Send us a Text Message. The calving season is over and boy was it a short one this year. My dad grew up raising cattle and has been raising cattle ever since. Things within the operation have changed throughout the years such as the breed of cattle or the size of the herd, but some of the basics of calving have remained the same. Email: ahomegrownf…

Send us a Text Message. This episode explores a little bit about everything when it comes to farming. My friend Vince joins in to discuss his family farm operation along with topics such as crop rotation, water management, tillage and weed control. We also dip our toes into some of the differences between organic and conventional farming and the ho…

Send us a Text Message. The college experience can really play a large role in the type of person one becomes. It was no different for me and I’m glad to have been a NDSU Bison! Here, my friend Vince and I share more about our college experience. Classes and fun memories, including bare-handed evangelization, broomball tournaments, half marathons, …

Send us a Text Message. Happy Anniversary! This podcast has been going on for about a year now, so it’s probably time to learn a little more about our host, Joe Mettler. In this episode, we learn a bit more about his high school and college years. GO BISON! “Well, that’s not very interesting” you say. Joe also shares stories of prank wars and one p…

Send us a Text Message. My siblings and I often get asked if any of us ended up with broken bones while playing at the farm. Simply put, the answer is “nope”. Thankfully so! In this episode, my brother David and I have a great time reminiscing about our childhood and some of the broken bones that could have been. Images to fill in some gaps: This i…

Send us a Text Message. Raising sheep across generations. Listen to my Dad and I talk about the basics, with some farm stories separating the meat and potatoes. We go through the annual cycle and what raising sheep might entail for you. Resources: Scrapie Sheep Disease Getting Started Email: ahomegrownfam@gmail.com Instagram: ahomegrownfam Our YouT…

Send us a Text Message. Jacob and Michelle share their homeschooled experience, while addressing some of the common misconceptions about the homeschooling community. Should you homeschool your children? Well, based on the conversation in this episode, the decision to homeschool shouldn’t be taken lightly. It’s very situational and depends a lot on …

Send us a Text Message. No, you won’t get the same apple tree to grow by planting its seeds, and yes there is such a thing as a Frankenstein tree. This episode is a continuation of Episode 27 as my brother David and I discuss winter orchard activities when it comes to apples: rootstock, scion wood and pruning. Resources: Maple Valley Orchards – sou…

Send us a Text Message. There is no lack of things to do in the winter when it comes to the orchard. My brother David joins us this episode to talk about pruning grapes, collecting cuttings, and storing and rooting cuttings to be planted the following spring. He also talks about the challenges in growing out his own grape cuttings and shares some g…

Send us a Text Message. Episode 26 Homeschooling with Aunt Joni: A Parents Perspective My wife and I plan to homeschool our children, but before we jump into the unknown, we thought it best to talk with those who have done it before us. My Aunt Joni homeschooled her three children and learned many things along the way. In this episode, we discuss w…

Send us a Text Message. This is the story of how Joe developed and refined his hobby of making wine. Since 2017 and 120+ gallons of wine later, there are some tips, tricks, and favorites to share. This episode shares the basic supplies and equipment needed to make your own wine, and also goes through a step by step process to create an enjoyable bo…

Send us a Text Message. If my bank account was my raised garden bed, I would be RICH! In this episode, I walk through the soil test results of my raised garden beds. The analysis contained information on N, P, K, S, pH, organic matter and soluble salts. Gather some information and tid bits that could help you make sense of your soil report. I recom…

Send us a Text Message. Welcome back as my wife and I discuss our recent adventure of travelling to Italy with our two-year-old daughter. We talk about what we did, what went well and the things we didn’t expect. We also share some general tips for when it comes to travelling with children. Email: ahomegrownfam@gmail.com Instagram: ahomegrownfam Sf…

Send us a Text Message. If you haven’t heard enough deer hunting stories recently, you’ll get your fill with this episode. My Uncle Bernie and I exchange deer hunting stories and talk about what hunting means to the Mettler family. FYI: I won’t be posting another episode until mid-December as my family and I are taking a vacation. Cheers! Email: ah…

Send us a Text Message. Tune in as I talk about soil fertility, macro and micro nutrients (elements), mobile and immobile nutrients and some of the nutrient deficiency symptoms associated with each. What do the numbers “20-10-20” on a bag of fertilizer mean? Learn about the importance of taking a soil sample, how to take a soil sample and where to …

Send us a Text Message. Another family member on the podcast! Listen to my Aunt Michelle and I talk about garlic, particularly planting, but also where to get cloves, what types to grow, fun recipes and other random things. All garlic related. It might not be too late to get some garlic to plant this Fall yet! Check out the Upper Midwest Premium Ga…

Send us a Text Message. Join my brother David and I as we talk a bit about food preservation and canning, particularly juice. Not all food has to come from a store. David also discloses his “top secret” ingredient in his salsa. Resources: Hot Water Bath Canner Canning Starter Kit - Tools Ball Preserving Guidebook Email: ahomegrownfam@gmail.com Inst…

Send us a Text Message. Fall is a busy time of year. Harvest is in full swing, and the brewing has just begun. This episode talks about harvesting and juicing apples and grapes, and also serves as an introduction to preserving and brewing the juice into wine and hard cider. Listen here to learn more about our methods, processes, and the equipment w…

Send us a Text Message. How did the orchard come to be? Join my Dad, my brother David and I as we chat about how the vineyard/orchard got started. Where its been and where its going. Email: ahomegrownfam@gmail.com Instagram: ahomegrownfam Resources: MN Apple Varieties Support the Show.By Joseph Mettler

Send us a Text Message. This episode starts off with my best Steve Irwin impersonation and rolls into the pros and cons of pocket gophers. My brother David and I reminisce about how our childhood summers were spent gopher trapping. We talk about the supplies needed, the different types of gopher traps we used, and the methods to find the gopher’s h…

Send us a Text Message. Cousin Justin and I discuss his blossom end rot experiment that uses Epsom salts as a remedy. Did it work? After that, we chat about his childhood experiences visiting his uncle's farms, particularly my Dad's. Justin talks about anything from milking cows, feeding calves, driving tractors and raking hay to trapping gophers. …

Send us a Text Message. Listen in as I summarize what I learned recently by attending the NDSU Carrington Research Extension Center field day. Focusing on pears grown in the Upper Midwest, I discuss a little bit about everything regarding pears. What rootstock and cultivars to consider growing. The difference between hard and soft pears. The pros a…

Send us a Text Message. Beetles, worms, and borers, oh my! In this episode, we talk about garden pests like the crucifer flea beetle, imported cabbage worm, and the vine squash borer. Learn about preferred host plants and different preventative measures or strategies to help prevent the demise of your garden by the mandibles of these insect pests. …

Send us a Text Message. The hard work in the garden is finally paying off! Join my brother David and I as we talk harvesting produce, specifically cauliflower and garlic. We also discussed some of the differences between hardneck and softneck garlic, and when should one harvest garlic and how should it be stored. David’s Garlic Variety Trial: Musik…

Send us a Text Message. This episode stretches a bit farther back in time to the childhood of my 98 year old Grandma, a time when nothing went to waste and children truly learned the value of hard work. She is one of the few remaining that can personally recall living in the “Dust Bowl”. My Grandma lived in a time when there was no electricity, no …

Send us a Text Message. In this episode, my Grandpa and I relive the first time I went deer hunting along with other deer hunting stories. He was the lucky one that got to tag along for the eventful day. Being Homegrown in my mind includes being able to produce and gather or hunt for your own food. The Turdy Point Buck Song *If you realized that I …

Send us a Text Message. “Do you know what a podcast is?”, I ask my grandparents as I ask them to share about their upbringing. Hauling coal. Rolling hides. Army paratroopers. Working horses. Farming. Family. Nurse Training. Piano. Join my Grandpa Tom and my Grandma Margaret as they share stories about their younger years, how they met each other an…

Send us a Text Message. Rocking this episode solo and talking about this year’s gardening failures and successes thus far. I tend to use every inch of my garden and plant in “layers” as I describe it. It doesn’t always work out, but that’s gardening for ya! With this year being so dry all over the country, plants are stressed out, and blossom end r…

Send us a Text Message. Listen as my mother and I talk about raising chickens, but primarily processing “broiler” chickens for meat. In this episode we talk about the supplies needed and go through all the steps from beginning to end. Supplies needed: - Sharp knives - Butcher block/stump/cones - Clean processing area - 2-gallon freezer bags - Torch…

Send us a Text Message. Join my wife, Nora, and I as we share our "sappy" love story about how we met. Just keeping it weird....and the moment she knew she met her future husband. Chivalry is not dead folks. Learn more about Nora's background and how she also grew up in a Catholic household and was raised on a small family farm. Nora also shares so…

Send us a Text Message. **BONUS** A nice short episode to just follow up on a couple of the topics from episode 5. How do herbicide residues get into compost and how can that affect your garden. Listen here to find out. Enjoy! The variety of tomato used in the siblings’ tomato contest was called a “Mortgage Lifter” Gardening Resources: Mary's Heirl…

Send us a Text Message. Potato bugs, electricity and 811! Join my brother David and I as we talk about childhood memories squishing “potato bugs”, more properly referred to as the Colorado Potato Beetle, along with having our own gardens as kids. All this leads to a discussion on things to consider when selecting a location for your garden. Things …

Send us a Text Message. My brother Lawrence and I talk about how we got into mushroom hunting. Throughout the years, we have found morel, pheasant back, “puff balls” and white oyster mushrooms on the homestead. Learn a little bit about each of these mushrooms in this episode. Good luck to all those searching for the feast but be careful and make su…

Send us a Text Message. Get acquainted with my brother David as we discuss his background, plant starts, seed selection, purchasing seed, browsing seed catalogs and much more. What is an heirloom seed? Find out right here in this episode. We also talk about hybridized seeds and open pollinated plants. David’s favorite butternut squash is called “Wa…

Send us a Text Message. Meet the woman that brought me into this world as she shares some of her childhood duties and memories of growing up on a farm with 10,000 chickens! We also discussed dairy cows, bottle feeding calves and gardening! Gardening update as of April 22nd 2023….we still have snow! I did plant peas in my raised beds earlier this we…

Send us a Text Message. Meet the man, my Dad, who made it possible for my siblings and I to grow up on a self-sustaining farm. Dad shares a bit of his story, the farm he grew up on, and how everything came back full circle to allow him to farm also. Support the Show.By Joseph Mettler

Send us a Text Message. Listen for a brief background on the podcast host, Joe Mettler. He later describes his vision of this podcast and what it will all entail. Enjoy listening! ahomegrownfam@gmail.com Follow on Twitter @ahomegrownfam Support the Show.By Joseph Mettler