Sprouts! It's what's for dinner! Well, not really, at least not today. I finally dragged myself out to the new Natural Grocer to see if they had sprouting seeds. I've sprouted on and off over the years, but with the current drought on in Central Texas, we've been forced to re-think some of our growing strageties. We've got tomatoes and squash in the fish pond right now, and getting ready to set up a hydroponics rig that will hopefully eliminate the insect predation we have going on right now. (We've lost 1 out of every 3 plants this year!)
NG did have a small selection of sprouting seeds, the only place I've found that has them any more. I picked up a few different packs, and we should be eating fresh sprouts and microgreens by this time next week. In my research, I ran across SproutPeople, a wonderful site with lots of info, which I will probably buy my next round of seeds from, since they are way cheaper than a retail brick and mortar place.
I'm setting up the sprouters today, and will report back later in the week with pics. Happy sprouting!
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Friday, April 22, 2011
Happy Earth Day!
Greetings frugalistas and urban homesteaders! Happy Earth Day to you all! Of course, here around the Farm, every day is Earth Day. We recycle water for the plants, collect rainwater for the same, recycle as much of our trash as we possibly can on our city lot, grow some of our food, eschew processed foods and fast food (Well, I do have a weakness for Panda Express!), cook from scratch every meal, use vehicles as little as possible, and many other things.
Here at the Farm we are dealing with the worst drought Texas has seen in nearly a hundred years. We catch shower water every single time someone uses the shower just to be able to use the water on the gardens. So far, things are doing OK, if a bit slow because of the lack of much water (hauling everything by hand) and the oppressive heat. We've lost the goldfish in the back pond in the space of 4 days, not sure why, possibly water contamination. The chickens stopped laying about a month ago, we're hoping they will start back up now that the days are getting longer.
Watching the prices of everything going up, up, up makes me even gladder that we homestead and live a frugal lifestyle. Sure, even we have to cut back on things, like entertainment, trips, luxury items, but we still are doing better than many people.
Here at the Farm we are dealing with the worst drought Texas has seen in nearly a hundred years. We catch shower water every single time someone uses the shower just to be able to use the water on the gardens. So far, things are doing OK, if a bit slow because of the lack of much water (hauling everything by hand) and the oppressive heat. We've lost the goldfish in the back pond in the space of 4 days, not sure why, possibly water contamination. The chickens stopped laying about a month ago, we're hoping they will start back up now that the days are getting longer.
Watching the prices of everything going up, up, up makes me even gladder that we homestead and live a frugal lifestyle. Sure, even we have to cut back on things, like entertainment, trips, luxury items, but we still are doing better than many people.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Meet the technohippy
A great post from Erica over at NW Edible Life about 'yuppiehippes'. Here in Austin, we're called Technohippies, or simply Austin Hippies.
Austin Hippies are a strange blend of the uber tech and the back to the lander. We live in all environments from urban to rural. We work at tech jobs at Dell, Apple, and Samsung, yet we heat our houses and water with wood and sun, run our computers off solar and wind generated electricity so we can surf the Web and play WoW. We scavenge free stuff off Craigslist to build our toolsheds and chicken coops. Yes, we have IPhones. (Well, I don't, because I don't have a use for it, but that's just me. They're still pretty cool.) Like Erica, we grow our veggies and raise chickens so we can buy our organic milk to make yogurt and cheese. And I've been told press-on nails hide the dirt just fine.
Austin Hippies are a strange blend of the uber tech and the back to the lander. We live in all environments from urban to rural. We work at tech jobs at Dell, Apple, and Samsung, yet we heat our houses and water with wood and sun, run our computers off solar and wind generated electricity so we can surf the Web and play WoW. We scavenge free stuff off Craigslist to build our toolsheds and chicken coops. Yes, we have IPhones. (Well, I don't, because I don't have a use for it, but that's just me. They're still pretty cool.) Like Erica, we grow our veggies and raise chickens so we can buy our organic milk to make yogurt and cheese. And I've been told press-on nails hide the dirt just fine.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Bbbbzzzzz......
This is a sound I've been missing in the garden this year. Normally, early April is , pardon the expression, abuzz with bees. This year, not so much. I think I've seen a total of one bee so far this spring.
My friend M had an exterminator come out and kill off a beehive that was in a tree in his front yard. He called around to several beekeepers, none were interested. Finally he found one guy, who then informed him the tree would have to be split open to get the bees out. So M decided to kill them off instead. Personally, I would have probably taken out the tree, since it's way too close to the driveway, or just left the bees alone. But that's just me.
With the Japan reactors spewing out radiation, which is then being picked up by the prevailing global wind currents and spread worldwide, I am very afraid the already fragile honeybee population will be devistated beyond repair. Bees are extremely suseptable to radiation, and are one of the first things to be affected. Cell phone radiation is believed to be the cause of the current colony collapse disorder. Here in CenTex we are also in a massive drought, something which doesn't make the wildlife too happy on any given day.
The lack of bees has already begun to affect us here at the Farm. Some of the squash are not setting fruit, I'm thinking due to lack of pollenation. In the case of the bush plants, the male and female flowers are close enough together to be able to pollenate, but the vining varieties are not, so I'm going out with a small paintbrush and hand pollenating. Fun times. Still, a few minutes a day to (hopefully!) gaurantee squash is totally worth it. There are some native bugs who do pollenate the plants here, but It would also take decades or longer for the environment to stablize, with some plant species dying off, until the native pollenators took over the job again like they used to before the introduction of the European honeybee in the early 1600's.
I for one will sorely miss fresh local honey (with the comb, of course!) if the honeybees do all go away!
My friend M had an exterminator come out and kill off a beehive that was in a tree in his front yard. He called around to several beekeepers, none were interested. Finally he found one guy, who then informed him the tree would have to be split open to get the bees out. So M decided to kill them off instead. Personally, I would have probably taken out the tree, since it's way too close to the driveway, or just left the bees alone. But that's just me.
With the Japan reactors spewing out radiation, which is then being picked up by the prevailing global wind currents and spread worldwide, I am very afraid the already fragile honeybee population will be devistated beyond repair. Bees are extremely suseptable to radiation, and are one of the first things to be affected. Cell phone radiation is believed to be the cause of the current colony collapse disorder. Here in CenTex we are also in a massive drought, something which doesn't make the wildlife too happy on any given day.
The lack of bees has already begun to affect us here at the Farm. Some of the squash are not setting fruit, I'm thinking due to lack of pollenation. In the case of the bush plants, the male and female flowers are close enough together to be able to pollenate, but the vining varieties are not, so I'm going out with a small paintbrush and hand pollenating. Fun times. Still, a few minutes a day to (hopefully!) gaurantee squash is totally worth it. There are some native bugs who do pollenate the plants here, but It would also take decades or longer for the environment to stablize, with some plant species dying off, until the native pollenators took over the job again like they used to before the introduction of the European honeybee in the early 1600's.
I for one will sorely miss fresh local honey (with the comb, of course!) if the honeybees do all go away!
Monday, March 28, 2011
Box Time!
A very good and chill morning to you all! We had a cold front blow through here in Central Texas, and the temp last night dropped to a chill 52. Of course this was two days after we got the chicken coop set for summer. They were fine, altho a bit grumbly this morning.
For those of you who have been asking me "When is Box Time??", I finally have an answer. April 9th. If you are new to CC, here's how the box thing works: You get on the Box List, decide what size and how often you want a box (weekly, bi-monthly, monthly) and then come pick up your box on Saturday between 9 and 12. Those of you not familiar with the Boxes are probably thinking, "Why would I pay for a box??" Well, this box is filled with all kinds of goodies, and like a grab bag, you never know what will be in it! There is always fresh sustainably grown veggies and herbs, and usually some kind of baked goods, like home made bread or sweets, sometimes things like fresh eggs, flavored vinegar or preserves. You never know what you will find in your Box! Prices are $15 and $25, get on the list before it's too late!
For those of you who have been asking me "When is Box Time??", I finally have an answer. April 9th. If you are new to CC, here's how the box thing works: You get on the Box List, decide what size and how often you want a box (weekly, bi-monthly, monthly) and then come pick up your box on Saturday between 9 and 12. Those of you not familiar with the Boxes are probably thinking, "Why would I pay for a box??" Well, this box is filled with all kinds of goodies, and like a grab bag, you never know what will be in it! There is always fresh sustainably grown veggies and herbs, and usually some kind of baked goods, like home made bread or sweets, sometimes things like fresh eggs, flavored vinegar or preserves. You never know what you will find in your Box! Prices are $15 and $25, get on the list before it's too late!
Friday, March 18, 2011
Can't beat fresh ricotta!
During my last cleaning spree I ran across a silverfish-nibbled piece of paper I had gotten from my parents' house after my mother died. It was her recipe for homemade ricotta cheese. Back in the 1950's, my mother, an Italian/German born and raised in Chicago during the Capone era, moved to N. Texas and couldn't get things like Italian sausage and ricotta cheese in the local stores, so she and my grandmother made what they could themselves. The problem is they only jotted down a brief note of the amount of ingredients, not the full recipe. So when I decided to try it, I turned to the Internet and found more recipes than I could ever use, but they all had the same theme; milk+cream+heat+acid, ricotta cheese (or farmer's cheese) does make.
So I gathered up the ingredients, and embarked on my cheese making expedition.
I drained out the whey, saving it for breadmaking later this week. After 30 minutes or so of draining, I salted the cheese a tiny bit, and had some for a taste test on a multigrain/seed roll I baked.
I can safely say that I most likely will not even be buying ricotta cheese again. This was smooth and creamy, very rich, and not too salty like some of the store bought stuff. I usually need more than the small container, and less that the big one, and end up throwing away a quarter container or so almost every time. So now I can make it on demand and have the added benefit of knowing exactly what's in it.
So I gathered up the ingredients, and embarked on my cheese making expedition.
I heated the milk/cream mixture to almost boiling (OK, so I turned away for ONE tiny second, and it did foam up on me, but I got it under control before it went over.) and added a mix of vinegar and lemon juice. After much stirring the mix separated into curds and whey. Quick spider check at this point.
I had made ricotta once before a couple of years ago, and like every recipe recommended, I used cheesecloth to strain out the mix. I ended up with very little cheese NOT stuck to the cloth. After perusing a YouTube video showing a guy using a strainer, I realized I have a fine mesh strainer, and dispensed with the nasty cheesecloth.
I drained out the whey, saving it for breadmaking later this week. After 30 minutes or so of draining, I salted the cheese a tiny bit, and had some for a taste test on a multigrain/seed roll I baked.
I can safely say that I most likely will not even be buying ricotta cheese again. This was smooth and creamy, very rich, and not too salty like some of the store bought stuff. I usually need more than the small container, and less that the big one, and end up throwing away a quarter container or so almost every time. So now I can make it on demand and have the added benefit of knowing exactly what's in it.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
So far so good!
I was checking the peach tree this morning to see what the latest round of weather had done, and I found that there are still blooms on the peach tree, and a few have begun to make tiny peaches! Yay! I grew up with peach, plum and apricot trees, and have missed the truly transcendent experience of taking a bite out of a sun warmed fruit right off the tree. We still have a month or two of bad weather possible, so fingers are crossed.
The squash plants that were started indoors are perking up and growing finally, and so are the Vorlon tomatoes. Altho the nights are still chill, the days warm, and everything is doing well. I did lose a squash and a tomato to snails so far this year. Next time we get a rain (Soon please!) I will harvest snails and smash them up for a nice treat for the girls.
One thing we try to do here at the Farm is process as much waste onsite as possible. Of course, the house is hooked up to the city sewer, which the city of Austin charges us outrageously. The cost of waste water handling is more than double the cost of the water itself. So any water we use that doesn't get consumed, is used or reused around the Farm. Water left in glasses after the ice melts is used on the plants or given to the animals. We use a bucket in the shower to gather water for the plants or 'flushing' the toilet. We are getting worried tho, as we are in a severe drought, and our raincatchers are almost empty.
Paper waste, like junk mail, is shredded for chicken butt bedding, compost, and to use in the lasagna gardens. Glass and plastic jars are reused for storage, or building materials (More on that in a later post.) Austin has single stream recycling, which means we get a big bin like a trash bin, and everything left goes into it, no separating anymore, yay! Animal wastes are buried around non-food plants and trees, and all food scraps are fed to the animals, composted, or buried in the yard.
The composting toilet is finally installed after 3 months of delays, and seems to be working well. Due to the drought, I am having to water it a little until we use it a bit more to keep the compost moist and working. The only drawback is the seat is a bit small and the unit is rather tall, so we have to use the footrest that came with the unit. Not a huge problem for the guys, they are tall enough to do without it, but me, not so much. Still, it's off grid, something we are working towards, and we are quite excited about it!
The squash plants that were started indoors are perking up and growing finally, and so are the Vorlon tomatoes. Altho the nights are still chill, the days warm, and everything is doing well. I did lose a squash and a tomato to snails so far this year. Next time we get a rain (Soon please!) I will harvest snails and smash them up for a nice treat for the girls.
One thing we try to do here at the Farm is process as much waste onsite as possible. Of course, the house is hooked up to the city sewer, which the city of Austin charges us outrageously. The cost of waste water handling is more than double the cost of the water itself. So any water we use that doesn't get consumed, is used or reused around the Farm. Water left in glasses after the ice melts is used on the plants or given to the animals. We use a bucket in the shower to gather water for the plants or 'flushing' the toilet. We are getting worried tho, as we are in a severe drought, and our raincatchers are almost empty.
Paper waste, like junk mail, is shredded for chicken butt bedding, compost, and to use in the lasagna gardens. Glass and plastic jars are reused for storage, or building materials (More on that in a later post.) Austin has single stream recycling, which means we get a big bin like a trash bin, and everything left goes into it, no separating anymore, yay! Animal wastes are buried around non-food plants and trees, and all food scraps are fed to the animals, composted, or buried in the yard.
The composting toilet is finally installed after 3 months of delays, and seems to be working well. Due to the drought, I am having to water it a little until we use it a bit more to keep the compost moist and working. The only drawback is the seat is a bit small and the unit is rather tall, so we have to use the footrest that came with the unit. Not a huge problem for the guys, they are tall enough to do without it, but me, not so much. Still, it's off grid, something we are working towards, and we are quite excited about it!
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