Urban Homestead Happenings

 

It has been a busy but fun time on our little homestead.  It feels so good to be moving forward on our vision for this property of ours to be sustainable.  Our most recent adventure was hatching chicks.  We started with 12 fertile eggs from a local farmer friend down the street as a fun way to educate ourselves and the children on what it takes to incubate eggs.  I learned so much through this process!  To live it makes it so much easier to help and know what is going on with hens who you choose to allow to brood on their own.  I will say if you want to do this more than once buy a good incubator that has a temperature regulator.  We had the worst luck with ours and about 9 days before hatch day it stopped working all together.  Luckily it still heated but even on the lowest setting the temperature would creep up really high and I would have to open it up and cool it down.  This caused a problem with some of the chicks.  The one in the photo above was stuck to the membrane and couldn't hatch on it's own.  It piped and then remained beak out for about 24 hours.  I peeled back that shell just like the chick would do leaving the membrane in tack but that still didn't work.  I had to peel away the shell and membrane adding moisture to free this little chick.  It's super tiny but strong and seems to be doing great so far.  It still has it's beak tooth which was a big thrill for the boys.  Another one chirped for 24 hours but never piped.  I heard it trying and decided to give it some time to hatch on it's own but it never did.  I piped it but it was no longer moving by the time I decided to intervene.  There is still one we are waiting on.  I can see movement when I candle it but it just won't hatch.  I'm guessing it will have problems if it does but the boys are praying for it so you never know.

 We finished our Classical Conversations group for the year.  I made these herb and Zinnia arrangements for the tables for our closing ceremony.  It was a great way to add color and life to the tables without wasting money on flowers that will be tossed.  These will be going straight in the ground this week.  To make them I just cut up a  paper back and made a bottom by squaring off the sides with a glue gun.  The burlap was then wrapped around the exposed roots pulling tight to give it a pot like shape.  The burlap is held together by hot glue gun as well.  I loved the beautiful fragrance they gave off. 

On the food front, we are still processed foods free.  Free is the best way to describe it!  I feel like I have been freed of the toxic waste that has become our food system, freed from children who are picky and won't eat anything but mac and cheese, freed from wasted time reading box labels only to be disappointed.....  We still buy organic sandwich meats, cheeses, and milk which are technically processed but we only eat whole ingredient foods and minimize these as much as possible.  I also read Wheat Belly which sent me down a rabbit hole of research on modern wheat and we have decided to cut that out as well.  Now we are eating spelt and kamut.  I've been able to modify most whole wheat recipes with freshly milled spelt and kamut, usually a combination of the two, and it has been pretty easy.  Kamut and spelt make much lighter breads than whole wheat which my family actually prefers.  I'll share recipes and more on our food choices soon.

We are fencing off the back half of the property to allow the chickens to pasture graze and I'm researching meat birds!!  The hubby is still not as enthusiastic as I am about this but he knows the quality of our meat would be so much better.  I'm looking into butchers to do the dirty work.  Neither of us are ready to add chicken slaughter to our "to do" list just yet....or ever.

In the garden there are lots of delicious foods available to eat daily and many more popping up.  I missed lots of planting opportunities this season but over all I'm happy with our progress.  I'm chipping away at the yard a little everyday eliminating grass and planting food.  I've recently discovered permaculture gardening and I have been working in some of the gardening practices.  It's a lot of things I have learned just by gardening and getting to know plants over the years but with so much more purpose put into the design so that it is truly sustainable.  I have always broken the rules with gardening and had great success, permaculture breaks all gardening rules but none of natures.  It assumes there is a way to supply every plant naturally with everything it needs through the use of other plants to get the highest quality food.  It's really beautiful and just another example of how God perfectly designs everything for our good. 

If you are interested in producing your own food but think your property is too small, just watch this video! 

Quilted dress made from scrap fabric.

One of my goals this year is to find ways to use the piles of fabric scraps that I have saved up.  I have a bad habit of running to the fabric store every time I have a project in mind leaving me with a sewing room busting at the seams with beautiful fabric scraps.  For years I have been saving it for quilts but quilting is not something that fits into my life right now and some of this fabric has got to go! 

My newest passion is using it to make quilted dresses.  I have made several and will post more pics soon but here is one that I made for my sweet niece for her first birthday. 

I also made her a doll using the pattern I mentioned in this post and placed them both in a bag made out of more beautiful scrap fabric.

I would love to here what you do with your scrap fabric!

Growing potatoes vertically

I had great success growing potatoes last year but they are hard to manage in an edible landscape where plants are planted close together.  This year I've decided to grow most of our potatoes vertically to avoid having the plants take up too much space and to make harvesting more simple.

I chose this antique wagon from Vietnam to grow Yukon Gold.  I purchased this wagon about 7 years ago at an antique fair and it has been a favorite garden piece of mine ever since.  I used linen burlap for the lining and made the bag by tracing the inside of the wagon onto the fabric and sewing it together.  It is attached to the top with staples.

Growing potatoes vertically is simple.  You will want to make sure you have good drainage in what ever container you choose.  Start by adding 6" of compost or good quality soil.  Next you will want to cut up an already sprouting potato trying to get 2 or more sprouts per cut if possible, I keep potatoes in the kitchen drawer to sprout.  Place potato pieces sprouting side up and cover with another 6" of compost.  As the plant breaks through the top of the soil you are going to add another 6" of soil to the top.  Continue this process of adding soil every time plant growth breaks through until the soil reaches the top.  At that point you enjoy watching the beautiful green foliage as it grows and blooms. Harvest when greens start to die back long after the plant flowers.

Here is one we harvested for Easter.  I harvested early so I could get another batch started.  I just couldn't resist! 

Messenger Bag Tutorial



Click photo to view tutorial

I recently followed my own tutorial to make a birthday present for one of our sweet friends 6th birthday.  I had originally created this pattern for the boys for a Christmas present to use as a scavenger nature study bag.  They still use those bags when they go exploring so I thought it would be the perfect handmade and recycled treasures gift for our adventurous little friend.


I made a few changes to the pattern.  I made it a little larger and used quilting fabric so I lined it with fusible fleece.  The fabric is by Sarah Jane except for the blue dots.  I believe the blue dots is an Amy Butler fabric.  For the piping around the flap I covered existing piping.  Even with the changes this bag only took about 2 hours total to create.

For the surprises on the inside we used recycled goods from the thrift store, items we found in the house, and we purchased 2 small treasures to make it complete.  Inside there is a journal, artist pencil, flower press, sun flower seeds, compass, magnifying glass, and small expandable cage.  Small treasures to help spark a desire to head outside and explore Gods beauty. 

Organic Fertilizer using Worm Tea, Rabbit Manure Tea, and Chicken Manure Tea.

When it comes to organic sustainable gardening with the use of wood chips, it's important that you are feeding plants on a regular basis because wood chips will draw nutrients out of the soil during decomposition.  There are several ways to feed your plants and wood chips but I have found that the secret to fertilizing is use what you have or can get close by and keep it simple!


One of the least expensive and manageable sources of organic compost is vermiculture.  We raise red wigglers in Tupperware totes.  The maintenance required to care for them is to add produce scraps, add fresh newspaper or cardboard on top of scraps, drain the water so they don't drown, and keep them in the shade.  You can read more about vermiculture here.

What you are trying to get from worm composting is a maximum amount of microbes and in order to get microbes to grow you need sugar and oxygen.  To make my worm tea I use a 5 gallon bucket and add about a handful of worm casting (the dirt) to a burlap bag (you can use a sock, cheese cloth, pantie hose....).  Next I pour in approximately 2 tablespoons molasses and put a source of oxygen in the bucket.  In this photo I was using our bate bucket with bubbler.  Now I use an old fish tank pump so I don't waste batteries.  Next you want to fill the bucket with water that is not treated.  If you have chlorinated water let it sit for a day outside before adding casting.  Once everything is added you turn on the pump and let it sit for 48 hours.  If it's cool out put it in a sunny spot.  If it's really warm out place the bucket in the shade.  After 48 hours you can put it in a garden sprayer or pour it along the base of plants.  I like to spray with worm tea so the microbes cover the foliage.  The microbes will handle fungus problems and can deter bugs from munching on leaves. 

I also make compost tea out of rabbit manure and chicken manure.  My favorite source for fertilizer is rabbit manure.  It's so simple!  Rabbits usually use 1 or 2 spots in their cage to go to the bathroom making it easy to collect manure.  Rabbit manure also breaks down very quickly and is not too "hot" for plants, meaning it won't burn plants by adding it to soil without decomposing first.  I simply add the manure to a bucket of water, stir, then pour over plants.  I allow the tea to go on the foliage as well as the soil since it's a milder form of fertilizer.

My other source of fertilizer comes from the chickens.  Chicken manure that is not decomposed first can burn plants so I have found the best way to make chicken manure tea is to grab a handful of composted manure from the compost pile and place it in a bucket with water.  Next I add a handful of fresh manure directly from the coop.  I stir it until dissolved and pour a small amount to the base of plants.  This is a much stronger fertilizer so I don't recommend pouring directly on leaves and it's important not to over fertilize. A 1/2 cup full at the base of mature plants and an even smaller amount around newly sprouting plants has worked well for me. 

How do you fertilize your garden?  I would love to learn ways you have had success! 

What to do with icicle radish.

Earlier this winter I pulled a few root veggies up and had no idea what they were.  I am constantly planting seeds but I poorly document everything I plant.  I have been more interested in getting the gardening space established and vegetables and fruits growing to keep the weeds under control.  I thought I had planted radish from some seeds I had stored but then this white carrot looking root came popping out of the ground. 

Someone suggested it was daikon but after doing a little more research I realized I was growing Icicle radish.  I was a little disappointed at first.  They are bitter raw and I had no idea what to do with them. I also have a garden full and they grow fast so I was worried I had wasted energy on a vegetable we would not use.  I had cooked the first two I harvested in the crock pot with a whole chicken, wild rice, and collards and carrots from the garden.   The icicle radish gave the dish a surprising mild peppery zing and was quite delicious.  It's hard to describe their unique taste.  It's not peppery tasting to the tongue but will leave your belly with a very refreshing "peppery" feeling after eating them. 

Now I'm hooked on them!  They only take up a small space in the garden, grow really quickly, have the texture of a potato, and require no maintenance.  The greens are also very healthy, more than the radish actually, and taste great cooked.  I'm sure there are many recipes online but I prefer the easy route of just sauteing them in a little olive oil or homemade chicken broth and salt.  I chop up the radish and the greens into small bites and cook until the bitterness is gone.  It can take about 15 minutes for them to get savory.  The greens hold their bitterness a little longer but it does cook out.  If I'm not sauteing with an onion or anything else I sometimes add a dab of molasses to help get rid of the bitterness.  When cooking with other vegetables the molasses is not necessary.  You will want to cut off any top portion of the radish that was exposed to sun and has turned green. 

After sauteing I serve them up as a side dish.  They are also great if you pour fresh eggs on top and pop in the oven.  My next plan is to add them to beef stew since they have the nice texture of a potato but not all the calories.  The possibilities are endless now that we have developed a taste for them!

I would love to hear how you cook up your icicle radish!

Tank top to dress tutorial with ruffled waist.

Click photo to access tutorial

This is one of my new favorite dresses to wear!  I've made 3 dresses for me so far using this pattern I came up with and absolutely love them all!  There are a few reasons this style dress is my favorite.  1st, you can recycle old tanks and tees that may no longer be long enough to cover the mid-waist or have stains on the bottom.  You can also used recycled curtains, sheets, or table cloths for the skirt. 2nd, It's super comfy!  These dresses are now my go-to house dress because I can clean, garden, and do house work in them and still look presentable if someone comes to the door or if I have to run the kids to violin or art class.  3rd, Once you get the hang of the waistband they are super easy to make!

 

 

The tank top for this one was an old tank from the dresser and the fabric for the skirt is 100% organic cotton but I don't remember from where!  I purchased it online and did the happy dance when it arrived but then it sat in the fabric staff for several months and now the details have long left my memory.  The excitement of this natural fabric and earthy pattern have not however. 

This is another one of the dress styles I made.  These photos are from our Classical Conversations group taken by a friend.  I decided to go matchy matchy with Madeline.  With this one I shortened the width of the waist to give it a more formal fitted look. 


 Click the top photo to see the tutorial and I hope you enjoy it as much as I have! 

Happy Sewing!