But Why Do You Call It “Farmish”?

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Have we ever really been formally introduced? I’m Amy, and I call myself farmish—which usually gets a lot of side glances and what exactly do you mean by that type questions. So I’m here to explain it to you—what farmish means, what it doesn’t mean, and why you, too, might consider yourself to be farmish.

(You can read this blog post…or listen to it as a podcast by clicking the triangle play button on the black player bar above. Click it. I dare you.)

First, a little about the farm and me.

I live in central Minnesota on a 5 acre farm with a little white farmhouse and a big red beautiful barn that was built in 1918.

We raise chickens (both meat and egg birds), pheasants, pigs, and turkeys.

When we first moved to the farm back in 2011 we also had horses and goats, but decided after a couple years that those weren’t really our thing. But pigs and turkeys? Those creatures are my absolute favorite.

We have a big 2400 square foot garden, as well as grapevines and a raspberry patch.

Sometimes we even attempt to grow corn.

Our homestead is on five acres, surrounded by fields that someone else owns and farms. It feels like we have a lot more land than we actually own—which is fun. But 5 acres is actually perfect for our homesteading activities.

What else do you need to know about me? I absolutely love to cook and bake and be domestic and take care of my family. I’m kind of an old soul.

I didn’t grow up in the city, but I definitely didn’t grow up on a farm either. It’s fun to share what I’m learning and doing and all about the experiences that come along with being a modern homesteader. I’ve enjoyed writing about it here on the site, and now it’s fun to talk about it on the podcast as well!

“So. What do you mean by farmish?”

A lot of people have asked me why I named my website A Farmish Kind of Life.

Well, it speaks to my attitude and beliefs about living a simple life and being a modern homesteader—but not needing to be absolutely hard core about it.

Don’t take that the wrong way—because on those days when I’m buried beneath processing tomatoes or butchering pigs or cutting and stacking wood, it can feel that we are pretty hard core—so let me explain what I mean.

One of the very first things I learned when I stepped into the homesteading life is that there are a few folks out there who I would describe as homesteading Nazis. Now, the homesteading life is amazing and we try to do as much as we can to move towards self-reliance and self-sufficiency.

But. We’re not living in 1850 anymore.

And we need to be honest.

Sometimes we get people who are super hard core, and this is the way it has to be—and, if that works for them, that’s great—but the problem comes in when those people start accusing other folks of not being a real homesteader because, gasp, they still buy their flour from the store instead of grinding all their own.

Oh, my word, y’all. It’s not a contest. There is no such thing as a homesteader scorecard.

My husband, our two teen boys, and I enjoy growing our own and raising our own and living a life that is different from a lot of other people. But we also have a lot of things we are involved in or enjoy doing that don’t have anything to do with homesteading.

This is not the same as being Ma Ingalls. It’s Ma Ingalls version 2.0. And I’m okay with that.

Sometimes I field a lot of questions about why do you do it that way, or why do you allow that into your homesteading life or that’s not how a real homesteader does it. But friends, we do things the way we do things at our 5-acre farm because it’s the way things work at our 5-acre farm. Every family is different. Every homesteader lives in a different situation. Modern homesteading is a different animal. We’re all doing what works for us. Right?

So farmish was my nod to the fact that yep, there are some really awesome homesteading things I’m going to do. I’m going to raise animals and grow vegetables and fruit. I’m going to bake my own bread and crochet hats and dishcloths and I’m going to enjoy a simple life…but if I drive by a Starbucks, I just might stop in and get a coffee.

I’m okay with that.

We will strive to make our own food—as much as we can. We will can and preserve and fill the shelves of our pantry. But, let’s be honest—there will also be store bought beer in my fridge.

Being farmish is about being real with each other about modern homesteading.

And that’s all I’ve got to say about that.

Subscribe to my Farmish Kind of Life podcast at iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, PlayerFM, or other popular podcast players. All episodes of the podcast are linked under the podcast tab that you can find way at the top of this post in my menu bar.

Do you homeschool? So do we! Check out my book — The Homeschool Highway: How to Navigate Your Way Without Getting Carsick.