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Aug 20, 2019

This Is Why We Do Urban Homesteading


This Is Why We Do Urban Homesteading-
Sometimes I'm more philosophical than others, and if you've read my posts you probably recognize those times. This is one of those. It's really easy in the course of life to get caught up in the mundane things. Commuting to your job five days a week, doing laundry, cleaning the house, all the really boring parts of life the rest of the time. Then there's taking care of the chickens-


and then the eggs!


We also tend the garden and see what we can grow here at our little homestead. When we plant things in the spring and early summer there's always a lot of labor involved in that, then watering, fertilizing, weeding, etc. We have planted a ton of perennials as well, and lots of pollinator plants. Now we're getting into the full harvest season! I looked at our corn this weekend and was thrilled to see that some of it was ready to pick! I haven't tried growing any since we've lived here-

Beans at the base

Sweet corn


Saturday night dinner, it was amazing!

There's also: bell peppers, Jalapeno peppers, Gypsy peppers, Giant Italian Marconi peppers, pickling cukes, Lemon cukes, the five different kinds of tomatoes, Itchidai eggplants, kale, collard greens, green beans, Zucchini, two kinds of baby ornamental pumpkins, peaches, apples, pears, Basil, Thyme, Rosemary, Italian Parsley and the blackberries that keep on giving!

Big, tall Basil, pesto time soon to freeze!

Baby pumpkins by the beans-



All homegrown cukes and tomatoes, more Saturday night dinner

Green beans, bacon & onion, another Saturday night dinner dish

It's really amazing when I looked around this morning at exactly how much we have grown here on the small, urban lot. Dave started picking some peaches last weekend but we couldn't really process anything since we had two days of babysitting and it just didn't work. Luckily the Red Haven peaches weren't dead ripe yet, but they were this weekend-




Dave picked all the peaches, about 125 Lbs., all organic and we know exactly what is in them. Compost, water, and a little manure, a tree and that's it! No bugs either!!!

Canning started

Room for peaches


All done, 25 Qts. canned (10 Spiced)  and 10 Qts frozen. I made spiced peaches with clove and cinnamon sticks, should be nice for the holidays! More apples will fill another shelf soon.

Peach crumble

We also have our apple tree which is really loaded and should be ripe in another month or so-


I made a big batch of pasta sauce with our tomatoes last weekend and froze half of it. Dave and I deep cleaned the freezer a week or so ago and it is filling up! Next month we'll be canning and freezing lots of apple products. The pears will be ripe then too, but we just eat them fresh and bake. This is when I'm really glad we have a dishwasher. I've thought in the past if I were by myself I'd pull it out and add shelves with basket. No I don't think so! Look at all those lovely clean jars-


When I look at all the food that we can produce, except for meat proteins, I do feel really blessed. It's been 12 years of taking this lot from turf, a couple of trees and literally nothing else, to our very productive little homestead. It's been a ton of work, financial investment, sacrificing vacations, and yet here we are and we're both so happy. It's also still a work in progress. We want to add more edibles in the front yard- Strawberries, maybe some raised beds, less turf. A lot of people we know wonder why we enjoy spending weekends at home especially in nice weather. Maybe if they took a tour of our homestead they would understand a little more. Next winter, when it's cold outside, we can have our own green beans, canned peaches, and maybe a homegrown apple pie. Then there's all of our wonderful eggs! So while I thought I'd like to live out in the country, I realize (except more room for goats and a beehive) I think this is pretty much it. And I can live with that.






17 comments:

  1. Bravo! Well written and enjoyable. I always say “homesteading is a state of mind.” We all can’t do it all but if we do what we can do it does make a difference.

    You are inspirational and I will return to this post for that as I tackle homestead number 5. Good job!

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  2. Oh, wow, you made my day! Thanks so much, and that's a great quote!!!

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    1. You are welcome. Have a bountiful weekend. Or just sit on the porch with the beverage of choice.

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    2. Yes for relaxing this weekend now that the peaches are all processed! Next will be the apples in another week or two hopefully on Labor Day weekend when we are home for 3 days

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  3. Great post Nancy :) It's funny when you mentioned that some people wonder why you want to spend weekends at home...it never occurs to me NOT to spend ALL OF MY TIME at home!!! :) It's a wonderful feeling to homestead. Your corn looks awesome. That will be a challenge for me in the future, I don't know if my growing season is long enough for corn, but I do want to try!

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  4. Thanks Rain! Someday you'll have room to grow anything you want!

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  5. You are a shining example of what can be done toward being self-sufficient in a small area. When I hear someone say, "I'd like to grow some of our own food, but I don't have the space," I have to keep myself from wopping them upside the head. (I've just grown enough green beans for three families besides us in a 4 x 8' raised bed.) You and your husband have done an amazing job of utilizing your land. If I had a space to grow sweet corn like yours, maybe mine wouldn't keep getting blown down! And I admit, I have serious canned peaches envy! You grow so much beautiful fruit and prove that it can be done without chemicals and poisonous sprays! Three cheers and a big Gold Star for you and all your wonderful endeavors. Great post.

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    1. Oh Mama that means so much to me! You and your husband have worked on your land so hard! Apples are coming soon, more canning and freezing... we might need to buy a bigger freezer someday since ours is getting pretty darn full haha...

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    2. And you grow pole beans up in Minnesota? I've been sticking to bush beans since they seem to do pretty well but I'm starting to think that pole beans would have a higher yield?

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  6. I am jealous of your gorgeous peach crop! I'll be featuring you next week on my blog, thanks so much for sharing with us at the To Grandma's house we go link party :)

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    1. Thanks!!! sorry I didn't reply sooner but your comment went into the spam folder

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  7. Hi Nancy!
    This is wonderful! You do so much with your suburban homestead!

    I featured your post on Farm Fresh Tuesdays this week. :) Thank you for sharing with us!

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    1. Thanks so much! Sorry I didn't reply sooner but your comment was in the spam folder

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  8. Y'all are doing a great job! We did a lot in our small back yard before moving to our homestead and yes, it can be done. People just have to want to do it.
    We do better with bush beans instead of pole beans in our area too!
    Saw you featured on Farm Fresh Tuesdays!

    Melissa | Little Frugal Homestead

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    1. Thanks Melissa sorry I didn't reply sooner but your comment was in the spam folder

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  9. Mama Pea made me laugh! I bought 4 (yes only 4) tomato plants this year, and in my hot and dry garden in SW England I have probably already had 3/4 lbs picking enought for a salad every few days - and now they have gone mad! Truss after truss of tomatoes and I am going to have to make tomato sauce and pickles!! And like you on your smallholding, only water, sunshine and a little talking too every day.

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    1. Thanks so much mrs. Mac! Yes to tomatoes can really go crazy and that's the point we're at right now picking lots and lots! Sorry I didn't reply sooner but your comment was in the spam folder

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