A Different Take On Eating Locally

Today at preschool I noticed a small child in camo pants with a toy shotgun. (We don't have play guns at school so I knew it was from home, he turned out to be the little brother of a student) At first I thought maybe his parents were part of a separatist group I was unaware of in my suburban neighborhood. I commented to his mom (not about the separatist thing.) She said that tomorrow is the start of Turkey season (I always thought that would be November!) and that her son was excited because his dad was a hunter.

It piqued my interest. So I asked her about that. How many turkeys can you get? Do they eat anything wild besides turkey. (They do) How do her kids like it? (Apparently her daughter will not eat any meat daddy doesn't hunt) and why (Dad likes hunting and Mom likes lean meat with no hormones and without having to worry about how they were raised & of course, price is a factor for them.) It was all so Pa Ingalls. I imagine that there are costs involved with a permit, ammo, and of course, method of hunting. But I also imagine the cost of hunted game is VERY LOW per pound of meat. Another take on providing for yourself in an unconventional way (Though, hunting, has been, the conventional way of providing fresh meat since about the beginning of mankind!)

We don't hunt at our house. We're not morally opposed to it, we just don't have the interest, skill, inclination, and if the truth were known, stomach,to kill our own food. (although my husband DID skin a squirrel last October.) If you ARE morally opposed to it and you still eat meat you may want to consider the conditions your own food is grown/slaughtered under before you make a value judgment about hunting. I do know if I lived near the ocean I would go clamming and gladly eat fish from the sea. (The Lake? I don't know about the type of quality or fish in there.)

All in all, a really interesting conversation about eating locally & a (Now) non-traditional way of feeding your family that doesn't involve supermarkets & tons of fossil fuel)

Romanesco Broccoli

Have you ever seen such pretty broccoli????

Romanesco Broccoli!

Yesterday I planted 14 plants! I have started many more seedlings than that and am having trouble deciding how many more to plant. I'll give the ones that I don't use to my brother and some gardening friends but first I need to decide how much is enough for me.

On one hand, this is supposed to be amazing tasting broccoli. On the other, since they were started and planted all at the same time, they will probably all mature at the same time. That's a lot of broccoli for 3 people. I don't know how this is frozen but I will try and freeze a few heads. Sure, I could give some to my parents and friends, but the garden exists mostly to grown food for us. Of course most people I know probably have not eaten this so it would be a real novelty to give away. Lastly, space. I think I have a lot of space this year, but I'm nervous because I don't want to fill it up with cool season vegetables to the point that I have little room leftover for summer stuff. (I've already decided only ONE zucchini!)

The Herb Garden Shapes Up

Well the herb/onion garden is shaping up quite nicely!

Since I have had no issues with deer and herbs, I moved all of the perennial herbs (Chives, Winter Savory, Thyme, Oregano, Tarragon, Lemon Balm, & Lavender) out of the compound and into the garage garden. (except for the Lavender which I put by the front steps.) There is already a TON of Bee Balm (Bergamot) In there and I'm always pulling that out or giving it away. Love it, but not too much of it!

I actually really like how the garden looks in spring with all kinds of new growth and greenery. They always look so healthy and full of promise.

On top of that I planted 87 onions and 12 Shallots. There were only 12 in the package, I should have bought 2.

Compare the pic above with the one I took 12 days ago on the 16th and it's already grown A LOT!

My Husband Helps The Homestead!

It's getting warm here (finally!) and we have been spending a lot more time outside. As much as I like the fact that my girl likes to dig in the dirt, I just about lost it this past week when she insisted on laying (yes laying RIGHT IN IT) over and over and over!!! Time to fill the sand table!

Today my husband went to Home Depot to get some play sand. 1 bag is usually too little and 2 fills it to the top. I never know how much to get and usually skimp and get one. While he was out I called him to get me a bag of potting soil as well.

He came home with a smug look and told me to go look in the car. When I did I noticed that he must have performed his old "broken bag of mulch" routine which he read about somewhere when we first got married. Now my husband has never really been a big spender so I can't claim to be totally responsible for this next thing but this is a guy who HATES picking up side-of-the-road finds. I'm a little surprised but for as long as I can remember, when he's at home improvement stores/garden centers (and looking for mulch and the like) he asks about broken bags -If they have some and would they sell them for a discount.

Anyway, the trunk was FULL. 2 BAGS OF POTTING SOIL (full but with holes) 2 BAGS OF PLAY SAND (same as the soil) 1 HUGE bag of Peat Moss-Which I can always use! (This had only a slash across the plastic) and 1/2 bag of some kind of gravel. (I think this is unuseable) Apparently you had to buy it all or get none at all. The WHOLE thing cost him $4.08. That comes to $0.68 a bag and is quite possibly one of the best deals we have ever gotten!

So, the sand table is filled, I've started containers of lettuce and arugula for gifts and planted some of my potatoes with a soil/peat mixture today!

I can't say for certain how many times this has worked-Obviously they store needs to have some broken bags. Sometimes they don't. However, whenever they do, they have always been willing to sell them.

I'm A Lazy Composter

I'm a lazy composter.

Before I made my own compost I was pretty intimidated by it all. You can find actual books, (ones with more than 100 pages!!) on JUST compost. There is a lot of technical stuff about your green matter and brown matter. There are things you can build and buy to make it happen faster and contain it. You can worry about the pile temperature. You can add stuff to help with the breaking down of matter.

I don't do any of that.

I start with some dirt. I add some kitchen scraps. I add more dirt. I add more scraps. I turn the pile once in a while. (my pitchfork is the only tool I use to make compost) It becomes compost. It all breaks down. Oh sure, I'm sure there are people making compost faster than I am, but I'm not in a compost contest or anything.

I do however, LOVE adding stuff to it. This evening we had Japanese food with my in-laws. These bento box dinners come with this weird Iceberg lettuce salad with ginger dressing. My husband likes the dressing but no one really eats the salad. I brought home 4 take out boxes of salad and while my husband will probably eat 2 of them, I secretly imagine the other 2 in my compost pile. I know it's a sin to waste food. Is it a sin to want to compost it?????

I pretty much add any of the things to my pile you can see in the graphic above. Except for fish-Yeah, I DO remember that story about the Indians showing the pilgrims how to grow better corn by putting a fish in the hole with the seed. But fish in my compost would attract even more animals to the yard than I already have.

Oh, and I noticed a chocolate chip cookie in that graphic as well. Who, pray tell, actually has a chocolate chip cookie scrap they can't eat laying around????

***Small note-If you plan on composting you probably should get out a book or do some research into the kind of things you can and should not compost. You should not, for instance, compost anything with oil or animal fat in it, while tea bags and egg shells are just fine!

Seedlings

For the past month or so I have been babying these little guys in my basement under a grown light.

Even though I've successfully grown vegetables before, I have never done any from seed! This year I waded into what, for me, is new territory.

What you see are are Romanesco Broccoli, and 3 heirloom tomato varieties ' (Brandywine, Raad Red, and genovese) Raad Red might not be an heirloom as much as it is a production variety good for canning. Problem is I lost the labels so I can't figure out who is who. I'm hoping Google Images might be able to help me as they get bigger as they do have really different leaves.

My next step is hardening these babies off to be able to survive outside. What needs to happen is that I need to put them outside a little at a time to get use to it out there other wise they won't acclimate and shrivel up and die. (or some similar fate!) The broccoli I will start with this weekend. The tomatoes (which I just re-potted into single pots) will need to wait a few more weeks!

There are also tiny onions in the upper right corner. My MIL's cat that I am watching actually ATE the first bunch of onions I planted (who knew cats eat onions?) so I only have a few from seed. I got worried and ended up buying some onion sets, which I planted this past weekend. 89 onions!!! That may sound like a lot but I'm hoping to store some as well as use some as green onions over the course of the summer.

You Say Potato...

This past weekend I received my potato order from Seed Savers Exchange, a company that specializes in heirloom vegetables.

I've never grown potatoes before. I ordered the smallest amount which was a 2 1/2 lb bag. They assure me that this can plant a 50 ft row!!! I am going to try some in the driveway bed but I am also going to construct some potato towers to see how those work as well.


The variety I ordered is called La Ratte and is a french fingerling potato

Since potatoes are so cheap you may wonder why I'm even bothering.

From Mother Earth News regarding La Ratte:

‘La Ratte’ came into being through many years of selection by farmers in the Ardêche region of France. It became a culinary favorite upon its introduction to Paris markets in the late 1800s.

The flavor of ‘La Ratte’ is unique — not quite earthy, a little on the mushroom side. Its skin is the color of parchment, but the flesh is yellowish-white. The yellow deepens in storage, and over time, the potato sweetens. The tubers are 6 to 8 inches in length, a little bumpy and slightly bent like a horn. In fact, because of their shape, fingerlings are sometimes referred to as “horns” or “pinecones.”

‘La Ratte’ is quite versatile in the kitchen, with a wonderful buttery texture. Like most fingerlings, it is perfect in salads. But it’s also frequently paired with smoked foods, and some cooks like to smoke the tubers themselves.

That sounds like a pretty good endorsement!

In The Beginning

Well these spring pictures don't do much for me actually, but they are the start of my official homesteading project!

I will change the header as the garden grows or as I produce something a little more interesting than a deer fence! But oh, what a deer fence it is! NO STINKING WHITE TAIL DEER IS GOING TO MAKE IT'S WAY INTO MY FOOD THIS YEAR. Ok, now that that's off my chest, I actually DO have a few things growing in this backyard already.
Last year's leeks and some tarragon beginning to grow. Those leeks actually need to move soon to make way for some broccoli . Tiny Tiny Broccli Rabe

Oregano
Garlic!! I'm good at growing garlic. Ok, don't let me fool you, it's the easiest thing ever to grow!
The first pea shoots! I have been waiting so long for theses. I planted a little too early and didn't think they were ever coming up.
Flower garden that is becoming an Herb/Onion garden this summer. It's outside of the fence and deer won't eat herbs or alliums. Please notice my broken birdbath that, was knocked over by, what else, a deer.

Beginning of driveway bed. It was originally an old hedge row where I intended to plant grass. Right after the hedge was taken up someone gave me 6 zucchini plants. It was a great garden and retains heat from the driveway. Now I'm making it bigger. That big dent is where I drove through it this past winter. Obviously I'm not planting anything permanent here. I originally thought about a blueberry hedge but am rethinking that logic. I think turnips/beets/radish. Deer seem to leave those alone.

Welcome To My Little Homestead in The Suburbs

I live in a beautiful house in the suburbs. I'm a SAHM to a beautiful 4 year old and I'm on the pre-school board. My husband is a conservative teacher. I'm in a dinner club and a garden club. I like strappy sandals and leopard print. I sell things on eBay. I like coffee out. I read a lot.

But..

Part of me longs to be Laura Ingalls. What I really want is a beautiful homestead with chickens, bees, fruit trees, homegrown produce and more self sufficiency than I currently have. I daydream about spinning my own yarn and would like a pressure canner.

I actually already DO a lot of the things that I would if I lived on my dream homestead.

I compost.
I grow things.
I can make my own cheese.
I knit.

I've recently been inspired by the myriad of Urban Homesteaders out there who, despite WHERE they live, have taken better charge of HOW they live. (I've got a whole post about these interesting people line up soon!) I feel a shift in focus. I've had flower gardens for years and have grown vegetables. Lately my interest in food production has blossomed even more and I feel a real need to provide for myself and my family.

I've long had the idea to blog about my garden, if only to act as my own personal record about it. Maybe no one wants to read about my peas??? But I actually DO want to write about them.

I don't want a farm. (farmette? maybe? )I don't want to grow vegetables as a job or for money. I want A place to become more self sufficient and to make better use of my resources. I want to buy local. I want to eat in season. I want to knit something warm. I want to put up food for the winter.

Why wait for 40 acres and a mule.

My homestead journey starts now! Please join me along the way!