Visit the Farm

Welcome to the Farm!

A large garden and orchard, chickens, lambs, and a huge Do-It-Yourself farmhouse build keep our hands busy, our tummies filled, and our hearts humbled. Life on our hobby farm is wonderfully messy.

I grew up in Southern Indiana and loved spending my summers picking sweet sun-ripened strawberries straight from our home garden, playing in the creek, and collecting fresh still-warm eggs. My mama taught me how to can, make bread, and to enjoy the simple pleasure that country life brings. Now that I’m married with 5 little ones of my own, we’ve chosen a country life so that we could give our children similar experiences. Bless this Mess is not just about food, we are also a hobby farm blog, we love to share life on our hobby farm and the joys of growing our own food!

January 2016 we broke ground.
April 2017 we have part of a house!

Follow Our Farm Journey!

Building our own farmhouse, with our own two hands

All Backyard Chickens Hobby Farm Our Garden Preserving the Harvest

Little Known Ways to Attract Hummingbirds to your Garden

Get to know a few of my favorite tips and tricks for how to attract hummingbirds to your garden this summer. How to Attract Hummingbirds to Your Yard You may not know this about me, but...

Who doesn’t love a good potato, am I right? Mashed, baked, fried, scalloped... I love every way you can work ‘em. Plus, you can’t beat the bang for your buck--they’re super filling and super cheap. We do potatoes as a main dish pretty often for those exact reasons, plus they’re easy to customize so everyone’s happy. Have I mentioned I love potatoes? Here are the basics on how to store potatoes so that you always have them on hand.

How to Store Potatoes

Who doesn’t love a good potato, am I right? Mashed, baked, fried, scalloped… I love every way you can work ‘em. Plus, you can’t beat the bang for your buck–they’re super filling and super cheap. We...

February 1, 2019

How long are eggs good for?

Ever wonder how long eggs are good for? Here’s your answer plus lots of commonly asked egg information including how to freeze eggs, how to store eggs, and more. Eggs are one of our very favorite...

How to Use Diatomaceous Earth - 10 Easy & Practical Uses

January 22, 2019

10 Uses for Diatomaceous Earth for home and farm

10 Uses for Diatomaceous Earth for home and farm that range from indoor pest control and teeth whitening to food preservation and animal health. If you’ve never heard of diatomaceous earth before, it’s worth learning about!...

January 21, 2019

How to Make Homemade Noodles

A simple guide on how to make homemade noodles with just a few simple ingredients – just like my grandma makes them. Fun fact: I have an amazing grandma who comes out to Utah from Indiana...

November 29, 2018

Simple Maple Roasted Butternut Squash

Wondering how to roast butternut squash in the oven? Try this quick and easy recipe for maple roasted butternut squash cubes – a perfect healthy side dish. I don’t remember eating a lot of hard winter...

Homemade Pickling Spice Recipe

A simple homemade pickling spice recipe to make refrigerator pickles, overnight pickles, canned pickles, and more! This recipe might not be one that you make tomorrow, but when you are in the middle of making pickles...

Sweet and Spicy Cucumbers and Vinegar

Sweet and spicy cucumbers and vinegar make the most delicious refrigeration pickles that only take about 5 minutes to make. Making your own pickles sounds like a whole lot of work and you might even be...