Creating my 2015 homesteading goals

I am hard at work the past two days creating my homesteading goals for 2015. I had a good portion of them written down, but many more I needed to add.

I also decided I needed to organize the list a little more so it had categories, as well as for each “goal” it would detail the cost, effort, desired season, and if it was at the top of the list of importance or if it was just something I would desire to do this year, and OK if it ended up being put off till next year.

I have 10 pages written so far, and I fear much more will be added to the list… There are so many things I wish to put on the list but KNOW will not happen this year, so there is no point in even writing it on the list for 2015.
I know the first year is the hardest one to organize, plan out, reach those goals, but I am looking forward to it.

I also really like making lists…

I should also keep in mind this is 10 pages of goals relating to urban homesteading, so I have a lot of other “to do” or “goals” lists that are not related, or possibly related.

This homesteading goals list will also have sub-lists, especially for the medicine making portions, as I do not feel like putting in tons of lines. I will just make a separate list for the ones I know I want to make, so I can mark what I got to, and then add to it the ones I made but did not plan to make.

Right now my categories are as follows:
The ground
The garden
The seeds
Projects
Blogging, writing, and paper projects
Community immersion
Inside the home
Skills to learn

Once I feel content with it (hopefully here soon) I will post it up so you can see what I have on my list and how I laid it out.

Anything I do not accomplish this year from the list will either be scrapped altogether or moved to next years list.

How yoga has helped me

I have gone through a lot of changes recently with my nutrition plan and overall made healthier life choices.

In addition to eating a healthier diet, which has helped me to lose weight (10 lbs so far since December 3rd) I have also been doing stretches and yoga.

I have not been going to any special classes. I just looked around youtube until I found a channel I liked and have been following the videos at home. Psychetruth yoga for energy is one of my favorite videos, and I love this channel in general.

I have done yoga before, but not consistently. This is the first time I have stuck to doing a yoga routine.

I try to do 1-2 videos of my choice 1-2x daily. I have been doing this for almost 2 months now I would say. I have noticed improvement in my flexibility and my breathing.
I noticed just how much this helped when I hit the gym last. I have not been to a gym in awhile as I prefer to workout at home or in nature. It is too cold to be outside so I went to the gym with my sister. I have not been able to do more than 12m (and one random 16m session) on the elliptical since I was about 18? Partially this is due to having minor asthma, another part  is due to not having been very active.
This last time I went to the gym, due to the benefits the yoga and healthy eating, I was able to do a 40m elliptical, 50 leg presses, 15 arm presses (need to work on that more), and still  had a ton of energy left to go. This was like an hour workout total.
Previously my workouts would strain to be 30-45m.

I never used to understand the whole “enjoy the burn!” thing people always talked about who go to gyms often. This was because before, for me, the burn hurt a lot. Minimal effort would feel like a mountain. The effort, exhaustion, and pain would cause nausea instead of energy and happiness. I think this is the first time I have actually gotten it. I have not felt sick to my stomach from going to the gym. (I had trainers before and it was still like that, so it was not from lack of doing things properly either) I really do believe that because of the yoga, my body can do a lot more than it used to be able to. I can do a good workout and not overwork myself. I can work through a tiny bit of discomfort vs a lot of horrible exhausting pain.

Did I mention I absolutely loved this! This was something completely unexpected that I did not think I would be able to do so soon. It is a really good motivator to realize I have gotten farther in my endurance, flexibility, and breathing strength sooner than expected.

I need to ramp up my workouts to help with muscle tone and strength, so knowing it won’t hurt like it used to is really encouraging. I did not feel ache the next day either like I used to. Before it would be a couple of days where it would hurt bad afterwards, even with stretching, but this just blows my mind.

This has always been a really frustrating area for me, since I did not have asthma until I moved to this state. We believe it is due to all the sagebrush pollen in the air, which I am allergic to. Still, I love the area.

It can be really tough knowing that you used to be able to do almost anything, and then because of your weakened lungs, couldn’t hardly do anything.

I was actually at the doctors every day for weeks when this first started happening.

I think my body has adjusted enough now, that if I can build up my lung strength, I can get back to a normal state. That does not mean I won’t still have asthma attacks, it just means I will not be able to use asthma as an excuse for staying healthy. The less I am active, the weaker my lungs are, and the more prone I am to attacks.

I will still get asthma attacks from anxiety, but that trigger is completely different, and one I am also working on.

I am enjoying my after yoga stretching highs I get. I can’t wait to see where this leads me physically, mentally, and spiritually.

Making plans for a food forest

There are so many design ideas, growing methods, and outdoor/indoor homesteading projects I wish to implement on my little urban homestead.

Food forests, permaculture, guild planting, espalier, intercropping, succession planting, hugelkultur, raised beds, wicking beds, vertical gardening, container gardens, lasagna method,  forest gardening, and the list keeps growing…. Learning how to implement many design and gardening methods together is one that constantly has my gears spinning in my head.

These get broken down even further when you go into what materials to use for a raised bed, etc.

Add to all of that the various seed starting, transplanting, grafting, rooting methods and it gets more interesting.

There are just so many wonderful, inspired ideas out there; I want to use them all haha.

I have some older folded sod near the plum tree in my yard. I am considering using it to try my hand at hugelkultur. That one is a newer study subject for me. I think this method and the lasagna method are similar in the sense that you can do this on top of your lawn if you wanted *from what I have seen thus far at least* though the raised hugelkultur bed might be a better option depending on the materials at hand.

Recently we picked up a 100ft tape measure for $15 that is a bit more flexible and durable than others we have found.
Soon we will be getting the dimensions of yard and actually drawing it out on graphing paper.

I also picked up a Utilitech grow light at Lowes for about $15. I am sure it is not fantastic, but it was more affordable for the time being. I am going to test out this one, and if it does well, I will probably need 1-2 more before Spring.
We decided I would use the metal shelving unit I have outside in the garden for my grow station this year to save on buying a less than desirable one this year.

Today I have also been focused on organizing a list for a food forest. I have listed out things I want and have under different categories for the food forest; The categories are: Canopy, understory, vines, shrubs, herbs, groundcover, root crops, edge plants.

By putting the different plants under each category *some in more than one* it allows me to get a better mental layout by thinking in layers. From that I will then break it down further into seasons *for starting seeds indoors/outdoors/transplanting*, areas of the garden, growing methods, succession plantings, what is permanent and what needs replanting, etc.

I want to get a map out of what I would like my urban homestead to look like in the end, and then alter the plans for what I can do with it now, with what I have currently.

I know a food forest is not much of a “forest” on .18 of an acre, but I still think of it that way.

There is a lot I need to consider with my design. It is both fun and daunting. I am sure things will start moving more once the areas are measured and accounted for. This is probably a lot harder for me right now as this is my first time mapping out a food forest landscape without any experienced help aside from online blogs, videos, articles.. Once I get it down the first time it will be much easier, or so I hope.

Getting things in order for Spring

There is so much to do before Spring here on the homestead. I am hoping I get to everything on the ever growing list that needs to be done, not to mention in the right order for those that are more time sensitive.

Here is our urban homestead to do list for this years Winter going into Spring:

1. Make a seed starting station.
        What I mean by that is more than just my germination station containers I like to use. I want actual shelving with lights and heating.

2. Sort seeds.
      I need to sort seeds by season they are started, by whether they can be started indoors or out.
      I need to make a list of what I need to stagger for seed saving (As in I cannot plant more than one tomato at once unless I isolate the flowers or the seeds will not be pure)
   
3. Garden planning calendar.
  A list of seeds for each month with the space needed for each to go into the garden calendar and layout.
  Harvest dates need to go into the calendar.
     Expected harvest amount needs to go into the calendar so I can compare with the actual harvest amount.
   I need to put down dates for seed starting indoors & direct sewing. Dates for consecutive staggered sowings will also need to be dated.
    Which seeds will reseed themselves, and which need to be replanted.

4. Measure the garden area.
      The whole area needs to be measured and put onto graph paper for the garden design process.

5. Design the garden layout.
    This is more complicated, since I have to actually make 3 years of garden layouts *Modifiable of course* But this is needed so that I don’t plant something somewhere that will hinder me in the following year. My garden size will expand onto the present lawn eventually, so the plans will probably evolve as my usable garden space does.

6. Check the compost pile.
    This is my first year composting, and I am not sure the compost will be ready for use in the garden this year early on or not.

7. Check into natural bug elimination.
   I will be using all natural home made pest control options, as well as I was told diatomaceous earth is wonderful for getting rid of those pesky bugs.

8. To till or not to till?
   I need to decide what actually needs tilling and what can be no till zones.

9. Treat the soil.
    Our soil has either not enough nutrients, or it may just be the bug problem, but I plan on livening up the soil at least some this year, with progress on it every year until it is to my liking.

9. Slope steps.
   There are areas on the slope that are not easy to walk around either due to steepness or the cheat grass not giving much footing. I have slid down it a couple of times due to this. We need to build steps and possibly level out certain areas for gardening.

10. Move new strawberry plants.
      Last year when my strawberry plants put off runners I let those runners take root in pots. I need to cut the runners from the mother plant (Oh how alien sounding) and put them in their final location. I literally had strawberries developing on the new little plants into November. I just did not have enough sunlight for them to turn that vibrant red.

11. Get a hose.
      Since my last hose burst, I will need to purchase a new one and seriously consider how water will be moved to various areas of the garden that are not easily gotten to.

12. Seed germination tests.
      I have some seeds I am not sure of the viability for. I need to run some germination tests to see if they will be going into the garden or not.

13. Plan out other months of my calendar year.

14. Think about upgrading the freezer.
     I like to freeze, as well as can, and dry, so having a non working chest freezer is not good. When looking into it, it seems that a freezer that gets power to the light, but is not getting cold, is going to be a more expensive fix than just buying one. I am putting this here because it is something I have to think about during Winter/Spring, but may not get right away. http://homeguides.sfgate.com/much-run-freezer-per-month-67647.html This website explains how much power a freezer uses. I am hoping for a energy efficient freezer. I may consider turning the old one into a makeshift root cellar, but I am not sure yet.

15. Gas furnace.
     We have to see if once we renew our health insurance, and account for all other expenses, if financing a new gas furnace is possible. Having all electric heat has posed some issues this Winter, and we would need to start planning ahead for it now, if we plan to do it before next Winter. Basically we need to see if realistically we can do it this year or if we have to wait.

16. Plan for alternative cooling options.
     While we use our AC during the warm months, we would like to use it less, and utilize other means of keeping the house cool.

17. Clean the house.
    This will be during both Winter and Spring.

18. Clean up the spent plants.
   There are plants that did not make it into the compost pile that need to be removed from their spots. The strawberry patch needs to be de-weeded as best we can.

19. Harvest roots.
   Any roots I did not get to, or happen to be useful as I clean up the garden, will be cleaned and dried for later use.

20. Make garden markers
  I really have to decide what kind of garden markers I will make this year.

Reflection of this year

It is amazing how much can change during the course of a year. This past year has been full of major changes for my family.

We got completely out of debt during the first part of the year (Earlier than expected I might add)

We both bought used cars that were a much better upgrade from the ones that needed a whole lot of work. One of which I managed to get for half what it was worth, because I am awesome like that ^_^

We bought our first house

I had my first garden that was not confined to just container gardening

We learned how to remodel aspects of our kitchen and paint large rooms

We learned what happens when the drywall is too thin (Kitchen cabinet falls down.. Though it would have whether we had moved them or not due to the walls)

My husband learned more about electrical wiring

We got to experience our first winter in our new home, and also learn what it is like to have all electrical heating (We will most likely be getting a gas line run to the house eventually to help solve that little problem)

We learned what weather stripping is and why windows need to be covered during the winter

We both got tablets this year, which has helped with a lot of other aspects of our lives.

Things with both of our jobs changed a lot. My husband used to be sent home a lot due to various reasons, which was not exactly wanted. His position has slightly changed and now they do not furlough him as often.
I went part time at my job at the end of this year.


My brother who lives with us has become fully independent, and it is interesting to watch how each individual starts their adult life with all the responsibilities it comes with.

We decided to make an Urban Homestead a reality when we were searching for a home this year, which was a major decision, since we passed up a lot of places due to most not having any yard space to speak of.

I started seeing someone for my anxiety and depression.

Had my first wisdom tooth extraction.

We put up our first painting. Previously we did not decorate much. It did not feel permanent enough to hang anything. I leaned a painting against the mantle of our old place but that was it. This year is the first year we actually felt something was ours and we should decorate it. That sounds like a small thing, but really it was a bigger deal than you might imagine.

We are both constantly learning new things and creating new projects. This is just some of the more prominent things that happened this year. I think life needs balance. I do not ever expect my year to be only filled with good things. We learn from both our successes and our failures. It will be interesting to see how many things we shall learn and accomplish in the coming year.

Garden planning, soil, and compost

I am fearing the garden planning and layout process. In the past I was the typical gardener that would plant wherever it felt right, and sometimes come home with more plants than I could find space for.

While I will not be planting every type of seed I have this year, I will need to actually go through and make a list of what I will plant, when, what to plant after that, and make sure not to plant the wrong combination of plants at one time that would cross pollinate to plan for proper seed saving.

My brother and husband have offered to help me measure the yard space, and then help sketch out the layout. Numbers and I have a love hate relationship… I am sure it is something I could not do so easily on my own and I am happy for the help.

This will be the first time I have designed a garden layout as well. I will most likely map out the full yard, and then start planting on just the slope area to start.

Worst case scenario, I have to stick to just the slope, and plan out as best I can as I go.

My biggest concern is making some kind of stair steps for the slope in certain areas where the ground is quite steep. I have slid down the slope many times due to poor footing or loose dirt.

Another thing I am trying to do is make a list of all the garden projects I am considering. That way if I end up with the right materials at random, I can reference my list, and know what project it should go to.

I will have to narrow down the list of projects, such as if I want a fire pit, solar oven/dehydrator, rocket stove, pizza oven, outdoor canning stove, etc.. Because having all of those is unneeded and would take up a lot of space. I could also combine some ideas into one unique one.

One project I am working out is my seed starting shelves. Part of my urban homesteading quest is to try and find ways to do things for little to no cost. I feel a garden should not cost an arm and a leg. Even if I had a lot of money, which I do not, but if I did, I would still go about it this way.

Right now I am trying to see if building the shelves would be more cost efficient or if I could find low cost or free shelving that would work for that purpose. I am also looking into where to find good lights that don’t cost an arm and a leg. So far Aquarium lights seem to be the best option with the lowest price. I am still researching though.

This is the first time I have lived in a home with all electric heat. Our heating bill last month was $81, and this month was just shy of $200… I am used to a much lower bill due to having gas heat. This unexpected rise in our electric bill does mean the budget for the garden will be tighter unless something changes.

We are looking into what it would take to get gas ran up to the house and convert to gas heating. We have a wood burning stove out in the shop that used to be in our house, but we aren’t sure what it would take to hook it back up, costs involved, and if our insurance would be ok with it. Previously our insurance company had made a remark about the stove. I don’t think we could have gone through them had it been hooked up, but I do plan to ask them. Downside of course is if we did go with a wood stove, we would have to store a large amount of wood… Using up garden space, and I do hear there are some pretty poor suppliers for wood here locally. Still, we are looking into various options, since even with level budget pay becoming an option around April, the bill will still be quite high due to Winter usage.  Next month they expect the bill to be $225. I only mention this all because this is apart of starting a urban homestead. You have to account for unexpected rising bills and change plans accordingly.

I think we will also be trying the bubble wrap trick with the windows to help with the escaping heat in the house. I hear it works quite well.

Other things I will need to tackle are the bug and soil issue. Pill bugs, earwigs, box elder bugs, and ants are a big problem I hope to naturally get rid of before it becomes as big of an issue. I was not able to harvest one ear of corn this year due to infestation.

The soil needs a lot of nutrients added. I am sure the soil and bug combination made for slow growing plants. I am not sure if my compost will be ready in time but I will at least have mulch, coffee grounds, egg shells, and I will most likely pick up some compost tea. If I can get my hands on some manure from friends who have cows, horses, or chickens, I will add that to the compost pile to age. I really do hope to turn my soil into something people tend to call black gold.

I am very new to composting and I find I am not always able to turn the pile by hand every day. If I had a tumbler (Which I am considering making at some point) It might be easier to do before work. I like the idea of layering it and leaving it, but I don’t always have enough of one thing to make each layer. I am still trying to understand how that would work. Maybe I will get lucky and having neglected my compost pile will be fine.. One can hope.

Thankfully with the big silver maple tree I have, leaf mulch will not be a problem. I didn’t rake the yard this year either.

Being that the snow hit us randomly with over 7inches, I also didn’t get a chance to cover my grape vines in time, so I am hoping they will be ok. I do plan to plant those in the ground in the coming year.

Seed packing party

So I have been finding ways to find seeds without spending copious amounts of money (as I so very easily could if I were not careful) and I happened upon a seed packing event for a local seed company.

At first I did not think I would make the event with the times listed, but then realized they had a afternoon and night time event for the three days the event was taking place.

I loved the concept of being paid in seeds to pack seeds.

The event was 4 hours long. I would have gone to the others but I had to work those days. Still, so very happy I was able to make the last night event.

SO many seeds! Oh dear I have never seen so many seeds in one place before. It is pretty awesome. We packed up so many different seed packets I lost count.

Someone brought pie, another person brought soup, and so we got to have some wonderful treats in between seed packing.

The deal was that we would be paid 5-8 seed packets per hour worked, roughly $15-$24/hr when you account for the retail price of the seed packets.

I had an absolutely lovely time, and managed to come out with 32 seed packets. Only one of which I got 2 packs of. I got to pick what seeds I wanted from I think it was something like 175 varieties? I honestly cannot recall the number she said it was.

 
The seeds I ended up taking home with me.

The wonderful thing about these seeds, is all of them are grown locally, all do well here, and I can save seed from all of these.

I hope to get good at saving seeds from any variety I plant that allows for it, so my seed bank will grow, and make up for any bad planting years to come.

I also got a chance to talk with the lady running it about a part time apprenticeship on the farm. I explained a bit about my situation, she explained a bit about the apprenticeship, and how I might apply. It is no for sure thing, but it would be nice to get some experience from someone who knows much more about farming than I, not to mention make some friends who love the same things I do.

If nothing else, they will probably have this seed packing party going on again, and I certainly don’t mind the work.

The funny thing is, only a few of these were on my wanted list. Sometimes it is hard to know what you want until you have a bunch of varieties in front of you. I got things that were on my list first, then added other packets from there. I think I came out with a really good variety if I do say so myself.

Here is what I ended up with:

Armenian Cucumber
Watermelon “blacktail mountain”
Green nutmeg melon
Popcorn “Glass Gem”
Zucchini “Black Beauty”
Soybean “Beer fried”
Aunt Mollys Ground Cherry
Parsnip
French Breakfast Radish
Waltham Butternut Squash
Scallion/Bunching onion
Tuxana Sweet Corn
San Marzano Tomato
Dr Carolyn Cherry Tomato
Red Zebra Tomato
Garden Breadseed Poppy
Mammoth Grey Stripe Sunflower
Blue Flax
Shungiku Edible Chrysanthemum
Motherwort
2pks of Broadleaf Tobacco
Purple Orach/Mountain Spinach
Winter Giant Spinach
Wrinkled Crinkled Crumpled Cress
French Sorrel
Heirloom Lettuce Mix
Smokin Hot Basil Mix
Dwarf Scottish Blue Curled Kale
Salad Party
Arugula
Cilantro


Here is a list of things I still want, minus what I have gained thus far:

 

Fruits:
Thornless raspberry
Wineberry
Salmonberry
Plum
Rainier Cherry
Golden Delicious Apple
Another apple type (Something like honeycrisp)
Muskmelon (Like cantaloupe)
*Other melons I have yet to discover** working on that
More grape varieties. I have 3 now, I want a few more types possibly.
Orange
Lemon
Dew berry
Salal
Porcelain gem vine *Edibility still questionable*
Peach
Nectarine
Asian Pear
Huckleberry
Blueberry (3 varieties)
Elderberry
Honeyberry
Wonderberry aka sunberry
Jostaberry
Mouse melons aka Mexican Gherkins
Lingonberry
PawPaw *Possibly*
Persimmon *Possibly*

Veggies:
Artichoke
Miners lettuce
Snap Peas
Brussels
Asparagus
Mushrooms
Potatoes- fingerling, red, gold, yams/sweet potatoes
Garlic (Has to come from a certified nursery here or it could cause white mold soil rot)
Cabbage
Celery
Banana peppers
Jalapeno
More winter squash varieties
Rhubarb
Horseradish
Sweet onions
Turnip
Sweet yellow onion

Herbs/Plants/Flowers:
Cleavers
Pineapple weed
Lemongrass
Bee balm aka bergamot
Red clover
Aloe Vera
Burdock
Ginseng
Comfrey
Wood Betony
Goldenrod
Vervain
Tea, Camellia sinensis
Passionflower
Damiana
Gardenia
Goldenseal
Jasmine
Day lily
Watercress
Goldenseal
Starry False Solomons Seal