Categories
Are you looking to start learning how to become frugal because you're facing hard times? You don't have to change much. There are several ways to live more frugal.
Get the show notes here: www.farmfitliving.com
Are you looking for some fun activities for Fall? Not sure where to find them in your area? Here are my Top 5 country family fun things to do this Fall plus how to find out about them!
Have you ever heard the phrase: How to Fake It until You Make It? Amy's story is a great example of how she's learned her way to the top of her industry and work after starting at the bottom and not knowing much. She gives some great examples for us to learn from and to become inspired to do the same.
For show notes, visit: Farm Fit Living
Here are 9 things you need to consider before you get into backyard pigs. All the important stuff you need to know that pigs need.
Do you grow beautiful flowers and want to show them off at the county fair? Listen here for everything you'll need to know about how to be a county fair flower exhibitor!
Have you had a vacation lately from the stresses in life? Feeling overwhelmed?
Here are 5 reasons you need to take a break and clear your mind. Come back stronger. Take control of your life by giving it some much needed R&R.
Want to exhibit your prized veggies at the county fair? Listen here for why you should and how with this county fair vegetable exhibitor guide.
I'll go over each and every popular vegetable selection and preparation.
Have you wondered about exhibiting something at your local county fair but didn't know where to start? This county fair exhibitor guide will give you a starting point to your local contact, as well as the importance of exhibiting and enjoying your week at the fair.
For the show notes, click here.
Are you seeing disgusting sores and blemishes on the blossom end of your tomatoes? You might be dealing with a condition called blossom end rot.
Here's what you need to know to successfully fight blossom end rot in tomatoes and win!
Are you drowning in summer squash? Here are 37+ things to do with all that summer squash!
Are you making sure you're staying hydrated when you're working or playing out in the heat?
Here are 13 tips and ways to stay hydrated in the heat.
Do your tomato plants look like death? You could be dealing with Green Tomato Hornworms or even Green Tobacco Hornworms. Here are some ways to tell the two a part, how to spot check and how to control them.
Check out the show notes here: www.farmfitliving.com
Do you have a ton of extra eggs from your over producing chickens? Here are 70+ ways to use up extra eggs from 5 different categories:
* Selling
* Storing
* Things to make and freeze with eggs
* Holiday Fun
* Farm & Garden use with Eggs
For the full list of 70+ ways, please visit www.farmfitliving.com.
Really...you are stronger than you think you are. This is a story overcoming a low point in your life and following your passion to success. It's all about learning to be positive, hopeful and strong for yourself and those who depend on you.
I hope you enjoy episode 21 with Beth Gaines.
Do you struggle to find beauty in life when things gets tough? I think you'll be inspired by Leah's story today.
Plus, get some great innovative business ideas, too!
Are your "Ifs" or But's keeping you from achieving what you want in life or taking that next step?
Kick those but's out the door! This is the best advice from Chelsea Mansor, a stay at home ranch hand with two little boys and a makeup business!
Are you looking forward to new adventures and opportunities made available to you? Embrace new changes that will improve your life and help you make your dreams reality. Episode 18 with Mary Powell will inspire you to embrace those opportunities.
Find detailed show notes at www.farmfitliving.com
There's no doubt that life is full of sacrifices. Do you ever find yourself in the middle of making decisions that could be a sacrifice for something else?
In this episode, Donna Arey tells her story of making sacrifices to create the life she and her family always dreamed about.
For detailed show notes, visit Farm Fit Living
Do you have a desire to make money from your land or the space you have? Maybe you have a hobby you're passionate about and wouldn't mind doing what you love to make a living. Check out these 23 backyard business ideas.
Are you looking for some good team work tips to help you balance your family, farm, business and life in general? Here are my 5 main tips for improving your dynamics and finding balance.
For the show notes, please visit: 5 Good Teamwork Tips
Are you longing to learn how to find happiness when things go south? Listen to Marie's story. She's a homesteader from Canada who has lived through brain cancer surgery, dreams destroyed by black mold in their mountain cabin home and other set backs. But she continues to find happiness and love her life.
For Show Notes: How to Find Happiness from Dark & Moldy Places
Pin the Episode for Later: Pinterest Pin
Looking for spring garden preparation tips that will really make a difference this year?
Spring garden preparation tips that are technical and game changing are right here. As a home gardener, you want to have spring garden preparation tips that are easy to implement but that will help you to have a successful start to your garden. So, in this special tips episode, I'm going to be covering 8 early spring garden preparation tips for you to implement. If you're already doing some of them as part of your own spring gardening checklist, that's wonderful! I can tell you from experience that the most successful gardens begin before planting. And spring garden preparation begins with preparing that seed bed correctly. Preparing garden soil for planting vegetables and other crops is key to a successful garden yield. But, what is my experience with gardening? Well, it began 31 years ago sitting in my parents garden. I'll jump into that story first. 
About My Garden Experience
With 31 years of experience, I grew up in the garden.
- As a child, I helped my parents in the garden and learned so much.
- I loved exhibiting those vegetables in 4-H and Open class at the county fair.
- I took numerous soil courses in college.
- While in college, I planted seeds in planter pots to grow on the small porch of my double wide trailer.
- I became an Ag & Hort Extension Agent, where I taught people how to garden for 7 years.
- And I've raised tomato, squash and sweet corn yield trials for several years.
- Finally, all while raising my own garden on my homestead the past 10 years.
So, enough about me! Now, I want to share my vegetable garden tips with you. Let's jump right into those tips for planning the garden.
First of all, Write Some Goals for the Garden
Planning the Spring garden begins with the end in mind. What will you be using those vegetables for? Examples:
- Exhibiting the best veggies at the county fair.
- Growing enough veggies to feed the family all year.
- Farmers Markets
- Donating vegetables to those in need?
The list is endless! Go ahead and write down some goals. Then, decide where you will put everything by drawing out a map.
Then, Make a Map of the Garden
This is basically vegetable garden layout ideas for where you will plant your different seeds or your vegetable garden plants. It doesn't have to be pretty. Mine are never ever pretty because I am NOT good at drawing. But, I want to make sure that I know where all the veggies will go. Some factors to pay attention to:
- First of all, type of soil
- Soil Drainage
- Wildlife
- Insects
- Finally, shade or Full Sun
And now you know where you will plant. Let's see if that soil is ready for the vegetable assigned to it by discussing soil preparation for planting.
Complete A Soil Test
What you need:
Now, how to take the soil test:
- First of all, use your shovel or soil probe to collect 10 core samples at least 6 inches deep.
- Mix the samples in a bucket
- Contact your county Extension office for soil bags
- Send your samples in with proper payment.
Independent Soil Testing Lab:
Have a good sample for each garden spot by taking the 10 core samples from each garden spot. Then, you'll get your results. Results of a Soil Test tell you:
- Nitrogen
- Phosphorus
- Potassium
- pH
Here's that fertilizer recommendations guide! Complete a soil test every three years. It is worth the investment and can tell you so much.
What Will You Plant?
What varieties will you choose? There are so many! First of all, make a list of all the veggies you will plant. Refer to:
- First of all, seed catalogs
- Your Map
- County Fair/State Fair dates
- And, your Goals
Also, look at:
- First of all, prices
- Then, description of the variety.
Choose the best variety for you, your location and time. And then you can purchase your seed.
When Do You Purchase Seed for Spring Garden Preparation?
Anytime! The beginning of the year is when those catalogs usually start trickling in. January is usually a nice time to plan out the spring garden and order those seeds. But you'll need to know zone you're in. Here's a map of some zones of the United States. This is a fun activity to do with your family. And typically, the seed companies you purchase from will send you seeds and plants according to when you're going to plant them, which can also vary. To determine planting dates, check your soil temperature! This is what we'll discuss next.
Check that Soil Temperature before Planting
This is a factor that I didn't learn until much later on. It's a factor that many home gardeners do not think about. You simply need a soil thermometer and you can purchase one here. Why? Because different seeds require different temperatures for germination. You need to know what those temperatures are.
So, Get My Printable for Soil Temperature Recommendations that Different Veggies Love
And Read More About Soil Temperature HERE
Next, Be Sure To Have The Right Moisture
So, there are different soil types that hold water differently:
- First of all, Clay soil holds water.
- Next, Loam (Mix of Clay and Sand) drains better than clay.
- Finally, Sandy drains the best.
Pay attention to the amount of moisture in your seed bed. If it's too wet and holding too much water, the seeds won't germinate. Hence, you don't want it to be muddy. Just slightly wet and fluffy. 
Finally, Get Ready for Potential Wildlife Damage
Ugh - those plant predators! You need to remember to watch out for them as part of your spring garden preparation. These can be:
- Rabbits
- Pack Rats
- Livestock
Therefore, you can try to protect those plants:
- First of all, put a fence up: Woven Wire or Chicken Wire
- Place something sturdy around the bottom.
- Watch out for holes. Fill them with water.
- Trap them.
- Plant certain flowers (such as marigolds)
- Finally, urinate around the edge. (WHAT?)
Remember, it's the little things. Watch your baby veggies closely to make sure the wildlife won't destroy your hard work.
In Conclusion
So, I hope these eight tips will help you to have a successful start to the gardening season. Here they are again:
- First of all, write down goals for your garden.
- Then, Map out your garden.
- And test your soil.
- Find the right variety to plant
- Then, purchase those seeds from a good seed company you love.
- Check the soil temperature.
- Pay attention to Moisture.
- Finally, Watch out for Plant Predators.
If you at least do one of these, you'll be making a change for the better. 
Ways to Contact Me
First of all: Email at mindymatt@myoungfarms.com (I'd love for you to join my email list) Next, Facebook: Farm Fit Living Then, Snap Chat: @farmfitmama And, Twitter: @farmfitliving Finally, Instagram: @farmfitliving I hope you enjoyed this episode about planning the spring garden. Please let me know if you used any of these tips for planning the garden and how they worked for you.
RURALITES, HONE YOUR DREAMS, OWN YOUR LIFE AND I’LL SEE YOU DOWN THE ROAD.
~ Much Love ~
DISCLOSURE: THIS POST ABOUT CONTAINS AFFILIATE LINKS. THIS MEANS THAT, AT NO ADDITIONAL COST TO YOU, I MAY GET A COMMISSION IF YOU CLICK THE LINK AND MAKE A PURCHASE. THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT IN THIS WAY!
On the fence about living rural? Episode 9 gives plenty of rural living advantages for you.
Rural living advantages is abundant in small towns. Furthermore, rural is not less. Seems like more and more young people, like Jenny Russell, are discovering the advantages of rural areas over urban areas. And they are moving back. Yes, young families are seeing the wonderful living in rural areas advantages there are. They may have tried to find the advantages of urban life only to discover more advantages in the types of rural community vs their urban community. . Yet, rural living vs urban living may or may not be a huge adjustment. You can have the best of both worlds by creating both the live you want as well as the job online or in the rural area. Again, rural is not less. There are many reasons to live in a rural area. And Jenny gives plenty of great advice to make the most of living rural. So, check out the show notes while you listen to episode 9 about rural living advantages. 
FIRST OF ALL, ABOUT JEN
- First of all, she's a busy mom, farm wife & business owner.
- Grew up on a farm near Glen Elder, Kansas.
- From Courtland, Kansas (MY HOMETOWN ALSO).
- Has a Marketing and Business degree.
- Owns JenRus Freelance.
- Took experiences from previous jobs to start her successful business in a town of 300 people.
AND A PIECE OF ADVICE FROM JEN
"You should NEVER be bored in a rural area." So, get involved, volunteer and help your community grow. And anyone can create something new with the passion and drive behind it. Also, Jen stresses that "rural is not less." And after growing up in Courtland, I know that is true. Rural communities, like Courtland, KS have changed over time. Internet and road/infrastructure changes have made rural a more progressive and faster paced place to visit and live. The opportunities in rural areas are endless now. Let's take a look back at Jen's journey to finding out those rural living advantages and rural living tips on her own.
NEXT, LOW POINTS THROUGH THE JOURNEY
First of all, let's start with that low point. Jen's first job out of college. It wasn't a job she loved. But she went to work and did the job every day. Then, the layoffs came and that was a traumatizing experience. Many of her coworkers were laid off very unexpectedly. And there were a couple of key things she learned through this experience.
AS A RESULT, SOME LESSONS LEARNED
- First of all, she will never treat her employees that way.
- Most importantly, pray more before a decision is made. Maybe if she would have prayed more, God would have led her towards a different first job.
THEN, JEN DESCRIBES THE “AHA MOMENT” ABOUT RURAL LIVING ADVANTAGES
- First of all, working for Brush Art opened her eyes to what the possibilities were for owning a business in the rural area.
- Also, meeting Marci Penner from Kansas Sampler. Marci opened her eyes to new rural living advantages and the real rural area meaning.
- As a result of meeting Marci, Jenny learned about "Rural by Choice."
So, what's Rural by Choice? Well, it's the the future of rural living definition! People 39 years old and under moved back to a rural area on purpose. Wait...That's me!!!
NEXT, WHAT IS ONE THING THAT JEN STRUGGLES WITH?
- First of all, time.
- And body image (weight, what to eat, etc).
So, she's getting up early in the morning to fit in some fitness and mindset so she makes the time. For more on this topic, check out Episode 6.
CONSEQUENTLY, WHAT IS JEN MOST EXCITED ABOUT?
Most of all rural development work! Encouraging people to enjoy living the country life. In addition, Jen is inspired to share all the opportunities that are available with life in rural areas. And she really enjoys improving rural, bringing people back and campaigning these rural living advantages to others. Jen has a passion for promoting the lifestyle of people in rural areas to others. Also, kids, family, and community are also things that get Jen fired up.
SO, WHAT IS HOLDING JEN BACK FROM REACHING HER GOALS?
Jen wants to grow her business. She wants her business to impact more people and hire more people in her community. But the main thing holding Jen back is time. Not enough time in the day. She has a kiddo not in school yet, so juggling a small child with work can be a struggle while developing a business. Believe me, I know! But she wouldn't have it any other way. And neither would I. 
BEST ADVICE FOR MAKING THE JUMP TO RURAL LIVING
First of all, make the first move. Visit the community and talk to the people there. Probably talk to them and get to know them. Why? Because those initial conversations with the locals matter. Then, put your resume into places you want to work. Or, use your entrepreneurial spirit to create a job for yourself using those skills.
BEST ADVICE EVER RECEIVED
Most of all, "No Job is Beneath You." Hence, don't be afraid to do any job. And don't be afraid to get your hands dirty.
FURTHERMORE, HER BEST PERSONAL HABIT
Most noteworthy, making up in the morning and exercising to make sure she gets it in. As a result, it makes her feel accomplished and ready for the day.
OF COURSE, HER FAVORITE GO-TO MEAL
Probably chicken chunk casserole! This sounds delicious.
- Chicken or learn how to harvest your own birds.
- Potatoes or learn how to plant your own.
- Probably Cheese
Hence, Jen is going to have to give me this recipe!
FAVORITE APP?
Probably Drop box. It's an online file storing system.
AND, FAVORITE PHYSICAL TOOL
While she thinks she is very "unhandy", she keeps a hammer and screwdriver on hand just in case.
THEN, BEST BOOK SHE WOULD RECOMMEND
Since she doesn't read much, she's reverting back to the good old days. She used to love Anne of Green Gables. And currently, she's reading Harry Potter with her son at night.
AND, IF JEN WOKE UP TOMORROW, ACQUIRED 10 ACRES AND $1000, WHAT WOULD SHE DO?
Probably, Jen would give and she would help! She'd give the money to those who need it. And she would give that extra 10 acres to her husband to grow the farming operation.
IN CONCLUSION, SOME PARTING WORDS OF WISDOM
So, just be happy where you're at. And, use your skills and knowledge to create the best life you want.
FINALLY, CONTACT JEN
First of all, her web site: JenRus Freelance. And Facebook Page: JenRus Freelance Finally, catch all the past episodes of Rural Women Inspired!
RURALITES, HONE YOUR DREAMS, OWN YOUR LIFE AND I’LL SEE YOU DOWN THE ROAD.
~ MUCH LOVE ~
DISCLOSURE: THIS POST CONTAINS AFFILIATE LINKS. THIS MEANS THAT, AT NO ADDITIONAL COST TO YOU, I MAY GET A COMMISSION IF YOU CLICK THE LINK AND MAKE A PURCHASE. THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT IN THIS WAY!