The End Of $50 February | How Did We Do?!

The End Of $50 February | How Did We Do?! #50dollarfebruary2024. We made it to the end of February! How did we do?! Check out the video! We'll let you know the challenges and what we need to improve!

[@TheOldSwedesFarm]

We survived February.....with ease! Check out how we did and let us know how you did! Cheers!

[@souhirhairstyle]

Hi friends 🤗 good challenge 😅🎉 amazing 👏 💙

[@TheOldSwedesFarm]

I'm really surprised we did as well as we did. I guess we had more in the freezer (and on the shelf) than I thought! Thanks for watching! Cheers!

[@asmaetravel]

Awesome ❤

[@TheOldSwedesFarm]

Thanks! We made it! Thanks for stopping by! Cheers!

[@MtnGrandma]

This was great! You all did awesome and love that you have meat in your freezer still! Looking forward to hearing the plans for next years collaboration. Maybe we’ll be ready next time! 😊👍❤️

[@TheOldSwedesFarm]

I hope you'll join us for the next one. This was fun and, now that we've done it twice, it isn't as big a challenge. It's a lot easier. Cheers Tammy!

[@AHomesteadingHustle]

So glad the chickens were a huge source for this February challenge! We grow so many potatoes every year, they're sprouting in our laundry room now but I'm still using them 😂 Well done you two!!!

[@TheOldSwedesFarm]

We've got potatoes downstairs but they are shriveled and sprouting. They will be ready to plant in spring. Your chickens were the hit of February! We might've sold more of your chickens for this year! We'll have to talk. Our friends want some!! Cheers Sarah!

[@thisheathenlife]

Okay, we are in South-central/SE MN, what is your secret to a decent potato harvest? We have a very small plot, have used grow bags AND a dedicated raised bed for them, and we get very little bang for buck but we aren't ready to throw in the towel. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

[@TheOldSwedesFarm]

@@thisheathenlife We have a video on our raised beds. You might want to check that out to see a visual. We use livestock troughs as our raised beds. We have a mixture of topsoil and straw/chicken poop within the tubs. We make sure the straw/poop is fully composted. This soil/straw/poop mixture is really loose and great for the potatoes. We plant before the last frost date as most of the early work is below ground. If we get a late frost, we'll cover the plants. Regular watering, lots of sunshine and that's about it. When the branches start to die, we pull the potatoes. We do a second planting in mid-summer and they harvest in the late fall. We rotate planting so we're not using the same planters each summer (rotate the soil). Hope this all makes sense. We're near Henderson. If you're ever in the area and would like to stop by to see the operation, drop us a note ([e-mail]).

[@thisheathenlife]

@@TheOldSwedesFarm that is great information! Thank you so very much. Would be a most excellent field trip, we will definitely see about making drive out that way soon!.

[@TheOldSwedesFarm]

@@thisheathenlife Love it! Keep us posted ([e-mail]). Cheers!

[@northerngirlhobbies]

Under the $50 for me here. Darn, I did have cravings though heading through town when we were going fishing for 2 weeks when we travelled through. We need to grow more onions, learn to make pasta and to buy a cow to make butter. Annette is great. Love the challenge. Coincidentally it’s a perfect fit with the pantry challenge. I’ll be filming my update tomorrow or Sunday. Getting warm here and need a few more days of ice fishing. Great job Holly and Rich!

[@TheOldSwedesFarm]

I bet it was hard to travel through town and see all the fast food and other places to eat. I'll watch for your video. I'm hoping you're enjoying a great meal tonight! Cheers Jen!

[@MinuteontheMountain]

Congrats, guys. I'm impressed you were still able to accomplish it even with the bad storm.

[@TheOldSwedesFarm]

I was so surprised how the month ended up. We've got so much food, thanks to our efforts in 2022 and our swapping eggs for the meat chickens and the 1/8 cow. We're going to refine our plans and get better before next winter. Thanks for stopping by!! Cheers!

[@beesandseeds]

$7 you did awesome! Trading is key. I need to find some backyard farmers to trade with.

[@TheOldSwedesFarm]

We were very happy with our results. The key is growing LOTS of veggies but also find some trading partners. We need to find a milk producer. That would really help us. We also need to learn to can potatoes. We've never done that and need to be able to process a LOT more potatoes. Thanks for stopping by Lisa!!

[@TheCowEmporium]

You guys did amazing! What happened to the strawberries? I’ve been drooling over seeing a whole crate on your countertop? I sure hope the weather cooperates for you guys next year. Drought and rain are one thing, hail is impossible to recover from late season. Awesome stuff guys. Take care, Annette 🌺

[@TheOldSwedesFarm]

We haven't had the strawberries come to town yet. We're waiting to hear from them. We're praying the weather will be good to us this summer. I've got some ideas and we need to talk with you about next years challenge. We'll watch for a video from you to see how you did. Your meals looked so colorful and flavorful. Have a great weekend!

[@YogiHollowFarm]

Hail stinks! Thats for sure. You guys did amazing! Our short point is dairy and veggies (but we can veggies we can’t grow in bulk). Sorry skipped out on this year because we were swamped with projects with a warmer weather and next thing I knew it was Feb! For us we know where we stand with what we grow so it’s a no brainer. We really didn’t buy groceries but that’s because we have stuff on hand all the time. We never have enough veggies. And trading is rough here with what we have. Cheers!

[@TheOldSwedesFarm]

I thought we were done when we had that storm. Mother Nature sure set us back. I'm hoping that you will have better veggie growth this year with all the additional sunshine you'll have. Maybe you can keep and extra pig and trade it for veggies. Who knows! Thanks for stopping by Lisa!

[@juanisgarden5356]

Great job! You are always such a great example for the rest of us!!😊

[@TheOldSwedesFarm]

I'm always willing to tell how things end up. Sometimes we're successful and sometimes we're a complete mess!! Thanks for stopping by Juani!!

[@TheMorganHomestead]

Good job! We definitely want to do this next year. Sounds like you guys need to can some potatoes!

[@TheOldSwedesFarm]

We talked about that. We've never canned potatoes and need to learn. Thanks for stopping by!

[@MayfieldRanch]

Holly, you look beautiful in this video! So we didn’t participate in $50Feb this year. We did great last year, so I think it is a great challenge. It for sure helped us to consider how we can grow more and use more throughout the year. We did try to barter with some local ranches, but no luck. We wanted beef and dairy and essentially anyone that is keeping cattle for beef or dairy can easily keep some chickens for eggs and have property for veggies. I thought we found a dairy that was willing to trade, but after more research on sharing canned foods- there are some rules in our state that require licensing- it just didn’t make sense. Anyway awesome results on the challenge. We know we can do it if we are willing to eat eggs and veggies only like last year. I’m going to start making sourdough bread this year, so maybe that will help if we participate next year.

[@TheOldSwedesFarm]

Bread is a nice step forward. Maybe you'll find someone willing to trade this year. There are more and more people seeing the value of bartering. We'll update you on next year! Cheers!

[@alessiaunicastar4658]

Molto utile grazie like ❤❤❤❤

[@TheOldSwedesFarm]

Thank you for watching and commenting!!

[@Thomas-ZET]

We have saved a lot, we probably spent under 100 in food, as for potatoes we are close to several potato farms and cheaper to buy, we get the seconds for 12 dollars for 50 lbs, we canned 100 pounds, still have a lot left

[@TheOldSwedesFarm]

We have some potatoes but they are shriveled and sprouting (and ready to plant). Holly talked about growing more and canning them. I'll have to look into canning potatoes as we've never done that. Thanks for stopping by and congrats on spending under $100! Cheers!

[@thisheathenlife]

What a great thing to do. Unfortunately, there aren't many here that will trade/barter. People in our town/area are a bit too not community-minded for that but we have made a few nice exchanges. However, even with a teeny space, we produce a lot in our garden. Each year we try something new and I can or freeze the abundance after sharing with friends and neighbors. I am still working on producing more squash so we have to buy less from the Farmer's Market or the shops. We have 3 girls doing great with egg laying, at least 2/day, who will be a year in a week. We have also bought chicks this year to increase our little flock to 6, but as they are straight run it is a bit of a gamble. Totally worth it, though. Since we live in town, we aren't able to keep roos. A bummer but not a deal-breaker. We have discovered how much we enjoy hatching out and raising chicks, so that may become a side hustle and/or a 4H project for our twins.

[@TheOldSwedesFarm]

It takes a while to develop the partnerships for bartering and each community is different. Just keep moving forward and those connections will present themselves. Sounds like you're having fun with the chickens and should have a good amount of eggs each day with the new hens! Keep us updated on your progress! Cheers!

[@thisheathenlife]

@@TheOldSwedesFarm will do and thanks for the encouragement. You guys are amazing.

[@DailyRollcall]

Getting ready to plant, corn , sorghum for chickens, just got a green house, could grow year round, being never below 40ish, got the micro weather, no where else in the world, still not sure, so now got sprouts of the corn and sorghum waiting for the ground to warm up. We have storms but not much, this last one tv news went nuts and it was just some rain. You would laugh at our news over weather, get sand bags don't go out, and it is just raining.

[@TheOldSwedesFarm]

It is amazing how the media will go nuts over the littlest thing and blow it out of proportion. Good luck with your growing and the green house!! Cheers!

[@LittleHomesteadOnHinerPond]

What was the channel you recommended? The transcript says cow porium but I didn’t find it. Thanks! Also, we had tried the Pantry Challenge in Jan for the first time. My husband even got onboard for 3 weeks. So while I didn’t do your challenge , what I got from you is to think about the veggies we like to eat and try to grow enough of those. That’s a great tip as I plan this year’s garden.

[@TheOldSwedesFarm]

Check out Annette and Glen at The Cow Emporium. Great channel!! We're really thinking about the veggies and all we use during the year. We need to grow more! Thanks for stopping by! Cheers!

[@EugeneYus]

So what restaurant are you going on the first of March? 😂 Edit: change from coffee to green tea ;)

[@TheOldSwedesFarm]

We definitely need to head out for someone else to cook! Not sure if Holly likes tea. I'll have to ask. I've never been a tea or coffee guy. I'll have to try it again. Cheers!