The Graceful Acre Homestead

09/01/2026

Sound up 🐝🌼

One of those little moments that makes me stop and appreciate the garden. 💛 The okra is still blooming, the bees are still busy, and September means it’s time to start planting for fall! 🌱

My What to Plant in September | Zone 9 video is up now on YouTube!

Okra Pollinators Homesteading

08/21/2026

Y’all… it is HOT. 🥵 So hot that if I wanted to make a gumbo, I probably wouldn’t even have to smother my okra first. 😂

So instead, I stayed inside and turned 5 pounds of figs into homemade fig jam! 🍯💜

In today’s video, I’m taking you through the whole process—from a big bowl of figs to beautiful jars of homemade jam, including water-bath canning them so we can enjoy our harvest later.

This is the part of homesteading I love: grow it → harvest it → preserve it → enjoy it later. 🌱

Come make some fig jam with me! 👇

It is officially TOO HOT in Louisiana — so hot I’m pretty sure I co...

08/17/2026

🌱 Every garden season teaches you something... and this spring taught me A LOT. 😂

Some things went exactly the way I hoped. Some things absolutely did not. And a few lessons changed the way I plan to garden from here on out.

In my newest video, I'm sharing 7 things my spring garden taught me—from planting earlier and choosing better varieties to knowing when it's time to pull a crop that's still producing.

But the biggest lesson? 💜

Give your garden some grace... and give yourself some grace, too.

Because gardening—and life—rarely goes exactly according to plan. We learn from what didn't work, thank God for what did, plant another seed, and try again.

Every garden season teaches us something—and my spring garden defin...

08/10/2026

🌱 From our garden to our table! 🍽️💜

We harvested a big batch of Pinkeye Purple Hull peas and one of our Green Stripe Cushaw squash, then brought it all inside and turned our harvest into supper!

On the table: baked pork chops, homegrown purple hull peas with bell pepper, roasted Cushaw squash and carrots—and I even seasoned everything with green onion powder I made from an earlier garden harvest. 🌱

This right here is WHY I love growing food. Seeing a seed go from the garden to a meal on our family's table never gets old.

Grow it. 🌱
Harvest it. 🧺
Preserve it. 🫙
Cook it. 🍽️
Repeat. 💜

08/09/2026

🌱 From our garden to our table! 💜

Today’s harvest turned into tonight’s supper!

I harvested a big batch of our Pinkeye Purple Hull peas along with one of our Green Stripe Cushaw squash, then brought everything inside to see just how much of our meal we could make from what we’ve grown.

🍽️ Baked pork chops
🌱 Pinkeye Purple Hull peas with a bell pepper from the garden
🎃 Roasted Cushaw squash & carrots
🧅 And even homemade green onion powder from an earlier garden harvest went into the seasoning!

THIS is one of my favorite parts of growing food. It’s not just about having a pretty garden or getting a big harvest—it’s about actually using what we grow to feed our family.

Grow it. Harvest it. Preserve it. Cook it. Repeat. 🌱💜

The new video is up now on The Graceful Acre Homestead!

Come along for a garden-to-table harvest on our Louisiana homestead...

08/06/2026

August is one of the most exciting months to garden on the Gulf Coa...

08/01/2026

There's nothing quite like walking through the garden with a basket in hand. 💜🌿

Today's harvest from our Louisiana homestead included:

🫛 Pink Eye Purple Hull Cowpeas
🌿 Cowhorn Okra (finally hitting its stride!)
🫒 The last of our Chicago Hardy Figs
🥒 Spring Cucumbers that are still producing
🍇 And about a gallon of beautiful muscadines!

This is one of my favorite parts of summer—seeing months of work finally pay off. Every basket reminds me that little by little, the garden keeps providing.

If you're gardening in the Gulf Coast or another warm climate, what's your biggest harvest right now? I'd love to hear what's growing where you are!

07/30/2026

🌱💜 The pink eye purple hull peas are finally coming in!

It feels like we've been waiting forever, but now every trip to the garden brings in another handful. At this rate, we'll have plenty tucked away for a traditional New Year's meal! 🫛

If you're on the Gulf Coast in Zone 9a, don't worry—you can still plant pink eye purple hull peas through about mid-August and usually have enough time to harvest before cooler weather arrives.

Have you grown purple hull peas this year? Do you dry them, can them, or cook them fresh? Let me know in the comments! 👇

07/26/2026

Y'all check out my husband's YouTube channel!

🛠️ From Rust to the Dinner Table...

After bringing an old cast iron pot back from years of rust and neglect, it was finally time to see if all that hard work paid off.

In the final part of the cast iron restoration series, Dustin puts the restored pot to the test by cooking a hearty meal of pork and gravy with mashed potatoes. There's nothing quite like seeing an old piece of history brought back to life and used the way it was meant to be.

If you enjoy traditional skills, cast iron cooking, restoration projects, and preserving the old ways, we'd love for you to watch the video and follow along on the journey.

If you enjoy the video, please consider subscribing to The Old Ways Workshop with Dustin. Every like, comment, and share helps the channel grow and keeps these old-fashioned skills alive for the next generation.

After bringing this old cast iron pot back from years of rust and n...