Unlock the Secrets of Homesteading: Grow, Raise, and Succeed with Riley Sandy

Host: 00:00:01

Welcome to thoughts from the Crawlspace, a podcast where our goal as home inspection experts is to support and serve our community.

Host: 00:00:07

Whether you're a homeowner, home buyer, real estate agent, or investor, we believe everyone deserves solutions to their home ownership challenges and inspiration along the way.

Host: 00:00:17

Your path to success starts here.

Host: 00:00:21

Hello, everybody.

Host: 00:00:22

Welcome to another episode of thoughts from the crawl space.

Host: 00:00:26

Today we have a very special episode that might, you might not be able to find the direct correlation to a home inspector, but bear with me.

Host: 00:00:35

and more, really, starting in: 2020

Host: 00:00:48

Today, we're going to touch on what it takes to kind of be a beginner, a beginning homesteader.

Host: 00:00:54

This doesn't mean you have to be a prepper and live in, you know, a dark woods and, you know, store food for years on end.

Host: 00:01:02

But we want to give you some of the basics.

Host: 00:01:05

People buy a house, they love their house.

Host: 00:01:07

They want to stay home.

Host: 00:01:08

Going out to eat is getting more and more expensive.

Host: 00:01:11

The food quality isn't as good as it used to be.

Host: 00:01:14

nd a stat I read said that in: 2019

Host: 00:01:23

In: 2024

Host: 00:01:26

Now.

Host: 00:01:27

That could be a tomato plant on the back porch.

Host: 00:01:29

It could be a one acre garden.

Host: 00:01:31

You know, growing food at home has a, you know, a big umbrella under what that's under.

Host: 00:01:37

But what we've done today is I have Riley Phelps with us.

Host: 00:01:40

Excuse me.

Host: 00:01:42

Riley got married.

Host: 00:01:43

Riley Sandy with us today, and she is a homesteader.

Host: 00:01:47

She leads our office.

Host: 00:01:49

She's been with the company for over three years now.

Host: 00:01:53

And she is passionate about homesteading.

Host: 00:01:57

And she lives in Michigan and is just done a great job of getting started.

Host: 00:02:04

So she's here today to just share a few tips for you on how to get started.

Host: 00:02:09

You know, if you look online or you start looking at videos or maybe even this video, it can be easy to get overwhelmed.

Host: 00:02:16

So many people have been doing it a very long time.

Host: 00:02:19

But my encouragement to you would be just start somewhere.

Host: 00:02:23

And so Riley's going to give us a few basics today on basically the two areas of homesteading.

Host: 00:02:30

I think that, that most people think about when they think of this, and that is the plants you plant and maybe the animals that you raise.

Host: 00:02:38

So if you just want to do plants, you can just do plants.

Host: 00:02:42

But we're going to have some information here today for you that helps you get started.

Host: 00:02:46

So, Riley, talk to us a little bit about that person that they want to get started.

Host: 00:02:54

They don't know necessarily where to start.

Host: 00:02:57

What kind of plants should they look to buy?

Host: 00:03:00

How should they decide?

Host: 00:03:01

Do we want it just for eating now?

Host: 00:03:04

Do we want to store it long term?

Host: 00:03:05

Do we want to can it?

Host: 00:03:08

Where would they start?

Riley Phelps: 00:03:09

So I would start with knowing your growing zone.

Riley Phelps: 00:03:12

That's going to be one of the bigger key points to knowing, you know, what you can grow.

Riley Phelps: 00:03:18

You know, when to plant the certain things, things like that.

Riley Phelps: 00:03:21

So northern Indiana, you know, southern Michigan, we're in a grow zone called six b.

Riley Phelps: 00:03:26

So they do it, you know, by number and numerical and alphabetical order.

Riley Phelps: 00:03:30

So, you know, in Florida, they're going to have a way different growing zone, obviously, because they're way warmer than us.

Riley Phelps: 00:03:34

They don't have cold temperatures, things like that.

Riley Phelps: 00:03:37

So the growing zone is going to let you know, you know, hey, you have these, you know, these certain vegetables.

Riley Phelps: 00:03:43

This is the time of year to plant those, you know, those items.

Riley Phelps: 00:03:46

So, you know, a lot of them are, you know, plant after your first for your last frost or something like that.

Riley Phelps: 00:03:50

So, so six b is, you know, where we're located at.

Riley Phelps: 00:03:53

So typically a lot of it is planting, you know, after that last frost.

Riley Phelps: 00:03:57

Other than if you start your plants indoors, that's a different subject.

Riley Phelps: 00:04:01

But so starting there, I always recommend the farmers almanac.

Riley Phelps: 00:04:05

You can buy it at like your local, you know, farm store, too.

Riley Phelps: 00:04:08

They go on the growing zones and they tell you, you know, the weather and patterns and all that kind of stuff, too.

Riley Phelps: 00:04:14

So look into that and you can also just go on, you know, Google or whatever and type what?

Riley Phelps: 00:04:19

Here's my zip code.

Riley Phelps: 00:04:20

What, you know, hardiness zone am I in?

Riley Phelps: 00:04:22

And I'll tell you right away and I'll give you all the info.

Host: 00:04:24

So, so that's going to tell you the type of plants that are going to grow well and maybe when to plant them.

Host: 00:04:30

You mentioned after the last frost, I think one danger is people start too early.

Host: 00:04:36

You know, you get that heat wave in mid April and you're like, hey.

Riley Phelps: 00:04:40

Spring'S here and let's play it.

Host: 00:04:43

And things come up and then the frost hits.

Riley Phelps: 00:04:46

Yeah, or it snows like another six inches.

Host: 00:04:49

No, in late April or even early May.

Host: 00:04:52

And so then all your work's done well.

Riley Phelps: 00:04:55

And I know a lot of people, too, like growing like fruit trees.

Riley Phelps: 00:04:57

They have issues with the frostez, like it being warm and then it frost and then all those buds that came out, you know, freeze off.

Riley Phelps: 00:05:03

And then a lot of farmers are out, you know, a lot of, a lot of produce because their tree buds are all right.

Host: 00:05:09

So you got your zone now.

Host: 00:05:11

And what are some good hearty vegetables type plants that, that you've planned, that you found success with in this kind of, type of growing zone.

Riley Phelps: 00:05:20

So in terms of hardiness, I would recommend, especially if you're a first time, you know, gardening, you haven't really experimented with a whole bunch of stuff.

Riley Phelps: 00:05:28

Your biggest ones are, you know, your staples are potatoes.

Riley Phelps: 00:05:31

So some kind of starch.

Riley Phelps: 00:05:33

Your, your beans and tomatoes, those are the top three, especially, you know, in my family that we use.

Riley Phelps: 00:05:38

I mean, everyone, especially in America, we all like our starches and we can make how many different things out of potatoes?

Host: 00:05:44

French fries.

Riley Phelps: 00:05:45

Yeah.

Riley Phelps: 00:05:47

So those are some of the three easier ones.

Riley Phelps: 00:05:50

And then you can also get into, like, lettuce and herbs.

Riley Phelps: 00:05:52

Those are.

Riley Phelps: 00:05:53

Lettuce is one of the easiest things to grow.

Riley Phelps: 00:05:55

I mean, you could put one seed pack in a little pot and you'll have lettuce in a month and a half.

Riley Phelps: 00:05:59

I mean, it's.

Host: 00:06:00

And that grows.

Host: 00:06:01

That's one of those that grows early.

Riley Phelps: 00:06:03

Yeah.

Riley Phelps: 00:06:03

You can do that indoor all year round if you really wanted to.

Riley Phelps: 00:06:06

And it would grow just fine.

Riley Phelps: 00:06:07

I mean, probably my house is, if we leave lettuce out indoors, our cats would eat it.

Riley Phelps: 00:06:11

So we would just have to, you know, monitor the indoor there.

Host: 00:06:15

We can take care of cats.

Riley Phelps: 00:06:16

Yeah, that's not a problem.

Riley Phelps: 00:06:18

But so doing, you know, those, those items to start with, I mean, you can get into, you know, your things like your squash and your cucumbers and all that kind of stuff, too.

Riley Phelps: 00:06:27

The squash in experience of mine is we've had, I mean, we don't struggle with it, but we've had less success with the squash and, like, pumpkins of that sort because of something called a squash bug.

Riley Phelps: 00:06:38

They are more than, I mean, they are in other areas, not just, you know, Michigan and things like that, but they will rapidly, you know, destroy your squash plants and your pumpkin plants if you don't take care of them, which I've not found a solution on how to take care of them yet.

Riley Phelps: 00:06:52

It's a working progress.

Riley Phelps: 00:06:54

But so, you know, there's definitely, you know, different things you have to do for different types of plants.

Riley Phelps: 00:06:59

And they always talk about companion planting.

Riley Phelps: 00:07:01

So, you know, planting certain things next to each other that like each other.

Riley Phelps: 00:07:05

And there's certain things that, you know, if you plant this versus this, I mean, it could, you know, not cross contaminate, but they don't like each other kind of a thing.

Host: 00:07:13

Right.

Host: 00:07:13

And that's, that's a good point.

Host: 00:07:15

And it's something we can't dive into in depth.

Host: 00:07:17

But companion planning is a way to naturally dissuade certain bugs, grubs, things like that from, because they don't like it.

Host: 00:07:26

So they're not going to get near another plant.

Host: 00:07:28

And you're right, some go together.

Host: 00:07:29

That's another topic that you might want to research on.

Host: 00:07:32

But just basics.

Host: 00:07:34

Lettuce, cucumbers, all those things.

Host: 00:07:39

That's only two.

Host: 00:07:39

But two of the things that grow really well, especially in cold weather.

Host: 00:07:44

I think we planted a zucchini plant last year, and we have more zucchini that we knew what to do with one plant.

Host: 00:07:49

Yep.

Host: 00:07:50

And so be careful.

Host: 00:07:51

If you don't want a whole lot of something, don't plant too much of it.

Riley Phelps: 00:07:55

Oh, and the bad with zucchini, too, is like, if you let them go for so long, they get ginormous.

Riley Phelps: 00:08:00

Depends on what you want to use them for when you need to pick the plant, too.

Riley Phelps: 00:08:03

So.

Host: 00:08:03

Yeah.

Host: 00:08:04

So any other tips on plants that someone might buy?

Host: 00:08:08

Like what type, what type of tomatoes seem to do best in this area that you've had success with?

Riley Phelps: 00:08:13

So the ones we use a lot at my house, it's like the beefsteak tomatoes are your bigger ones.

Riley Phelps: 00:08:20

You know, things for, like burgers, things like that.

Riley Phelps: 00:08:22

I'm a big fan of the grape tomato sized tomatoes just because I literally pick them off the plant, eat them.

Riley Phelps: 00:08:28

Right.

Riley Phelps: 00:08:28

Right then and there.

Riley Phelps: 00:08:29

I don't even take them inside and wash them or anything.

Riley Phelps: 00:08:31

And then the other one we do a lot is roma tomatoes, because you, those are good canning tomatoes for, like, salsas and things like that.

Riley Phelps: 00:08:38

So those are the bigger three we've always done.

Riley Phelps: 00:08:41

You know, we go to greenhouse and we see some really random, you know, rare variety of tomato.

Riley Phelps: 00:08:46

We always throw one of those in there just to see what it looks like and how it tastes.

Riley Phelps: 00:08:49

But those are the, you know, the staple three, usually.

Host: 00:08:52

Yeah.

Host: 00:08:52

Tomatoes take a little longer to grow and mature, so usually you buy those from plants and get them going.

Host: 00:08:59

I know we got ours started late last year, and, you know, we didn't have tomatoes till September.

Host: 00:09:07

So to close up on plants, what's the best?

Host: 00:09:13

Are you using raised beds?

Host: 00:09:14

You just used garden right on the flat earth.

Host: 00:09:17

What's your preference for homesteading?

Riley Phelps: 00:09:19

So I actually have two different varieties of planting.

Riley Phelps: 00:09:23

So our main garden is in just the ground itself.

Riley Phelps: 00:09:27

It was a tilled garden when we moved to that house already.

Riley Phelps: 00:09:29

We do have a fence up around it, though, because we have livestock and chickens that will go and eat everything that they can find.

Riley Phelps: 00:09:37

But in terms of my herbs and lettuce, I have some vertical planters that I use that actually just sit on my front deck there, and I use that for the herbs.

Riley Phelps: 00:09:45

Just because herbs can grow and, you know, especially like mint and things like that, they can really overproduce fast.

Riley Phelps: 00:09:51

So if you don't contain them, they're going to take over everything that they can.

Riley Phelps: 00:09:54

So I try to contain, you know, the herbs and the lettuce as best I can, just so it doesn't all mix together.

Host: 00:09:59

Yeah, that's a good point.

Host: 00:10:00

If you're planting things that throw out runners like mint, what's another one that does that?

Riley Phelps: 00:10:05

I mean, any kind of viney plant like the cucumbers are one that you kind of have to keep on its own.

Riley Phelps: 00:10:09

Cause anything viney that would, you know, intertwine with, you know, so it's best.

Host: 00:10:13

To put those in their own container or contain them somehow.

Host: 00:10:17

So no matter what you're doing, you've got the other thing you've got to remember on plants, you got to protect them and you've got to put them, you got to put a fence around them, a cage around them, whatever it takes.

Host: 00:10:28

Deer love to nibble on fresh everything and rabbits and whatnot.

Host: 00:10:34

So you've got, you can't just go out and plant a garden, expect it to grow unencumbered.

Host: 00:10:38

You've got to be able to protect it from.

Host: 00:10:40

From the critter.

Host: 00:10:41

So, speaking of critters, if you're going to take the next step in, in homesteading, it's probably going to involve raising some animals, and most people are going to, I guess you could raise these to sell them, but most people are going to eat them.

Host: 00:10:56

So what are some just.

Host: 00:10:58

Okay, we don't have the room.

Host: 00:11:00

My subdivision won't allow me have cows.

Riley Phelps: 00:11:02

Yeah.

Host: 00:11:03

What are some smaller animals that are effective at producing food that you can, you can raise?

Riley Phelps: 00:11:10

So for, if we're talking subdivision, you're probably not even going to get into bigger birds, like turkeys and stuff.

Riley Phelps: 00:11:14

You probably stick to the, you know, your chickens, maybe a guinea, which honestly, a subdivision probably won't even allow a guinea because they're really loud, especially if they're on their own.

Riley Phelps: 00:11:24

So that, and maybe, like, rabbits would be what you stick to just for, you know, sake of space.

Riley Phelps: 00:11:29

Chickens, too.

Riley Phelps: 00:11:30

You can go, you know, two different ways.

Riley Phelps: 00:11:31

You can go with egg layers and just sole purpose of, you know, producing eggs or you can get meat birds, and if, you know, you're solely raising, you know, chickens just for the meat and not for eggs because the meat layers are gonna, you know, you're gonna butcher them by the time they would get to egg laying process.

Host: 00:11:47

So where would you go to find information on the different kinds of chickens and what maybe, maybe help you decide what you want?

Riley Phelps: 00:11:56

So, I mean, a lot of the laying egg chickens that we have, we've just gone at our local farm store.

Riley Phelps: 00:12:03

So like a TSc or farming home, something like that.

Riley Phelps: 00:12:06

We did do some research when it came to our meat birds because there's a lot of varieties out there.

Riley Phelps: 00:12:11

If you go to your farm store, you're going to more than likely see like, a cornish cross.

Riley Phelps: 00:12:15

That's your, you know, your basic meat bird that you're going to see in your grocery store, things like that.

Riley Phelps: 00:12:20

We ordered our meat birds online, actually.

Riley Phelps: 00:12:23

You can do that, which is bizarre.

Riley Phelps: 00:12:24

But we did like a freedom ranger variety, which is a, you know, non gmo, you know, variety of meat birds there.

Riley Phelps: 00:12:31

So it kind of just depends on, you know, how comfortable you are with, you know, certain varieties of chickens.

Riley Phelps: 00:12:36

I mean, you can definitely just go on Google and, you know, do your research and see, you know, each variety has certain things about it.

Riley Phelps: 00:12:42

And, I mean, I'm sure someone at a farm store, too, would at least have a little bit of knowledge, I would hope, on certain things.

Host: 00:12:48

So, yeah, if you didn't want to do it online, TSC tractor supply company would be a good place to start.

Riley Phelps: 00:12:53

Anywhere that sells, you know, information, chicks, things, something like that.

Riley Phelps: 00:12:56

Yeah.

Host: 00:12:56

So besides birds, what other animals that you would recommend for?

Host: 00:13:00

You know, maybe they're out of the subdivision and they just have a small plot of land and they still don't have room for the big animals.

Host: 00:13:06

What are some other good kinds?

Riley Phelps: 00:13:08

So we've done turkeys before.

Riley Phelps: 00:13:10

I mean, they can get a little large, but in terms of meat, we use them solely for the meat production, not, I mean, you can get turkey eggs, but they only lay a few times a year.

Riley Phelps: 00:13:19

So in my opinion, the turkey meat is superior to any of the other meat.

Riley Phelps: 00:13:23

I think it's the best meat we've ever raised was the turkeys that we've done.

Riley Phelps: 00:13:27

But they are a larger animal, obviously, and they do make noise, and then people do ducks as well, solely.

Riley Phelps: 00:13:33

I mean, there's the same thing as chicken solely for eggs.

Riley Phelps: 00:13:35

Or you could do, I mean, people eat duck as well, so you could, you know, go the butcher route as well for those.

Riley Phelps: 00:13:40

So but.

Riley Phelps: 00:13:42

And then, like I said, there's geese and other, you know, bird species as well.

Riley Phelps: 00:13:47

But those are, you know, the primary ones you'd probably around.

Host: 00:13:49

They're not canadian geese.

Host: 00:13:51

That's illegal.

Host: 00:13:53

What about rabbits?

Riley Phelps: 00:13:55

So rabbits, I mean, you could even do rabbits in the subdivision, you know, space that you got there.

Riley Phelps: 00:14:01

But, I mean, a lot of people eat rabbit.

Riley Phelps: 00:14:04

I personally haven't done the rabbit route in terms of meat.

Riley Phelps: 00:14:07

We have used rabbit poop or pellets for fertilizer.

Riley Phelps: 00:14:11

That's a better, you know, natural fertilizer they say to use versus, you know, something maybe with chemicals or of that nature in it.

Riley Phelps: 00:14:19

And then obviously, I mean, as long as you're not eating them.

Riley Phelps: 00:14:22

I mean, it's a great pet for kids.

Riley Phelps: 00:14:24

A lot of people get, you know, their kids or younger kids, rabbits as one of, you know, their first pets, other than maybe a fish.

Riley Phelps: 00:14:30

So you can build the pet as well.

Host: 00:14:33

Well, that's the key.

Host: 00:14:34

If you're gonna eat it, don't name it.

Host: 00:14:36

Yeah, you don't want your pet.

Host: 00:14:38

But the thing to remember with all this is kind of like home renovation tv.

Host: 00:14:44

You can get a lot of info on shows on tv regarding this, but it's not easy work.

Host: 00:14:50

It's there every day.

Host: 00:14:52

If you have chickens, the chickens are counting on you every day.

Host: 00:14:56

And so if you're gone a lot, if you take a lot of vacations, probably not the way you want to go.

Host: 00:15:01

If you set up plants and you leave for a couple of weeks in the middle of July, how are everything going to get watered?

Host: 00:15:07

And, you know, do you have somebody that's going to do that?

Host: 00:15:10

Or you have an automatic watering system?

Host: 00:15:12

Think about some of these things before you dive into it.

Host: 00:15:16

I think it's a very worthwhile endeavor to grow your own food, whether you have it just for you, for your neighbors, for family, for, you know, emergency situations.

Host: 00:15:27

What else?

Host: 00:15:27

Whatever.

Host: 00:15:29

It's a great.

Host: 00:15:30

It's a noble thing to grow your own stuff.

Host: 00:15:33

You know, what.

Host: 00:15:34

What it's made of you, you know, it's not been processed, and it's just a generally a healthier way to live.

Host: 00:15:40

So anything that you'd like to add in closing things you've learned, maybe a mistake that you made that you wouldn't.

Riley Phelps: 00:15:46

Do again, a big mistake that I've convinced my husband otherwise.

Riley Phelps: 00:15:51

Now is our last garden that we did last year.

Riley Phelps: 00:15:54

We did not put our fence up to see what would happen.

Riley Phelps: 00:15:56

And our chickens are free range chickens, so we don't confine them to a certain area.

Riley Phelps: 00:16:02

And a mixture of the chickens, some barn cats that we have in wildlife.

Riley Phelps: 00:16:07

We had very to little no production in the garden whatsoever.

Riley Phelps: 00:16:11

So I took the authority on plow myself this year and put the fence back up.

Riley Phelps: 00:16:16

So hopefully, well, you know, the yield of the garden will be a lot better.

Host: 00:16:20

Oh, I'm sure it will be.

Riley Phelps: 00:16:22

We'll see how that goes.

Host: 00:16:23

And the animals around won't be as happy because they don't have easy access to food, so.

Host: 00:16:28

Well, I hope you enjoyed this episode.

Host: 00:16:29

If you have a gardening tip, if you have a story about your past in homesteading or gardening or raising anything, send us a comment.

Host: 00:16:39

We'd love to hear it.

Host: 00:16:40

Love to talk about it and share this episode with your friends.

Host: 00:16:44

Maybe they might be interested in doing this.

Host: 00:16:46

Doesn't directly relate to a home inspection, but we're here to talk about a variety of topics and we thought this would be a good one in the springtime.

Host: 00:16:55

So hope you learned something.

Host: 00:16:56

Thanks for listening and have a great day everybody.

Host: 00:17:00

Thank you for listening this week you can catch up on the latest episode of the Thought from the Crawlspace podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.

Host: 00:17:10

For more information about Gold key inspection services, go to goldkeyinspect.com.