Welcome to Hollow Acres Homestead! We are a big family running our small homestead located in the Suburbs of, South Carolina. Here on our homestead, we are growing our own food in a 5000 sq. ft. space! This is our story from the very beginning! (buckle up, its a long one)

I’ve learned alot in my last two years of gardening and raising animals(fowl) for food. When I started this journey, I really wanted to take control of the food that comes into my home. I wanted to be able to feed my family good, healthy, unprocessed foods. So I started my research. I researched literally all the foods; learned where it came from or how it was made. I did fall down the rabbit hole a few times, learned some things about how certain food is made, that turned me off of so many of the foods I would eat and feed my family. My conclusion from my research was simply this; Food today is crap. Processed, fake, crap. I felt like I had to do something. I had to change what I was doing. “NO MORE CRAP FOOD” I declared.

My first “garden” (and I use this word loosely) was at our last house we lived before we bought our home now. So it was about 4 years ago. I got a whole bunch of seeds from the dollar store, prepared a bed, and planted my seeds. Nothing grew. I knew nothing and did no research. I threw the seeds in the ground and just assumed they’d grow. When we moved into our home now, I did much more research. I created beds in different areas of yard, and very little grew, but, I grew something! I grew cucumbers, and beans, squash, tomatoes and herbs. I was so proud of myself for growing food! I had to do better. After watching the sun for about a year, I decided the overgrown woods to the right of my house was the best option for success. It was north facing, and got plenty of sunlight. When October 2020 rolled around, and things started dyeing off, I took my 2 pair of hedge clippers and a hand saw, and got to work tearing apart about 5000 square foot of that area to create my garden. It took me 3 months, but I was determined to not only grow a large and productive garden, but to raise chickens and ducks for meat. So I buckled down and did just that! Our first year homesteading was successful! But I know we can do better.

What really helped me to see that our ENTIRE system is broken, was Covid. When the crap hit the fan, we were okay, We’ve been prepping and preparing a crisis for the last few years, so we weren’t caught off guard like alot of people were, but we were not as ready as I wanted to be. As soon as our country locked down, the first time, I had the realization of, “I need to do more, what I’ve done, isn’t enough”.

I sat down with my computer, opened a google docs page and started typing out everything that I wanted to do, things I wanted to research. I really kicked it into high gear. I really wanted to learn how to become Self-Sufficient. With everything that is going on in the world today, I fear that things are only going to get worse. I hate to be one of those people, but…. The end is near. And I will be prepared for whatever happens.

So, March 2020, we purchased 27 chickens and 3 ducks. I built a chicken area in the backyard from leftover and free wood I found. It looked awful! but it held the birds, so it did its job. They were so cute as chicks in the brooder. Then they got bigger and they went outside. They all grew quickly and were processed at 6 months of age. They gave us so many eggs, and a freezer full of meat. I learned a few things from raising chickens; Firstly, they’re pretty low maintenance and easy to care for. Secondly, They STINK! Thirdly, not all chicken, or duck meat tastes good. Roosters are very gamey. and Finally, I learned that chickens and ducks need more than a 10×25 foot space to be happy. I extended their space 3 times, and really wanted to give them more space, but we just don’t have it here. After processing the birds I started making plans for raising way more, and specialty breeds that have to be ordered from a hatchery, and not just picked up at tractor supply. I have big plans for raising fowl in the future, unfortunately, it can’t be done until we move to place with more land, and less neighbors. My neighbors HATED my chickens and rooster!

This year 2021, I decided not to raise fowl this year. The county put a limit on backyard chickens to 6. It’s just not worth it for me to only have 6 chickens. So I put all of my effort into my garden. I drew out a garden plan. And got to work. I spent another 2 months building my garden beds. I purchased so much wood, soil, and hay, to build beds and fill them with the best quality soil I could. I ordered so many seeds for so many plants that i’ve never grown but was determined to, and also some that I have grown previously. My very sweet husband, Josh, built me a greenhouse out of pvc pipe. I finished it off with framing and a door, then we covered it in greenhouse plastic. I started alot of seeds in there, and grew countless trays full of the plants that are now in my garden. I planted every seedling that I could fit in my garden beds, then sold the rest. Selling the plant starts was my first ROI (return on investment). And it came at a time where I really needed some money coming in. When We set out on this journey, we didn’t realize how expensive, and time consuming it is to live this kind of lifestyle. I now know that it’s all worth it. During this season of transition, I have really started understanding how important it is to cultivate land, grow and preserve food, and really try to make a difference in not only my life, but in my community.

That’s pretty much it for now. Homesteading takes time to learn its skills and practices, it can be frustrating, and rewarding. My hopes, from sharing my story with you, is to encourage you to get out there and garden! Learn to cook from scratch. And really learn how to take control of your food source. Thanks so much for reading!

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