I love July! It means finally getting to eat entire meals that are totally grown on our little homestead. This was today's lunch: egg salad with homemade mayo (oil, salt and pepper not grown here, though!) on a bed of baby lettuce greens, with the baby carrots I just thinned today. Yum!

What are you enjoying from the harvest? Tell me!

It's July, and there's too much to do and not enough time to do it in. I know I'm not alone! I work full-time as a freelance writer, and when the work day is done at the computer, I head outside to work in the garden and care for my farm animals. Often, I get up extra early to do some work outdoors before writing as well.

Many farmers have to subsidize their farms and homesteads by working either on the farm or off, part-time or full. It can be tough to focus on what needs to get done around the farm when you're exhausted from work. I think I'm lucky in that my job involves working with my head, while farming generally engages the hands and body (though, truly, there's a lot of thinking involved, too!). But sometimes I struggle with just finding enough time during the busy gardening season to get everything done.

How do you balance non-farm work with your farming or homesteading life? What tips and tricks do you have? Come share in our Small Farm Forums.

Food Independence Day is a movement to source your Fourth of July food as locally, sustainably, and deliciously as possible!

Here's a snippet from the declaration, er, petition:

Declare your Food Independence this July 4th! To: the first families of the 50 US States and territories We, the undersigned, are petitioning you to lead and eat by example this July 4th by sourcing the ingredients of your Independence Day meal as locally and sustainably as possible. Whet our appetites by publishing your planned menu in advance of the holiday. Share your recipes and the names of the local farmers, fisherfolk, and food producers whose ingredients you'll be using. Make it into a friendly competition with the other first families to see who can serve the meal that inspires the most while traveling the least. As residents of your states and by our signatures below, we pledge to join you in this celebration of edible independence by eating healthy and delicious foods from our own local farms, gardens, and communities.

Share your menu, place yourself on the map, or sign the petition! Happy Food Independence Day!

When it comes to raising chickens, there are a lot of options. What you choose might depend on where you live and the amount of land you have available to you. Urban farmers and homesteaders might choose to keep a flock of 3 or 4 hens in a coop with a small run, while those with more room to spread out might allow their flock to roam freely among the pasture and woods, and keep the garden and the area around the house fenced off.

Another option is electric net fencing, which involves a bit of setting up, and requires moving the fence and movable coop fairly often (every few days to a week or two, depending on the number of hens and the size of the enclosed pasture). This is the method of management I've settled on for my flock of 35 laying hens.

How do you keep your chickens? Where do they live? Please vote!