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The Urban Homesteaders

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Cast of Characters

In Memory

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








« URBAN FARMING | Main | MY COMPUTER OVERFLOWETH »

JOURNAL TWEAKS

February 21, 2008



Hi all! Jordanne here! Just a quick note to inform those of you on Internet Explorer that I am aware of some display issues on this journal. This is due to IE6’s crappy … er… flawed system. Thanks to those of you who pointed it out as I am an complusive upgrader and had the latest versions of Firefox and Internet Explorer the minute they were released so was previously unware of this glitch.

There is a temporary fix in place now but it means the right sidebar is now thrown down to the end of the page. This is expected to be fixed by Monday. In the meantime, IE6 users might want to consider updating your Internet Explorer to IE7
as it is much more stable and secure…. well, mostly. That’s up to your personal opinion.

Nonethless, regardless of its problems as a browser, it’s best to update your Internet Explorer to IE7 anyway.

Uh-oh… I feel a rant coming on about my frustration in regards to different web browsers so I better sign off now to spare our readers!

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5 Responses to “JOURNAL TWEAKS”

  1. Malcolm Says:
    February 21st, 2008 at 4:29 pm

    While there are, unfortunately, still a few sites that require IE, if you want something more stable and secure go with either opera or firefox over IE. (Definitely upgrade to IE7 over IE6 though).

  2. Malcolm Says:
    February 21st, 2008 at 4:33 pm

    For browser compatibility issues, there’s a number of sites that will give you screenshots on a variety of browsers so you can check how things look.

    There’s a list of a mix of free and pay sites here.

  3. Anais Says:
    February 21st, 2008 at 5:36 pm

    Howdy Malcolm

    Thanks for sharing the tips with our readers. We use FIREFOX for our web browsing and the site looks fine. So I think it would be advantageous for those readers who are having viewing problems to update their IE browsers or use FIREFOX!

    Cheers,
    Anais

  4. Emily B Says:
    February 22nd, 2008 at 4:30 am

    I haven’t had any problems with the site (we use IE7) but am unable to watch the video brochure on the main page, it goes for maybe 5 - 10 secs and cuts out.
    ?????
    Thanks Emily

  5. Anais Says:
    February 24th, 2008 at 6:35 am

    Greetings Emily

    Thanks for the letting us know about the problems you are having with the video brochure. I have alerted my sister (she the webby) about the video issue.

    Hopefully, she’ll have some time to snoop around and figure out the problem.

    Cheers,
    Anais

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