So, this phrase has been floating around for a tiny bit, probably coined by these folks in Pasadena. They live on 1/10th an acre and somehow manage to grow 6,000 pounds of produce each year (no, there aren't too many zeros), honey, 100's of eggs (duck and chicken), and goat's milk for their own family, as well as sell produce to local restaurants.
I know, amazing. I have no desire to aspire to that level of self-reliance, at least not today, for several reasons. I believe in baby steps, and achievable goals; they've been working on their "path to freedom project" for decades. Also, it's pretty much their full-time jobs.
But, it certainly illustrates that we *all* could do a little more towards providing for our families' dietary needs. Even in the city, with a small amount of land. I won't go on about how the LDS prophets have been recommending this for decades (if not generations), or that the "homegrown revolution" has become rather political these days. (Illegal raw milk, anyone?) Nor will I pontificate on the nutritional benefits of backyard eggs and organic produce.
What I wanted to share was the little details of what I hope to enjoy this year in our little patch of yard. Taking a page from Nicole, who borrowed it from the Dervaes family, here is our family's "homesteading" snapshot:
garden
1 raised bed, 5' x 15'
various edge flower/vegetable/herb beds
8'x8' bed by front door
grown last year
tomatoes (ate fresh and canned salsa)
broccoli (failed)
blue potatoes
tomatillo (that ate 8 tomato plants, the)
onions (for seed)
lettuce (went to seed before harvest, collected seed)
sunflowers (for seed and beauty)
cucumber, yellow (died)
watermelon, stars and moon (died)
lavender
catnip
chives
green beans (ate fresh)
pears (canned)
apples (canned pie filling)
accomplishments
learned to can! (thanks Ronell and JoDean)
put garlic, onions and horseradish in the ground for this year's harvest (wish me luck)
harvested seed for the first time (including a paper bag full of sunflower seeds)
used no chemical fertilizers or pesticides
acquired composting worms (who live under the kitchen sink)
accomplished this spring so far
planted raspberries from a neighbor
de-grassed the strawberry bed so they can actually produce
set up the compost bin from my parents
planted broccoli seedlings
aspirations
chickens (for eggs) in a chicken tractor
grow the above fruits/veggies
plus napa cabbage,
get a walking onion from neighbor
harvest rhubarb (keep it alive)
eat more fresh veggies
get strawberry plants from our sweet mail lady
dehydrate the plums?
plant a sunflower "fence" along the back yard
What about you?
3 comments:
I so want chickens. We totally have the space for them, too. HOA won't let us have them, though. :o( Don't know why? It's not like they make any more noise than the neighbor's barking dog...
Those are great goals!
I'm doing the majority of my growing INDOORS this year - and it's all herbs. The deer CLEANED ME OUT last year, and I lost all my drive. Harumph.
Ooh, let me know if you get the napa cabbage to grow for you.
Our list:
-plant tomatoes in our back garden, plus some in the flower beds
-plant squash in the side yard, along with wildflowers and sunflowers (we tore out an ugly scraggly tree that was blocking access to the little bit of side yard, so now we can get over there and USE it)
-grow more herbs to dehydrate
-use friends' fruit trees to their full capacity (= another summer of canning craziness)
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