Our Little Corner Amid the Chaos

It's been a year and a half since I decided to carve my little .15 acre of suburbia into a homestead and turn our postage stamp plot into a more self-sufficient resource. In that time our family of four has managed to change our lifestyle toward a more simpler, organic one. Some changes are small ones, such as drying our clothes outside on the line. Perhaps our most dramatic change has been the addition of chickens to our urban backyard. I'm always looking for ways to live more frugally and work more healthy choices into the mix. Recently I've begun baking our own wheat bread, pressure canning food and making our laundry soap from scratch.

Gardening has always been confined to a few container tomato plants on the patio. This year I've decided to expand and have just completed four raised 4' x 4' planters in our backyard. I'll be trying my hand at square foot gardening and by the end of the weekend my 10' x 10' garden plot will be finished. The chickens will be so disappointed, poor babies, when the poultry fence goes up around the garden. I only hope I can keep the other pests at bay and bring in a decent crop. I have seeds sprouting and ready to transplant including: green beans, peas, cucumbers, squash, zucchini, radishes, carrots, spinich, swiss chard, tomatoes, watermelon, parsley, oregano, rosemary and some marigolds. Now that should keep me busy.