Update 2008-05-24

The brown thumb strikes.

My indoor grow-light plants are at about 50/50. I've probably planted some plants together that have different water tolerances.

I also added some arugula and some chives outside and moved the tomato plant out of the shade into the sunniest spot in my yard ... right by the mailbox.

Pictures to be added in the future.

Update 2008-05-08

I'm making progress, slowly but surely, in clearing the land. Today is the first day that we'll have rain since I started so I'll be able to see how much mud havoc I'm wreaking.

I think I'm going to have to remove most of the trees in order to make this work so that I

1. have access to sunshine,
2. don't have to constantly pluck pinestraw out of my crop,
3. can lay out the garden in organized rows.

It feels strange to be a tree-hugger who has just condemned most of the trees on my own land. I have to be content with the fact that I'll be growing a huge amount of plant matter.

One of the things I'm going to have to figure out is how to manage the garden. I'm considering putting up stand-alone sections of fence to provide a path for the vine-like plants. Is this a good idea? If I do this, should I orient the sections north-south or east-west?

I'm also considering putting fence up all around the edge of the property but not using it for plant support. The main rationale behind this is that I will need to be able to manage the neighbor's weeds such as English Ivy and the like crossing into the garden. Has this been a concern for anyone else?

I need to find a cheap source for containers because I won't be able to afford the containers at Lowe's, Home Depot, or Walmart.

Genesis of a Homestead

I was inspired to try urban/suburban homesteading by reading about The Path Project and other successful small-lot homesteaders.

Well, yesterday I started. Started really small but I started.

I decided to start by putting in a compost bin in the back yard. Rather than build one myself, I purchased a stacking recycle bin and started there (I can change in the future, if need be).

I've more or less neglected my backyard since I bought my house. I wanted to put the compost bin near the fence on the north side of the back yard so that it would be out of the way. I have been piling leaves and stick up in a compost heap but I haven't really been managing the compost. Yesterday, I discovered several things.

First, I have some really nice soil under the leaf pile. Lots of it.

Second, I had a nice little patio under the leaf pile and the really nice soil.

Well, rather than stop at simply clearing enough space for the compost bin, I decided to clear the entire patio off.

Having been inspired by my success in clearing the patio, I went out and bought a pot and planted tomatoes, jalapeños, cilantro and rosemary in the pot and placed it on the patio. I used soil from the bottom of the leaf pile as potting soil.

I also replanted my kitchen planters (it required re-moistening the soil). In the kitchen I planted peppermint, more rosemary, oregano, parsley, and cilantro.

Oh, I should probably say a little bit about my property. My house faces more or less due east. There is an addition that sticks off of my house at the southwest end. I have tons of trees, especially pine trees. The property slopes down to the north with the low point of the property near the basement door. The neighbors to the south have a chainlink fence along the back yards, the neighbors to the north have a fence across their back yard which doesn't cover the length of my backyard on that side. The west property line does not have any fences, although I probably need a nice tall wood fence there, most of all.

Unfortunately, my point-and-shoot digital camera is hiding from me at the moment so I don't have any photos of the progress to share. I will shoot some at a later date and post them back in this post.