I am Pagan, I still find value in your wisdom and words. I learn so much from your family. Religion does NOT have to be a defining separator of people. We can all agree to get along and love each other despite our differences. Everyone has valuable knowledge to share. ❤❤
What you said about losing skills from one generation to the next is so true and really struck me. My grandparents lived on a 5 acre homestead when my mother was growing up. They raised sheep, pigs, rabbits, chickens, had a huge garden and canned the produce. From the 1970’s to the early 2000’s when they had retired they went from self sufficient living to living in town on TV dinners and ordering thanksgiving dinner from a caterer. Not even kidding. My mother did not retain any of their self sufficiency skills. They passed away years ago (and way too young as a result of their leisurely lifestyle) and left none of their skills, supplies, or knowledge to the next generation. There is redemption though! In 2020 my parents purchased their homestead property in a sheriff’s sale. The plan is for my husband and I, and our children, to move to that property and rebuild the gardens, raise the animals, reclaim our heritage! Years before we knew that property would be for sale we too felt the call to prepare. We started gardening, we learned to pressure can to preserve our produce. We have the largest flock of chickens that we’re allowed in town! Now the land is in our near future and we can’t wait to expand.
I am so happy for you getting the ability to go back to basics. I wish I could have chickens or quail here. I have pet worms instead, LOL. I am working on trying to get land, but my yard is working overtime where I am now. Take my blessing where I can get them. God bless!
@@shellieh685 I get it! My yard is working overtime as well. I’d take some pet worms! I’ve looked into starting a work farm or work composting. Just need to get started.
Been avoiding prep videos because my anxiety has been work to keep at bay, but I can listen to anything from a porch while peas are being shelled. Thank you, your videos are always the high point in my day. 💜
Youve gotta find a mentor to help you put your anxiety to action for security. It decreases your anxiety to put a actual plan into action. The longer you procrastinate, the more anxious. Just know avoiding it only makes it worse. $stores are Godsends.
Oh I did not mean to imply that I’m not working on my situation, just that most the videos are full of doom and gloom so I don’t/won’t watch them. I appreciate the empowering aspect of Jess’s videos, that even the small steps are steps that get you closer.
Start with being prepped for a 3 day emergency. Then a three week one. As you can you work towards three years. Focus on skills like growing preserving food. Positive things that you can control.
When my first son was born, my grandmother, (even though she lived close & we saw her all the time) started writing my kids letters about her life on a small farm in rural Iowa and growing up in The Depression. Stories about what they did to survive, stretch food and goods and what they traded, different teaching type skills they traded, food, soap, animals, etc. I still have all the stories and she passed away at 100yrs and lived a healthy life. I am glad she shared so much with us.
This is awesome, I wish I had this!. I just spent a day with my Gramma and she shared some stories about living during the war time and I actually thought I shoukd have recorded them. What a gift to treasure!
i don't expect you would share her stories with strangers, but if you would, i am interested in hearing them. i would be delighted to hear wisdom from a grandmother. If it's too weird to think about sharing with one person, perhaps you might start your own UA-cam channel, let me know of it, and you read those letters for all that have ears to hear.
I didn't know it was possible to love this channel any more than I already did. I am Jewish and often find it hard to "see" myself represented in the homesteading content that I consume. Your appreciation for diversity in your viewership is really inspiring and just says so much about you.
I am with you, Norah. Jewish gal from the Northeast. Live in a major urban suburb (that's how I refer to my town) and have a backyard garden. I consume all of Roots and Refuge's content; and love Jess's devotionals. I have so much respect for the way Jess chooses her language. So inclusive. I have often told my family and friends that I feel so connected to Jess and Miah, even though we have such different backgrounds. Doesn't get much better than that.
I feel the same. As an atheist, I just see far too many alt-right Christian nationalist type homesteaders and preppers, that it really makes the homestead movement seem really insular and unaccepting. I'm hoping to change that. Seeing people like Jess is refreshing.
Too bad all our warriors are sent to fight other powerless people for the rich addicts of money while our government continues their tyrannical rule for the last 4 decades with no push back from our "warriors."
I feel like you’re my best friend I’ve never met. I wish I could join you for a glass of tea and shelling peas. ☺️ Thank you for putting these videos out there for everyone. These videos along with MI Gardener have motivated me not to quit gardening and just last week made my first meal from the garden I grew! It was so good!
My mom is 93 years old and she said, That the great depression started exactly the way it's going now. Losing her mother when she was 4, She defended for herself and Lived. A small victory garden is what she lived on. You don't have to have something big. You can start small and work up to the size you can manage. I believe God will do the rest
Grew up with my nan and grandad, 3/4 garden allotment, jam making, apples in tissue paper in the bottom of my bedroom dresser my boys grew up in her house till she passed at 93, I miss my best friend and live a life I know would make my spitfire building nanna proud. X
I’m so glad that someone as influential in the homesteading community as yourself brought up the importance of community. I have been shouting this at the top of my lungs in the prepping community for sometime now. Dropping out and being “self sufficient” does sound incredibly romantic, the truth is it really does take a village.
I love that you encourage and don't disparage. You encourage and don't scare. Fear gets us nowhere, we are in this together and will come out of this together. We can disagree and still accomplish.
Jess when you said fear pushes you - wisdom leads you, it brought tears to my eyes. I hear all the “fear based news or people on the internet” stating language that incites fear. Words matter. I have to wonder whether the language - the mechanisms to spread fear is one of the contributing factors for so much anger and divisions we are seeing. Your words this morning put my mind in a peaceful place. I’m 69 and had my very first gardening experience because of you in my Greenstalk on my patio which provided me with food! I’m learning how to dehydrate and how to can. I refuse to be led by fear and want to continue to have wisdom lead me to be able to take care of myself. You have taught me that. My heart thanks you. 💕💕💕💕💕
@ Susan Richards I’ve noticed the same. One of the content creators I watched a lot used some sensational lies to his audience within the last month that made the curtain slip so to speak and I got a good look at what was behind. He was using division to promote content he made with his team that I found mediocre. A lot of his audience bought into it too. It however was using political divisions that exist but are also manufactured to sell media content him and his team had made, but the people he claimed hated this content because of him don’t even know the content exists because they aren’t paying attention to things he made. It was only a division between his fans. People that are his fans but saw the other content was mediocre and then other fans that bought the concept that some other group that’s not a fan of his. So there’s infighting amongst his fans and I saw that and recognize the division is more manufactured than not so it’s a cash grab based on fear and anger and division and I liked this content creator but no longer could I watch his content without thinking he’s adding to the noise and I can’t support it.
I liked your comment. Words DO matter and they are the mechanisms that can spread fear, anger, and hate, but lately they seem to be click bait, for numbers and ratings, which leads to money. ...and money is a motivator. The videos that are most important to me do not fear monger (the sky is falling, etc.) they are simple in their content, message, and information.
You are not the only one having that urgent sense to prepare. I was raised on a farm for 18 years. Now 34 I am finding myself returning to what I was taught as a child. As much as I hated it growing up and as much as I hated chores with the farm animals and the canning season as a child, I have become extremely grateful for the knowledge and know how that my mother taught me even though I didn’t like doing it. I have gone back to canning and processing my own foods. I have also gone back to gardening and storing bulk goods like she taught me. I’m even going back to having farm animals. The funny part is I would always argue with my mom that I didn’t need to know how to can or grow/raise food. She would always tell me one day you will need this information because one day something will happen that will require you to fall back to your roots. One day you will be happy that I put you through this torture. She was right. I’m happy she did make me help her and taught me all that stuff. As much as I’ve always thought it was useless information that I will never need I have been severely wrong. I can’t thank my mom enough for dealing with my stubbornness about learning how to survive in tough times. It’s an art that seems to be lost. The older generations that have taught the art of survival I thank you. I thank everyone who is willing to continue to teach it because one day all of that knowledge will be lost through the generations.
“you can plant dry beans from the store” we went to a library event where they used dry beans as the bingo markers. I asked the librarian if I could take a few to plant and see, she said yes. I turned it into a lesson for my children, we planted them. They grew! Had a 5 out of 6 germ rate too! They are producing a lot of beans! Medical- my 12yo is a type 1 diabetic, insulin literally keeps her alive. It’s so incredibly scary to think, this supply chain holds her life in “it’s hands” TERRIFYING. We keep as much on hand as possible.
I have no thyroid and need the medicine to stay alive. I went to my doctor and told him this and how a lot of medicine is getting very hard to get. He wrote two prescriptions for the same medicine just at defeat strength and I put one back every month. I pray that your doctor will do the same for your baby I don't know how long it will last in the fridge but maybe you can look it up
I’m truly do not wish to start a debate about diet or anything like that, I was on a vegan diet and watched a ton of different UA-camrs… if you have some time, check out Diabetic Robby. He’s a type 1 diabetic but has taken a lot of his health into his own hands with his diet. Now to be honest, I didn’t pay too close attention to his medical side of things because I didn’t relate. But I THINK, he was either completely off insulin dependence, or was able to cut back drastically. Maybe just check him out for some kind of back up plan as a worst case scenario and insulin is harder to come by? I’m not a vegan anymore, so don’t hold that against me 😂 🤪
I'm on a life sustaining medication. I had just bagged up my extra and was going to bring them to pharmacy to be disposed properly. Instead, I'll find a bag, box, plastic storage bag something. I'd rather have old and expired ones then none.
@@11JadeStone11 I see you not wanting to debate diet. So I will educate instead 😉 A type 1 diabetic produces little if not no insulin on their own. They need to supplement it by taking insulin injections. Even a veggie based diet would require insulin. Yes, it would be significantly less insulin, but it would still be needed.
Living a good life ... we buy groceries, prepping for the week; we save money, prepping for the future; we grow and store food, prepping for the future; we buy clothes for the upcoming season ... it’s not fear, it’s good living. I, for one, watch your videos because it is a wonderful lifestyle!! We have been nudged to get back to basics. Awesome!
True. We are all prepers. Before grocery stores, everyone planted and saved the harvest for the winter. We are spoiled now and depend too much on others for our most basic needs.
In the 1970's I started making sourdough and baking bread (so good) I found a cookbook at a flea market ( I collect books) printed in 1880--Buckeye Cookery. This book teaches how to make several kinds of yeast, bread sponge, sourdough and many types of bread. So fun using these recipes. During the mid 1970's there was a lot of chaos both political and economic. The Arab oil embargo made gas either high priced or unavailable. Waiting in gas lines was a hairy ordeal at times. I learned to bake bread in those days. Fun times.
My grandparents owned a 60 acre working farm. What I wouldn't give to be able to tap into the wealth of knowledge they help before passing. I take great joy in now teaching my 2 young girls as much as they are willing to learn about our garden. And we became "chicken mamas" together last year.
As wonderful as a garden can be as a resource, I think everyone needs a backup plan of pantry items because of the weather changes we've all experienced - flooding, drought, sun being blocked by wildfire ash etc. Gardening always came #1 for me and pantry items #2. I've switched them now after watching how unpredictable the weather has been.
Agree! We are back to highs of 97-99 this week in central Texas. I can’t get any of my fall seedlings to germinate in this insane heat. So thankful for my pantry!
True. Things are different. I got hit with grape skelletonizers this year, never saw them till now and my vines are about 7 years old, granted I only have a few of them, but they got wiped. Last year I had to fight the birds for them, this year neither of us got them.Those caterpillars make you rash too, so I was worried about eating what was left.
I also put leafy greens higher on the priority list because of the loss of my grapes, and a frost wiped out all the blossoms on my dwarf fruit trees, except the fig. I got to eat my first fig this year, the only fresh fig I have ever had and it was AWESOME!! I have never had anything like it before in my life. It is so pretty inside too. God bless!
@@shellieh685 last year the deer ate all my grapes. Leaves and fruit. This year the birds ate 95% of my blueberries and raspberries. And the deer this year ate all my strawberry plants and any berries, ripe or not.
Oh my- I can’t imagine Roots and Refuge without Jeremiah’s ingenuity and skilled hands. I have learned so much through both of you. Your daily examples of love and respect for one another, your family, your community, and gentle passionate faith…I can’t imagine if Miah kept his hands on the keyboard, there was no raised garden bed evolution, there was no infrastructure, there were no happy animals with full bellies, and there was no example of two completely different souls bound by love teaching skills that nourish the body and soul. I am grateful that you guys shared skills developed in therapy, lessons learned in the garden, with the animals, the joys of a blended family, the process of grief, the successes and missteps along the way. I am so grateful that you guys are where you are in life and freely sharing on a regular basis. Thank you!
In the off chance that you read this Jess, thank you for always sharing your views on your faith but not shoving them at anyone. Thank you for speaking to all of us, even those of us who think differently than you do. As a person who grew up in the Catholic faith and went a different way, I have a hard time with channels who go beyond sharing their faith right to pushing faith. They alienate people with their passion to promote it. I subscribe here because I love the route you've chosen and despite believing in a different faith than you, I really respect all you have to share and teach not only in matters of faith but in farming and gardening and being a good steward of the resources you have. Just wanted to recognize what I see as a wonderful and kind way to not only act as a human in general but to run your UA-cam channel as well. Thank you.
Love this video. I remember my grandparents talking about the depression. I remember seeing the cards for each member for ratios. My dad was just a little guy. My grandmother picked cotton while she was pregnant with twins just to help the family survive. She lost one of the twins and said she truly believed it was because she worked in the cotton fields. I grew up poor and can remember living off pinto beans, cornbread, and potatoes. If we got meat it was a luxury. I spent many summers sitting around a huge tree in my grandparent's front yard helping with the corn or beans. I loved listening to their stories. I do wish I paid better attention to my grandmother while she was canning. I would give anything to teach my kids about gardening. They are all grown and do not wish to be in the country. I live in another state from them. They remember a garden when we lived in SC. After that we moved to the city and that was the worse thing we dI'd. In 2012, my ex and I divorced and I moved away. I am in the country and I have learned so much in the past 10 years. People need to wake up. I see so many people esp younger ones that have so many health issues. I keep saying you need to get away from that processed food, grow your own food even if it is pots or green stalks. Get outside more and away from computer stuff. My daughter jokes around with me and says mom your lucky because your outside and you grow your own stuff. All my kids are on meds of some sort and mom takes nothing. People really do need to wake up and get prepared.
Hi Ms. Jessica. My grandmother was born in 1913. She was my babysitter because my Mom and Dad worked. This was me at the age of 7, "Nana, I have a hole in my sock." "Do you think you can fix it?" She would ask. "I don't know how to sew," I said to her, as my eyes filled with tears. "Learn, hijo, learn." "Come here I'll teach you." I still sew these 60 years later. When I'm mending my grand children's pants or shirts I find myself reflecting on my grandmother and just how much, without her knowing at the time, she was teaching me about how it is now my turn to teach my grandchildren to learn and to sew and to mend. God bless your family.
My garden was horrible this year. We’d starve if I was the provider. Thank you Lord, I’ve been preparing canning & stocking up. I have seeds saved & will be planting again. Not giving up. I container garden. Thank you for all you have & continue to teach me.
Omg! I’ve asked my husband several times, “ Am I beging crazy? Is this no necessary? Are we wasting money doing this?” So you saying you do the same. Made me feel so much better! Thank you for letting me know I’m not alone in that situation lol 😂
Jess your words are encouraging and I really appreciated your back story. For the past 11 months I've felt called and heard the gentle whispers of the Father to share my love and knowledge of gardening in my area. I've probably prayed as often for my husband's heart to soften to the idea as I have for guidance and strength to follow this calling. Hearing that your husband was not on board at first and seeing how involved he is now gives me hope. Thank you 🙏
This visit was so endlessly valuable to me….thank you! I used to listen to my grandmother’s rationing stories during WWII and truly thought, “There’s no way rationing would ever happen now. People would riot.” Then 2020 hit and I saw the toilet paper and Clorox wipe insanity…not to even mention food! I learned not to assume anything “couldn’t happen” again. But I agree with you…preparing in peace is always what the Lord wants for His children. 🙏🏻
I cook all my meals from scratch and grow a garden, but it’s been hit or miss the last couple of seasons. I have 8 chickens and I’m so thankful for those eggs every day. We quit buying junk food and my husband and I are doing intermittent fasting, which is really good on the grocery budget, plus there are a ton of health benefits that are worth researching. It has cleared up my sebhorrea dermatitis, given me more energy, and I’ve gone from a size 12 to a 6.
@@MN_Candy I mostly do 2 meals a day, usually lunch at 12 and dinner by 6 but some days I don’t eat lunch until 3. It’s easier to extend your fast longer if your meals are low carb. It’s pretty easy just starting out to do a 6 hour eating window with an 18 hour fast. I try to get a 24 hour fast in once a week, and about once a month I will try for longer. My longest was 90 hours. My best resource is Dr. Sten Ekberg on UA-cam. He’s got a ton of videos with so much info.
Praying for your healing. I love that you stopped the video talk and read Bens homework. You are an awesome mother. I miss the pea shelling, as a younger person if we wanted seconds we needed to help with the meal. Don't know if you ever uses the green tops of green onions like straws to drink tea but it was what we used because we didn't have straws. That was the great old days when like was simpler. I love your videos just so I can remember to slow down and talk to my Heavenly Father and reflect on my life. Thank you so much Jess
Your channel showed up on my feed the same week I decided to seriously start planning to have a homestead in the future. Your videos are so inspiring. The last two years of my life have a been a downward spiral of depression and I've spent months trying to crawl out of it. The pure happiness you have in your videos is contagious and you've given me the push to wake up and not be afraid of failure. Thank you. Thank you for being you and doing all you do. You're an incredible woman ❤ bless you
Great video, Jess! If I could offer some advice on the issue of having clothing? Your approach to the undergarments and socks is very good. Keep in mind that the elastic is the first thing to go, which makes wool (naturally stretchy if you can keep the moths away) and drawstrings and/or mechanical closures (buttons, snaps, frogs, etc) more attractive for certain items destined to be in long-term storage. Generous quantities of flat folded fabric, thread, needles, buttons all store well in tight spaces and are more versatile than already constructed garments. Very simple patterns are not hard to source or sew, either by hand or machine. If you look at old photos and drawings from the 1800s you will see some of the simple garments they often made at home, then perhaps embellished as time and wealth allowed. Shoes are harder to accomplish at home, so more expense might be warranted in getting durable and practical footwear together for a period of time, especially for growing children. Community footwear closets might become a thing in the future? Wonderful knowledge and sensitivity to a complex subject. Thank you, Jess.
It’s so refreshing to hear someone talk calmly about being prepared. I have been gardening for about 3 years and started canning this year, but have always liked to have a stock of food/supplies, I don’t really know why but i just have always felt it was important. Thank you for your videos.
Sounds just like me. Redid my basement shelving as well. I live dead center in the middle of a big city, the asphalt jungle. My only deficit is an independent water source.
I think it’s fantastic that you are speaking up and gently advising your viewers as to what you’re doing!! I have a few tips! 1. Thrift stores( keep a list of items to watch for in your purse) blankets, extra warm sweats, oil lamps, backpacks, Almost endless what you could get at a thrift store !!! 2. Wallaby has great oxygen absorbers and Mylar bags, sold together for your storing needs. 3. Set a Budget and buy a little extra each pay period. So thankful I listened to you and a few other creators, and am a few years ahead.
Jessica, watching you do the cow peas is really relaxing. I bought a generator when my husband died to be able to run my furnace and well in an emergency. I live in Ontario Canada and we can at times have horrible ice storms which can leave you without power at times. I too have felt a sense of urgency to "be prepared". I feel like Noah. My family feels that I am silly buying a freeze dryer and growing my own veggies, fruit and meat. Oh well. I am happy and feel secure. God bless you and keep you. Thank you for your blogs
It’s never too late to be prepared. I remember my mother canning food when I was growing up. We always had meat and chickens in the freezer. I buy dried beans every time I am at the store. I recently bought a vacuum sealer to help preserve fresh produce for the freezer. You never know when you might need it or to help out a family that is going through bad times.
So wise, so much good information here. We lived in a home for 13 years that didn't have a basement or garage for storage. There wasn't a way to store up food, put up canned goods and only had space for 2 small raised beds. We sold that home in June 2022 and bought a larger home, with a full basement, 2 car garage, a small barn/shed and I've purchased 5 VegoGardens to start a garden that more than doubles what I had before. I found you in March 2020, I knew the Lord wanted to teach me how to use my waiting room as my classroom and now for 2+ years I learned to grow tomatoes, carrots, to grow herbs, seed save and now all that practice was for the new chapter in our lives to grow more, can more, do more because I learned how. You as my teacher, the passion from the Lord and guidance from some other channels has me ready for spring 2023. I've got my seeds, I'm building up my canning supply over the winter, I have a full basement with a new deep freeze, 6 massive shelves to put up food and stock up a pantry and each week I buy just a little bit more than I have been to prepare and store up. We are listening to you. Continue to share your God given wisdom, we are right there listening, doing and preparing.
Thank you Jess. Your words on people’s individual religion is spot on. Loved hearing your son’s sentences. He did a very good job! I also liked your preparedness list. I hadn’t thought about a filling kit! I didn’t even know they had such a thing. Thank you for teaching me something today! Bless you and your family.
You are one of my favorite people to watch. I am agnostic most days but I think it’s beautiful how intertwined you are with your faith in life. I have learned so much from you since I subscribed to you three years ago. Just wanted to leave a note to confirm that as someone of little to no faith, I have absolutely never felt driven away by your love of God and thoroughly enjoy your videos, point of view, and family so much!
I ask myself the same thing...am I crazy for putting away food??? But I believe God has laid this on my heart . So I just thank God for every bounty from
My parents lived through WW11. They emigrated from Europe to Canada. They always stored lots of staples just in case. War and starvation were very fresh on their minds. They instilled this "stocking up" mentality on my sisters and I. My children sometimes make fun of me for my tendencies. After the past 2 years , I realized that even if it has not resulted in the apocalypse that the media has predicted, I am prepared! Thank you for making me feel validated.
Currently waiting on finance approval for a 1/2 acre home. My dream is within reach because of your teachings Jess. If I hadn't found your growing tomatoes videos 4 years ago I wouldn't be on this path, potentially about to live and raise my kids on a beautiful piece of land with full gardens, chickens and fruit trees. Praying that it all works out for us, but even if it doesn't thank you Jess for giving people like me hope and the courage to dream.
I have a garden that is 20x40 , not huge with about 12 raised beds but the food that I grew this year is amazing I don't have to buy tomatoes, onions , peppers or potatoes until next planting season and what I can't grow because of space I buy at the farmers market and preserve. We all have to start somewhere , just try. Thanks Jess for the inspiration ❤️ GOD BLESS
If you don't have really bad winters, plant some cabbage,cauli ,broccoli. I plant these in the autumn and they grow really well ,no bugs. But I'm in New Zealand 🇳🇿 and winter is pretty mild .
I absolutely LOVE how articulate you are about real life. May God continue to bless and multiply your willingness and influence for his glory!! That always leads to others being blessed as well.....
Dear Jess, I do not know you but I love you. I also do not share your faith tradition, but honor the emphasis on taking care of each other. I have been gardening for almost 60 years. I too am still a beginner. In terms of prepping, I can not emphasize your end of vlog point enough: we are all in this together. No matter where you are, you do not have to figure out everything yourself (in fact, you can't). I live in Detroit. Real Detroit, not the suburb Detroit. Most of my neighbors live life on the edge. When the pandemic hit I started about 1000 cherry tomato seeds and bought food-safe buckets for growing them in and soil for those who didn't have any. Every. Single. Tomato. Plant. Found. A. Home. Can people live on cherry tomatoes alone? Maybe not. But we can live on doing what we can for ourselves and each other. And we can certainly thrive by open-hearted giving and a trust that when our pipes need attention the plumber who ate freely-given tomatoes might just want to help.
I’m lucky that I knew my great grandparents and listened to family stories of living through tough times and survival. This video reminded me of times spent on the stoop of my great grandparents Texas farmhouse. Every morning until the day he died, my great grandfather would pick produce from the farm for the day. My great grandmother, grandmother , mother and I would sit outside with big bowls snapping beans or shelling peas and talking. Some of the produce (beans, peas, corn or potatoes) would be for lunch and the remaining would be preserved. My family has always had gardens through the dust bowl days, the victory gardens of WWII and present days. I have a garden but I could not feed myself on what I grow. I keep bulk emergency supplies, try to buy extra non-perishables. I buy extra produce in season dehydrate the extra. I have the capacity to store 8000 gallons of water. I have some ability to filter water but need to get better at that. Because of the extreme drought we are experiencing in the desert southwest, I’m transitioning to indoor hydroponics. I have some solar capabilities and have a goal to increase it early Spring 2023.
One of the things I admire about you the most is your faith. While I do not share the same religion, what I do share with you is the love for the land, for gardening, for animals and for the love of your family , and for our community. I learn grace from you. ❤
Preparation has been so heavy on my heart lately. Very timely video, as always. Well wishes for your health. I went to the store Thursday (before I heard that the railroad strike had been averted) I picked up 50 cans of canned food items, extra flour, corn meal, etc. I’m watching how I’m using food more closely. My toddlers don’t like the ends of bread so I freeze them and I’ll make bread crumbs. Just this week I made my first two loaves of sourdough (they are amazing). Making all of the adjustments I can to make our family more frugal/sustainable. Thank you! This video has very much been an affirmation for me.
Using some for breadcrumbs (especially along with your own homegrown herbs/spices) is a great use. I also use them to make old-fashioned bread pudding, which I can also use eggs and powdered milk in (a lot of kids don't like that either!). Lots of recipes out there., and I never met a kid who didn't like bread pudding!
Keep going, sister. This needs to be a topic of discussion. I was writing about this 15 years ago and I still know I have weak points. Still no solar even though it's been at the top of my list for years. I built an outdoor kitchen a few years ago. Best thing ever. I have propane, electric, wood and charcoal out there. I no longer have to heat the August house up when canning, but I also know I can always cook anything under any circumstances. I processed a deer on my kitchen table last fall, but it could easily be done out there. Being ready does not feel fearful. It actually creates a feeling of peace and security. You don't need everything or lots of money. Just one step at a time and keep going. This is not a new topic. It was not that long ago that it was a very normal way of life. Every bit counts. Start where you are and do what you can.
I was led to start a wheat grain free diet too. I started getting rashes and joint pain. I also stopped with dairy. I was led to prepare in January 2020 after a crazy dream. I didn't even have a house plant. I own a townhome but I've learned to grow from seed, harvest and preserve food. My land is coming and I will continue to learn and prepare. You were one of the first channels I discovered.
Thank you so much for sharing. I am 62 and I started gardening and preserving in my early 30's out of necessity. I had a large family and very little income. Now that I am an empty nester I just canned for fun. Now in the last few years I have gone back to my little garden and preserving. It is always a good idea to be prepared.
We moved out of the city and onto a 5-acre property in 2018. It wasn't perfect, but had a good -bones house, a nice shop, 2 fenced raised bed gardens and an orchard. My disabled husband was/is unable to care for things, so I learned to make things work for us. 4 yrs into the adventure, and we have the deep well, emergency power systems, a year's worth of food in storage for the two of us and our dogs, and the garden is producing well. All this physical work has changed me, I've lost weight and gotten off all but one medication, and feel more alive than I ever have before. I feel peace, at ease, and so happy to have left the stressful city life behind. I refuse to let the static of gloom and doom pull me down. BTW, I'm in my 70's so no spring chicken....it's possible!!! Thank you for your videos, your wisdom is solid and so welcomed!
Thank you, darlin'. I can't express the joy I feel when I see one of your videos pop up. I am old enough to be your mom, but yet, I consider you an internet friend. ha! I pray for your health. I pray peace on you in all areas. I pray blessings on your family. Thank you for all you do.
I've turned my waiting room into a classroom. My fiance and I are moving south and getting some land next year. We have already started looking physically at property. A small part of my childhood, we had a farm. In gardening, I've grabbed bags of dried beans from the grocery store and planted them and have had a garden full of fresh bean. If I find a tomato that I love and it tastes delicious, I grab the seeds from that for the future. I've also have books on natural plants on their benefits.
Thank you Jess. I really appreciate this video, as much if not more than any. There are other people that are putting videos out that cause fear and anxiety and I so enjoy your educating instead of causing fear.
Thank you for this chat! While it’s helpful in a practical sense, I just wanted to share with you that it reached my heart in a different place. I’m a couple months from giving birth and my last birth was traumatic and resulted in a baby with brain damage. Needless to say I’ve been riddled with anxiety wanting to control every aspect of this birth. What you said about “I don’t need to worry, I just need to listen.” Really hit me. Yes, I can prepare myself… but truly I need to seek the Lord and trust Him with my baby.
When you said “Jessica don’t forget to prepare” I got chills. I’ve been on a very slow winding track to get to where I am now in the gardening, canning and preparing life. I think it was somewhere around 2010 or 11 that I had this incredible urge to start growing food but but like you I got lax or I’d go onto some other thing that would distract me but it kept coming around and something kept pushing me. So here I am doing exactly what I feel like I should be and I got the same push in 2019 like you did. With the way things are I’m glad I didn’t ignore it this time. I think the weirdest part is how it came to me. All of a sudden I had this incredible urge to start dressing and living like it was the 1940s and I learned how to do all the things that I never knew how to do or had to do growing up. Like you, I was a city girl and raised by people that didn’t have anything to do with that except for my grandparents that had a victory garden left over from the war. Funny how differently he speaks to each of us to get our act in gear.
Thank you for sharing your heart and your story. This video really blessed me in multiple ways. I love your saying, " Turn your waiting room into a classroom", thats so good! and that there is a difference between fear and wisdom. Keep speaking the truth and sharing your wisdom, you are a world changer and a homestead changer🙂 May our God, our Provider, our fear Chaser, bless you and be gracious to you as you are doing to others!
I love all the suggestions you give on preparedness. I am in a place in my life where I am downsizing my entire existence. For me, this looks like moving into a .25 acre city lot from a 1 acre hobby farm. But this does not mean I am downsizing my garden needs. I have moved my raised bed garden buckets and my small greenhouse with me to my new location, and as I am able, I am working to get my new beds ready for planting, some of it late this fall, most of it by spring. Even though my household is just me, the garden is an important source of food for me. I have disabilities, and it isn't easy, but it IS important.
I needed our porchside chat today! I've been feeling the urge for a while now, and it is only getting stronger. But my HOPE is in Christ. And today, you gave me joy.
I’ve been canning & doing all these things for years. We’ve been laughed at because we are so crazy for canning & gardening, stocking water etc. But Jessica I’ve never felt the urgency as much as I have in these days. I sourced all seeds I need for the next few years. I’m prepared to help our children & grandkiddos. Keep telling the people they need Jesus & get prepared!
What you said is so true. Make your home your classroom. I did. I grew food this year for the second time last year I did potatoes but they were tiny but it happened and I learned about fertilizer NPK and I have been growing and learning so much this year. It is also so therapeutic and excited.
Oh, Jess - how I needed to hear this today! Totally different situation around fear - but about provision … touched my heart deeply! I’m a remarried widow - facing a very real potential of being a second time widow… my biggest fear is having to leave my homestead and provision. Thank you, my dear friend!❤️
Thank you for your front porch talk. So much to glean. Just taking steps and continuing to take steps is good. For recipes I like I print them off on regular print paper. I put them in page protectors and a 3 ring binder. Personally I need to go through my binder and delete ones I haven’t used or never will, and categorize it for easier finding. I have this binder in my kitchen easy to pull out when needed. You could use this for guidelines for canning, baking, open fire cooking, recipes for first aid, sewing hints, laundry soap recipes, etc.... Hope things are well for YOU Jess and that you are getting relief for your skin issues.
Thank you Jess. You inspired me three years ago to start gardening on my little lot in a HOA. We don’t have a lot of space but enough to grow enough for two of us and some for my friends and neighbors. I also have a container that holds enough dried goods and canned goods to feed us for 4-6 months if s*** hits the fan tucked away in a closet. You don’t have to have a big property to do something.
Thank you for posting this, Jess. I cleaned out a big closet to use for storing food. Someone is going to get all the good stuff in there I hadn’t used for years!!! Thanks for the inspiration. Your message is what I’ve been saying ever since the Secretary of State predicted food shortages. You’re right. The time is now.
I am 47 & I have always lived in very rural places. My grandparents lived through the Great Depression. I am by no means prepared for doing everything. I am however, so very thankful now that I watched & got to see my grandparents, specifically on my dad's side, my grandpa always had a garden no matter where they lived, in town, out of town, in the country, etc. He saved everything that could be reused or repurposed for things. This year my husband & I did our first garden, we live in town in a very rural area. We learned a lot this year I can say that honestly but we had a lot of successes along the way. I have been though, all summer, been watching many youtube channels, including yours, learning how to best grow things, start them, keep them going, how to preserve, etc. I just 2 days ago did my first ever batch of canning pole beans from my own garden & it was such an amazing feeling when it was done. I cannot wait for spring already, I am so ready to do it all over again & even bigger next year. We most importantly learned this year to plan & prep for the next garden. We didn't really do that this time & we definitely learned from it. Our tomatoes did amazing this year & we are actually still getting them. My beans are going nuts even now. I am going to grow as long as I can outside & we have also already started getting ready to create ourselves an indoor growing room in the room off our garage. I will not be one of those who sat back while others were obviously getting ready for the coming seasons & not doing anything until it's too late. I will not let my family starve if I could have done something about it which is why I felt the urgency myself this year to grow what we did. I listened when people started talking several months ago about the need to prepare for the coming shortages. It drove me to start learning & I try to share what I can with those around me as well. Which is why I myself, am so grateful for people like y'all who are sharing their techniques, successes, failures, wisdom, & experience. It is very important for those of us who don't know how to do all these things. Thankfully, my dad was also responsible for making sure all his children including my sister & I knew how to not only fish but to hunt all native wildlife, deer, turkey, pheasant, quail, etc. I do know how to do that from personal experience & can clean those kills as well. Something that so many wouldn't even know where to start. So thank you for these videos & please keep doing it for as long as you are able & led to.
Thank you Jess for always sharing what God puts on your heart. Countless times I’ve turned on a video and heard the words that God is putting on my heart come out of your mouth. Spirit recognizes spirit and I pray God continues to bless your ministry of sustainability.
Great video. Wisdom prepares her house and invites others in. I love the porch chat and the easy-going way in which you share what you know. My husband and I hope to grow a garden this year. Thank you for mentioning vigilance bc it’s easy to grow discouraged by the learning curve, haha. We want to be wise and prepare our house, so to speak, so that we have something to share with others.
Jess, thank you for addressing the panic and anxiety factors. I have struggled with those things for a long time, and I think others have also. I have had a couple of verses that have been coming to me again and again, Easter 4:14 and Isaiah 62:4 Remember fear is from the devil.
I was told a lot of things that are hurtful and not true in the name of the Lord. Question everything and hold on to the word from the Bible. Not hear say.
Excellent point. As a disabled person I think about the need for community too in terms of what you’re discussing. I’m not the most disabled of disabled people so I can still contribute to a community in some way that keeps a more abled-bodied person otherwise engaged in serving the community in ways that I can’t.
Jess, love your videos! My parents were born in 1916 (dad) & 1917 (mom) grew up with the hard times of the Great Depression. Though dad gave us a very modest well traveled ( living overseas) as a chemical engineer the depression upbringing never left them and was instilled in us kids. We lived in Holland in the mid 1970's when there was gasoline rationing stamps and NO driving on the weekends. Oh, the childhood stories of the Great Depression spilled forth. I listened....and learned. And of course my elder brothers were born in '42 and '45. Many years (40 yrs +/-) ago I felt the need to leave the city and eventually start a homestead; 7.1 acres river front. As I near my retirement date I have made every move to be for sustainable. Learn my lesson during the snow of Tx and my booster pump froze and split...but I have always keep 12 gals of H20 in the house and 12 gals in the van ( never know when you may see a stray thirsty dog on the side of the road + carry trial size dog food for a stray). I have a "Go Bag" ( actually my late dad's briefcase) with certified copies of birth, marriage & divorce, land and vehicle ownership. Also, a towel, washrag, new pkg of socks and undies, soap, matches, lighters plus cash....and I keep adding as I think of things. It's ready to go at a moments notice if I need to evacuate due to weather or anything else. My van is always configure to accommodate the dogs I currently have. NOT gloom and doom...but, SMART. Tornadoes and Hurricanes DON'T give a LOT of notice. I've started a seed exchange at work. And ( since I am a family of me and my three dogs) I don't need a huge garden so currently doing 5 gal bucket gardening (Home Grown veg in the UK), and landed a gold mine of FREE round empty buckets and free square mayo buckets from a local BBQ place. I didn't mean to ramble so long but I have learned so much from your adventure.
YES! We need to be community sufficient instead of self-sufficient. And thank you for this video with some things I hadn't thought of in our own preparedness plan. We truly appreciate you!
I love your front porch talks ❤ They remind me of my grandma. She gave me my love for gardening. We use to sit on the porch snapping beans, talking about everything. I’d give anything to be able to do that with her again 😢
The Lord has also placed “being prepared” on my heart and your channel is such a blessing for me along this journey. That quiet whisper of the Holy Spirit…love how the Lord speaks 😍
Im canning for the firat time this week. Tomato sauce, apple pie filling, zucchini relish, tomatillos. Making pickles. Planting my fall/winter garden too. ❤ and taking/watching as many videos on gardening and animal husbandry as possible
The Lord lead me to your channel during 2020. I was moved by your garden, the pink gate, the holly hocks, your dresses, your laugh and your joy. I really took comfort watching your channel as a peer because we’re the same age. Then I found a church. Then I started my own garden. I dream of moving back to the country someday for a simpler life.
I have been also watching a simple way of quickly growing just about anywhere. Keep on Growing With Mike. He wants to teach people as cheaply as possible. I planted some black beans from a big bag from the store. It worked! I am in Florida so summer is not a good time to grow but fall is coming when we can try. Loved this chat from the porch
Thank you Jess for this video. You are such a blessing and I love hearing your heart. I refuse to live in fear but I do feel God put the desire of gardening in my heart years ago for a good reason. To prep me for such times as these. Thank you for sharing, you are truly a special woman.
Thank you so much Jessica for your candid and respectful approach to a subject that affects us all. We do have differences in beliefs and life styles, but I very much respect you and what you're teaching. You had a few things to say that really touched me and helped while I go through a difficult time lately. Sending you, your family and all much love and prayers. Regarding food grade buckets....sometimes grocery store bakeries will sell these and they're a lot less costly than any other option I've found. Hope this gives people an option that helps.
I am Pagan, I still find value in your wisdom and words. I learn so much from your family. Religion does NOT have to be a defining separator of people. We can all agree to get along and love each other despite our differences. Everyone has valuable knowledge to share. ❤❤
I am Pagan as well and completely agree with everything you have stated.
Wholeheartedly agree with this. ❤
Humanist here, and I easily get a ton of value!
I am a Christian, and I agree with you.
I'm Agnostic and I agree with this.
What you said about losing skills from one generation to the next is so true and really struck me. My grandparents lived on a 5 acre homestead when my mother was growing up. They raised sheep, pigs, rabbits, chickens, had a huge garden and canned the produce. From the 1970’s to the early 2000’s when they had retired they went from self sufficient living to living in town on TV dinners and ordering thanksgiving dinner from a caterer. Not even kidding. My mother did not retain any of their self sufficiency skills. They passed away years ago (and way too young as a result of their leisurely lifestyle) and left none of their skills, supplies, or knowledge to the next generation. There is redemption though! In 2020 my parents purchased their homestead property in a sheriff’s sale. The plan is for my husband and I, and our children, to move to that property and rebuild the gardens, raise the animals, reclaim our heritage! Years before we knew that property would be for sale we too felt the call to prepare. We started gardening, we learned to pressure can to preserve our produce. We have the largest flock of chickens that we’re allowed in town! Now the land is in our near future and we can’t wait to expand.
Brilliant.You are indeed blessed.....Regards from New Zealand 🇳🇿
That’s really amazing that the land will be in your hands! What a blessing!
I am so happy for you getting the ability to go back to basics. I wish I could have chickens or quail here. I have pet worms instead, LOL. I am working on trying to get land, but my yard is working overtime where I am now. Take my blessing where I can get them. God bless!
Congrats! And well done
@@shellieh685 I get it! My yard is working overtime as well. I’d take some pet worms! I’ve looked into starting a work farm or work composting. Just need to get started.
Been avoiding prep videos because my anxiety has been work to keep at bay, but I can listen to anything from a porch while peas are being shelled. Thank you, your videos are always the high point in my day. 💜
Same here. Plus, they all keep saying the same things.
Just start doing a little at a time. Start with rice and beans in a mason jar or Mylar bags. God bless
Youve gotta find a mentor to help you put your anxiety to action for security. It decreases your anxiety to put a actual plan into action. The longer you procrastinate, the more anxious. Just know avoiding it only makes it worse. $stores are Godsends.
Oh I did not mean to imply that I’m not working on my situation, just that most the videos are full of doom and gloom so I don’t/won’t watch them. I appreciate the empowering aspect of Jess’s videos, that even the small steps are steps that get you closer.
Start with being prepped for a 3 day emergency. Then a three week one. As you can you work towards three years. Focus on skills like growing preserving food. Positive things that you can control.
When my first son was born, my grandmother, (even though she lived close & we saw her all the time) started writing my kids letters about her life on a small farm in rural Iowa and growing up in The Depression. Stories about what they did to survive, stretch food and goods and what they traded, different teaching type skills they traded, food, soap, animals, etc. I still have all the stories and she passed away at 100yrs and lived a healthy life. I am glad she shared so much with us.
This is awesome, I wish I had this!. I just spent a day with my Gramma and she shared some stories about living during the war time and I actually thought I shoukd have recorded them. What a gift to treasure!
what a treasure!
i don't expect you would share her stories with strangers, but if you would, i am interested in hearing them. i would be delighted to hear wisdom from a grandmother. If it's too weird to think about sharing with one person, perhaps you might start your own UA-cam channel, let me know of it, and you read those letters for all that have ears to hear.
Agree and would definitely buy your book if you write one
A book of the letters would be a great way to share her knowledge.
I didn't know it was possible to love this channel any more than I already did. I am Jewish and often find it hard to "see" myself represented in the homesteading content that I consume. Your appreciation for diversity in your viewership is really inspiring and just says so much about you.
I am with you, Norah. Jewish gal from the Northeast. Live in a major urban suburb (that's how I refer to my town) and have a backyard garden. I consume all of Roots and Refuge's content; and love Jess's devotionals. I have so much respect for the way Jess chooses her language. So inclusive. I have often told my family and friends that I feel so connected to Jess and Miah, even though we have such different backgrounds. Doesn't get much better than that.
Yes!!!
I feel the same. As an atheist, I just see far too many alt-right Christian nationalist type homesteaders and preppers, that it really makes the homestead movement seem really insular and unaccepting. I'm hoping to change that. Seeing people like Jess is refreshing.
I heard a saying the other day… It’s better to be a warrior in the garden than gardener in the war ❤
Too bad all our warriors are sent to fight other powerless people for the rich addicts of money while our government continues their tyrannical rule for the last 4 decades with no push back from our "warriors."
When a UA-cam notification causes a family announcement, "please give me an hour uninterrupted!" ❤️
😂 I just said that to my husband.
My kids all ran over to me while I’m washing laundry in the outdoor tub and say said “put Jess on the big screen” 😂 they knew before I did.
@@JMK_Fam 🥰🥰🥰
Me too!
Haha yes!!! My daughter wants a cookie. I have to watch this video and take notes first and every time you interrupt I have to rewind it. 😀
I feel like you’re my best friend I’ve never met. I wish I could join you for a glass of tea and shelling peas. ☺️ Thank you for putting these videos out there for everyone. These videos along with MI Gardener have motivated me not to quit gardening and just last week made my first meal from the garden I grew! It was so good!
My mom is 93 years old and she said, That the great depression started exactly the way it's going now. Losing her mother when she was 4, She defended for herself and Lived. A small victory garden is what she lived on. You don't have to have something big. You can start small and work up to the size you can manage.
I believe God will do the rest
No one telling us to grow victory garden today, I wish they would.
Yes! If the government said "time to grow a garden" there would be gardens everywhere
Grew up with my nan and grandad, 3/4 garden allotment, jam making, apples in tissue paper in the bottom of my bedroom dresser my boys grew up in her house till she passed at 93, I miss my best friend and live a life I know would make my spitfire building nanna proud. X
Now I'm crying 😭❤️
@@DorenesFoodPrepResource Now the govt says register your community garden...ehh ok why...no thanks stay away
I’m so glad that someone as influential in the homesteading community as yourself brought up the importance of community. I have been shouting this at the top of my lungs in the prepping community for sometime now. Dropping out and being “self sufficient” does sound incredibly romantic, the truth is it really does take a village.
I love that you encourage and don't disparage. You encourage and don't scare. Fear gets us nowhere, we are in this together and will come out of this together. We can disagree and still accomplish.
Jess when you said fear pushes you - wisdom leads you, it brought tears to my eyes. I hear all the “fear based news or people on the internet” stating language that incites fear. Words matter. I have to wonder whether the language - the mechanisms to spread fear is one of the contributing factors for so much anger and divisions we are seeing. Your words this morning put my mind in a peaceful place. I’m 69 and had my very first gardening experience because of you in my Greenstalk on my patio which provided me with food! I’m learning how to dehydrate and how to can. I refuse to be led by fear and want to continue to have wisdom lead me to be able to take care of myself. You have taught me that. My heart thanks you. 💕💕💕💕💕
❤️❤️❤️🙏🏼✝️❤️❤️❤️
@ Susan Richards
I’ve noticed the same. One of the content creators I watched a lot used some sensational lies to his audience within the last month that made the curtain slip so to speak and I got a good look at what was behind. He was using division to promote content he made with his team that I found mediocre. A lot of his audience bought into it too. It however was using political divisions that exist but are also manufactured to sell media content him and his team had made, but the people he claimed hated this content because of him don’t even know the content exists because they aren’t paying attention to things he made. It was only a division between his fans. People that are his fans but saw the other content was mediocre and then other fans that bought the concept that some other group that’s not a fan of his. So there’s infighting amongst his fans and I saw that and recognize the division is more manufactured than not so it’s a cash grab based on fear and anger and division and I liked this content creator but no longer could I watch his content without thinking he’s adding to the noise and I can’t support it.
I liked your comment. Words DO matter and they are the mechanisms that can spread fear, anger, and hate, but lately they seem to be click bait, for numbers and ratings, which leads to money. ...and money is a motivator. The videos that are most important to me do not fear monger (the sky is falling, etc.) they are simple in their content, message, and information.
You are not the only one having that urgent sense to prepare. I was raised on a farm for 18 years. Now 34 I am finding myself returning to what I was taught as a child. As much as I hated it growing up and as much as I hated chores with the farm animals and the canning season as a child, I have become extremely grateful for the knowledge and know how that my mother taught me even though I didn’t like doing it. I have gone back to canning and processing my own foods. I have also gone back to gardening and storing bulk goods like she taught me. I’m even going back to having farm animals. The funny part is I would always argue with my mom that I didn’t need to know how to can or grow/raise food. She would always tell me one day you will need this information because one day something will happen that will require you to fall back to your roots. One day you will be happy that I put you through this torture. She was right. I’m happy she did make me help her and taught me all that stuff. As much as I’ve always thought it was useless information that I will never need I have been severely wrong. I can’t thank my mom enough for dealing with my stubbornness about learning how to survive in tough times. It’s an art that seems to be lost. The older generations that have taught the art of survival I thank you. I thank everyone who is willing to continue to teach it because one day all of that knowledge will be lost through the generations.
“you can plant dry beans from the store” we went to a library event where they used dry beans as the bingo markers. I asked the librarian if I could take a few to plant and see, she said yes. I turned it into a lesson for my children, we planted them. They grew! Had a 5 out of 6 germ rate too! They are producing a lot of beans!
Medical- my 12yo is a type 1 diabetic, insulin literally keeps her alive. It’s so incredibly scary to think, this supply chain holds her life in “it’s hands” TERRIFYING. We keep as much on hand as possible.
@heather Donahue it is easy to forget how we are living with diseases that killed previous generations!
I have no thyroid and need the medicine to stay alive. I went to my doctor and told him this and how a lot of medicine is getting very hard to get. He wrote two prescriptions for the same medicine just at defeat strength and I put one back every month. I pray that your doctor will do the same for your baby I don't know how long it will last in the fridge but maybe you can look it up
I’m truly do not wish to start a debate about diet or anything like that, I was on a vegan diet and watched a ton of different UA-camrs… if you have some time, check out Diabetic Robby. He’s a type 1 diabetic but has taken a lot of his health into his own hands with his diet. Now to be honest, I didn’t pay too close attention to his medical side of things because I didn’t relate. But I THINK, he was either completely off insulin dependence, or was able to cut back drastically. Maybe just check him out for some kind of back up plan as a worst case scenario and insulin is harder to come by? I’m not a vegan anymore, so don’t hold that against me 😂 🤪
I'm on a life sustaining medication. I had just bagged up my extra and was going to bring them to pharmacy to be disposed properly.
Instead, I'll find a bag, box, plastic storage bag something.
I'd rather have old and expired ones then none.
@@11JadeStone11 I see you not wanting to debate diet. So I will educate instead 😉
A type 1 diabetic produces little if not no insulin on their own. They need to supplement it by taking insulin injections. Even a veggie based diet would require insulin. Yes, it would be significantly less insulin, but it would still be needed.
Living a good life ... we buy groceries, prepping for the week; we save money, prepping for the future; we grow and store food, prepping for the future; we buy clothes for the upcoming season ... it’s not fear, it’s good living.
I, for one, watch your videos because it is a wonderful lifestyle!!
We have been nudged to get back to basics. Awesome!
True. We are all prepers.
Before grocery stores, everyone planted and saved the harvest for the winter. We are spoiled now and depend too much on others for our most basic needs.
In the 1970's I started making sourdough and baking bread (so good) I found a cookbook at a flea market ( I collect books) printed in 1880--Buckeye Cookery. This book teaches how to make several kinds of yeast, bread sponge, sourdough and many types of bread. So fun using these recipes.
During the mid 1970's there was a lot of chaos both political and economic.
The Arab oil embargo made gas either high priced or unavailable. Waiting in gas lines was a hairy ordeal at times. I learned to bake bread in those days. Fun times.
Jessica, you are a Proverbs 31 woman and you are a blessing to your family and to all of us. Thank you.
My 6 yr old is sitting here listening with me, and when you mentioned buying a lot of jars he yells, "HEY! You bought a lot of jars!"😆🥰
My grandparents owned a 60 acre working farm. What I wouldn't give to be able to tap into the wealth of knowledge they help before passing. I take great joy in now teaching my 2 young girls as much as they are willing to learn about our garden. And we became "chicken mamas" together last year.
As wonderful as a garden can be as a resource, I think everyone needs a backup plan of pantry items because of the weather changes we've all experienced - flooding, drought, sun being blocked by wildfire ash etc. Gardening always came #1 for me and pantry items #2. I've switched them now after watching how unpredictable the weather has been.
Agree! We are back to highs of 97-99 this week in central Texas. I can’t get any of my fall seedlings to germinate in this insane heat. So thankful for my pantry!
True. Things are different. I got hit with grape skelletonizers this year, never saw them till now and my vines are about 7 years old, granted I only have a few of them, but they got wiped. Last year I had to fight the birds for them, this year neither of us got them.Those caterpillars make you rash too, so I was worried about eating what was left.
I also put leafy greens higher on the priority list because of the loss of my grapes, and a frost wiped out all the blossoms on my dwarf fruit trees, except the fig. I got to eat my first fig this year, the only fresh fig I have ever had and it was AWESOME!! I have never had anything like it before in my life. It is so pretty inside too. God bless!
They are both #1 to me. The garden and my pantries are so intertwined there's no way to separate them.
@@shellieh685 last year the deer ate all my grapes. Leaves and fruit. This year the birds ate 95% of my blueberries and raspberries. And the deer this year ate all my strawberry plants and any berries, ripe or not.
Oh my- I can’t imagine Roots and Refuge without Jeremiah’s ingenuity and skilled hands. I have learned so much through both of you. Your daily examples of love and respect for one another, your family, your community, and gentle passionate faith…I can’t imagine if Miah kept his hands on the keyboard, there was no raised garden bed evolution, there was no infrastructure, there were no happy animals with full bellies, and there was no example of two completely different souls bound by love teaching skills that nourish the body and soul. I am grateful that you guys shared skills developed in therapy, lessons learned in the garden, with the animals, the joys of a blended family, the process of grief, the successes and missteps along the way. I am so grateful that you guys are where you are in life and freely sharing on a regular basis. Thank you!
In the off chance that you read this Jess, thank you for always sharing your views on your faith but not shoving them at anyone. Thank you for speaking to all of us, even those of us who think differently than you do. As a person who grew up in the Catholic faith and went a different way, I have a hard time with channels who go beyond sharing their faith right to pushing faith. They alienate people with their passion to promote it. I subscribe here because I love the route you've chosen and despite believing in a different faith than you, I really respect all you have to share and teach not only in matters of faith but in farming and gardening and being a good steward of the resources you have. Just wanted to recognize what I see as a wonderful and kind way to not only act as a human in general but to run your UA-cam channel as well. Thank you.
the sound of the pea seeds hitting the bucket is music to the ears
It's the summertime equivalent of a campfire
Community: "It takes a village" not just to raise kids, but also to life abundantly! Thanks Jess, this is a great video!
Some might say that the village is the problem?
@@jerrybrady9103 amen
Love this video.
I remember my grandparents talking about the depression. I remember seeing the cards for each member for ratios. My dad was just a little guy. My grandmother picked cotton while she was pregnant with twins just to help the family survive. She lost one of the twins and said she truly believed it was because she worked in the cotton fields.
I grew up poor and can remember living off pinto beans, cornbread, and potatoes. If we got meat it was a luxury. I spent many summers sitting around a huge tree in my grandparent's front yard helping with the corn or beans. I loved listening to their stories. I do wish I paid better attention to my grandmother while she was canning.
I would give anything to teach my kids about gardening. They are all grown and do not wish to be in the country. I live in another state from them. They remember a garden when we lived in SC. After that we moved to the city and that was the worse thing we dI'd. In 2012, my ex and I divorced and I moved away. I am in the country and I have learned so much in the past 10 years.
People need to wake up. I see so many people esp younger ones that have so many health issues. I keep saying you need to get away from that processed food, grow your own food even if it is pots or green stalks. Get outside more and away from computer stuff. My daughter jokes around with me and says mom your lucky because your outside and you grow your own stuff. All my kids are on meds of some sort and mom takes nothing. People really do need to wake up and get prepared.
Hi Ms. Jessica. My grandmother was born in 1913. She was my babysitter because my Mom and Dad worked. This was me at the age of 7, "Nana, I have a hole in my sock." "Do you think you can fix it?" She would ask. "I don't know how to sew," I said to her, as my eyes filled with tears. "Learn, hijo, learn." "Come here I'll teach you." I still sew these 60 years later. When I'm mending my grand children's pants or shirts I find myself reflecting on my grandmother and just how much, without her knowing at the time, she was teaching me about how it is now my turn to teach my grandchildren to learn and to sew and to mend. God bless your family.
My garden was horrible this year. We’d starve if I was the provider. Thank you Lord, I’ve been preparing canning & stocking up. I have seeds saved & will be planting again. Not giving up. I container garden. Thank you for all you have & continue to teach me.
“I really don’t have to be afraid. I just have to listen.” Thank you for this talk. It blesses my heart! God bless you and your family 🥰
Omg! I’ve asked my husband several times, “ Am I beging crazy? Is this no necessary? Are we wasting money doing this?” So you saying you do the same. Made me feel so much better! Thank you for letting me know I’m not alone in that situation lol 😂
You know…I love reading the comments almost as much as watching Jess’ video. They’re a blessing.
Amen! My husband has been preaching for over 20 years to be prepared for what is coming. Not out of fear, but trusting the Word of God is true.
Jess your words are encouraging and I really appreciated your back story. For the past 11 months I've felt called and heard the gentle whispers of the Father to share my love and knowledge of gardening in my area. I've probably prayed as often for my husband's heart to soften to the idea as I have for guidance and strength to follow this calling. Hearing that your husband was not on board at first and seeing how involved he is now gives me hope. Thank you 🙏
This visit was so endlessly valuable to me….thank you! I used to listen to my grandmother’s rationing stories during WWII and truly thought, “There’s no way rationing would ever happen now. People would riot.” Then 2020 hit and I saw the toilet paper and Clorox wipe insanity…not to even mention food! I learned not to assume anything “couldn’t happen” again. But I agree with you…preparing in peace is always what the Lord wants for His children. 🙏🏻
I cook all my meals from scratch and grow a garden, but it’s been hit or miss the last couple of seasons. I have 8 chickens and I’m so thankful for those eggs every day. We quit buying junk food and my husband and I are doing intermittent fasting, which is really good on the grocery budget, plus there are a ton of health benefits that are worth researching. It has cleared up my sebhorrea dermatitis, given me more energy, and I’ve gone from a size 12 to a 6.
Do you just eat one meal a day, or a time limit on when you eat?
@@MN_Candy I mostly do 2 meals a day, usually lunch at 12 and dinner by 6 but some days I don’t eat lunch until 3. It’s easier to extend your fast longer if your meals are low carb. It’s pretty easy just starting out to do a 6 hour eating window with an 18 hour fast. I try to get a 24 hour fast in once a week, and about once a month I will try for longer. My longest was 90 hours. My best resource is Dr. Sten Ekberg on UA-cam. He’s got a ton of videos with so much info.
Praying for your healing. I love that you stopped the video talk and read Bens homework. You are an awesome mother. I miss the pea shelling, as a younger person if we wanted seconds we needed to help with the meal. Don't know if you ever uses the green tops of green onions like straws to drink tea but it was what we used because we didn't have straws. That was the great old days when like was simpler. I love your videos just so I can remember to slow down and talk to my Heavenly Father and reflect on my life. Thank you so much Jess
Your channel showed up on my feed the same week I decided to seriously start planning to have a homestead in the future. Your videos are so inspiring. The last two years of my life have a been a downward spiral of depression and I've spent months trying to crawl out of it. The pure happiness you have in your videos is contagious and you've given me the push to wake up and not be afraid of failure. Thank you. Thank you for being you and doing all you do. You're an incredible woman ❤ bless you
Great video, Jess!
If I could offer some advice on the issue of having clothing? Your approach to the undergarments and socks is very good. Keep in mind that the elastic is the first thing to go, which makes wool (naturally stretchy if you can keep the moths away) and drawstrings and/or mechanical closures (buttons, snaps, frogs, etc) more attractive for certain items destined to be in long-term storage. Generous quantities of flat folded fabric, thread, needles, buttons all store well in tight spaces and are more versatile than already constructed garments. Very simple patterns are not hard to source or sew, either by hand or machine. If you look at old photos and drawings from the 1800s you will see some of the simple garments they often made at home, then perhaps embellished as time and wealth allowed. Shoes are harder to accomplish at home, so more expense might be warranted in getting durable and practical footwear together for a period of time, especially for growing children. Community footwear closets might become a thing in the future?
Wonderful knowledge and sensitivity to a complex subject. Thank you, Jess.
It’s so refreshing to hear someone talk calmly about being prepared. I have been gardening for about 3 years and started canning this year, but have always liked to have a stock of food/supplies, I don’t really know why but i just have always felt it was important.
Thank you for your videos.
Sounds just like me. Redid my basement shelving as well. I live dead center in the middle of a big city, the asphalt jungle. My only deficit is an independent water source.
I don't feel afraid or intense. I feel empowered, convicted, and encouraged! Thank you, Jess:)
I think it’s fantastic that you are speaking up and gently advising your viewers as to what you’re doing!! I have a few tips!
1. Thrift stores( keep a list of items to watch for in your purse) blankets, extra warm sweats, oil lamps, backpacks,
Almost endless what you could get at a thrift store !!!
2. Wallaby has great oxygen absorbers and Mylar bags, sold together for your storing needs.
3. Set a Budget and buy a little extra each pay period.
So thankful I listened to you and a few other creators, and am a few years ahead.
“Fear pushes. Wisdom leads.” No truer words. You are on point with this one. Thanks for sharing and confirming what we have been hearing.
Jessica, watching you do the cow peas is really relaxing.
I bought a generator when my husband died to be able to run my furnace and well in an emergency. I live in Ontario Canada and we can at times have horrible ice storms which can leave you without power at times. I too have felt a sense of urgency to "be prepared". I feel like Noah. My family feels that I am silly buying a freeze dryer and growing my own veggies, fruit and meat. Oh well. I am happy and feel secure.
God bless you and keep you. Thank you for your blogs
It’s never too late to be prepared. I remember my mother canning food when I was growing up. We always had meat and chickens in the freezer. I buy dried beans every time I am at the store. I recently bought a vacuum sealer to help preserve fresh produce for the freezer. You never know when you might need it or to help out a family that is going through bad times.
So wise, so much good information here. We lived in a home for 13 years that didn't have a basement or garage for storage. There wasn't a way to store up food, put up canned goods and only had space for 2 small raised beds. We sold that home in June 2022 and bought a larger home, with a full basement, 2 car garage, a small barn/shed and I've purchased 5 VegoGardens to start a garden that more than doubles what I had before. I found you in March 2020, I knew the Lord wanted to teach me how to use my waiting room as my classroom and now for 2+ years I learned to grow tomatoes, carrots, to grow herbs, seed save and now all that practice was for the new chapter in our lives to grow more, can more, do more because I learned how. You as my teacher, the passion from the Lord and guidance from some other channels has me ready for spring 2023. I've got my seeds, I'm building up my canning supply over the winter, I have a full basement with a new deep freeze, 6 massive shelves to put up food and stock up a pantry and each week I buy just a little bit more than I have been to prepare and store up. We are listening to you. Continue to share your God given wisdom, we are right there listening, doing and preparing.
Thank you Jess. Your words on people’s individual religion is spot on. Loved hearing your son’s sentences. He did a very good job! I also liked your preparedness list. I hadn’t thought about a filling kit! I didn’t even know they had such a thing. Thank you for teaching me something today! Bless you and your family.
You are one of my favorite people to watch. I am agnostic most days but I think it’s beautiful how intertwined you are with your faith in life. I have learned so much from you since I subscribed to you three years ago. Just wanted to leave a note to confirm that as someone of little to no faith, I have absolutely never felt driven away by your love of God and thoroughly enjoy your videos, point of view, and family so much!
Thank you Jess. Fear pushes you and wisdom leads you.. what an a ha statement ❤
I ask myself the same thing...am I crazy for putting away food??? But I believe God has laid this on my heart . So I just thank God for every bounty from
My parents lived through WW11. They emigrated from Europe to Canada. They always stored lots of staples just in case. War and starvation were very fresh on their minds. They instilled this "stocking up" mentality on my sisters and I. My children sometimes make fun of me for my tendencies. After the past 2 years , I realized that even if it has not resulted in the apocalypse that the media has predicted, I am prepared! Thank you for making me feel validated.
Currently waiting on finance approval for a 1/2 acre home. My dream is within reach because of your teachings Jess. If I hadn't found your growing tomatoes videos 4 years ago I wouldn't be on this path, potentially about to live and raise my kids on a beautiful piece of land with full gardens, chickens and fruit trees. Praying that it all works out for us, but even if it doesn't thank you Jess for giving people like me hope and the courage to dream.
Blessings to all!
I love the intensityyyyy 🎉
Please don’t ever apologize for making a long video, they are always the best ones!
Thanks for sharing your story’s you have a blessed day
I have a garden that is 20x40 , not huge with about 12 raised beds but the food that I grew this year is amazing I don't have to buy tomatoes, onions , peppers or potatoes until next planting season and what I can't grow because of space I buy at the farmers market and preserve.
We all have to start somewhere , just try. Thanks Jess for the inspiration ❤️ GOD BLESS
That sounds huge to me
If you don't have really bad winters, plant some cabbage,cauli ,broccoli. I plant these in the autumn and they grow really well ,no bugs. But I'm in New Zealand 🇳🇿 and winter is pretty mild .
I absolutely LOVE how articulate you are about real life. May God continue to bless and multiply your willingness and influence for his glory!! That always leads to others being blessed as well.....
Dear Jess, I do not know you but I love you. I also do not share your faith tradition, but honor the emphasis on taking care of each other. I have been gardening for almost 60 years. I too am still a beginner. In terms of prepping, I can not emphasize your end of vlog point enough: we are all in this together. No matter where you are, you do not have to figure out everything yourself (in fact, you can't). I live in Detroit. Real Detroit, not the suburb Detroit. Most of my neighbors live life on the edge. When the pandemic hit I started about 1000 cherry tomato seeds and bought food-safe buckets for growing them in and soil for those who didn't have any. Every. Single. Tomato. Plant. Found. A. Home. Can people live on cherry tomatoes alone? Maybe not. But we can live on doing what we can for ourselves and each other. And we can certainly thrive by open-hearted giving and a trust that when our pipes need attention the plumber who ate freely-given tomatoes might just want to help.
I’m lucky that I knew my great grandparents and listened to family stories of living through tough times and survival. This video reminded me of times spent on the stoop of my great grandparents Texas farmhouse. Every morning until the day he died, my great grandfather would pick produce from the farm for the day. My great grandmother, grandmother , mother and I would sit outside with big bowls snapping beans or shelling peas and talking. Some of the produce (beans, peas, corn or potatoes) would be for lunch and the remaining would be preserved. My family has always had gardens through the dust bowl days, the victory gardens of WWII and present days. I have a garden but I could not feed myself on what I grow. I keep bulk emergency supplies, try to buy extra non-perishables. I buy extra produce in season dehydrate the extra. I have the capacity to store 8000 gallons of water. I have some ability to filter water but need to get better at that. Because of the extreme drought we are experiencing in the desert southwest, I’m transitioning to indoor hydroponics. I have some solar capabilities and have a goal to increase it early Spring 2023.
One of the things I admire about you the most is your faith. While I do not share the same religion, what I do share with you is the love for the land, for gardening, for animals and for the love of your family , and for our community. I learn grace from you. ❤
Preparation has been so heavy on my heart lately. Very timely video, as always. Well wishes for your health.
I went to the store Thursday (before I heard that the railroad strike had been averted) I picked up 50 cans of canned food items, extra flour, corn meal, etc. I’m watching how I’m using food more closely. My toddlers don’t like the ends of bread so I freeze them and I’ll make bread crumbs. Just this week I made my first two loaves of sourdough (they are amazing). Making all of the adjustments I can to make our family more frugal/sustainable.
Thank you! This video has very much been an affirmation for me.
You could easily use the bread heals for French toast or use them in a casserole.
To me, the heels are the best part.
I save ours for bread pudding as well.
@@tamiguillebeaux even better! Love it!!!
Using some for breadcrumbs (especially along with your own homegrown herbs/spices) is a great use. I also use them to make old-fashioned bread pudding, which I can also use eggs and powdered milk in (a lot of kids don't like that either!). Lots of recipes out there., and I never met a kid who didn't like bread pudding!
Keep going, sister. This needs to be a topic of discussion. I was writing about this 15 years ago and I still know I have weak points. Still no solar even though it's been at the top of my list for years. I built an outdoor kitchen a few years ago. Best thing ever. I have propane, electric, wood and charcoal out there. I no longer have to heat the August house up when canning, but I also know I can always cook anything under any circumstances. I processed a deer on my kitchen table last fall, but it could easily be done out there. Being ready does not feel fearful. It actually creates a feeling of peace and security. You don't need everything or lots of money. Just one step at a time and keep going. This is not a new topic. It was not that long ago that it was a very normal way of life. Every bit counts. Start where you are and do what you can.
I completely understand. I do my best thinking and praying when I am sitting and knitting. It’s just a great time to relax and reflect on everything.
I was led to start a wheat grain free diet too. I started getting rashes and joint pain. I also stopped with dairy. I was led to prepare in January 2020 after a crazy dream. I didn't even have a house plant. I own a townhome but I've learned to grow from seed, harvest and preserve food. My land is coming and I will continue to learn and prepare. You were one of the first channels I discovered.
Thanks Jes for your calming wisdom in this time of high anxiety.❤️
Thank you so much for sharing. I am 62 and I started gardening and preserving in my early 30's out of necessity. I had a large family and very little income. Now that I am an empty nester I just canned for fun. Now in the last few years I have gone back to my little garden and preserving. It is always a good idea to be prepared.
I love these videos. Even as one who struggles with anxiety this doesn’t freak me out. It is empowering. Thank you.❤
We moved out of the city and onto a 5-acre property in 2018. It wasn't perfect, but had a good -bones house, a nice shop, 2 fenced raised bed gardens and an orchard. My disabled husband was/is unable to care for things, so I learned to make things work for us. 4 yrs into the adventure, and we have the deep well, emergency power systems, a year's worth of food in storage for the two of us and our dogs, and the garden is producing well. All this physical work has changed me, I've lost weight and gotten off all but one medication, and feel more alive than I ever have before. I feel peace, at ease, and so happy to have left the stressful city life behind. I refuse to let the static of gloom and doom pull me down. BTW, I'm in my 70's so no spring chicken....it's possible!!! Thank you for your videos, your wisdom is solid and so welcomed!
Thank you, darlin'. I can't express the joy I feel when I see one of your videos pop up. I am old enough to be your mom, but yet, I consider you an internet friend. ha! I pray for your health. I pray peace on you in all areas. I pray blessings on your family. Thank you for all you do.
I've turned my waiting room into a classroom. My fiance and I are moving south and getting some land next year. We have already started looking physically at property. A small part of my childhood, we had a farm. In gardening, I've grabbed bags of dried beans from the grocery store and planted them and have had a garden full of fresh bean. If I find a tomato that I love and it tastes delicious, I grab the seeds from that for the future. I've also have books on natural plants on their benefits.
Thank you Jess. I really appreciate this video, as much if not more than any. There are other people that are putting videos out that cause fear and anxiety and I so enjoy your educating instead of causing fear.
Thank you for this chat! While it’s helpful in a practical sense, I just wanted to share with you that it reached my heart in a different place. I’m a couple months from giving birth and my last birth was traumatic and resulted in a baby with brain damage. Needless to say I’ve been riddled with anxiety wanting to control every aspect of this birth. What you said about “I don’t need to worry, I just need to listen.” Really hit me. Yes, I can prepare myself… but truly I need to seek the Lord and trust Him with my baby.
Prayers for peace and a safe delivery for you and your little one. 💕🙏🏻
Prayers for a safe delivery 🙏
When you said “Jessica don’t forget to prepare” I got chills. I’ve been on a very slow winding track to get to where I am now in the gardening, canning and preparing life. I think it was somewhere around 2010 or 11 that I had this incredible urge to start growing food but but like you I got lax or I’d go onto some other thing that would distract me but it kept coming around and something kept pushing me. So here I am doing exactly what I feel like I should be and I got the same push in 2019 like you did. With the way things are I’m glad I didn’t ignore it this time.
I think the weirdest part is how it came to me. All of a sudden I had this incredible urge to start dressing and living like it was the 1940s and I learned how to do all the things that I never knew how to do or had to do growing up. Like you, I was a city girl and raised by people that didn’t have anything to do with that except for my grandparents that had a victory garden left over from the war. Funny how differently he speaks to each of us to get our act in gear.
Thank you for sharing your heart and your story. This video really blessed me in multiple ways. I love your saying, " Turn your waiting room into a classroom", thats so good! and that there is a difference between fear and wisdom. Keep speaking the truth and sharing your wisdom, you are a world changer and a homestead changer🙂 May our God, our Provider, our fear Chaser, bless you and be gracious to you as you are doing to others!
I love all the suggestions you give on preparedness. I am in a place in my life where I am downsizing my entire existence. For me, this looks like moving into a .25 acre city lot from a 1 acre hobby farm. But this does not mean I am downsizing my garden needs. I have moved my raised bed garden buckets and my small greenhouse with me to my new location, and as I am able, I am working to get my new beds ready for planting, some of it late this fall, most of it by spring. Even though my household is just me, the garden is an important source of food for me. I have disabilities, and it isn't easy, but it IS important.
I needed our porchside chat today! I've been feeling the urge for a while now, and it is only getting stronger. But my HOPE is in Christ. And today, you gave me joy.
I’ve been canning & doing all these things for years. We’ve been laughed at because we are so crazy for canning & gardening, stocking water etc. But Jessica I’ve never felt the urgency as much as I have in these days.
I sourced all seeds I need for the next few years. I’m prepared to help our children & grandkiddos. Keep telling the people they need Jesus & get prepared!
What you said is so true. Make your home your classroom. I did. I grew food this year for the second time last year I did potatoes but they were tiny but it happened and I learned about fertilizer NPK and I have been growing and learning so much this year. It is also so therapeutic and excited.
Oh, Jess - how I needed to hear this today! Totally different situation around fear - but about provision … touched my heart deeply! I’m a remarried widow - facing a very real potential of being a second time widow… my biggest fear is having to leave my homestead and provision. Thank you, my dear friend!❤️
Thank you for your front porch talk. So much to glean. Just taking steps and continuing to take steps is good. For recipes I like I print them off on regular print paper. I put them in page protectors and a 3 ring binder. Personally I need to go through my binder and delete ones I haven’t used or never will, and categorize it for easier finding. I have this binder in my kitchen easy to pull out when needed. You could use this for guidelines for canning, baking, open fire cooking, recipes for first aid, sewing hints, laundry soap recipes, etc.... Hope things are well for YOU Jess and that you are getting relief for your skin issues.
Thank you Jess. You inspired me three years ago to start gardening on my little lot in a HOA. We don’t have a lot of space but enough to grow enough for two of us and some for my friends and neighbors. I also have a container that holds enough dried goods and canned goods to feed us for 4-6 months if s*** hits the fan tucked away in a closet. You don’t have to have a big property to do something.
Thank you for posting this, Jess. I cleaned out a big closet to use for storing food.
Someone is going to get all the good stuff in there I hadn’t used for years!!!
Thanks for the inspiration.
Your message is what I’ve been saying ever since the Secretary of State predicted food shortages.
You’re right. The time is now.
I am 47 & I have always lived in very rural places. My grandparents lived through the Great Depression. I am by no means prepared for doing everything. I am however, so very thankful now that I watched & got to see my grandparents, specifically on my dad's side, my grandpa always had a garden no matter where they lived, in town, out of town, in the country, etc. He saved everything that could be reused or repurposed for things. This year my husband & I did our first garden, we live in town in a very rural area. We learned a lot this year I can say that honestly but we had a lot of successes along the way. I have been though, all summer, been watching many youtube channels, including yours, learning how to best grow things, start them, keep them going, how to preserve, etc. I just 2 days ago did my first ever batch of canning pole beans from my own garden & it was such an amazing feeling when it was done. I cannot wait for spring already, I am so ready to do it all over again & even bigger next year. We most importantly learned this year to plan & prep for the next garden. We didn't really do that this time & we definitely learned from it. Our tomatoes did amazing this year & we are actually still getting them. My beans are going nuts even now. I am going to grow as long as I can outside & we have also already started getting ready to create ourselves an indoor growing room in the room off our garage. I will not be one of those who sat back while others were obviously getting ready for the coming seasons & not doing anything until it's too late. I will not let my family starve if I could have done something about it which is why I felt the urgency myself this year to grow what we did. I listened when people started talking several months ago about the need to prepare for the coming shortages. It drove me to start learning & I try to share what I can with those around me as well. Which is why I myself, am so grateful for people like y'all who are sharing their techniques, successes, failures, wisdom, & experience. It is very important for those of us who don't know how to do all these things. Thankfully, my dad was also responsible for making sure all his children including my sister & I knew how to not only fish but to hunt all native wildlife, deer, turkey, pheasant, quail, etc. I do know how to do that from personal experience & can clean those kills as well. Something that so many wouldn't even know where to start.
So thank you for these videos & please keep doing it for as long as you are able & led to.
Faith over Fear 🙏♥️🙌 Amen ‼️
Thank you Jess for always sharing what God puts on your heart. Countless times I’ve turned on a video and heard the words that God is putting on my heart come out of your mouth. Spirit recognizes spirit and I pray God continues to bless your ministry of sustainability.
Great video. Wisdom prepares her house and invites others in. I love the porch chat and the easy-going way in which you share what you know. My husband and I hope to grow a garden this year. Thank you for mentioning vigilance bc it’s easy to grow discouraged by the learning curve, haha. We want to be wise and prepare our house, so to speak, so that we have something to share with others.
Jess, thank you for addressing the panic and anxiety factors. I have struggled with those things for a long time, and I think others have also. I have had a couple of verses that have been coming to me again and again, Easter 4:14 and Isaiah 62:4 Remember fear is from the devil.
❤️❤️❤️🙏🏼✝️❤️❤️❤️
I was always told that "fear is the absence of faith.'
I was told a lot of things that are hurtful and not true in the name of the Lord. Question everything and hold on to the word from the Bible. Not hear say.
Excellent point.
As a disabled person I think about the need for community too in terms of what you’re discussing. I’m not the most disabled of disabled people so I can still contribute to a community in some way that keeps a more abled-bodied person otherwise engaged in serving the community in ways that I can’t.
Been praying for you. Hope your doing well.
I love that you appreciate all points of view and live truly Christ-like in the acceptance of others
Listening to your story reminds me that I've been watching you for a REALLY long time!!
😂❤😂 me too.
Jess, love your videos! My parents were born in 1916 (dad) & 1917 (mom) grew up with the hard times of the Great Depression. Though dad gave us a very modest well traveled ( living overseas) as a chemical engineer the depression upbringing never left them and was instilled in us kids. We lived in Holland in the mid 1970's when there was gasoline rationing stamps and NO driving on the weekends. Oh, the childhood stories of the Great Depression spilled forth. I listened....and learned. And of course my elder brothers were born in '42 and '45. Many years (40 yrs +/-) ago I felt the need to leave the city and eventually start a homestead; 7.1 acres river front. As I near my retirement date I have made every move to be for sustainable. Learn my lesson during the snow of Tx and my booster pump froze and split...but I have always keep 12 gals of H20 in the house and 12 gals in the van ( never know when you may see a stray thirsty dog on the side of the road + carry trial size dog food for a stray). I have a "Go Bag" ( actually my late dad's briefcase) with certified copies of birth, marriage & divorce, land and vehicle ownership. Also, a towel, washrag, new pkg of socks and undies, soap, matches, lighters plus cash....and I keep adding as I think of things. It's ready to go at a moments notice if I need to evacuate due to weather or anything else. My van is always configure to accommodate the dogs I currently have. NOT gloom and doom...but, SMART. Tornadoes and Hurricanes DON'T give a LOT of notice. I've started a seed exchange at work. And ( since I am a family of me and my three dogs) I don't need a huge garden so currently doing 5 gal bucket gardening (Home Grown veg in the UK), and landed a gold mine of FREE round empty buckets and free square mayo buckets from a local BBQ place. I didn't mean to ramble so long but I have learned so much from your adventure.
YES! We need to be community sufficient instead of self-sufficient. And thank you for this video with some things I hadn't thought of in our own preparedness plan. We truly appreciate you!
I love your front porch talks ❤
They remind me of my grandma. She gave me my love for gardening. We use to sit on the porch snapping beans, talking about everything. I’d give anything to be able to do that with her again 😢
I compare this sense of urgency to an expectant mother nesting. There's a drive to get things done while the clock is clicking down
The Lord has also placed “being prepared” on my heart and your channel is such a blessing for me along this journey. That quiet whisper of the Holy Spirit…love how the Lord speaks 😍
Im canning for the firat time this week. Tomato sauce, apple pie filling, zucchini relish, tomatillos. Making pickles. Planting my fall/winter garden too. ❤ and taking/watching as many videos on gardening and animal husbandry as possible
The Lord lead me to your channel during 2020. I was moved by your garden, the pink gate, the holly hocks, your dresses, your laugh and your joy. I really took comfort watching your channel as a peer because we’re the same age. Then I found a church. Then I started my own garden. I dream of moving back to the country someday for a simpler life.
I have been also watching a simple way of quickly growing just about anywhere. Keep on Growing With Mike. He wants to teach people as cheaply as possible. I planted some black beans from a big bag from the store. It worked! I am in Florida so summer is not a good time to grow but fall is coming when we can try. Loved this chat from the porch
Thank you Jess for this video. You are such a blessing and I love hearing your heart. I refuse to live in fear but I do feel God put the desire of gardening in my heart years ago for a good reason. To prep me for such times as these. Thank you for sharing, you are truly a special woman.
Thank you so much Jessica for your candid and respectful approach to a subject that affects us all. We do have differences in beliefs and life styles, but I very much respect you and what you're teaching. You had a few things to say that really touched me and helped while I go through a difficult time lately. Sending you, your family and all much love and prayers.
Regarding food grade buckets....sometimes grocery store bakeries will sell these and they're a lot less costly than any other option I've found. Hope this gives people an option that helps.
Good morning everyone happy Sunday morning and I loved your vlogs and you are amazing Supporter and I'm proud of all of you