Dehydrating fruit

I've been experimenting with dehydrating apples and peaches in the oven.

I'm still working out the timing - not so dehydrated that they turn into crisps, but enough to prevent mold for a few months at least.

Unfortunately the resulting fruit is so yummy that none of it has lasted more than a week so far.

Parsley

This parsley plant was going nuts.

I hacked off all of the fronds...

And hung them up to dry.

Within three days my cat had decimated the ones that were hanging over the counter.

The bunches in the window seem to be fully dry and ready to chop up and put into spice jars.

Jackfruit seedlings

Last time I found jackfruit at the grocery store, I saved the seeds, soaked them for 24 hours, then planted them. 2 seedlings have come up so far. I'll have to baby them over the winter, but so worth it if they take off.

Rabbit quesadilla

Quick to prep and heat up once you have the ingredients. The chives were from my garden.

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.