Winter Harvest- persimmons to pumpkin seeds

As new farmers, we have much to learn. We also went about this whole adventure by jumping in with both feet. I knew generally that certain plants were harvested into the fall, like squash. I didn't know how long squash would stay fresh for cooking after it was cut from the vine. For Thanksgiving, we stuffed butternut squash, acorn squash and a pumkin. All three had been cut and sitting in the dry warmth of our house for the past 4 weeks as decor. They cooked up wonderfully!

We also have a persimmon tree which though small has had a bountiful harvest. Our meals regularly include eggs from the chickens, persimmons and squash. The peppers and eggplant held on until the frosts this past week though I think if I'd not been so busy, I'd have had them covered for protection. In that case, I think they would have survived. Either way, its December, and we have delicious fruit, some vegetables and our eggs to give us steady food into the start of winter.

And our oranges look like they'll be ready to harvest in a few weeks! I'm simply amazed. Further, as I type this I'm munching on seeds we roasted out of our home grown squashes. Winter gardening can be just as productive. This weekend, I'm looking forward to getting the garden ready for a winter season of composting and preparing for spring--at least for those areas not still in some type of production mode.

Pumpkin Seed Roasting Recipe (I mixed the acorn and butternut squash seeds in too):

This is my mother's "old fashioned" way of serving up natural pumpking seeds.

1. Thoroughly clean off all the pulp from the seeds then rinse them under cold water in a strainer to be sure they are good and clean.

2. Boil them in salt water for 10 minutes.

3. Pre-heat the oven to 275 degrees F.

4. Spread the seeds out on a cookie or baking sheet.

5. Roast them for 10-25 minutes. Depending on the heat of the oven this may take a little longer. You really have to watch the seeds to be sure they don't burn. Use a spatula to turn them occasionally so that each side just barely begins to turn a golden brown.

6. Remove and allow to cool.

7. Enjoy!

Chickens!

In July we took home two adorable young chicks. After doing a lot of research on various breeds, and looking up laws and ordinances for our city, we decided what chickens would be best for us.
Enter two Silkie Bantams.  

They were appropriately adorable to call pets and known for docility. Also, being a bantam breed are smaller in size. Since we are allowed two hens per city ordinance, the two small chickens would be a perfect addition. It turned out that one of our "female" chicks was a male. By October, our young rooster was crowing and carrying on pre-dawn. I was very worried that we'd have difficulty finding him a new home, but it turned out an ad on Craigslist found him a home the same day with a local breeder, happy for a new rooster while we got an egg laying hen. 

Our original chick just started laying this week, and with production at roughly one small egg per day, we are enjoying just enough eggs to satisfy our appetites. "R" built them a fabulous coop that adds to the charm of our urban homestead back yard. I'll post pictures soon.

Tips on getting your first chickens:
~ Check your local laws first to be sure they are legal. Many cities allow hens only or restrict numbers and housing in relation to property lines.
~ Select a breed based on how much you want to handle the chicken as well as how much egg production you are looking for.
~ Be sure you have enough space. Consider if you have other pets that may harrass or even injure chickens.
~ Search online for local breeders rather than having young chicks shipped. This process is very stressful and in some cases deadly to the chicks. Support your local economy and stay "green."
~ Make sure you have the space and time to incubate young chicks indoors if you want to buy them as hatchlings. They require several weeks inside before going out to a coop.


Links:
http://www.mypetchicken.com/
http://urbanchickens.org/
http://www.backyardchickens.com/

Winter Produce in Sacramento, CA

The Sacramento area is known for an abundance of farmer's markets during the spring and summer seasons. Farm fresh produce is available during winter months in the Sacramento region too READ MORE HERE.

The Veggies of Our Labors

In our garden we have 4 3'x6' raised garden beds. There are six tomato plants of differing varieties, three zucchini plants, three yellow squash, two okra, one Persian cucumber, one Armenian cucumber and one lemon cucumber plant.There are also four eggplant, four varieties of bell pepper, banana pepper, jalapeno, habanero, serrano, and chile peppers too. In another bed there are four artichoke plants,  and a row of green beans.

This is the typical pick every other day. The two of us in this household can't eat all of it fresh even though we are vegetarian and eat at home. Fortunately, my mother gave us a dehydrator someone had given her. It has never been used, so I cross my fingers it works. Veggie chips are a favored snack of ours when out on the lake or riding our bikes.  Once dehydrated they can be reconstituted into vegetable stock for soups in the winter. I'm anxious to see both how well the dehydrator works and how much we store for use over the winter.

Since this was our rookie year at being urban farmers, some of the planting went without much planning.  Let's just say that the other half of our team was zealous in planting as much as possible even if they did not have all the space required or recommended.  This leaves it up to me with small hands and a short frame to crouch and kneel to gather the lemon cucumbers growing in the jungle of butternut squash.

Regardless of some of the haphazard growing schematics, since late June we have needed only to buy dairy products, breads, eggs and a few bits of lettuce, onion, or potato. Given the fact that we are vegetarian, this has dramatically reduced our food bill.  Hindsight shows me that I should have been taking better stock of our grocery receipts prior to the garden and after, but we had a great night out at the local Shakespeare festival this month.

Things to remember for next year:

Design the garden with harvesting in mind.

Assess how much yield we had per veggie type and adjust with more or less plants in the following year.

I'm also curious to do more research on possibly staggering the planting season so that we get a different set of produce in the fall.

Build more beds to give everything more room.

Straight From the Garden Recipes: Cucumber and Lime Salad

This is a deliciously refreshing salad for hot summer days that is easy to fix and gorgeous to look at on the plate. There is a great contrast of dark and yellow-green with a splash of purple and red.

Serves 4-5 people:
Time to prepare: 10 minutes

* 2 Lemon Cucumbers
* 2 Persian or Armenian Cucumbers
* 1/4 of a medium sized Red Onion
* 1/2 cup sliced Red Cherry Tomatoes
* 1 Lime
* Salt (optional)

Slice the cucmbers about and 1/8 of an inch thick. Place them in a medium sized mixing bowl. Next slice a quartered onion in 1/4" thick slices. Taste the raw onion. If it is too acidic or hot, run the slices under cold water for about 30 seconds. This will reduce some of the acidity. Fresher onions will have a sweeter taste. Toss the onions in with the cucumbers. Cut the lime in half and squeeze out the lime juice from each half over the tossed cucumbers and onions. After this is completed slice the cherry tomatoes into thirds so that they are roughly 1/4" thick. Sprinkle them over the top of the salad. I prefer not to toss them into the rest, but try to distribute them evenly as I plate the salad so that they do not get crushed.  Just before serving add a dash of salt to taste if you wish. 

Enjoy!

More About the Folks Behind Sustainable in Suburbia

It all started when we, the couple behind this endeavor met. Both of us had a strong interest in "green living". Now we have a decent sized lot in a suburban neighborhood in a middle sized northern California town. What started as a committment to doing the most basic responsible activities like recycling, walking to the store when possible, buying organic and local produce has grown into much more. Each of us, wanted to do more. With the power of two, we put in a series of raised garden beds, planted a wide variety of produce we knew we liked and ate regularly. Our garden grows neary constantly. There is now an active compost system, and just this week we added, thanks to a city ordinance which now allows us to have chickens, two young hatchlings. (More on that later)

We are very excited to share what we have done, and how we are not only saving money, but even brining in some small income from the various things we do. Someday, we'd still love to have some acreage. Rural areas are close by to stay near our family, but would afford the opportunity to do small scale organic farming. Dreams are good to have.

Right now, our lot is a little chunk of Heaven on Earth for us that gets better all the time. Since it is a regular occurance to get a variety of questions on how we make this work for ourselves, it seemed like a great idea to share it here. In another part of my life, I'm a writer. Please enjoy the information shared here and feel free to comment on the content. I love feedback!

5 Simple Steps to Honor the Earth this Spring

Spring is a season which definitely makes us pay attention to the wonders of our planet. With important "Earth friendly" days and events on the calendar (Earth Hour, Earth Day, and Arbor Day) there are numerous opportunities and reminders to take care of our planet. "Going Green" is not just a fad or fashion, its about making sometimes very small changes in our lifestyle that have lasting health impacts on each of us individually and as a community.

The following article describes 5 Ways to go Green This Spring.

Islands of Trash at Sea

Recycle. Reduce the use of disposable materials. Recycle. And by all means cut out as much plastic use as possible in your daily life. Why?

Human plastic products are making their way to the oceans. They accumulate there and produce massive floating garbage 'islands'.

A 2nd garbage patch: Plastic soup seen in Atlantic

By MIKE MELIA, Associated Press Writer Mike Melia, Associated Press Writer – Thu Apr 15, 5:30 am ET

Earth Hour and the Green Life

When I logged on to Twitter last night (and you can follow me as Piaffedreams there) I was interested to see something called "Earth Hour" as a trending topic. So, I clicked the links, ran a Google search and wrote down a brief synopsis of what I learned to share with others.

There are a number of disputes about the reality of global climate change. However, fewer disagreements exist about the upcoming energy crisis and the amount of pollution emitted by the burning of fossil fuels. Regardless of the scientific data one clings to depending on which side of the climate change fence they sit, this event is a sure commitment to energy conservation and reduction in pollution.

To find out more about Earth Hour, visit this LINK.

The Urban Homestead

Want to cut living expenses? Are you concerned about the "carbon footprint" your household leaves? What to find a little slice of country living in the city? Want to give your children healthy activities that promote responsibility?

If you answered "yes" to any of these, then you are likely to be interested in Urban Homesteading.

Check out this introduction: What is Urban Homesteading?

Welcome

I'm a lucky girl who gets to live in an area that is semi-rural. Suburban sprawl is however creeping in all around. For the moment, I'm able to enjoy a few acres of land. However, I'm in the planning stages of moving into a suburban neighborhood and will be taking with me my habits for green living, along with my deep interest in sustainable living.

Smaller spaces still have potential for homesteading. Urban and suburban agriculture not only impacts both the family ecology and economy as well as the local and global one.... all for good!

Please stay tuned for an interesting blog on ways you too can live more sustainably even in a suburban environment.