urban farming/homesteading

304 articles
Tomatoes and (butt) Rot

Tomatoes and (butt) Rot

Last night as I was doing my usual rounds in the garden, I noticed that our Pear Tomatoes were looking a little...well...not normal.  Their butts were all brown!  Tool Lady quickly looked it up and we decided it was probably being caused by a calcium deficiency in the soil.  Well, shit! So we ran to the store and grabbed the…
July 4, 2011
Harvest Monday!!!

Harvest Monday!!!

This has been exciting week in Harvest Land for us!  We've finally gotten some color in the mix!!!Snap Peas (Round Two) = 14 peas (almost a whole ounce!)At the beginning of last week, our beet bed was full...Then, after I harvested every other beet, it looked like this...Beet total = 4 pounds 9 ounces!!!Basil = 11 leaves (not even measurable…
July 4, 2011

Seed Saving and Diversity of Crops

In the most current edition of National Geographic there were two food related articles that kicked my ass.  While I already had some of this information, these articles really drove home a few things for me.The first, How to Feed a Growing Planet talked briefly about how our 7 billion people will quickly (in the next 35 years) grow to…
July 2, 2011
Fire, Ash, Heat & Drought

Fire, Ash, Heat & Drought

As those of you who live here know, and those of you who don't have probably heard, there is a fire raging right on the edge of Los Alamos.  The whole town is evacuated, in need of food, shelter, compassion and a quick return to their (intact) homes.  At last count, the fire was very close to 70,000 acres and…
June 30, 2011
Harvest Monday

Harvest Monday

I missed last weeks Harvest Monday due to computer glitches and a crazy schedule.  It's OK though, because there really wasn't much to report.  This week, however, I'm back in the saddle :-)This week we harvested:15 oz of Kale1 oz of mint1 pound of GarlicThe kale and mint were dried and stored and the garlic is still curing on the…
June 27, 2011
Harvesting Garlic

Harvesting Garlic

Last November we planted our very first round of garlic!  Don't ask me what kind it was, because I am honestly not sure...all I know is that it was the good kind.  We simply went to the farmers market, found a nice big organic head, purchased it, brought it home, broke it apart and stuck it in one of our…
June 26, 2011