Trio of Helpful Books

When this study of Permaculture, Urban Gardening, small homes, emergency Preparedness started, for me, I had not read much about these subjects and had no reference books. Now, we have DVD's, web resources and many books (hard copy and digital format) that we often refer to. So I thought it might be useful to share some of the resources that have been helpful.

The three books that I have turned to repeatedly are Urban Homestead by Kelly Coyne and Erik Knutzen,  Preparedness Now! by Aton Edwards and When there is no Doctor by Gerard S. Doyle, MD. The Urban Homestead book is a great reference for practical skills in an urban garden environment. It covers basics - garden beds, to rainwater to raising small livestock, etc.  The emergency preparedness book breaks down all of the possible crisis that could happen and what would be needed for each to keep your family safe and out of harm's way. The third book goes into taking care of general injuries and ailments should there be a situation (whether hiking, camping or war) where a doctor may not be readily available. One of the things that you have to take into account with all three of these books, is that they cover EVERY possible scenario, and some of it was difficult for me to read and think about, but in the day to day of life, most of the topics will not be necessary.

My thinking is that if you look at the worst case scenario and understand what may be required in that situation, and then plan for your specific family and location and the situation most likely to occur for you (for instance, we are most likely to have a blizzard, hurricane or tornado) then, no matter what happens, you will not be in a panic mode when day to day things occur.

It seems extreme to think of food shortages, gas shortages, water shortages, drought, etc., but in the past two years we have experienced all of these things in our country, and specifically the East Coast and New England have been repeatedly in need of help.

I don't plan to do surgery on anyone I know, but if we are out hiking and one of us falls and get a serious wound of some sort, I would like to know that I will be able to bandage it and act correctly to minimize the trauma and get to the hospital.

I don't plan to be without running water or electricity, but both of these things have happened unexpectedly in the past few months - a main water break in the city shut water off for all of us and then brought the possibility of contamination. There isn't any need to panic if you have a couple of  24 packs of bottled water on hand - most of us have this anyway.

Think through your day and ask yourself where you might be, what are the possible scenarios that you may have to deal with and throw an emergency kit in your car, carry a little flashlight to work in your bag in case you have to get out of a dark building or garage. Get to know your neighbors and your surroundings at work. Just be aware.

At home, we have a drawer of crank/solar flashlights and an emergency radio. Always there, we can find them in the dark if we have to. We have solar lights in the yard that can easily be brought inside if the power goes out. There are little things we can do to make a difficult situation easier.

I have talked before about our Go Bags - these are for the last resort, we need to evacuate our house situation. I don't expect that to ever happen, we cycle out the supplies every few months and refresh them, but I feel better knowing it is there if we need it. And if we go on vacation, we have a little travel bag already packed =)

We all have difficult times. Layoffs, pay cuts, prices of food increasing, gas prices, unexpected health issues, etc.  Being prepared is just smart. I'm not preparing for an earthquake, I'm prepared if one of us loses our job, or if the store doesn't have something I use on a regular basis.

For me, it is mostly about having all of my faculties about me if there ever is a crisis. I've thought about the worst, and appreciate every day that I have a regular, ordinary, amazing day without having to worry about anything.

Peace of mind, for me is the greatest preparation.

Living Sustainably in the City: Our Story

I was super encouraged when I opened the Jan/Feb 2013 issue of Countryside Magazine and found that the story I wrote about our first year striving to live sustainably in the city had been published. If you are interested in any of these topics, this is a great magazine that I have been reading for years. You can read the current issue online, but not the submitted stories, so here is what I wrote. I am so looking forward to the Spring and the new year and new adventures!

_______________

Dear Countryside,

I have been reading Countryside for many years. Long before I married, or owned a house, or even understood what sustainability is. I learned many, many tings about off-grid living, canning, homesteading, housekeeping, etc. before I ever did any project of my own. The information has been invaluable and I return to those back issues now, more than ever as our life gets more involved in gardening and sustainability. It has been in my heart and mind the whole time, and as November approaches, I will take out the November/December magazines from the past and read all of the ideas for this time of year. Starting with the newest, which I read cover to cover, I then scan through past issues to mark stories that I would like to read again.  

When I first started reading Countryside, what I remember is the feeling in my gut, that instinctive knowing that I was supposed to be working in a garden somehow and that the sustainable lifestyle was something I wanted to live. Growing food, digging in the ground, chopping kindling, whatever it meant, I knew I would one day have a way to garden. I had the desire to move toward a simpler life, but I still had the impression that I would have to move to Vermont or somewhere similar to have the space to do many of the things that homesteading and off-grid living requires.

We decided to live sustainably in the city instead of moving. We started by asking ourselves what was attractive about living in a place like Vermont? It is a slower paced life - we can do that here by making better choices with our time. I want to be able to heat and cook with a wood stove - so we installed the Elmira wood stove. I want to grow our fruits and vegetables - we can do that in the city also, with a little creativity and patience. We want our commute and work day to be as simple as possible, so we bought a house near our jobs and can walk if needed, but currently take public buses and carpool to commute. My ideal would be to stay home and put my full day of effort into working in the garden, cooking, writing, and crafting and I am working toward that by paying off personal debt and saving.

I once thought that we would need a lot of space, but that simply is not true. We live in Worcester, Massachusetts - one of the biggest cities in New England and the lot we live on is only 100x50. Many people, when seeing our home, had the first response of "what a great starter home". However, the first time we walked through, I knew it was a perfect, workable size for a family of four and there was a big enough space to spend time in the yard, and have a garden one day. When we moved in, there was extra space, and as we lived, we accumulated more and more stuff, to the point of needing a dumpster every year to cear out enough to use the house again. It isn't dirty or verge on hoarding, but a small space filled up quickly with two growing teens at the time, and with a creative family. We simply had too much, but didn't understand that we were participating in a consumer-based lifestyle at that time.

We started our journey of learning to be sustainable by taking care of structural and foundational work: first we replaced the roof, then we fenced in the yard. We added garden beds, fruit and nut trees last year, along with rain barrels. We also installed an Elmira Cooktop Stove, so we could heat and cook with wood. I learned about the stove in Countryside and we found a local stove place to do the ordering and installation. We stopped using the air conditioners and had the extra appliances taken away. We bought a new, energy efficient and smaller refrigerator and a new washer that is energy efficient and easier on our clothes.

It sounds like so much in a list like this, but really, we did one project at a time and then paid it off. This year we took a big leap and got energy efficient windows. Last night was only 40 degrees outside and it was still 65 inside. I am looking forward to the Winter with the new windows and the wood heat. If the house holds heat like it seems to right now. we will not use all of the wood we have stacked in the yard.

Our garden this year was an experiment in planting as many different things as we could to see what would grow best here. We were able to can potatoes, corn and carrots. We had a small amount of sweet potatoes. We also grew amaranth, peas, cucumbers, pumpkins, butternut squash, sunchokes, sunflower seeds, peppers, beans for drying and several herbs. Oh, and lots of cherry tomatoes, a few each day that we enjoyed with dinner. We learned a lot from our experiments! We will plant fewer things next year and only what we will definitely eat, with a goal of having extra to share with family and friends.

We also planted 5 different apple trees, 3 pear trees, an almond, 2 hazelnut, grapevines, kiwi vines, and several different berry bushes. They all grew quite a bit this year, but we have to be patient to see what they will do next year or the year after.

I am sharing this because I believe that we can all do something to be a little more sustainable and contribute. Rather than taking and using resources, how great it would be if we each could do just a little bit for ourselves! With each of the changes we have made, our energy usage has dropped and although it has created more work for us physically to copy wood, gather kindling, and care for the garden, the work is so rewarding.

Our city is currently working toward allowing chickens in the backyard here again REC Worcester is working for getting the approval in place. At the same time the Mass local food movement is growing. There are so many amazing pieces of conservation land that offer hiking, etc. One small place is near our home, so we became volunteer Rangers and help out that way by preserving the habitats near us. This gives us that experience of the open spaces of Vermont, while we tay right in our own neighborhood and city.

I don't believe that my backyard garden will change very much on any big scale of food growing or consumption, but I know what it has done for my mental well-being and the encouragement of our family. It is so exciting to see wild life in our yard (toads, chipmunks, squirrels, skunks, possums, many different birds, butterflies, bats, etc.) It has changed our world to be able to walk into the back yard and pick a tomato that we planted. If everyone could do just one little thing like that, I do believe that individual lives would be greatly changed. And if enough individuals are changed, then who knows what the outcome and effect could be in the world?

I am very interested in the Tiny House movement (imagine the smile on my face when I realized that I already live in a small home). I am also reading a lot about Minimalism and Simplifying my life, and at the ocre of it, for me, is the necessity to need less and have fewer requirements. I still have and use the technology that I enjoy and am currently donating extra clothing, household items, etc. to three different organizations that will get it to families that are really in need.

For me, I see that less things to care for gives me more time to spend with family and friends, more time to meet neighbors and be involved in the community and more time to garden.

I would love to talk with anyone who is interested in urban farming, sustainability, living simply and returning to the simpler way of life. Our story is here adventureonplanetearth.blogspot.com

and I am here: 

Michele Couture

34 Pilgrim Ave.

Worcester, MA  01604

Thank you!

Corn can grow in the city?

Last Summer I was going down Pleasant St. and saw a yard with 2 or 3 rows of corn growing! I have to say that this was really surprising to me and led to research and planning...because who doesn't love the taste of corn fresh out of the garden?

Our research led to the corn, sunflower, squash and bean bed and it is working! The sunflowers are opening and are huge, the Zucchini, Butternut, and Pumpkin all flowering like crazy and starting to produce fruit, and oh the beans...they are winding up around the stalks of the Sunflowers and Corn and every leaf we turn over has small flowers and beans under it! They are a small red Mexican bean that can be dried or canned. I would like to try canning them, just because I haven't done that yet.

beans growing up the sunflower

bean

Yesterday, we picked the corn and froze a couple of servings and canned the rest. Quite an amazing process to see. This year is an experiment to see what we can grow - and next year I will definitely include corn in the plan for the garden. Changing a couple of things would work better. The Sunflowers are ridiculously large and should be in the back row of the bed, with the Corn in the front so it is not shaded by them. The squash and beans are working perfectly so no change is needed for them.

Where it all began...

Today =)

Corn! Each plant grew about 2 ears of corn, some of the plants were stunted
by the Sunflowers

Corn! We were able to can 5 pints of corn and froze a couple of servings.

This is the summer of learning how to do all of this, and the vision of this corn (along with potatoes, beans, carrots, etc.) in a stew in the middle of Winter fills my heart with something that only going through this whole process can produce. Reading has been a great tool for learning the theory of how things work - but actually doing it, even on a small scale like we have, has given us experience that is invaluable.

First Zucchini starting to grow

First Pumpkin

You say potato...

A couple of weeks ago, we finished our potato experiment  and I am pleased with the results. I envision Winter: wood cooktop warming the house and opening a jar of potatoes to put in a hearty stew or curry. We have a few adjustments to make for next year, but all in all, this year was a success. It was difficult for me not to squeal every time a potato fell out of the soil...what is this magic that is gardening? I must know more!

Didn't know what to expect, but look! Potatoes!

From the straw only patch - we definitely needed more straw during the growing time

From the patch with soil...

Also potatoes! There were more and larger in the dirt patch.

Celebratory Curry - made with potatoes and peas from the garden :)

17 jars put away for Winter stews and curries and enough saved out
for a delicious red potato salad.

Lessons from this experiment? More straw, or more dirt - we needed both. There were many, many very small potatoes that just didn't have the time/space/nutrients to grow.

Next Spring we will be doing a 4x4 bed that can be raised with each level of growth and filled in with soil to get the most from our small space without a huge amount of work. After all, the whole point is to enjoy the garden and learn from it so each year is better.

I am happy with what I learned and also with the canning we were able to do. Each step we take in our urban garden, is a step toward sustainability. I find myself surprised quite often by how big a 900 sq. ft house and little piece of land feels.

It is quite magical...

Dusk in the City

One night this week, I sat outside at dusk and observed the yard and the area around me. The fruit trees are growing. It is so cool how they send out a little green shoot that grows and grows and then adds leaves and then - seemingly the next day - the little shoot changes colors and hardens off into a branch. There is no fruit this year, but they are very happy and healthy trees and will fruit when they are ready.

While I was sitting there, I heard the Cardinals chirping away and although we rarely see the female, the male sits on the fence or on a wire near the yard every evening at dusk. I've learned his song and try to find him in the trees around us.

The sun is setting, so I can see the swarms of various bugs that start to circulate out of the grass and trees where they have been keeping cool during the hottest part of the day, and then the Dragonflies arrive to eat the bugs. I saw one land that had a light blue body...something I had never seen before.

High above, and sometimes closer than I would like, the bats fly at this time also. I can hear them calling and see them flying around the area until they land in the chimney a couple houses from ours. I am happy to have put a chimney cap on our house last year!

Having these weeks home and sitting still for this long has given me so much time to think about what matters most to me. It gives me a chance to truly rest and heal my foot, but I think my mind needed just as much of a rest.

There is so much nature around me in the city to enjoy when I slow down long enough to see it! =)

First Fruits

Last night, the laughter of our "children" and their friends hanging out and talking filled up something in me that is emptied by the time we all spend apart and busy. It pleases me so much to have them enjoy our home as much as we do. A couple of drinks in the garden and laughter through the window. It's all a parent really can ask for - that their children get along and like each other, enjoy and respect the home they live in and are grateful. Everything else is just working out details...

Even though today is June 2nd, it is raining and only 60 degrees out - and tonight is supposed to be only 50! It reminds me so much of vacations when there would be a rainy day and we would light a fire and make the most of the rain. So, when the rain let up Rob & I went out to look around the garden and picked a radish for our salad! Then we got some wood from the shed and built a fire to take the damp and chill out of the house. It felt like a real day off today of sleeping in and hot coffee perked on the wood stove.  Time slowed down and rest so desperately needed with the rush of life lately. 

Our little cabin in the city is such a refuge from every storm.

This radish was sweet and delicious - nothing like the dried out radishes
from the store. 

If you have never grown anything - I would suggest planting radishes. Easy to grow and so delicious and good for you! 

"Small" Changes

Usually I post a lot of pictures and explain what we are working on - sharing and keeping a record. Today I just want to share another little victory.

Today Bird's Nest (Bottle) Gourds, Watermelon and Black Beauty Eggplant seeds pushed their little selves out of the soil. The torrential rains last night and the warm ground must have given them extra encouragement. Again, I don't know what will happen from this point on - but I am enjoying this moment. When you walk in the garden every day, there are obvious changes daily. Sometimes even from morning to evening, such as pea pods appearing out of a flower...

It seems so impossible that with a 100x50 lot (including the house), in one of the largest cities in New England, such a magical thing can happen.

If we can restore the conditions needed for plants to grow in such a way - letting nature do what she does, then maybe some other things that are broken would be renewed if conditions were changed - even just a little.

For me, a walk in the garden reminds me that even with all of its challenges - life is good...and when it isn't, just a small change can have a great result!

Signs of Life!

Last Autumn I planted flower bulbs and they have already come and gone. Beautiful Tulip, Crocus, and Daffodil flowers in Spring when everything else is so gray... 

I also planted the Sunchokes - or Jerusalem Artichokes - and had no idea what to expect. This week, pushing through the straw, the first signs that all is well in the Sunchoke bed and the experiment is off to a good start. Since this is the first time through with all of these plants, I am trying to document them to keep a record of how they look when they first sprout and also to recognize them should they start to sprout where we do not want them.

Sunchokes / Jerusalem Artichokes 

I squeeled like a little kid when I saw the Sunchokes were almost 6 inches tall! I only looked away for one day...

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We have two experiments in our potato beds. One with soil, straw and seed potatoes, and one bed with just the straw and seed potatoes.  Both have sprouted. The bed with soil is growing at a little faster pace, but who is in a hurry? Potatoes grown on the ground, covered in straw grow just as well so far.

Potatoes growing on cardboard with some soil and straw.

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The most recent bed is a 4x8 on the South side of the house. Space we never used for anything! Now it has sprouted corn and sunflowers. When they are 6 inches tall we will be planting beans and then 3 different squash plants to either vine out to the front yard or trellis - not decided yet. 

Bed with Sunflowers and Corn

Sunflowers Sprouting

Corn sprouting

The seeds took less than a week to sprout. It practically grows before your eyes!

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On April 12th, we planted our fruit trees - four different apples (semi-dwarf) and 3 pears (dwarf). In what is one of the most encouraging things to occur this week - the trees have leaves and one even has blossoms. We won't be letting them fruit this year, but knowing that they are growing and healthy and seeing those first flowers is a feeling that can only be described as having a full heart.  

Pear tree with a new little flower garden by the house.

Apple Blossom 

Two more Apples and a Pear nearest the shed.

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The view from the house.

Straw beds in the back left are potatoes - foreground (right) is dwarf pear.
To the left of the clothes line - are the apple trees and almond at the end of the  fallen tree.

During the past couple of weeks, it has rained quite a bit, and the river bed has been serving its purpose. We only have one rain barrel right now, and when it is full, it overflows into the riverbed - and flows on to the fruit trees. It's working well and we will be getting two more rain barrels to capture water on the other sides of the house to use in flower and vegetable beds there.

water gathers in the dry river bed and flows along the log to the center of the yard
and the fruit trees.

The past few months of work - bits and pieces here and there that suddenly seem to come together in this season and become a garden. More perennial plants will be arriving - Paw Paw Tree, Kiwi Vine, Concord Grapes, etc. etc. and there are more seeds to plant in the beds.  Each small thing that we start carries on by itself. Our part in this is observation and enjoyment. 

The first thing I do when I wake up in the morning is go to the window and see what has changed. Mushrooms spring up over night and are gone when the sun hits them, the plants get greener and greener as leaves open and seeds sprout. 

One of my favorite moments was when I saw a little sparrow land on the branch of an Apple tree and sit there. Barely a branch, barely a tree - and already the bird knows to stop by for the caterpillars. It works because it is supposed to. The cycle has always existed and will long after we are gone. All we hope to do is restore the conditions for Nature to work her magic...

Life is truly miraculous. 

Nasturtium growing around the herb garden.

Fruit Trees!

Some of our fruit trees arrived from Stark Bro's last week.

Here is the process we used to dig through the cement-like sod and plant them. And by we - I mean...I helped with two of the apple trees and then I was done. I was fairly pleased to help with that much. Rob finished the digging and planting which took 5 hours in the dark and somewhat rainy night to complete.

www.starkbros.com

Soaking the pear trees for an hour before planting

Soaking Apple trees

Garden soil to bulk up the roots once the holes were dug.

Digging around the hole where the tree will be planted.

 The area around the trees was cleared of sod and prepared to plant Nasturtium, vetch, clover, perennial Lupine around the trees to feed and shelter them and then they were mulched to keep the water we do get in one place and to help them grow.

Roots!

buried and watered in

Dwarf Pear is furthest away and then two apples.

After the trees were watered in, then more tree soil and mulch we have been "making" by our work in the yard was added on top of the mound.  A ditch was also added around it to hold the moisture and prevent grass from coming back into the circle. 

Two more Apples and a dwarf pear in the far distance near the house.

All of the pear trees are dwarf (8-12ft) 

and the apples are semi-dwarf (10-15ft)

They are all from Stark Bros :

Moonglow Pear - Dwarf

Stark Honeysweet Pear - Dwarf

Staring Delicious Pear - Dwarf

Starkspur Golden Delicious Apple - Semi-Dwarf Supreme

Starkrimson Red Delicious Apple - Semi-Dwarf Supreme

Starkspur Arkansas Black Apple - Semi-Dwarf Supreme

Starkspur Red Rome Beauty Apple - Semi-Dwarf Supreme

Next: Blueberries, an Almond tree, potatoes and planting seeds in the Herb Spiral. It's all an experiment and this is the busiest time we will have for planting and preparing and setting up the foundation.

Fun stuff! =)