On the food front… The figs are finally ripe so we devoured our first fig quesadilla of the season. I know, sounds odd but it’s soooo delicious!
After a cold and drizzling beginning to July which delayed us a few week, and ‘thanks’ to the hot weather, we got around to extracting honey and bringing in nearly 55 lbs in just under two hours! From what I heard, this is only about 1/3 of the what’s still in the beehives.
[the] Dervaes Gardens sits practically on top of a Pasadena, California, freeway and is only blocks away from the famous Rose Bowl. Outside are all the trappings of twenty-first-century life: automobiles, satellite dishes, supermarkets, car washes, and stores…
Whew doggie! It’s been a busy week here at the urban homestead. Busy with bees (getting ready to harvest some honey!), battling bad bugs, moving the tender greens to cooler spot in the yard and getting things ready for a major can-a-thon.
Beekeeping is slightly more involved than say keeping ducks or chickens. Sure the bees do most of the work, but you have to stay on top of your hive maintenance – no slacking. Besides, bees are independent – they don’t listen to nobody!
While I took a brief holiday from happenings on the urban homestead to give you a glimpse at our travels this year to Greece, Israel, Italy and India – life on the urban homestead goes on and I am going to try to catch you all up on the happenings.
But before we go back to [...]
Tradition here on the urban homestead if for our family to get together on holidays and work on new projects. Thursday was a gorgeous day – sunny and warm. Perfect for working outside.
We look forward to such holidays. It’s like the regular routine around the urban homestead takes a new turn.
One year we spent Thanksgiving [...]
Jordanne finished her first batch of mead and, boy, it’s it a beauty, not to mention very delicious.
Now, I am not a drinker; but, this stuff–this stuff I could definitely guzzle down.
Mead, also known as honey wine, the oldest — and easiest to make! — fermented drink in the world!
As soon as our citrus ripens [...]
{note: this entry was written over ONE week ago, and delayed in publishing by the injured duck }
There’s some interesting goings on around the urban homestead The guys have been filling up the driveway with piles of sand, lumber is being brought in, coils of huge black hoses and more!
Yep, there’s some serious work going [...]
The meals last week were certainly very colorful and tasty. We are still working on using up the huge bag of carrots we harvested a few weeks back so we enjoyed an easy and very delicious carrot salad with almost each one of our meals.
The tromboncino squashes are young and very tender and sweet – [...]
A Homegrown Revolution Roots In Pasadena (PASADENA NOW)
By TRICIA AREND
Published: Monday, July 13, 2009 | 5:36 PM
Gardener and urban homesteader Jules Dervaes is growing a revolution in his Pasadena home. Dervaes’ little urban garden plot that could has led him to found the Path To Freedom and Little Homestead in the City, a sustainable resource [...]
On the hives once again. Beekeeper D says that the bees have been doing their job. Filled up another super after the summer honey flow and a few weeks we’ll harvest another batch of honey soon (wonder what this batch will taste like?)
Brood and bees look healthy – which is good news.
Weighing in for the month of May
748 lbs of produce (vegetables, fruits and herbs)
90 Duck eggs
80 Chicken eggs
17 lbs of Honey
Grow Your Own Groceries
Here how you can join us in our collective growing effort
Tally Guidelines
Any “poundage” grown by you on your property, patio, window sill or community plot including fruits, vegetables, herbs, nuts that [...]
Did you know? – Collectively, bees fly 24,000 miles and visit three to nine million flowers to make one pound of honey
Today was honey extraction time!!!!
But first it was time for the beekeepers to check the well “beeing” of the hives. They are well and the good news is that we have a new queen! [...]
What: Film Screening of EATING ALASKA & Local, Vegetarian Potluck
When: Sunday, March 29 (5:30 PM – 9:00 PM)
Where: 626 Cypress Ave, Pasadena CA (see map)
Cost: $10 (children under 12 are free) A small entrance fee is require as it helps pay for facility rental, screening licensing fees, sound system, and purchase of eco friendly, compostable [...]
(please note post was written yesterday – Wednesday )
Amen and pass the pitchfork. It’s a clear and sunny day! Honestly, the rain was getting a little much – too wet all at once.
No more soggy clothes and mucking boots for awhile at least.
It’s been so dreary and wet that we had to rig up a [...]
While our captured feral bees are snug as a bug in their hive, this latest report of GM contamination of honey has make home honey production even more vital.
Reacting to the test results, the company Breitsamer wrote that beekeepers are victims of genetic engineering; they themselves are not using GM, do not grow GM crops, [...]
Unlike our summer and fall events, please note the ENTIRE event will be held INDOORS.
What: Film Screening of POLLEN NATION & Local, Vegetarian Potluck
When: Sunday, February 22 (5:00 PM – 9:00 PM)
Where: 626 Cypress Ave, Pasadena CA (see map)
Cost: $10 (children under 12 are free) A small entrance fee is require as it helps pay [...]
Harvest (herbs, fruits, and vegs) 5,500 lbs (or there abouts)
Eggs: 2,155 (duck & chicken)
Honey: 25 lbs
If you have been following us this year, you know that the weather played havoc with our summer crops. Many such as cucumbers and tomatoes were lackluster and poundage considerably down than in previous years. From our records we “normally” [...]
Distilled water, herbs, vinegar, honey concoction
Beekeeper D exclaims “drink up, bees!”
Justin attaches the feeder to the hive and the bees immediately go for the honey, herbal, vinegar concoction.
Calm Before the Storm
“Without husbandry, “soil science” too easily ignores the community of creatures that live in and from, that make and are made by, the soil. Similarly, [...]
Thanksgiving at friends
Gathering at the urban homestead: look at all that good food!
Lots of catching up to do!
Sing a long time!
Good food, fun, fellowship….
and music!
Ack, it’s December already! It’s December… yeah, I already said that and saying it again and again won’t change that fact that it’s December!
We have had a busy couple days just [...]
Once again not much in the way of photos showing off our meals. I’ll try to do better.
Liquid sunshine is expected this week – tonight or early tomorrow! The garden really needs a good deep watering from a natural source.
We are looking forward to going over to our friends house this Thanksgiving. Given that we [...]
The guys worked on the bees yesterday afternoon. Beekeeper D says the queen is looking big and healthy. Broods are good and no sign of sick bees. The bees are still actively working the blue basil patches we have scattered throughout the front yard storing up their honey supply for the long winter.
Though Beekeeper D isn’t in [...]
Even though it feels like fall (for now) we are still enjoying fresh tomatoes and peppers from the garden. Actually, Justin commented today that we are harvesting more tomatoes than we got all summer! He’s right ya know, it’s been a terribly odd year. Summer still lingers on down on the farm.
As you can see [...]
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The salad greens are finally coming along, so we were able to enjoy some tasty salads this week. The fall batch of tomatoes are still growing – even producing red ripe tomatoes. So summer still lives on here on the urban homestead.
HG = Homegrown
SATURDAY
Breakfast – homemade pomegranate pancakes (made with HG eggs) and homegrown honey
Dinner [...]
Some of elements of a complete urban homestead: intensively productive garden, cob oven, solar ovens, outdoor shower, shed, solar panels (on garage), bees (can you see spot ‘em?) clothes line and at least three composters.
I finally got around to updating some of the harvest stats, egg count and honey production (see left hand column)
Even with [...]
Justin strains the unheated, raw honey
Pouring the honey into canning jars
Liquid gold! Lovely sight, wouldn’t you say?
A few weeks ago the guys went into to the resident honey hive here on the homestead and collected a few frames of honey. After letting the wax filled with golden honey sit in a huge black pot in [...]
The great honey drought
Winter viruses and the wettest August for years have combined to leave Britain’s beehives dry
In 26 years of beekeeping, Ged Marshall has never seen anything as bad as the 2008 honey harvest. A miserable summer that has confined his bees to their hives following a winter bedevilled by deadly viruses [...]
After a few hours in the sun, the honey’s drained from the comb. Time to bottle it up.
Pure gold
Honeycombs hanging from the top bar beehive
Mr Beekeeper removes the top bars and reveals the milky white combs filled with honey
Out comes one of the combs
Golden honey – what a beautiful sight
Pile of combs removed from the top bar
Justin puts the combs into a cheese cloth
Ties up the [...]
