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!!!