After the beginning of the year, resolutions abound.  Lose weight.  Exercise daily.  Eat vegetables.  Carpool daily.  Try harder.  Be better.  Move faster.  It is exhausting, right?  And for the record, just how long do those newly minted resolutions last?  Do they live to see the Ides of March?  Perhaps they get the chance to revel in President’s Day weekend before fizzling?  End of the month?  End of the week?  Or are they scraped before the ink has dried on the paper?

This year, I am trying something new.  Rather than burden myself with a laundry list of personal resolutions that end up choking me with guilt, I am turning the resolutions towards another endeavor… my homestead.

What better benefactor of my good intentions than the homestead?  In my mind, resolutions is just another word for goals.  And goals my friends, are attainable.

25 New Year Homestead Resolutions

1. Order seed in a timely fashion – before my preferred varieties are out of stock
2. Organize my seed inventory – a spreadsheet is a wonderful way to keep track of such things
3. Start seeds when appropriate – for example, tomatoes are best started at the end of February for my zone
4. Apply compost to the garden BEFORE planting
   

   working the tomato bed

5. Get straw bales from local feed store in March – so they can be used to mulch the garden beds
6. Set out the ‘walls of water’ in March – this allows an early start on warm season crops such as peppers, eggplants, and tomatoes
7. Plant oldest seed first
8. Price out and purchase metal tubing for low tunnels
9. Send oldest hens to ‘freezer camp’ by March
   

   backyard chicken

10. Hang yellow jacket traps on first 50F day in late March or early April
11. Sharpen garden tools, such as hoe before first use of the season
12. Install french doors on garden shed (with help of husband) before the heat of summer sets in
13. Harvest garlic scapes before they become tough and fibrous
14. Eat food from the freezer so it will be ready to hold the summer’s bounty
15. Actually harvest horseradish this year rather than talk about harvesting horseradish
16. Bake homemade bread at least once every two weeks – this includes homemade English Muffins and biscuits
17. Remember to do succession planting after initial harvests
18. Hang laundry on clothes lines – skip the dryer this spring and summer
    

    mended and line-dried laundry

19. Do small batch fermenting (quart size) at least once per month
20. Make my first aged cheddar cheese
21. Begin summer days gardening
22. Brew a batch of beer – use last fall’s hop harvest
    

    screen drying hops

23. Experiment with making different types of sodas
24. Set up low tunnel in late summer as a season extender
25. Plant assorted spinach, lettuce, chard, and other greens in tunnel to enjoy throughout winter

Looking at this list, I feel a sense of pride and hope for the year to come.  If I truly do everything on this list, our modest urban homestead will thrive.    We will have fresh smelling laundry.  There will be an ample harvest of fresh produce.  Old hens will make way for new chicks.  French doors will allow natural light in the garden shed.  Homemade beverages will be at our fingertips.

Whether I call them resolutions or goals, I resolve to see this list through completion.  Looks like this year is off to a promising start.