Suburban Homestead Store
It’s that time of year, folks. SPRING—the time when chicks hatch, ewes lamb, cows calve, sows farrow, does kid and rabbits kindle. A farm is alive with life as each new addition is born. But, as suburban homesteaders can we experience the same pleasures of raising livestock for food and fiber on our city lots just as our friends in the country can? Yes, we can!
Instead of curling up with a poultry catalog, scanning the internet dreaming of what could be or bemoaning what you think you can’t have, why not look into what you can have?
Bringing home your first flock or herd, or adding to an already existing one can be an exciting time. But, there are some things you need to do first. The most important first step, and the one I always recommend to any new suburban livestock owner, is find out what you are allowed to have on your property. Some suburban homeowners will only be able to raise a few rabbits, chickens, ducks or maybe a turkey, while others, like me, on a larger lot with different zoning regulations can have a larger variety – sheep and pigs. Regardless of your situation, you can still raise some of the meat and eggs your family eats, and that is better than nothing.
Including livestock on your suburban homestead is the backbone of a diversified healthy farm system and one that should be seriously considered regardless of your lot size. Even a few laying hens can clean up kitchen scraps, produce eggs and provide manure for the garden. It’s a whole cycle, folks.
Once you have determined which animals you are allowed to have on your property, decide what you want to have and how many. If you are allowed to have rabbits, but don’t like rabbit meat then don’t raise rabbits, at least not for meat. Rabbits for fun and manure is another choice.
The amount of space you have available for raising livestock will also dictate what you can raise and how many. Different species have different space requirements—chickens and rabbits only a few feet per animal, turkeys quite a bit more. As an example, I am zoned to raise a steer on my property, but, with gardens, fruit trees, berry patches and my existing animals I don’t have adequate space available for an animal that will eventually grow to 1000 pounds or more. I am looking into raising a heritage breed which tends to be small, but I may not have enough space for that either, even though I am zoned for a steer. So, I am content with raising meat chickens and ducks, freezer lambs and pigs because I can comfortably house and raise these animals if I raise them at different times of the year.
When you have decided what to raise and have calculated how many of each species you have room for, now is the time to seek out a breeder. Read the rest of the story »
Our rain fall this year has been less than half of normal, but the lack of April showers did not hamper the blooming of May flowers. The farm is bursting with color and I will relish it for as long as it holds out.
Antique roses cover every arbor on the farm and the delicate fragrance that wafts through the night air is intoxicating.
Apple blooms are a promise of fall’s juicy crispness. Cider, tarts, pies and fresh eating are still months away, but nonetheless thought of.
The little peach tree is laden with small fruit. By July we’ll be eating them by the dozen. I can’t wait to make the first tartin of the season.
The deepest purple of this bearded iris makes it look almost black. Flowers like this are a reminder of wonderful friends. I got a few rhizomes from a fellow garden club member who loves to share. And, I will share too, I have no choice, everyone who sees it places an order for a bulb at dividing time. Fortunately for me that won’t be for another year or so.
I’m a big fan of using small bits of most anything to make hearty well balanced meals.—big fan. So much of what people leave behind in the fridge goes to waste when just a bit of creative energy can turn those bits into a wonderfully satisfying meal. Case in point — last night, when I was cleaning the kitchen I realized that my banana was getting too soft to eat. Usually I make banana bread out of the soft ones, but with my life as an empty nester a loaf of banana bread is too much for one person. My solution…turn that lone tropical fruit into a small batch of banana pancakes, with some help from a small amount of pecans I had in the freezer. Simple.
After mixing up a batch of pancake batter for one I mashed the banana, chopped a ¼ cup of pecans and threw it all into the bowl. Once that thick batter hit the hot griddle the kitchen smelled amazing; warm and inviting and comforting like an early fall morn. When my stack of pancakes came off the griddle I slathered them with butter and drizzled warm Vermont maple syrup over the top; added a few slices of crispy bacon and a sliced apple, and there it was—dinner. There’s nothing like the tantalizing smell of breakfast for dinner to turn your head away from the day and bring you solidly into the easy flow of a relaxing night. Perfect.
What little bits are looming in your fridge that can be made into a wonderful meal like a quiche, frittata, stew, soup or chopped to top a hearty salad? Be creative and eat well!
Colorful quilt’s, faded blue jeans and bright whites hanging on an outdoor line is the quintessential picture of homestead life. But, don’t think fresh, natural smelling, line dried clothing is reserved only for those who live in the country – because it’s not. Every suburban house, whether it be home or homestead can garner the benefits and the pleasures of hanging laundry on a clothes line.
It may not seem that hard to stick a clothespin on a piece of clothing and put it on a line, but as many have found, the results can be scratchy, stiff and wrinkled clothing.
So – what are the tricks that will give you soft, fresh smelling clothes? They’re simple.
But, before you’re ready to hang clothes on a line you’ll need the right equipment for the job. That means a sturdy clothes line, clothes pins and a clothes pin bag or apron. There are several different styles of clothes lines to choose from, but I like the 5-line retractable dryer because it extends 34-feet, which gives you 170-feet of hanging space. I also like the umbrella style because it rotates and allows you to bring the clothes to you.
Clothes pins and bags are easily found at Wal-Mart and are very reasonably priced. But, you can tap into your inner farm girl and make your own by using a spare apron and sewing a 10-inch long pocket onto it, or for an adorable solution take a toddler size button-front shirt and stitch the bottom closed, then put it on a hanger, fill with clothes pins and hang on the line.
- To ready clothes for the line, put them in the dryer on an air or fluff setting for 5 – 10 minutes. This uses almost no electricity and will make your clothes just as soft as if you ran them through a full dryer cycle. If you don’t have a dryer hang, clothes on a windy day. The buffeting wind will create the same result as a fluff cycle.
- As you hang each piece of clothing give it a firm, sharp SNAP. This only takes seconds and will help shape the garment and shake out some of the wrinkles.
- When washing clothes, use a fabric softener or white vinegar to help soften them. This will help keep clothes dryer soft.
- If you live in areas of the country that have bright sunny days, fading may become a problem, but it’s great for brightening up whites. If fading is a concern, just turn colored clothes inside out before hanging them on the line. Fading can also be kept to a minimum if clothes are brought in as soon as they are dry. But, whites can be left out longer and will become brighter.
Now is it time to hang your clothes on the line? Not just yet. Read the rest of the story »
In my neck of the woods, February and March are prime garden readiness months. Fruit trees are pruned, berries are trimmed of dead canes and tied to trellises or fencing, raised beds are restocked with compost or built brand new. But, the most fun of this time of year is starting seeds. We mark the day on our calendars and when it arrives the task begins like the start of an Olympic race.
There’s truly nothing better than plunging your hands deep into freshly dug soil, warmed by the spring sun and planting homegrown seedlings started way back in winter, when spring was just a hope and a dream. And, the money you save over buying already started veggies and the vibrant taste of homegrown food ain’t bad either.
This is also the time when garden centers and hardware stores stock a plethora of seed starting paraphernalia: peat pots, soil pellets, plastic pots, covered mini-greenhouses, you name it, if it can start a seed, some store in your area will carry it.
But, do you really need all this fancy commercial stuff to start the seeds you want to plant in your garden. The answer is no! Seeds are not divas. They don’t require 5-star accommodations to germinate and thrive. What they do require is the right kind of starter/growing medium, the right amount of moisture, warm temperatures and room to produce a strong healthy root system. Read the rest of the story »
Today’s grocery store chickens are hybridized to be exactly the same as all the other grocery store chickens. They are bred to grow the same, finish out the same and be similar in weight. This fast-growing breed is called a Cornish Rock Cross. Typically, they range in age from 4-weeks, for a Cornish Game Hen, to 8 to 10 weeks for a full grown roaster. The chickens are the same; only their name has been changed, taking labels given to chickens from days gone by.
So, if you’re thinking that a Cornish Game hen is not a Cornish Game hen at all, but rather a baby Cornish Rock Cross, you’d be right. Cornish Game hens are not raised commercially any longer because they take too long to grow to a marketable weight.
Modern grocery store chickens also have white feathers and were developed in the 1980’s to gain weight fast on a limited amount of feed. It is true that some birds grow so fast that they sometimes have heart attacks or break down in their legs before ever reaching a butcherable weight. But, I think that is a factor in commercially raised birds more than homestead or small farm raised birds. Some growers even limit the feeding schedule to slow down the birds’ growth.
And, what about those white feathers? Well—the average consumer wants a pretty carcass to make a pretty roasted chicken to put on her family’s dinner table. Non-white feathered chickens can have black spots in the skin where the pin feathers broke off during plucking. This happens to white chickens too; only the consumer can’t see them because they are white. Read the rest of the story »
It’s shocking to think that 50 million people, many of them children, go hungry every day. It’s even more shocking when you learn that almost ¼ of food produced in America goes to waste.
From the Directors of FOOD, Inc., Kristi Jacobson and Lori Silverbush examine the food insecurity issue through the lens of three people who are struggling to feed their families—a single Philadelphia mother who grew up in poverty and is trying to provide a better life for her two kids; Rosie, a Colorado fifth-grader who often has to depend on friends and neighbors to feed her and has trouble concentrating in school; and Tremonica, a Mississippi second-grader whose asthma and health issues are exacerbated by the largely empty calories her hardworking mother can afford.
Woven together with the insights of experts, A Place at the Table will show how hunger poses serious economic, social and cultural implications for our nation, and how it could be solved once and for all, if the American public decides-as they have in the past-that making healthy food available and affordable is in the best interest of us all.
As farmers, gardeners, homesteaders and foodies of all kinds we know all too well how simple changes can improve a family’s food security and self-sufficiency.
I hope you will take time to watch this must see documentary…and then decide how you can be helpful in your community.
Our flock of chickens grew this week. Four new arrivals, 2 Welsummer and 2 Blue Wyandotte pullets were added to the coop. I hadn’t really planned on adding more hens this early, but when I realized some of my girls were getting on in years, slowing down their egg production, and my friend and chicken breeder Larry had 3-month old’s in the breeds I was thinking about, the plan sped up by a few months.
I’ve never really been interested in the plain production breeds like Leghorns, Barred Rocks or Rhode Island Reds. I want hens that are colorful, not only in their feathers, but also in their eggs. I already have Americana’s that lay blue-green eggs, and Black Cochin’s and New Hampshire’s that lay light brown eggs. The only thing missing was a breed that lays the dark chocolate brown eggs, like those Cadbury chocolates wrapped in shiny gold paper.
There are only two breeds that lay such dark brown eggs—Marans and Welsummer’s. Marans tend to be a little pricey for egg layers and relatively hard to come by, but Welsummer’s are more common. They are a Dutch breed…a combination of several breeds really. But, over time they have been refined and standardized by poultry breeders who took a fancy to them as soon as they were imported. Through selective breeding they have become a nice temperate addition to farm flocks, and the dark brown eggs they lay are an added bonus.
(Welsummer hens)
The Blue Wyandotte is a variety of the Wyandotte breed, meaning they are a “color” of the breed. Wyandotte’s come in a several different colors from golden and silver laced, to white, black and buff. There are even Columbian, partridge and silver penciled giving any poultry lover a wide range of colors and feather patterns to choose from.
Wyandotte’s are an American breed used for both egg production and meat. Although I like them for their solid medium brown eggs, I also think they are just what a chicken should be…plump, fluffy and fun to watch scratching in the garden.
(Blue Wyandotte Hen)
Right now they are housed in six foot long wire caged that was used when we raised meat rabbits. The cage will keep them safe at this young age, away from circling hawks and feral cats, and allow the other chickens to get use to new additions. Although I don’t think Sophia (our goose) is to keen on the idea of more chickens in the coop.
So…in a few months the flock will add a wonderful dark brown color to my daily collection of farm fresh eggs.
Breakfast can’t get any better than that!