Season 2 Episode 7 PP
Seasonal Homesteading: Summer Homesteading Tasks
Every season on the homestead has tasks that need done. Although those tasks may differ depending on your climate, growing season, or circumstances, some tasks just seem to be best completed during the summertime.
In this episode, let’s take a look at some of the common summer tasks for the homestead you may have. Are you ready? Let’s Go!
Hi and welcome back to the Prepping Positively Podcast! I’m Annie, and today we are talking about seasonal homesteading tasks that seem to pertain, or may be more efficient, if done during the summer.
Of course, here in Central Florida, summer means a lull or break in many activities due to the high temperatures and the ungodly, at times, humidity. Gardening has pretty much ended for 90% of our crops by the end of June except for some peppers and a few high-heat loving crops. So most of July and August are what we call our “free time” months.
But that doesn’t mean we don’t fill our days and weeks during the summer with some good homesteading tasks. As a matter of fact, I think we get the most accomplished here in the summer.
So what do we do throughout June, July, and most of August? I bet a lot of the tasks are things you can do too!
For starters, we water more often. Here, as I said before, the heat is out of this world. That means the plants need a bit more watering than normal. I water almost daily in the summer here.
But the plants aren’t the only things using more water! The summer heat can be hard on our animals. During the summer heat we tend to refill waterers way more often, sometimes 3 times a day. The pigs even get a wallow spot daily, and sometimes, we have to add more because the mud has dried.
I also like to add ice cubes to the dogs water dish, as well as offering frozen corn treats to the chickens to help them stay cool as well.
Another problem we suffer from, especially in the heat and humidity is pests in what’s left in the garden. Pest control is so important, and if we don’t inspect our plants almost daily, we could easily lose a crop or even some favorite perennials due to an insect infestation.
I have a post on the website you can read to learn more about using natural ingredients to control garden pests. I’ll add the link to the show notes.
Mowing is a huge chore in summer as it happens so often. Just be sure not to cut the grass to low where the heat of summer causes it to burn and die out. Always cut at least 3” high during the summer months.
While I am inspecting my gardens for pests, I also try to pull any weeds and pay attention to any plants that seem to need a nutrient boost. Some plants will thrive even longer and produce a harvest better by a good dose of natural fertilizer throughout the summer.
Summer for Florida residents means the beginning of hurricane season. So summer is the best time for us to trim up tree limbs, remove the dead ones, and inspect the rest of the limbs for possible “spears” when the hurricane storm winds start happening.
Don’t forget to save those logs you cut for firewood, even if it is just for a bonfire in the fall.
Speaking of saving the logs for a fire, is your wood stove clean and ready for the fall? Or maybe your fireplace? Summer is the best time to have these cleaned and maintained.
Speaking of maintenance, how about simple maintenance of the fencing or gates around your property. We walk the perimeter at the beginning of every summer and look to see if there are any repairs that need done. It is better to fix those things now than in the middle of the coldest day in winter right?
While you’re at it, why not use the summer months to check and repair animal pens, sheds, or other buildings that you use on your property. They may need repainted, or maybe the roof may need some repairs. Better to do those things now while the weather is cooperating.
Don’t forget about getting those generators out and making sure they are ready too. You never know when the grid may fail temporarily and you need that generator.
Lastly, you may want to get those grates and ducts cleaned if you have central heat and air and replace those filters often.
As you can see, there are a great number of tasks to be done in the summer. Oh and don’t forget to use those harvests from your garden to start prepping for that winter food supply too! There is nothing more satisfying than a stocked up pantry when the weather is bad.
Now I am sure you may have other tasks you may do around your homestead in summer I haven’t mentioned here. But hopefully, now you have a good list of to-do’s you can take care of before Fall comes around with a new task list for your homestead.
That’s it for this week. I hope you found this helpful. I’ve listed any posts that pertain to today’s podcast in the show notes. Til next week…stay productive!
Posts that relate to today’s episode:
Natural Pest Control For The Garden
Attracting Beneficial Bugs To Your Garden
How To Attract Bees To Your Garden
How To Prep For Power Outages
10 Natural Ingredients To Boost Your Garden
