I have already seen “homestead goals” posts and annual reviews posts from some of the homestead blogs I follow. It’s the beginning of the year, so I should do a homestead plan too! 2018 is going to rock here on my baby homestead; Dreams and plans take over my mind all day! I really only know as far as June, because of the birth of the baby. I’ll publish another post for the second half of the year since I’ll have to reevaluate based on what we were able to accomplish!

 

I decided to approach this a couple of ways. I am going to do a monthly list, and then I’m going to go by category! First though, I think we should go over why goals are important on a homestead.

 

Why You Need an Annual Plan for your Homestead

 

I dream of having a homestead. What pulls that dream into reality is a plan. Your plan should have goals, and goals help you research. There are certain aspects of your plan where you “wing it”, but overall a homestead is usually something that is well orchestrated. When you read my plan, and the two ways that I have set my plan up should give you a good idea of how much work it can be. Keep in mind, I created this plan largely based on research, so my annual review at the end of the year will be really interesting!

 

Homestead Monthly Goal List

 

January:

I don’t want to lose any more chickens this month, so my primary goal is to keep them alive this month. I have already learned a lot about winter chicken prep, which I am putting to good use.

 

February:

I will plan my garden bed construction during February. Gardens are often a key facet of homesteads, and my homestead will be no different in this case. Basement greenhouse

 

March:

I will use this month to accomplish as many tasks as I can as the weather starts warming up. My delivery date will approach quickly, so a lot of baby prep will happen during this month too. I will set up the first 3 garden beds, the fencing and housing for the goats, and the chicken tractor for the hens.

 

April:

Prepare for Baby Girl Bowles! I will mix in a lot of compost in the garden beds and plant a cover crop. My husband will expand the current chicken coop to accommodate the new pullets we’re going to buy. I’ll also start inquiring about doelings available in July or August.

 

May:

I will be recovering from delivery and getting to know my new daughter. I’ll try and find some time to set up water barrels and hoses for the garden beds.

 

June:

I will integrate the new pullets with our flock, and start planning the fall garden. Gathering supplies for the goats also tops my list.

 

Homestead Category Goal List

 

Garden:

• Plan the garden beds
• Set up the garden beds with fencing to protect from the deer
• Heavily compost the soil and plant a cover crop for over the summer
• Plan the fall garden

 

Chickens:

• Expand the current coop to accommodate a flock of 12
• Purchase new pullets to bring our flock up to 12 hens

 

Goats:

• Set up permanent pens and housing for two doelings plus future kids
• Also purchase temporary fencing for rotational grazing
• Find a good breeder to purchase two doelings from

 

Sheep:

• I watched a great video from DaNelle from Weed ‘Em and Reap. She was talking about butchering her lambs (and showing), but she also talked about why she prefers raising lambs over meat chickens towards the end of the video. Really gave me a lot to think about, and I’m considering raising lambs sooner than I thought!

Video: Weed ‘Em and Reap on Butchering Grass-Fed Lambs

 

http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgCo4mbiy-o

 

I know what they say about the best-laid plans. I’m not holding myself super tightly to my homestead plan. It could be that my post-natal recovery doesn’t go a smoothly as I hoped. I know that everything won’t always go my way. I feel really good about this plan, and it will be my roadmap this year.

 

Have you created a homestead plan or garden plan for the year? If you wrote a post, share it in my comments. No post yet? Share the big highlights!