Question- What The Hell Happened to Homesteading???

 

 

 

Question- What The Hell Happened to Homesteading???

I stumbled onto this Youtube video (link to article in Substack Jill Winger Substack) and was blown away. I had been thinking the same things for quite a while now. Video here, please comment on what you think? My comments on Youtube and Substack below video-

 

My comments- 

Really great post on Substack, interesting comments. I'm a little different where my husband and I started a little urban homestead back in the 2010 or so. I grew up in the city in Southern California, mostly in apartments and never had a yard until I was an adult. I got married and raised a family with a wonderful man who loved gardening! I started blogging in 2011, Little Homestead in Boise, which I still do. I thought it might be fun just to sort of document what we were doing as we did it and it's actually really great to be able to look back and see what we did over all the years. I think my grandparents would be proud! I grew up in the city with the only set of grandparents I knew who had fruit trees, avocado tree, Concord grapes and strawberries in their little tiny urban backyard. My grandmother also knitted, crocheted, embroidered, canned foods, made everything from scratch. That was the generation that were adults during the Depression. I'm almost 70. After I became a Master Gardener we bought our current house where I really wanted to pursue more self-sufficiency type skills. I had stumbled on to a California family that were doing hardcore "urban homesteading" and Permaculture. It was really inspiring to me. I didn't know what else to call it, so "urban homesteading" fit for me. So after we moved in we planted fruit trees, medicinal herbs, low water use plants (high desert here), got chickens, and planted another summer garden like our two previous houses. Almost all of this was done frugal and DIY. Sadly my husband has vetoed beekeeping as he is afraid of liability issues! Oh well, what can you do. My husband luckily had parents that were hardcore gardeners also, in Portland, Oregon. His Mom grew tons and tons of homegrown produce. Eventually I learned how to can and dehydrate foods, etc. I never really made any money off of my blog. When I started to see YouTube taking off years ago and a lot of bloggers going there or even just switching to Facebook I just sort of shook my head. I really didn't want to lose my privacy by going online and posting videos of myself doing stuff and I didn't really think there was much interest in it anyway. Boy was I wrong. While I'm not sure if I thought it was a movement, it was something. When chickens became a "thing" for instance, I saw a huge onslaught of cheaply made, inappropriate sized instant chicken coops for sale. I saw a lot of people buy a lot of chickens and a lot of them died. People didn't know what they were doing, but it sounded fun. I did about 6 months worth of research before we ever bought our three little chicks and built a nice sized big coop. We've been successfully raising chickens for years. Sadly many of my blogger pals who were around the same age or maybe younger have either stopped blogging or passed away. I used to have a real regular group where we crossed pollinated each other's blogs with comments and now I'm down to one or two. Sad.  Now we have the cosplay farmers and homesteaders who have millionaire husbands and dress up in overly expensive, quaint clothing and say that they are farmers. They have large families (some of them) and promote all their sales and/or services and the attitude of "you can do this too without any money"! It's also easy to raise lots of kids when you have lots and lots of staff doing most of the work. I do feel sorry for the children in that scenario as the ones who are all over social media have no choice in that sadly. I see a lot of therapy in their future. Good job on your post and you made some excellent points! Will be putting a link to this on my blog. Will be curious to see any comments. 

 

Independence Days Challenge

 

Independence Days Challenge-

Here's what's been going on! It's finally warming up, grass is getting a bit green. Hopefully no more snow!!!

 

1. Plant Something- Getting ready to plant some lettuce starts in a little pot inside just to get something green growing. We've relocated a few things, trying to find room to put up our grow light rack to start some early vegetables. Otherwise too cold outside! After multiple mini snow storms we finally got into the 50s. Happy dance!

 

2. Harvest Something- Chives are up in the garden. So happy the girls have started laying! We have almost two and a half dozen eggs so far. It appears only two out of the three but that is another story listed below. I could be wrong on that, with two laying brown eggs and one white. Once we get three eggs a day we're good!

3. Preserve/Store Something- Bought some deeply discounted artisan breads and stashed those in the freezer. Keeping an eye on canned goods, etc. and stockpiling those. Found some good deals on some Augason Farms Butter powder on Amazon. Got a #10 can for $19.00 on sale. Got three freeze-dried entrees from Mountain House, nice to have on hand.

 
4. Manage Reserves- Get a Good Deal/Barter/Stock Up/Prep- Clearance priced wild bird food, clearance price winter clothes, and  several used Dvds and books from eBay. My food processor died, found a good deal online. My most recent read, highly recommended, this would make a GREAT movie!!!

 5. Eat the Food- Try New Foods/Recipe- Working on trying some new Mediterranean diet recipes with some new and used cookbooks I was able to find. Another used book, while very heavy on the dairy (for us) great recipes!-

 

6. Build Community Food Systems- Not at this time. 
 
7. Recycle/Re-Use- Dave has been cleaning up and reorganizing our garage. He needed to reorganize some specific areas. We were able to donate quite a few things and get them out of the garage. We're trying to create more workspace, with two cars and limited storage. It's much better, but a work in progress. I have the new kitchen "buffet area" (previous computer desk) done, with mostly thrifted items! I went for a Mediterranean feel, just waiting on buying some butcher block for the new top!

8. Skill Up- I got a new job. Much higher pay, better benefits. My old job was a sinking ship and no one seemed to care. That gets really frustrating when you're trying to do the job right! I will be working part-time in the office and part-time at home, which is a nice bonus. Originally it was supposed to be fulltime in the office. Saves gas and the commute time! Kitty Bonnie will be happy.

9. Regenerate What is Lost/Salvage Something- Saved the life of our hen Debbie. I looked at one day a couple months ago, when it was really bitter cold, and she was standing there with her tail down looking pretty sad. Didn't know what was going on so I brought her in right away, got her warmed up. When I was handling her I realized she was really, really thin. I thought maybe she was egg-bound since the other two had started laying. I gave her a warm bath and blew her dry. 

 

She almost fell asleep! I waited a day or so nothing happened. So I did my first vent inspection and found no egg. She did have a hard little rubbery yellow thing attached to her tail feathers. I don't remember now what it was called, but it sounded like she might have a bacterial infection. Luckily I had some poultry antibiotics on hand and gave her several doses over the course of a couple of days. I also gave her food that she would eat, loves cat food apparently! So I tried to get her hydrated and eating, inside where it was wzrm. A double laundry basket worked great! With my work schedule I finally decided to put her back out with her flock. I would go out three times a day and give her some canned chicken, tuna, with water and oats, etc. She seemed like she got her appetite back. Within a week or two she started perking up and moving around more. She seems to have recovered completely, from what I can tell. She's eating, looks normal but not sure if laying yet? I'm really happy she pulled through and we'll see how things go from here. She's only two or three years old so she should have a long life ahead of her. Long live Debbie, named after Debbie the Space Chicken from Lost in Space-

 

Summery Corn Relish, Vivian Howard's Somewhere South

Summery Corn Relish-

With the warmer weather it was tome for some summery foods! It's been yard work weekend, but I wanted to squeeze in some homemade foods. This is my own recipe I came up with after reading many online, feel free to modify! Many people also can this. Keeps quite a while in the fridge, if it lasts that long! I love the stuff, has a nice crunch.

5 cans corn and the juice, (best using fresh, but not in season) 
1 each, diced/chopped Red bell pepper and Green bell pepper
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 cup white sugar
1 Tsp Celery seed
1 Tsp Mustard seed
1 Tsp Turmeric
1 large diced red onion (you cold use white or yellow)
2 cups Apple Cider vinegar
1 Tsp Red Pepper flakes (or you could use diced Jalapenos)

Put everything into a non-reactive large pot, still well, bring to a boil. Next lower the heat and simmer for 1 hour. Transfer to jars, let cool and refrigerate. This recipe made 4 Qt. jars. Some recipes have added cucumber, hot peppers, or tomato. Play with it and make it your own! I served tonight with beer battered fish, homemade tartar sauce, and veggies. Put on top hot dogs, bean whatever!

Vivian Howard's Somewhere South-

I always loved PBS's A Chef's Life show with Vivian Howard, leader in the farm to table restaurant movement. She's very honest, funny and charming. I stumbled onto her new show last week and love it!!! Here's the description of her show from her website-

"After five seasons of “A Chef’s Life,” chef and author Vivian Howard serves as both student and guide in “Somewhere South.” Exploring cross-cultural dishes through the professional and personal relationships she has with southerners of many backgrounds, “Somewhere South” lets viewers meet their neighbors while exploring the foods that bind and define the American South — one dish at a time ". 

Her new website has recipes and other things from the show Somewhere South  A link for her full episode of What A Pickle is here PBS.org What A Pickle, great ideas and looks at various foods!!! This episode really got me thinking about new kinds of fermenting I could do, very inspiring ideas. She has a great Facebook page with lots of fun posts, recipes and behind the scenes info.

Spring Planting, Bedroom Closet Remodel, Working From Home, Northern Heart's 5 Best Ways To Handle Coronavirus Anxiety & Isolation & Stay Positive

Cabbages and Butter Lettuce

Spring Planting-
We've had our cold frame for several years and we usually plant summer veggies like collard greens and kale there. Given the state of the world I decided to plant some spring, cool weather crops. Here's the seeds I bought this weekend, all non GMO-

With 30's in the forecast at night, we tucked everything under a new row cover. I tucked in the 2 lettuces before the birds ate them!

Being resilient and adaptable we decided to tear out our low production/old Raspberries row and our one Marion berry plant along the low fence- 

I let the hens out and they had a blast digging in the bed!

The ground was soft after the rain so Dave ripped them all out for composting with the city. We will plant something else in the space, possibly things like carrots and radishes. We will probably reconfigure more rows going south/north and plant more new berries. The East/West rows didn't do as well as the one North/South Blackberries we kept. Haven't decided what kind of berries to plant yet. It's always good to look at what works and what doesn't! We love having a supply of berries that can be eaten fresh or that we can freeze.

Bedroom Closet Remodel-
Originally when we moved into the house 13 years ago we added these wire racks to all the bedroom closets-

They were good for clothes and shoes, but not all the other things I needed to store eventually after the kids moved out-

Stuff partially pulled out

I had the thought to tear the wire rack out, add 2 rods for Dave and my off-season clothes and crafts/decor stuff. I helped him measure and came up with this-

Tape's a great way to mark things!

Dave bought the rods, brackets, nails and 3/4" particle board. All of this was about $35.00. I made the management decision to not paint the closet knowing the walls wouldn't show much anyway. I had bigger fish to fry. Here's how it went, took everything out first, then taped-

  

My nice metal cart went to use in the living room for a charging station & storage

Next Dave started adding the supports, adding 1" x 4" furring strips-

Next adding the shelves-

Adding the rods, upper for Dave, lower for me, as he's taller!

 All done!

Anya had to inspect, of course!

I hung up the clothes, sorted and filled the shelves!

Bedding on the top-

Extra decor-

Craft supplies-

Fabrics and wrapping papers/bags-

It took about 4 hours and was well worth it, and I got my bedroom back!

Working From Home-
I was surprised when my boss texted me out of the blue this weekend asking if I had wireless in our house (we do). First thing Monday morning I got an email that I would be set up work from home "temporarily", along with some other staff. They'll provide the hardware.  I suspect this will be ongoing for quite some time. I'd actually love to work from home to avoid the Corona bug, be able to open windows, get some fresh air, not have to listen to overly chatty co-workers. People sometimes don't realize how loud they can be! And kitty Anya can keep me company. I'll save money commuting, less wear and tear on the car, sitting in traffic, contributing to air pollution. Our work load has slowed down considerably, so I won't have to drive to work and potentially turn around and go home a bit later. All in all not a bad move for me. I'll move my PC from the kitchen to another part of the house and work there. More coming soon!

From Allthingsgreen.nu/

Northern Heart's 5 Best Ways To Handle Coronavirus Anxiety, Isolation & Stay Positive-
I stumbled onto Maria from Northern Heart on Youtube a few months ago. I loved her videos! She's an incredible photographer and person. She's lives in a remote Swedish village, is fluent in English, and brutally honest about her life and is very inspiring to me. She has a lot of chronic health issues, many documented in her videos. I love this new video, watch and get to know Maria!!!

The author of the poem, "And The People Stayed Home", Kitty O'Meara is profiled here, she is an ex-chaplain Kitty O'Meara Interview  And just look around for something to wonder at-

From Gratefulness.org

Making Those Tough Gardening & Homesteading Decisions, Urban Permaculture Inspiring Videos!

Making Those Tough Gardening & Homesteading Decisions-
Sometimes in gardening, and urban homesteading, you have to make tough decisions. If you have a  homestead in a rural area with a lot of acreage sometimes those tough decisions are different kinds of decisions. In a small urban Homestead, on a small city lot, we have limited space and have to grow what is useful and productive. Sometimes things get moved around, sometimes things get discontinued, like giant monster tomatoes that took 3 months to ripen! I was looking on the north side of our house this weekend and noticed our Mugo pine looked really really sick. I found out the insects that were there were European Pine Sawfly larvae. The bad news is they eat the needles, but the good news is they will grow back. The other bad news is if you don't treat the shrub, theoretically you could lose it. I've never used insecticidal sprays before of any kind, so this time I decided to make an exception. Luckily the tree had nothing growing around it, especially anything edible or where anyone walks.  I did some research and went ahead and bought a small spray bottle of Sevin, which is basically a neurotoxin bug spray. I doused the Mugo Pine and all the little Sawtooth larvae started falling off.

All gone

The good news is hopefully I'll never have to do this again! I think the unusually wet April that we had may have contributed to this since I've never seen this before anywhere. It was the fourth wettest April on record ever. Too much rain. Still raining this last week, with temps in the 50's and 40's at night. Put the heavier bedding back on the bed and got out my winter PJ's!

Rhubarb before shot, with potato bin

The next decision was to tear out our rhubarb patch. I had tried growing rhubarb in three different places on our lot and just didn't have much luck. This last location was sunny, with some shade, and it would grow really well but then it would never turn red. Since our neighbor next door hates rhubarb, and has a huge plant and let's us take it, it really didn't make sense to use valuable garden space for that. Dave ripped it up and it went into the compost bin for the city. I very successfully grown squash in that spot so we will probably plant either squash or pumpkins. It will also allow some more room for the raspberries to spread.  Here in a small urban space when room is at a premium you just have to make those tough decisions of what you can grow versus what you want to grow. After shot-

From Retrosuburbia.com

Urban Permaculture Inspiring Videos!
These are Urban Permaculture based, but you will see tons of flexible ideas you can use anywhere! We don't live in the "suburbs" but many urban (or rural) areas can take these ideas and run with them. I got this book from an inter-library loan, so many amazing ideas

Author David Holmgren is based in Australia, and many of these videos are from there as well. If you go to Youtube and search Permaculture Tours, there lots to watch. Here's some sample I really loved!

       

Bless This Mess Comedy Farming TV Show

Bless This Mess Comedy Farming TV Show-

I'd heard about this show coming up a while back, and watched episode two, hysterical!!! Lots of info here Wikipedia.org From there- Young couple Mike and Rio leave their home in New York to move to a Nebraska farm Mike inherited from his great-aunt, only to find it badly neglected and occupied by a senile old man named Rudy. Then there's the screaming goat and it's chicken friend, and it only gets better from there! From ABC it airs on Tuesdays at 8:30 pm central. You can watch the first 2 episodes online if you missed them at ABC.com  Six more to come (I think) as it's a mid-season replacement. I 'm happy the ratings are looking great! Enjoy!!!