July 23, 2008
Hey all you Harvest Keepers! How’s your preservation efforts going? The urban homestead kitchen is preservation central these days, which, I am sure yours are too. These a wonderful kindred connection knowing that there are so many folks these days growing and preserving their own - motivating each other while obtaining back to basic skills necessary for urban self sufficiency.
Can What You Can
Yesterday, put up some pickled green beans (homegrown), apple (homegrown) butter, strawberry (homegrown) preserve.
Today tackling some plum (local crop swap) preserves and elderberry (homegrown) preserves.
We use a simple, water bath canning method which is simply described here. Afterwards I use the hot water to wash all the dirty dishes (and there’s certainly a lot after a whole afternoon of canning that’s for sure!)
Preservation central - it’s jammin time. Ya mon.
Canning essentials - lids, funnel, food mill, jar lifter (want yer own?)
Jordanne puts in the spices into the jars of fresh green beans
Hand cranking apple sauce for apple butter. Thanks to a bumper crop of Anna apples here on the ’stead.
Round and round and round she goes where she stops nobody knows….

Out come the jars from their hot water bath
Jars, jars and more jars of homegrown goodies. Don’t you just love the ‘popping’ sound as the jars cool. Means a jar well-sealed.
Beans up close and personal - happy pickling!
An afternoon’s worth of work. Stocking up for fall and winter time.
Another preservation day going on as we speak…
Filed under: Posts by Anais, Storage & Preservation |
Tags: Harvest Keeper, Preservation, Storage & Preservation
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July 23, 2008

Jules Dervaes, founder of “Path To Freedom” is the speaker for the Burbank First UMC Sunday Forum, July 27 meeting in Stamper Lounge at 11:00 a.m. He is in the forefront of a movement in America to homegrow our own food.
About Path to Freedom
Jules Dervaes is the founder of Path to Freedom, a family-operated, viable urban homestead project established in 2001 to promote a simpler and more fulfilling lifestyle and to sow a “homegrown revolution (TM)” against the corporate powers that control the food supply.
Since the mid-1980s, Mr. Dervaes and his three adult children, Anais, Justin, and Jordanne, have steadily worked at transforming their ordinary city lot in Pasadena into a thriving organic garden that supplies them with food all year round. These eco-pioneers also run a successful business providing fresh produce to local restaurants. This helps them fund their purchases of solar panels, energy-efficient appliances, and a biodiesel processor to further decrease their homestead’s reliance on the earth’s non-renewable resources.
Read more at First United Methodist
If you would like PTF to give a presenation at your church, school, club, green or communit events, etc email us at info@pathtofreedom.com
Filed under: Events & Outreach, Posts by Anais |
Tags: Biodiesel, Energy, Garden, homegrown, homegrown revolution, Solar, Urban Homestead
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July 23, 2008
Visit the companion website HomeGrown-film.com
FYI: Our family were just subjects of this film. We have no idea/ or say when, where this film will be shown or distributed. All such inquires should be made to the producer at rmcfalls@homegrown-film.com
Or you can find that latest ‘Homegrown’ film news here
Filed under: Posts by Anais, Video Logs |
Tags: homegrow, homegrown film
Keep This Site Growing: Did you get some inspiration or glean an informative tip from this post? Please support this site by either making a tax deductible donation or a purchase from our online store. Thank you!
July 22, 2008
This morning Farmer D and I were on a mission -head hunting mission. To kill and destroy all harlequin bug on the premises. These natsy little buggers have totally decimated our newly planted salad sowing. Until the shipment of natural organic killer, pyrethrum, arrives it’s hand to hand combat to save our crops.
This afternoon hope to get loads of preserving done. Incoming apples, strawberry, elderberry, beans. Out going - butters, jams and marinate. A PTF friend brought over some delicious plums from her backyard orchard and will be preserving those also. Thanks L - love to do another ‘Crop Swap’ soon!
Later tonight our monthly co-op pick up at the Rose Bowl parking lot. Our co-op coordinator is on vacation so she’s asks us to take over the reigns whiles she’s on vacation.
Then, sending out good thoughts and healthful wishes to all our friends who are having health issues and bouts with some sort of nasty stomach virus that’s going around. Get well soon!
Wow, four entries today! Enjoy…
Filed under: Homestead Life, In the Garden, Journey Reflections, Low Impact Living, Mixed Greens (News), Posts by Anais |
Tags: backyard orchard, co-op, in the garden, on the homefront
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July 22, 2008
We are full of animal antics this morning here on the urban homestead. Never a day goes back with some silly antic pulled by our menagerie.
Lady Fairlight snatches a tomato.
Oh my, just look at that face! Guilty with pleasure. Yum, yum.
Sheesh, Fairlight! Be a lady and close your mouth when you chew.
Filed under: Goats, Posts by Anais, Uncategorized |
Tags: city goats, Goats, urban goats, Urban Homestead
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