Not your average bear

Click here to see more Savage Chickens

Unbeknownst to us, and without any effort whatsoever, we have become what some may consider to be a bit unusual.

Could be the front lawn's slow metamorphosis itself into tomato central. Maybe it's the request that our neighbors save all their kitchen scraps? I'm sure it has nothing to do with rabbits, worms, fly control, or at any given time we could be found in our pajamas with cowboy boots and hats picking arugula seeds with a chicken on our backs who apparently has taken it on herself to sing the poultry national anthem at six in the morning.

Unusual for city folk? Maybe...

For more info on us, click Arizona homestead and homeschool.

Edible Flowers

When making the transition from casual gardening to homesteading, one of the hardest things was dealing with the aesthetics of it all. Because we live smack dab in the middle of the city and want to keep farm animals, we have to be very careful with how Casita is planned and maintained. Though we have very cool neighbors who have been supportive thus far, they may change their tune if they come home one day and we've replaced the front lawn with a goat pen.

One way we have overcome this issue is by utilizing edible flowers throughout the year. For instance, in the summer we plant the father of all edibles, the sunflower. We try to choose southwest natives but any sunflower will do. The only other summer flower we've tried is marigold. In the cooler season, we use nasturtium, pansies and cornflower.

You can find a detailed list of edibles here.

For the record, that is the first time I have ever written "smack dab." It's kind of fun. "Smack dab." Everybody now: "Smack dab!"

For more info on us, click Arizona homestead and homeschool.

Urban Homesteading and Meat

One of the dilemmas facing a city dwelling farmer is how to produce meat. Basically, the question is whether to raise, buy or eliminate meat altogether.

Raising meat is the most attractive option to any homesteading family, however, for obvious reasons, also the most difficult. If your farm is anything like ours, you have your pick from chickens or rabbits. There are a few other candidates that may work such as ducks, goats, pigeons or pigs depending on how much room you have. For rabbits, you would need a set of parents whom you will not slaughter. They should produce about 6-10 babies every 12 weeks. Doing the math, this puts rabbit on the table about once every other week. Not bad. Chickens are not even close to as productive. Using the same formula, you could expect chicken dinners about once every 10 weeks. Of course, the numbers can change dramatically based on the number of animals you keep. Double the parent rabbits or chickens and you will get twice as many dinners.

Buying meat is also a complicated venture for extreme homesteaders. While high quality meat is available at most grocery stores, you really have very little way of knowing anything about where it came from or how it was processed or raised. Usually, you can be sure that it is relatively safe to eat and this may be all that matters to you. If asked, we would say our chickens and rabbit are high quality, but we're a little biased. They eat our leftovers and vegetable scraps, so perhaps they share our nutritional content.

Going vegetarian is great, but anyone who has tried it who was not fully committed to it knows how long meat abstinence lasts. We've tried it a few times with moderate success, however, for reasons unknown to beast and man, we always jump off that wagon at some time or another. For those who have the will power and won't miss the taste of a mouth watering, juicy, salty, meaty, oozing with goodness steak, (you can see where our problems lie), this is likely the best route for the dedicated homesteader.

In the long run, we have resolved to implement all three strategies. Taking the seasons of plenty with the seasons of not-as-much and deciding which best fits our current situation. Adaptation, if you will. It is the way of the urban homesteader.

For more info on us, click Arizona homestead and homeschool.