Besides our aquaponics project another new experiment here at the urban homestead this year is growing hops. We purchased the rhizomes in Spring and the other day I spotted some teensy tiny flowers!
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.
Since we captured that feral freebee swarm back in April 2007, we’ve taken a pretty relaxed approach to urban beekeeping by letting the bees, well just “bee.” However, we are constantly checking the health of the bees and hives. Just recently, we noticed that one of the hives was different.
The other day we received our spring shipment of ollas – so ya’ll who have been waiting for them we are shipping them out this week! Thanks for your patience.
For you local yokels, if know someone who is an avid gardener/homesteader and
It’s spring! Well actually, this week it feels more like SUMMER!
And that means lots of fun culinary delights coming out of the urban homestead’s kitchen.
Combining edible flower, herbs and butter for a delightful treat to slather on biscuits or smother veggies.
Here’s a recipe for HERB BUTTER
Fresh From Our Garden to Your Table
Our front porch farm [...]
“Earth is crammed with heaven
And every bush aflame with God
But only those who see take off their shoes.”
— Elizabeth Barrett Browning, poet
April just on whooshed by and brrr is it ccccold.
Spring just up and left, it feels like December – we got over 5/8 of inch or rain and can you believe there’s snow on [...]
Ya’ll know those dwarf peas we’ve been bragging about for these last few weeks – the ones that were supposed to only grow 3 feet high but topped 9 feet high instead? The peas we joking referred to as our “Tower of Peasa!“ Here’s a pic of Jordanne picking peas from a ladder!
Well, they are [...]
We are back! It was nice break but not really sure I can say I actually caught up or anything – but that’s life!
Another storm blew yesterday and dumped about 3/4″ of rain – what a tremendous blessings that was! The garden seems to have grown overnight. Everything is lush and beautiful.
Justin tallied up the [...]
Taking a Blogging Break
It’s a Holy season for us here on the urban homestead, so going to take a few days break to concentrate on some projects and re prioritize a few things.
Lots of things happening, Holy observances and it’s that busy time of year. A farming life is 24/7 and it just kicked into [...]
Has this site inspired you, do you glean all sorts of helpful information, enjoy the many pictures of life here on the urban homestead? Do you want more? Would you like to help keep us going and growing?
The kind folks at Franklin Springs Media have give us Homestead Blessings DVD’s to giveaway this month [...]
Nothing says ‘I love you’ better than homegrown veggies
There’s a slew of photos from last weeks work and happenings here on the urban homestead (from cheese making to brewing a spring garden tonic with weeds) in queue but first I liked to take some time remind folks that spring is just around the corner and [...]
Still a boat load of work that welcomed us on arrival home – the dreaded T word loomed. Justin was burning the midnight oil often this week. Occasionally one would hear verbal outburst – geez what’s going on in there? Can you guess? The tax man cometh!
With winter fleeting fast and spring ready to, well, [...]
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 [...]
After a week where summer and spring wrestled with each other over weather dominance, this weekend is turning out to be just spectacular. Happy to say we are back to our regularly schedule weather pattern…. for now.
On Saturday PTF and FG both had a table at Pasadena’s Greening the Earth Day in Memorial Park. After [...]
If we aren’t already busy enough the days just got busier. My day goes something like this (while others are similar if not busier than mine)
Wake up, eat, emails, tidy up, feed the animals, spring cleaning, work on e-newsletter, send out e-newsletter, lunch, help pack seeds, print more seed labels, sort seeds, work on compost power point [...]
Yesterday, we went in and checked out our resident bee hive and found that the supers were loaded with honey. Guess it’s all that citrus here and around that’s creating a good honey flow. Our street is right off a major street called ‘Orange Grove’ which, back in them days, was actually [...]
It’s that time again to empty out the simple cinder block compost bin that we dumped most of our green/yard and animal bedding waste in. It stands 5 bricks high and 5 wide. We use the lazy method of composting – dump, leave & empty. Yeah, we aren’t too big on the intricacies of composting – [...]
The volunteers Kelly and Sergio hang out with urban Heidi and her goats
Freedom Gardens Swap n Trade table featuring Dan’s lovely chard
The local chow line
Full of delicious food
Freedom Gardens Swap n Trade table filled with homegrown goodies
Getting ready to watch the film
Nearly 90 people gathered on a grey, slightly chilly and overcast day to enjoy [...]
We enjoyed some gorgeous spring-like weather these past few days. Today it’s cooler, overcast and dreary with a chance of rain.
With a few projects on our plate, leaves me little time to prattle so I am going to have to let photos do much of the talking these days.
More shots from around the urban homestead [...]
Already in the 1800’s it was well-known for his tree-nurseries. ‘De Coninck’ is a well spread family name in our village. Different branches of the family ‘De Coninck’ were very active in tree-nursery. One of them founded in 1848 the ‘Boomkwekerijen – Pepinières De Coninck’. An other tree-nursery (founded in 1847) belonged to the ‘Dervaes’ [...]
Even though spring is officially two weeks away, it’s come early here at the urban homestead. Everywhere you turn nature is heralding the change of season with a burst of glorious color. The long winter is over!
Note: a few of these photos were taken by Farmer J who has been inspired to capture the beauty [...]
We’ve been busy! With upgrades at our sister site going awry and a local school tour of the urban homestead, to figuring out how to sell all these seeds (our FS site’s been delayed) leaves little time to write about all that’s going on.
So over the last few days….
It finally stopped raining. But only [...]
or sorta… kinda…. never really….
We bounced up and down the temperature gauge this winter leaving gardens and people alike scratching their heads in confusion.
The winter that wasn’t had to do with with a weather phenomenon with a pretty name — La Nina.
California teeters on the edge of the worst drought in the state’s history, officials [...]
Yard work
Winter tomatoes
Farmer J shows off his heads of broccoli
And another beauty
Dining room turned seed business
Justin packing seeds for Sunday
With the prospects of of a dryer than normal season, thanks to La Nina, (our normal is between 14″ & 19″ — see rainfall totals for the past 130 years) it’s not hard to gander that [...]
First off, thank you all for the wonderful anniversary wishes. We really appreciate them and we are glad to be on the path with so many kindred spirits.
After I posted the entry I got to thinking “you know that post is sort of incomplete” It just mentioned when our internet activism began and it failed [...]
Working in the garden
Justin explains about biodiesel
Picking beans
Interview time
School children take a tour of the urban homestead
Jordanne shows off city chickens
Downtown Pasadena, Elements Restaurant
Social gathering
Whew!
We are all still recovering from two days worth of intense filming last week. 7 am – 6 pm the first day 7:30 am – 6:30 pm the second day for a [...]
The monthly co-op pick up is today. I am hoping the olive oil order will be on that truck since I need to make some soap soon. The herbs are drying well (thanks to the nice warm weather) and will be using them to make some secondary products for ourselves and possibly for [...]
Some homestead happenings today….
Plantings, transplanting, turning over raised beds from spring to summer crops
Picking strawberries, blueberries
Harvesting first cucumbers, figs
Whipping up delicious homegrown, homemade meals
Picking and packing client orders
Picking and hanging herbs to air dry to use in soaps and herbs
Animals chores (still caring for Sairey – her foot looks better) – egg harvesting
Power Point presentation [...]
Attention all you homegrown revolutionaries. Recruit 5 new members to FREEDOM GARDENS of the World and receive a free, 100 % organic ‘Homegrown Revolution’ t-shirt.
Here’s How:
Sow the seeds of this homegrown revolution: recruit 5 other freedom gardeners to join you in your area or recruit 3 and receive 50% off the retail tee price
Claiming [...]
We are once again on the roller coaster weather ride. Last week it was cold, dreary and this week an unusual spring heat wave is bringing intense heat and hot temps to the LA area. The extreme flux in temperatures are leaving people and plants a bit confused – it’s like nature can’t make up [...]
Earth event at Vromans Bookstore, Pasadena
This week is shaping up to be a busy one! In between, spring plantings, caring for animals and other urban homesteading projects we are taking time off for outreach efforts promoting urban sustainablilty and inspiring urbanites to be the change.
Tomorrow PTF will be a the big Earth Day festival in [...]
Nearly 25 folks (friends and PTF supporters) came down to the urban homestead for our Spring Gathering. It was such lovely weather – perfect for an outdoor gathering.
Thanks everyone for bringing such wonderful food. See ya’ll next month!
