Brush Removal

Started removing the brush behind our back fence today. It’s not on our property, but it’s between a cement irrigation ditch which is no longer used, and our fence. Traditionally, both we and the landowner have maintained the area.

But the landowner hasn’t mowed or burned the area for several years and the brush has grown out of control. I couldn’t stand it anymore: it looks bad, attracts pests, affects my allergies, and broadcasts weed seeds all over my land.

So I grab some rakes and hoes, and a tarp, and got to work. The plan is to take out all the dead brush, and then mow it as I mow my own yard to keep the weeds under control. I would also like to seed in some ground cover to smother out the weeds. I need a ground cover that is vigorous enough to smother out the weeds, but not so invasive that it will infect the nearby alfalfa field. And it should respond well to mowing. Even better if it supplies some composting benefit as well. Plus, it needs to be hardy to zone 5 & mostly self-maintaining.

Hmmm, research needed.

On curtains and pets…

One of the principles of Homesteading and Permaculture is recycling. Or more accurately, reuse.

Well, a couple of years ago, I picked up a sheet set for about $0.50 at a yard sale. But, because of its very loud fabric and low thread count, I was unable to make use of it. Until now. We decided to replace our kitchen shades with curtains to let in more light. So I pulled out that sheet set, and the loud pattern that was so inappropriate for clothing works perfectly as curtains. Even better, the color scheme matches our kitchen. I got one large set of curtains and two short valances out of the set, and I still have some fabric left.

So yay for repurposing! 

Another aspect of Homesteading especially, is that every animal and plant you nurture should have a use. Even flowers can enrich soil or provide good grazing for chickens and goats.

Which brings me too my cat. My indoor cat who was declawed by her previous owners and thus can never roam freely or work outside.

On the surface, my cat appears to be waste of resources. Less so if I start composting her wastes, but since cat waste must be composted separately and shouldn’t be used on feed crops, her contribution doesn’t balance out the resources she uses.

But that’s just on the surface. In reality, my cat is an important part of my mental health. She keeps me interested and invested in life, comforts me when I’m down, and delights me with her antics. These contributions are priceless. After all, if I’m not mentally healthy, I won’t have the energy or desire to grow some of my own food.

In fact, I originally considered keeping chickens, quail, and rabbits for her benefit. She still eats high-quality commercial food right now, but I plan to switch to raw feeding when I can afford it. Chicken, quail, and rabbits are all very good for cats, along with their other benefits to a homestead.

So, in a way, my whole interest in homesteading and permaculture is my cat’s fault.

Who can put a price on that?

Getting Supplies

Today has been a day. I wasn’t able to spend enough time with my sunlamp and the day was overcast, so I was exhausted all day. There’s nothing quite like feeling utterly exhausted and disinterested while simultaneously being forced to stay awake by anti-depression meds. The meds have changed my life for the better, but days like this remind me that a carefully balanced schedule of sleep, light therapy, and regularly scheduled meals are an important part of the treatment as well. Still, it’s a good reminder of why I follow my treatment regimen faithfully: I can’t believe that I once felt even worse than this all the time. I have no idea how I even survived before I started treatment.

To make a bad day worse, my kitty developed a horrible abscess on her rear.  She had to be sedated so it could be drained. And it will have to be medicated regularly to keep it open until it’s all drained. That’s going to be fun. Not. Poor baby, she looks sooo miserable.

A small bit of light: I decided what size my garden beds will be, and I picked up the lumber for them. Two 4’ x 4’ beds to utilize the square-foot gardening method. 7 1x4x8’s, cut in two. Two 1x2x8’s, left whole – I’ll do the cutting myself. $24 with tax and the lumber yard did the cuts for me. I already have 1 1x4, which I’ll have to cut, but that’s what a saw is for. I already have screws and tools, so this weekend I can build the beds! Yay!

Planning the garden

The garden is my big Homesteading project for this year.

But, if there’s one thing I hated about gardening as a child, it was digging. Digging, double digging, cutting out the border every year. Ugggh! Anyone who’s done it knows that digging up grass is almost impossible with just a shovel. You can do it, it’s just a ridiculous amount of work for very little gain.

Sadly, the places I want to put my garden beds are fully covered with well-established grass.

And there is no way that I’m digging all that up. No way, no how.

Laziness to the rescue once again! I’m going to make raised beds instead. I will cover the grass with a couple layers of cardboard or weed-cloth to smother it, and then fill my bed-frames with a mix of compost and coconut coir. Did you know you can buy compost from the County for $60 a ton? A ton is A LOT of compost.

The coconut coir will help the compost retain water, and the combination should make a very rich soil. Like Lasagna Gardening, but without the ridiculous amount of work. And, best of all, NO DIGGING.

Looking at the Lasagna Gardening (sheet mulching) concept, compost & coconut coir should work just as well. After all, sheet mulching is really just composting right in the garden.

I’ll let you know how it goes.

Making Yogurt

My first attempt to Homestead: Yogurt.

Yes, I'm now making my own Greek Yogurt. My mom loves the stuff, and it fits well into her low-sodium diet. But buying it in the store, we easily spent $12 - $15 a week on it.
So I crunched the numbers and realized that making it ourselves would be less expensive.
But you won't catch me standing over a stove, stirring milk to keep it from burning. That sort of tedious, time-consuming, boring task is NOT for me.
Microwave to the rescue! I microwaved 1/2 gallon of milk in a bowl for about 7 min, checked the temp until it was above 100 degrees and under 110 degrees F. Then I whisked in two heaping spoonfuls of the commercial greek yogurt, poured the mixture into 2 quart jars and 1 half-pint jar (for starter), and sealed them tightly. I set them in my small cooler, filled the cooler with hot tapwater, closed the cooler lid and let it sit for about 6 hours.
Before I went to bed, I took the jars out of the cooler and put them in the fridge.
The next morning, I took out the 2 quart jars, a fine-mesh strainer, a large bowl, a large paper towel, and a pot lid. The strainer went into the bowl, and the paper towel into the strainer. The two jars of yogurt went into the strainer, which I then set in the frig with the pot lid covering it.
Five hours later, I poured the whey from the bowl into a quart jar and stored it in the frig. I then poured the strained yogurt into the empty whey bowl, mixed in the flavorings, and scooped it into a pint and half-pint jar.
Yogurt all done, with starter for next time! Yay! And tasty, if my mom can be believed.
Also, whey is THE solution for perfect, light, fluffy pancakes.

All typed out, it looks like work. But really, it took about as much time as it does to feed my cat.

Someday, I can envision making my yogurt from goat milk harvested from my back yard. Until then, cow's milk from the store will have to do.

Homesteading, Permaculture, and Me

A desire for tomatoes which actually tasted like tomatoes led me to consider a garden. Considering a garden led me to books on Homesteading and Permaculture. Suddenly, I was planning to get rid of the lawn, undertake raising livestock, and re-visioning my life: instead of living around my career, I was envisioning a future where working 9-5 in a cubicle was a necessary evil, and my homestead was where my life was centered.

So, I've decided to do this thing.

But, I firmly subscribe to the notion that one should work smarter, not harder.

So, feel free to laugh at my attempts to homestead the lazy way.