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About Our Farm
Heritage & Rare Breed Poultry
Livestock Guardian Dogs
Holistic Wellness
- Traditional Foods
- Essential Oils
Shop Our Farm

Home / Shop / Plants & Seeds / Gaia’s Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture

Gaias Garden Book Cover jpg

Gaia’s Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture

This book opened our eyes to the potential of using Permaculture to build our urban food forest and has continued to be a resource we refer back to regularly as we build up our farm.

Category: Plants & Seeds Tag: Recommended Reading

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by Toby Hemenway

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About Our Family

Family photo 2020 — We are passionate about intentional living and wellness. Our family values include holistic wellness, nonviolent communication, self-directed education and gentle parenting. We strive to implement permaculture principles in all areas of our lifestyle.

We Love Thyme

Thyme and rustic scissors — We love thyme. With seemingly endless varieties of this aromatic, delicious, medicinal, flowering evergreen ground cover we thought it was a perfect namesake for our farm. We especially loved creating a play on words that reflects our values of hope, regeneration and abundance.

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. -Lao Tzu

Our Heritage & Rare Breed Poultry

Ameraucana ~ Bresse ~ Cream Legbar ~ French Black Copper Marans ~ Lavender Orpington ~ Silkie ~ Silverudd’s Blue Isbar

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Located in Shepherdstown, WV

Phone: (240) 805-3618

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betterwiththyme

The clue for day six of the #homesteadscavengerhun

The clue for day six of the #homesteadscavengerhunt is honestly homesteading. Whether you choose to share the honest mess behind your typical photo square or your honest reason for choosing to homestead, today is going to be a great day to connect with other homesteaders.

I’m choosing to be honest about our biggest struggle behind the scenes. Peter and I were drawn to each other the moment we met, and we’ve always been deeply invested in each other but struggled for many years of our marriage. We both came with unresolved issues and yet-to-be-identified preconceived notions of what a marriage is supposed to look like. We would find ourselves butting heads on occasion and not quite sure how to reconcile our individual needs with the greater purpose of our marriage.

This really intensified when we started homesteading because in addition to trying to learn everything we could about animal husbandry and growing food, we were simultaneously building a home from nothing but an empty pasture, raising three young children and living in an off-grid RV. There were some dark days during those years.

But when we started listening to the audiobook version of Laura Ingalls Wilders’ Little House books (on repeat at the request of our oldest child), we felt like we got to intimately know an example of a working marriage that was different than any either of us had experience with prior.

We started trying to be more like Ma and Pa Ingalls and I found myself being drawn to other homemakers that shared their experiences with marriages that valued the unique roles of husband and wife, father and mother. It’s still quite new to us, but so far we’re finding this way of relating to each other and our marriage is smoothing out some of the rough edges and giving us new clarity on our family values.

If this is something that resonates with you or you’d like to know some of the resources we’ve looked to for inspiration, feel free to reach out to me. I’d love to chat with you.

Use the hashtag #homesteadscavengerhunt and follow and tag the hosts:

@sprautsonsprouts
@theappalachianhomestead
@highway.homestead
@betterwiththyme
@bluegrass_in_a_jar
@hopeful_haven_farm

The clue for day five of the #homesteadscavengerhu

The clue for day five of the #homesteadscavengerhunt is homestead sustainability. I’ve been interested in sustainability for as long as I can remember. Over the years my relationship with what the word means to me has evolved.

Early on I was very dogmatic about waste and reducing our footprint. It got to the point that out guilty feelings about creating garbage left us holding on to stuff that we didn’t even choose to buy but we didn’t need or want (gifts etc).

Thankfully, our definition of sustainability has expanded and we have found many ways to be sustainable. There are so many that I’m going to make more of an effort to highlight them bit by bit because it’s way too much for one post.

I do want to share an idea that I learned first from Ben Falk and then from Paul Wheaton: Instead of only thinking of our actions as negative and trying to find ways to be “less bad,” and close to zero waste etc we can take a different approach and think of all the things we can do to be net positive.

For eg, if you grow enough food in your garden to give or sell produce to neighbors, then you’re reducing the footprint of multiple people. Think of all the footprint of the mass produced food that you’re replacing with your garden food (from growing, harvesting, transporting, storing at a grocery store, your neighbor driving to the store...). It’s easy to see how this could quickly become a net positive!

I gave away several copies of Paul Wheaton’s book a couple of years ago but I have one more extra that I found and I’m going to add it to the grand prize for the scavenger hunt!

My family needed me to take some time off of IG today but I am going to catch up with all your sustainability posts tonight. If you haven’t already, please share what you’re doing to be sustainable on your homestead, use the hashtag #homesteadscavengerhunt and follow and tag the hosts:

@sprautsonsprouts
@theappalachianhomestead
@highway.homestead
@betterwiththyme
@bluegrass_in_a_jar
@hopeful_haven_farm

Happy hunting!

Update! Offer extended through Jan. 26th! If you’re ready to get started with an extra discount on the same holistic wellness starter bundle that I use for everything for my family and farm on a daily basis, now is a great time. Physical, emotional and spiritual healing can all be found in this kit. It’s 💯% how I recommend you start too!

Along with the 12 most versatile essential oils, you will get a commitment-free wholesale membership to Young Living (24% off of all products) and access to all the rewards and perks only available to customers who purchase a starter kit. A quality diffuser and samples of some of Young Living’s most popular products are also included.

The starter kit is currently 10% off today only and I am also offering $25 back from me. You you will receive over $400 worth of products for $123.50.

Click the link in my bio to grab your kit or send me a dm if you need any help or have questions. Check out my stories for more details about what’s included in the kit.

The clue for day four of the #homesteadscavengerhu

The clue for day four of the #homesteadscavengerhunt is homestead raised and the hosts on the live video this morning asked “what are you responsible for keeping alive on your homestead?” 😆

The first thing that came to mind for me is that we are currently responsible for keeping an animal alive that is not ours, which feels interesting! 😬

Besides the bull that we are currently borrowing, we are also responsible for our three kids, about 200 chickens, ~20 ducks, 9 turkeys, 5 sheep, 2 pigs, 2 cows and 4 livestock guardian dogs. 😅

Please share what you’re raising on your homestead today, use the hashtag #homesteadscavengerhunt and follow and tag the hosts:

@sprautsonsprouts
@theappalachianhomestead
@highway.homestead
@betterwiththyme
@bluegrass_in_a_jar
@hopeful_haven_farm

Happy hunting!

The clue for day three of the #homesteadscavengerh

The clue for day three of the #homesteadscavengerhunt is homestead creativity.

The creative outlet that I geek out on the most is observing the natural environment around us and finding ways to connect what is available on our land to our needs. It’s something I picked up from studying permaculture design and it has helped guide everything we do on our homestead/farm.

For example we have a wild, overgrown hedgerow, filled with crowded and dying trees, thorny brambles and more. It was hard to even walk through when we moved here.

Right now we’re partnering with our pigs to make the hedgerow accessible while also getting multiple uses from the area. The pigs forage for food and have access to shade. We gather downed wood for fires and building hugelkulture garden areas. The kids climb and play on the trees and gather berries in the summer.

As time goes on we will be able to use the area for our larger livestock to graze and have access to shade in the heat of summer. We will also be able to grow woodland edibles such as mushrooms and fiddlehead ferns.

I really love the creative outlet of connecting all these different elements and developing the long term evolution of this site!

Please share your homestead creativity today, use the hashtag #homesteadscavengerhunt and follow and tag the hosts:

@sprautsonsprouts
@theappalachianhomestead
@highway.homestead
@betterwiththyme
@bluegrass_in_a_jar
@hopeful_haven_farm

The clue for day two of the #homesteadscavengerhun

The clue for day two of the #homesteadscavengerhunt is homestead heirlooms.

I hope that we are creating a life of future homestead heirlooms.

We carefully planned the design of our home, and included locally sourced materials, including all our cabinets that were hand crafted by my very talented cousin @grayfoxdesignworks. I think they will last as long as our house, and I hope the house never needs to be remodeled. We also love our soap stone counters from the quarry in Virginia.

#betterwiththymefarmhouse

We’re also adding animals and plants to the property that contribute to biodiversity and long term abundance.

We’re cooking all our meals from scratch and with food grown on site as much as we can (and hopefully more from on site each year).

I hope my recipes are saved and passed down, like the broth we love to drink (in the photo). I spent years perfecting my broth technique after learning from people I met through the Weston A. Price foundation and I am proud that our children love to drink it so much that it never stays in the fridge long and I am constantly making more. ☺️

I think the best heirloom we’ll have to pass down is this life full of connection to nature, real food and well being. 🙏

If you have a #homesteadheirloom to share today, use the hashtag #homesteadscavengerhunt and follow and tag the hosts:

@sprautsonsprouts
@theappalachianhomestead
@highway.homestead
@betterwiththyme
@bluegrass_in_a_jar
@hopeful_haven_farm

I had a different post planned for the first day o

I had a different post planned for the first day of the #homesteadscavengerhunt but if you watch my stories you know we got an unexpected message this morning that changed our day a bit!

So I’m sharing our little cow herd for our Homestead Work in Progress.

Swipe through to see what the girls are all worked up about and I’ll share more details soon.

If you haven’t shared your homestead work in progress yet, jump on it before 9pm EST or tune in to @sprautsonsprouts live at 10am EST tomorrow for the next clue. Daily prizes all week and a grand prize at the end!

Make sure to use the hashtag #homesteadscavengerhunt and tag all the hosts:

@sprautsonsprouts
@theappalachianhomestead
@highway.homestead
@betterwiththyme
@bluegrass_in_a_jar
@hopeful_haven_farm

When we decided to start a farm, we decided right

When we decided to start a farm, we decided right away that we would not require our children to do farm work.

Our goal is to model joyfully doing our work and allowing the children to join in when they choose. There have been times that we’ve asked for specific help, but they are allowed to say no.

We decided to do this because we want them to have a childhood focused on playing, exploring and finding their own interests; not negative feelings of forced farm work.

While we have been confident in this decision (and most of our parenting decisions) there is one thing we had been unsure of when, what and how we would teach our kids about: money.

We’ve made some recent discoveries I’d like to share.

Little Peter reached an age that he has been able to physically contribute more to working and also has more understanding of the concept of money as a means of trade. When he asked for a Lego set that was over $200 we came up with a plan together.

We were inspired by @rebekah.rhodes and @thejustinrhodesshow when their oldest child started earning money working with his dad (I think he was the same age then that Peter is now.)

Our plan was that each day Peter would help with taking care of moving, feeding and watering the animals and bringing in firewood. In exchange we would give him up to $7 per day. He could choose how often and how much to work. When he earned half of the cost of the Lego set, we would pay the other half.

During the month of December he earned enough to get the Legos and since then he has continued with his favorite tasks, especially pitch-forking cow manure out of the cows’ winter paddock to a compost pile. He loves to help our cows stay clean so this work feels important to him.

Here are a few of lessons I hope he learned from this:

1. Do what you love and the money will follow

2. Align yourself with supportive people who will help you meet your goals

3. Sometimes work is satisfying on its own and we don’t need financial compensation

Have you started to teach your kids about money yet?

Since the upcoming #homesteadscavengerhunt was ann

Homestead Scavenger Hunt How does it work? - Each

Homestead Scavenger Hunt

How does it work?
- Each morning the hosts will post something to find on your homestead around 9am CST
- You have until 8pm CST to submit your finds!!!
- Make a post, reel, video, or story showing us what you found!
- Tag all hosts and #homesteadscavengerhunt for your entry to count towards our prizes.

We are PROUDLY sponsored by:
@GoldenStagGloves Gloves that work as hard as you do! And @Grubblyfarms for all your chicken feed and treats!

DAILY PRIZES:
(Winners will be drawn daily and announce each morning!)

- 8 Different Varieties of Heirloom Seeds from both the Appalachian Homestead and the Spraustead
- Dehydrated Sourdough Starter from both the Spraustead and the Appalachian Homestead
- Organic Swanky Chicken Rub from the Highway Homestead

-

GRAND PRIZE:

- 2 Pairs of Golden Stag Garden Gloves
- 5lb Bag of Chicken Treats from Grubbly Farms
- 15 Different Varieties of Heirloom Seeds from both The Appalachian Homestead and The Spraustead
- Dehydrated Sourdough Starter from both the Spraustead and the Appalachian Homestead
- Goats Milk Caramels and Elderberry Syrup from the Highway Homestead
- Bottle of Young Living Thieves Cleaner from Better with Thyme
- Homemade Soap Assortment, Jewel Weed Salve, Plantain Salve, and Herbal Lip Balms from Bluegrass in a Jar
- Hopeful Haven Farmhouse Photography Print

Head over to the main post on @sprautsonsprouts to enter now!

Something I learned in 2020 is that abundance is a

Something I learned in 2020 is that abundance is a mindset not a destination.

Ever since I started studying permaculture I’ve been attracted to the word abundance, but I was looking at it as a goal to achieve.

While I do still whole heartedly believe that we can achieve more abundance with time (this is part of what went into our name - Better with Thyme) I also now fully see that abundance is all around us, in our hearts and minds. Abundance is ours to embrace and share by making friends and building each other up.

When we open our hearts and minds fully to the energy around us, the physical abundance begins to manifest before our eyes more quickly than we could have imagined.

What do you think, have I lost it or are we on the same frequency with this?

PS Rather than criticizing ourselves for not getting a holiday family photo, I’m embracing that we’ve switched to taking our annual family photo every January 1st and we’re done for the year. Any more family photos this year will be a bonus. How’s that for abundance mindset?

Last week we picked up a side of beef! Here’s a

Last week we picked up a side of beef! Here’s a bit about what that means, why we do it and how we use it.

Buying side of beef means that you’re getting all the meat from half of a cow.

We buy this for several reasons. The most important for us is knowing that we’re getting meat from an animal that was raised well, grazing pastures that did not have any chemicals applied to them and finished on grass as well. Some meat that is labeled grass fed is still corn finished which alters the omega-6/omega-3 ratios (look it up if you haven’t heard of this!).

It’s not easy for us to find quality meat locally and buying it piecemeal can be quite expensive. We also like to keep our freezers full to be prepared. The last time we filled our freezer we still had plenty of meat when the pandemic situation led to meat not being in stores.

Ordering

We found our farmer through our local chapter of the Weston A. Price Foundation. When we moved from New York we realized we were moving closer and now we meet in Pennsylvania. Another option for finding a farmer is farmmatch.com.

When we’re ready to stock up we contact the farmer and let him know, then we coordinate a date.

Butcher

The price of the meat is based on the hanging weight. We call the butcher and they review the options for cuts. We chose to maximize variety and we like to include the organs and bones. Even if you have not used these things in the past you’re paying for them in the hanging weight so you might as well try them!

Packing

We found that you can cram it all into a 5 ft.³ freezer but we like to split it up so that we utilize all the different cuts equally. So for example I set out eight bags, got out all the ground beef and then split it up evenly between the bags.

Cooking

We bring one bag worth of meat at a time from our garage freezer to our kitchen freezer. I have a weekly plan to make sure that we rotate through everything, for eg slow cooked (roast) one night of the week, steak another, ground beef another etc.

For each type of meat I have a handful of go to recipes or techniques. Then we repeat until it’s time to bring in the next bag.

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