Thanksgiving

UPDATE:

A while ago I talked about a posting blitz and I wanted to apologize that it has not happened yet. In early December our youngest son severely broke his arm. Two surgeries later he is doing much better but it did put me behind in updating about the CityFarm. I have a passion for preparedness and living off the land.....I am excited to continuing to share this passion with you. Thank you for being loyal readers!



I know that it has been quite a while since my last post and I apologize. So much has been happening here at the CityFarm that I have felt overwhelmed but grateful. A posting blitz and updated pictures are on there way in the next few days. I will update all harvest tallies as well.

Thank you for your support and patience while I took some time to catch up on things around the farm. We are very grateful this Thanksgiving for all of our family and friends. You are our world and will always be in our thoughts, hearts and prayers.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!!

A Picture Post from the CityFarm

Here are a few pictures of things still growing at the CityFarm.....

Peaches galore.....can't wait for a few more weeks and we will be enjoying many dishes featuring peaches

Apples have also done well this year and should be ready for some applesauce and apple butter in a few weeks

Grapes are finally starting to look big and beautiful!

We have a few pumpkins hiding in the patch :)

Yummy watermelons......hopefully it will taste as good as it looks!

These are just a few of the things still producing here on the CityFarm. I will talk more soon about our second plantings that are going on. We feel like it is so important to maximize the planting time we have. Happy Planting :)

Preserving the colors of summer

With such a bountiful harvest in July I am rapidly working on preserving the colors of summer. I love, in the middle of winter, pulling out a jar and being reminded of the wonderful things summer has to offer. The colors, flavor and smells.

So far the CityFarm has preserved Beets, Zucchini, Dill Pickles, Apricot Preserves and Apricot fruit leather........and so much more still coming! What are you preserving to remember this beautiful season?

July Tally

The official harvesting has begun.....Take a look at our tally for the month. We have truly been blessed to have such a bountiful July. Hopefully August will be even better!

Apricots - 23 lbs 6.0 oz

Beets - 3 lbs 5.90 oz

Carrots - 1.7 oz (pulled one as a test)

Cucumbers - 5 lbs 14.70 oz

Green Beans - 8 lbs 6.50 oz

Zucchini - 118 lbs 8.20 oz

Pattypan Squash - 1 lb 14.50 oz

Peas - 5 lbs 5.50 oz

Peppers - 1.00 oz

Raspberries - 1.30 oz

Red Potatoes - 41 lbs 5.00 oz

Strawberries - 5.60 oz

Tomatoes - 6 lbs 14.00 oz

Turnips - 4 lbs 12.50 oz

Yellow Crookneck Squash - 19 lbs 11.90 oz

Yellow Onions - 6.60 oz

Yellow Straightneck Squash - 41 lbs 2.54 oz

Yukon Gold Potatoes - 15 lbs 7.00 oz

Total Harvest: 297 lbs 2.44 oz

August should provide us with a lot more tomatoes, squash and fruits. Happy Harvesting!!!

It won't be long until they are all gone....

Have you ever stopped to wonder why we have an endangered list for some animals but not for other animals or crops. Did you ever think we would need such a thing? Take a look at the following article about endangered crops and animals....it is an eye opener. I don't think I will look at most turkeys the same way :)

Click here to read more....

I would love to know what you think!

How useful is your yard?

One of the main things that I love about veggie gardening is how something so wonderful comes from something so unexpected.

Baby grapes from our garden. A prolific plant that in spring transforms from dead looking vines into a jungle of leaves and baby grapes. It is amazing to watch it change daily.

Banana Peppers. How such a small plant produces such large, beautiful peppers is a beautiful thing!

The roses we grow not only get dried for different fragrances, etc. but our chickens also enjoy to munch on them.

Edible and useful plants come in such a variety of forms. One of the challenges of transforminga "normal" grass filled yard into a CityFarm is that neighbors assume that it will be ugly or unsightly but, on the contrary, it can be one of the most beautiful yards around.

No yard is perfect and we are all constantly improving but it is amazing what just one productive plant can do. Take a look at your yard and see where you might be able to feature some of these beautiful and useful plants!

Breathless Moments

There are just those perfect moments that take your breath away. Recently, while working in the garden after a brief rain shower, I looked up to spot this amazing rainbow that seemed only feet away. We stood and watched it for awhile.....to enjoy the majesty of nature all around us. How many moments a day are we blessed with beautiful images such as this that we don't take the time to actually see?

The following quote inspires me to take a moment and let my breath be taken away....I hope it inspires you as well.

"It's not what you look at that matters,

it's what you see."

Henry David Thoreau

Another Picture Post From The Farm

The summer squash is here and we get to enjoy those beautiful flowers

Flowers on the Royal Burgundy Beans.....Purple beans are so much fun!

Onions, Onions and more Onions

Peas galore....we will be picking these today too!

Carrots, Turnips and Beets....Remember how they looked a few weeks ago....take a look on a previous post and see how they have grown.

My how things are growing fast. Looks like I will be canning beets this afternoon so I will post pictures of that adventure soon. Happy harvesting!

June Tally

Okay....after a wet and dreary June here are our harvest totals for the month.

Strawberries - 11.4 oz - Not too bad for their first year

Radishes - 6 lbs 9.6 oz

Turnips - 2 lbs 2.3 oz

Zucchini - 14.1 oz

June Total - 10 lbs 5.4 oz

We have already harvest more than this amount for the month of July and it is only the 7th.....happy harvesting!!

Small changes

It is amazing what small changes can produce.

In our backyard we removed a small piece of grass....2' wide.....along the length of the fence. That small amount of grass will never be missed but oh what results that space has produced.

In that area we now have 15 tomato plants, 5 squash plants and 5 cucumber plants. The squash and cucumber will trellis up the fence and we have already started harvesting red, ripe tomatoes.

Take a look at your yard and use a piece of ground, no matter how small, for something productive.

Chicken Coop -- Making the most of what you have

The purpose of backyard chickens is to produce a supply of healthy homegrown eggs and fertilizer while saving money.  To do this we transformed a run down shed on our property to their new home.  By using things we already had we made them a home for less than $40.  Take a look at our before and after pictures.  Comments and questions are always welcome!

Before

Before

After

The window allows plenty of light and circulation.  You can also see a few nesting boxes and plenty of branches for roosting.

After

Our backyard chickens have been an amazing experience and I recommend it to anyone wanting to get back to life as it was.

A fun challenge!

A new challenge that I am participating in is a Home Audit. So many times in life we forget to look around and evaluate what we are doing.

Is there a more efficient way to do this? Could we save money on that?

So many items in our daily routine become a habit when there may be a better way....a simpler way....a more economical way. This challenge involves several steps that help "Audit" our homes and lifestyles. The first part starts with one week of no spending. NOTHING!! Not one dime. Could you do it???

You can find out more at: www.down---to---earth.blogspot.com

Join me in changing our homes and lives for the better!! Let me know if you are taking the challenge!

Stock up now....It is only a matter of time!

We struggle paying $3.00/ gallon of gas now but imagine when bread will cost $8.00/loaf. According to some recent information published in the Los Angeles Times that day is coming all to soon. They project that 80% of the worlds wheat storage/crops will be destroyed. I suggest we all spend a few extra dollars now to store some extra wheat and flour now to avoid the panic later. You can read the full article by following the link below.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-sci-wheat-rust14-2009jun14,0,1661589.story

"If ye are prepred ye shall not fear" Doctrine and Covenants 38:30

Picture Post From The CityFarm

Peaches and Potatoes
Carrots, Beets and Turnips....Oh My!

Another new addition to the farm....Tiger!

Chickens - June 2009

Chickens - March 2009 -- How they do grow fast!

More pictures coming soon!!!

Family....

It is amazing how when life gets you so busy in the day to day items that we forget how important family is. We had the opportunity to go to a family reunion over the weekend and spend time with family we haven't seen in almost 7 years. We laughed, played games, slept in tents and most of all remembered the love we have for each other. In those moments....watching the interaction of those we love....that I remember what life is really about. It is not how much money we have, or how many sports we play, or how our home looks....but it is those connections we have that will continue with us. It is truly the only thing that we can take with us from this life. I am so grateful for my family and have made a commitment to myself to build those relationships of love. I hope that you will do the same. Take 5 minutes and write a letter to someone in your family. Chances are it will mean more to that person than you will ever imagine.

Another day in the neighborhood

Although we have been experiencing way more than normal rain for June the majority of our crops are doing well and producing yummy veggies. Here is a picture of a few of our champion radishes. They were used in a variety of dishes for our family and our chickens enjoyed the tops. Recipes will be added soon so everyone can enjoy.....so please send me any good recipes you have and I will share with the group.

Our kids are slowly but surely learning the love of dirty fingernails. Spending hours pulling weeds, planting new seeds and the amazement of watching them grow. Our middle son, who is 8, loves the harvest. Everyday he asks what he can "pull" and he will giggle like a schoolgirl as he feeds the chickens and they nibble at his fingers. That has been one of the biggest blessings we have received from winding back the clock, per say, and teaching the kids how food really works and where it really comes from. Watching it go from seed.....to plant.....to plate. Happy growing!!

Let's Get Growing!!

There are so many things happening on our little "farm".  First let me tell you about our land.  We live outside of Ogden, UT on a larger lot for the city.  Our home is on .43 of an acre.  When we moved to our new home in August of 2008.....we realized very quickly that it had been neglected for about 7 years.  So for quite awhile we have been working on one project after another.  The large garden was a beauty about 10 years ago but has been home to little more than weeds for about 7 years.  We decided to change all that!  We are working on a goal to only eat what we can produce in our garden or barter for during the summer 2009.  I have a goal of producing around 1,000 lbs of eggs, fruits, herbs and vegetables.

Right now we have the following planted.

• Yukon Gold Potatoes
• Red Norland Potatoes
• Red Pontiac Potatoes
• 2 Peach Trees
• 2 Apple Trees
• 1 Pear Tree
• 1 Apricot Tree
• 1 Blueberry Bush
• Raspberries (5 varieties)
• Huckleberries
• Boysenberries
• Grapes
• Zucchini Black Beauty
• Gold Rush
• Zucchini Elite
• Pink Banana Jumbo Squash
• Pink Banana Squash
• Waltham Butternut Squash
• Sweet Meat Squash
• Green Hubbard Squash
• Blue Hubbard Squash
• Table King Acorn Squash
• Delicita Squash
• Sunburst Hybrid Squash
• Straightneck Squash
• Crookneck Squash
• Spaghetti Squash
• Sweet Dumpling Squash
• Sugar Baby Watermelon
• Buttercup Squash
• Orange Smoothie Hybrid
• 4 varieties of Bell Peppers
• Swiss Chard
• Spinach
• Brussel Sprouts
• Strawberries (5 varieties)
• Cilantro
• Lavender
• Parsley
• Dill
• Rosemary
• Thyme
• Basil (2 varieties)
• 15 Tomato Plants
• Burpless Cucumbers
• Straight Eight Cucumbers
• Radishes (6 varieties)
• Beets (2 varieties)
• Red and Yellow Onions
• Shallots
• Leeks
• Turnips
• Rutabagas
• Lemon Cucumbers
• Hale's Best Jumbo Cantaloupe
• Giant Pumpkins
• Asparagus
• Sugar Snap Peas
• Bush Beans (4 varieties)
• and the list goes on.....I know that I am forgetting something.....

I am tracking what we harvest for each variety so I will keep you posted :)  Above you can see our apple blossoms that we enjoyed for several weeks but have since long gone.  Now we are looking forward to a great apple harvest this year.

Life 101

My life has been an interesting learning experience in many ways. All of those things that I have learned have lead me to create this blog and journal my experiences because I believe that we can all touch another life and hopefully help another in their journey we call life.

My desire is to simplify. My life, my home, my cooking.....my everything! In the last few years I have seen the many changes and terrible things that are taking place in our world and I hope that by becoming more self-sufficient I can prepare my children to tackle things that I was unprepared for. When I had my first child at 16 and moved out of the house I didn't even know how to scramble eggs. I was a cooking mess but, through a patient husband, I experimented until I was creative in the kitchen. Now I am having all of those uneasy feelings again as I learn how to cook from scratch and from my garden only.

Join me on this journey as I work on growing a garden, growing some chickens, homeschooling my children, sewing our own clothing, cooking from scratch and trying to live the life of the modern pioneer.

I would love you hear from you about your journey as well!!!