Fall on the Homestead: Butchering, Preserving & Preparing for Winter
The busiest season of the year, and a checklist to get your homestead buttoned up before the snow flies.
Fall is the homestead's harvest crescendo — and its hardest sprint. Here's how we get it all done before winter.
The harvest comes in
Everything ripens at once. We block off whole days for canning, dehydrating, and filling the root cellar. A plan and a few helping hands are essential.
Butchering season
Cooler weather is traditional butchering time. Whether it's meat birds or a hog, having a clean, organized setup and good knives makes a hard job manageable. Many hands make it a community day.
Buttoning up
- Bed the coop and barn deep for winter
- Stack and cover firewood (and stack more than you think)
- Drain hoses and protect outdoor water lines
- Mulch the garlic and the perennial beds
A calm January is earned in a busy October.
Do the work now and winter becomes the rest it's meant to be — a season to plan, repair, and dream up next year's garden.
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