Current State of the Homestead

Over the last few weeks, I've been ready to really establish Red Letter Homestead. This week has been a wonderful push in that direction! Here's a rundown of what is currently in motion here and what is to come: 

"Business" Wise:

• Established an email, phone number, and email for RLH. Today, I finished what I started over the weekend and now have a presentable "Our Goods" page that showcases what goods have come out of our kitchen since I had so much of a garden abundance that I started canning in August 2025! 

• Finished the "About Us" page yesterday too! Still a ways to go, but working on it!

Kitchen Wise:

• We make do around here, learning as we go and using resources that find our way to us just as much as we seek them out and try to help others who we can too!

• Waterbathing everything is my go-to. My MIL set me up with a pot, jar tongs, mesh strainer, and funnel last year that are holding strong! She also gifted me a wonderful immersion blender and new food processor that has already started to save me time. (Pressure canning terrifies me...) Initially, we did purchase 3 or 4 cases of 12 oz jars, but have since been gifted more from my in-laws and from local free pages that range 4oz to 1 gallon. One such free page pick up I expected 2 dozen 8oz jars and received over double that - such a blessing! 

• For tinctures, a dear friend not only shared a base knowledge in December 2025, but sent me home with some to try, a reference book, cheesecloths, and tiny funnels!

• Recipes come from a mix of places. Some stumbled by online websites, some (like the applesauce) from dear friends, and some through social media (as we do). As a result, some recipes have been saved for treasured reuse while others will be leading to more exploring for the next batch.

• I utilize a bottom cabinet in our Amazon rolling island for tinctures to be in a cool, dark spot, and the basement shelves for all the canned goods! 

• The Dehydrator was a market place find in March 2026! As all the spring life began to blossom, it has already started dehydrating purple dead nettle, onion grass, violets and a few other things to capture the season and prepare ahead! So excited for what this will continue to let us do! 

• The vacuum sealer was a purchase last year that helped preserve some veggies prior to starting to can. It has not been as heavily used yet, but will be coming more in handy this year, I'm sure!

Garden Wise:

• My MIL has been so kind as to lend use of her small greenhouse on the property, and my efforts are supported well by my FIL! This not only helps us get outside, but has shown it can sustain plants over winter (if I had kept up with them) and has had seeds planted since February! 

• 11 Veteran Blueberry Bushes just brought to property and replanted already budding!

• 7 or 8 Apple Trees on the property (My October 2025 apple products are from them!)

• 4 Raised Beds in front of my in-laws. 

  • 1 I used last year for tomatoes and peppers that took off, green beans that did well until I stopped keeping up, and peas that didn't do well. 

  • 2 she used for cherry tomatoes, some squash, a dahlia, strawberries, and a few other types of tomato! Not sure what she has planned for this year.

  • 1 slightly smaller that I overplanted with mint 4 years ago.... and plan to keep up with for the first time after letting it go....(This is where I know the dehydrator will come in!)

• Big garden plans. Roughly sketched out, there is a general idea of where to add raised beds and pathways to make a garden ready for all the growing plants and more!

• Seeds waiting to be planted - some purchased, but many gifted by my dear friend who is a long time gardener and is such a joy to learn from and share in what is happening in our gardens!

In Progress:

• Garden Structures - (Thanks Eli! He and his dad just acquired wood and he hopes to start building them soon! This was definitely a faith thing since we didn't necessarily have the funds to purchase it all new to meet the sketch!)

• Tinctures - I just bottled Holy Basil that sat since February...and just started a Wild Violet Tincture! Update will come in a few months! 

• Plants - Currently 45 Luffa, 7 Cumin/Coriander, 9 Kentucky Green Bean, 2 Yellow Pear Tomato, 2 Pink Brandywine Tomato, 19 Hybrid Tomato, X Cherry Tomato, 4 Sunflower, 3 Basil, 10 Rescued Mystery Mint, 10 Rescued Strawberry, and some rescued Watercress.... all growing wonderfully in the greenhouse waiting for warm weather outside! (Plus a second-year strawberry and second-year kale just outside that survived winter!)

• Dehydrating - More violets and onion grass along with some tester mint for me to learn it well! 

• "Business" End Things - Next up, getting registered as an LLC then getting social medias off the ground! 

There is so much ahead, and I've been so incredibly thankful for what life looks like right now, even with the struggles that keep it from being worry-free. We have everything we need, and have the ability to still share with others! I know in my heart that this is the path we're being set on at this time and having faith to be guided in steps forward in the unknown of what this flourishing will look like! I have goals certainly, but all in due time, and with the understanding that He may very well have them be realized differently than I could expect. After all, I got my sourdough starter March 2025 (still alive!) and joked with Eli that this time last year, I barely was baking my own bread and now I'm full on gardening, learning the land, making medicine from the earth, and preparing shelves for the future with eyes turned towards growth. Who could have guessed this time last year? Thanks for tuning in and joining along! 

With a Joyful Heart,

Crystal Smith; Red Letter Homestead