Mathew with Cottage Pastures

Father and Husband - building Cottage Pastures an American Farm and Homestead. Growing the highest quality meat, garlic and herbs.

[Mathew with Cottage Pastures @Mathew_Winters1]

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[Mathew with Cottage Pastures @Mathew_Winters1]

On the roadmap in a few years is to add a carpentry line to Cottage Pastures.

This family has inspired me immensely and I look forward to learning from and working with them.

I want to be able to have Cottage Pastures we’ve as a foundational brand to allow multiple enterprises - meat, honey, nursery, tea, candles, soaps, salves, carpentry works, education and more.

This is a beautiful video representing an example of what I want - family working together, giving glory to God.

[Mathew with Cottage Pastures @Mathew_Winters1]

@SewLoriFaulkner Wow!

[Mathew with Cottage Pastures @Mathew_Winters1]

@gregcello I want out of it and if I can help others, especially my children, I want to

[Mathew with Cottage Pastures @Mathew_Winters1]

Yep - Making it happen.

We’re going to be significantly more than any single enterprise we’re producing.

I want to build the most beautiful, destination teaching farm that is productive and economically sound on its own merit.

It’s a balance between producing the best quality everything, managing outputs and demand, scaling but only enough to not be leveraged - to build and believe it might have a shot at working.

We’re going to make this work.

The gears are slowly turning.

October, 2026.

[TJ Bongiorno @TJ_Bongiorno]

I don’t see people talking about how nuts you have to be to build a brand from nothing

You have to be insane

Think about it… you have an idea one day in the shower and then you just bust your ass for years only to have a tiny percent-chance at success?

No sane person does it

[Mathew with Cottage Pastures @Mathew_Winters1]

@sustannag Thank you Anna - it’s important we have our hands in this.

[Mathew with Cottage Pastures @Mathew_Winters1]

As we move closer to the October grand opening - new website, new product lines, meat in stock consistently - I realize one thing more clearly.

Our advantage as a business is that we are transparently showing the building of a farm that actually is productive. We actually produce - not just put together.

I’m not saying there isn’t space to aggregate and bring in multiple producers - but that what has slowed me down is feeling compelled to actually raise the pigs, the cattle, the chicken, the herbs, the garlic.

My trust has been shattered by others - I’m now rebuilding in myself what I want others to believe when they buy from a farm.

I’m not going to make lye or jojoba oil, we won’t produce all of the beeswax from our candle line - but we will be clear about it and the standards for our own production will be evident in the products we craft at Cottage Pastures.

I don’t want this to be just another brand but a replicable model, smaller and bigger for communities all over the country and because I don’t want to dominate the scene - I will be able to share and help.

Thank you for supporting me and the vision.

I’m putting out the substack this week, the YouTube will launch shortly, the other channels, the tours, it’s coming together - others have shown up to help - it’s coming together.

[Mathew with Cottage Pastures @Mathew_Winters1]

@polderfamily My wife and I were just talking - we actually just want to move to a very quiet place, homestead and live quietly, simply and in prayer. It’s clear God has been pruning me throughout this building for something more important that our desires.

[Mathew with Cottage Pastures @Mathew_Winters1]

@Nutmegbunny9 We're planting about everything, both for the homestead and to offer for sale. Our costs don't rise like logistic locked nightmares so we can continue to offer local produce at a reasonable price.

[Mathew with Cottage Pastures @Mathew_Winters1]

@beltone0101 Ah you had some! Thank you! I think the belly is underrated - probably my favorite cut.

[Mathew with Cottage Pastures @Mathew_Winters1]

Freshly moved off the winter paddock to forested cover for a final ten days of nuts, roots, vegetation and whatever else they can clear out of here before we restock with pork in about two weeks.

The last inventory update for pork was unreal. I have never been so thankful for such an outpouring of support - we sold out of nearly every cut in what might have been hours.

Entire freezers were emptied almost as soon as we stocked them.

Now we have this incoming update - it will be in about three weeks.

I’m working on the new website design.

Chicken restocks this week for shipments later this month (plus any makeup orders from the spring pre orders).

And then we’re about to hit a stride of consistent inventory for meat.

[Mathew with Cottage Pastures @Mathew_Winters1]

@xenonsbombs One parcel at a time!

[Mathew with Cottage Pastures @Mathew_Winters1]

@fdempster Haha I've seen this before - I wouldn't recommend it but it is neat to see them react this way

[Mathew with Cottage Pastures @Mathew_Winters1]

@Keysfins Yes! Basically the only way to even know where the seeds have been spread

[Mathew with Cottage Pastures @Mathew_Winters1]

This is how you broadcast thousands of chamomile seeds.

Get some sand, mix the seeds into the sand at a 10 (sand) to 1 (chamomile) ratio.

Grab a sifter and sift the seeds over the region like your sifting flour.

Bonus - smells like apples (chamomile) scent).

[Mathew with Cottage Pastures @Mathew_Winters1]

@RuthAnn13634810 I’ll get to all emails later this evening! I have a few to catch up on. Will likely be late tonight after planting!

[Mathew with Cottage Pastures @Mathew_Winters1]

@Bettagirl2022 I still put the suit on - at least the top covering. I think getting more familiar with them each year will help but definitely not a. Fan of getting stung

[Mathew with Cottage Pastures @Mathew_Winters1]

This was a beautiful sight to see.

Three years ago I opened a beehive for the first time, did something wrong, was attacked by bees, had someone get in the bee suit - it was a scene of out of a cartoon.

Now I’m barely interested in adding the suit and I think it’s mostly just due to finally gaining some confidence.

We’re moving towards a grand opening of the farm business - for three years I’ve been building this. On a whim I added up the hours of farm versus full time job and realized it’s been 70 - 90 hour weeks for the past three years.

I’m exhausted but now with the systems beginning to work, the continued feedback, the learning, and more - I think it’s working!

Happy bees here. Happy Tuesday to you all!

[Mathew with Cottage Pastures @Mathew_Winters1]

Hopefully in less than one year - you might book a stay at then end of this mowed pathway.

Both sides of this will be replaced with flowers, raised beds, a small chicken coop, a fire pit, and more.

If you want to be alerted about these types of updates - inventory updates, the October grand opening, the new product lines - it’s all happening behind the scenes around the clock as we race to October.

[Mathew with Cottage Pastures @Mathew_Winters1]

@fdempster Ah! First year here I stepped on a ground hornet nest. That was terrible

[Mathew with Cottage Pastures @Mathew_Winters1]

Great question! I think this comes down to me being inexperienced at the time and frankly - really afraid of getting attacked by a swarm of bees.

I haven’t had many opportunities here to learn from others onsite so it’s really been reading, watching videos and trying to learn from others online over the years.

This is one of the reasons I want to make sure this farm serves as a place for people to actually visit and learn in person homestead and farm skills.

[teehee @teehee2229]

@Mathew_Winters1 Curious to know what you did wrong to incite them to attack you.