GROW FOR TEN THOUSAND

Our readers know that that we've been hinting for months about a great new project in the works. As we start the new year, the moment has come to reveal our plan, along with a new logo exemplifying the revolutionary spirit of PTF's Homegrown Revolution™: To harvest 10,000 pounds in 2008 from 1/10 acre.

We had wanted this announcement to coincide with the launch of our new website, but it looks like the new website won’t be online for a few months yet. And nature won’t wait for the new site.

Once again, the driving force behind PTF, Jules Dervaes, has led the way with a radical challenge. Can we urban homesteaders deliver? PTF will be trailblazing a new path as we ask: How much food can be grown on such a small scale?

Back in 2003, we at PTF first shocked ourselves and “the world” by growing 6,000 lbs (3 tons) of fruits, vegetables and herbs on our 1/10 acre growing space and proved that we could approach a high level of self sufficiency both directly and indirectly from our city lot.

Learning through years of self-taught, hands-on growing experience, none of us has any agriculture accreditation or has taken permaculture or master gardening courses. From firsthand knowledge, mixed with a passion for the environment and growing things, Jules has dramatically upped the ante on the urban food movement. Living by example, we use our "hands as weapons of mass creation™" to create a better present and a real future.

Can 1/10 of an acre (about 4,300 sq ft) grow a cornucopia of 10,000 pounds without using ANY organic NPK fertilizers? We are talking about a piece of land equivalent to 66'x66'! Such an urban food production feat has not been undertaken and documented with stats to prove its possibility. Are we crazy? Crazy, you say? Yes siree, bob. Whether or not this happens all depends on the weather. God willing, we hope to be blessed with abundant rainfall and good weather to reap a bountiful harvest! Stay tuned to this journal for the out-of-this world developments.

Join us in our mission to be the change by living the solution! The seeds of PTF's Homegrown Revolution™ have been growing for nearly seven years now and are reaching maturity. You can contribute your support through purchases from our online store or making a timely (tax deductible) donation. We need your help to spread the word to friends and family and throughout the cyber world (via message boards, blogs, etc.). It's our mission to Grow the Future™, and you can help support our efforts in launching a new site to document this project along with our ongoing urban homesteading adventures.

We want to extend the challenge to grow for 10,000 pounds to our readers and propose that you pledge to match us penny for pound (or whatever amount you’d like to contribute). By donating one, half or more penny for each pound of produce we harvest ($100 over one year—if we meet our goal), you can help us purchase the necessary technological tools and services needed to document, publish and publicize this sustainability challenge! You can be involved directly in reaching others with this radical solution to save the people and the planet.

Also stay tuned for the final harvest tally for 2007!

Day of Rest & Reflection and Forward Thinking

Saturday, we spent a quiet and relaxing day with a friend as we hiked in the local mountains. We walked up to our favorite swimming hole and spent the afternoon playing in the water, falling asleep on the rocks in the sun and talking about personal issues, future plans and what can we do to better prepare ourselves for an uncertain future, global warming, practicing and living earth stewardship, etc.  

We also talked alternatives to plane travel (we opt instead for train -- 2 plane trips in 25 years -- but, one day, would like to visit the old homestead in New Zealand) to get across the ocean. So, as we talked,  someone said, "Wouldn't it be neat if trans ocean liners were used instead of planes?" A friend of ours needed to go to Hawaii for a family gathering and was not happy about using a plane to get there; instead, she was thinking of hopping on a freight boat as a passenger but apparently you can't do that from an American port to an American port.

Jordanne & Lucia check out the cute alpacas

Fiber Fest

On Sunday we gals, along with some friends, took a trip down to Santa Monica to check out the Fiber Fest We checked out the yarn and colorful bins of roving, tried our hand at spinning and got a free lesson (from a very nice lady) on how to drop spindle. In the front of the auditorium there were three alpacas and a man who brought his angora bunnies and was spinning their yarn.   Thelady who brought the baby alpacas ( 2 chocolate brown and 1 white) to the Fiber Fest was very, very nice and, of course, Jordanne spent most of the time there talking with her about raising these adorable creatures.   If we had a bit more space, (alpacas provide great companionship, manure, milk(?) and, last but not least, amazing fiber) I could see us raising a few. They are similar to raising goats, except they need a hair cut.   Thealpaca ladymentioned to Jordanne that sometimes her alpacas birth small babies which are rejected by their "mum" (she had a lovely South African accent) and would consider giving Jordanne one to nurse. Of course, Jordanne's eyes lit up at that proposal.    We've seen llamas and alpacas at the zoo (waaaay back), but hers were absolutely gorgeous - well taken care and very stunning to look at.   OK, I know, I am in love.

After a few hours at the Fiber Fest, and since it was a beautiful sunny day, we spent the rest of the afternoon sitting on the Santa Monica beach (right in front of Muscle Beach and the left side of the Pier) - soaking up the sun and watching the waves.

We came home with new ideas and hands itching to try out new skills and techniques.   I am still on the look out for a spinning wheel.  Unfortunately, many of the spinning wheels there weren't "show price" and I figured I could get a better deal online.    Oh yeah, almost forgot. There was this guy there who was spinning bamboo - amazing and the yarn was absolutely amazing. I have to say, I was proud of myself - didn't come home with any yarn (too much in my stash which I promised I would use up before buying any more yarn).

Oh, after the beach you'd think the day was done. Nope!  Our friend's little girl wanted to play with the goats, so we piled into the their compact car (4 adults and 3 kids -- 2 of which were goats) and went to the Rose Bowl/Brookside park and let the three "kids" run around. The goats had a blast and so did we.

Manic Monday

Monday, was a day for catching up with things we failed to finish the week before.   Thank you notes to be written, emails to catch up, roofing and clean up, yard and housework were just a few of the things tackled.

Monday was also bulk co-op pick up day. Since the truck was coming in the early evening (6pm) we brought the goats along with us so they could play at the Rose Bowl/Brookside Park.   We were surprised to find lots of folks using the park on a Monday evening and the goats attracted quite a lot of attention - the children's faces would light up when we'd ask them "do you want to pet them?" and the adults were all curious (one young man whipped out his cell phone and asked if he could take a picture "because I've never seen goats in a park before." )

Look who's been checking out the cob oven, happens that goats love charcoal!

Typical Tuesday

Having made an effort this summer to reduce our store food purchases even more, Tuesday is bread making day (in the cob oven of course- wouldn't think of adding extra heat in the kitchen!) and food preservation day on the homestead... or yogurt making, sprouting seeds and just planning what we are going to eat. Of course. that depends on what the garden is giving us at the time...

The summer harvest is a little late this year (thanks to the crazy weather) Now, that the weather is back to normal, the garden has settled down.

What we are harvesting now:

Veggies: Tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, beans, avocados, basil
Fruit: figs, strawberries, apples, rose apples, peaches (yup, peaches finally!) there are also a few plums tucked in among the row of dwarf fruit trees.
.. and juicy, sweet oranges - thanks to a friend of ours bringing them over.

Still very few cucumbers. Wonder if we received some bad seeds from our supplier?

The winter squashes have taken over the entire driveway and there are some pretty decent sized banana and pumpkin squashes.

Working late. All gone.

Roofless in Pasadena

The guys have been hard working on the last part of removing the old shingle roof - as of today, it's all gone! Last dumpster load got picked up today, having filled two 10 cubic yard dumpsters with a total of over 14,500 lbs (7+ tons!!!) of junk! Yikes!  Hate the waste, but it has to be done, code doesn't allow one to put new roofing material over 2 layers of shingles and our house had about 3 layers in some places plus wood shake.

Anyways, we did save some of the old wood shakes to chip up for mulch.

Now comes the "fun" part of putting on ~100 sheets of plywood and the metal roof. We have finally narrowed down the 10+ metal roofing choices to just a few. There is one that we found originally from overseas that doesn't have Teflon, is drinking water safe and it also looks like regular asphalt shingles. But, we are still working on the details/cost since they say we can't install the metal roof ourselves. I doubt that very much.  We each have two hands, a brain and with a little bit of mentoring and direction I think we can do a pretty good job ourselves. Like we did with the installation of the 12 solar panels, we did it pretty much all ourselves with a little mentoring help from Allan fromEESolar.

There is also the problem with fixing the sagging eaves. It is not easy for us to fix but it is expected on 90yr old houses for eaves to droop a little.

Jules said a teacher from the school that surrounds 3 sides of our house, saw him and Justin on the roof with their clothes, mask and skin covered in black dust and said she admires what we are doing since we are doing the work ourselves. Nice of her to say so.   It is a family trait passed down from ourGrandfather Jules Sr, to my father, Jules Jr to us kids: never be afraid of doing hard or dirty work. A good quality that we are proud to have in our blood.

Can't wait till the roof job is done, these days walking outside in the yard it smells all musty (especially in the mornings - gets you sneezing) and there's a feeling of dust everywhere - we really need a good rain to remove all the dust... wait, not yet! not until we put a new roof on!!   

Website Update

I find a bit of time to update the right side bar on this journal page - fixing links: removing out of date sites, updating new urls along with adding new steps and current trails on our family's journey.   Jordanne plans to have the beta III version of the video brochure and the localKPFK radio interview with PTF and the producer of 'The Great Warming' uploaded this week (hopefully by tomorrow), so stay tuned!   Last week we had planned on doing it but got interrupted with our having a deadline to get some video footage in for a pilot episode for a new "green tv" series. Before you get excited, notice the key word mentioned: "pilot" -- this means sometimes "pilot" never get to see the light of day.

Thank You

.. to Edward B, who donated, "to help you spread the message of self reliance." Very kind and thoughtful of you. We truly appreciate your gift very much. It has already been put to good use,  paying web hosting fees, etc.

BOOKMARKS
Global Warming & Global Food Supply {Anthropik.com}

We've long known that global climate change would have a massive effect on the fragile agricultural system we're so utterly dependent on: our crops are fickle, catastrophe-adapted cereal grains, after all. The droughts and heat waves caused by global warming would lay waste to our grain stores.
read more

August is certainly turning out to be a strange month weather wise. It's a mixture June Gloom and crisp Fall-like weather. If we didn't know any better we'd say it was late October. The now cool weather is throwing everything out of wack and besides, it's weird. Those weeks when it was excruciatingly hot we wondered where spring and early summer went. Now we are asking: What happened to the dry, hot days of August?

Chicken, Clementine. Putting our ducks in a row

The Funny Farm

Clementine (or "Miss Clementime" as we like to call her because she acts like a southern belle - she looks like she's always saying "well, I do declare"), our black bantam cochin, is having an identity crisis and has taken to try to crow like a rooster. Good try, Clemmy, but sorry to say, you sound pretty pathetic. Our hens are now in retirement, meaning they aren't egg layers and being vegetarian there is no danger of them making it to the pot.   We had planned on hatching/raising a new batch of bantams, but are still too busy for such a project; however, we hope next year to increase our flock with new baby chicks.

Jordanne finally got all her ducks in a row. She snapped a photo the ducks "duck-stepping" together. Chickens are characters but ducks are even more so. Think Donald Duck - they are goofy and  their waddle walk is so funny to watch.   These type of ducks, Khaki Campbells, are reliable egg layers - laying over 300 eggs a year. Our 3 year old ducks are still going strong, giving us at least one egg each per day.   They do have some "off days" but, unlike chickens, they don't "go broody" so their "time off" is very short lived.

Goodbye old roof

Roof Report

We had a 10 cubic yard dumpster delivered on Monday so we can fill it up with the asphalt shingles from the first 1/2 of the roof. This week the guys will be working on removing the other 1/2 of the roof on the south side of the house ("driveway" side) The seedling nursery had to be moved and the self -watering containers that sat on the now de-paved and mulched driveway.   The backyard is once again a little bit chaotic. Best if the messy work is done and over with fast.

As for the roofing dilemma, it looks like we are leaning to the lesser of two evils - acrylic coated metal. We are trying hard to avoid supporting DuPont and their Teflon industry (which we found is used to coat many of the metal "shingles") Although natural and renewable, wood shakes are not a very good idea out here in the arid tinder-dry southwest. Besides, I would think that code would insist that residents install shakes treated with fire retardant chemicals.

Fig rice dish. Apple butter.

Fig, Fi, Fo Fum

With our collection of dwarf fig trees and with our neighbor's - figs are what's for dinner these days. Today, we tried another new fig dish calledWild Rice Salad with Fresh Figs.   Served with just picked and lightly steamed green beans, it was quite a pleasant (and light) summer meal.

Along with trying new dishes, there was apple butter to make. I was pretty excited about trying to makeapple butter for the first time .With 4lbs of our Anna Apples we were able to make 4 pts of incredibly yummy apple butter.   It's very satisfying to see the cabinets fill up with colorful jars of preserves.

Baking day in the earthen oven

The Whole Grain

Next it was time to bake bread in the cob oven. This time we made four loaves which should last us about a week or more.   With homegrown ripe tomatoes and avocados, fresh bread make a delicious sandwich which we'll enjoy a few times this week for lunch.
BOOKMARKS

Jules in herb garden. Courtesy of Steven Dabrowski
Green House Effect {via LA Alternative / Aug 11}

by Lucinda Michele Knapp
[excerpts from article]
.... “I’d like people to understand it’s not [going] be instant gratification,” says Jules Dervaes of Pasadena, an “urban homesteader” who, with his family, converted their own home into a virtually self-sustaining city lot where they brew their own biodiesel, provide organic greens to local restaurants, and teach workshops on everything from permaculture to knitting. They began their process in the ’80s. “It’s like a baby: it needs more attention in the beginning. Only after a few years does that garden start walking on its own…be prepared for failures and setbacks. We had one blueberry one year. One. I told my kids, with all the work we put into it, ‘This is a $100 blueberry,’” says Dervaes......“With a garden, wisdom comes in little increments,” explains Jules Dervaes, when I speak with him over the phone. “People knew a long time ago, and we have forgotten. Maybe a century ago most people were farmers, and now our kids aren’t even outside. They’re not playing in the yard, you don’t see them out in the street or climbing trees-they’re driven indoors, and it’s not right or healthy. With wacky weather and oil shortages, people are looking for something close to home where they can get security. I compare it to the World War II victory gardens. When the nation was in trouble, people said, ‘What can we do?’ Enron goes bankrupt, oil prices go up-it’s not a bad deal to have stability here at home. In a period of disquiet and upheaval, people go back to what’s real and what they can hold onto. My kids wanted to protest and saw people taking to the streets during the G7 summits…you [want to] be in control, you plant something. Your capacity to change is right there.”....The Dervaes family has ideas, though. “We advise some kind of action wherever you are,” says Jules. “A lot of people have small, seemingly impossible places. But you don’t need a yard. Self-watering containers are good for balconies: they don’t leak, and they have a reservoir. Neighbors get together and share small spaces. Other people do a little piece of their rental property-take space you don’t think you have, and turn it into a pint-sized garden. One lady with hardly any space went out and put a little thing in there between her fence and house-people are getting their feet wet and getting experience. When you have several people doing it, it kind of catches on. You break open this blockage where people think, ‘I can’t do that.’ People see you do it, and then they go, ‘He did it-why can’t I?’”Dervaes pauses, and I realize he’s seen this actually work, time and time again, with people who come to tour his own home and its rainbows of heirloom tomatoes, its long, lush rows of well-loved backyard plantings, and its welcoming, wild front yard....“With change, like with a garden, you have to persevere.”

Seven days to green your life {via The Independent }

We all know global warming is a fact. And we'd all like to do something to make a difference. But where to begin? The answer, of course, is in our own homes and daily routines. Donnachadh McCarthy, one of Britain's leading expert in green living, believes seven days is all it takes to cast aside the bad habits of a lifetime. Here he explains how to change for the better - starting tomorrow
read more

"...small old path that leads to freedom: a path of action, of thought, of wisdom." ~ Katherine Tingley, 1914 ~

Photos

Here on the homestead there's always something quirky, beautiful or stunning to take photos of. Here are few of the best shots taken:

Top right - to left: peaches ripening on the tree; Blackberry eating out of Jordanne's hand; Cassidy on the peak of the garage roof early one morning. I can imagine she's thinking to herself "I'm Queen of the World!"

Bottom right to left: butterfly visits the Echinacea; Cat Stevens (aka "Spanky") sits in the garden; late afternoon shadows silhouette the cob oven.

On the urban homestead

The guys brewed about 60 gallons of biodiesel this week which should last us 2 months or more. They figured on making a "bulk batch" now so that they could concentrate their efforts on the roof in the weeks ahead.

Now that the cob ovenhas been resurfaced with a new coat of earthen plaster, it's back to being used more these days. Of course, during sunny days, we still prefer using the sun/solar ovens; however, nothing beats freshly baked bread or pizzas topped with freshly picked toppings from the garden.  

The cob/earthen oven heats up well using a little scrap (recycled) wood.   We have plenty wood stored in 55 gallon barrels on the side of the house . To preheat the oven, we just have to plan ahead. It takes about 3 hours to reach 300 degrees. No instant gratification here.

For a early evening snack, we enjoyed a slice (or couple of slices for the guys) of homemade sprout bread (made home-sprouted alfalfa sprouts) served with homemade elderberry jam.   If not properly guarded (and having strong will power), the whole loaf could have been easily devoured in one sitting.

Elderberry delights

Have a lot of food preservation that needs to be done: marinated peppers, drying hot peppers, canning up more fruit jams/preserves.   I can't wait until it late fall so that we can harvest the patch of horseradish to make up some sauce with the spicy roots.  

Another tasty tuber that we can't wait to harvest is theyacon's. This plant is from South America and is hardy in our area producing juicy (jicama-like) tubers that are great in salads or vegetable stir fries.

The figs are ripening like crazy. Besides trying a few new recipes, we are going to dry a few batches in the sun oven.

Some things are "off" this year, one being the lemon cucumbers. We usually harvest a bunch, but, so far, only a handful. Of course, the crazy weather is partly to blame, but we also are noticing the lack of bees to help with pollination.   As urban farmers we are on the "ground floor," as you might say, in noticing different weather patterns and changes. This year has been one of the weirdest we've experienced in our 15 years of gardening here.  

We are also concerned about our beneficial insect population. Haven't seen many lady bugs as before and the praying mantis are much smaller than normal at this time of year.

Top: Front yard from street Bottom: Part of backyard garden

GREENWAY: Abundance with Sustainable Gardening

Pasadena, Independent August 10, 2006by Sue Z SmithThe length of time it took for Jules Dervaes to fully realize his dream of living off the land brings to mind a familiar Zen maxim: "The obstacle is the path." Fresh out of college with a degree in math and computer science, and toting "thirteen issues of Mother Earth News in a briefcase," Dervaes traveled to rural new Zealand in the 1970's to try his hand his hand at homesteading. Absorbing the information contained in those magazines and invoking the spirits of his grandfather, an ornamental horticulturalist originally from Belgium, and his father, an oil executive and avid gardener, helped Dervaes to sow the seeds for what would later develop into a thriving urban homestead in Pasadena called "Path to Freedom."In 1984, Dervaes moved his family into their fixer-upper on 1/5 of an acre in Pasadena, where he cleared the land "like a pioneer would" and created an "ornamental jungle." But a nagging fear that a GMO [genetically modified organism] was "assaulting my food supply" convinced him to go organic and plant a sustainable garden. What began as a small vegetable patch of easy-to-grow foods -- corn, beans, tomatoes, zucchini and an assortment of herbs -- flourished beyond his expectations and eventually took over the backyard. The bold next step was to expand to the front. Keeping in mind that, "if you are going to do something different," said Dervaes, " it better look good," he and his family uprooted the lawn. Today, winding paths paved with "buffalo grass" and snake through the gorgeously landscaped frontage -- a lush haven of herbs, wildflowers, broomcorn, sunflowers, peppers in summer, broccoli in winter, strawberries as ground cover ("we have to beat the birds and the slugs to the fruit," he said), chives as a border, purple basil, and much more. Dervaes and grown children Anais, Justin and Jordanne have parleyed their concern for the environment and entrepreneurial talent into a successful business by raising specialty crops like heirloom tomatoes and gourmet lettuce, which they sell to local restaurants. About ninety-percent of their front yard produces income, too. "I am doing it for the future," said Dervaes. "You know how they say,' it takes a village?' This one takes a family."To fuel their car, Justin produces biodiesel in the garage behind their solar-heated {powered} home, which he crafts from used vegetable oil salvaged from restaurants. "We deliver the produce and, get the oil to deliver the produce," said Dervaes, happily. At the top of their to-do list right now is replacing the roof a task they're learning about as they go along. When that's completed, the plan to "toast" the occasion with elderberry wine, courtesy of apprentice winemaker Justin -- and the sumptuous berry plucked from their vine. Learn more about sustainable gardening and "Path to Freedom" at their website www.PathtoFreedom.com Email comments: szsmith@coremg.net

A warm tropical "pineapple express" has descended on the southland bringing showers and occasionally torrential downpours. Already by afternoon our rain gauge measured over 1" of rain! The storm is expected to linger till tomorrow dumping more, much needed, rain.   Late Friday another storm is expected.

The lodge pole trellis structure that we constructed back in 2001 has finally been dismantled. Now that the concrete has been removed and there is more ground, the trellis looked out of place as if it were jammed toward the back of the property.   The guys carefully dismantled it.   It will now relocate it in a more centrally positioned area that will cover the broken concrete walkway that skirts along the perimeter of the garden.   The removal of the concrete has really played havoc with the set-up of the backyard. Now that we have ground in which to plant and erect structures, we are totally revamping the whole look of the backyard.   It's a little sad to see, a bit of nostalgia. But good things are in store for the backyard and it will be neat to watch it slowly transform back into a paradise.

Also, with all the new things happening in the backyard, our harvest this year will probably suffer due to the redesign. That's one of the reasons we put off taking out the concrete as we knew that our yearly 6,000lb harvest records would suffer. But there is a growing certainty that with the concrete out, in a year's time we could match or beat this 3 ton record.

TIME OFF

As you can see from our calendar our outreach program has been very, very quiet lately.   Much has to do with the weather being so unpredictable and our being so busy and a few other personal things that needed attention.   But this time off has allowed us to take a much needed breather and spend time to ourselves, allowing us to deepen our commitment to living a more sustainable life.

Last summer we introduced what we coined a "Self-Sufficiency Series" of events and workshops to help others gain the skills necessary to become independent. We invited skilled folks around the southland to put on workshops to share their skills with others.

We'd like to be host to this "SS" series again and much more, but, in a few months, we are faced with having to have a new roof put on our home. We pulled the permit in January and the city gives a 6 months time frame. Unfortunately, this coincides with the months that are ideal for community outreach programs held here at PTF.   Sure, we could find someplace else, but we are spoiled with the environment our facility provides, a far cry from a closed in conference room with AC and artificial lights.   It's often remarked that our  homestead is like a different world, a peaceful place far from the maddening crowds.   We hope the construction won't be too much of an incovenience which will allow us to plan for a series of events and workshops.  

I already have a full page chock-a-block full (2 columns) of events that we'd like to put on here at PTF.    We purchased a few new great documentary films (TBA) and are in negotiation to obtain a few more that are newly released.

Of course, we could, with our skills that we have gained over the years, host a variety of workshops from cooking with a solar oven, knitting, crocheting, using/making olive oil lamps, backyard chickens/ducks, soap making, candle making, gardening, beekeeping, biodiesel, seed saving, making a profit in your own backyard, and much much more.  

These past few months we've come up with many great ideas that PTF could be a part of, but juggling that aspect with life here on the homestead will be a certain challenge this year but a challenge worth tackling.   We may not be able to do all that we hoped, but all we can do is look forward.

PTF FUNDRAISER

We were invited to attend a screening of the End of Suburbia in Eagle Rock the evening of April 1st. Jules will be giving a power point presentation after the EOS film to give people solutions to the problems the film poses. The lady putting on the event was generous/kind enough to offer to pay and came up with a great arrangement that had never offered to us before.   She thought it would be great if folks attending could contribute towards a purchase of a sustainable project/item here on the homestead that would be used as an example for others who are interested in reducing their impact on the planet. So we gave her a list of things that would be a valuable addition to the urban homestead.

Firing up the cob
LIGHT MY FIRE

It was good to get back into using the cob oven. However, the cosmetic coat of plaster still needs to be fixed from the rain damage a few months back. Once the temperatures warm up we'll get around to wetting the oven and giving it a good recoat of plaster.

I spent much of Monday afternoon baking (bread, granola, rice pudding, croutons and dinner rolls), finishing just before the rain drops started to fall. Nothing beats freshly baked bread from the oven with a smidgen
of butter. Yum!

The weather has shifted again, it's a cool and slightly cloudy today. A heavy storm is expected Tues and into Wednesday which should dump from 1-5 inches of rain throughout the Los Angeles area.

The animal enclosure is nearly done. All that's left is to put a trellis along the top to support the grapes. The area in front of the animal enclosure will be planted in varieties of edibles and someday in the future will be home to a rainwater cistern.   Jordanne, as she did in the case with all our animals, checked with the city of Pasadena code ordinance and surprisingly found out that it's not illegal to keep goats! There are, however, stipulations that the goat/ goat house be placed 100 feet away from a house.   Lucky for us that's about how far our nearest neighbor is away from our animal enclosure that is located in the farthest corner of the yard.

LOCAVORES

Going, going, gone... We are down to 1/2 filled box of blood oranges. There are a few guavas on the trees, but fruit season can't come soon enough. It's been a long time since we've eaten any fresh berries, apples or peaches. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, and our heart, er stomach, is yearning for some juicy fruits.

Eating seasonally is one step towards breaking the 1,000 plus mile food cycle that is having environmental and global consequences. I was stopped the other day in our local neighborhood nursery by the staff who asked me to settle a debate whether organic vine ripen tomatoes sold in stores taste good, especially this time of year (late winter, early spring).

My having not eaten a whole "fresh" tomato in months, my reply was even though they are "vine ripened" there are still probably grown in a greenhouse or shipped from down south, way down south.   Our opinion, and it's a hard one to adhere to, if there are no tomatoes growing in backyards or community gardens in your area (well, except for the early, winter tomatoes) then one shouldn't buy tomatoes at the supermarket no matter how tempting. Taking a stand for organic, local food is quite a challenge really; but, by learning to eat seasonally you begin to appreciate food more and the anticipation of the first tomato, corn or strawberry of the season is definitely worth the wait.

This viewpoint is now catching on; the issue is not about organic anymore. Even with Fair Trade the focus has shifted to the obvious choice of local foods.   How many calories of fossil-fuel energy did you eat today?

My Saudi Arabian Breakfast: How to wake up each morning and consume a quart of crude oil and two and half pounds of coal.

On the table in my small Berkeley apartment this particular morning is a healthy looking little meal -- a bowl of imported McCann's Irish oatmeal topped with Cascadian Farms organic frozen raspberries, and a cup of Peet's Fair Trade Blend coffee. Like most of us, I prepare my breakfast at home and the ingredients for this one probably cost me about $1.25. (If I went to a café in downtown Berkeley, I'd likely have to add another $6.00, plus tip for the same.)
... Well, if you're in New York City picking out a California-grown tomato that was fertilized with organic compost made from kelp shipped from Nova Scotia, maybe it's not such a bad question. But should we give up on organic? If you're buying organic raspberries from Chile each week, then yes. The fuel cost is too great, as is the production of the greenhouse gases along with it. Buying locally-grown foods should be the first priority when it comes to saving fossil fuel.
..What I eat for breakfast connects me to the planet, deep into its past with the fossilized remains of plants and animals which are now fuel, as well as into its future, when these non-renewable resources will likely be in scant supply
read article

Picking pansies

MAKING A PROFIT IN YOUR OWN BACKYARD

It's edible flower time and the pansies and nasturtiums are in demand with our clients. The next few months, till at least July, will be edible flower season. We could sell more flowers if we expanded our production as was the case about 8 years ago. Our little lot really cranked out edible flowers and we were gaining a reputation throughout the LA area of being a high quality seller of organic edible flowers. After a few years,  we  wised up and figured that even though they turn a huge profit they (edible flowers) are also a fickle source of income. At least when you grow vegetables or even herbs if you can't sell them for cash then you can at least barter, eat or preserve them and save cash. Now, we still have a few patches of edible flowers left on the homestead that help bring in income to support our ongoing sustainable project.

HEATING UP

This week ABC Nightly News will take a closer look at the global warming scenario. The first of their report on Sunday night was frightening.   We are watching glaciers melt, extreme weather and species extinction and this has all taken place in our/my lifetime.   Being close to nature, in the garden, you notice subtle changes that may not be felt by the majority of the population. It's scarier to think that we've gone beyond the tipping point. Peak oil is one thing; but if it's too hot to grow food or too cold, water sources dry up, extreme this or that, how will we survive? We can, I believe, survive to some extent without oil; but if the climate changes, then what will become of our world that we were given as a gift?

Global Warming Con?

" Earth is warmer in 1988 than at any time in the history of instrumental measurements," said Hansen, director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York, in his testimony before the subcommittee. He would later say, "The warming of a few degrees is going to take us to a world that is perhaps as different from today as the last ice age is from today."
read article

Cob oven

MANIC MONDAY

Yesterday after the film crew left, we rolled the rest of the beeswax candles. I'll have to place another order for some more bulk sheets of wax. Today, we'll be making another batch of soy candles. 

It's Monday and what does that mean? Cob baking day!   We'll make some dinner rolls, brownies, oatmeal molasses bread and try to make a dent and use up the three bags of free bread that we got on Friday from the tea shop to make some herbal croutons.  

Would anyone like cob-baked croutons?

It's warming up. After several nights of sssshivering 28 degrees, it's warmed up to a comfortable low of 32.    The sky is clear and the sun's out today- a beautiful, warm day.   The chilly nights are definitely good for the fruits that require a certain amount of chill to set fruit. More rain is expected at the end of the week.  Hopefully, it will be another

"Miracle March."

We are waiting for the weather to warm up a bit (and stay warm) before we hatch any chickens for best results.    We are shooting for either late April or early May. We are down to a few bantam, heritage breeds of chickens to choose from. One candidate is bantam cochins since we are familiar with the bred since one of our bantam's is a black cochin, named Clementine. She's is one of our favorite and a hit with the kids and all who come to the homestead. Sorry girls, she's just a pretty little thing with her fluffy bottom and feathered legs.

Don't recall if I updated you all on the situation with Dawn, one of the Khaki Campbell ducks. Late last summer she tore a ligament in her leg and for months hobbled around like a 'lame duck' - poor thing. We took her to a holistic vet in the area who recommended that we massage her leg every day and apply herbal ligament treatment. Well, that's just what we did - massaged her leg every day (even though she didn't like it one bit) Happy to say, she's back to normal waddling around and enjoying hanging out with her best pal Dixie. Quack! Quack!

We received our shipment in of worms last week to replace our worm population that was displaced from their homemade worm bin underneath the rabbit hutch. The new worms have been placed in theCan-O-Worms container we purchased many, many years ago and they and the container will stay in the garage until their new home is ready amongst the avocados and bananas.

The guys have been pouring over the stack of seed catalogs to make sure they didn't overlook anything for the upcoming growing season. As, always they are tempted to try their hand at growing a few new varieties.  

In addition to the garden work, brewing biodiesel, and other daily tasks around the urban homestead, the guys also have been working on the expansion of the animal enclosure. Jules is working on plans for a new feeding station and possible addition of a goat house that will be integrated into the animal enclosure.

Natural Home & Garden

In a little less than a month, PTF's homestead will be featured in the May/June issue. This time, I am certain of the issue since they are sending us copies. We are planning on offering these copies to our readers. Instead of buying this issue from a newsstand you can buy one from us and support this site at the same time.   Details and ordering information will follow, when we launch the new site. So stay tuned.

Cob Update

It was decided that instead of having the cob oven sit around until the weather warmed up to give it a new plaster coat that we'll fire it up and start using it once again. No matter how hard we tried to give it a new plaster coat to repair the rain damage, many little hairline cracks would appear. First, I thought we forgot the right plaster formula and after three unsuccessful tries started to narrow down what was the things that were different from the time we gave the oven it's final plaster coat. The only other factor was the season. The final plaster coat was applied last summer and here we are trying to do it again in winter.   Sure enough, I researched it on the internet and it's advised that repairs on cob be done in warmer weather. Mystery solved.   That certainly took a load off, for awhile there we were getting frustrated that we were doing something wrong.   Another, first hand learning experience. When the weather warm up, the oven will then get her new coat of plaster but for now we'll go back to baking bread and other tasty treats.   I can't wait!   Of course, Justin is thrilled so he can use up the drums of salvaged wood that's taking up storage space and also he gets to eat what comes out of the oven.

Good news, more rain is on the way Monday, into Tuesday and more chance on Thursday!   Around 6 am this morning we spotted geese flying North.  A sure sign that winter is coming to a close.

This morning a noxious smell of gas hung heavy in the air. We checked our meter and it was fine, but the smell made everyone a bit nauseated and headachy.   The gas company finally came out and said they had reports of a gas smell from other parts of town. Wonder where the smell came from?

Lots of work/projects to be done today inside and out.   Besides the flurry of plantings going on, there are trellises to be built, the solar oven's reflective panels replaced for use come spring and summer, grey water system to put in and so much more.... and then there's the cob oven.

The cob oven is covered in cracks and no matter how we try to fix it just doesn't seem to work. I feel bad having gotten myself in such a situation.  It was my fault for thinking I could patch it up after it was damaged from a rain storm. And it was my fault again for putting off adding a protective coat of linseed oil. As much as we wet down the oven and apply the plaster, it still cracks. Frustrated and wondering how on earth I got myself in such a mess and puzzled at what, if anything we are doing differently from plastering it before, I did a bit of research on the internet and found that ideally it's not a good idea to plaster cob in the winter. The cold weather causes the plaster to have a bunch of tiny hair-line crack. Uh-huh, I did have a sneaking suspicion that the cold weather was causing the hundreds of hairline cracks in the plaster. But, now if that's so, how to go about finally re-plastering and coating the oven with boiled linseed oil so I can use the oven? I miss using it and I have only myself to blame. Now that I have gotten myself into this mess, how to get out?  

Perhaps the rainy weather will help bring down the cold, nighttime temps which will allow the plaster coat to dry properly.   The cob oven is useable, but the dilemma we face is this, Is it worth firing it up and really drying the oven out and having to spend days getting the oven moist or leaving it like it is and wait till ideal conditions?

Metal seed shelf

We got a new seed shelves! The wooden one the guys built a few years back was on its last legs (wood was bowing out and curving) and needed to be replaced. We expect this metal one to last much longer and it even has wheels... wheeee.   An incentive to having a market-garden, home business-- such purchases can be taken off taxes. 

Even though we/I have my hands full at the moment, there are still new projects to tackle and old skills/projects to revisit.   Our homemade supply of soap is running low even though Justin declared that I made "enough soap to last 100 years!" So it will be fun again to pull out the soapmaking supplies and make batches of soap.  

Also, we'd like to get back to doing more sprouting. We went through a sprouting phase, but like with anything you get busy and such projects get shoved aside for new ones. Six years ago we bought a couple hanging pantriesand they were very useful for sprouting and sun drying.

The worms under the now dismantled, bunny hutch had to be moved and are awaiting their new permanent home, but that can't really happen till we get a hold of what new plans we need to incorporate into the backyard garden.

It's been a few years since we've purchased any books to expand our library here on the homestead,. But, this year we have decided that we should stock up on few more books more books to add to our collection.  

Cat Stevens

Our new kitty loves to hang out with the chickens, ducks and rabbit.   When he gets to be mischievous and in the way, we put him in the animal enclosure to be baby-sat by the other animals. He gets so excited knowing he is going to be hanging out with his new pals and sits quietly while he watches the animals go about their daily, quirky business.

Our other cat, Ringo, went missing for two days and nights. We got worried, figuring he got locked in someone's garage or the school behind our home where he likes to prowl the halls for leftover morsels from the kids' lunches. We talked with the custodian and walked the halls and grounds of the school.  I also called our neighbor two doors down who has 4 cats of her own and asked if she would open her garage just in case Ringo was left inside. Well, which ever place he was hiding in, he came back hungry and looking a bit disoriented.   He's the type of cat that would be sullen and silent if we was ever caught someplace. All's well, he's back and going about his routine, hanging out with his best buddies (our cat Cassidy and Cat Stevens)

As for the new website, we are still working on it, folks, in between everything else. We are definitely coming down the home stretch ( I think), finishing all the little (urgh) details which is enough to drive a sane person crazy. Well, not that we/I am sane anyways. *grin*   Hopefully, once the new (de-cluttered) site is up, we gals will have recapture our extra free time, not to mentioned breathe a huge sigh of relief, to help the guys with projects and tackle a few of our own that we have been mulling over. Oh yeah, we were promised a celebration/party for finishing the website.   Let's party!

On Thursday, the director of 'Ready or Not?" came by to go through our many video tapes that we have of our garden, New Orleans trip, biodiesel brewing and more. One day, we'd like  to make a small documentary of the PTF homestead ourselves. We have enough footage; editing, however, is a whole other story. In the meantime, we hope to put on the new site a few short video clips or "video logs."   So many things to juggle as it is and we continue to keep throwing things into the mix. So many plates to keep spinning at once.

OK, I'm dizzy just thinking about it.

So much to do!

Reliance on anything will make you vulnerable and we are determined as the years go by to lessen our dependence on unnecessary energy sources and other ties to the system.

Sol Muy Bien

What a lovely sunny day today is and the sun is expected to stay for few days. Always love the feeling after a huge rainstorm-- the air is crisp and fresh smelling. We are pretty happy about our decision to transplant the banana from behind the garage. Since moving them we doubled our solar production!

Damage Assessments

Damage from the recent storm, besides a few blown down plants, includes the cob oven. So instead of baking in this week, it will be needing a touch up in places - pretty bummed out about that. Even though the oven was covered in tarp, somehow rain got in and wore away the finish coating of plaster. Now it will be a challenge to recoat a harden surface.  I've been so busy and always thought I could get around to it, but am hitting myself for not forcing myself to find time to put boiled linseed oil over the final coat. Perhaps that would have helped - I dunno.  A cover would have helped, but with rain swirling and coming in sideways I don't think the copper leaf cover that Ray built would even have helped if we had gotten it put up. I think we may have to reconsider to a more practical covering for the oven that will protect it from wind driven, sideways rain and not just light sprinkles.

Tear down those walls!

New Loo

Thecomposting toilet arrived yesterday. The three boxes now are stored in the dining room while the guys fix up the back "1/2" bathroom. They've busted out a storage closet that was adjacent to the toilet to expand the bathroom to include a sink that will drain into a gray water area right outside the wall. The addition of a sink will be great, especially when we have events - no more having people wash hands in the kitchen sink.   With the bathroom renovation, garden shed, improved solar shower and other projects all going on at once, we realize we can't do it all ourselves. Well, then again, we could but it may be a whole year before the projects are completed. So, we are hiring a friend to help us with the work and hopefully, with his help, the projects will be completed a little faster.

Hatching Chickens

We may have an opportunity to acquire, thru bartering, a brand new incubator! That's the first, easy step.   Now Jordanne is going to have to choose which type of chicken we are going to hatch this year. She is looking into heirloom breeds that have been "untouched" and narrowed it down to a few choices. The choices, they all sound wonderful!   These are the times you certainly wished you had a wee bit more land to be able to raise a few more variety of chickens.

It would be great to get an incubator that way we can hatch a few chickens (or ducks) I know there are a few people who would like to get a few Khaki Campbell ducks.   Perhaps we can have a small hatching business?  But before we get all excited about the possibly, there is one huge drawback. What to do eggs that hatch which are male? Can't just throw them away like some farms do -- grinding them up alive (yes, this is a true horrible fact of the egg and chicken industry).   We city folk don't have room for male animals, especially chickens. If you have a small place, then people would want the females because they are the ones that give the eggs. Males are useless unless you want fertile eggs or duck l'orange or roast chicken.

For us and our replenishing our citified chickens, we are hoping that only a few males will hatch and then we will have the task of finding them a good home in the country somewhere but having to find homes for any more would be a hard deal.