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Urban Homestead Facts
LOCATION
Pasadena, CA
(Northwest Pasadena, one mile from downtown Pasadena)
PROPERTY SIZE
1/5 acre (66' x 132' / 8,712 sq.ft.)
GARDEN SIZE
~ 1/10 acre (3,900 sq.ft. / ~ 66' x 66')
GARDEN DIVERSITY
Over 350 different vegetables, herbs, fruits, berries
FOOD PRODUCED
6,000 lbs annually
challenging for 10,000 lbs in 2008 (read more)
URBAN HOMESTEAD SUPPORTS
4 full-time adults, volunteers, and many clients
ENERGY USAGE
6.5 kwh day (and going down!)
SOLAR POWER PRODUCED
8000 kwh ( as of 5/31/08)
GALLONS OF BIODIESEL MADE (since 2003)
1,000 gallons (as of 2/12/08)
"EARTH IMPACT FOOTPRINT" 5.2 acres per person
Tally Ho 2008
PRODUCE
2,100 lbs (6/31)
EGGS
Chicken 518 & Duck 640 (6/22)
HONEY
53 oz (5/19)
Steps Taken
Everyday Steps
Growing 99 % of produce
- 6,000lbs on 1/10 acre
Food Preservation/Storage:
- canning
- drying
- freezing
In the Kitchen:
- baking/cooking from
scratch
- yogurtmaking
- breadmaking
- cheesemaking
- sprouting
- cast iron cookware
- no dishwasher or
microwave
Food Choices:
- buying in bulk
- organic
- local
- eating seasonaly
- reducing "food miles"
- fair trade
- vegetarian(over 17 years)
Raising Small Farmstock:
- chickens (eggs/manure)
- ducks (eggs/manure)
- dwarf rabbits (manure)
- dwarf/pygmy goats
(milk/manure)
Composting Methods:
- making/using EM Bokashi
- vermicomposting
- composting food, garden
and green waste
Fuel:
- homebrewing biodiesel
- running diesel car on
biodiesel(~4,000 miles a yr)
Energy Conservation:
- "powering down"
- cut daily energy use in 1/2
12 kwh to 6 kwh a day
- 12 solar panels
- "green" power
- rechargeable batteries
- line drying clothes
Energy Efficient Appliances:
- washing machine
- refridgerator
- water heater(gas)
Energy Efficient Electronics:
- computer/printer/copier
- TV(no cable)/VCR/ DVD
Energy Efficient Lighting:
- compact fluorescent bulbs
- olive oil lamps
- oil lamps filled with
biodiesel
- homemade soy & beeswax
candles
- daylighting
- solar tube
Non-electrical Appliances /
Hand-powered
- blender
- toaster
- grinder(s)
- popcorn popper
- solar oven(s)
- hand washer/wringer
- pedal powered grain mill
- straight razor
- handcranked radio
- mortar & pestle
Natural beauty/no makeup
Homemade Non-toxic
Beauty Care Products
- toothpaste
- deoderant
Biodegrable/Non-toxic
Cleaning Products:
- vinegar
- baking soda
- lemon juice
Natural Health Practices:
- homeopathy
- herbal remedies
- prevention
Water Conservation Efforts:
- low flush toilets
- toilet lid sink
- reusing laundry water
- limit toilet flushings
- limit baths/showers
- mulching
- handwatering
- clay pot irrigation
- solar outdoor shower
- front load washer
- food not lawns
Hand powered garden tools:
- push mower
- broom, rake
- trowel, shovel
- hand clippers
Self-employed
Working at home:
- honey business
- produce/flower business
- craft business
Crafts & Skills:
- winemaking
- survival skills
- edible landscaping
- sewing
- leatherwork
- fiber arts
- animal husbandry
- holistic care
- tinctures
- carpentry
- plumbing
- building
- haircutting
- bicycle repairs
- soapmaking
- candlemaking
- herbs
- urban farming
- website design
- photography
- self publishing
- video & graphics
Living Simply:
- making use or do without
- bartering
- monthly shopping trips
- reduce, reuse & recycle
- second hand clothes
- salvage/thrift store
- consume less
Passive Cooling:
- no AC
- wood floors
- blinds
- windows
- screen doors
- edible forest
- "living" screens
- solar attic fan
Heating:
- no central heat
- woodstove that uses
scrap wood
- dress in layers
Walking the old paths:
- tithing
- day of rest
- stewardship
Saving seeds
Unschooling
Beekeeping
DIY Projects:
- solar oven
- cob oven
- solar outdoor shower
- depaved driveway/patio
- installed solar panels
- roofing
- sheds, etc
- animal enclosure, etc
- this website
- urban homesteading
Using canvas bags on
shopping trips / no plastic
Transportation:
- biodiesel "veggie" vehicle
- 4 "car free" days a week
- walk
- bike
- carpool
- mass transit
- cross country train trips
- 2 airplane trips in 25 years
"Green" Home Upgrades:
- metal roof
Outreach/helping others
along the path
CURRENT TRAILS
Growing 10k on 1/10
Rainwater
Waste water recovery
Support
We Support
« ON ABC TONIGHT: A Family Farm in the Midst of Suburbia | Main | SUMMING UP »
May 16, 2008
View Nightline Segment Video
View Complementary Online Article ‘ A Family Farm in the Midst of Suburbia’
Tags:
abc nightline,
family farm,
farming in los angeles,
the real simple life,
Urban Homestead
Topics: PTF Spotlights, Posts by Anais | Tags: abc nightline, family farm, farming in los angeles, the real simple life, Urban Homestead
RELATED POSTS:
Comments
(12 votes)
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Entries (RSS)
May 16th, 2008 at 6:12 am
I saw this episode last night and I thought it was great. The only thing I thought was weird is that the reporter and anchorman seemed to focus on how frugal you are instead of how rich your life is. There is an ineffable richness in your lifestyle that was clear to me but not to the anchorman. I hope the piece inspired people to grow something that they eat this year.
May 16th, 2008 at 6:17 am
Hey everyone,
Just wanted to say that I taped the show last night, since I work 2nd shift, I would have missed it. I’m glad I did..not only to see it, but to be able to watch it a few times more! I thought they did a great job with the article, and you all looked so great! Hopefully that will help more people open their eyes to all the possibilities we all have.
Wishing you continued success,
Craig
May 16th, 2008 at 6:24 am
Hi Folks!
Thanx so much for posting the ABC slot online,it is a great gift for us outside the USA.I thought the interviewer rather inquisitive as to your personal lives,but maybe some offers of marriage may transpire?Its just fantastic to see your homestead laid out for all to see,just totally inspiring!!!!!Your example uplifts us all!
blessings from this side of the pond
gerry m
May 16th, 2008 at 6:29 am
Bravo!
May 16th, 2008 at 7:06 am
Thanks for posting. Really good segment. Justin looks like your dad. We loved seeing Fairlight & Blackberry.
May 16th, 2008 at 7:44 am
They did an amazing job on this segment. Well you are all amazing subjects really so that’s probably why! Thanks for sharing it online as I couldn’t stay up to watch.
May 16th, 2008 at 8:15 am
Thanks so much for sharing this. We got rid of our cable service back in December (saving so much $$), and so I am very glad that abc shared it online.
I think they did a good job with the segment, I love to see all your interviews and media coverage as it inspires me each time! Happy to report I cut mine and my husbands hair, and have done for the last 10 years. Just because we CAN afford to have it cut elsewhere doesn’t mean we WANT to.
Keep posting, keep gardening, keep inspiring!
May 16th, 2008 at 10:09 am
So excited I got to see it!
May 16th, 2008 at 11:47 am
thanks for posting, that was actually quite good (especially considering the MSM’s misdirected focus on absence rather than abundance). But all in all very nice, so nice I watched it twice.
May 16th, 2008 at 1:28 pm
This is a great interview!
I’ve cut my family’s hair for years, and my own too (nothing fancy but it beats forty bucks!).
I agree with the comments about focusing on what you don’t have rather than what you do. It sounds to me as if you’re busy and enjoying life!
May 16th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
I’m kinda rumdum today from staying up past my bedtime last night to watch you guys on Nightline - but I’m sure glad I did! You guys were great - but the anchorman left a little to be desired. I think he was overly concerned with what you were “doing without” rather than focusing on how full your lives are. I don’t often get over your way, but if I find myself near Pasadena, do you mind a friend from the Mojave desert dropping in for a cuppa? I feel as if we’re old friends.
May 16th, 2008 at 4:30 pm
You continue to inspire and educate me. I loved the video, and I’ve sent it to my children and friends. I’m attempting to do my version of your life in my own backyard. Kudos to you for such wonderful national attention to something so important!
May 16th, 2008 at 5:41 pm
I’m so glad you guys posted the link to this video since I missed the segment by like 5 minutes. I thought the show was very well done and I was glad to finally get to see your family in action since I’ve only seen still photos so far. What an inspiration!
May 16th, 2008 at 7:09 pm
Bravo ! I really enjoyed the segment. It should have been longer !!! There is so much to be learned, maybe a mini series would work !!! Wouldn’t that be cool ?? Love to you all, hugs, Vicki
May 17th, 2008 at 4:35 am
I didn’t get to see, so I was very happy that you posted. Thank you soooo much. I loved your garden and am going to start one in the front as the little one I have in back is not near enough for a family of 5. Kindness and Love to you all, Talithia (in Florida)
May 17th, 2008 at 5:22 am
Congratulations on a nice report! We are working toward the same goals and you and your family inspire us, I think that a life rich in Family and self suffiency are the keys to happiness and chasing after money is not. I am a free spirit like you and can not cope being pinned in to a cubicle 40 + hours a week. I need to be outside, working toward bettering my life and that of my family!
May 17th, 2008 at 9:08 am
Why do they act as if you never meet other people???
May 17th, 2008 at 12:23 pm
Through a simple living message board I frequent I was able to get the link to the news broadcast and boy was I blown away.
What your family has managed to do not only from living in an urban area but with the limited amout of space is truly inspiring.
I had thought that to fullfil my dream of having a farm I’d actually have to move to the country but you have proven me wrong and now I’m not so worried about where we live as long as what we do with what do get.
Right now we live in a third floor apt but we do have a balcony and I’m imspired to start a garden out there next spring if not this summer.
Bravo!!!
Fiona
Edmonton Alberta
May 17th, 2008 at 4:37 pm
A friend sent me the video. She is a rural homesteader and has been encouraging us for several years to do urban homesteading, container gardening - anything. I really enjoyed watching this little glimpse into your lives and what you have accomplished. It just makes me want to go plant something!! (Maybe my friend’s wish is finally about to become true.) Seriously though, your family has done an incredible job with your space and you are an inspiration to the rest of us.
May 18th, 2008 at 4:09 am
Hi Anais! Thanks for posting the article and video. I don’t have a TV, so I enjoyed watching it online.
What I liked about the video is that they talked a little more about you guys and your life. I admit, I have often wondered about your personal lives (if any of you were married or would ever consider leaving Pasadena or CA).
If I meet any Jewish farmers (is that an oxymoron?!), I’ll send them your way!
Thanks again for opening your home to all of us out here in blogland!
Ariella
May 18th, 2008 at 4:11 am
Beautiful!
May 18th, 2008 at 11:10 am
I just want you folks to know that you are my heros! My husband and I live in Michigan with our five children. Joe has a good job that he hates, one in a succession of good jobs that he has not gotten any fulfillment from. We just put a bid on a six acre property because the township we live in will not allow us to have chickens or any type of livestock on our two acre property. There are also rules about what types of food we can grow so as not to be an “eyesore”. Our goal is to become self sufficient enough for Joe to quit his day job. I read you blog every day. Keep up the wonderful work!
May 20th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
I’m soooo glad for you that you are on Mainstream tv! I hope they air it again & again. We need more good examples like you! Keep it coming! I’ll keep trying too!