Papaya

There was nothing left of the papaya a few hours later.

Starting at bottom, going clockwise: Welsummer, Ameraucana, Black Australorp, Gold Laced Wyandotte, Rhode Island Red.

Reusing fencing

Urban Ore regularly has old fencing and gates available.

I wish I had a friend with enough space to let me stockpile building materials until I get my homestead.

Urban Farm Tours in Hayward

The Institute of Urban Homesteading branched out the popular Urban Farm Tours to Hayward this fall. This was my first time attending a tour. I wanted to see how different people made use of small spaces (though some of the properties were multiple acres), and how the techniques I'd read about really looked when put into practice. Here are pictures of some of the things I wanted to remember for my future homestead:

Homemade greenhouse - wooden frame and plastic walls, plus a real glass door.

Tiny greenhouse made by stretching clear plastic over an existing frame. On the left, a raised bed delineated by extra cinder blocks.

This raised bed took advantage of old bricks.

And this one simply used stones.

Vegetables planted straight into rotting hay (had been left out in rain).

Tarp/plastic making a planter out of a shopping cart. Makes it easy to harvest tubers, and keeps highly invasive plants contained.

Using a shade cloth to grow leafy greens that can't tolerate full California sun.

C-shaped bed maximizes planting area while keeping everything within easy reach (like a keyhole bed).

Another c-shaped bed.

Failed experiment at using old rain gutters as strawberry beds. Cool idea for vertical gardening, but the high surface area allows the soil to dry out too quickly in a dry climate.

Successful trellising of tromboncino squash. These things were HUGE.

There's nothing to show scale here, but these bamboo shoots were at least 10 feet tall. Bamboo tends to be highly invasive, but it does create a great visual barrier, shade, and construction material.

This passionflower vine was growing onto a rope extending across the yard, and starting to make a living curtain. Great visual.

Fences don't have to be expensive, if you use scrap materials.

Sheer height is what's needed for keeping deer out.

A pop of color makes everything look great.

Gates can also be made from bamboo or scrap materials.

Reused outdoor sink.

Composting: top bin for depositing fresh stuff, middle bin for the hot pile in process, and bottom bin for finished black gold.

How cute is this?!

By later afternoon it was chilly and we were surprised by a drizzle. This fire felt SO nice. Even though the Trivalley is in triple digits in the summer, I get cold easily, and an outdoor fire pit would be a nice play to sit by during winters on my future homestead.

Zombie Victory Gardens

Are you prepared for the zombie apocalypse?

 

"Zombie Victory Gardens is your source for gardening guides, tips, accessories, entertainment, and more both before and after the zombie apocalypse. We’re here to make gardening easy and to give you a long term survival plan that is both feasible and fun."

They also have great posters:

More mushrooms

No idea what variety. I'll let them dry up and compost right back into the strawberry patch.

Rabbit jerky and fur

I made some rabbit jerky by dehydrating in the oven overnight. I didn't flavor it since I wanted to first test the technique, so it's pretty bland. I ate a bit but mostly I'll use this batch for dog treats.

On the plus side, it's a good way to use up the belly flaps of the rabbit, which some people love but I think are too tough.

Meanwhile, I have 4 skins that have finished drying and are ready for whenever I'll have time to work with them.

Blush tomatoes

I kept waiting for these to finish ripening, but then I realized that they don't turn red!

The flavor is disappointing -- too mild, with a lot of flesh. I won't be buying this variety again.

Clarifying

Last month I went on a vacation to Maui for a week with my family. Yes, the vacation was relaxing, and Maui is of course beautiful. I really enjoyed snorkeling and seeing the lovely landscapes. But I got something else out of this vacation that I hadn't been expecting, and that was a renewed sense of purpose and eagerness to return home and get back to work.

I'm already on my way toward my dream life: my dog training business is doing well, my own dog is progressing toward a successful competition career, I have chickens laying plenty of eggs, and a little garden to supplement my diet. I'm in the process of learning about meat rabbits and practicing skinning rabbits, cooking the meat, and working the hides. These are all steps along the way to my dream life. Here is what I want to do:

- Buy land - I want to buy so that I can implement long term land use strategies that will improve soil health and allow me to select for plant and animal genetics that are well suited to the micro-climate of the place I'm in. I would prefer to find land that is close to the Trivalley, but I would be willing to relocate to another area as long as I'm close to a large enough city to rebuild and sustain my business.

- Live in a tiny house - They're adorable, they encourage a simple life and time spent outdoors, they're easier to maintain than a larger home, and are easier to customize. I like the tiny houses on wheels but a small cottage on foundation would be fine, too.

- Train dogs on my own property - I could do "board and train" as well as private lessons and classes. I want to build up my reputation as a sport dog trainer, in particular. In an ideal situation, I'd have a fancy training building large enough to host small events, but in a pinch, a simple barn would do to give us a controlled training area for privates.

- Large fenced dog run - For my own dogs to run around in, and to rent out as a private dog park.

- Grow as much of my own produce as is practical.

- Raise more chickens for eggs and meat. If I have clients coming to the property, they're an easy market for extra eggs!

- Raise rabbits for meat and fur. I have plans for the fur.
- Alpacas - possibly, lower priority, but I'm considering getting alpacas for their excellent fiber. Maybe not if I end up in agricultural zone 9b.

The big thing holding me back from achieving all this? Money, of course. I feel like once I had land, all of my ideas are achievable. Not easy, of course, but achievable. So I'm doubling down on building my business and taking on clients. In the meantime, I'm researching topics like fruit and nut tree care, water catchment, soil health, rabbit care, and permaculture principles and associated techniques. And I'm putting what I can into practice.

One other aspect to consider is that it makes more sense to buy more land and pay less per acre, as the extra land can be utilized in multiple ways:

- lease land to other homesteaders and/or tiny house owners, or farmers who will take care of the land according to my principles

- private campground for rental

- use for other types of livestock (either my own or lease out pasture)

- grow extra produce and do "u pick"

- plant lumber trees for future harvest

- tree nursery

- cultivate nice area and rent out for events, weddings, parties, kids' camp, classes

- agritourism

So with this update completed, let's get back to work!

Productive Ameraucana

The Ameraucana had a streak of laying one blue egg a day for 12 days. She took a break today.