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What’s happening: The Human Kaboom, Inside Out: Glass Art … – Decaturish.com

Starting A Vegetable Garden

Whether you’re a newcomer or a seasoned veteran, planning a successful vegetable garden isn’t hard. It starts with choosing a suitable spot, selecting the right vegetables and following a few basic techniques.

Calculating a planting schedule is different for each vegetable and depends on zone, frost dates and your plant’s maturity date and needs.

By Lucas Hill, contributor

Editor’s note: Starting April 3, our weekly “What’s Happening” feature will be distributed via our free email list on Monday mornings. Subscribers to our free list also get a daily email digest of recent Decaturish stories. To sign up for our daily email and events round up, click here.

DeKalb County, GA — Various events are happening this week in and around DeKalb County, including a book talk between Ambassador Andrew Young and AJC reporter Ernie Suggs, the 17th Annual Women’s Empowerment Business Expo and the 8th Annual Love Run 5k with DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston. Several local government meetings are also scheduled for this week.

Here’s what’s happening this week:

Inside Out: Glass Art by Lisa Schnellinger and Charlie Holden at GSU Perimeter College

Georgia State University Perimeter College will host an art installation of kiln-formed glass by Lisa Schnellinger and Charlie Holden at its Clarkston campus through April 2. On Thursday, Jan. 26, there will be an Artist’s Talk and reception from 4-7 p.m.

“Life and the Afterlife: Ancient Egyptian Art from the Senusret Collection” at the Carlos

“Life and the Afterlife: Ancient Egyptian Art from the Senusret Collection,” on view at the Michael C. Carlos Museum from February 4 to August 6, 2023, is an exhibition about what objects can tell us about daily life, sacred life, and the hereafter in ancient Egypt. The collection, named after King Senusret II’s pyramid village, Hetep-Senusret in the Faiyum, was gifted to the Carlos in 2018 by the Georges Ricard Foundation with the understanding that it would be conserved and used to promote knowledge not only about the rich funerary rituals, customs and beliefs of the ancient world but also about the life of ancient objects over time. Several items in the exhibition highlight student and faculty research, technical and scholarly collaboration, methods of analysis and conservation and provenance tracing. Organized by Melinda Hartwig, curator of Ancient Egyptian, Nubian, and Near Eastern art, the exhibition focuses on the history of the Senusret Collection; objects of daily life; the beauty and protection of amulets and jewelry; religious votive statuettes that acted as donors’ magical participants in cultic practices; stela and reliefs; and burial items that provided for the eternal needs of the deceased. Burial objects include the coffin assemblage of the priestess of Osiris, Taosiris, which protected and transformed the wrapped body.

For more information, click here.

Event listing provided by a community supporter.

Black History Month 2023 with DeKalb County Public Libraries

Throughout February, DeKalb County Public Library will showcase African American performances, visual arts and culture to celebrate Black History Month. Programs and activities will feature musicians, performers, artists, authors and more, along with crafts, films, virtual programs and educational sessions for people of all ages. Program highlights include:

– Bo Legs: Marvin Arrington, Sr. – An Atlanta Story Film on Saturday, February 25, 11:00 a.m. — 1 p.m. at South DeKalb Senior Center (1931 Candler Rd., Decatur, Ga.). DeKalb County Public Library, in partnership with DeKalb County Commissioner Larry Johnson, will present a screening of the film about one of Atlanta’s most significant political leaders, yet one of its least recognized. Lunch will be served. Registration required.

– Calvin Couther on display through the end of February at Wesley Chapel-William C. Brown Library. Couther’s watercolor and acrylic paintings reflect African American history, community and hope from the late 1800s to the mid-1900s.

Programs are free and open to the public. Some events require registration.

For more information, click here.

Bradley Observatory Open House Series at Agnes Scott

Bradley Observatory’s Open House Events focus on a topic in physics or astronomy with lectures given by Agnes Scott faculty, students, alumni/ae or local scientists, followed by a planetarium show and telescope viewings if weather permits. Guests to these events must be vaccinated with a booster. Attendees are strongly encouraged to wear a mask to indoor events. On Friday, Feb. 24 at 7 p.m., the guest speaker will be Varun Chaturmutha discussing “Wave Reflection In the Solar Atmosphere.”

To see the full list of events, click here.

Event listing provided by a community supporter.

Decatur Troop 175 Open House

Troop 175 in Decatur will host an Open House on Monday, Feb. 21 at 7 p.m. behind Glennwood Elementary. The troop welcomes boys 11 – 17 (with or without scouting experience) to visit as they celebrate their 80th year in operation and 74th consecutive year of awarding at least one Eagle Scout. In January, Troop 175 awarded their 295th Eagle Scout, with a goal of hitting 300 this year.

For more information, click here.

Event listing provided by a community supporter.

AntiquiTEA at the Carlos Museum

On Tuesday, Feb. 21 from 4 – 5 p.m., join the Carlos conservation team for a roundtable discussion on their treatment of ancient Egyptian objects for “Life and the Afterlife: Ancient Egyptian Art from the Senusret Collection.” Conservators will discuss how the examination of construction and materials analysis contribute to our understanding of objects and approaches to their care, and the creative problem-solving required to balance the challenges of past restorations with needs for current interpretative display.

For more information, click here.

Event listing provided by a community supporter.

“The Woman With the Cure” by Lynn Cullen: Book Launch at the DeKalb History Center Museum

On Tuesday, Feb. 21 from 7 – 8 p.m. at the DeKalb History Center Museum, author of “Mrs. Poe” Lynn Cullen launches her new book, “The Woman With the Cure,” a riveting novel based on the true story of the woman who stopped a pandemic. In 1940s and ’50s America, polio is as dreaded as the atomic bomb. No one’s life is untouched by this disease that kills or paralyzes its victims, particularly children. Outbreaks of the virus across the country regularly put American cities in lockdown. Some of the world’s best minds are engaged in the race to find a vaccine. The man who succeeds will be a god. But Dorothy Horstmann is not focused on beating her colleagues to the vaccine. She just wants the world to have a cure. Applying the same determination that lifted her from a humble background as the daughter of immigrants, to becoming a doctor – often the only woman in the room – she hunts down the monster where it lurks: in the blood. This discovery of hers, and an error by a competitor, catapults her closest colleague to a lead in the race. When his chance to win comes on a worldwide scale, she is asked to sink or validate his vaccine – and to decide what is forgivable, and how much should be sacrificed, in pursuit of the cure.

For more information, click here.

Basics of Growing a Vegetable Garden

On Tuesday, Feb. 21 at 7 p.m., join Stephanie Van Parys, executive director at the Wylde Center, horticulturist and long time vegetable gardener for the basics of how to start a garden, sustain the soil, insect control, fertilization, what to plant when and so much more. This program is designed for the new gardener or for a seasoned gardener who would like to pick up new tips. This event is virtual, and tickets must be purchased ahead of time.

For more information, click here.

Clarkston Business Association Meeting

On Wednesday, Feb. 22 at 6 p.m. at the Clarkston Community Center, the Clarkston Business Association invites all local businesses to attend the Association’s first meeting of the year. During this meeting, businesses will get the chance to learn about the Clarkston Business Association, receive local business updates from city officials, and receive business resources that can help their businesses.

For more information, click here.

Daniel Parolek at Georgia Tech

Georgia Tech’s School of Architecture and TSW, an Atlanta-based planning, architecture and landscape architecture firm, is pleased to announce that Daniel Parolek, urban designer, architect and author, will be the 2023 speaker at the TSW Lecture Series on Urban Design Wednesday, Feb. 22 at Georgia Tech. The public is welcome to attend for free at 6 p.m. in the Reinsch-Pierce Family auditorium, 245 4th Street NW, room 123 on the Georgia Tech campus. The title of Parolek’s talk is “Using Design Thinking to Deliver Big Solutions with Small Scale Housing,” and a book signing will follow the presentation. A video of the talk, as well as a podcast interview by Professor Ellen Dunham-Jones, director of the Georgia Tech MS in Urban Design degree program, will be available for free online in early March.

For more information, click here.

The Many Lives of Andrew Young: A Conversation with Andrew Young and Ernie Suggs

On Wednesday, Feb. 22 from 7 – 8:30 p.m., the Carlos Museum joins the Emory Libraries to cosponsor a conversation between Ambassador Andrew Young and Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter Ernie Suggs to celebrate the recent publication of the book, “The Many Lives of Andrew Young,” written by Suggs. Young, a civil rights icon who turns 91 in March, was a two-term mayor of Atlanta, US ambassador to the United Nations, and served in the US House of Representatives. A prominent civil rights leader alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the 1960s, Young will share stories from his time at the forefront of the movement. Suggs has been a reporter at the AJC since 1997, currently covering race and culture. He is also the publisher of the paper’s weekly Black-oriented newsletter, “Unapologetically ATL.” The conversation, part of Emory’s observance of Black History Month, will be followed by a Q-and-A session. Books will be available for sale at the event, and a book signing will follow the conversation. Registration is required.

For more information, click here.

Event listing provided by a community supporter.

Adam Rubin at Little Shop of Stories – “The Human Kaboom”

On Thursday, Feb. 23 at 6:30 p.m., author Adam Rubin returns to Little Shop of Stories to talk all about his newest middle grade book, “The Human Kaboom.” This fiery, exciting book is the companion to the super cool “Ice Cream Machine” that stole customers’ hearts last year. Get your socks blown off and hear about this amazing book from the author himself. This event is free to attend. However, you still need to “purchase” a ticket for everyone in your group.

You must purchase a copy of the book from Little Shop of Stories in order to enter the signing line.

For more information, click here.

17th Annual Women’s Empowerment Business Expo

On Friday, Feb. 24 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., join the Small Business Development Center of the University of Georgia for the 17th Annual Women’s Business Expo, with a focus on empowerment in a variety of key business areas for women business leaders and entrepreneurs. Gain business insights, share executive expertise and block your day for connecting with a diverse network of businesswomen from all ages and stages of success. This event includes dynamic panel discussions and TED talks from women leaders with a variety of backgrounds. Learn impactful tips, techniques, and resources for small business owners, along with the personal and professional experiences of women business owners. Seating is limited and pre-registration is required.

For more information, click here.

Emory Chamber Music Society Cooke Noontime Concert: Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons”

The Emory Chamber Music Society’s 30th anniversary season continues with the next Cooke Noontime Concert in Emerson Hall at the Schwartz Center on Friday, Feb. 24. Vivaldi’s ever-fresh “Four Seasons” is performed by the Society Chamber Orchestra with a different soloist for each Season: the Vega’s Emily Smith & Jessica Wu, and Amy Schwartz Moretti & Helen Kim each take a turn. There is plenty of seating, and no tickets or registration are required. Paid parking will be available in the Fishburne and Oxford Road decks. All ECMSA concerts and events are free of charge.

For more information, click here.

Student Studio: Creating Kuba-Inspired Collages

The Carlos Museum Student Studio is a drop-in monthly opportunity for Emory students to connect with their creative side, and with each other. On Friday, Feb. 24 from 1 – 4 p.m., join Atlanta-based artist Zachary Francois and staff of the Emory Black Student Union to explore the meaning behind geometric shapes and patterns found in Kuba textiles from central Africa, then create your own Kuba inspired textile collage piece using raffia fabric and papers. Student Studio is sponsored by Carlos Museum and the Art History Department. The program, and admission to the Carlos, is always free to Emory students. This event is first come, first served, while supplies last.

For more information, click here.

Event listing provided by a community supporter.

MESAS Performance Program at the Carlos Museum

On Friday, Feb. 24 from 4 – 5:30 p.m., Rumya Putcha, Assistant Professor of Music and Women’s Studies at the University of Georgia, discusses her new book, “The Dancer’s Voice: Performance and Womanhood in Transnational India.” Engaging themes of gender, sexuality, and race, Dr. Putcha theorizes how the Indian classical dancer performs the complex dynamics of transnational Indian womanhood. Dr. Putcha argues that the public persona of the Indian dancer has come to represent India in the global imagination—a representation that supports caste hierarchies and Hindu ethnonationalism, as well as white supremacist model minority narratives. Indian dance studies scholar Pallabi Chakravorty, Professor of Dance at Swarthmore College, will serve as the respondent for the talk.

For more information, click here.

Event listing provided by a community supporter.

Love Run 5k

On Saturday, Feb. 25 at 8:30 a.m. at Decatur Square, join DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston for the 8th Annual Love Run 5k, a family-friendly race that is open to runners and walkers and follows a fast-paced course through historic downtown Decatur. As a Peachtree Road Race qualifier, participants will be electronically chip timed. The Love Run raises awareness of teen dating violence, and proceeds from the run benefit the important work of the Women’s Resource Center to End Domestic Violence (WRC). Since its inception, the Love Run has raised more than $60,000 for WRC.

For more information, click here.

Oakhurst Farmers Market

The Oakhurst Farmers Market will be open on Saturday, Feb. 25, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Sceptre Brewing Arts, 630 East Lake Drive in Decatur. Find all of your freshest produce, meat, delicious baked treats, and more among the weekly vendors. Additional offerings include live music and chef demonstrations featuring seasonal recipes.

For more information, click here.

Fernbank Museum Toddler Day with Young Author Lance Hammett

Join Fernbank Museum for Toddler Day on Saturday, Feb. 25 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and get the chance to meet young author Lance Hammett, who will be reading his book “Sea-Rod: A New Wave.” Lance Hammett is in the third grade and can read at the fifth-grade level. His book focuses on the impacts of littering in the ocean and what kids can do to protect the environment. “Sea-Rod: A New Wave” will be available for purchase in the Museum Store. Get your copy signed at Lance’s book signing after the event.

For more information, click here.

Event listing provided by a community supporter.

DeKalb County Hiking Stick Workshop with Ranger Rick

The DeKalb County Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Affairs will host a hiking stick workshop on Saturday, Feb. 25 from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Davidson-Arabia Mountain Nature Center, 3787 Klondike Road. Participants, ages 13 and up, are encouraged to join Ranger Rick for a hands-on workshop to learn how to carve their very own hiking stick to use on the next adventure to the preserve. All tools and materials will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis.

For more information, contact LaShanda Davis, Recreation, Parks and Cultural Affairs public relations specialist, at 404-371-3643 or [email protected]

Avondale Estates Farmers Market

Join neighbors, visitors and vendors on Sunday, Feb. 26, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. for the Avondale Estates Farmers Market, located in the parking lot of My Parents’ Basement, 22 N. Avondale Road. Browse a colorful array of locally sourced food and goods. Items offered include baked goods, cheeses, eggs, homemade jellies, meats and produce.

For more information, click here.

Seeds and Scion Exchange at the Wylde Center

Join the Wylde Center on Sunday, Feb. 26 at 1 p.m. for its annual Seed and Scion Exchange All types of seeds and cuttings for fruit trees (scions) will be swapped, including heirloom seeds, seeds you save from your own plants and extra seeds you may have purchased. The Wylde Center asks that every participant bring a minimum of five packets of seeds to share. These may be seeds that you have saved or seeds that you have purchased that you distribute over several packets to share with attendees.

For more information, click here.

Upcoming Local Government Meetings

The Stone Mountain Planning Commission will meet on Monday, Feb. 20 at 6:30 p.m.

The DeKalb County Committee of the Whole will meet on Tuesday, Feb. 21 at 9 a.m. in-person at the Manuel Maloof Center, 1300 Commerce Drive.

The Decatur Schools Board of Education will meet on Tuesday, Feb. 21 from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. over Zoom.

The Stone Mountain Mayor and Council will meet on Tuesday, Feb. 21 at 6:30 p.m.

The Decatur City Commission will meet on Tuesday, Feb. 21 at 7:30 p.m. in person at Decatur City Hall, 509 N. McDonough Street, and over Zoom.

The Avondale Estates Board of Mayor and Commissioners will meet on Wednesday, Feb. 22 at 5:30 p.m. over Zoom.

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Source: decaturish.com

Goat yoga arrives at the Willmar Community Center – West Central Tribune

Container gardening mistakes: 9 common errors to avoid | – Homes & Gardens

Organic

A garden is an enchanted place where plants, trees and shrubs thrive. It is also a place of education where you can learn about growing your own food, attracting beneficial insects and creating a healthy ecosystem.

Farming

Organic farming is an effective way to grow nutritious food while reducing the impact on the environment. It combines scientific advances with time-tested techniques to grow healthy crops and protect them from pests, diseases and environmental factors that can damage or even kill crops.

As cities expand and gardens shrink, container gardening has become more popular than ever. The ideal solution for those in urban areas or those with no backyard space at all, it’s incredibly rewarding and comes with a host of benefits, from space saving to controlled plant care.

Unfortunately, container gardening also comes with a few quirks that need to be considered if you want to be successful. Ask almost any container gardener (including myself) and they will likely admit a few plants have suffered an untimely demise from common errors.

plants for pots to grow strong, be healthy, and produce beautiful blooms, there are a few mistakes you need to watch out for. Avoid these and you’ll be on your way to creating a stunning planter box display.

1. Forgetting about drainage

Before you rush to the exciting parts like choosing your favorite plants or picking out a matching outdoor planter, there is one essential factor you cannot ignore – drainage.

Most plants, especially those commonly grown in pots, don’t like soggy soil. They need water to drain away from the soil and out the bottom of the pot to stop excess moisture from accumulating around the roots.

When moisture builds up in containers due to lack of drainage, the limited airflow essentially suffocates the roots. This also leads to fungal growth that can cause root rot, a deadly condition that is tough to fix once it sets in.

Unfortunately, a layer of gravel at the base of a pot or even careful watering cannot fully replace drainage holes. Whether you’re buying a new container or recycling an old one, always make sure there is at least one drainage hole at the bottom.

Make sure your containers have drainage holes in the bottom

(Image credit: Pelargoniums for Europe)

2. Using the wrong soil

Soil is the foundation of healthy plant growth. One of the great benefits of growing plants in containers is that you can have complete control over this vital component of plant health. But, that also means there is plenty of room for error.

The soil mix you choose should be tailored to the plants you want to grow. Moisture-loving tropical plants will need a mix amended with compost and peat moss or coconut coir to combat quick-drying soil in containers. All types of succulents, on the other hand, prefer gritty soil with added sand or gravel to increase drainage.

According to experts at Iowa State University (opens in new tab), garden soil should be avoided when growing in containers. ‘Plants grown in containers require a well-drained growing medium. Garden soil alone is not a good growing medium. Garden soil compacts when placed in a container, resulting in poor water drainage and aeration.’ It can also carry weed seeds, pests and diseases to your containers from your backyard into your pots. Instead, purchase the perfect potting mix for your chosen plants or buy the ingredients to make your own.

If you’ve previously used garden soil in your containers, make sure you clean flower pots thoroughly before adding new plants to them to avoid the risk of passing on any diseases.

Container gardening mistakes: 9 common errors to avoid | – Homes & Gardens — *Don’t use normal garden soil in your container, opt for well-draining compost or a potting mix instead*

3. Not having a clear design

This is one of the most common container gardening mistakes that people make. Whether you’re designing a fall planter, one for spring or a summer container, it can be tempting to grab whatever looks good at the nursery and rush home to plant them up. But, as with anything in life, proper planning is beneficial. Taking a minute to plan out your container can lead to something show-stopping rather than sub-par.

There are a few old-school container design rules that can help you in the process. The phrase ‘thriller, filler, spiller’ is one common example, describing a way to fill containers that involves a spectacular feature plant, a few smaller fillers, and some trailing plants to spill out the sides of the pot.

General landscape design rules around color, texture and shape also apply to your containers and how you group them. Think of them as smaller versions of a wider garden.

4. Combining plants with different requirements

When combining more than one plant species in a container, make sure they play nice. You don’t want to go to the effort of planting, only to find one plant survives at the expense of another.

Steve Bender (opens in new tab), editor of Southern Living Magazine, says ‘When people go to a garden center to pick out what to put together in their container, they’re mainly thinking about whether the colors of the flowers go together, does the foliage go together. What they need to really think about even more is, do all the plants that I’m going to put in this container like the same growing conditions?’

Sunlight is the first concern. Sun-loving plants should never go in the same pot as shade-loving plants. Watering is also something to think about – thirsty annual flowers and water-wise succulents certainly won’t be happy when planted together.

There are also certain plants that don’t mix well with others, no matter what they are planted with. If you’re planning your herb planter ideas, mint is a prime example you need to be aware of. It will take over any container it is planted in and quickly smothering other plants. For these special cases, you can plant the troublesome specimen in a separate plastic pot, buried in the bigger container to stop the roots from spreading laterally and taking over.

5. Choosing the wrong size pot

Both the depth and width of your containers play a huge role in how your plants will perform and how time-consuming their care will be.

Many gardeners make the mistake of choosing a pot that is too small or too large for their chosen plants. Urban gardener Bethany (@chigagogardener (opens in new tab)) says, ‘I thought I could put any plant in any size container and it would grow just fine. But when I put an indeterminate tomato into a pot 6-8 inches in diameter, it barely grew and it kept tipping over.’

A small container will restrict growth and impact health, while a container that is too large can slow growth and make plants look diminished. Consider the mature size of what you’re planting to pick the perfect pot.

Pot size also plays a role in design, so keep this in mind when drawing up your list of patio planting ideas. As a general rule, your plants should never be more than double the size of your container to maintain a visually appealing balance. This also stops larger plants from toppling over when planted in lighter containers.

6. Packing plants too close together

During planting time, it’s tempting to pack plants close together so the container looks full and lush from the get-go. Unfortunately, when planting this way, your pot won’t look lush for long.

Roots need space to continuously grow and expand. If you start your container garden already overcrowded, the roots will begin to wrap around each other and compete for space. Overcrowded roots will struggle to absorb moisture and nutrients from the soil, leaving your plants looking sickly and making them vulnerable to pest and disease attack.

Kevin Espiritu from Epic Gardening (opens in new tab) has first-hand experience with this problem. ‘While small space gardening is where I came from and I love cramming plants in small spaces, you still have to respect there is a certain limit upon which you can cram things in.’

Always give your plants room to grow in the container for that full and overflowing look. Again, consider their full size at maturity for the correct spacing. You can plant them slightly closer together than you would when planting a flower bed, but make sure they still have enough room to breathe.

7. Underwatering plants in containers

If you’re new to container gardening, you may be surprised to find how often you need to water. Containers dry out far quicker than flower beds due to the limited space and minimal amount of soil to hold onto moisture.

For containers in the sun at the height of summer, you will likely need to water once a day – potentially more often in hot weather. If you don’t have the time for daily watering, choose slightly larger containers to hold more moisture or pick shade-loving plants that will dry out slower.

It is also possible to overwater plants in containers, especially when growing plants like succulents that prefer soil on the drier side. Test the soil frequently with your finger and pick the perfect time for watering plants based on the needs of your plants.

While they can be costly, irrigation systems can help eliminate some of these watering concerns. An irrigation system made for container gardens, such as the Raindrip R560DP automatic drip irrigation watering kit from Amazon (opens in new tab), will keep your plants happy year-round, and is the ideal way to water plants while you’re on vacation.

8. Planting before placement

This issue only really applies to larger containers, but remains a common mistake I have unfortunately made many times when moving trees growing in pots.

Large containers can be incredibly heavy – particularly those made from terracotta, ceramic or stone. Once soil is added to the equation, the container becomes even heavier. When watered, it will be almost impossible to move without a crew of helpers. In my case, I was lucky enough to have the extra hands around to save my lemon tree, but it’s far easier to avoid this problem from the start.

Choose the perfect placement of your container before planting. Planting in place stops you from having to shift heavy containers, potentially leaving a trail of dirt behind you as you struggle.

9. Forgetting to fertilize

If planted in the right soil type, your plants should have enough nutrients to last a few months. But once those are used up, there is nothing left to sustain growth without an additional top-up.

Don’t forget to make fertilizing part of your regular care routine. Requirements differ per plant, but most will appreciate a dose of liquid fertilizer, such as this Miracle-Gro all-purpose plant food from Amazon (opens in new tab) around once per month during the growing season. You can feed more often if your plants are underperforming, starting with a lower dose to avoid overfertilizing.

Source: homesandgardens.com

Fall, Winter, Summer – Homesteading Essentials

A homestead is an ideal place to practice self-sufficiency. It’s a great way to learn to live closer to nature, grow your own food, and build strong relationships with family.

However, homesteading is a lifestyle that can take some time to adjust to. It’s important to have a well-thought out budget when you start your homesteading journey.

It’s been 160 years since the Homestead Act of 1862 encouraged folks to head west for a chance at a new beginning. Thousands took advantage to claim the government’s offer of 160 acres. History tells us that while some succeeded, many failed due to inexperience, lack of money to buy equipment, and the environment.

But today, there’s a new breed of homesteaders. These modern-day pioneers share the same entrepreneurial spirit, guts, and enthusiasm—perhaps standing on the shoulders of past trailblazers—but they have a distinct advantage. They’re younger, better educated, and, realistically, more tech-savvy. Often city slickers who left for the country, their decision to reinvent themselves and create a different lifestyle, combining the old way of doing things with contemporary conveniences, has created its own, if unconventional, kind of resiliency.

Jill Winger and her husband, Christian, were on the same page from the very start. “We were on our second date,” recalled Winger, in her early 20s and living in the city at the time. “We were talking and we knew for sure that we wanted land and cattle. We knew we weren’t going to inherit that, and we wanted something different.”

Fast-forward more than a decade, and they now homestead on 67 acres in rural Wyoming and have a thriving, home-based business at the forefront of the new homestead movement. As the creator of the website The Prairie Homestead, which has some 530,000 page views with 325,000 unique visitors per month, Winger has become a voice and mentor for budding homesteaders across the country—or simply anyone looking to live more sustainably. “There are so many options open. … It’s about making life better,” Winger said.

Through blog posts, e-books, a podcast, and YouTube videos, she shares about subjects as varied as saving tomato seeds, finding a good detangler for a horse’s mane, and planning for the upcoming homeschool year. She’s also written one cookbook, “The Prairie Homestead Cookbook: Simple Recipes for Heritage Cooking in Any Kitchen,” and is working on a second.

“None of the things I teach or share are new,” Winger said. “But in reviving some of these timeless skills, I hope I can honor the legacy of those who came before and paved the way for us all.”

Path to the Homestead

Winger is a horse person. Her path to property began with an effort to find space for her horses.

It was 2008, and she and Christian had married. “We were renting a little house near Chugwater, [Wyoming,] and then this property came up on the market. It had land for my horses and it was within our budget,” she said.

When her parents saw the pictures of the place, they weren’t impressed. Close friends wondered if they had lost their minds. The house was old and small—it had been built in 1914 and measured a meager 900 square feet. Christian is an electrician by trade, and his job was 30 miles south; Winger was a veterinary technician, and her job was 30 miles north.

Forty acres with a ramshackle building in rural Wyoming was a risk. But despite a lot of raised eyebrows, “we moved in,” Winger said. With room for her three horses and a roof over their heads, their journey was underway.

Building a New Life

“We lived for the weekends,” Winger recalled of their early years. “We’d go to our jobs during the week, come home, and get to work on the place during the weekends, … start rebuilding fences or whatever project needed our attention.”

Two years later, Winger was pregnant with their first child. Despite being down to one income with a mortgage over their heads and a baby on the way, they didn’t despair. They got creative.

Back then, “I didn’t know what homesteading was,” Winger admitted, but they decided to start growing their own food. “I had this time at home and I was looking for ways to make ends meet.” Winger remembers the discomfort, stress, and scrutiny of their situation at the time. No doubt there was something easier they could be doing with their lives. Still, “we knew in our guts that we were doing the right thing,” she said. “We had faith.”

She started to grow vegetables. She learned how to raise chickens. And, in tandem with being in the garden and tending flocks of hens, she turned her attention to technology. She built a website—and quickly discovered that her enthusiasm for homesteading was bolstered when she started to connect with others who were doing the same thing.

“The really surprising piece is how much I’ve grown to love homesteading, and finding other people who share this dream,” she said, recalling the first time she was messaged on her website. “It was so exciting, so gratifying.” Winger found that building an online community was huge for her. It broke the isolation and extended her world way beyond Wyoming.

“Homesteading was my saving grace,” she said. “We were young and inexperienced; it’s definitely been ‘learn as you go.’” But Winger is a firm advocate that if you stop learning, you’re dead. Along with raising animals and growing produce, she educated herself on branding, marketing, and building her newfound business.

Community Counts

Two more children followed in 2012 and 2015, and Christian was able to quit his electrician job. As their kids reached schooling age, the Wingers again took the less common route. “We’re homeschooling all three,” said Winger, who was homeschooled herself growing up in Idaho. “It fits beautifully with our lifestyle; … the children have so many different learning experiences.”

Four years ago, they turned their dream of owning cattle into reality. Their 40 acres grew to 67 as they began leasing additional acres for their cattle. They raise chickens and pork for their own consumption, but beef is packed and shipped from their property nationwide. “We don’t use middlemen,” said Winger. “It’s very satisfying to sell directly to the customer.”

As they continued to invest in themselves, they realized that investing in others is also critical to making it all work. At first, “we were fairly new to the community, building our home and really reclusive,” Winger said. “But at some point, you realize that you need to be involved, to have that community experience, and invest in your community.” Today, they’ve created connections with local farms, producers, and other homesteaders, both locally and online. Christian may barter electrical skills for hay, or perhaps cattle for goats.

A big step in community engagement came in 2021, when they purchased the Chugwater Soda Fountain, a fixture in the small ranching town of Chugwater for more than 100 years. It took the Wingers a year of remodeling to revive the neglected building and business, while not losing sight of early memories—the counter and stools are still there. “The older generation loves it, they can sit on the stools, it’s so fun,” Winger said.

Restoring Our Roots

Jill and Christian Winger have been homesteading for nearly 15 years now. They are not off-grid; they do rely on utilities; and certainly, the farm doesn’t supply them with everything they need. Still, they are as self-reliant as they can be—and living a lifestyle out of the ordinary.

But it seems they’re not alone. “I think culturally, the pendulum is swinging back to center,” Winger reflected. “We’ve lost that piece that our brains need to create, produce, and accomplish. Our brains are wired for that.

“Small towns are experiencing a renaissance, more people are feeling the pull for healthier solutions, and it is so much easier to connect through the internet.”

Still, Winger knows the road isn’t easy. “The main thing is you have to keep pushing, don’t quit,” she encouraged. “Animals die, gardens get wormed out. You’ll learn to read the roadblocks; it’s quite natural to have setbacks.

“Looking to the past reminds me there’s nothing new under the sun, and that’s oddly reassuring,” she added. “On a practical level, reading the stories about vicious prairie blizzards in our region or relentless grasshoppers reminds me that if my ancestors survived those hardships, so can I.

“But on a deeper level, reading of their deep ties to their land, or the freedom they felt as they pushed against societal norms, bolsters my resolve and makes me so very proud to be following in their footsteps, even in a modern sense.”

For Winger and her family, homesteading is still “a fascinating path,” she said, and one that never ends. It’s a life at once tender and tough, strong and serene, sometimes chaotic but always creative. “It’s opened up our worldview to try something different, to push aside the norms, … and be brave enough to blaze our own trail and make it happen.”

This article was originally published in American Essence magazine.

Source: theepochtimes.com

Starting A Vegetable Garden

Organic

Farming

1. Forgetting about drainage

2. Using the wrong soil

3. Not having a clear design

4. Combining plants with different requirements

5. Choosing the wrong size pot

6. Packing plants too close together

7. Underwatering plants in containers

8. Planting before placement

9. Forgetting to fertilize

Fall, Winter, Summer – Homesteading Essentials

Path to the Homestead

Building a New Life

Community Counts

Restoring Our Roots

Benefits of Homesteading