If you want an update on semi homesteading life for March 2025 here in the Midwest, then this article is for you! I’ll show you what is going on with the garden, in the kitchen, with the chickens, and with life in general.
March is all about regrowth and starting to see the outdoors come alive again. On the gardening side, it’s also about getting some of my vegetable seeds started indoors so they have plenty of time to grow before being transplanted out into the garden.
With these updates, I hope to do more of a “journal” type of post at least once a month to keep you updated on life here. Hopefully, it will allow you to get to know the person behind these articles (me!) and how we run our semi homestead a bit more.
This will allow me to share the loads of photos I take on my phone instead of having them collect dust in my camera gallery. (You can also look for updates on Instagram if you want to follow along with me there, too.) I’ll also try to link to posts that might be relevant to what happened during that timeframe.
Hopefully, you enjoy getting to know a bit more about our life here in Illinois and how the homestead is going – Both the good and the bad!
Our March 2025 Update For The Semi Homesteading Life
Getting Those Seeds Started Indoors
Towards the second half of March, I always get some of our seeds started indoors. Here in the Midwest, we have a fairly short growing season. Because of this, crops like tomatoes and peppers have to be started indoors. (Unless you are going to purchase them as transplants, that is.)
I actually have a love-hate relationship with starting seeds indoors, if I’m being honest. I love being able to see the little seeds that I planted with my own fingers germinate and start to grow. However, they don’t always cooperate like I want them to.
It’s not that it’s hard to start seeds indoors or that I have to spend a lot of time messing with them daily. It just isn’t my favorite part of the gardening process.
Besides tomatoes and peppers, I also started broccoli seeds and several different types of flowers. I sometimes start cucumbers and zucchini indoors as well, but those crops don’t need quite as long of a head start as tomatoes and peppers do.
In addition, cucumbers can be very finicky if you try to mess with their roots much when transplanting them. So this year, I might just sow those directly in the garden. I’ve done both with varying success. Besides, cucumbers grow so easily from seed that it sometimes isn’t worth dealing with them indoors.
The Eggs Are Piling Up!
Now that it’s March, the hens have really started to pick up on laying eggs again. We’re getting eggs in all sorts of colors, and the natural rainbow makes me so happy! I doubt we’ll end up coloring eggs for Easter since these are already so pretty!
While most of the younger girls continued to lay an egg here or there over winter, the older ladies took a much-deserved break. Now that the weather is starting to warm back up again and the daylight hours are increasing, they have started going back to laying.
With the weather getting warmer, I’m also able to start leaving the eggs out on the kitchen counter again instead of putting them in the fridge. I just love seeing the fresh butt nuggets in all sorts of colors in my kitchen this time of year!
We have one hen that we are dealing with feather issues though. Back last spring, she ended up with a bad case of fleas. Even though I got them under control, her feathers were pretty much stripped. I was really hoping she’d molt this fall or winter and go back to beautiful feathers again.
Alas, she didn’t molt, which made me worried about her getting too cold over winter. However, she must be stubborn because she handled the cold like a champ. She just looks a little worse for wear! (No picture included of her miserable butt, sorry!)
New Growth Outside – March 2025 Homesteading Update
Along with the chickens laying more eggs, there have been other changes here on the semi homestead. March always brings signs of new growth and life popping up through the soil.
Sometimes, little glimpses like this are enough to keep me going through the ups and downs of temperatures. It’s not unusual for us to go from snow and 20º up to 80º and nasty thunderstorms – all within 36 hours! (Welcome to the Midwest in March!)
Anyway, one of my favorites to always see germinate is the garlic I planted last fall. It looks like we’ve had great germination so far! I planted 100 cloves that were our own garlic variety, and 98 of them came up. Of the 32 new cloves I planted, all but 2 have popped up. I’m hoping those last few scragglers make their appearance through the leaf mulch by the time April gets going.
While I don’t plant a lot of flower bulbs, we do have some crocuses and tulips starting to show their beautiful faces. We don’t have any blooms yet as of the end of the month, but I can’t wait to see those appearing sometime in April!
Lastly to show up during March is our rhubarb. I can’t wait for fresh rhubarb crisps and trying out other new rhubarb recipes this spring!
Some Recipes I’ve Made – March 2025 Homesteading Update
It’s still been pretty busy here in the kitchen, trying out new recipes or making sure old ones are working well. I always try to take pictures as I make them to share with you all as the weeks go along. Some of these recipes I already have articles written here on, while others are still a work in progress.
One of my family’s big goals this year is to try to make as much as we can from scratch as opposed to buying it in the store. After waiting 6 long months, I was so excited to have one swap out be Homemade Vanilla Extract!
I’ve used it in quite a few baking recipes by the end of March, and it is SO much better than store-bought extract! I already have another batch seeping away in the pantry for the next six months!
Another item we wanted to swap out is one of our favorite ingredients, Dry Ranch Seasoning Mix. It was super simple to make with really only one ingredient I don’t normally have in our pantry.
Some of the other recipes I’ve included pictures of are my take on Energy Balls (a must-have while my son is running track this Spring), Quick & Easy Beef Stir Fry (a go-to in our house), my late Grandma’s Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, and a family favorite – Taco Spaghetti.
Miscellaneous Pictures – March 2025 Homesteading Update
As usual, I’ll leave you with some miscellaneous homesteading pictures. I take so many different pictures throughout the month that it’s hard to get them all on just one post so I like to do a photo dump at the end of my updates. I don’t have as many this month as I usually do in my homesteading updates, but here are a few.
Along with getting our seeds started indoors, I also try to get seed potatoes purchased and planted. While I have purchased them online in past years, I always try to get them locally if I can.
A local feed store had seed potatoes out when I went to buy chicken feed, so I grabbed a few bags. I also have some potatoes from last year that we harvested that I’m going to try to plant and grow as well. Potatoes are one of those crops I have yet to master, but I’m still working on it!
In negative news, we had a casualty during the middle of the month. We live in Illinois, so of course there is always a ton of wind during the spring (it’s not just reserved for Chicago!). Unfortunately, one of our large and healthy pine trees became a victim of that wind. (Of course, it couldn’t have taken out the dead pine tree right next to it.) I just hate losing old trees!
The last image is nothing fancy, but it’s the first dandelion that my son picked for me this spring. Yes, he’s almost 16, but he still picks me dandelions from time to time. It always brings a smile to my face!
Until next time, thanks for stopping by!
– Chelsea
*This post may contain affiliate links. These are products I have used personally and highly recommend. As an Amazon Associate, I may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases if you purchase items through my links. These links and the ads on this page help to support my family and our semi homestead, so Thank You!
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