The Digger

Our front yard has gone from grassy lawn to meadow garden with my favorite flower, lavender, throughout. After a getaway to Calistoga, I am inspired by the vast vineyards. Who wouldn't be, right? I currently have about a dozen grape vines already dispersed throughout the property but it would be a good use of space and sun to add in rows of grapevines too. Whenever I work in the front yard, my neighbors and those that have their morning walks around the blocks check out what I am doing. They usually ask what I am digging up now. For all the amount of sod I dug up, my mom cringes at the loss for the boys to play on. My dad usually helps by picking up the high piles of it. I cannot count how many 5-gallon buckets of old sod we have removed. It is weedy anyway. I call myself, "The Digger." My friend down the street, whenever she drives by and sees me out there with my shovel, she yells out, "Digging again??" Yup, it's just what I do. Even the mailman asked me once why I like digging so much. I like it. It's therapeutic. I feel good and it's exercise. I may not see the immediate results of my efforts, but when the flowers bloom, or a half-dead plant comes back to life, I know I did well.

Our Resident Hens - Rhode Island Reds

 

Our Roots

This is my introduction to our beginning foray into urban farming. We didn't always consider ourselves "farmers" per se. At first we were just a family trying to reap the benefits of our yard work in order to grow food, raise animals, be creative, and enjoy each other's company in the process.

By default, we created an urban farm so we can have fresh food right outside our back door. We do it for our children so they can have a better understanding of where food comes from and how to respect animals. We do it to share with others who may be unable to have the same resources as we do or lack of desire to garden.

We have been inspired by other urban farmers and homesteaders and like anything else, if we borrowed their ideas and techniques, we thought that we can maximize our property's potential to yield an abundance of fresh food.