Smoking Ham, Chicken Coops, And Gardening Adventures: A Busy Homesteading Week On The Backroads

Welcome to another episode of Backroads Homesteading! This week, we've had a busy schedule filled with various projects around the homestead. From setting up a new chicken coop to smoking our first ham, it's been an eventful week. Enjoy the second longer-form video this week as we get more into storytelling mode.

Full blog post - https://backroadshomesteading.com/cold-hard-truths/

0:00 Intro

0:23 Chicken Coop
First off, we got our chicken coop inside and set up the chickens temporarily to get them acclimated to their new surroundings. Em's been keeping an eye on them to make sure they're settling in well.

1:17 Smoker Update
We also had an exciting moment as we smoked our first ham. Although we didn't raise the pig entirely on our homestead, we were involved in most of the process. The ham turned out pretty good for our first attempt, thanks to the East Oak smoker we got from Amazon. It's a budget-friendly option that worked well for us.

https://amzn.to/3PBUGCy EAST OAK 30" Digital Electric Smoker, Outdoor Smoker with Glass Door and Meat Thermometer, 725 Sq Inches of Cooking with Remote, 4 Detachable Racks Smoker Grill for Party, Home BBQ, Night Blue (affiliate link)

2:30 Garden Update
With the threat of freezing temperatures seemingly behind us, we've moved our produce out of the pole barn. We also invested in some cattle panels, albeit mistakenly getting the more expensive horse panels. Despite the budget mishap, we're setting up a trellis system for our beans, peas, and tomatoes.

7:42 Pole Barn Fixes
The week also involved some maintenance work on our pole barn. We're replacing the roof screws on the main building and the original lean-to. It's important to replace these every few years to prevent leaks and deterioration.

9:45 @WhiteRockNATION Time
Lastly, we spent some time with friends on the ridge, helping them build something for their homestead. It's always great to spend time with like-minded people, sharing stories and enjoying good food.

11:45 Spraying Knockdown
Additionally, we tackled a home improvement project by spraying knockdown texture on the walls. It's been a while since we've done this, so it was a bit of a learning curve to get the right consistency and technique. But the results are turning out great, adding a nice texture to the walls.

17:00 Knocking Down The Pattern

20:43 Outro
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