
I just wanted to stop by the comment section and let you know that for 2.5 years I watched your videos and learned what I could to prepare for our own homestead in the future. I started gardening, perfecting my canning skills (I canned prior to gardening), and soaked up everything I could in preparation. You even gave me the courage to start my own channel. I longed for this life for several years and we finally bought our first home on 1.1 acres this past February and now have chickens, rabbits, and a garden. You gave me hope that it would be fulfilled by God in his time and I want to say how much you have inspired me and my family. I look back now at the process and am so grateful for the steps that got us here even when it wasnt easy. So thank you for continuing to share your story and your journey and for giving me hope that anything is possible! Wishing you blessings on your continued journey and healing! Have a blessed week!
Congratulations! So happy for you to have your dream fulfilled and the opportunity to have your own homestead! Someday, maybe my dream od homesteading will come to fruition as well. Enjoy it to the fullest!
I know you have been taking time to get settled/healed but I have def missed your harvest with me videos! Cooking videos with the harvest are also on my list of what I want to see too.
My Heart burst at your Joy of seeing that Spider. ❤️ Honestly I was watching and thinking she is just gonna put her hand right un that web! To me I just enjoy being a part of your life. the reminder for me that we are not alone in how we live. Even though no one in our local circle lives like this. You opened a world to me of people who do.
I always get excited when you post. Watching your transformation into a farmer has been lovely! But I will be honest, I miss miss those old garden tours immensely. They got me through some personal tragedies. The simple charm of them was a lifeline to me. I know things change and really I just want to thank you for those videos. I still go back and watch them when I need a comfortable distraction and I look forward to seeing this new garden take shape.
Desperately miss the Sunday night lives. I know that is probably hard on y'all, but even if it was just ever so often. WOULD LOVE FOR THOSE TO COME BACK. Those made me truly feel like I was sitting across the table from you and Miah. My heart hungers for that. Love you and your family dearly.
Thank you for this video for more than just one reason. Thank you for remembering there are people like me who are hanging on your every word because you are living the life I so desperately want. Thank you for telling me that it’s okay to mourn what the frost and freeze brought in the morning. And thank you Jessica, for being willing to share your life with me and the hundreds like me, and for being willing to share all the knowledge you have on being a good steward of the earth, while being a farmer, an owner of a fully functioning homestead. Thank you. Videos on how you decide what you’re choosing to plant at a specific time and place, what the benefits are. Remediation when it doesn’t work. Preserving your bounty from the crops, and preparing breads and cheeses. Thank you Jessica. Much Love.
I watch channels like yours for all the little things, the normalcy, the joy in things like watching the turkeys, pigs, cows, garden, spiders, etc. I also watch Jill's channel, but I often think that she's trying to hard, that she thinks she always has to teach something, but I want so much to tell her that just watching her enjoy a cup of coffee while chatting about favorite varieties of peppers, or Dahlias, etc... Getting excited over the seedlings, etc, is inspiring and gives hope and peace. I don't think I'm the only one for whom channels like yours really is a refuge from the chaos and negativity of our world. I would love to see the tree you planted when you first got the property. It gives such joy to watch you all build a positive, caring farm, and the joy it brings to others.
I’ll be 70 soon, retired and now enjoying the Arizona weather. I dabble with growing some vegetables when it’s not 115 degrees. Just watching you and your family reaching the goals you’ve set and finding new goals is enjoyable. Not because I have those same goals, but because it warms my heart to see others succeed. Best wishes 🌸
HI JESS! i started watching ur channel 5 years ago when my daughter was diagnosed with leukemia at 2 years old. At that time i had just had a baby and had 2 other children to care for as well, i needed something to take my mind off of the stress of going thru all that. Watching ur channel not only gave me and my husband a love for gardening, but also my children too! we now do 2 large garden areas(raised bed and in ground) and we live such a simpler way now than we did before. i truly love the day in the life videos and what your cooking for dinner for ur family or what do u do with the peas that u shell and how to cook them kinda things also. thanks for all u do
I think more people need to see how to use the garden in the kitchen. A lot of people I know can grow it but what then? I cook from scratch a lot but those around me are lost and always asking for the how to of basic life.
Jess - you have missed the point of why i come to your channel….YOU. Your ever present and positive energy…. I also love when you get fired up and preach Gods word. You could be cleaning your house and I would be interested. I know that doesn’t help to make content, but trust that you are enough. 💚
I appreciate ALL that you share with us! I love your devotionals, your lessons in explaining what you are planting/doing when planting, seeing the kids helping you, Miah’s projects, how you are feeling, your process in preserving the veggies, recipes …… in other words I think you are doing a great job and I truly appreciate you and your family!
JESS I BELIEVE ALL PEOPLE WANT IS TO SEE YOU HAVING FUN AND TO SEE YOUR JOY … PLAY IN YOUR GARDEN, LESSONS WILL JUST FLOW. Some lessons are taught from not even trying but from love and joy
I LOVE instructional videos! My favorites are always your 40 minute long videos about self reliance that I can listen to over and over and take notes on. They've taught me so much!
I am an “urban” veteran gardener, in Tucson, Arizona, who over the years has been able to have the experience and the joy of helping to care for my friend’s dairy goats, making cheese and soap for many years. I keep a small flock of laying hens. I am in my early 70’s now. Wishing so much I was out in the country! If these are “those days”… we are in for a wild ride! Just planted my winter greens garden over the past couple of weeks. Everything is going good here so far. I so enjoy the young homesteaders on RUclips!
I love how you found your first garden spider the morning after a 'killing' frost. God's little reminder of His love and provision even in the midst of loss. I've been encouraged in so many ways by your videos and now your blogs. I appreciate your way of putting words together to express the seasons of life. I love how you celebrate baby plants 'birthdays' and encourage us to see the beauty in the challenges of life. What do I want to see more of? More of what you've been sharing with us all along.
Honestly, what I could use the most help with at my stage in my journey is what to do with it all. I’ve had a small garden for 15 years where I basically grew enough tomatoes to eat fresh, cucumbers, bell peppers, a few summer squash and that was it. This year, I expanded my garden by more than double and plan to double it again for next year. However, I need ideas and recipes for how to use all the extra food I’m getting because I have so much more food now and honestly no major ideas for what to do with it all. I water bath canned for the first time this year and would love more help with recipes for that. I would also love to see more content on medicinal herbs such as what you grow and how you use it and what it’s good for. Thanks for all the inspiration!
Living Traditions Homestead has recipes for those tomatoes! Salsa, ketchup, diced, tomato juice, hot sauce, and much more . Demo and how to videos. The Ball book of canning. They also do pressure canning, freezing, and long term storage with a freeze dryer. Just FYI :-) She freezes the tomatoes whole sometimes, to process them later.
Jess, I have to say, that I love the peaceful walks across your land. Your poetic talks about the romanticism of gardening. You put words to what I feel and have experienced these past 14 months while starting my homestead. When you stoop down and show us the garden spiders, or show Jeremiah the spacing to plant seeds, or let Ben plant and invite others to be his family, it is like having a friend in my garden. I moved from the metropolis of Minneapolis and planting things on my townhome deck to having 11.5 acres in northern Arkansas. You have inspired me, and kept me going each day at the Concrete to Country Homestead. You are my people!
Jess - you are amazing! Please don't deny this. The past three years have been extremely hard for me, and I just want to hide. You, as an introvert, are doing amazing work sharing your journey from a place of personal discomfort. I respect this tremendously. :-) I think the issue is that your audience comes from so many different places and lifestyles. If you feel you aren't making everyone happy, it's because that is impossible. I am a new homesteader with no other people in my small house. Learning with you how to develop a new homestead in a new place is helpful to me. I am also a vegetarian which doesn't mesh with most of your demographic - I am certain. However, I love to watch your family adjust and thrive - it gives me encouragement. :-) I would love to learn how to maximize my harvest with canning, drying, preserving etc. At a certain point in time all women experience some kind of skin problem due to menopause and hormonal changes or stress. I am certain sharing those issues would be helpful to many. Whatever you do, don't fret. Do what you can while managing your family, career, and the upheaval of the last year +. Sometimes INFJs need to honor their instincts. ❤
I love the way a spider brings you joy. I love when you appreciate the complexity of the little creatures and their important jobs in the world. "Everyone can't do great things but everyone can do small things with great love." St. Treasa
I am so romanced by the simple garden time you share. Accessible wild and beautiful gardens. I also love the videos that celebrate ways to use wholesome healthy foods. It’s magical to pick up my lifeless cold iPad and find you, someone else who wants to journey through life and find amazing things that are so often overlooked. As an introvert I find your honesty and intimacy style very soothing. I’ve had years of auto immune disease and have had to find my joy in life very deliberately. Remember it’s all the goodness is still there waiting for you to have the strength to delight in it again. Thank you for all you do.
Gardens, gardens, plants and more gardens! With everything else sprinkled in between. I found a passion for gardening in your videos. I'm still learning to cook those new to me vegetables and I love trying new ones every year. I still dream of chickens and one day I'll be able to hear my own roosters crow. So for me it's the roots of Roots and Refuge that captures my heart.
I would love to see more “learning in your waiting room” type things. Also I really enjoy seeing your everyday things and am inspired for my future homestead in how I would like to run things. Sometimes it really seems hopeless from my perspective that this homesteading dream would even come true… your encouraging videos to not give up hope brings me to tears, even as I write this… I have been learning in my waiting room for the past three years, and because of you I know that it’s okay to wait and to not waste time in doing so. I’m doing my best with what I have. even if my dream doesn’t come true, no one can take away the knowledge I have gained these past three years. My heart aches if I think too much on my homesteading dreams, it aches me to tears and pains inside of me but through it all it helps to take baby steps in the knowledge of this way of living. Thank you Jess ❤
What excites me is reading through comments and hearing how others have harvested a new vegetable or their first egg. It’s redolent of my joyful firsts and gives me the greatest pleasure to “like”. 😊
Jess, the way you open your farm , family and the most precious, your heart, to us every time you turn your camera on is amazing, thank you. I have laughed, cried and rejoiced with you for almost three years now and will continue to do so. I very much enjoy learning recipes,canning and bread making tips and if course anything related to the garden. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. You have truly helped me find a passion that was lost years ago and every seed I plant is done with you in mind. ❤️
I still enjoy your gardening tips and tricks. What to do each season, prepping soil, new plants your growing. Seeing you harvest your produce and what you do with it. Fermentation, canning, freezing, freeze drying …. Preservation. I know you have lots of videos on this but it’s good to be reminded, plus new practices are learned from your new growing area.
It's funny that you are discussing this now, as I just started reading your latest book last night! I find it very riveting. I'm not a homesteader (yet!), but hope to be one some day. I would like to see easy to make from scratch recipes. When you showed your ricotta video and specifically said that it can be made with store bought milk, I was excited! I thought to myself, "Well, I can do that!" You just made it look so easy!! So. more videos like that, where the recipes can be made with basic ingredients and not a li of fancy equipment, would be quite helpful to me!
Hi Jess! I miss seeing the beauty and calmness of you walking thru your potege gardens. That is what caught me in the beginning. Im so glad that you are building more! Thank you!😊🌻🌻🌻
I live within the shade of three huge oak trees on 1/4 acre in a neighborhood and at 75 I'm starting to admit that I probably won't ever be a homesteader, but I can do a lot to be a better gardener next year. I love it when you sit down and talk to us like this about the wondrousness of living close to the earth and to life. I love it when you settle into the aisle between garden beds and pause to pick and eat a cherry tomato or take a bite of a cucumber you just picked from the climbing vine beside you as your heart speaks so earnestly to ours about authenticity or deepening or meaningfulness. You inspire me to be present and to create delight. You inspire me to take hold of the day and LIVE it, to celebrate its textures and colors and flavors, to pay attention and love its moments. Thank you for sharing your beautiful soul with all of us and inviting us to follow.
I live in an apartment. My waiting room has been my classroom. I garden at a community garden and I’ve learned so much about growing things, cooking, and just good food. When I feel stuck or overwhelmed I close my eyes and imagine waking up on my farm. I imagine making coffee, enjoying the sounds of my animals waking up, and going about morning chores. Just the small little delights that will be there one day. Can we see more of the day to day routines? The routines and things to look forward to as you go about the day. I love to see you make your coffee, collect the eggs, and just say hello to the cows before romping around in the garden. Thanks Jess for all the refuge.
I love this whole channel, but since you're asking ... I love the fact that what I am dreaming for and what you used to dream for has become normal for you. I want to trade awe and wonder for peace joy and sustainability and its so inspiring to see that someone else with the same dream has achieved that and is still in love with it. I've always been scared of being bored of my own life and you give me proof that we can still enjoy what we create even after it isn't new anymore. I love learning the tiny tips and tricks that only hands on experience can teach you. I'm doing what I can to turn my waiting room into a classroom and you are like my homeroom teacher. I aspire to see the world through the rose colored glasses that you do but with the same ability that you have to take them off when necessary. If I had to choose a favorite thing to watch from you it would be starting the morning with you. I love the idea of having something important and fulfilling to do in the morning while I enjoy my coffee. You have no negative rush to get to a job because your job is also your passion. The perfect morning with you would be wake up and have coffee at the pond swing, milk the cows, check on the farm, then sow seeds. I always end up enjoying the conversations that we have while planting. Somehow it always gets deep. Like today. Hope this helped, sorry for the lengthy comment. Much love from southern Missouri.
The truth? I fell in love with the way you shared your love of dreaming. Dreaming BIG has given me a small backyard garden, and in my "classroom" waiting on my homestead. I have your 1st book, my family calls it my Garden Bible. LOL Thank you for sharing your journey with all of us and for being the best Teacher I have ever had and for sharing the love of God you hold in your heart.
Jessica, sometimes the best feeling is just hearing, seeing and feeling someone else's excitement. It's like with our kids on Christmas morning. So I think it will work wonders for your precious heart to feel that closely from the community you built. The farm everyday excites me. I am in a classroom of just watching everyone I can and soak up all their journeys bc I just dont have the ability to grow where I am at the moment. I would love to see, hear and learn more of the business side of things. I am the "breadwinner" in my family and I want so badly to get some land and a home and jump both feet right in but... how do I realistically feed my family and keep us a float? I know you have shared many ideas on how to bring income to the homestead but I feel like the market is saturated with much more creative people and Ideas then I. I have different skills then most people I know and have seen homesteading. I am very analytical, investigator type, legal work, planning work real estate, but in a very niche way and I just cant figure out how to break open the doors to all my capabilities in the homesteading/farming world and make a living to support my family and my dreams. It cripples me with fear and makes my dream of having a dairy, meat, veggies farm and building a homesteading community seem impossible. I always seem to be the one cheering my people on and I just cant figure out how to make this possible for me. Ok now that I am crying, thank you for letting me see your success and being part of the community that helped me realize my dreams.
“My rooster crowed, and I didn’t hear it anymore.” 😭 This spoke so loud to my Spirit. Oh, Lord, let me not take for granted your blessings your daily gifts.
Dear Jess, I come back to you with my coffee each morning because I crave the conversation! I am not new at this. But I live where no one farms. I love to see your delight in the garden spiders and all the life on your farm. When I find the tiny caterpillars like bird droppings on my parsley I'm so glad! I can't wait to watch for the black swallowtail that laid those eggs. Keep showing us the experiments and the trials, the successes and the failures, the wins and losses. For me, that's where we intersect. Although I am way too old to be so thrilled when an experiment takes off and is successful, I'm still just tickled pink when it works! I've been growing food for 40 years, I have cows, chickens, rabbits, geese and dogs. I have 5 kids , grand kids, and lots going on. But I really enjoy having coffee with you in the morning. Enjoy your season of rest, while you can, because seasons change.
Honestly I always take away something from every video. Then typically when I go to work I’m a hairstylist I share what touched me or I learned that day. I personally am a mother of 5 boys and a step daughter and really relate to you. I like to see the mother/wife moments here and there. When you ran from the cows 🙌🙌 I like to see the not so perfect everyday things! Much love ❤️
Oh gosh yes. When she ran from the cows, and then seeing that horned cow, I appreciate so much more the depth of concern she must feel. Yet seeks out that cow's baby. I'm impressed and touched in my heart, each time. ❤
For me, Roots and Refuge is both an inspiration and a walk down memory lane. I am 73 and spent 20+ years living off grid on a most self sustaining farm in Oregon. I milked three cows by hand at one point and those cows were my darlings. Early in the morning and in the evening light I looked forward to some quiet time alone with my cows. So that is the walk down memory lane part that I so appreciate. On the other hand, I look forward to your kitchen videos for cooking inspiration and the garden segments for new ideas of plants to grow, and ways to grow things differently. But, most of all I just wait to see and hear you. I am just another gardening fool - just a few years older.
Hi Jess! I'm 28 living in a very crowded Dallas TX, in an apartment with balcony plants. I came from a very large open space of the plains of Oklahoma and I get so homesick for the roosters crowing and seeing the cows in the field. Every Saturday and Sunday morning my parents would wake us (my brother and me) up so so early, we'd sit on the porch (in all weather) and watch the sun come up with deer and wild turkey sometimes coming to visit our land. Your videos remind me of the peaceful, honest, bountiful, and beautiful moments I wish to have again some day with my own family. I watch your videos and will keep them playing on repeat as I do housework just to stay rooted. Jesus is using you mightily in my life and I appreciate you. -Lisa
Jess, life can get complicated, distracting, and rocky!! Therefore I believe we need to keep it simple - for ourselves, our families, our communities. You have sincerely and consistently let us into your heart and home and we have been inspired, encouraged, and uplifted by any and all you do. So you just keep doing YOU, don’t overthink it and don’t complicate it. Just keep sharing YOU and your FAITH, and we will ALL be the better for it!! I Bless YOU today and always!!
I want the old Jess! The excitement of the lil things!!!! I have been out of phone range for a week and most of all I have miss your face, your smile, your infectious laughter, the luv between you and Miah, seeing your children big and small enjoying and helping on the land!!! You and yours give me so much HOPE and I am extremely grateful for hope xxx thank you xxx
We just love the fact that you are so real, and open and sometimes raw in what you’re sharing. I personally love your devotional content and find myself re-watching them when I’m needing something but I’m quite not sure what it is. And apparently you make a mean chili (according to Jill!) so I’d love to see that in action! You’ve inspired us for a few years now and we can’t thank you enough for leading us through this beautiful way of life. We bless you! 💚
The way you view your garden, animals, and the world is uplifting. That's why I watch. My favorite videos have been when you shared simple, inexpensive ways to garden (strawberries in the kiddie pool, creating a mini greenhouse with a container). The devotional videos are also a favorite!
I love the simplicity, but the extraordinary of what you do every single day. Sometimes, it is the simplest things that you do, the interactions with your family, the methods you are using, the updates on the farm growth that are the best thing on a daily basis to see. I think from our side, it all helps us to just feel closer to you, and the desire to feel closer to you stems from the wanting to be similar. Wanting to learn more and be more in the same situation you are having. So, that all said, not forgetting to keep giving us the simple things you do on a daily basis. You touched on it, though, with the sounds of the roosters, remembering the glee you had once upon a time at that sound, reminding yourself of the romanticism of that. I live in an urban environment with my half acre of land and while I don't have my own chickens, there is a house that is a couple streets away that has some and every morning, I can sit outside in my sunrise hour and hear that rooster letting us know the day has broken. It is amazing. I can't wait to get my own established in our little city area. Seeing your growth inspires my imagination, and helps me to know that despite being autoimmune with many ailments, I can do this and with great aspirations, I can accomplish so much. I did simple things this week with our frost here in the Midwest, and managed to make habanero hot sauce, dehydrated chard greens/beet greens/carrot top greens, and canned sweet potatoes/ turnips, and pumpkin. If not for you, Justin & Rebekkah, Ben & Meg, Jason & Lorraine, the whole team of you that are doing this, I might not be as inspired and could feel defeated, but each day, you all inspire me to learn more and do more, despite sometimes just feeling like I need to lay down for a bit. That sense of accomplishment, definitely can out do the sense of tiredness. You've been crocheting in your down time, I play a video game and keep up with my favorite homesteaders :) (I also crochet, but just enjoying listening and watching y'all, so my crocheting is slow and methodical) Keep doing what you are doing, Jess, reminding us of the little stuff- planting the seeds, fertilizing, loving all the animals, interaction with the kids and family as a whole. You are doing amazing things, lady :) Much love to you.
I’d love to see more of the romance that always excites me but also the hard stuff, the confusing , overwhelming stuff & how you get through it. Everything from homesteading with kids, to organic pest control, to how to handle preserving ad just all of it (especially when you’re not feeling up to it) 💜
When you found the spider, I too was so excited, that I started to cry with happiness. I miss my gardens and farm... and spiders... and rooster crows... I was blessed to have that for almost 50 years. But getting to watch your family and farm has eased the loss and given me hope that God still has a plan for me yet. So I share the "garden knowledge" and experiences I have had with those who ask and refer them to your channel (and others) A LOT! There are more and more "newbies" out there every day and they need guidance and hope. Please continue to do what you do best. Blessings on your day Kiddo! 🥰🌻🐛🍁🍂
I like to experience how you deal with extreme temperatures. When, how you prepare, what you plant. I love seeing your black green house, I love you starting seeds and chatting. I loved your garden tours, particularly on your old farm. And I miss, so much you looking after the goats, birthing them and more daily visits to the pigs. In short I miss your old farm activities. Though I do admit your soil is much richer where you live now. Thanks for asking.
I really enjoyed this vlog . I’m back to finding myself again this year both my girls moved out one on her own at 25 the other off to college the things I used to enjoy that always seemed rushed before. With life so busy you forget the simple things that brought you joy and pease digging in the dirt ,canning your first harvest, simple things that are so healthy for your mental being. Anyway you nailed it and really touched me.♥️
I just want you back- the old Gardening Guru that has taught me to grow- I am 71 yrs old & only started growing 8yrs ago - I am so hooked but our weird weather here in Australia has me stumped & disillusioned with growing. You are an amazing young woman & I love watching & listening to you but I feel your new adventures on your new Homestead has changed you so much & I miss the old Jess.
My father taught me to garden in our backyard. I've had gardens small and large since. But now I find myself disabled, and without even a windowsill to grow on. But I still aim to garden again! Could you perhaps address some ways to set up a disabled friendly garden? Or perhaps interview some homesteaders who have? It would help me plan and dream while I'm waiting in my classroom! Thanks for always keeping the poetry in the action, reminds me of my Dad. ❤
I can't believe you had your first frost before me up here in Michigan! I am in the middle of the state in a little micro- climate by the water - I might get another week or two. Mother Nature has a sense of humor! I have been watching you for a long time now and something I would find helpful is start to finish veggie videos. Like here is how many seeds I plant to try and feed this many people. Here is how this crop looks growing at different stages. Here is how I harvest and preserve it. Even if they were different videos through the season but linked up so I could follow a crop from start to finish. Also....give yourself some grace! Every season has pros and cons. Moving season was a productive season for you - now slow down gets to be a creative season for you. I think God moves us through different seasons for our own personal growth sometimes.
Hi Jess. I'm a busy mom of 5 who loves to garden, tend my chickens, and dreams of homesteading. I'd love to see more on how you make it all work with your kids. It's football season and I had to lay aside much of my garden time to allow my son to explore his new passion for sport. I'm sure your kids have dreams too and I'd love to see how you balance this with homesteading. Thank you for asking! ♡ Katie
Good morning Jess. I am a 23 year old that grew up with a backyard farm and raw milk and then moved to MD. You have inspired me so much, to do so much. I have a giant Holy Basil plant in my dining room, a greenhouse shelf and I’m building 250 cubic feet of garden space. My housemate and I are looking at moving to SC near her family in two years to start our own homestead. I think the things that I really want to see are Harvest videos (if you ever just have a harvest day), how you preserve some of that food and maybe just a “day in the life”. From waking up early, milking the cows, to collecting eggs. Anything that would be done on a homestead, how do you do it? Thank you for inspiring myself and so many others Jess. I support you and the rest of the Sowards with whatever you choose to do. Bless you all.
Just want to say you are one of my favourite people to watch on youtube. This season I really missed your garden tour videos. I have always found them inspiring and motivating for me to continue to strive to grow more, and create a beautiful and magical space.
Honestly, I really missed the weekly garden tours you did back on the previous farm. I miss the goats…rather your relationship with the goats. But I also think you’ve been blessed with growth, so those “simple” things we are used to are just not the way your life is anymore.
Hi Jess, I am a veteran gardener who lives with chronic pain and gardens in Canada. My garden is very adapted these days and our first frost was weeks ago. There is no such thing as a winter garden here. I am also not a Christian...But this is what I love and need from you - I watch to the end every video to be blessed, I love a beautiful esthetic and well thought out functionality (thank you Jerimia). I will talk and listen about gardening; anywhere, anytime, all the time. watching you build your farm has been a joy. Make the content you love, and I will watch it. I invite you to indulge your photographer's mind. Bring us beauty - a close up of a seed, a worm, a flower, a turnip. My heart will sing. I have been living in a season of paced restfulness for a decade. I have learned almost anything can get done in 10-minute intervals with a 20-minute rest in between.... And thank the powers that be for a well-placed chair! Thank you for walking with us. I bless you back!!
I pray you will come to know Jesus as your personal Lord and savior.
I am inspired by you. Still doing the garden through pain, you must surely love it. Great suggestions❤️
I appreciate you saying that you're not a Christian. I'm not either. I also appreciate Jess saying she blesses us, until next time. I don't see that as a religious thing, just a love thing.
People (like @Millie Arnold) hopefully can come to understand that there is a whole world of people out here that are not interested in religion. And that's okay.
A well placed chair, absolutely😃
@@italiana626sc agree. Or that there is more than one religion, many people worship someone other than Jesus. And that's okay, too.
When my husband passed unexpectedly last year I let my garden die that he took joy in watching my excitement over a tiny strawberry plant and how he thought the morning glories opened up every morning just for him to see as I waved him off to work. You got me through the darkest winter of my life and got me excited to pursue the dream my husband and I shared so I made more garden beds than I could handle and planted so many more things than I knew how to take care of and even grew a quarter acre garden an hour away on our friends property. I cried when I got my first carrots this spring all I wanted was to show my husband. So I love seeing how your farm works and grows and learning from you while my trailer park garden provides beauty and food. Keep doing what you’re doing you are blessed💕
@Marcy Jo You are so loved! Even still! Your husband would have wanted you to continue experiencing the beauty of the garden. When you look at the plants, remember his smile. Hold on and capture those memories!
Heart breaking. I'm so sorry. I'm glad that you are finding joy in gardening again, and that you have a supportive friend. Keep going! I know grief too. Grief is the price we pay for love. That pain lets you know that you loved mightily, and were loved the same in return. I hope you garden always, and always find joy and love in doing so. Bless you.
😢❤️
God bless you!
💔🌱❤️🩹🥕❤️
Perhaps you could do a series taking clips from early videos, and compare them with how you do things now. You could call it “What I’ve Learned Since Then.” Of course, you could also sit in an easy chair with a cup of tea and chat about what’s on your heart. No matter what you choose to do, I will be there from opening to blessing! Thank you for being you, and sharing yourself with us!
I like that idea! What I learned since then could be very informative.
Another vote for this! (And sitting in a comfy chair with a cuppa for a chat)
This is a great idea! The reminiscing would be fun and a reminder to us newer folks of where you can be in just a few short years.
Agreed with the cuppa lol
It's just you, chica. Everyone comes here for you. But no one has forgotten that you are extraordinary. It never left our minds.🙂
I miss regular garden tours. Even if they were every few weeks. As a new gardener who learned to garden from your videos, it was invaluable to see the progression of plants growing. To get a sense of how things grew.
Overall I enjoy your content even if it’s not relevant to my current or future garden/homestead. I learn a lot! Thank you for making me a gardener, I no longer consider myself a plant killer.
I agree, I learned to garden from you 3 yrs ago. I loved watching your garden tours and watching you planting seeds in the raised beds. I will never have livestock but, I have learned to make bread and canning food, also I am intentionally cooking from scratch for my family because of you.🥰
Hi Jess, just wanted to tell you that after listening to you say 'Happy Birthday' to your new seedlings many times, I've found myself saying it to all my seedlings as they pop through the soil... and it makes me smile every time! So I have to thank you for giving me that good feeling every time I say it to a new baby plant. Blessings to you and all your family.
Jess I am 80 yrs old and have been watching you fulfill your dreams and after listening to you today I want to encourage you to always speak from your heart and never forget where you came from. I had a bakery back east which started because I couldn’t afford my daughter’s wedding cake. I cooked out of my home kitchen and trusted God for gifting me with the gift of teaching others and sharing the gifts he had given me. Thank you for staying true to Him first and all the rest falls into His plan. God bless you and all of your family love Linda from Az
Amen!🥰🌻🐛
❤
Beautiful words ! To Stay true to God !
Aww, bless you Linda! 🙏
Linda, you have me by 9 years and Arizona here as well. Growing in the desert (North Scottsdale) is a beast of a challenge. Jess the soil amendments were eye opening for me...didn't know that could happen. We don't have earth worms, we have...caleche and gravel so above ground I went but that soil thing just fixed my thoughts on my "found" soil I had to use. Couldn't find dirt sooooooo found a bit here and there. My garden does ok, but who knew?? And Linda I now have to redesign my two beds to accommodate an old woman not so able to do so much bending and stretching to get under my hoop/chickenwire/hinged covers..of course my garden area is the chicken world as well...and so it goes. Thank you Jess for the most beautiful prose I have ever read on your stories...Now that is a gift that our Lord gives to few and He certainly blessed you there as well as...here! God is good all the time!!
“When everything you dreamed of becomes common place…it’s good to remember how bad you wanted it and…it’s good to remember how much it moved you when it was new. When something wonderful becomes ordinary…it’s an opportunity to share it.” I love your perspective.
You could literally walk around your farm without saying a word and the beauty of it would move my heart! My sister thought I was losing it when I said “the thought of milking a cow every day is so romantic” 😂 but to me, it is. Seeds, a beautiful loaf of bread, rich dirt, the sound of chickens or ducks, it’s all so romantic to me.
Cara well spoken just what i was thinking
Well said.
I feel the same!
Yes! ❤
Yes, what Cara said!
Justin Rhoades has made a few lately, where he's just taking us along for his day. No teaching, no commenting or "waxing poetic" (but don't squelch the Spirit! 😄)... Just joining him on "a day in the life". Simple Living Alaska does this brilliantly - we hear the couple's conversations as they're making their day-to-day decisions and observing their crops or cooking or preserving harvest. It has that feeling, as you often say, of "having a seat at our table". ❤️
P.S. Coffee roaster? The store? Surely that's coming soon! DYING to hear about that!
P.P.S. I know this isn't your MO but I think it would be amazing to see you consult for beginning gardeners. Like just a 30 minute tour of a local friend's home garden, and you giving them advice on what they could do to improve their soil or produce more fruit. Maybe a small series for the future?
PPPS. I sure hope they have RUclips in heaven because my Daddy and Mama would love your channel!
The farm and all ur plants and harvesting vegetables. Thank you
I am largely the only person on our homestead who does the hard work. My children are small. Videos of the day to day hum-drum help me to stay motivated to do it all.
Sweet Jess … don’t you know that all any of is want is to see your face, hear your voice, share your journey? Yes … you have changed. I remember when every birth on the farm was an EVENT. Now it’s … yeah, we had a litter of pigs last week. But life is happening the way life happens. We change, we grow … it’s a JOURNEY. God has gifted you with the ability to speak peace and calm to our troubled spirits, no matter what is happening around us. While I do not miss a single vlog, my favorite vlogs are the ones where you just share your heart … for better, or for worse. Remember the disastrous family reunion trip? Your passionate outpouring REALLY spoke to me. THIS, sweet girl, is why people flock to sit at your feet. You truly are very, very special. So … to sum it up … film it, and we will come. Love and blessings ♥️♥️♥️
Hear hear!
💗 yes 💗
Amen! ❤
Perfectly stated!
Hi Jess. The thing that drew me to your channel at the very beginning was your childlike wonder for this world we live in- the careful observation and appreciation of finding beauty in all things, from unexpected seedlings sprouting to the biggest, juiciest tomatoes you can imagine. As life has changed, your channel has pivoted away from garden magic to homesteading, and with it has come a new burden of keeping up with the demands of a full time farm, hoards of viewers, and a growing business. I accept and appreciate this change in season and change in tone. But man, I sure do miss when the stakes were lower and you created only because it spilled from your heart.
So to answer your question, I don’t think it’s about what we would like to see- I think what’s more important is rediscovering what YOU would like to see and then bundling it in your unique vision and words as only you can. Jess, I hope you still find joy, fun, and wonder in this.
I heartily agree!!
Yup... I don't have the dream of a homestead, and so much of what is shared these days just doesn't apply to me. Jess, you taught me a lot about gardening and I will continue to have a small urban garden and find joy in it. I appreciate what you shared when I needed it. I accept the changes and understand this is your dream... I'm just along for the ride now.
Wow when you said “my rooster crows and I don’t even hear it anymore” I got chill bumps. It’s so incredibly motivating for me to watch you live my dream. And I like that my heart is HAPPY for you!! I wrote in my journal recently that when I finally live the life I’m praying for now, I take care to remember the yearning and passion I feel now. And I wrote to never forget that everything I have, came from and will come from our Good Lord!
Amen!🥰🌻🐛
Amen 🙏
Genuinely, watching you touch the dirt is what I’ve missed the most. (And I know this is because of your health and coming from someone with fibromyalgia, I get it 100%!) Seeing you placing seeds, pruning plants, admiring and talking details about the crop with closeups of the details that make that plant interesting, useful, or different. That’s what I look forward to seeing as you heal! Love you all!
Thank you Jess! I can never express to you how powerful your motivation was this past season. I purchased contaminated soil from the same company you did this spring for my raised beds. (I live about an hour and a half north of you in NC. ) Had it not been for your video I would have thought it was my fault that things died. You kept me going and showed me how to heal my soil. Your inspiration and wisdom was what led me to have a little success in what seemed like total failure. Thank you for never forgetting the small, backyard gardeners who are trying to grow food but are learning as we go. You are a great teacher and someone who puts her heart into everything you post on RUclips! Thank you! ❤
❤
I've always loved those quiet moments you spend just sitting and reflecting on what you have. The walks beside your darling goats and pigs and the other animals you had. Just seeing the beautiful faces of your cows as they show off their latest shade of eye shadow. The mist rising above the water and the grace of your water birds gliding through the water, the cameo appearances of your sweet boys and that 'alright' dude that walks beside you as you journey through life. And your excitement in seeing a new bud and that one exquisite garden spider.
Honestly you planting seeds, designing garden beds and have that out loud conversation with yourself. That's what helps me. My garden isn't necessarily going to be designed anything like yours but your enthusiasm, gives me enthusiasm. Your garden tours and seeing the progress, keeps me going.
I watch Roots and Refuge to see the every day goings on, the happiness in everyone's voice, the encouragement of a dream, the love between family members, and the "can do" attitude. If it's not broke, don't fix it. Thank you for caring, Jess.
I love the devotional times. I have been going through a stalking situation for almost 15 years. When do your devotional episodes, I always walk away with an inspired and don't stop believing demeanor. I start again to believe that I will gain my freedom and will be free to work on my God given tasks again with the threats. I really am so grateful for your devotional times. Thank you.
I pray protection and peace over you, Milly. Keep trusting in the Lord to keep you safe and unharmed.
God bless you, Milly - God has angels here on earth to teach and protect us and we each have our own personal angel that has been with us since our birth. I can't imagine having to go through what you have for 15 years - I will pray for you, dear Milly - just please believe that God will protect you and it will be done. We don't know sometimes why we are asked to go through some of life's lessons but our Lord never asks for something of us that we cannot handle. We are all challenged in this life on earth to make us stronger and worthy to live for eternity with Jesus and His Father in Heaven. God willing, we will look back on our life here and realize it was a short time here compared to eternity. Looking at it that way, I can handle anything - Jesus went through so much worse than us while He was here. God bless you!!
I planted tomatoes in a half finished garden bed this year because you reminded me that things don't have to be perfect. I am raising meat chickens in my friend's back yard, getting up at 5 am to go feed and water them in the dark before getting the kids up for school and working, because of an inspirational video you made telling us to listen when we think we are being called to do something. I love the garden tours, when you wax poetic, the times you just talk to us and inspire us, your devotionals even though I don't consider myself very religious, and when you tell us about what has gone wrong. The homesteading life seems so romantic and I long for that, but thank you for also showing us that it is hard and imperfect.
I have always appreciated the day to day content. Because it holds the line, so to speak, on the IMMENSE amount of content that is unrealistic and not applicable to so many. Your frosted plants and open honesty of lack of control over every aspect of the garden, was just what my heart needed. As we had our first freeze and I watched the rest of a season slip into slumber. I felt seen by the sharing of your seasons changing too. And your openness to embrace it.
Firstly, thank you. You have no idea how much life you breathed into my hopes and dreams just by being true to yourself and your faith! It was 2015 (and I was approaching my 60's), that God burst this dream in my soul like heavenly fireworks. Every spare second of my day was spent *devouring* all kinds of content from a multitude of media; and then I landed on you and you became an oasis in my desert of prayers and dreams.
Your video on "infinitely more" aka God's blank check, set my wheels to the road. I was getting older, broker than the Titanic, and suffering from all kinda health issues, but I believed my God was/IS greater. So I started making real plans. I moved to a new state where the COLA is fair more reasonable, got a tiny piece of land (.93ac) and last year praise God, I put my 1st seeds into the ground. I got 2 strawberries, a few flavorless tomatoes, and a bunch of unproductive peppers and brassicas. 😆 But I wasn't discouraged though. Seeds in my hand, and dirt under my nails brought such joy, that what I *did* net was just proof it could be done - I just needed to get better at it. So back to your videos (and others) I went This year I did much better - had *THE* best tomatoes I've ever tasted in my life; yielded way more cukes, peppers, herbs, pumpkins - In a few small patches - to be sick of and give away gobs! But I still think that was more the grace of God than I. I have chickens, incubated my next gen of layers, and am contemplating getting goats. What would be helpful to me is more info relating to companion planting, especially to maximize space, accessibility gardening (dirt cheap raised bed construction ideas), the pros and cons of hot vs cold composting, goats - to be or not to be, what should I consider in deciding to make the leap, pollinators how to attract and are they crop specific (i.e. bees and butterflies for blooming crops but are they the best/only ones?) Fruiting plants and trees - when, when, and how to plant, direct sun vs partial shade plant types... I want to know it all! ☮️
Oh sweet Jess, you were literally my biggest inspiration to start our garden jouney. I found your channel just before the pandemic lockdown. I felt how important it was to work hard towards sustainability. Thank you for inspiring me to start gardening. Also thank you for teaching in a way that didn't imply we'll starve if I didn't grow a big successful garden right out of the gate! I would have been overwhelmed and afraid if I believed I had to grow a big fully successful garden right out of the gate. I've been raising my grandson since he was one and now he's Ben's age. We are juggling learning to garden, how to raise laying chickens and keeping up with our busy pottery studio. I watch your videos for inspiration and you've become a comforting friend who reminds me to be in the moment, and not just rush through the motions. There's lots of channels that provide instruction. But I look everyday to see if you've posted because I like getting the big dose of "believe" that you share with every lesson. I'm glad you remembered the magic of the roosters crow.
You know what I would love to see you do is set a backyard homestead model. Maybe 1/4-1-2 acre space. I think it would be immensely helpful for those who are “turning their waiting room into a classroom “ and those who may not want a big farm but would still like to grow their own food. I know there are good channels that cover this , but I would love to see your take on it.
Go watch Jess's older videos of their old place. She shows you almost what your asking for. It's sweet watching her begin and grow as far as she has to now. Good luck and keep it up.
That’s a Good angle👌
I’m interested in seeing recipes/dishes using whole food from the garden. It is really helpful because sometimes I don’t know how to use certain things that i harvest in different and interesting ways. Also I love seeing diverse and “new” varieties that you can’t get at the store. That’s something that excites me about gardening.
Yea!!! 🕷️🕸️💕 That made me tear up when you spotted her, knowing your story. Congratulations.
What excites me, as a baby gardener and as an experienced gardener - is intimately becoming acquainted with your garden, like I'm there, in all it's romantic glory. I miss those quiet, precious golden hour escapes. Its like if we could do what we wanted instead of just rubber necking other peoples gardens (as we drive by), getting noisey and quiet in the space with simple or complex conversation and observations. It's just my favorite thing.
But I adore it all. ❤️
I guess, I like watching the weekly progression- The thrombocino squash taking over week by week, the mammoth sunflower finally blooming. It's intimate.
THIS!! Jess, this very video and your heart that you just shared with us....showing how grateful you truly are and how you realize how far you have come....that is what we love to hear.
You are so real and charming and so totally grounded in the Lord.
He never would have blessed you with us and us with you if he thought you weren't mature enough to handle it all.
We love hearing from your heart, about how these changes in your life have moved you.
Keep sharing "these kinda moments" with us. I can't be the only one who enjoys them.
Love her reaction to spiders I feel so happy knowing they are keeping my plants free of other less desirable insects
I love devotional time with Jess. Understanding how to garden or work the land we have no matter how small our space by being the stewards of God.. I go back to your teaching styles for years ago a lot.. but most all even though I don’t have a huge piece of land I live following your journey through life and all it brings to you and your family. God bless Jess!
💗
Oh I don't know how to narrow it down. I love planting videos, planning videos, garden tours, harvest videos, animal videos, building videos, devotionals, kitchen videos, life updates, videos where you share the beauty you see in the world....I love them all. You have a way of sharing the beauty of the homestead that touches and inspires no matter the specific topic. You say that some things seem ordinary to you that once moved you, yet you share the simple awe at how tall okra plants grow and the beauty of a variegated plant variety with a poets hearts. Your excitement is palpable, and your laugh is contagious. I think you could read the newspaper and still make it a great video.
I wish I could call myself a homesteader. After my husband died I was in a terrible place. My sister and BIL invited me to live on their property. I mean the place I live isn't mine, but it's mine as long as I want it and can do what ever I wanted with it. So I built a 30x50 pole barn, put in a well, septic, and electric. I proceeded to create a few garden beds and grew alot if food us, my daughter, myself and sisters family. I've since covered every spare space possible with garden beds and I'm still growing food. I'd love to have chickens, but way to many preditors and it would break my heart to lose them. My BIL has beef cows and has offered me another 50x30 growing space.
You and Miaha are sharing exactly what I need you to share, your everyday chores, your experiences, your errors, your wins, your sad moments and your inspiring moments. All is as it should be.
I would love to see the farm to table, starting off with making your coffee in the morning. For some reason that really brings me joy, that small act of making coffee and walking outside to share your beautiful land with us.
And don't forget the stories behind each of your best friends mugs. Keeping her in your heart space. She was such a gift . LOL
Hi Jess, I have been watching for 4 years, i watched all your videos while i was heavily pregnant and now my 2 year old son watches you, knows your name, and miah and bear🥰 I have learnt so much about gardening while building my own garden I have started a small food seedling business (all grown organically of course). We are now on our way to buying our first piece of land for our homestead 😁 not only have you taught me so much about this lifestyle and the love of it you have shown me God, I was never in my life a religious person, nor do i see myself as one now but listening you and the way you speak of him in your devotionals all makes sence to me, now I see him, i hear him, i speak to him so above all else I want to thank you for sharing your faith and know you have not only opened up a love of homesteading but you have opened faith in people that never dreamed of it.
Thank you Jess
All the way from New Zealand xx
I feel like the lack of control in the garden is a metaphor for life. Keep chugging’ along and enjoy it while you’re here, because it could frost at any point.
I'm from the Virgin Islands and I miss hearing the roosters crow. Honestly, I watch your videos because I like you and how you see the world so most of the topics are wonderful. I especially love learning about the garden (even though I don't have one) and beautiful slow shots. I think watching your videos remind me of home.
Full Circle for you and that Spider! What a lovely Surprise to find. Because of you and your story of the Spider many moons ago, I let them live in my tiny flower garden. Not sure if enough people tell you how loved you and Miah and your precious family are. Even all the Animals we know by name are loved. My one true wish before I leave this earth is to have my pond I've always yearned for. Sit in your tree swing and share with us. You make this world a much brighter place. And look at all the lovely things you have shown us. And the people we have come to know and love. Mathew and Jill and The Honeystead. Thank you for making our World larger and sweeter with your love of the Garden.
Oh Jess, one more thing. As you get your orchard going strong, please share all you can on starting, and caring for a healthy thriving orchard. Oh and the berry bushes too! Thanks for listening. I bless you again!
Well, I'm gettin misty eyed too. For me the things that make Jessica and Jeremiah Sowards unique are that you guys making me feel as though I am there at your farm sharing these outdoor gardens and indoor cooking times with you. I know your kids, I know your friends, I know your animals and they are, in my long distance presents there, important to me. It makes me feel excited when Jeremiah makes something to surprise you. It makes me feel emotional when I see the struggles you've experienced with the poisoned soil. I've dealt with that here in Humboldt Co. It makes one feel so small, so useless. Then we lift up our boot straps and say, "I'm going to figure this out and with Gods help we can fix this." God bless this homestead.
Hi Jess! I don’t even know if I can properly convey in words what you have done in my life. Without knowing it, I prayed to find you. I have had “food issues” my whole life and it was the one thing I did not want to pass along to my daughter. I had been praying to find the “magic” that it seems other people experience when they discover a food they love. I needed to have a healthy relationship with food and the only way it was going to happen for me was to change my perspective about it. And then you came… and not only did you blow my mind with all that could be grown; but your wonder and appreciation of the process, your constant encouragement, you….just being you… I heard God say, “I’ve got you… trust the process.” (And boy! It has been a process!) But because of you, I have a daughter who is being raised with an (ever-expanding) garden, fruiting trees, and chickens. She has learned her colors through the vast array of flowers (that I never thought I could have grown), and I finally had my “breakthrough” 20+ years on the recovery side of an eating disorder…by learning to just appreciate the process. That we miss so much beauty by picking our food off the shelf all the time. To show ourselves grace. I found that each time I connect with the soil…that God, the earth, and the environment around me…are able to connect with me too. It is UNCANNY how many times I have prayed, and then your next video further affirms what is in my heart. Any time you say, “This has been on my heart”… I buckle-up because I know whatever it is you have to say is real. My gratitude for you, and sharing who you ARE with us, is inexpressible. So, thank you…and I bless you.
Wow this is such a profound testimony to the power of God and the garden! Left me in tears and feeling so encouraged. Thank you!
It’s ALL of it! I love seeing all of what you share , the animals , the canning, the cooking, the planting. I have never turned your channel off from boredom! Your everyday life with your family is inspiring Jess. This is what I want to continue seeing! ❤
I don’t know a single person (in person) who truly loves to grow things. I don’t know a single person with passion for the garden or dreams about a homestead. I don’t have someone to swap seeds or seedlings with. I don’t even know anyone who likes to grow from seed. My family is very supportive, but they could care less that I found a squash that might survive the vine borers. Lol. Thanks for keeping me in company.
Honestly? Your delight in the garden and the farm and your family is why I'm here. Don't ever let that become too routine for joy, and if the stress overwhelms take a step back for all of us.
Honestly, I know you are looking for ideas for videos that benefit us, but to me it doesn’t really matter what the video is about as long as you are in it. You and your beautiful family bring so much joy to my heart. You are such an inspiration and God is truly working through you. I love that in every video you make it feel like a conversation. You make me feel connected to you and your life.
As for ideas for videos that would benefit me, you could further explain the winter garden, because I don’t know what I can grow through the winter. I’m in North Carolina in zone 7b. I don’t know what will survive the cold nights and still produce.
I bless you, until next time
-Mason Coats
Jess, your generosity of spirit amazes me… Your intuition for your followers is unparalleled… I have loved watching the journey from moving from Arkansas to South Carolina, but I had started watching just a little bit before you announced that you were moving. And I was in love with your videos, began going back and watching the old ones, learning from you and loving your garden and the way you loved your garden. You were the first one I started watching, the first one that gave me a clue that the yearnings I had could actually be something I could achieve with a little dedication and a little time. And I’m making strides towards it now, I have a long way to go but I have accomplished so much with the attitude that you gave me of making my waiting room a classroom. For me, I would love to see more of the garden, the slowing down And talking about the different varieties, anything gardening…and just speaking from your heart about what you’re experiencing… I would never expect or ask that you make it like your old videos, because this is your journey and I’m so privileged to be able to come along for some of it, but my favorite videos are where you have your hands in the soil or are greeting your new and growing plants like dear friends. I’m especially looking forward to any perennial systems that you set up. I really appreciate that you have reached out to ask what I would want to see, it is so beautiful and humbling…You’re such an inspiration as a gardener and a person! And I’ve got about 12 years on you… but I still want to be like you when I grow up. 😊
I just wanted to stop by the comment section and let you know that for 2.5 years I watched your videos and learned what I could to prepare for our own homestead in the future. I started gardening, perfecting my canning skills (I canned prior to gardening), and soaked up everything I could in preparation. You even gave me the courage to start my own channel. I longed for this life for several years and we finally bought our first home on 1.1 acres this past February and now have chickens, rabbits, and a garden. You gave me hope that it would be fulfilled by God in his time and I want to say how much you have inspired me and my family. I look back now at the process and am so grateful for the steps that got us here even when it wasnt easy. So thank you for continuing to share your story and your journey and for giving me hope that anything is possible! Wishing you blessings on your continued journey and healing! Have a blessed week!
Congratulations! So happy for you to have your dream fulfilled and the opportunity to have your own homestead! Someday, maybe my dream od homesteading will come to fruition as well. Enjoy it to the fullest!
I know you have been taking time to get settled/healed but I have def missed your harvest with me videos! Cooking videos with the harvest are also on my list of what I want to see too.
Yes. More cooking videos would be amazing! As a brand new gardener I need more ideas on what to do with my harvest.
My Heart burst at your Joy of seeing that Spider. ❤️
Honestly I was watching and thinking she is just gonna put her hand right un that web!
To me I just enjoy being a part of your life. the reminder for me that we are not alone in how we live. Even though no one in our local circle lives like this. You opened a world to me of people who do.
I always get excited when you post. Watching your transformation into a farmer has been lovely! But I will be honest, I miss miss those old garden tours immensely. They got me through some personal tragedies. The simple charm of them was a lifeline to me. I know things change and really I just want to thank you for those videos. I still go back and watch them when I need a comfortable distraction and I look forward to seeing this new garden take shape.
Desperately miss the Sunday night lives. I know that is probably hard on y'all, but even if it was just ever so often. WOULD LOVE FOR THOSE TO COME BACK. Those made me truly feel like I was sitting across the table from you and Miah. My heart hungers for that. Love you and your family dearly.
I enjoyed Lives. They did bring us together as a community.
Thank you for this video for more than just one reason. Thank you for remembering there are people like me who are hanging on your every word because you are living the life I so desperately want. Thank you for telling me that it’s okay to mourn what the frost and freeze brought in the morning. And thank you Jessica, for being willing to share your life with me and the hundreds like me, and for being willing to share all the knowledge you have on being a good steward of the earth, while being a farmer, an owner of a fully functioning homestead. Thank you. Videos on how you decide what you’re choosing to plant at a specific time and place, what the benefits are. Remediation when it doesn’t work. Preserving your bounty from the crops, and preparing breads and cheeses. Thank you Jessica. Much Love.
I watch channels like yours for all the little things, the normalcy, the joy in things like watching the turkeys, pigs, cows, garden, spiders, etc. I also watch Jill's channel, but I often think that she's trying to hard, that she thinks she always has to teach something, but I want so much to tell her that just watching her enjoy a cup of coffee while chatting about favorite varieties of peppers, or Dahlias, etc... Getting excited over the seedlings, etc, is inspiring and gives hope and peace. I don't think I'm the only one for whom channels like yours really is a refuge from the chaos and negativity of our world. I would love to see the tree you planted when you first got the property. It gives such joy to watch you all build a positive, caring farm, and the joy it brings to others.
I’ll be 70 soon, retired and now enjoying the Arizona weather. I dabble with growing some vegetables when it’s not 115 degrees. Just watching you and your family reaching the goals you’ve set and finding new goals is enjoyable. Not because I have those same goals, but because it warms my heart to see others succeed. Best wishes 🌸
HI JESS! i started watching ur channel 5 years ago when my daughter was diagnosed with leukemia at 2 years old. At that time i had just had a baby and had 2 other children to care for as well, i needed something to take my mind off of the stress of going thru all that. Watching ur channel not only gave me and my husband a love for gardening, but also my children too! we now do 2 large garden areas(raised bed and in ground) and we live such a simpler way now than we did before. i truly love the day in the life videos and what your cooking for dinner for ur family or what do u do with the peas that u shell and how to cook them kinda things also. thanks for all u do
I think more people need to see how to use the garden in the kitchen. A lot of people I know can grow it but what then? I cook from scratch a lot but those around me are lost and always asking for the how to of basic life.
Jess - you have missed the point of why i come to your channel….YOU. Your ever present and positive energy…. I also love when you get fired up and preach Gods word. You could be cleaning your house and I would be interested. I know that doesn’t help to make content, but trust that you are enough. 💚
I appreciate ALL that you share with us! I love your devotionals, your lessons in explaining what you are planting/doing when planting, seeing the kids helping you, Miah’s projects, how you are feeling, your process in preserving the veggies, recipes …… in other words I think you are doing a great job and I truly appreciate you and your family!
❤️❤️❤️ most definitely!
JESS I BELIEVE ALL PEOPLE WANT IS TO SEE YOU HAVING FUN AND TO SEE YOUR JOY … PLAY IN YOUR GARDEN, LESSONS WILL JUST FLOW. Some lessons are taught from not even trying but from love and joy
I LOVE instructional videos! My favorites are always your 40 minute long videos about self reliance that I can listen to over and over and take notes on. They've taught me so much!
I am an “urban” veteran gardener, in Tucson, Arizona, who over the years has been able to have the experience and the joy of helping to care for my friend’s dairy goats, making cheese and soap for many years. I keep a small flock of laying hens. I am in my early 70’s now. Wishing so much I was out in the country! If these are “those days”… we are in for a wild ride! Just planted my winter greens garden over the past couple of weeks. Everything is going good here so far. I so enjoy the young homesteaders on RUclips!
I love how you found your first garden spider the morning after a 'killing' frost. God's little reminder of His love and provision even in the midst of loss.
I've been encouraged in so many ways by your videos and now your blogs. I appreciate your way of putting words together to express the seasons of life. I love how you celebrate baby plants 'birthdays' and encourage us to see the beauty in the challenges of life. What do I want to see more of? More of what you've been sharing with us all along.
AMEN He gives us the desires of our hearts in odd ways sometimes and I just cannot help but grin and thank Him!!!!
Well Jess there has never been a video that I have been disappointing in watching that you have put out. I enjoy every single one.
Honestly, what I could use the most help with at my stage in my journey is what to do with it all. I’ve had a small garden for 15 years where I basically grew enough tomatoes to eat fresh, cucumbers, bell peppers, a few summer squash and that was it. This year, I expanded my garden by more than double and plan to double it again for next year. However, I need ideas and recipes for how to use all the extra food I’m getting because I have so much more food now and honestly no major ideas for what to do with it all. I water bath canned for the first time this year and would love more help with recipes for that.
I would also love to see more content on medicinal herbs such as what you grow and how you use it and what it’s good for.
Thanks for all the inspiration!
Living Traditions Homestead has recipes for those tomatoes! Salsa, ketchup, diced, tomato juice, hot sauce, and much more . Demo and how to videos. The Ball book of canning. They also do pressure canning, freezing, and long term storage with a freeze dryer. Just FYI :-)
She freezes the tomatoes whole sometimes, to process them later.
Jess, I have to say, that I love the peaceful walks across your land. Your poetic talks about the romanticism of gardening. You put words to what I feel and have experienced these past 14 months while starting my homestead. When you stoop down and show us the garden spiders, or show Jeremiah the spacing to plant seeds, or let Ben plant and invite others to be his family, it is like having a friend in my garden. I moved from the metropolis of Minneapolis and planting things on my townhome deck to having 11.5 acres in northern Arkansas. You have inspired me, and kept me going each day at the Concrete to Country Homestead. You are my people!
Jess - you are amazing! Please don't deny this. The past three years have been extremely hard for me, and I just want to hide. You, as an introvert, are doing amazing work sharing your journey from a place of personal discomfort. I respect this tremendously. :-) I think the issue is that your audience comes from so many different places and lifestyles. If you feel you aren't making everyone happy, it's because that is impossible. I am a new homesteader with no other people in my small house. Learning with you how to develop a new homestead in a new place is helpful to me. I am also a vegetarian which doesn't mesh with most of your demographic - I am certain. However, I love to watch your family adjust and thrive - it gives me encouragement. :-) I would love to learn how to maximize my harvest with canning, drying, preserving etc. At a certain point in time all women experience some kind of skin problem due to menopause and hormonal changes or stress. I am certain sharing those issues would be helpful to many. Whatever you do, don't fret. Do what you can while managing your family, career, and the upheaval of the last year +. Sometimes INFJs need to honor their instincts. ❤
Another plant based member here🥬🥦🥝🍅🥑🍍
I love the way a spider brings you joy. I love when you appreciate the complexity of the little creatures and their important jobs in the world. "Everyone can't do great things but everyone can do small things with great love." St. Treasa
I am so romanced by the simple garden time you share. Accessible wild and beautiful gardens. I also love the videos that celebrate ways to use wholesome healthy foods. It’s magical to pick up my lifeless cold iPad and find you, someone else who wants to journey through life and find amazing things that are so often overlooked. As an introvert I find your honesty and intimacy style very soothing. I’ve had years of auto immune disease and have had to find my joy in life very deliberately. Remember it’s all the goodness is still there waiting for you to have the strength to delight in it again. Thank you for all you do.
Gardens, gardens, plants and more gardens! With everything else sprinkled in between. I found a passion for gardening in your videos. I'm still learning to cook those new to me vegetables and I love trying new ones every year. I still dream of chickens and one day I'll be able to hear my own roosters crow. So for me it's the roots of Roots and Refuge that captures my heart.
I would love to see more “learning in your waiting room” type things. Also I really enjoy seeing your everyday things and am inspired for my future homestead in how I would like to run things.
Sometimes it really seems hopeless from my perspective that this homesteading dream would even come true… your encouraging videos to not give up hope brings me to tears, even as I write this…
I have been learning in my waiting room for the past three years, and because of you I know that it’s okay to wait and to not waste time in doing so. I’m doing my best with what I have. even if my dream doesn’t come true, no one can take away the knowledge I have gained these past three years. My heart aches if I think too much on my homesteading dreams, it aches me to tears and pains inside of me but through it all it helps to take baby steps in the knowledge of this way of living.
Thank you Jess ❤
What excites me is reading through comments and hearing how others have harvested a new vegetable or their first egg. It’s redolent of my joyful firsts and gives me the greatest pleasure to “like”. 😊
Jess, the way you open your farm , family and the most precious, your heart, to us every time you turn your camera on is amazing, thank you. I have laughed, cried and rejoiced with you for almost three years now and will continue to do so. I very much enjoy learning recipes,canning and bread making tips and if course anything related to the garden. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. You have truly helped me find a passion that was lost years ago and every seed I plant is done with you in mind. ❤️
I still enjoy your gardening tips and tricks. What to do each season, prepping soil, new plants your growing. Seeing you harvest your produce and what you do with it. Fermentation, canning, freezing, freeze drying …. Preservation. I know you have lots of videos on this but it’s good to be reminded, plus new practices are learned from your new growing area.
It's funny that you are discussing this now, as I just started reading your latest book last night! I find it very riveting. I'm not a homesteader (yet!), but hope to be one some day. I would like to see easy to make from scratch recipes. When you showed your ricotta video and specifically said that it can be made with store bought milk, I was excited! I thought to myself, "Well, I can do that!" You just made it look so easy!! So. more videos like that, where the recipes can be made with basic ingredients and not a li of fancy equipment, would be quite helpful to me!
Hi Jess! I miss seeing the beauty and calmness of you walking thru your potege gardens. That is what caught me in the beginning. Im so glad that you are building more! Thank you!😊🌻🌻🌻
I live within the shade of three huge oak trees on 1/4 acre in a neighborhood and at 75 I'm starting to admit that I probably won't ever be a homesteader, but I can do a lot to be a better gardener next year. I love it when you sit down and talk to us like this about the wondrousness of living close to the earth and to life. I love it when you settle into the aisle between garden beds and pause to pick and eat a cherry tomato or take a bite of a cucumber you just picked from the climbing vine beside you as your heart speaks so earnestly to ours about authenticity or deepening or meaningfulness. You inspire me to be present and to create delight. You inspire me to take hold of the day and LIVE it, to celebrate its textures and colors and flavors, to pay attention and love its moments. Thank you for sharing your beautiful soul with all of us and inviting us to follow.
I live in an apartment. My waiting room has been my classroom. I garden at a community garden and I’ve learned so much about growing things, cooking, and just good food. When I feel stuck or overwhelmed I close my eyes and imagine waking up on my farm. I imagine making coffee, enjoying the sounds of my animals waking up, and going about morning chores. Just the small little delights that will be there one day. Can we see more of the day to day routines? The routines and things to look forward to as you go about the day. I love to see you make your coffee, collect the eggs, and just say hello to the cows before romping around in the garden. Thanks Jess for all the refuge.
I love this whole channel, but since you're asking ... I love the fact that what I am dreaming for and what you used to dream for has become normal for you. I want to trade awe and wonder for peace joy and sustainability and its so inspiring to see that someone else with the same dream has achieved that and is still in love with it. I've always been scared of being bored of my own life and you give me proof that we can still enjoy what we create even after it isn't new anymore. I love learning the tiny tips and tricks that only hands on experience can teach you. I'm doing what I can to turn my waiting room into a classroom and you are like my homeroom teacher. I aspire to see the world through the rose colored glasses that you do but with the same ability that you have to take them off when necessary. If I had to choose a favorite thing to watch from you it would be starting the morning with you. I love the idea of having something important and fulfilling to do in the morning while I enjoy my coffee. You have no negative rush to get to a job because your job is also your passion. The perfect morning with you would be wake up and have coffee at the pond swing, milk the cows, check on the farm, then sow seeds. I always end up enjoying the conversations that we have while planting. Somehow it always gets deep. Like today. Hope this helped, sorry for the lengthy comment. Much love from southern Missouri.
The truth? I fell in love with the way you shared your love of dreaming. Dreaming BIG has given me a small backyard garden, and in my "classroom" waiting on my homestead.
I have your 1st book, my family calls it my Garden Bible. LOL
Thank you for sharing your journey with all of us and for being the best Teacher I have ever had and for sharing the love of God you hold in your heart.
Jessica, sometimes the best feeling is just hearing, seeing and feeling someone else's excitement. It's like with our kids on Christmas morning. So I think it will work wonders for your precious heart to feel that closely from the community you built. The farm everyday excites me. I am in a classroom of just watching everyone I can and soak up all their journeys bc I just dont have the ability to grow where I am at the moment. I would love to see, hear and learn more of the business side of things. I am the "breadwinner" in my family and I want so badly to get some land and a home and jump both feet right in but... how do I realistically feed my family and keep us a float? I know you have shared many ideas on how to bring income to the homestead but I feel like the market is saturated with much more creative people and Ideas then I. I have different skills then most people I know and have seen homesteading. I am very analytical, investigator type, legal work, planning work real estate, but in a very niche way and I just cant figure out how to break open the doors to all my capabilities in the homesteading/farming world and make a living to support my family and my dreams. It cripples me with fear and makes my dream of having a dairy, meat, veggies farm and building a homesteading community seem impossible. I always seem to be the one cheering my people on and I just cant figure out how to make this possible for me. Ok now that I am crying, thank you for letting me see your success and being part of the community that helped me realize my dreams.
“My rooster crowed, and I didn’t hear it anymore.” 😭 This spoke so loud to my Spirit. Oh, Lord, let me not take for granted your blessings your daily gifts.
Dear Jess, I come back to you with my coffee each morning because I crave the conversation! I am not new at this. But I live where no one farms. I love to see your delight in the garden spiders and all the life on your farm. When I find the tiny caterpillars like bird droppings on my parsley I'm so glad! I can't wait to watch for the black swallowtail that laid those eggs. Keep showing us the experiments and the trials, the successes and the failures, the wins and losses. For me, that's where we intersect. Although I am way too old to be so thrilled when an experiment takes off and is successful, I'm still just tickled pink when it works! I've been growing food for 40 years, I have cows, chickens, rabbits, geese and dogs. I have 5 kids , grand kids, and lots going on. But I really enjoy having coffee with you in the morning. Enjoy your season of rest, while you can, because seasons change.
Content on how you use the food you’re growing is interesting (preservation, daily meal prep, things like that)
Honestly I always take away something from every video. Then typically when I go to work I’m a hairstylist I share what touched me or I learned that day. I personally am a mother of 5 boys and a step daughter and really relate to you. I like to see the mother/wife moments here and there. When you ran from the cows 🙌🙌 I like to see the not so perfect everyday things! Much love ❤️
Oh gosh yes. When she ran from the cows, and then seeing that horned cow, I appreciate so much more the depth of concern she must feel. Yet seeks out that cow's baby. I'm impressed and touched in my heart, each time. ❤
For me, Roots and Refuge is both an inspiration and a walk down memory lane. I am 73 and spent 20+ years living off grid on a most self sustaining farm in Oregon. I milked three cows by hand at one point and those cows were my darlings. Early in the morning and in the evening light I looked forward to some quiet time alone with my cows. So that is the walk down memory lane part that I so appreciate. On the other hand, I look forward to your kitchen videos for cooking inspiration and the garden segments for new ideas of plants to grow, and ways to grow things differently. But, most of all I just wait to see and hear you. I am just another gardening fool - just a few years older.
Jess, you are amazing at taking a situation and providing a learning opportunity for us.
Hi Jess! I'm 28 living in a very crowded Dallas TX, in an apartment with balcony plants. I came from a very large open space of the plains of Oklahoma and I get so homesick for the roosters crowing and seeing the cows in the field. Every Saturday and Sunday morning my parents would wake us (my brother and me) up so so early, we'd sit on the porch (in all weather) and watch the sun come up with deer and wild turkey sometimes coming to visit our land.
Your videos remind me of the peaceful, honest, bountiful, and beautiful moments I wish to have again some day with my own family.
I watch your videos and will keep them playing on repeat as I do housework just to stay rooted. Jesus is using you mightily in my life and I appreciate you. -Lisa
Jess, life can get complicated, distracting, and rocky!! Therefore I believe we need to keep it simple - for ourselves, our families, our communities. You have sincerely and consistently let us into your heart and home and we have been inspired, encouraged, and uplifted by any and all you do. So you just keep doing YOU, don’t overthink it and don’t complicate it. Just keep sharing YOU and your FAITH, and we will ALL be the better for it!! I Bless YOU today and always!!
I want the old Jess! The excitement of the lil things!!!! I have been out of phone range for a week and most of all I have miss your face, your smile, your infectious laughter, the luv between you and Miah, seeing your children big and small enjoying and helping on the land!!! You and yours give me so much HOPE and I am extremely grateful for hope xxx thank you xxx
We just love the fact that you are so real, and open and sometimes raw in what you’re sharing. I personally love your devotional content and find myself re-watching them when I’m needing something but I’m quite not sure what it is. And apparently you make a mean chili (according to Jill!) so I’d love to see that in action! You’ve inspired us for a few years now and we can’t thank you enough for leading us through this beautiful way of life. We bless you! 💚
Oooh! Chili! Yes, please Jess!😋
I love seeing garden to table, planting seeds, growing up the plants, harvesting, prepping, preserving or cooking etc, thx!
The way you view your garden, animals, and the world is uplifting. That's why I watch. My favorite videos have been when you shared simple, inexpensive ways to garden (strawberries in the kiddie pool, creating a mini greenhouse with a container). The devotional videos are also a favorite!
I love the simplicity, but the extraordinary of what you do every single day. Sometimes, it is the simplest things that you do, the interactions with your family, the methods you are using, the updates on the farm growth that are the best thing on a daily basis to see. I think from our side, it all helps us to just feel closer to you, and the desire to feel closer to you stems from the wanting to be similar. Wanting to learn more and be more in the same situation you are having. So, that all said, not forgetting to keep giving us the simple things you do on a daily basis. You touched on it, though, with the sounds of the roosters, remembering the glee you had once upon a time at that sound, reminding yourself of the romanticism of that. I live in an urban environment with my half acre of land and while I don't have my own chickens, there is a house that is a couple streets away that has some and every morning, I can sit outside in my sunrise hour and hear that rooster letting us know the day has broken. It is amazing. I can't wait to get my own established in our little city area. Seeing your growth inspires my imagination, and helps me to know that despite being autoimmune with many ailments, I can do this and with great aspirations, I can accomplish so much. I did simple things this week with our frost here in the Midwest, and managed to make habanero hot sauce, dehydrated chard greens/beet greens/carrot top greens, and canned sweet potatoes/ turnips, and pumpkin. If not for you, Justin & Rebekkah, Ben & Meg, Jason & Lorraine, the whole team of you that are doing this, I might not be as inspired and could feel defeated, but each day, you all inspire me to learn more and do more, despite sometimes just feeling like I need to lay down for a bit. That sense of accomplishment, definitely can out do the sense of tiredness. You've been crocheting in your down time, I play a video game and keep up with my favorite homesteaders :) (I also crochet, but just enjoying listening and watching y'all, so my crocheting is slow and methodical) Keep doing what you are doing, Jess, reminding us of the little stuff- planting the seeds, fertilizing, loving all the animals, interaction with the kids and family as a whole. You are doing amazing things, lady :) Much love to you.
I’d love to see more of the romance that always excites me but also the hard stuff, the confusing , overwhelming stuff & how you get through it. Everything from homesteading with kids, to organic pest control, to how to handle preserving ad just all of it (especially when you’re not feeling up to it) 💜
Yes I agree! Share a little more of the struggle and how you get through!
When you found the spider, I too was so excited, that I started to cry with happiness. I miss my gardens and farm... and spiders... and rooster crows... I was blessed to have that for almost 50 years. But getting to watch your family and farm has eased the loss and given me hope that God still has a plan for me yet. So I share the "garden knowledge" and experiences I have had with those who ask and refer them to your channel (and others) A LOT! There are more and more "newbies" out there every day and they need guidance and hope. Please continue to do what you do best. Blessings on your day Kiddo! 🥰🌻🐛🍁🍂
I like to experience how you deal with extreme temperatures. When, how you prepare, what you plant.
I love seeing your black green house, I love you starting seeds and chatting. I loved your garden tours, particularly on your old farm. And I miss, so much you looking after the goats, birthing them and more daily visits to the pigs. In short I miss your old farm activities. Though I do admit your soil is much richer where you live now. Thanks for asking.
I really enjoyed this vlog . I’m back to finding myself again this year both my girls moved out one on her own at 25 the other off to college the things I used to enjoy that always seemed rushed before. With life so busy you forget the simple things that brought you joy and pease digging in the dirt ,canning your first harvest, simple things that are so healthy for your mental being. Anyway you nailed it and really touched me.♥️
I just want you back- the old Gardening Guru that has taught me to grow- I am 71 yrs old & only started growing 8yrs ago - I am so hooked but our weird weather here in Australia has me stumped & disillusioned with growing. You are an amazing young woman & I love watching & listening to you but I feel your new adventures on your new Homestead has changed you so much & I miss the old Jess.
My father taught me to garden in our backyard. I've had gardens small and large since. But now I find myself disabled, and without even a windowsill to grow on. But I still aim to garden again! Could you perhaps address some ways to set up a disabled friendly garden? Or perhaps interview some homesteaders who have? It would help me plan and dream while I'm waiting in my classroom! Thanks for always keeping the poetry in the action, reminds me of my Dad. ❤
I put a green stalk on my deck. Bought a freeze cover from them. It has helped getting thru 2 notes of 25⁰s
I can't believe you had your first frost before me up here in Michigan! I am in the middle of the state in a little micro- climate by the water - I might get another week or two. Mother Nature has a sense of humor!
I have been watching you for a long time now and something I would find helpful is start to finish veggie videos. Like here is how many seeds I plant to try and feed this many people. Here is how this crop looks growing at different stages. Here is how I harvest and preserve it. Even if they were different videos through the season but linked up so I could follow a crop from start to finish. Also....give yourself some grace! Every season has pros and cons. Moving season was a productive season for you - now slow down gets to be a creative season for you. I think God moves us through different seasons for our own personal growth sometimes.
Hi Jess. I'm a busy mom of 5 who loves to garden, tend my chickens, and dreams of homesteading. I'd love to see more on how you make it all work with your kids. It's football season and I had to lay aside much of my garden time to allow my son to explore his new passion for sport. I'm sure your kids have dreams too and I'd love to see how you balance this with homesteading. Thank you for asking!
♡ Katie
Good morning Jess. I am a 23 year old that grew up with a backyard farm and raw milk and then moved to MD. You have inspired me so much, to do so much. I have a giant Holy Basil plant in my dining room, a greenhouse shelf and I’m building 250 cubic feet of garden space. My housemate and I are looking at moving to SC near her family in two years to start our own homestead. I think the things that I really want to see are Harvest videos (if you ever just have a harvest day), how you preserve some of that food and maybe just a “day in the life”. From waking up early, milking the cows, to collecting eggs. Anything that would be done on a homestead, how do you do it?
Thank you for inspiring myself and so many others Jess. I support you and the rest of the Sowards with whatever you choose to do.
Bless you all.
Just want to say you are one of my favourite people to watch on youtube. This season I really missed your garden tour videos. I have always found them inspiring and motivating for me to continue to strive to grow more, and create a beautiful and magical space.
Honestly, I really missed the weekly garden tours you did back on the previous farm. I miss the goats…rather your relationship with the goats. But I also think you’ve been blessed with growth, so those “simple” things we are used to are just not the way your life is anymore.