Five Ways to Start Your Homestead

You have that itch. Not THAT itch, the other one. You want to be more sustainable. You want to grow your own food or reduce your carbon footprint or just stop having to buy that same stuff over and over and over again at the grocery store. Maybe the idea of dragging your kids to the Food Lion another time is enough to make you want to never ever leave the house again. Regardless of your reasons, you're interested in making a more sustainable home.

Today I'm going to go over FIVE fantastic ways to start your homestead. 

Managing your homestead, especially on a suburban scale, is really about reducing your input and your output. How can you eliminate unneeded things on both ends? I prefer to begin at the beginning. 

1. Use reusable items whenever possible.

This is paramount in controlling out input and output.The less you bring in means the less you send out and the more independent your home can be. From diapers to napkins to toilet paper - if it's reusable it comes in and doesn't go anywhere. In my home the disposable items we use are paper towels and toilet paper. Paper towels are strictly for cat puke and turkey bacon (how do you make turkey bacon without paper towels?!).

2. Food sources
Being able to produce your own food is huge towards being self reliant. The key thing is to ask yourself what you eat and if you can produce it yourself in the room that you have. Beets are fairly easy to grow but if no one in your house will eat them I wouldn't suggest putting them in. If you're an omnivore, producing your own food can involve gardening, chickens and meat production.
There is always room to grow something. My love of growing my own food started with two herb pots in my kitchen window. Putting small seeds into dirt and producing something tasty ignited a drive in me. No matter what your space is - whether it be a window or a fire escape or a corner of your yard - you can grow something.
Do you have room for chickens? I love my chickens so much I recommend everyone that can have them run out and get them right now. They're pets that make you breakfast. Reliable, low maintenance, relatively quiet and incredibly entertaining. While helpful, a rooster is not necessary for egg production and has many drawbacks in a suburban setting. They're incredibly loud and don't just crow in the morning. They crow ALL THE TIME. I just rehomed one because he was so loud. He would also walk along my fence line pestering people as they walked past my house. As keeping chickens regains popularity, it's becoming more common for them to be allowed in suburban settings. Check with your locality to see if they're allowed where you are.
Raising your own meat in your backyard is not as crazy as it sounds. The chickens we use for eggs can also be eventually processed for meat and rabbits are a solid option to also.

3. ENERGY!
According to the Residential Energy Consumption Survey done by the US Energy Information Administration, 48% of energy consumer by homes in the US in 2009 was for heating or cooling. You can make huge cuts in your home's energy consumption by taking small steps like adjusting your thermostat either higher or lower as the season allows, applying extra insulation to your windows or doors, and changing your air filters regularly. Appliances, lights, and water heating make up the rest of your energy usage. Making sure the lights get turned off and unplugging unused appliances may seem small but can add up big.
In addition to the simple steps, alternative forms of energy are becoming more available. There are now solar companies that will lease your roof. While you don't own your panels (at least initially) you may have the option to purchase them later and it still reduces your dependence on the grid. We have panels installed through Solar City and are planning to purchase our panels (at whatever their current market value is) in five years. There are also likely local companies that specialize in alternative energy or solar panels. Most states even offer tax breaks or grants to establish alterntive energy or heating/cooling systems residentially. For more information about Solar City and to find out if you qualify, click here. (this links to my referral page with Solar City. If you sign up from there I may receive a credit)

4. Find your people
You can't produce everything. You just can't. But you can produce some things and your neighbor can produce some things and yall can trade. Or you can find an awesome local farm that grows and mills wheat (because you sure can't grow that in your yard) and either buy it to support your local economy or barter some volunteer hours. Chances are there are people local to you that are also interested in living more independently and, as the saying goes, many hands make light the work.

5. Find your Mister.

I hate to use gendered pronouns but honestly, it's what I call him. He's my partner and my cheerleader. He's my, "Sure. Why not, babe?' Most importantly, he can build stuff. A partner, whether it be your significant other or just a friend that's also into this kind of crazy stuff, is so important. He's my sounding board and his skills complement mine so much. While us homesteader types tend to want to do everything ourselves (that's why we're here to begin with, right?) it's incredibly sanity saving to have someone to be in this with.

These are my five steps towards starting your homestead. These can be daunting but think of it as baby steps. This year you plant a few things in pots and cut out most paper products. Next year you look into solar panels. Start small so as not to get overwhelmed and once one thing is habit add something else on.
Where are you in your journey towards self reliance? What are your next steps? This year we got back into the chicken game with a new flock of laying hens. Next year we hope to branch into meat production with a few meat birds and maybe a rabbitry.

Weekly Garden Update 8/10/16

Update time!!

We have, as of yesterday, caught FOUR groundhogs trying to make a meal of my garden. Sorry you adorable little garden munchers. I didn't start seeds and set alarms to remember to water and build beds and haul dirt so you could eat my maters. 

Since we got the trap from a friend everything is coming in so much better!

Before we had the trap they ate all of my cucumber plants, much of my zucchini plants, and would nibble all of the tomatoes the moment they're start to maybe kinda sorta look ripe. 

I've yet to eat a single (good) tomato out of my garden. 

BUT.

BUT.

BUUUUTTTTT!!

Look at all them little flowers. All a dem little flowers are eventually going to be tomatoes and I'm going to be one of those people with tomatoes falling out of my ears. I can't wait. 

The word to describe this week's garden update is SOON. 

A few tomato plants have been pulled as they'd taken on too much damage. Remaining ones all have flowers and are setting fruit. 

Pepper plants are setting flowers and fruit.

Cucumber bed has been replanted with an early variety

Fall/Spring bed has been weeded and turned and will be seeded with cabbages, brussel sprouts, kale and a bean plants to replace the ones that were eaten.

Drying beans are rebounding well. Fresh bean plants were all destroyed by the groundhog.

ok. i ate this one but had regrets. It wasn't ripe :(

There were 6 plants here but they ate them all

I was all OOOO EXCITING IS THIS WILD CARROT??!!
nah. it's ragweed. Bye boo, bye

This bed was full of cucumbers. It's been replanted with an early variety.

Suburban Herbalism - Plantain

When I was young, I remember playing on the playground with these plants with a long stem and a small oval shaped round thing at the top. We would pick the stem and tie a lose knot around the bottom of the round thing. Pull it just so and the round thing would fly off. Sound familiar? That was plantain!

Plantain is your best friend when bugs bite or your skin is itchy while you're in the yard. It's almost everywhere. There are two varieties of plantain typically found in yards - narrow leaf or broad leaf. Narrow leaf is the above described plant. At the base of the stem there are narrow leaves. The broad leaf variety has a broader leaf and the stem is lined with seed pods. I typically work more so with broad because it's what I have growing.

broad leaf plantain, busted toe

Using plantain is fairly simple. You'll use what's called a spit poultice. So lets say you're hanging out in your yard and get bit by a mosquito or stung by a bee. Just grab a leaf or a few of plantain, chew it up a bit, and slap it on your bite. Rub it in a bit and leave it on there, replacing as needed. You may cover it with a bandage to keep it in place but you want to let it breathe if possible. You can also prepare an oil. I'm making an oil this week so will post about that when I'm done so I'll have pictures to share!

A spit poultice is an effective, quick way to take the itch or sting out of an insect bite while on the go and a easy to recognize and use introduction to backyard herbalism. Plantain is everywhere, look for her while you're out and about and say hello!

Herb: Plantain

Use: Skin irritations, insect bites, stings 

Preferred Vehicle: spit poultice, herb, salve

As plantain is used on broken skin, a tincture wouldn't be ideal as it would involve alcohol on a wound. A tea or infusion would also be less ideal as it's being used to treat an acute and isolated ailment. 

5 things I've learned about chickens

My ladies have been home for a little over a month now and it has been fun! I've learned a lot from them- about chickens themselves and about MY chickens. I've never been much of a pet person. I mean, I have three cats that are my little furry babies but let's face it, cats aren't too needy and they're more roommates than pets. So here it is. My top 5 things I've learned as a new chicken mama.

1. Chickens are FUNNY! Seriously. I've heard people talk about "Chicken TV" and it's true. The way they interact with one another, the way they do their little T-Rex run over when they think you have treats, the way they fuss at you if you get too close...they're hilarious. Some days I want to sit out there and watch them all day. Other days, not so much. On that note...

2.Chickens are pretty independent. Yes, for most flocks, you need to feed and water them daily. My chickens have a pretty nice sized run with lots of yummy bugs and some greens growing. If I want to leave them alone in there I can and they'll be fine if I don't refill their food immediately or change their water every.single.day. I'd never let it go much further than that but they don't require too much babysitting. By the way they run over when I come near one might think differently but really, they're just nosy.

3. Chickens form attachments and relationships. Word has it that chickens are dumb. I've heard that (and said it) and I'm sure you have too. I'm finding the opposite is true. They know me and the kids. They know who brings treats. They know when I come down and they're free ranging in the back that it's time to mosey into the run. They make friends with one another too. I have two inseparable Buff Orpingtons and two inseparable Easter Eggers. They're besties. If one looks up and the other is too far, they'll yell, "Hey, wait up!" and T-Rex run over there. When I first got them, all four were noisy as hell. After talking to the woman I got them from I found that their rooster was too. They were calling for each other. They missed their man and were trying to tell him where they were! I felt so bad for them but they got over it. Now they're only loud when they want to be let out.

4. Chickens get up EARLY. Yeah, I know. "Up with the chickens". I didn't realize this meant 6 am, every morning. Sometimes 6:20 but always the number 6 first. They want OUT. I lock them in the coop at night to keep them safe but the moment they see the sun they want to get to hunting and pecking. Now that I'm missing a bedroom window this is especially difficult to ignore, so up I get to let them out and then immediately back to bed. Nothing worthwhile happens at 6am.

6. Chickens look like dinosaurs.  Maybe this is a me thing, but they look like dinosaurs. It simultaneously freaks me out and fascinates me. I could so imagine these things as ginormous flesh eating beasts, stomping across the wilderness and fighting and stuff. Especially when they are tearing up some poor defenseless (yummy) worm or fighting over a chunk of pancake. Chickens love pancakes. The way they run reminds me of a T-Rex chasing down a torch wielding Jeff Goldblum. What's up evolution??

There are a few other things I've learned, like that having them eat out of your hand isn't the best idea (owch!) and that putting the compost in the run doesn't work the way you think it would (they throw it everywhere!) but those are my Top 5.
Do you keep chickens? Any advice for a novice such as myself? What has surprised you about your ladies?

Ron Finley, Geurilla Gardner

THIS! Everything about this. It’s only 11 minutes long but I swear it’s life changing. Ron Finley is my new real food/gardening idol. First it was Sally Fallon Morrel but then she came out with her insane children’s nutrition book and ridiculous ideas about who should and should not breastfeed.
Then it was Joel Salatin. Still kinda is but his insistence on only hiring people that look “All American” kinda hurts my feelings. I’m not “All American looking Joel, but I am awesome. Who am I kidding Joel, I can’t stay mad at you. Everything I want to do is illegal too.
So now we’re onto Mr. Ron Finley. Gardening Gangster in South Central LA. Or, excuse me, South LA.
“Food is the problem and the solution”

http://www.ted.com/talks/ron_finley_a_guerilla_gardener_in_south_central_la.html