May Homestead Journal | Updates Around the Homestead

Spring is slowly returning to the homestead, and in this first May Homestead Journal we’re spending the day tending gardens, checking on preservation projects, adapting to a colder-than-normal spring, and enjoying all the little signs of life waking back up around us. Today’s journal includes: 🌱 growing strawberries in the GreenStalk garden towers 🌱 adding the new strawberry runner grow cups 🌱 why I’m direct sowing more this year instead of starting everything indoors 🌱 the benefits of avoiding transplant shock and hardening off 🌱 embracing volunteer tomato plants in the garden 🌱 homemade compost teas and feeding the garden naturally 🌱 our chicks enjoying a beautiful spring garden day 🌱 updates on the banana, apple, and pineapple vinegars 🌱 preserved citrus updates (the lemons and limes are finally ready!) 🌱 why preserved lemons taste so magical after curing 🌱 future plans for traditional Moroccan chicken with preserved lemons and olives 🌱 why I prefer comfrey crowns over root cuttings for establishing plants This episode is less of a tutorial and more of a seasonal journal — a slower look at the rhythms, experiments, projects, and small moments shaping life around the homestead this spring. ✨ Upcoming videos: – Bread Baking 200 returns next episode – A dedicated compost tea video is coming soon – The next homemade extracts video will arrive in about two weeks as we continue working seasonally around the homestead Tool and Ingredients You May Need: These may be affiliate links, they come at ZERO cost to you but do help support the channel. Thank you for your support! 00:00 Introduction and homestead journal overview 02:39 Checking salt-preserved citrus 06:12 Slowing fermentation and checking readiness 10:16 Starting strawberries in the GreenStalk 14:27 Established strawberries and runner setup 19:58 Volunteer tomatoes and direct sowing 22:20 Tea plants and chick update 27:29 Fruit vinegar basics and banana vinegar 35:03 Apple vinegar mothers and speeding up ferments 38:23 Pineapple vinegar and chicken scraps 40:32 Comfrey crowns vs. root pieces 42:41 Homestead reality, Q&A, and upcoming videos Greenstalk Vertical Gardens: https://rstr.co/greenstalkgarden/hwl10 WINE VINEGAR MOTHER: https://oakbarrelsltd.com/products/mo... Glass Jars: https://amzn.to/3PpPBR0 - ROUND https://amzn.to/3P3ZjIN - SQUARE Plastic Canning Jar Lids: https://amzn.to/4uOwzmu Thank you for spending this spring day with me ♥️ Tamatha Homestead Wife Life