Posts Tagged ‘Homestead’
Start Your Own “Front Porch Farm Stand”
Several years ago I spent part of October in Vermont and up state New York. The trip was everything I had seen in pictures and more. The weather was cool and crisp, the people friendly and warm, the towns historical and picturesque. But, what struck me the most was the wonderful road-side stands with their quaint “honor boxes”, overflowing with homegrown flowers, pumpkins, squash, veggies, even bales of hay and jars of honey. They were artfully arranged on wagons or tables or wooden boxes. It was wonderful to see this kind of business mindedness, even if it was on a small scale.
I was so taken by the stands that the dashboard of my rental car looked somewhat like the LA Produce Market by the time my trip was over; it was brimming with purchases. It got me thinking though; I think that’s what makes travel so wonderful – pulling together ideas from everywhere you go and incorporating them into your own life and situation.
A variation of the Vermont honor stand was born the following growing season as the Front Porch Farm Stand – sort of. I wasn’t totally convinced that my produce would be paid for, considering the area of southern California I live in, so instead of arranging it at the end of my driveway (like I had seen in VT) I made a sign from a piece of charcoal slate and hung it on the bracket of my mailbox. In colored chalk I wrote the “specials of the day” – eggs, peaches, herbs, pumpkins and gourds, and the prices. What ever excess was at the peak of freshness was sold as surplus.
It is a great way to meet new people, strike up conversations about eating locally and promote the idea of suburban homesteading. Plus, the buyers had a chance to meet the grower and be more connected to how and where their food was grown. I have even found a few people interested in buying day old chicks.
Selling summer surplus from the garden is a doable idea for any suburban homestead!
I am a Homebody
The past few weeks have been crazy busy with end of school finals, stock up trips and of course last months holiday. When life gets like this, and I’m away from my little homestead all I can think about is getting back to the quiet and peace of my oasis. Its times like these that make me realize – I am a homebody. I like the comfort of my homestead. Outside the sun is gleaming, the birds are singing and there’s a soft, cool breeze blowing that makes me want to snuggle up in a hammock with an old quilt, a glass of tea and a good book. Spring wants to linger here a while longer and we welcome her with open arms. Always.
Here on my homestead, in my little farmhouse, laundry hangs on the line. Fresh cut flowers adorn my tables and the scent of home cooked banana bread seasons the air. Autumn is far off and although we love the roaring fires that warm our home and the glint of candles that light up the dark corners of our rooms we are content with the months that allow us to dig in the dirt long into the evening.
Outside my window the sheep laze in the shade and chew their cuds, while the chickens send up clouds of brown dust while bathing in the soft dirt. The dogs, ever vigilant, are on the prowl for rabbits and squirrels that have been damaging the garden. Well fed and content, the animals make me feel even more comfortable. Come dinner time we will be well fed too. Home raised lamb thaws on the counter. Later tonight it will be sizzling on the grill along with fresh zucchini, onions and potatoes. A fine meal to be sure. After evening rounds and a blazing western sunset – I am ready for bed too. It’s because I am a homebody that I am happy to be tucked away in my little walled garden, away from the hectic outside world.
Cool damp fog hung for most of the morning, leaving the homestead looking like some mystical forest in a far-away land. It seemed gloomy. But, the only animal on the farm that seemed to feel it was me. The cool morning seemed to invigorate the livestock. The sheep raced and jumped in their corral. The chickens scurried and clucked as they found tidbits of grain on the barn floor.
I spent the cool morning weeding and planting winter squash and sunflowers to brighten our tables or give as gifts. Sunflowers make me happy. They remind me of fall, my favorite season. The mixture of seeds, black, striped, large and small, lay in a bed of soil rich in our rabbits’ leavings and our chickens’ old meals. In a few weeks they will have pushed through the soil, reaching for the sun and we’ll be on our way to having yellow lion, burgundy and gold in our vases. Sunflowers mean we’re that much closer to fall.
When the fog burned off and the temperature began to rise, making the weeding and planting too much of an effort I came inside to make the salad for tonight’s grilled dinner. The house smelled of honey-maple bacon and fresh cut broccoli when I went out to collect another batch of eggs. Here the work seems never ending (and it is) but it flows through our days as normal and steady as commuting to work or going to school does. It’s a common mean to a common goal.
Not everything is faultless here. I paint a picture of perfection, but only because I ignore the things that make homesteading so hard. I cheat hardship with ignorance. But know my body is always sore and sometimes I feel like I’m the most tired mom in America.
We rise before 6:00 most mornings, and sometimes don’t come inside for dinner till way after dusk (that’s 8:30 this time of year). When we shower at the end of a long day the damage of our life is evident. Brianne is bumped and bruised from working her lambs; there are cuts and scrapes from battles with fencing; blisters from hoeing or turning over another bed; bug bites and bad tan lines. Yah – really bad tan lines. Our homestead, as humble as it is, is a full time job. And it shares its life with people who already have a full time job, whether it be work or school. Its work and it’s hard. I’m not sure we should be envied or that people should live vicariously through us. Just a considerate warning.
BUT, I feel the same way about the dark side of this homestead as I do about learning any new skill. You pick it up for the first time and it sucks. You’re not good, the timing is off or your lines are not straight. Your muscles ache and your fingers throb. You get angry and frustrated. The learning comes slow, slower than you wish. But, at the end, when it’s over, you know there is the possibility of a finished product. You’ve seen it before, and know the appreciation it can render. So you shrug off the pain, forget about the bad things, and keep moving forward. Which, is what we do with every scar and sore arm. Collateral damage.
Farm Census
I was thinking about the census the other day, and thought it would be interesting (for you all) to read a census of my little homestead. I’m a huge proponent of doing what you can where you can. No matter how big or how small you think you’re place is there is always room for a bit of self-sufficiency.
Homestead Census 2010
5 – lambs
18 – chickens
1 – rabbit
6 – blueberries
7 – berries (1 black, 1 Logan, 1 red rasp, 4 yellow rasp)
6 – fruit trees
8 – 4’x8’ raised veggie beds
3 – 8’x10’ raised beds
2 – mangy mutts (just kidding)
1 – active kid, and
1 – tired mom
So much going on
There’s so much going on right now, on this homestead. It would take thousand of words to explain it all, and although I’ve love it if that were my primary gig it’s just not in the cards right now.
In farm news: we’ve had a wacky spring so far; wind and cold and rain so late in the season I can’t even remember the last time we had late April showers. The fire roars at night while the days claw their way into the low-60’s. My seedlings are not liking the cold at all and some of my spring planting has been pushed back waiting for warmer soil temps.
On the chick front, I think we will lose two of our chicks hatched last months. They’ve developed what’s called Merrick’s Disease and there’s nothing that can be done. The others are healthy and growing like weeds after a good rain. We moved some of the bigger one’s out to an old rabbit hutch because they were flying out of the brooder. I think the one’s that remain in the brooder will join their friends by next weekend. I’ve already chased three around the garage today.
On the up side though, Brianne’s show lambs are on their way, and we are excited to see what our friend found in his travels. This is a busy time of year for us with gardens and chickens and lambs and livestock shows, not to mention school and work. Our plate is so full we sometimes feel like crazed lunatics and a Vegas buffet.
May is just around the corner and if we’re lucky enough to get back into our normal weather patterns it’ll be game on. We’ll be working harder than ever to catch up and get this farm back on track. I can’t wait.
Come on in and have a seat
So we’ve been writing about suburban homesteading for some time now, almost a year actually. And since this site started we’ve met a lot of great people along the way.
People from all over the world take part in all the little triumphs (and troubles) of homesteading. We want you to know we really understand what you all are trying to achieve and hope that in some way we’ve been helpful. To say something on our little electronic soapbox and have people (hundreds a month) read it from the ether is a good feeling. Readers are what turn blogs into communities and not an exercise in self-aggrandizement. Thank you. We think you’re all neat.
So, now we want to ask you a favor. If you read this blog regularly, please respond to this post with a comment about yourself. Tell us where you’re from, what you do, what’s on your homestead, or what your favorite book is. Let us know if homesteading is a future dream of yours or a current reality? What would you like us to write more about? Is there anything we can explain better? The more we know about the people reading the blog, the better we can write stuff you’ll be interested in taking time out of your busy lives to read. (and honestly, there’s so much stuff rolling around our collective heads that it’s hard to think of topics, sometimes.)
But, beyond comments and criticisms, we’d just really like getting to know you. So please come on in, grab a sit, and say hello.
Make Your Own Garden Trellis
Hint & Tip
Make your own garden trellis
Before you chop up grape cane or berry vine pruning’s for the compost, consider saving them to make your own garden trellises.
Simply pull off any leaves and scrap off the thorns and you have the perfect material for making trellises that can be used for vining peas, beans or even small cucumbers.
Before the canes dry completely, take several sturdy straight pieces for the uprights, then twine the remainder around the uprights in the diameter you want. Leave room at the bottom so the trellis can be pushed into the soil.
Once finished, tie the intersections to hold the trellis together. Vine trellises will last a few seasons and can then be chopped up and composted. You’ll save money on buying premade- trellises and your garden will have a fine country feel with natural made trellises.
(if you don’t have grapes or berries on your suburban homestead you can also use small diameter saplings)
Pomegranates – A fun, festive fruit
Pomegranate shrubs are one of the easiest fruits to grow, since they are usually not affected by many pests or diseases. The fruits are full of antioxidants and thought to have many health benefits.
If you live in the right climate area for growing pomegranates plan to add one (or two) to your suburban homestead garden plan. The delicious fruits can be used for juice, syrups, salad toppings and jams, or eat the seeds fresh, right out of the fruit.
This is one fruit that you’ll love growing. To learn more about the growing needs of pomegranates click here.
photo credit: norwichnuts
Homesteading – Gets Under Your Skin
As you walk your path to a simpler more self-reliant life, homesteading can easily intrude into every corner of one’s life, even if it’s not exactly welcome or invited. It becomes the stray that adopts you, the guest that won’t leave, or the rain that won’t subside.
During the most unusual times, where the homestead has no business being, it finds its way in and distracts you. It comes on softly, sometimes without warning. In the middle of a meeting you realize you haven’t cleaned your shoes and the smell of chickens wafts through the office. Or people stop you to ask if you have suffered an injury because your jacket is covered with hay or straw. Or while sitting at your desk, going about your daily job, the phone rings suddenly, announcing your order of baby chicks has arrived at the post office and must be picked up right away. Or a co-worker, out of the blue, invites you on a field trip to a much admired quilting show.
There was a time, in the not-so-distant past that you might have gotten out of these situations if you wanted to.
You thought you could quit this homesteading life anytime you wanted. But, that train has left the station. You’re hooked. You’re in this life and it’s in you. The lines between your former life and your homesteading life have blurred, even grown dim. You know this to be true because even in your world of business or bio-tech, commerce or computer science new friends beckon you deeper into the world of self-sufficiency.
Come on now folks! How can you turn it down? The invitation to bake bread, make jam or set in a load of firewood with new found friends. Spending a weekend with people that think and live the way you are now trying to live is both welcoming and satisfying. It’s comforting to be with people that are willing to share their knowledge, their experiences. To make you part of a group that are the lucky recipients of closely held recipe secrets. You get to watch and learn; take notes and pictures; all the while laughing in the process.
This isn’t light stuff friends. To be amongst those who understand what you’re trying to accomplish. The way you’re trying to live. They offer an ear, answer questions, and lend a hand.
It’s a fine way to live – amongst friends.
photo credit: Travis Seitler
There’s vacations and staycations, but what about haycations?
I found this story in the New York Times and thought you all might enjoy it. Whether seasoned gentleman farmer or suburban homesteading newbie, I think anyone would enjoy learning something new that could benefit their homestead, I know I would. And, what a great way to meet like-minded people.
Read the story here…
Are you spending money just to throw it in the trash?
Trade in those rolls of paper towels and those packages of paper napkins for washable, re-useable cloth, and put the savings to work on your homestead. For the cost of a roll of paper towels or a package of paper napkins, you can buy good quality, long-lasting cloth towels and napkins that will last for years – saving you hundreds of dollars each year.
To save even more money replace all paper goods (plates, cups, eating utensils, table clothes, etc.) with washable and re-useable ones and watch your savings grow even more.
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