Abundance Plus

Abundant Permaculture

Raise, Tend & Harvest Your Food to Feed Your Family Well

Explore the Blog
Hello and welcome!

My name is Justin Rhodes

Some may know me as the crazy chicken ninja, but that’s not how my story started.

Many years ago, the Beautiful One (aka, my wife Rebekah) and I brought home four chickens and placed them in a vacant horse stall. Within the first hour, two of them literally “flew the coop” and were gone forever.

Doubts quickly set in at what we had gotten ourselves into.

With determination and massive (perhaps ungodly) amounts of effort, time and money, something surprising happened… I got really good at raising chickens for both meat and eggs.

Fast forward and our 140-acre farm has expanded to include cows (both meat and dairy), sheep, pigs, rabbits, turkeys, and countless other livestock, all with a steep learning curve of their own.

Join me on this homesteading journey and learn from my countless hours of research and “trial by fire.”

This life may not always look perfect, but it’s perfectly fitting for us, and we’re enjoying the journey.

Watch

Justin Rhodes on Youtube

The first frost came early—and we still had garlic to plant. This year, we’re planting cloves from our own harvest, hoping to grow next year’s garlic without buying any seed garlic. But there’s a problem: we already planted winter rye in the bed where the garlic needs to go. With our fall planting window here, we work through clearing the young cover crop, preparing the bed, choosing our best garlic bulbs, and getting the cloves back into the ground. Rebecca reminds us to stick with what’s worked for years, and the whole family pitches in to finish the job. We also test a few simple tools for making planting holes, mark out our rows with the Neversink gridder, and add a thick layer of hay mulch that needs to last until June. Before calling it done, we tackle the bed edges—because a little extra work now could save us plenty of weeding later. 00:00 Growing next year’s garlic from our own harvest 00:32 The winter rye problem 03:54 Checking on the kids’ first woodstove fire of the season 05:27 Planning the mulch and preparing the soil 07:57 Choosing our best garlic bulbs for planting 08:49 Removing the remaining young rye 09:29 A cold morning and a family breakfast break 09:56 Back to the garlic project 12:47 Adding hay mulch 14:15 The final push to finish the bed One clove becomes a whole bulb—and part of this year’s harvest becomes the beginning of the next. That’s the kind of cycle we love building on the homestead. #GrowingGarlic #PlantingGarlic #FallGardening #SeedGarlic #GrowYourOwnFood #Homesteading #FamilyFarm #Mulching #WinterPrep #Homestead #SelfReliance
YouTube Video VVVPU0dFb2tRUWNkQVZGdUxfQXE4ZGxnLmtyZXFtUzFwRFdn

I’m Planting Next Year’s Garlic Without Buying Seed

Justin Rhodes 19 hours ago

YouTube Video VVVPU0dFb2tRUWNkQVZGdUxfQXE4ZGxnLk9qNFVQMF81WnZF

Be aware of vegetarian-fed chickens

Justin Rhodes 21 hours ago

YouTube Video VVVPU0dFb2tRUWNkQVZGdUxfQXE4ZGxnLnhoLUlSclc1eER3

We Have More Laws Than England

Justin Rhodes 23 hours ago

YouTube Video VVVPU0dFb2tRUWNkQVZGdUxfQXE4ZGxnLjF2Ukt5ejRTN0Jz

Local Slaughterhouse Shutdown For Being Too Slow

Justin Rhodes October 25, 2026 5:31 pm

Vego Garden Beds: https://get.aspr.app/SH20lU Use offer code “REBEKAHRHODES5” for 5% off. (Affiliate) Greenstalk: https://bit.ly/43JuMTl “RHODES10” for $10 off (affiliate) Homestead Builds: HTTPS://www.homesteadbuilds.com What if you only had a windowsill, a small deck, or a tiny yard? You can still start growing your own food. While we plant strawberries and onions, we walk through five small-space gardening systems—from a simple pot on a windowsill to a 1,400-square-foot front-yard homestead. We share what we’ve grown, what’s worked, what’s failed, and the advantages and drawbacks of each setup. We refresh our GreenStalk vertical planter, move Rebecca’s rolling raised bed indoors, tuck strawberries around asparagus, and explore how we’d make the most of a small yard with raised beds, trellises, a greenhouse, and chickens. We also put the kids to work, turn chicken-run bedding into garden compost, plant some overdue onions, and bring a little of the harvest into the kitchen for family dinner. 00:00 Growing food when space is limited 00:34 System 1: A simple windowsill container garden 02:16 System 2: GreenStalk vertical gardening 09:08 System 3: A rolling raised bed 12:38 System 4: Raised beds for a small yard 15:08 System 5: A 1,400-square-foot front-yard homestead 25:04 Planting the onions 25:37 Bringing the harvest into the kitchen You don’t need acres to begin. Start with the space you have—even if it’s just one pot—and build from there. #SmallSpaceGardening #ContainerGardening #VerticalGardening #RaisedBedGardening #GreenStalk #KitchenGarden #GrowYourOwnFood #UrbanHomestead #Composting #Homesteading #FamilyGarden
YouTube Video VVVPU0dFb2tRUWNkQVZGdUxfQXE4ZGxnLmFmRk92N3Y1MUZB

How I’d Start Gardening, Without A (Big) YARD

Justin Rhodes October 25, 2026 4:00 pm

YouTube Video VVVPU0dFb2tRUWNkQVZGdUxfQXE4ZGxnLjkxREJOcTZGTDhr

How Small Farmers Can Bypass The Middleman

Justin Rhodes October 24, 2026 5:42 pm

After 20 years of gardening, we’ve made plenty of mistakes—and learned a few things that have saved us serious time, money, and energy. In this video, we share 10 practical lessons that helped turn a small family garden into a system that produces thousands of dollars’ worth of food for our family of seven. From choosing the right garden location and building better soil, to using chickens, pigs, compost, raised beds, cover crops, low tunnels, tarps, and weed fabric, these are the changes that have made our homestead garden more productive and manageable. We also share the garden-planning tool that has helped us simplify succession planting, seed-starting schedules, harvest timing, and the mountain of tasks that come with growing a serious garden. 🌱 Try Seedtime free here: https://seedtime.us/jkmel4ukl4tonac09iap-5fs?ref=justin-rhodes41 Whether you’re planting your first garden or trying to grow more food with less work, we hope one of these lessons helps you take the next step. 00:00 20 years of garden lessons 00:23 Why garden location matters 02:47 Choosing an efficient garden style 04:57 Building fertility with compost 07:23 Letting animals work in the garden 09:53 Starting seeds for an easier garden 12:07 Winter gardening and low tunnels 14:02 Why raised beds can be worth it 15:23 Silage tarps and easier weed control 17:40 Garden planning with Seedtime 18:47 Weed fabric and drip irrigation 20:36 Cover crops for healthier soil 22:03 The most important gardening lesson #Homestead #Gardening #GardenPlanning #Seedtime #GrowYourOwnFood #Permaculture #Compost #RaisedBeds #CoverCrops #Homesteading #BackyardGarden #FamilyGarden
YouTube Video VVVPU0dFb2tRUWNkQVZGdUxfQXE4ZGxnLkJsbGxEdEpmajA4

I Spent 20 Years Building A Garden To Feed My Family

Justin Rhodes October 23, 2026 4:00 pm

Homestead Builds: https://homesteadbuilds.com Only seven days until frost—and we’re still planting for the future. This week, we tuck strawberries in alongside our asparagus, hoping to turn one raised bed into food that will keep producing for years to come. We share why we’re trying this companion planting setup, work through the spacing, and make the most of the little time left before winter arrives. We also check on our winter rye cover crop after five inches of rain, protect it from chickens and dogs with new netting, hand-seed the patchy areas, haul in Homestead Builds books as a family, and prepare for a much-needed Friendsgiving with good food and even better friends. 00:00 Seven days until frost 00:38 Planting strawberries with asparagus 03:32 Friendsgiving prep begins 04:35 Why we chose a raised bed for strawberries 05:07 Hauling Homestead Builds books home 06:49 Finishing the strawberry planting 07:50 Protecting the winter rye cover crop 10:26 Friendsgiving with friends 12:41 Wrapping up a full fall day It’s the season for putting food away, planting what we hope will last, gathering around the table, and doing the next right thing—even when there’s still plenty left on the list.
YouTube Video VVVPU0dFb2tRUWNkQVZGdUxfQXE4ZGxnLlc3TkFRRmFjd2RJ

Plant This Now & Have Fruit For Years

Justin Rhodes October 22, 2026 4:00 pm

YouTube Video VVVPU0dFb2tRUWNkQVZGdUxfQXE4ZGxnLkkxdEhXX2N3bUQw

Sharing is fine, but selling isn’t?

Justin Rhodes October 22, 2026 2:05 pm

Only eight days until frost—and our pigs’ outdoor run still needed a roof. Instead of making a trip to the store, we challenged ourselves to build it with what we already had: reclaimed tin, trees from the land, a few screws, and plenty of determination. The goal is simple: keep the pigs’ deep bedding dry, extend the life of the woodchips, and get them ready for winter without spending money. We also check the drainage ditch after a five-inch rain, troubleshoot the roof slope, repair the old shelter, and build a new lean-to from scratch—one board, one piece of tin, and one problem at a time. 00:17 Finding reclaimed tin around the farm 01:57 Checking that the drainage ditch is working 02:48 Planning a zero-budget pig shelter 04:15 Gathering tools and getting ready to build 06:03 Harvesting small trees from the property 09:23 Building the first frame 10:37 Day two: lifting the heavy frame 12:27 Trimming the frame and repairing the old shelter 13:55 Moving the finished roof into place 15:15 The new roof is up! It’s not fancy, but it works—and that’s the beauty of homesteading. Sometimes the best solution is already sitting somewhere on the farm. #Homestead #PasturedPigs #ZeroBudgetHomestead #DIYFarmBuild #PigShelter #DeepBedding #FarmLife #Homesteading #RegenerativeFarming #WinterPrep
YouTube Video VVVPU0dFb2tRUWNkQVZGdUxfQXE4ZGxnLmdsemM2M1M1R21F

Father & Son Build A Pig Shelter From Scraps

Justin Rhodes October 21, 2026 4:00 pm

YouTube Video VVVPU0dFb2tRUWNkQVZGdUxfQXE4ZGxnLmhWMDlYcEI2ZHdV

America’s Farm Succession Crisis

Justin Rhodes October 21, 2026 2:31 pm

Abundantpermaculture.com/mineral Sometimes the most important work on the farm isn’t the most exciting—it’s the work that keeps everything running. Today we’re going back to the basics: securing the chicken net to stop the escape routes, dealing with a rogue rooster, getting much-needed free-choice minerals out to the cows and sheep, and repairing the sheep shelter before the next round of farm sitting. We also check in on the off-grid cabin build and celebrate the small jobs that strengthen the foundation of a working homestead. 00:00 Back to the basics on the farm 00:25 Securing the chicken net 02:25 Turning a rogue rooster problem into a solution 03:01 Time to restock minerals 06:26 Repairing the sheep shelter 09:16 Checking in on the off-grid cabin foundation The foundation of a good homestead is built through the little things done consistently—secure fencing, dry shelter, healthy animals, and steady progress. #Homestead #Homesteading #FamilyFarm #PasturedPoultry #Sheep #Cattle #LivestockMinerals #FarmLife #OffGridCabin #RegenerativeFarming
YouTube Video VVVPU0dFb2tRUWNkQVZGdUxfQXE4ZGxnLkZId3o3ZUc5dFln

Back to the Basics

Justin Rhodes October 20, 2026 4:00 pm

Read

Let's dig deeper

A chicken in a field.
Animals
Gardening
Homesteading
Permaculture

You Can Homestead, We Can Help

Learning to homestead is difficult. You don’t know what you don’t know and there’s a whole lot of learning to be done. We’re here to help maximize your efforts, reduce the questions and uncertainty, and come alongside you as you realize your homesteading dreams.

Sign Up
Recent Blogs

The Latest From Abundant Permaculture

A man holding up a scythe.

How To Use A Scythe

Learn how to use a scythe to cut your wheat, keep your blade properly sharp with a whetstone and learn the effects of scything.
Read More

Get Justin's Book, The Rooted Life

Justin Rhodes shares the skills and the delights of becoming a part of your own food story in this inspiring and accessible and beautiful four-color invitation to a more abundant, healthy, and connected life.

Buy the Book
Abundance Plus