In this vlog‑style episode, the homestead family introduces the "Grow 30" challenge, a 30‑day experiment to stop buying from grocery stores and rely entirely on on‑farm production, farmer’s market purchases, and shipped essentials. The day’s work centers on moving a heifer, a ram, a steer and other livestock to a new two‑acre paddock across a creek to prevent unwanted breeding and to relieve pressure on existing pastures. They demonstrate how to set up a two‑strand electrified fence, troubleshoot a leak, and discuss the logistics of herding animals across a bridge with limited equipment. Interspersed are updates on home construction (cabinet installation, trim work, bathroom renovation, insurance deposit), a horse lesson with Lily, meal planning using leftovers and homemade sour butter, and promotion of their community resources: the Abundance Plus subscription, the "Rooted Life" book, and the Grow 30 sign‑up. The episode blends practical small‑scale livestock management, regenerative farming tips, family dynamics, and a call to action for viewers to join the challenge.
Chapters
We're done with the grocery store.
Let me be free.
Happy day and welcome to another day in the life of some homesteaders eating what they grow and growing what we eat. We're taking this one. Yeah, one day to the Grow 30 Challenge. What will your goal be during the Grow 30? That didn't even touch that, must be on the inside. By the end of it, ours is to continue nurturing these systems, these food growing systems, build more, and be be done with the grocery store within 30 days, if not next week. That work? Yeah. Okay, we've got a big morning. We're moving a heifer, a ram, his wither, and a steer to the 2 acres across the creek to protect them from getting breeding, untimely breeding. But hopefully there's some tips and tricks in there for you guys who might be grazing on smaller acreage like we do. You're feeling much better. Yes. Saw a couple of the Construction guys walking around, maybe looking for me. Shall we go see what they want? And that's amazing, we just finished the cabinets yesterday and already the next crew is here. I think for the trim. No, this must be something. How y'all doing? All right this morning? Yes sir, you doing good, buddy? Good. I guess we'll put something across here. That tile guy said the floor is spongy, but I can't even bounce. Okay, is it working? Okay, okay, good. Get in. Do not ride that without him. All right, back it up. Let's see you go. There you go. Oh hey, how's your chicks doing? Good. You doing this chore?
Yeah.
Good. Make sure you fill up the water. Nobody's died?
No, I checked in that brooder, but I haven't checked in that one yet.
You sure, Lois? Your geese?
Yeah.
Look at these guys, so friendly. Tomorrow, last day to sign up for spring registration. Abundance Plus, it's the kickoff of Grow 30. You want to get inside of our community? Forgot to show you this. This yesterday, also a bonus. You sign up for annual subscription, the Rooted Life, my book. All right guys, you got till Friday to do that though. That book is 15 years of experience plus dozens of farm regenerative farm books I've read, scaled it down to homestead level. You can read that in like 4 and a half hours. 2 hours till I gotta leave to Lily's Horse lesson. Okay, we gotta go, we gotta go, guys. We gotta burn a brush pile, we gotta get these animals over the new paddock. That can go super good, it can go super bad. Boys have their 2-strand paddock Energizer hooked up. Looks nice. We'll see if it'll hold those sheep and cows in. Hey, why is it leaking right here?
I had to jump the trough out.
I wouldn't dump it out in the mud path. Let's see what Josiah needs. Uh, I think we just protected a weed tree, because that's a fruit tree. What do you need me to do, man? Lily. Okay. And you're— how you gonna get the milk sled out of here? I'm gonna go up and then down. Hopefully you can pull it. We're normally going down on this field. It's not gonna pull it. Maybe next time we have a wide zigzaggy pattern going up through here, or we don't use it up through here because we have trees. We're actually going to do Sally and we're gonna, we're gonna take it downhill because we don't— they've got trees where they're at. We just want them to have shade. We're still a little rusty, we're coming out of winter, we're getting the routines. We forgot we don't necessarily need to— what was Vanilla behave for you all right today without the stanchion?
Yeah.
Okay, well then we don't need it in tree areas. The milk sled is their shade, their rub, their stanchion. But if they don't need to be in the stanchion and you have trees, you have rubs, and you have shade. Only thing is they won't have their minerals, but I think ultimately we're doing away with this complication and we're gonna have a mineral sled that gets pulled behind them. Harriet and the next smallest one. So how about those two right down there? Well, where is Harriet? Harriet, and then that little, that darker one. Who is that?
Or monkey?
Monkey. Okay, monkey's smaller. There you go. We're gonna sort the cows now. Hopefully come back for Harriet. Who's that? Chocolate?
This is Chocolate.
Too small of a hole. Okay, there the boss, the boss man went through. Good, that was peaceful. Now to get through here without letting them through. I don't want to herd them because we're then herding them away from the herd. I think it'd be difficult. We got a trailer these calves over. So hopefully Lucky starts, or it's all over. Ah. What do we do, Gideon? Do we go get a little bit of diesel and try to prime it? Do we just get the truck and pull it? It's kind of rough areas we're going. Lucky's not starting, hence his name. We're lucky if he gets started. I think pulling two away from the big herd, they're gonna be too sporadic. Do you think—
what, we're taking them across the way?
Yeah, see And they're gonna have to cross a bridge and all that. I was thinking maybe we could corral them in that and herd them with that, but then the bridge. All right, let me get the truck. Okay, I think if we try to capture them in the, in the wires, I think they'll get excited, run into it, jump it, and somebody might get hurt. This truck isn't as agile as the tractor. Hmm. Oh, you know what, let's do— I went and got a diesel, put a little diesel fuel in it just in case. Case, although it wouldn't turn over like it is if it was diesel. We'll put— we'll prime it a little bit with it, and if that doesn't work, we'll use this truck. Plus, I probably don't want to scratch up the truck. We'll see if they stay in this. What do you think, Josiah? I hope they do.
We saw Harriet jump over that fence.
Oh yeah, but that startled I don't think she'll jump over this. They were way—
only one spooked, and it wasn't shocked like electric.
Then this will hit really hard cuz it's only two strands. We got to put those in pans though, Josiah. That can be part of the follow-up. That never gets old, putting animals on new pasture. All right, let's get it turned on. They're testing it already. I got less than 20 minutes, but we're going to get Ike and his buddy. Now this should go easy because they're in a physical holding. They got nowhere to go but into the pen. Honestly, I didn't think this was gonna happen. Two reasons for doing this: one, we need the breeding ram across the creek further away so there's not some sort of accident and they get together. Two, we've got the pasture over there. Let's take some pressure off of this pasture pasture so we have more for the main flocks and herds.
They're gone.
They're there. They're in that tall grass.
I know, we're trying to trick you.
Funny.
I'll fix you, Henry.
Yay! Poor little Lily's gonna have a heart attack. We made it, Lily.
We did.
We made it. She was panicked. You still have 25 minutes to get them ready. They're cleaner than the other day too, girl.
Yeah.
So this is lesson number 2 of 10 with a horse pro. Peaches has been, been a bit ornery. He's been, uh, doing light bucks. I was very encouraged by lesson number 1 with Jessica, weren't you?
I was too.
You were?
Yeah. And unless he has a broomstick And I hope he doesn't have a brain tumor.
And she's— yeah. Yeah, Jessica said— I asked her if she's been able to— had any horses that she could not train and fix, and it had only been one, and it had— it turns out it had a brain tumor.
Today was super fun.
Yeah?
Are you ready?
Why do you say that?
Well, I like trail riding. It was really fun when we went over jumps and stuff, and I like like galloping up the hills and stuff. It was really fun.
We're back from lessons. We gotta figure out lunch. There's— it's a hodgepodge. Mom's on errands. We got leftover Mexican, we got leftover burgers. Yeah, I'm thinking we're leaning towards some of that. Put, put some of that in a tray in there. I'm gonna try my sour butter.
You're back!
Made a deposit. Did we get— did we get the— it all cleared away with insurance on the cabin?
Not yet. We're not—
okay.
All right, we're just paying the restoration company. That's what that check was. I'll deposit it so I can pay them.
Okay. You want to go check on your— do you think they got out? What can we call them? Harriet's Posse? Yes.
Well, the sheep are in and the cows are in.
Beck, have you tried that sour butter yet? Would you dare?
Yeah, I'll try some.
I'm gonna put some on that roll for you.
I'm sorry, I got—
oh really?
No, I have sores in my mouth.
Oh, okay. I thought you were gagging.
I would eat it on some really good bread.
That's not— that's as good as bread we make, like sourdough. Then no, you wouldn't eat it, right?
I probably put it on some vegetables.
We don't do sourdough. Okay, you would— you would do it in broccoli and vegetables and on the pão de queijo. On a biscuit. We do good biscuits. Oh, because you normally don't do butter on Pond de Queso, man, I slap it to it. I guess he's officially back. We're having ice cream. You might be a homesteader if you have ice cream after lunch. You happy with the way the bathroom's coming? Yeah, doors just arrived today. You know, everybody's— every day somebody's here. We're keeping things moving. Salmon dinner. That's like the one meat we don't— well, And we buy bacon sometimes. Speaking of that, tomorrow, Grow 30 day 1. Are we quitting the grocery store?
Kinda.
Not going next week, it's over. So what are the rules, or what are the cheats? I figure we can order from the internet, like anything that can be ordered online, we're not going to the grocery store. Not like this salmon, like we can't get it at a farmer's market. So both of our food's coming from our farm, and we're going to farmer's market. And then supplementing with shippable stuff like Redmond salt. Salmon. Doctor wants me eating salmon once a week. It's good to eat fish regularly. What are we gonna do with rice? We gotta just order rice to be shipped?
Yeah, like flowers.
All right, we're quitting the grocery store for our health. This is the most nutrient-dense stuff we can get. He wants to say something.
What do you want to say?
I want to go to the grocery store with you.
You want to go to the grocery store with me?
That boy has FOMO like all get out.
I had to go to the bank today.
He wanted to go with me.
I said I'm not even getting out of the car.
Do you want to go to the dentist and get your teeth drilled? Mm-hmm. Hey, Henry, do you want to go to Bucky's and clean all the bathrooms?
You know what? I'll take you with me when I go to the farmer— farmer's store.
I'll go with you.
Where are you going? To the farmer's market. I mean, to the I don't know, I gotta figure it out. Do you want to go to Apple Orchard? Strawberries from Casey. I don't know, I'm texting them right now being like, do I need to come pick them myself? Well, here we go. Tomorrow, day 1, Grow 30, no grocery store.
Grow 30?
What's that mean?
What's your challenge? It's a 30-day challenge for people wanting to grow their own food and have some sort of goal. We've been spending $600-$700 on a grocery store a week, which is— it's not that crazy if you think about it. It's $100 a person. Imagine what it would be if we didn't have our own meat, as much as we grow, and our own dairy. We're done with the grocery store. It has to be shipped here, we have to go to a farm, or we have to grow it ourselves.
I'm really over it.
Too many stimulations.
Too much.
We're gonna end this right there. See you tomorrow. Day 1, Grow 30.
