Applying the liquid beeswax

In they go into the box

Bigger is not always better, even when it comes to beekeeping.   Natural (smaller) cells are better, especially for those of us who are choosing chemical and antibiotic free hives.    Modern thinking is that bigger bees would give more honey; but the downside is that bigger bees are susceptible to a pesky mite called varroa.

This year, we are experimenting with downsizing giving them a smaller pattern cell from which to draw comb.   Most commercially available combs measure around 5.5mm; however, bees left to their own devices, tend to make smaller cells averaging 4.9mm in diameter.

By using smaller comb,  we are hoping that smaller cells and bees will help lower the varroa mites levels.

Small cells alone will not save bees from varroa mites, but we sure can help give the bees a fighting chance!

:: Resources ::

Bee Natural: Small Cell

Small Cell Foundation and Varroa Mites

The Way Back to Biological Beekeeping

This recent article stresses the importance of how we all should start taking gardening seriously.    Growing your own food in the city: it’s a challenge but a good one - an a very important on too!

Garden As If Your Life Depended On It, Because It Will - Alternet

There are at least five reasons why more of us should take up spade, rake and hoe, make compost and raise good soil and garden beds with a vengeance, starting this spring and with an eye toward forever.

READ MORE

It's officially Spring and what a rocky start  weather wise.   We spiked into the 90’s for a few days and then dipped back under 60 with gray skies  and drizzle.  Crazy!

Busy, busy, busy - bees, biodiesel, soil blocks, picking, packing, watering, planting, building, etc. Where does the time go?  Not complaining; it’s good to have longer days to work on the farm here in the city.

Sis handed me a “to plant list” of things she needs for her home canning operation.    She makes a mean jalapeno jelly and wanted to make sure that I didn’t forget to plant them!

Squash, tomatoes, peppers and beans are all up and ready to transplant into the garden.   The new strawberry starts are filling in nicely. We are expecting to harvest berries in early June and the potatoes are just about ready to be dug up.  I know I’ve been looking forward to homegrown potatoes – they are way better tasting than the store.

The small invasion of aphids is now under control, sweet!  We spotted a couple ladybugs and have already noticed a huge difference on the chard and kales.    Thanks to the exceptionally warm weather last week, the greens seem to have grown a few feet (ok, inches) overnight.  We are now offering a slew of assorted greens at the front porch farm stand.  Sis is manager and CEO ("chief" for short) of the front porch farm stand and she’ll be posting more of what the stand has to offer.   It’s a wonderful feeling to feed the family and be able to offer the surplus produce to folks who are wanting to eat closer to home.

The hennery is cranking out eggs – yeah!

Last week, I helped a friend who manages a few urban bees divide a few hives for spring expansion.  Of course, we had to suit up on the HOTTEST day of the year (so far).   It was sweltering!  Hive work waits for no man, so we both suited up.  Long pants (I HATE long pants), long sleeve shirts and were sweating buckets just after a few minutes work.   I got some delicious honey comb in trade for a couple of hours work. What a treat and worth the (sweaty) effort!

The rescued hive is still here, bees going to and fro. It’s a wonderful site to see bees working the citrus.

March Harvest Tally

252 lbs Produce

Eggs      Chicken 91   Duck 160

2011 Tally to Date

663 lbs Produce

Eggs      Chicken 117   Duck 345

Did you know? Forager bees will fly about 500 miles before their wings wear out and they die. PBS Nature

For those of you who’ve been following our urban bee saga (Checking Bee Traps), late last night a friend of ours dropped off a feral colony he had caught. (Thanks, Janice, for the tip and, David, for picking them up.)

Every weekend the girls check the bee traps that we scattered throughout the lower Arroyo Seco.   So far, no luck. Even the massive wild colony in the old sycamore is no more.   With the onset of this serious “winter kill,” we were happy, indeed, to get a hold of this wild colony.

We’ve been hearing that it was a bad winter for local urban bees.  Hives are dying or disappearing.      There has been lots of speculation as to what’s causing the bees to  disappear. (Silent Spring)  Of course, after 30 years of keeping bees (10 of which have been in an urban environment), our hives disappearance has left us scratching our heads.

It’s good to see bees back on the 'stead!   Hope they are here to stay!

The mysterious vanishing act has decimated approx. 40% of North America's bee population. - Why Are Bees Dying?

What Causes Winter Kill
Overwintering Honey Bees

ORGANIC GARDENING

SQUARE FOOT GARDENING

EDIBLE LANDSCAPING

VICTORY GARDEN

SEEDS OF CHANGE

THE PIONEER WOMAN

SIMPLE LIVING

LOCAVORE

HOMESTEAD GARDENS

BACKYARD FARMS

GAIA

VEGE

HONEYBEES

HOMEGROWN

BIODIESEL

BICYCLING

GARDENER

URBAN HOME & GARDEN

COMPOST MASTER

HOMEGROWN HARVEST

LIVING HOMEGROWN

HOMEGROWN HIPPIE

PLANT THE SEED

GARDEN GIRL

URBAN FARMING

HOBBY FARM

URBAN FARM

BIODYNAMIC

GROW BIOINTENSIVE

SLOW FOOD

CERTIFIED ORGANIC BY CCOF

If anyone is offended by these common trademarks, please contact the respective trademark owners!

If you've been following our harvest tally over the years here's a nifty little HARVEST GRAPH 2001-2009 to give you an idea how we've been at the fore front of urban agriculture food production.

These last few days, I too have been anxiously waiting the final harvest tally from Justin who's been going through the invoice books to tally the herbs and edible flower boxes that we harvested and sold (which came to 117 lbs for the year).

On a side note, we just couldn't figure out how to calculate the weight of 100 plus flats of wheat grass that we grew last year, so we just left them out of the final tally.  Oh well.

The extremely wet and cold December affected our harvest numbers, and of course there are still loads of oranges on the trees but it wouldn't be right to strip the trees clean just to bump up the tally.  We were tempted though!

So the numbers are in!

From our 1/10 acre growing grounds:  Jan 130 lbs, Feb 139 lbs, Mar 396 lbs, Apr 555 lbs, May 590 lbs, Jun 730 lbs, Jul 1110 lbs, Aug 1228 lbs, Sep 638 lbs, Oct 388 lbs, Nov 492 lbs plus 117# herb and flower sales

December 2010

517 lbs of produce

14 duck eggs

0 chicken eggs

2010 Year Total

Our previous harvest record of 6200  has been officially broken .....

Drum roll please!

7,030 lbs of produce (fruits, vegetables and herbs only)

131 lbs of honey

307 duck eggs

706 chicken eggs

Thanks to everyone who entered our contest!  Wow, you guys are good since there were certainly a lot of close guesses!  The prize winners of our "Guess the Harvest Contest"  are:

Anna @ 7010

Carrie @ 7015

Brian @ 7043

Congrats on winning a beautiful and inspirational Little Homestead in the City Calendar - mind, there are only a handful left so get them before they are all gone!

Oh, and you winners, please send us your mailing address.

We hope that you've been inspired to grow MORE of your own groceries.   May 2011 be a productive and a bountiful one for everyone!

And it was a great night indeed!  With amazing food, fellowship and good ol' fashion music (guitar, banjo and flute) with renditions of Angeline the Baker,  Cluck Old Hen, Orphan Girl Wildwood Flower, Down by the River to Pray I'll Fly Away and a few other old Appalachian Tunes.

Hadn't had so much fun in quite sometime.

How'd you spend your holiday, care to share?

Socializing

Incoming! LOL Don't quite know why we both ducked at the same time.

Ooolala. A HUGE Apple Pie

Give me some of that old time music!

We sing & play some old tunes for the guests

Some even join in the foot stomping music fun

Gift of Music

Speaking of homegrown music, our dear friends and fellow homesteaders in Tennessee sent us a stack of their CD 'Father Along'

Here on the urban homestead we really enjoy playing their CD.  In fact, we play it over and over and over and over again - singing along too!  Their songs just brighten our day and are such a wonderful blessing to listen to.

We are selling their CD's this holiday season, so get them while supplies last! - BUY NOW

Beautiful family harmony from the Appalachian hills; ballads, old country and originals written and sung in their timeless way.

The West Girls consist of a close knit family of a mother and three daughters. The West Girls latest CD, Farther Along, is rich in family harmonies, old hymns, and beautiful originals that will encourage and bless your spirit and soul. Featuring their hit song, “ Green Beans in the Garden” which children especially enjoy.

Seven of the ten songs were written by the West family. These songs that reflect their home life, growing up where the “creek is bubblin’ too” and show their love and thankfulness for all life.

The West’s make their living at home in the beautiful valley which is a horse and buggy community literally flowing with milk and honey in the hills of Tennessee.

You know that old saying "Self sufficient is as self sufficient does." Ok, not really old but a new take on Gumpisms.

How can we be "self sufficient" on only 1/10 of an acre (if an acre is $1.00 we are growing our groceries on 10 cents)? Yeah, pretty amazing, huh?

Although we grow 99% of our fruits and veggies, we still are in need of the basic staples. As I say in our short film Homegrown Revolution "we are directly and indirectly self sufficient" The surplus veggies, herbs, honey, fruit, eggs that we sell go to buy staples that we need like flour, grains and oil (Check at "Eating Down the List"). In essence ,we are living off the land here on our tiny plot in the city. Both the majority of our food and sustenance comes from just under 4,000 sq ft of garden. We are city farmers that care for and tend to this patch of earth.

One reader had a question:

I would really be interested in your blogging on your blog about how your family manages the homestead finances. How the bills are paid, if there are any; do all of you get a paycheck for your own personal spending; what is the cost for all of your seeds; do you keep your sales of your produce separate from your honey; etc. I, myself, would like to be more self-sufficient and I am just interested in how you manage. Thank you for your consideration in this question - CW

Good question!

Our front porch farm stand keeps our till full of bills. Thanks to extensive energy and water conservation practices our utility bills are quite low

• Water is $600 a year
• Electricity $7 a month / Gas averages about $15
• View updated Stats and Graphs from the Urban Homestead

We prefer to pay cash for groceries that we don't grow.

We work for our food, so no we don't actually get a paycheck but we do get paid in the most amazing tasting produce on this planet (ok, so I am a little biased).

Justin is chief financial officer and does a good job at keeping track of all the business expenditures. As for personal spending, each spends at his/her own will and discretion. Not that we need much "personal stuff" because we are pretty simple folks (Justin has only TWO pairs of shoes - boot and utility sandal); but what we do like to spend our money on are things for the urban homestead and sometimes we do get carried away!

I wrote a lengthy post a few years back answering a reader's question about our family budget (if you follow each hyperlink there are certainly some gems written in this here blog !)

Check it out at

Urban Pioneering Lifestyle

The post's ending sums our lifestyle up the best : ""We are happy!"

Can't believe last week went by and I only took one, ONLY one, photo of our meals last week.  Sorry to disappoint but I have a list of excuses people! Guess that shows you how busy I am. Going to have to tie that camera around my neck. I'll try to do better next time.

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!

Harvested another 50 lbs of honey yesterday bringing the harvest honey totals to 130+lbs. There's probably one more honey harvest and then we'll leave the rest to the bees for winter.

In the kitchen, we are putting up peaches, apples, tomatoes, grapes, beans, carrots and more!

In the garden, time to get a jump on fall plantings.  Not too early to kick start the fall garden.

On the web front, Jordanne is working on a program that will allow us to publish our recipes online so stay tuned for that. Not only that but she is working on some other stuff, but for now that's under wraps!

Busy, busy, busy!

Summer's nearly over... my how time flies!

Finally, figs!

Fig quesadillas

WEEK OF EATS AT THE URBAN HOMESTEAD

All food items are homemade/homegrown/home preserved unless otherwise specified

Our Food Pledge

If not from backyard, then locally produced
If not locally produced, then organic.
If not organic, then family farm.
If not family farm, then local business.
If not local business, then fair trade.

SATURDAY

Breakfast - blueberry pancakes with strawberries
Dinner - flour tortillas with spanish rice, topped with sauteed green peppers and red onions

SUNDAY

Breakfast - french toast and honey
Lunch - Saturday dinner leftovers
Dinner - cream of tomato soup with tabbouleh

MONDAY

Breakfast - french toast and honey
Lunch - veggie patty with cucumber and tomato, basil salad
Dinner - leftover tomato soup with homemade bread

TUESDAY

Breakfast - apple crumble
Lunch - veggie patty sandwich with cucumber, tomato and basil salad
Dinner - summer veggie pasta - pickled peppers, tomatoes, peppers and basil

WEDNESDAY

Breakfast -apple crumble
Lunch - veggie patty with rice and cucumber, tomato and basil salad
Dinner - fig quesadillas

THURSDAY

Breakfast - french toast and honey
Lunch - summer veggie pasta - pickled peppers, tomatoes, peppers and basil
Dinner - herb pizza dough topped with tomatoes, basil, peppers, garlic with carrot, raisin citrus dressing salad

FRIDAY

Breakfast - french toast and honey
Lunch - tomato, avocado sandwich with cucumber, tomato and basil salad
Dinner - no knead bread, fresh tomato sauce (tomatoes, onions, peppers, parsley, basil) over spaghetti with salad

What summer time treats/feasts are you enjoying in your neck of the woods? Are you "Eating Closer to Home?"  Then join our food challenge to reduce your FOOD PRINT

In anticipation of this year's (increased) honey harvest Justin invested in stainless steel hand cranked extractor and boy, is it a beauty!

The honey this year taste incredible - one tasted a subtle mixture of herbs almost vanilla like in flavor. Another honey batch tasted like orange blossoms.

"According to the Honey Association, the average honey bee will actually make only one twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in its lifetime. How much honey can one bee hive produce? One good hive could produce 60 pounds of honey in a good season. An average hive, however, produces 20-30 pounds of surplus honey."

Update: today we harvested another 26 lbs (give or take a couple dozen licks) in about an hour.

2010 Honey Harvest: 81+ lbs

Oh and we are selling our surplus HOMESTEAD HONEY (raw, lightly filtered and unheated) at DerVaes Gardens!

Hand cranked extractor

Ya'll ready for this?

Out come the supers

Uncapping

Supers loaded with honey in waiting

Frames go into the extractor

Filling and uncapping

Finger licking goodness

Uncapping the supers - one bee (on shoulder) is checking in to see if Jordanne is doing a good job!

Justin hand cranks out the honey

Frames inside the extractor

Golden delicious

Sunlit honey

Busy as bees

Comb honey

Keeping it flowing

Gallons & gallons of honey

Bottling up the surplus for sales

Top it up! Note Justin's PALM PILOT.

Homestead honey

More homestead honey available now at the front porch farm stand!

Photo courtesy ORGANIC CONNECTIONS MAGAZINE

“In the old days, people had relationships with nature and connections with animals,” he said. “When you remove that and put it in a factory someplace far away, people forget about it. When you have a different relationship with your animals and with your plants, when you treat them real well, they respond. Your own health and the health of the planet are intimately related, and as a society we’ve gotten away from that. So we just brought this all to pass in the city, in our Urban Homestead, and we’re spreading the word far and wide.”  - Jules Dervaes

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 carrying produce brought thousands of miles for the convenience of their customers. But inside, Jules Dervaes and his children have created what they call an Urban Homestead. Virtually every square inch of land they have available to them—a tenth of an acre in all—is utilized for growing their own food. In addition to the hundreds of varieties of fruits, vegetables, herbs and flowers, there is a beehive for honey, ducks and chickens for eggs, and goats for numerous purposes.

Read complete article at Organic Connections Magazine

[ Just to clarify!   Khaki Campbell ducks not "Camel" ]

:: Resources ::

Rock Dust - remineralize your soil

Freedom Seeds - seeds grown by the people for the people