Now that the first summer planting flush is over, it’s time to get started on the second round of planting. Folks often ask us why is our small garden so productive. One of the main reasons is we have successful succession plantings. When one crop goes out, another one comes in.
How much more can be squeezed here at our little plot in the city – you’d be surprised. There’s always improvement and maximizing/utilizing space better.
Every year we like to try out new projects, especially as part of our life-school training.
This is a new experiment of here on the urban homestead so there’s still lots of [...]
Recipe will make eight 16oz bottles
INGREDIENTS:
3 ounces of fresh ginger root (You can add more if you like strong ginger taste.)
6 tablespoons of citrus juice (Lemon &/ or orange)
3/4 cup of sugar (Natural cane is best. Light brown sugar gives an extra richness to the flavor.)
4 1/2 quarts of water
Some yeast from the supermarket. Bread [...]
Good little article but there are some slight misstatements. 1.) We grow 99 percent of our PRODUCE not diet 2) We do buy supplement animal feed (grains pellets) oh, and our goal is “ZERO” food miles!
Path to Freedom conserves water while cutting ‘food miles’ from Dervaes family’s carbon footprint
By Carolyn Neuhausen PASADENA WEEKLY
On a quiet [...]
Heatwave!
From rain & snow (on our local mountains) last week to temperatures topping 80 degrees all this week – whew, talk about whiplash!
But we are enjoying the unseasonable warmth while we can because there’s another storm on the horizon (next week) and there’s lots of work to be done.
Growing Your Own Groceries?
Need to stock up [...]
Now to the biggest, best farming conference in the West!
Monterey Bay/Asilomar, EcoFarm Conference Jan 20-23
Before the conference started, we needed a place to stay for night or two before we were given our designated rooms on the conference grounds and were blessed with a place to stay beachside. (A big thanks to the Bakke family [...]
We are right in the middle of our travels!
Santa Cruz Jan 18
On the road again and the rain started coming down – pouring from the sky in torrents. We aren’t used to rain like this!
It was certainly a wet and wild drive! Our next stop before the EcoFarm Conference was Santa Cruz to meet John [...]
Meadow Vista Jan 17-18
Saying our goodbyes to all the wonderful folks at Nevada City Wild & Scenic Festival (read all about it in case you missed it!), it was time to mosey down the mountain to a little one stoplight town nestled amongst the pines, Meadow Vista, where we were to meet up with a [...]
Well, I thought I was going to be posting about our travels, but it’s taking longer than I had anticipated – because there is so much to share! Still trying to catch our breaths here…. as the tidal wave of work washes over our return to the urban homestead!
I will hopefully get to the travel [...]
We are back after a wet (cold) and wonderful trip to Northern California. Arriving home late last night after a long but gorgeous drive down the coast!
Details and photos of our trip coming soon (have to remember everything that happened – certainly crammed in a lot in such a short time) Have tons of photos [...]
“…You should always cast your eyes toward tomorrow. Sharpen your vision. Never be guided by the principle “everybody’s doing it…” Jules Dervaes Sr, (1913-1996)
Grandpa was a wise one with these words. Thought his sentiments would be a fitting start to a new year.
While folks maybe writing down resolutions for a new year, we are going [...]
After Greece and Israel, the next stop for us and our short homemade film (HOMEGROWN REVOLUTION) was another environmental film festival in Torino (Turin) Italy (Italy’s first capital city and home of disputed “shroud of turin,”not to mention a chocolate hub and being of French and Belgian decent this was our type of town!
We rarely [...]
Looking to the right…..
To the left. The garden is all tucked in under covers
20, 26, 28 It’s not, um. shall we say “measurements” but what the thermometer’s read these past three nights. BRRRRR
Homesteading, urban homesteading for the matter, in the city – especially in Southern California– one really has it “easy” when it [...]
A glorious sight last night!
The clouds looked as if they were on fire and for some reason the cloud spectacular made me start humming Johnny Cash’s ‘Ring of Fire’ song. Weird how certain things touch off tunes.
Anyhow….
Our first winter rain storm came in yesterday morning and dropped over 3/4 inch of rain here on the [...]
Two blessings in one month!
In October, not only did we get an unprecedented early rain storm (over 2 inches!) but we also got our water bill from the city and guess what? We qualified for their water relief meaning we won’t have to be pushed into a bracket that would have us paying more for [...]
On Monday, we walked the upper Arroyo Seco to see what the fire had done to of one our favorite (and loveliest) hiking trails (Gould/Paul Little/ Oakwilde/Switzer) in the San Gabriel Mountains. We went as far as Gould Campground (which was still surprisingly remained unscathed though fire came right down to the perimeter)
Read more about how [...]
How can we survive perhaps the greatest danger we now face – climate change? Global Warming may be a contentious issue for many but there’s no argument – some areas of our planet that were once ‘food bowls’, abundant, fertile and productive land, are now dust bowls where people scratch a living from the dry [...]
Justin alerted me to this article
Plant disease hits eastern US veggies early, hard
CONCORD, N.H. – Tomato plants have been removed from stores in half a dozen states as a destructive and infectious plant disease makes its earliest and most widespread appearance ever in the eastern United States.
Late blight — the same disease that caused the [...]
Sorry, word has it that Seattle is hot, they musta sent their weather our way!
Finally, the grey gloom gave way to some actual wet stuff. Yep, it “rained” a bit yesterday and later on in the day the sun peeked through for a bit. Of course with some sun rays (first we’ve seen in a [...]
We’ve had dismal grey downright gloomy weather for over week now and it’s starting to get on everyone’s nerves. Yeah, sorry could never really live in Seattle. I like to see that brilliant bright yellow thing in the sky once in awhile, of course if the grey skies brought rain I’d be more akin to [...]
It’s been threatening rain all day but nothing has really fallen from the sky! Hopefully we’ll get something before the dark clouds blow away…
The weather is acting up again – it’s as if winter’s is fighting with her sibling summer. Hopefully the cooler temperatures will bring some rain. In fact, there is a chance of rain mid week. We are definitely praying for rain because we need all the heavens can give us before the long, hot and [...]
It’s good to be home. The garden is growing, happy animals, busy bees, seeds to plant, warm earth to dig, loads of peas to pick and more.
We’ve done the cross country trip many a times before either by car or train so we knew what to expect; however, this trip was a little different because [...]
(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 [...]
What a wonderful start to February. This storm dumped lots of rain – probably even a record? So much rain that the rain gauge at the urban homestead reads 3 1/2 of rain. Forecasters say there’s more to come today, Monday , Thursday and even next weekend.
With so much rain all at once the ground [...]
Between knitting and working on an upcoming PTF presentation/powerpoint for a community event with John Thackara on Feb 12 in Newport Beach, I see the rain is still coming down in torrents.
Justin checked the rain gauge and we are at about 2 1/2 inches! WOW. What a difference a day makes. Thanks to the [...]
