Nov 4th 2021 | Morgan Lea
What started as a small garden has blossomed into a thriving practice of homesteading for Mother and Daughter-in-law, Jordyn and Kay. Homesteading is more than gardening and taking care of animals. It’s about preparing for the future through self-sustaining practices of year’s past.
Jordyn and Kay’s hobby farm, Portage View, is the site where they grow a vegetable garden and raise, goats, pigs, chickens, and turkeys. This is where they have also chosen to teach others the ways of the homesteader through their social media platforms.
“Our passion for homesteading really comes from the skills and hard work you develop and can teach our children about how to work.”
Kay learned from her mother how to can and when her daughter joined 4-H they added goats for the milk and meat, then chickens, turkeys, and now pigs. When asked to choose between gardening and raising animals, Jordyn and Kay’s answer was both! For different reasons. Raising animals means you get to see the personalities of the animals and then you can get the kids involved. Gardening on the other hand is a learning experience every day and seeing the food go from seed to plate is a very rewarding experience.
Kay and Jordyn's Tips For a Happy Homestead
- Make a list! We have a mile long list of things to do all the time and new things are added probably every week. Since it’s a hobby farm and we work outside of it, the list continuously stays long. Communicate priorities and assign jobs to everyone. Plus, working on things every single night to keep up with the small stuff.
- Get High Quality Comfortable Clothing! This is the most important thing! We are constantly moving between the garden, hauling food, tending to animals and the kids that we need to be able to move easily. Plus, with all the work we do, it needs to be durable to handle the jobs! KEY Is perfect for the price and quality of the overalls, and they help us get our job done!
A final note from Portage View Farms
“We are passionate about helping others become self sustainable. Regardless if what it looks like for you, you can do it. Whether it’s 10 acres of land or a tiny apartment porch – the skills that you gain by doing anything to help you become self reliant is SO important. We just love helping others realize that they can do it too!”