This post may contain affiliate links, which means that I may receive a commission if you make a purchase using these links, with NO additional cost to you.
I know your plate is already full with running the farm and caring for your family, but starting a garden can actually help ease some of your food security concerns. Let's break this down into manageable steps you can work on whenever you have a spare moment.
Indoor Planning (Early March):
- Take inventory of what you already have. Check your shed or barn for old pots, tools, or leftover seeds. God often provides what we need in unexpected places!
- Start these seeds indoors (3-5 weeks before last frost, typically early-May in zone 5b):
- Tomatoes
- Peppers
- Cabbage
- Broccoli
- Herbs like basil and parsley
You can use simple containers like egg cartons or yogurt cups with drainage holes - no need for fancy equipment.
Outdoor Preparation (Early to Mid-March, when soil temperatures reach about 40°F):
- Pick your garden spot
- Look for an area that gets 6+ hours of sunlight
- Stay close to a water source if possible
- Start small! Even a 10x10 plot can yield plenty of vegetables
- Test your soil
- Your local extension office often provides free or low-cost soil testing
- This helps avoid wasting money on unnecessary amendments
- Clear and prepare the area
- Remove any dead plants or weeds
- Add compost if you have it (even old manure from the farm works great)
- Consider laying cardboard over grass to create a new bed - no tilling required
Direct Sowing (Mid to Late March): These hardy vegetables can go directly in the ground as soon as soil temperatures reach 40°F:
- Peas
- Spinach
- Lettuce
- Carrots
- Radishes
- Onion sets
- Early potatoes
Money-Saving Tips:
- Ask other farm wives or church members if they have extra seeds to share
- Start with easy, productive crops like beans and zucchini
- Use grass clippings for mulch to retain moisture and reduce watering
- Consider companion planting to maximize space (like peas and lettuce together)
Remember:
- You don't need to do everything at once
- Even 15 minutes a day adds up
- Involve your children - it's a wonderful way to teach them about God's creation
- Keep a simple journal of what works and what doesn't
Bonus Tip for Zone 5b: Because your growing season is slightly longer than 5a, you can often get two rounds of cool-season crops (like lettuce and peas) - one in early spring and another in late summer for fall harvest. This means more food for your family with the same amount of garden space!
As I've grown as an entrepreneur, mom, gardener, and livestock owner, I struggled to find a planner that met my needs and kept me organized. So, I MADE MY OWN. You can look at it on the link below and buy it on Amazon.
Don't want the whole calendar part? I got you! I pulled the gardening and animal care pages out and put them in a book all their own.
Wanting a community to lean into? Join the FREE Thriving Through Farm Life: Wife’s Support Network! In our community, we embrace the challenges of farm life and provide a supportive space for wives facing the complexities of managing a family farm. Whether you're navigating financial pressures, day-to-day operations, or seeking ways to create a thriving home, we're here for you. Explore garden and preservation tips for cultivating your oasis, share insights on animal care, and discover practical family budgeting strategies. Together, let's grow through challenges, flourish authentically, and sow the seeds for a resilient and thriving farm life. Join us on this journey of resilience and abundance!
Starting a garden doesn't have to be hard! I gathered all the tips I've learned over my gardening seasons and made them into a simple course to jump-start your gardening life.
I've had 3 very different pregnancies. After the first traumatic birth, I learned how to care for my body naturally preventing common pregnancy and birth problems before they arise. This quick course will give you the tools you need to have a natural healthy pregnancy, labor, and delivery. My first pregnancy I had a normal western medicine pregnancy. My second? I flipped to completely natural, no medicine. Bonus: Preventing Preeclampsia Without Aspirin & Healing from Birth Trauma
practical family budgeting strategies. Together, let's grow through challenges, flourish authentically, and sow the seeds for a resilient and thriving farm life. Join us on this journey of resilience and abundance!
Starting a garden doesn't have to be hard! I gathered all the tips I've learned over my gardening seasons and made them into a simple course to jump-start your gardening life.
I've had 3 very different pregnancies. After the first traumatic birth, I learned how to care for my body naturally preventing common pregnancy and birth problems before they arise. This quick course will give you the tools you need to have a natural healthy pregnancy, labor, and delivery. My first pregnancy I had a normal western medicine pregnancy. My second? I flipped to completely natural, no medicine. Bonus: Preventing Preeclampsia Without Aspirin & Healing from Birth Trauma
This post may contain affiliate links, which means that I may receive a commission if you make a purchase using these links, with NO additional cost to you.
Living on a farm quickly teaches you that rigid schedules are about as useful as a screen door on a submarine. You might plan your day around laundry and meal prep, only to find yourself helping pull a calf or rushing to town for emergency parts.
Traditional scheduling works great - if you're not a farmer's wife. Those perfectly timed morning routines and detailed meal plans fall apart fast when equipment breaks down or animals need immediate attention. But there's a better way to approach your day while keeping your sanity intact.
Instead of strict time blocks, think of your day in terms of flexible "chunks" that can shift as needed. Start by establishing a few non-negotiable anchor points - maybe it's morning devotional time before the kids wake up, family dinner (even if the time changes), and bedtime routines. These create a basic framework for your day without boxing you in.
Group your tasks into simple categories:
- Must Do Today (feeding animals, essential calls)
- Should Do Today (laundry, basic housework)
- Would Be Nice to Do (deep cleaning, batch cooking)
This way, when interruptions come (and they will), you know what can slide and what absolutely needs to happen. Build in buffer time - those gaps will get filled, trust me. If by some miracle nothing comes up, use that time for your "would be nice" list or simply rest.
Keep some backup plans ready:
- Quick meal options for when the day goes sideways
- Activities the kids can do independently during farm emergencies
- Tasks that can be done in 15-minute chunks
Remember that not everything has to happen today. Some days, success looks like everyone getting fed and the animals being cared for. That's okay. The dust bunnies under the bed won't multiply (too much) if you get to them tomorrow.
The real secret to sanity on the farm isn't about controlling your schedule - it's about learning to flow with it. God didn't call us to perfection - He called us to faithfulness. Sometimes that faithfulness looks like dropping everything to help with farm emergencies, and sometimes it looks like serving dinner two hours late because that's just how the day went.
Your flexible schedule isn't a sign of failure - it's a sign that you're adapting to the beautiful, chaotic life God has given you on the farm.
Download my free Weekly Framework Checklist! This simple tool helps you organize your week while building in the flexibility farm life demands. No more feeling guilty about "ruined" schedules - just a practical system that works with farm life, not against it.
Click here to get your free checklist and start finding rhythm in the beautiful chaos of farm life!
As I've grown as an entrepreneur, mom, gardener, and livestock owner, I struggled to find a planner that met my needs and kept me organized. So, I MADE MY OWN. You can look at it on the link below and buy it on Amazon.
Don't want the whole calendar part? I got you! I pulled the gardening and animal care pages out and put them in a book all their own.
Wanting a community to lean into? Join the FREE Thriving Through Farm Life: Wife’s Support Network! In our community, we embrace the challenges of farm life and provide a supportive space for wives facing the complexities of managing a family farm. Whether you're navigating financial pressures, day-to-day operations, or seeking ways to create a thriving home, we're here for you. Explore garden and preservation tips for cultivating your oasis, share insights on animal care, and discover practical family budgeting strategies. Together, let's grow through challenges, flourish authentically, and sow the seeds for a resilient and thriving farm life. Join us on this journey of resilience and abundance!
Starting a garden doesn't have to be hard! I gathered all the tips I've learned over my gardening seasons and made them into a simple course to jump-start your gardening life.
I've had 3 very different pregnancies. After the first traumatic birth, I learned how to care for my body naturally preventing common pregnancy and birth problems before they arise. This quick course will give you the tools you need to have a natural healthy pregnancy, labor, and delivery. My first pregnancy I had a normal western medicine pregnancy. My second? I flipped to completely natural, no medicine. Bonus: Preventing Preeclampsia Without Aspirin & Healing from Birth Trauma
practical family budgeting strategies. Together, let's grow through challenges, flourish authentically, and sow the seeds for a resilient and thriving farm life. Join us on this journey of resilience and abundance!
Starting a garden doesn't have to be hard! I gathered all the tips I've learned over my gardening seasons and made them into a simple course to jump-start your gardening life.
I've had 3 very different pregnancies. After the first traumatic birth, I learned how to care for my body naturally preventing common pregnancy and birth problems before they arise. This quick course will give you the tools you need to have a natural healthy pregnancy, labor, and delivery. My first pregnancy I had a normal western medicine pregnancy. My second? I flipped to completely natural, no medicine. Bonus: Preventing Preeclampsia Without Aspirin & Healing from Birth Trauma
This post may contain affiliate links, which means that I may receive a commission if you make a purchase using these links, with NO additional cost to you.
Let's be real. When I first thought about growing my own food, I pictured my grandma’s massive garden. The idea of starting a garden that large felt like just another impossible task on an already impossible list.
But here's the truth I've learned: Self-sufficiency doesn't happen overnight. It starts with one seed, one small plot, and one tiny victory. I did start that garden, but it was small and manageable.
Growing your own food isn't about creating a Pinterest-perfect garden. It's about taking back a little control in a world that often feels chaotic. It's about knowing exactly where your food comes from. It's about reducing your grocery bill, even if it's just a few dollars each week.
Start small. Really small.
Maybe that's a few herb pots on your kitchen windowsill. Perhaps it's three tomato plants in containers on your back porch. You don't need acres of land or hours of free time. You just need a tiny bit of hope and a willingness to try.
The benefits go beyond just food:
- You'll save money on groceries
- You'll know exactly what's in your food
- Your kids can learn about where food comes from
- It's a stress-relieving activity that connects you to the earth
- You'll feel a sense of accomplishment with each harvest
Pro tip for the overwhelmed farm wife: You don't have to be perfect. Some plants will die. Some seeds won't sprout. And that's okay. Gardening is about learning, not achieving some impossible standard of agricultural excellence.
Want to make this journey a little easier? I've created a simple planting log to help you track your garden's progress, celebrate your wins, and learn from your experiences.
You can grab that for free here.
Remember, self-sufficiency isn't about doing everything at once. It's about doing something. One seed. One plant. One small step at a time.
You've got this, farm wife. Your garden—and your journey—starts now.
As I've grown as an entrepreneur, mom, gardener, and livestock owner, I struggled to find a planner that met my needs and kept me organized. So, I MADE MY OWN. You can look at it on the link below and buy it on Amazon.
Don't want the whole calendar part? I got you! I pulled the gardening and animal care pages out and put them in a book all their own.
Wanting a community to lean into? Join the FREE Thriving Through Farm Life: Wife’s Support Network! In our community, we embrace the challenges of farm life and provide a supportive space for wives facing the complexities of managing a family farm. Whether you're navigating financial pressures, day-to-day operations, or seeking ways to create a thriving home, we're here for you. Explore garden and preservation tips for cultivating your oasis, share insights on animal care, and discover practical family budgeting strategies. Together, let's grow through challenges, flourish authentically, and sow the seeds for a resilient and thriving farm life. Join us on this journey of resilience and abundance!
Starting a garden doesn't have to be hard! I gathered all the tips I've learned over my gardening seasons and made them into a simple course to jump-start your gardening life.
I've had 3 very different pregnancies. After the first traumatic birth, I learned how to care for my body naturally preventing common pregnancy and birth problems before they arise. This quick course will give you the tools you need to have a natural healthy pregnancy, labor, and delivery. My first pregnancy I had a normal western medicine pregnancy. My second? I flipped to completely natural, no medicine. Bonus: Preventing Preeclampsia Without Aspirin & Healing from Birth Trauma
practical family budgeting strategies. Together, let's grow through challenges, flourish authentically, and sow the seeds for a resilient and thriving farm life. Join us on this journey of resilience and abundance!
Starting a garden doesn't have to be hard! I gathered all the tips I've learned over my gardening seasons and made them into a simple course to jump-start your gardening life.
I've had 3 very different pregnancies. After the first traumatic birth, I learned how to care for my body naturally preventing common pregnancy and birth problems before they arise. This quick course will give you the tools you need to have a natural healthy pregnancy, labor, and delivery. My first pregnancy I had a normal western medicine pregnancy. My second? I flipped to completely natural, no medicine. Bonus: Preventing Preeclampsia Without Aspirin & Healing from Birth Trauma
