Home is Where the Food Is
Hello fellow garden friends!
I've never been good at doing 'introduce yourself' first blog posts. They always seem like a job interview.
Look, I don't want us to interview each other! I'm assuming you like gardening, eating, and cooking. Possibly in that order. Which means that we're friends, right?
OKAY GREAT.
If you don't like any of these things, I highly recommend running away now, because you won't find fashion blogs, 'how-to-raise-your-kids-to-not-be-selfish-jerks-but-also-instagram-fashionable' advice, or even deep life lessons.
No.
You're going to find gardening advice, lots of pictures of urban gardening, recipes, and home(ish) making from a blue haired girl. That's right. home-making.
And I'm not talking 1950's homemaking okay?
Firstly, I don't have pearls (do I look rich to you!?), nor do I have high heels or hairspray.
When I say home-making I actually mean that quite literally.
Making things like raised beds for my own food, using glass containers instead of plastic, making my own cleaning products, cooking and canning the food I grow, sewing paperless towels, etc etc. Home-making.
Now, I'm a balanced person (haha not really but we can try right?). I like the natural world and nature and dirt and the 5 (8?) second rule for food that falls on the floor. I like candlelight, knitting, and hand sewing quilts. Guys, I own a working typewriter.
I also happen to, you know, freaking love technology? TV is awesome, washing machines are THE BEST, and so is air conditioning. You know what else is great? Fridges and computers and the internet.
I like to think that we can walk the middle of the road--be respectful of our food and grow it and save some animals (and maybe the planet?) while also enjoying modern things.
Halfway.
See what I did there? I bet you did, you're smart cookies.
My goal in life--if I was living my dream life--would be to have enough land (so like...half a acre to an acre) to raise 3 lil' nigeran dwarf goats, some chickens, some bees, and a dog and cat scattered around the yard. This of course would also include fruit trees and a veggie garden.
You don't need a bajeezus ton of land to produce enough food to feed yourself guys. You really don't. half an acre is huge. But that's what I'd love to have.
For now I'm stuck growing allll of my food in raised beds that live on concrete slabs in a suburb where sometimes my next door neighbor drunkenly yells he'd marry his cousin.
That's where I live.
SO JOIN ME! Join me in my learning adventure! I can't promise everything I do will succeed, or turn out delicious. But we learn more from our mistakes than our successes. And there's nothing funnier than peoples faces when they taste or see something horrible right? I know that's the sort of pics you want to see of me. Don't lie.
By the way, for the love of all the plant gods everywhere, I would love if you talked to me here. I love talking and learning from you guys. PLEASE TEACH ME EVERYTHING YOU KNOW and I'll do my best to spread knowledge too!
I've never been good at doing 'introduce yourself' first blog posts. They always seem like a job interview.
Look, I don't want us to interview each other! I'm assuming you like gardening, eating, and cooking. Possibly in that order. Which means that we're friends, right?
OKAY GREAT.
 |
| THIS IS MY URBAN GARDEN BEFORE ALL THE THINGS STARTED REALLY GROWING. BEHOLD. FOOD IN THE MAKING! Kinda? It's been rearranged a little since this picture was taken. |
If you don't like any of these things, I highly recommend running away now, because you won't find fashion blogs, 'how-to-raise-your-kids-to-not-be-selfish-jerks-but-also-instagram-fashionable' advice, or even deep life lessons.
No.
You're going to find gardening advice, lots of pictures of urban gardening, recipes, and home(ish) making from a blue haired girl. That's right. home-making.
And I'm not talking 1950's homemaking okay?
Firstly, I don't have pearls (do I look rich to you!?), nor do I have high heels or hairspray.
When I say home-making I actually mean that quite literally.
Making things like raised beds for my own food, using glass containers instead of plastic, making my own cleaning products, cooking and canning the food I grow, sewing paperless towels, etc etc. Home-making.
 |
| THIS CAME FROM MY GARDEN GUYS. I FREAKING GREW THIS STUFF! WHAAAAT?! |
Now, I'm a balanced person (haha not really but we can try right?). I like the natural world and nature and dirt and the 5 (8?) second rule for food that falls on the floor. I like candlelight, knitting, and hand sewing quilts. Guys, I own a working typewriter.
I also happen to, you know, freaking love technology? TV is awesome, washing machines are THE BEST, and so is air conditioning. You know what else is great? Fridges and computers and the internet.
I like to think that we can walk the middle of the road--be respectful of our food and grow it and save some animals (and maybe the planet?) while also enjoying modern things.
Halfway.
See what I did there? I bet you did, you're smart cookies.
My goal in life--if I was living my dream life--would be to have enough land (so like...half a acre to an acre) to raise 3 lil' nigeran dwarf goats, some chickens, some bees, and a dog and cat scattered around the yard. This of course would also include fruit trees and a veggie garden.
You don't need a bajeezus ton of land to produce enough food to feed yourself guys. You really don't. half an acre is huge. But that's what I'd love to have.
For now I'm stuck growing allll of my food in raised beds that live on concrete slabs in a suburb where sometimes my next door neighbor drunkenly yells he'd marry his cousin.
That's where I live.
SO JOIN ME! Join me in my learning adventure! I can't promise everything I do will succeed, or turn out delicious. But we learn more from our mistakes than our successes. And there's nothing funnier than peoples faces when they taste or see something horrible right? I know that's the sort of pics you want to see of me. Don't lie.
By the way, for the love of all the plant gods everywhere, I would love if you talked to me here. I love talking and learning from you guys. PLEASE TEACH ME EVERYTHING YOU KNOW and I'll do my best to spread knowledge too!
 |
| MY BEAUTIFUL COSMOS! .....Aaaaand a chain link fence. Classy. That's what I am. >__> |
I love your cosmos. I also would love what you said your goal in life is - veggie patch, goats etc ( I'm allergic to lambswool but goats wool - Yey! I'd love to spin wool ) And making my own napkins, cloths etc, putting things in jars, not plastic, I'm so with you on that one. I was always suspicious of plastic decades before they started putting 'BPA' free on plastic containers. ( I mean I thought it was obvious that microwaving your dinner in a plastic container can't be good but no-one believed me ) . I rent and despite living in a beautiful forest I don't have much yard that is suitable for planting things, also not sure what I"m allowed to plant, so I only have a few pots. I love to hear about what you are doing though. Great blog! And well written. You're a good writer! -Kim
ReplyDeleteAwwww thank you so much kim! I really appreciate that (given that my job is writing. Phew!)!
DeleteAnd right? I'm super sketchy about plastic--I try to do glass as much as I can--I'm making the transition to glass containers right now in fact! It's expensive-ish but worth it! :D
if you get lots of shade and not a lot of sun (and therefore aren't sure what to grow) things like broccoli, lettuce, and even carrots are a safe bet! If the only thing stopping you is being unsure if you're allowed to garden in the ground or build raised beds maybe just ask your landord? When I live in a cottage in the woods they allowed us to do that since they felt it added value to it! :)
Do you have a blog? Because if not you should! I'd love to read about your garden and your life! <3
No blog. I love broccoli. Limited sunny areas and no money to spend on garden beds and soil etc but I could always try planting in the ground in my little sunny corner. It's spring here, so I probs need to wait to plant broccoli. It' a winter veg I think.
DeleteOkay, I fangirled enough on Twitter, so now I have to stop by and leave a comment. I love this! I'm so excited to see what you post about. I love all things gardening and honest-to-goodness homemaking. Glass jars are my favorite and I love getting back to basics! Unfortunately, because I live in dry-as-dust Colorado, it is ridiculously hard to grow anything worth talking about, but I live in a tiny cabin in the woods and I try my very best! Mostly, the deer that roam around my house eat my plants. I think they think that I plant them just as a snack because I love to feed deer.
ReplyDeleteNo.
But it's so fun to see how much you're actually getting from your little urban farm! I've always wanted to blog about gardening and sustainability and such, but the closest I've ever come is adding a post on my blog about the oak tree I planted. Oh well. LOL. Hope your blog goes well, and your garden too! Definitely bookmarking this link for future pleasure. :D
Hi Abigail! Awww thank you so so so much for leaving a comment here and also talking to me on twitter omg! I'm pretty sure you can subscribe to this blog so you get notified when update! :D
DeleteBUT LET'S TALK ABOUT YOUR GARDEN! Is your cabin in the woods completely shaded and gets no sun? Do you guys get rain or snow? In my head Colorado gets snow and rain! Lol! ALSO there are TOTALLY WAYS TO KEEP DEER AWAY AND I CAN TELL YOU ABOUT THEM if you want!
And you know, sustainability is also how you repurpose stuff or make your own things rather than going to the store for them, or making earth-friendy cleaning products (that's what I'll be blogging about sometimes!). I'd love to read a blog you write! :)
I definitely subscribed, but for now it doesn't seem to be working. However, I have bookmarked the site and am checking back very regularly. Your writing style is wonderful! I can already tell that coming to read your blog is going to be a serious stress reliever for me. YAY!
DeleteMy garden gets sun, sun, sun! Unfortunately, Colorado has two strikes against us. Altitude (I live at about 7000 feet) and drought. LOL. When it rains, I go watch because it's so rare! We basically live in a high desert. I've seen yaks grazing in someone's pasture. No joke.
Any tips to get deer away from my plants would be greatly appreciated!
Sustainability will probably have to be mostly animal related for me, at least for now. I live next door to my family on a thirty-five acre ranch, so I've got fresh dairy and eggs whenever I want them! I make my own butter and my dad makes fresh cheese, which I help myself to. My plants inside do well, but outside... not so much. I can coax ferns and things like that to flourish, but the moment I touch anything remotely edible, it dies. HAHA. Oh well. Someday, I swear I will make it work.
Oh! I do blog a bit, but not about sustainability. Mostly book reviews and short stories, although I'm trying to branch out into tiny house living and my author adventures. The link is http://ramblings-of-an-obsessive-bookworm.blog incase you want to check it out.
DeleteOH MAN. NO, I super feel you! I don't live in CO, but I live in Southern California where 'drought' is 'normal, everyday life'. I know a lot about water collecting (even though it's illegal here in SoCal, or was until juuuuust a year or two ago, if I recall correctly) so if you can also do water catchment then you can garden!
DeleteOkay for your deer problem: Here is a blog/link to the BEST advice I've found--lots of ideas! Personally, from watching a LOT of youtubers who homestead out in the country, the easy, moveable (and inexpensive) electric fence seems to work the best. https://savvygardening.com/deer-proof-gardens/
AND WHAAAAAAT! OMG. PLEASE TEACH ME YOUR WAYS OF HOW TO MAKE CHEESE AND BUTTER OMG. Also soooo luuuucky! Does your dad have a dairy farm??
Is your land cleared a little and gets decent sun, or is it really really shady? If it's super shady you might want to think about thinning out the forest a little around you (also you can then use the wood to make raised beds and fences!).
Also, you should totally try growing lavender! That stuff is really hardy AND you can use it for lots of stuff AND deer don't like it! :D