Today we will talk about progress we are making here at the Holler Homestead, and along our own pathway toward more independence in Tennessee. I’ll give you an Independence Fund update, tell you how the newspaper is doing, share some of the progress we’ve made on or new farm concepts - and how they have already changed, and tell you some exciting things about the cookbook.

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Eating Seasonally

• Wild Garlic
• Watercress
• Elephant garlic shallots
• Eggs
• Jerusalem artichokes
• Time to harvest the last of the carrots - they are about to become woody

Getting Ready for Spring Planting

• Sweet Potato Slip Update
• Preparing potatoes for planting early
• Getting our beds ready with lots of manure and mulch
• Tree and vine trimming time - wish I had done this in December
• Horseradish Plant propagation
• Comfrey Propagation
• Moving the day lilies

Tales from the Prepper Pantry

• The weekly squash - week 7: Squash A’Gratin
• Bake fried potatoes
• Roasted potato salad
• Pre-grated sweet potatoes for salad toppings
• Salad Corn and Green Beans soaked in a bit of pickled beet juice with mandolin onions

Announcement: we have our first Holler Roast event order! Workshop in Savannah, Tennessee: This will be a half day grafting workshop. Start time will be 9am on Saturday March 18,2017 and will run until approx. 2pm. Cost is $45 and Registration

Independence Fund

Newspaper This is our make it or break it year. We built in online subscriptions for folks who want to get the paper from our of our distribution area. Building websites for small businesses and giving short start up advising sessions.

Holler Homestead Progress Holler Roast Coffee: Local story carrying it, workshop presentation, online sales kicking off this week at both Hollerhomestead.com and livingfreeintennessee.com Egg subscriptions: Woefully behind promotion for this. I’ve reached out to restaurants and run into a USDA issue that I plan to research and write about. WTF? But either way, we are about to have duck and chicken egg subscriptions. Financial benefit: Covers feed and power for the poultry and keeps us in eggs, and then only about $200 a week profit between all the products.

Cookbook Seasonal cookbook might shift to the story of Darby’s Restaurant paired with seasonal recipes because I found a goldmine of information in Oregon when my grandmother died. Canning series 

Lessons Learned from Toby Hemenway

This week: Chapter 5 Next week: Chapter 6

Questions

1. What can I do for my soil this year to help increase its natural ability to hold and/or drain water?
2. What plants might I put in to help me move my property toward more abundance, better shaded soils, and water retention?
3. Do I need earthworks, or is the work done well before I got here?
4. How hard would it be to build grey water systems?
5. How should I build in water collection to help in times of draught?
6. Would large scale water/soil changes increase the stability of springs and river near me?

Today was a great day to reflect on progress we are making so far this year and I hope you, too, have time to do this some time soon. 

Song: Wolf, by Sauce