Homestead Happenings | Spring 2026
There is something magical about spring on the homestead.
After months of gray skies, muddy boots, and dreaming about warmer days, everything suddenly comes alive. The garden begins to grow, the chickens spend more time scratching in the sunshine, flowers bloom, and the entire homestead seems to wake up all at once.
Spring is often one of our busiest seasons, but it’s also one of the most rewarding. Looking back, these past few months have been filled with growth, hard work, plenty of projects, and countless little moments that made us stop and smile.
Today I’m sharing a recap of our spring on the homestead.
The Garden – Came Back to Life
Every spring begins with hopeful plans and seed packets scattered across the kitchen table.
This spring I’ve spent countless hours in the garden.
Preparing garden beds; this year I’ve got three garden areas growing(not including my food forest). My “kitchen garden” that I’m harvesting from daily and has a big new flower patch. My “hillside area” with containers and a raised bed that is home to 20 tomatoes, peppers, tomatillos, sunflowers, 1 melon, volunteer calendula, and okra that I’m attempting to grow. And my “pen garden” that’s beginning to get cleared out of weeds and right now has got a couple tomatoes, corn, melons, and green beans growing. I’ll plant more here next year.
This year I’m really working on cutting back our grocery bill and growing more of our own food. I’s a great feeling when you’re becoming more self-sufficient and haven’t had to buy something from the grocery store in a while.
My food forest is thriving, just been battling to keep the blackberry bushes at bay.
Instead of boring you with a list of everything I’m growing this year, I’ll save you and just list a few things we’ve been able to harvest a lot of. Borage, salad greens, raspberries, strawberries and sugar snap peas.
I’ve also been harvesting & drying a ton of herbs for the year, in hopes I won’t have to buy any later.
Little by little the garden transformed from bare soil into a thriving space filled with color and life.
One thing I really wanted to create this year was a flower patch, both for the pollinators and myself. Best decision ever, it has brought me so much joy to look at all the beauty, to have fresh cut flowers in a vase, and to watch the pollinators enjoy.
Did I mention I’ve got 30 tomatoes growing this year, 30! I wanted to be able to can lots, and enjoy fresh. I’m so glad I started all the seeds, because tomatoes at the grocery store are expensive right now. I’m also trying the experiment of planting an egg at the bottom of 6 of my containers under the tomato, I’ll check back later to see how they did.
Of course we faced some challenges; like our HUGE slug problem, not every seed sprouted or not every plant thrived. My cool-season crops had a very difficult time with the weather patterns, so I’ll be planting more seeds this summer to harvest in fall. I really want to pickle some beets, and make sauerkraut & kimchi!
Although I start most of my plants from seeds, there are times where I buy starts. This year I bought a watermelon, cantaloupe, acorn squash, pumpkins, and a couple peppers.
Life With the Chickens
The chickens have been keeping us entertained as usual.
Longer days mean more time spent outdoors, more scratching around the yard, and of course…
More fresh eggs!
Spring is one of my favorite seasons for the flock.
The hens seem happier, the egg basket fills up faster, and there’s always something amusing happening in the chicken yard.
One of our ladies hatched chicks, we got three new chicks to add to the flock. Unfortunately, I’m thinking two are roosters though. We also had to nurse one for a couple days because it’s leg got stuck in a rat trap, thankfully it healed and is thriving.
We also lost our main rooster, Gemmy. It’s just the inevitable part of farming. Although it was sad, he wasn’t the nicest rooster and now we can hang out with the ladies again without holding a rake. His son Blackberry is now the main rooster of the flock.
The Pollinators Returned
One of the sweetest signs of spring is hearing the gentle hum of bees and seeing the pollinators in the garden.
I really do appreciate and love watching all the pollinators move from blossom to blossom!
Like I mentioned in the winter recap, we lost both our bee colonies, but were able to harvest a ton of delicious honey they left us and use their drawn out frames. We decided to install a new colony in April and they are doing amazing. They’ve already got two deep boxes & one super on. We love having them around, not just pollinating our stuff or giving us honey, but teaching my kid not to be afraid of them.
What’s Been Happening in the Kitchen
Spring’s harvest may not be as abundant as summer’s, but the kitchen has still been busy.
There’s something special about walking outside, gathering ingredients, and bringing them straight into the kitchen.
Those simple moments make all the work worthwhile.
The kitchen remains one of the heartbeats of our homestead.
Although I don’t have many photos to share, we enjoyed many meals at home. Lots of sourdough, and baked goods. We harvested and made maple blossom fritters early this spring. We also made homemade gnocchi, which were good.
Spring Projects Around the Homestead
Like most homesteaders, our project list is always longer than the season.
Some projects took longer than expected.
Some are still works in progress.
And a few unexpected projects found us along the way.
That’s homestead life.
Progress isn’t always fast, but it is always rewarding.
Spring always means a lot of clean up, I am STILL working on finishing the spring cleaning of the house. We always clean the solar panels about twice a year, this scrub brush and soap work really well.
I’ve been working hard on creating a cottage garden style, doing a little here and there in areas. I’ve worked a little on my Mom’s memorial garden area, and the dogwood is blooming beautifully.
Fresh cut flowers from my garden!
Not a whole lot of progress on a farmstand, but I’ve just been selling products online and word of mouth. We’ve been able to keep up with the selling of eggs & sold all the extra honey(besides for our own consumption).
The Everyday Moments
While gardens, chickens, and projects are exciting, some of my favorite memories aren’t the big accomplishments.
They’re the ordinary moments.
These are the moments that make homestead life feel rich.
We were very busy outside of the homestead this spring. It’s been a very difficult year, but some how I’ve been able to push through and celebrate all the special occasions. We celebrated my oldest turning 18 years old, and the next day we remembered my Mom while she celebrated her first birthday in Heaven. We are so proud of my oldest for graduating from high school this year, now he’ll be attending the local college in the fall for engineering classes. And my youngest is officially a 3rd grader.
With losing my Mom this year, my view on life has really changed.
We’ve also visited the dog park many times, the beach, farmer’s markets, library crafts, and a couple paint nights. Spring was good to us!
This spring was full of muddy boots, growing gardens, fresh eggs, blooming flowers, homemade meals, unfinished projects, and countless simple joys.
Not everything went according to plan.
Not everything thrived.
But that’s part of the beauty of homesteading.
Every season tells its own story.
And this spring reminded us once again that growth often happens slowly, quietly, and one day at a time.
Thank you for following along on our journey.
We can’t wait to see what summer brings.
