home sweet home sustainability

We are two months into this new year and I’m reflecting on my goals for this year and how well I’m doing with the idea of self-sufficiency. So, I wrote an entry last October talking about homesteading. Not even knowing we'd be in six months, I want to re-visit what I said. Hopefully I'll update with pictures, but then again it took me six weeks to write/finish this post.

A few months ago we moved into a new house. We have about an acre and a half now, most of it is wooded. We have a sweet little stream that runs through our property too. This place is heaven to us. It really, really is. I never thought I’d say those words about a house, but I feel like we have always belonged here. The spot of land that I want to turn into a garden is basically a raised bed that used to be a playground, it’s about 16ft by 30ft. From what I can tell, it does not get a lot of sun, it’s mostly shaded. But that’s the winter sun, so I’m still hopeful that this is going to turn out to be the largest, best garden I’ve ever had!

1. Grow our own food. Doing pretty good in the planning phase. January/February is the time of year I really do all my planning, so I’m hoping to do a separate post on this here soon. Having such a big garden is really daunting to me, but also exhilarating with all the possibilities that might happen. In the last post I said:

“My dream is to grow: peaches, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, okra, watermelon, tomatoes, mini tomatoes, squash, zucchini, pumpkins, peas, beans, and lettuce.”

I have already planted two blueberry bushes and a raspberry plant! I planted them in November, so I’m hoping they do well in the spring despite all the ice we've been getting. I’m not expecting any berries off of them, since it’ll be the first year. But it felt so good to plant them! I also have four strawberry plants from the old house that I plan on putting out there. It’s hard to pick where, with all of the shade. Hope we find a good spot! Right now they are hanging out in our dining room.

I am indeed planning on planting all of those other items, except for peaches. With such little sun, I know fruit trees aren’t right for us at this time. I’m hoping that over time we might clear a tree here or there and replace them with fruit trees. It’s hard to cut down healthy, beautiful, VERY tall trees. Also a little dangerous to try and just start cutting them. So that’ll come with time. The only thing I would want immediately is an apple tree or two. I have my eye on a spot.

2. Rain barrels. I think these are still an awesome idea, we just need to get the supplies. The garden is on a downhill slope, and since it is mostly shaded I’m not going to need as much water as in the past. The rain will not only come down on the garden, but also trickle through the ground. There’s always the stream, but I don’t picture myself walking up and down with a bucket. The stream does dry up here and there, it is pretty small. We also have a well.

3. Chickens! No, still don’t see it happening any time soon. Although I do think it'd be super cute to have our own little coop out back with three chickens! Out by the stream, under the motion detecting lights to keep away all the predators. Our neighbors a few acres away have goats, and have had chickens in the past. Good to know someone near me has some kind of experience.

4. Sustainability in basic needs:

a.      Well – got it!! It’d be really nice to get a hand pump, in case we ever lost power. My husband still thinks that's very "prepper" of me. 

b.      Solar panels – we are in a very shady spot, so I think the only place we could put the panels would be on the roof. That’s expensive, and I haven’t sold Mountain Man on that yet.

c.      Septic tank – got it! So thankful for it too. I’ve been really conscientious about what goes into it. No oil, very few scraps, not as much antibacterial soap and hopefully none soon, etc. It’s a very delicate ecosystem in there if you think about it. I want to keep it as healthy as possible.

d.      Hybrid cars – haha, no not anytime soon.

We have also started…

5. Composting! It’s really, really easy. See the post right before this one. 

6. Canning! Ok, well not the actual canning yet. My grandmother gifted us with a pressure canner and water bath canner. I bought a book, “You Can Can”  that makes the process seem less daunting. I’m really worried I’ll do something stupid and contaminate the food with botulism. The trick is to be as sterile as possible, and follow all the instructions. I’m good at cleaning, and can follow directions. Let’s hope our garden over produces!!

7. No more processed foods! Ok-we are almost done on this one. The things that MM eats are mostly bread and granola bars, the rest of what he eats is no or low processed foods. I don’t eat processed foods anymore, if I do it’s pretty rare. (And of course as I type that I remember I have leftover pizza from pizza night last night. Nice.) I know I said I have a bread recipe to share, but I want to find a simpler recipe. I have one earmarked, it’s a recipe where you make the dough in advance and keep it in the fridge for up to a week or so. That sounds more convenient! I also just need to try and make granola bars.

8. Getting rid of “stuff.” I mean ALL the stuff. All things that are not natural, that I have held onto for really sentimental reasons. Lotions, perfumes, hair products, things that I just don’t use.

Already sorted through: Old text books, furniture pieces we don’t use, old files we don’t need (check the irs website if you don’t know what you need to keep for taxes). We’ve gone through the box of our old childhood stuff that we each carry around with us. I have a few stuffed animals I’m holding onto for future kids, an old laptop I need to get rid of, and a ton of china dishes a friend gave away that I have just because they are pretty. But I don’t use them. And that just feels wrong! There’s lots of little stuff like that.  

Next: I’m going to go through jewelry and purses next. I don’t wear any jewelry, but of course knowing I want to get rid of it tricks me into wearing it again. I went through my clothes and shoes before we moved, but I think it’s time to do it again. Seen this article? http://www.abeautifulmess.com/2015/01/being-content-with-my-closet.html 40 items or less for a season, and I think that’s more than reasonable.

I also need to re-assess how many of each item I need. A few pairs of blue jeans sound reasonable, but I have four times as many pairs of sweatpants. That seems a little outrageous. And socks-I have so many! It’s time to pick out what needs to go, and not replace them this time. Socks make for excellent rags, Ha!

who, what, where of composting!

why compost? is it actually easy? aka why you should care about this!

1. Things in landfills do not degrade at an normal rate. According to bpiworld.org, "Landfill excavations have uncovered newspapers that are still readable after almost 40 years, ten year-old carrots that are brown on the outside and bright orange on the inside, and 20 year-old steaks with meat still on the bones." Ew.

2. North Carolina dirt isn't dirt. It's clay. And it's awful for trying to grow anything. You already paid for the ingredients, so use them.

3. For the two of us, we do not create enough trash to use a regular trash bag without having everything stink before it's half full. So we now compost and recycle almost everything, and have about two or three grocery bags of trash a week. So now we only roll the trash can out to the road every other week.

4. YOU CAN DO THIS ANYWHERE. It does not stink, when done right and I'll tell you how. So no pests to worry about. No, you don't have to buy worms to do this either. So yes, suburbia-you can do this too!! Minus the HOA.

how the heck do you start? the container

At the end of last year, I'd talked about composting enough to my husband that he finally sketched up a plan of how to build the container. We had some random wood pieces at the new house, and we just used what we had. I wish I had a tutorial or something to share, but honestly it was just the equivalent of throwing some boards in a kind of ordered fashion.

BUT: you can start with nothing. You can throw all your compost into a pile. You can dig a hole and use that. You don't need a container. If you have a rubbermaid bin, start with that. Cut out the bottom, so that it is open to the dirt. There are some insanely expensive containers, but honestly you would be wasting money. There are a few things your container/nothing needs to have:

• Slots/holes for air flow
• Open bottom so microorganisms and worms can enter
• Consider covering if you are concerned about critters (raccoons, etc.). They are smart animals, so slapping a board on top might not be the best top. You see our has inserts so it won't easily slide.
• If it is covered, consider having holes for water flow as you may need water to help decompose. 
• Location, location, location. Not too far to walk and dump your scraps each week/however often. Not too far from your garden. Not too far from a hose/water source if you need it. I put ours 20 feet from the garden, and kind of hid it on the other side of the garage so we don't have to stare at it. It's also close to the hose. 
• You will be rotating/mixing up this mixture. Don't make your container too big, or too hard to access. 
• Eventually, you will want two containers. One to add to, and one that's ready to use. 

These are awesome plans from Cornell: 

Wooden Box Bin, Wood and Wire Three-Bin Turning Unit, Cinder Block Bin, Cinder Block Turning Unit, Wire Mesh Bin, Snow Fence Bin, Garbage Can Composter, Worm Composting Bin, Compost Mound, Compost Pockets

now what goes into it? the 'ingredients'

This is the most intimidating part, I think. I spent forever trying to figure out how to do this. I would read about ratios, balancing different scenarios, testing....until I finally read: Kendra at a New Life on a Homestead's article. I had read it before, since I like to read blogs from first to last post, but it didn't really resonate the first time.
The second time, it was like I wrote the dang article myself.
So here I am going to describe the lasagna method of composting. For us, it is ideal.

FIRST
The bottom layer should be sticks. Not logs, but medium sized sticks to twigs and/or mulch. It will give the bottom of the pile air.

here's what we were collecting, but added more than what's pictured!

SECOND
Some soil.

THIRD
Add your greens, such as:

• Raw/uncooked fruit and veggies
• coffee grounds
• tea bags
• nut shells
• egg shells
• grass clippings
• dried, aged cow/horse/goat/chicken manure
• fireplace/wood ashes (not coal!)

the greens! 

FOURTH
Add your browns, such as:

• dirt/bark/mulch/top soil
• shredded paper/cardboard (not glossy paper)
• dead leaves
• hay or straw
• dryer lint
• wool rags or used leather (new leather will take ages)
• pet fur, human hair
• dead, non diseased houseplants
• untreated saw dust

dirt!

FIFTH

Continue on with the process: brown, soil, green, soil.

browns

TIPS (aka the sixth step)
Turn the pile once every so often (once a month to once every three) to help decompose. And it will depress any seeds growing from the ingredients.
Spray with water if it is too dry, but don't soak it. Water helps decomposition.
Do your best to change up your greens and browns.

NEVER COMPOST: 
Feces from animals that consume meat. (no dog or human feces) 

Meats/bones

Dairy products

Coal/charcoal

Anything with pesticides

Alcohol, oil, grease

A good rule: if you don't know, find out. It's better to hold onto something and research, than throw it in and hope for the best.

Any other tips or comments, let us know!

Homestead in suburbia?

I can't believe I published the last post without seeing that it was the 14th!!! Happy Three Month Anniversary honey!! It's weird to be counting our relationship by months again, after being together for over four years. It feels like the beginning all over again, except better.

So here are just some thoughts that have been sloshing through my mind lately....

What is homesteading? It’s the ability to live on your own, ultimately completely sustained. That was never my original intent. I just simply wanted to grow a garden that would cut down our bill, and provide fresh food that I could be proud of. What’s so hard about putting a seed in the ground and growing it?

You've seen our garden, but I haven’t really divulged my eventual dreams that involve homesteading. I don’t think I’m ready to try and keep cows, goats or pigs. I’m definitely not ready to slaughter them! I used to be vegetarian, before I found out I am allergic to soy and most tree nuts. Yep, definitely feeling like the pale nerdy kid with glasses. 

Based on what I've read, we have managed to start phase 1: grow your own food. It’s a small garden, and this year we grew tomatoes, mini tomatoes, okra, watermelon, cucumbers, onions, and strawberries. My dream is to grow: peaches, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, okra, watermelon, tomatoes, mini tomatoes, squash, zucchini, pumpkins, peas, beans, and lettuce. All the good stuff that we really enjoy eating! 

Last year:  Raised Garden Pt 1 Raised Garden Pt 2 Raised Garden
Two years ago: Apartment Jungle Update

On our current cute little less than ¼ acre, that just isn't going to happen, this isn't our dream home and I think the next home owner will appreciate that I'm not going to convert our backyard into one big garden.

Then I fell into the idea of homesteading while looking for a bread recipe. My mom used to make fresh baked bread in a bread maker when we were kids, and there is nothing on this earth better than fresh bread. Except maybe warm, fresh bread with fresh butter. Pure.heaven.

Finally! I can make my own bread! I have tried so many times, and each time it was very depressing. I have made focaccia before, but I’m debating taking the recipe down since I haven’t made it again since. I will share with you the recipe that I can make though, soon enough....once I try it one more time to make sure it wasn't a fluke. 

Now I think homesteading just makes sense. I don’t think the world will end tomorrow. I don’t think I need to get off my dependency from the government, mostly because I want my darn social security one day. (haha that isn't likely to happen.) I’m not sure what I’m aiming for here, just a way to make our lives simpler and easier on the earth. I’d like to give back more than we take, which isn't happening right now.

Ideas to take it further….

2. Rain barrels. It takes a lot to keep a garden green in the south, and it only makes sense. If the gutters are doing the work already…right? I lived in Australia for six months during college and collecting rain is a normal practice in Australia. For obvious reasons, but it seemed to follow the idea that its sort of wasteful to not collect the water.

3. Chickens! My Mountain Man (MM) says no, but I think it’ll be fun. At least Coco, our darling bird-dog of a lab, would enjoy it. I can see the fur and feathers flying furiously. Alliteration anyone?

4. Sustainability in basic needs.  This is a big one, and one that we wouldn't be able to tackle for a while, if ever. That includes well water, solar panels, septic tank, and maybe even hybrid cars. Minimal or no impact, and investments that end up costing nothing or even giving back a return.

Is this even realistic? Not really. But let’s think of what our needs are, and find a way to do them cheaper, easier, and just more thoughtfully. Water-get a well. Food-get a garden, plant some trees, and raise some animals. Energy-solar, wind, essentially use something other than coal.

Easier said than done. I’m on the hunt to find someone else who does this near us, so I can learn from them. You can’t believe everything on the internet, after all. This is a long journey, not a post with a simple conclusion, so if you've already done this or have a place for me to get more info, please please please share!!

my favorite garden blog: http://www.onehundreddollarsamonth.com/

my favorite self-sufficiency blog (not updated much anymore): http://newlifeonahomestead.com/