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urban homesteading in the pacific northwest

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Archives for March 2011

3March 31, 2011Life and Family by Erica

Lessons From Plants And Children

As my regular readers are aware, I am usually wearing my kiddo on my back when I’m gardening or building stuff.  This is not because I’m angling for an attachment-parenting mother of the year award or because I can’t be parted from my little boy for even a minute. No, it is because my almost-seven-month-old son…

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0March 30, 2011Gardening by Erica

Seed Starter’s Roll Call

Late March is the busiest time of year under my seed-starting lights. I’ve got assorted tomatoes and peppers up and growing right now. The tomatoes are nearing pot-up time but the peppers are slower to get up and go. I’ve also got brassicas which are pouring out and over their small 72-count cell-packs. It is…

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1March 25, 2011Homestead Animals by Erica

We Have Chickens! Meet The Girls!

As you may have heard through the Facebook page, I adopted a pair of chickens on Wednesday. As little as a week ago, the plan had been to hold off on chickens until next spring to give us time to finalize our mini-orchard and the gobs of other things around the ol’ homestead. And then…

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2March 23, 2011Gardening by Erica

Keeping Dry: Securing Tunnel Cloches

The past few days in the Seattle area have been so lovely, I think the weather Gods are apologizing for the veritable monsoon of rain that dumped on us two weeks ago. If you are not in the Maritime Northwest, you might be shaking your head right now, saying: “Seattle is called Rain City for…

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0March 18, 2011Cooking by Erica

Rosemary Salt Rubbed Pork Chops

The pork chops aren’t from the garden, obviously. But this time of year you need to be grateful for what you can harvest. And a year-round flavoring in my kitchen is garden-grown rosemary. I step outside the kitchen at least once a week and snip from the rosemary hedge alongside the house. I’ll cut a…

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0March 16, 2011Life and Family by Erica

Failing Vegetarianism

I used to be a vegetarian. The best thing about being a vegetarian is how much you learn about industrialized meat production and animal welfare issues. The best thing about being a former vegetarian is bacon. I originally chose vegetarianism primarily for the purported health benefits. Unlike some vegetarians, I never had an intrinsic problem with the killing of animals…

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33March 11, 2011Gardening by Erica

Backyard Orchard Culture: Too Good To Be True?

I have struggled for a few years with a desire to have more fruit trees than my 1/3 acre lot can accomodate. A third-acre is actually pretty big by urban standards, but only one-quarter of our property is given over to edibles. The house, driveway, paths, shady areas and kid’s play area (aka lawn) take…

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3March 10, 2011Food Preservation by Nick

Beer: A Historical Look At Food Adulteration

We tend to think of the problems of our age as new problems. Take, for example, food adulteration. When you hear about children dying from melamine-tainted infant formula it’s easy to conclude that the food supply is starting to go to hell in a hand-basket. Without minimizing the seriousness of modern food supply adulteration, I’d suggest…

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1March 9, 2011Cooking by Erica

My Simple Cast Iron Seasoning Technique

I’m partial to cast iron cookware. I also use stainless-clad aluminum pots and pans for soups and blanching vegetables and making oatmeal, but my daily-use pans are a set of five Lodge Cast Iron Skillets. I say ‘set’ like I went down one day to my local Williams-Sonoma and got a deal for buying the…

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4March 8, 2011Gardening by Erica

It’s Called Gleaning. No Relation To Glee.

I have a friend, the Shoreline Fruit Lady. Today is her birthday, so in her honor I thought I’d talk about one of her favorite things: gleaning. Fruit Lady is a neighborhood gleaner. She walks around her ‘hood with kids in tow and if she notices a big overgrown plum or apple tree in someone’s…

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3March 4, 2011Gardening by Erica

Be A Very Lazy Garden Planner

When I look out the window right now my garden has big bare patches that trick me into thinking I have far more room for fruit trees than I really do. When the rain is coming down and my infant is asleep, I like to stare out to the garden, imagining a wonderland of edible…

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3March 2, 2011Life and Family by Erica

Why The Hell Do I Put Myself Through This?

There are those days. Those days start at midnight when your 7 year old wakes you up because she has explosively vomited a four egg-and-cheese omelette down the side of her bed and the putrid mess has leached so far past the sheets that it has permeated the very springs of the mattress itself. You…

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