Backyard Dreams to a Thriving Business: My Homestead Story
Discover how small, steady steps turned my backyard dreams into a thriving homestead with quail, goats, and sustainable living practices.
Homesteading isn’t about overnight success—it’s about small, steady steps that lead to big, lasting changes. It’s learning as you go, embracing challenges, and making the most of every opportunity. From the first seed planted to building a thriving homestead, every bit of progress is hard-earned and deeply rewarding. The joy of harvesting my own food, raising animals, and creating a self-sufficient home is a fulfillment unlike any other, proving that growth happens one small step at a time.
My homesteading journey is a story of resilience, growth, and passion for self-sufficiency. From my early days on a quarter-acre lot in Maine to running a successful quail hatchery on five acres, I’ve built a life centered around sustainability, creativity, and teaching others to embrace the homesteading lifestyle.
Planting the Seeds of a Homestead
My path to homesteading started with a love for DIY projects and frugality. My interest in gardening took root when I purchased my first home, but it was the book Mini Farming: Self-Sufficiency on ¼ Acre that transformed my hobby into a full-fledged lifestyle. That book opened my eyes to the endless possibilities of small-scale farming, inspiring me to turn my modest lot into a thriving homestead.
On my original 1/4-acre property, I cultivated 850 square feet of gardens, growing tomatoes, cucumbers, broccoli, green beans, squash, and even maintaining a small crab apple tree for homemade apple butter and jellies. I skillfully blended aesthetics with functionality—training sugar snap peas on the mailbox and weaving herbs into my perennial flower beds to maintain curb appeal in my in-town neighborhood.
My love for poultry led me to raise Swedish Blue ducks, a colorful collection of chickens, and eventually Coturnix quail. The eggs from my birds not only fed my family but also stocked my roadside honor-system farm stand. I partnered with local health food stores to sell surplus eggs and produce, ensuring the homestead contributed to household expenses.
Turning Setbacks into Opportunities
Life took unexpected turns, including a divorce that led me to adapt and expand my homesteading dreams. Today, I reside on a 5-acre farm where I founded Forget-Me-Not Quail Farm, specializing in Coturnix quail. With resilience and determination, I transformed challenges into opportunities for growth.
My farm thrives with a variety of quail and other poultry. I supplying hatching eggs and contributing to the homesteading community. I balance this bustling business with raising my youngest child, now 13, and sharing life with my lifelong partner, Michael, who shares my passion for nature, animals, and self-sufficiency.
In addition to raising poultry, I’ve expanded my homestead to include a small(ish) herd of Nigerian Dwarf goats. These goats provide milk that I use to make cheeses, yogurt, and shampoo bars. Their playful energy brings life to the farm and adds another layer of self-reliance to our homestead.
I continue to grow my homestead with fruit trees along my property line and plans to dive deeper into quail breeding and expanding farm offerings. My commitment to sustainability is reflected in every corner of my farm, from composting systems integrated with my poultry to natural, homemade household products.
Practical Tips for Starting Your Homestead Journey
My advice for anyone dreaming of starting their own homestead is straightforward and encouraging: “You can do whatever you set your mind on. You might not be able to do things the traditional way. Urban homesteading requires a bit of creativity, but it’s completely worth the effort and planning.”
Flexibility, creativity, and passion are key to navigating the challenges and rewards of homesteading. Embrace the learning curve and remember that progress comes with patience. Start small—grow what your family will eat, raise animals that fit your space and lifestyle, and take on one project at a time. Homesteading isn’t about perfection; it’s about finding joy in the process and adapting as you go.
Growing Toward the Future
My homesteading journey is far from over. I am actively expanding the hatchery to include new and unique quail color varieties while maintaining high conformity standards to ensure quality and consistency.
Alongside the hatchery, I’m working on writing a book that shares the honest ups and downs of homesteading life—the challenges, triumphs, and everything in between.
I also look forward to introducing new farm products in our farm stand, exploring additional sustainable practices, and continuing to share my hard-earned knowledge through my websites, The 104 Homestead and Forget-Me-Not Quail Farm.
Ready to start your own homesteading journey? Pin this for inspiration and discover how small steps can lead to big changes!
My story is a testament to how dedication, adaptability, and love for the land can create a fulfilling and self-sufficient life. From a small town backyard to a flourishing farm, my journey proves that with passion and perseverance, homesteading dreams can become reality.
Are you dreaming of starting your own homesteading journey? Share your thoughts or your own story in the comments below!
Have a story to tell? We’d love to feature your homesteading journey! Submit your story here and inspire others to connect with the land and live more self-sufficiently.
When you say you have the compost bin in with your chickens, what type of bin do you have? A picture would be helpful because I love the idea 🙂
Thank you, and great articles!
I don’t have the setup in place right now, but it was a 3 sided bin made from pallets with a wire hinged roof. So the open side went to the chicken run. You could open the top to drop in the food scraps and stuff without going into the run. We emptied it from within the run.
I too live in town in Maine and homestead on a1/2 acre lot. Wish I had more because i would love a milk cow, but i make do with what i have. Good to meet a neighbor!
Welcome fellow Mainer! I upgraded to 5 acres and I still haven’t gotten my cow. Soon though. I’ve been researching.
I’ve been following you on Instagram and just ran across your blog when I was looking through Pinterest about homesteads. I love reading about other unconventional homesteads, because everything you mentioned above is very similar to what we do!
Your blog is so inspiring to me! I live in an apartment right now, but my boyfriend and I are hoping to have a house in the next 2 years. We’ve even considered moving to Maine, so reading about your story is so helpful to me! I love that you’re doing this in a more populated area, too, because I think that can always be more tricky with zoning and neighbors and all.
It helps that my part of Maine is very agriculturally focused, but yes, you can certainly homestead in Maine. Two other ladies from Maine that are worth checking out are Grow a Good Life and Lone Feather Farm. Between the three of us, we cover coastal, inland, and the mountain regions of Maine 🙂
I was looking at your site and saw no pictures of gardens or anything else. Are they posted someplace on your sites saw a lot of advertisements for books
I’m sorry. I use to have a page dedicated to my gardens, but the program I was using to display them went wonky. They are scattered through posts, but I will work on getting that page back up for you to reference.
Where in Maine? I’ve been here 6 years and have yet to meet any like-minded folks. We’re in Topsham and this is going to be our first season with a committed garden. I am so excited to start easing into homesteading. The dream is to get a little land in a few years.
I’ve been to the Topsham area. I’m over on the Maine/NH line in the Mt. Washington Valley.
What an inspiring post! It is amazing all that you do with just 1/4 of an acre! I hope to do the same soon. I shared your story on my Facebook page “Green Thumb Journey”. Good luck during the winter!
Thank you Eva. We try pretty hard. I’m not sure if we will ever be fully self-sufficient here in Maine (we have a very short growing season), but I’m eager to keep trying.
What stopped me in my tracks is how much my Granddaughter looks just like you. She is 12 years old and a wonderful young lady. We live in a large Pacific NW city so the odds of her ever having a Urban Homestead will probably not happen…but seeing all of the things that you and your family are doing, planning truly is inspirational and makes me feel that the world is ready for her, you and other young people of today. I like that expression, “Reach for the Stars,” and I am hoping she will have the fortitude and never give up striving for that goal.
Thank you so much. You never know, urban homesteaders are growing in numbers.
Do you need a permit to sell your produce in your road side stand? I love what you are doing! We are looking to do the same thing, except we are living in Chile!
It depends on where you live. I didn’t need one for mine, but I cannot sell raw milk and I cannot market as organic (even though it is).
Love the post, I’m a mother and wife, ( 2 boys 9/13) I’m am currently trying to become self sufficient, every little tip helps, I just finished making my own irrigation system for my gardens.so fun and I’m so proud. Keep the advice coming.
Welcome Felicia!
I’m always surprised at what people do with what little they have! It’s awesome what you’re doing with 1/4 acre. Thanks for being the first commenter on my blog, by the way!
I really enjoyed your post. Keep up the great work!
I can’t wait to read that book! I’m not very good at gardening but I’m hoping to get better!
She really makes it so easy. She breaks down types, quantities and how to arrange them. It’s so helpful! Just be aware. She’s a fan of double digging and if you’ve read our latest Gardening & Outdoors post, it’s a topic of great debate. 🙂 Good luck with your gardens and I hope I can be of some help along the way.
Have you considered grafting various apple varieties on your crabapple tree?
We have 6 crabapples sprinkled around and I didn’t do anything with them as we were busy using and preserving the glut from our regular 7 apple trees and the crabapples Aeemed less desirable. What a waste! I’m going to try grafting so we can get a more diverse harvest of full size apples.
I’ve been reading up about it, but have yet to be brave enough to try. I also want to make my own 5-fruit tree at some point.
I love, love, love your blog. I am 66 years old and I am trying to become a homesteader on less than 1/4 acre. You give good advice and tips.
That warms my heart to hear. Thank you!
Thank you for sharing, I immediately requested the book Mini Farming: Self-Sufficiency on 1/4 Acre from the library, looking forward to read it too.
You’re going to love it!