Dealing with discouragement

[Britesea]

I think you are onto a good idea to sell your plants. Very few people start their own plants from seed- either they don't have a good spot to do it, or they procrastinate until it's too late to start them. Look around at what the nurseries in your area are selling and try new varieties that might do well in your area-- something no one else has for sale. You might also consider making up some medicinals and such that you could also sell... things like deodorant, sunburn ointment, hand or lip balms and first aid salve. Maybe some teas and tinctures as well. The jars and bottles will be another expense though, so you might have to wait on that.

I have found that I can pick up used transplant pots- 2" all the way up to 6"- for very cheap at some nurseries. I just wash them out and rinse with a bit of bleach water to kill any pathogens and reuse them. You could maybe do the same and save some money, as the pots and the soil are the two biggest expenses in what you are proposing to do.

 

[milkmansdaughter]

The list of things to do does seem to be never-ending, doesn't it?
Despite late frosts, record heat, and drought, you've persevered through it all. And you've done way better than we have this year stocking the pantry and freezer. And not only do you have a lot of food stocked up, but it's healthier too, and the kids are learning tons of every day practical skills. Good job, CR!

 

[Mini Horses]

I think it is great that we can all bounce our disappointment off one another. Often things seem overwhelming but, when we find we can usually work through, it helps. Plus accept that not everything will get done, work out well, etc.

You have had some real disappointments, mainly losing all your rabbits. Plants, they will grow, easy to reseed. The livestock always leave us financial and emotional loss. There is always quilt -- I know this & have had to learn to deal with it, which is not always easy.

In spite of it all -- you seem to have done well ! Certainly better than a lot of us. Some years we do not reach our goals. Other years we exceed them. This has been a less than great year for many -- weather has been the pits for most.

 

[CrealCritter]

I liked your Butter Bean story!

I have several Butter Bean stories. Like I said he was perhaps the most generous man I ever met. I kid you not he drove 3 1/2 hours in his tow truck to come rescue me. When he finally got there he said turn the key, I did and he listened under the hood. He went to his truck garbbed a couple of tools and a coil pack and in 5 minutes my truck was running like a top again. I asked him what do I owe you butter Bean? He said friends are friends and friends don't pay. I felt absolutely horrible about that... I mean butter Bean drove 7 hours round trip because I was broke down, put a new part on my truck and refused any money at all. So being a friend, I worked in his garage for 2 Saturday's for free because he wouldn't take any money from me, nor would I take any from him for working for him. Butter Bean being the wise man he is told me " I think you already know this but nothing will destroy a friendship faster than money". He is so right about that and yes I knew already but not to the level he taught me about how to be generous! I really wish there were more Butter Beans in the world.

 

[NH Homesteader]

You're doing great, seriously. Your garden was fantastic last year, you have rabbits and chickens in the freezer... I've been at this a few years and still haven't managed to learn how to can!

Breaking things into smaller tasks helps. Prioritizing helps.... But it can be discouraging when you have huge goals in mind and feel like you're getting practically nowhere. I think we all feel that way sometimes. We produce pretty much 100% of our family's meat (other than the occasional purchase, we don't raise beef so I splurge sometimes!) and I have 5 dairy goats due to kid in the next two months so I'm going to have loads of milk, but our gardening skills are... Kind of pathetic lol. So we all have plenty more work to do!

I have annual goals right now, and it's hard to be patient for the sheep I want to get in another year or two.... But we'll get there! Every little bit we do is one step closer to self-sufficiency!

 

[Chic Rustler]

I'm very hopeful!

Yeah if the seedlings don't work out I can always direct sew in March. I need to get this raised bed area done NOW and get some trellis in for the peas very soon.

 

[Hinotori]

Oh yes. That seems to be my life the last couple years. It is getting better here now.

Hubby getting the new job helped a ton with the stress. It may only pay 2/3 of what the old job did, but knowing he will have a job that isn't going away and isn't going to send him off all over the country for 10 months of the year is worth it. The old place kept laying off people and only bringing them back to send on road trips. That left me to try and take care of things at home that really required two people to do.

I put some plans on hold last year knowing I just couldn't do it all alone with my health. Sorted priorities

 

[baymule]

My Daddy worked with crews of men, hand digging irrigation canals with shovels when he was a young man. He was raised in the Rio Grande Valley. His father was a sharecropper and put him to work in the fields chopping cotton for fifty cents a day. We have it so easy.

 

[CrealCritter]

I think I may be the opposite... I get depressed when I don't have anything to do. The more irons I got in the fire the happier I am.

What's that old saying... "Idle time is devil's time" holds true for me. I get in enough trouble all by myself, I don't need the devil giving me any more ideas... If I'm not running around like a one legged man in a ass kicking contest - then I'm simply not happy.

Look at it this way dude... Your needed and that's a good thing! Nothing good ever becomes reality unless you work for it. Now go and take some vitamin D and get on it

 

[baymule]

I look at it this way; a lot of started projects means that I am never bored. If I get tired of working on one project, I just go to another.