We chose a house in the suburbs, on a dead end street, near the city. In search of balance, I aimed to create a mighty little urban farm. We raised chickens for eggs, grew vegetables in raised beds, herbs and flowers in the front garden, fresh herbs on the back deck, by the kitchen. We ride bicycles, recycle, reuse, and repurpose. We do our best to cook healthy meals from scratch, and to use non-toxic chemicals to clean (Primarily vinegar, and baking soda, and lemon, or some combination of the three). We try to avoid plastic, food dye, and sugar.
To live a simpler life.
Chickens are cool. Our first chickens were hatched in a fourth grade classroom. We ended up with six roosters, and ten hens. We rehomed the roosters, as the neighbors were not on board! We kept the hens. They had a coop, with nesting boxes, and a run. We fed and watered them daily, and they enjoyed our kitchen scraps. There really is nothing like a fresh egg from your very own happy hen. We dealt with raccoons and curious dogs. I once received a call that one of my hens was picked up from the parking lot of the bar down the street, and I had to head to the local animal shelter to bail her out! They were fun little pets. I became the defacto neighborhood bird lady, and neighbors would sometimes knock on my door if the spotted a turkey wandering the neighborhood. As a kid who grew up in the city, it was fun to delve into a bit of farm life.
In the summer of 2018 I was able to primarily sustain myself with the help of our gardens, and hens. February is a great time of year to begin seeds in New England, and can be a helpful tool in battling the winter blues.
Husk tomatoes are a favorite. We’ve had luck with allowing them to reseed themselves. The kids enjoy searching for the sweet treats to drop. They excitedly remove the delicate paper lantern-like outer husk, and find a sweet little yellow tomato inside. It’s like a little bite of sunshine on a summer’s day.
I’ve had great success with zucchini, prompting the creation of a million and one recipes for zucchini. Favorites include zucchini bread, zucchini latkes, and zucchini lasagna (where thinly sliced lengths of zucchini are used in place of pasta noodles).
Kale is a family favorite, and through much trial and error I developed a go-to recipe for kale chips. (Remove the rib, and cut the kale into roughly three inch pieces. Lightly coat the kale with olive oil, and a bit of agave syrup. add; salt, pepper, paprika, turmeric, parsley, and garlic powder. For more conservative tastebuds, adjust the seasoning accordingly. Spread the kale in a single layer on a preheated pizza stone, and into a four hundred degree oven for roughly ten minutes, or until they are crispy, and lightly browned. Enjoy!).
Lettuce is another easy one, and there is usually an opportunity for a second planting, which is fun.
Cucumbers are lovely, and there’s nothing like canning your own pickles. There were two seasons when I had a surplus of cucumbers, and really enjoyed making pickles. I repurposed the side rail of a baby crib as a trellis for the cukes. They grew up happily beside the tomatoes.
Sage, rosemary and thyme are some favorite herbs. They make themselves at home, returning year after year, in the shade of the rosebush, erupting with lovely tiny purple and white flowers. I like to start my day with a barefoot walk through the garden. Two sprigs of fresh thyme, one to rub in my hand, the other to tuck behind my ear. Sage between the fingers, sage behind the ear. The gentle sprinkle of the garden hose, a new day.
It was a joy to have begun transitioning our small space one Earth into a healthy habitat. this season I’m looking to transition lawns to wildflower beds, or at least sections there in.
For a time, I was the queen of quiche.
Ms. Is 