Farming and Homesteading

Farming and homesteading, what do they have to do with Pagans and Heathens?

1. Farming and homesteading, what do they have to do with Pagan/Heathen practices? Follow our new blog, "How our Ancestors Worked with Nature and the Land." Learn why we have certain holiday celebrations and what happens during these celebrations. Understand how our ancestors farmed and worked with animals for generations. These are just the tip of the iceberg.

2. The phases of the moon or Muunraad in Penn. German has been important in agriculture since the beginning of farming. Below is just an idea of how it applies.

New Moon

• Harvest catnip, horehound, herbs for diminishing problems

Waxing Moon

• Planting crops for which aerial parts are used

• Boil soap, butcher, marry, move/relocate,

Full Moon

• Harvest lavender, lemon balm, herbs for strengthening mind, body, soul

Waning Moon

• Planting crops for which underground parts are used

• Cut corn during the waning moon

• Make wine

3. One important point for learning the Moon Wheel (Muunraad) is knowing what wild plants are edible at what times.

Our ancestors used a combination of the sun and moon to mark the passage of time. This allowed them to plan events in advance and harvest not just their crops but wild plants at the right time so they are edible.

(Certain wild plants are only edible at certain times of the year and if you don't have a calendar or smart phone, understanding the Moon Wheel will allow you to harvest crops and wild plants at the correct time.)

4. Farming and raising animals was so important to our Northern European ancestors that a social class was named for them, Karl or free man/person. This could also be a blacksmith or a fisherman, etc. but in the Rigsthula (The Song of Rig) it only mentions the "farmer". You can read about it in stanzas 21 - 23.

RIGSTHULA

The Song of Rig

21. A son bore Amma, | with water they sprinkled him,
Karl they named him; | in a cloth she wrapped him,
He was ruddy of face, | and flashing his eyes.

22. He began to grow, | and to gain in strength,
Oxen he ruled, | and plows made ready,
Houses he built, | and barns he fashioned,
Carts he made, | and the plow he managed.

5. Plants to use to make dies for cloth. Hands on History is a great site for Iron Age Viking Living.

(1) A small chat on PLANT DYES - Hands on History Vlog - YouTube

6. Cattle and how they were used on the farm - The main farming activity was animal husbandry, and cattle were the most important of the livestock. Cattle were raised for many purposes. Milk cows provided dairy products, which were consumed fresh, but more importantly, they were turned into foods such as cheese, butter, and skyr (an Icelandic dish consisting of curdled milk), which could be stored over the winter months when cows stopped producing fresh milk. On prosperous farms, beef from the cattle was a regular part of the diet. Oxen were used as draft animals, to pull a sleigh or a plow. Additionally, bulls were used as offerings to the gods in pagan era sacrifices. Few bulls were kept. Rather, they were allowed to reach puberty, bred widely, and then slaughtered before they reached the point where they consumed large amounts of fodder in the winter.

7. Sheep and how they were used on the farm - Sheep were raised for their fleece, their milk, and their meat. Castrated rams were allowed to graze, but ewes were penned, and the lambs weaned from them. Smaller numbers of ewes than castrated rams were kept, which suggests that the fleece from mature castrated rams was the desired product.

Sheep were driven to higher pastures in summer, where they were allowed to roam free. In the fall, all the farmers in a region worked together to round up the sheep and sort them by owner. This practice is still followed in Iceland. In winter, some sheep may have been sheltered in barns.

8. Horses were raised, not only for their utility for travel and transport, but also because their meat was prized. It was a common, inexpensive part of the diet. In addition, horses were sacrificed to the pagan gods, and the meat consumed as part of the feasting ceremonies. When Christianity was adopted, the consumption of horseflesh was banned.

There appears to have been special interest in breeding horses in Iceland, perhaps the only farm animal to be systematically bred. Large breeding stocks were kept, with the goal of producing horses that were especially good for the popular sport of horse fights.

Viking age horses closely resembled modern Icelandic horses (right). They're small (15 hands, about 150cm), but sturdy, strong, and willing.

Modern Amish Version

April: The Amish growing season begins with the sowing of oats and early-harvest corn, the planting of tomato seedlings raised in greenhouses, and increasingly, hemp.
May: The livestock start feeding on pasture grass. An early sweet corn harvest is perhaps one of the greatest tricks of the Amish farming trade and Pennsylvania residents make annual visits to Lancaster County to buy Amish sweet corn a full 30 days before it typically appears in local markets.
June: A second field of corn is planted for a fall harvest, but this corn is grown to feed livestock over the winter. Planting crops at intervals allows for multiple harvests in one growing season. Following the second planting of corn, hay is made, and strawberries preserved.
July: This is the busiest month for Amish farmers as more hay is cut, threshing is done, berries are picked, apple starts are transplanted, and honey is harvested.
August: The farm silos are filled with grain and autumn wheat is planted.
September/October: The second planting of corn is harvested, and apple cider is made.

In addition, the following tips help ensure a good harvest:

Add eggshells in the soil around vegetables at planting time to provide calcium. Add eggshells again on top of the soil near the stem of the plant to deter slugs – they don’t like crossing eggshells.
Plant peas when lilacs produce fat buds but before the buds open.
If weed sorrel starts crowding out other plants, the soil is too acidic and the pH needs to be raised (more alkaline).
Use companion planting to enrich the soil and avoid plant diseases.
Use heirloom plantings for biodiversity and to save seeds year after year.
When choosing tomato seedlings at a nursery, choose those with sturdy stems rather than those that are the tallest. If the top of the tomato plant becomes too big for the root system, the roots won’t be able to transport enough water to the top of the plant, resulting in transplant shock.
An organic fertilizer with high biological activity such as compost tea, liquid seaweed, kelp meal or alfalfa meal should be added into the hole when planting or transplanting. This will provide minerals to the plant and enhance soil biology for the first few weeks until the plant is established.
With the exception of tomatoes, seedlings should be planted at the same depth as they were in the container. Seedlings are frequently transplanted too deeply, which can lead to rot or fungus on the stem. Tomatoes, on the other hand, can be planted up to the foliage, as they have the ability to produce roots from anywhere along the stem.