Pics of some of my plants

I just had taken the dead stocks off of my rhubarb from the cold and now its trying to grow again. It's so confused.
My java blue banana plant is getting another leaf. Yeah!
My coleus at the farm. It's getting a little droopy from the cold, but still in pretty good shape. I'm amazed. I thought I'd be able to steal those half wine barrells to plant here by now.

Really Cool Pic

Isn't that just so neat?

See!

Little Arugula
Baby Kale
My raised garden bed.

I see Seedlings!

I couldn't believe with how cold and how shaded my raised garden was that I'd actually see seedlings now instead of waiting until Spring. Yeah! Will get pics soon!

Got Dirt?

Put my raised bed together and filled it with dirt. Yeah!
And a little compost. Will need to get 4 or 5 more bags of compost and then I can mix it and plant my fall garden.
Of course until I find something to keep the cats from going potty in it I put a blanket over it. Shelby likes to sleep on it if I'm not paying attention.

My Birds Finally Got A Flight Cage

Yeah, I've been trying to find a good cage for them both for a couple years. There was a bird expo yesterday in Roseville and I thought I'd check it out and see if someone was selling bird cages. Sure enough and for great prices. I got this one for $135 from The Country Roost. Great deal and its huge, but at the same time perfect size for the space I have them in. I think they were a little upset though when I took them out of thier secure little cages. I'm sure they will get used to it quite soon.

In other news I have found some top soil someone is giving away for my raised beds on craigslist. Yeah, I can finally start my raised beds. I'm also selling the old bird cages on craigslist.

Pallet Compost Bin and Instructions on How to Make Your Own

Three sides up and a couple branches in the bottom so far. I secured the three sides so far with one bungee cord across the back.
All my twigs in the bottom for good airflow. This helps make your bin an aerobic composter (also known as non-stinky bin you need air for this).
Close-up of twigs in the bottom. I have a couple trees above my bin that have some dead branches. I just pulled a couple down to line my bin.
Putting the final pallet on the front. This keeps the dogs and kid out of the compost bin. You can see the bungee cord stretched across the front. It's not going anywhere.

Instructions Part II

Put down your brown or carbon compost (small twigs, leaves and other woody material) which also includes shredded newspaper. You want enough so that no flies or insects can really get to your nitrogen compost (need grass clippings, kitchen waste and other garden waste) like those too ripe watermelon you see in the above photos next to the bin. If you need a resource for stuff to put on your compost pile go to 163 Things You Can Compost.
Kitchen wastes (sorry forgot to take a photo of kitchen waste) and then another layer of shredded newspaper. I'm so tempted to go pick up everyone's piles of leaves next to the sidewalks. So, from then on out keep layering making sure you have carbon layer on top.
Finally you need the last ingredient, water. "Sprinkling the pile with a water hose every other day or so depending on rain will keep it cooking. If you want to speed up the process, be sure to turn your pile once a week to once a month. This can be done easily with a pitchfork. " Your pile should be the consistency of a damp sponge.
And there you go easy to follow intructions on how to make your own compost bin. Easy and FREE!

Found Pallets for my Compost Bin!

Yeah, someone had them on freecycle this week. Free pallets for my compost bin. Woohoo! Here is what I'm going to make: Pallet compost bin. That one says to use bailing wire or hooks and eyes, but I'm going to use bungee cords. Just as easy and I have a couple in the back of the truck. Will post pics of my finished compost bin later.

I also just got some Hosta seeds for planting around the outside edge of the fence. It's mostly shaded most of the day so hopefully it will green it up a bit. I just need to see if I can just plant the seeds in the ground or need to start them inside.

Went to the nursery yesterday

Found out what kind of trees I have in my yard and how much my huge pumpkin is worth yesterday. James and I went to a nursery yesterday that was selling pumpkins and saw some as big as my huge pumpkin. He's worth ...... drum roll........... $100! Can you believe it? Wow! I thought that was pretty cool!
Oh and we found the same kind of tree we have in our yard there. They are Drake Evergreen Elms. I looked it up and it is a tree originated from China. I'm so glad its not a black walnut or something bad like that.

Here is a pic of our new yard and where I'm going to put the raised bed. Of course, Shelby and James had to get in the pic.
Here are my potted plants. My basil is looking sad.
Look! There is still life in this banana plant after all. Poor guy almost died and new green is coming out the top. We will have new leaves after all. Not all is lost! Yeah!

I still got it I tell ya! I got two wolf whistles yesterday in a 20 minute period of time while I was out riding my bike with my fam. Both times I was a little bit ahead of Roger and James in the trailer. I thought it was pretty funny because then they saw Rog and James go by. Hehe! Anyway, just thought it was funny!

So, I got my wood for my raised bed. Now I just have to fill it with dirt and plant my fall garden. Garlic, onion, carrots, kale, and what have you.

What kind of tree is this?

Leaves are about 1 1/2 inches long.
There are two of these in our yard. They have an straight trunk and are about 30-40 feet tall. The only tree I could possibly find that kind of resembled it was a hackberry tree.

Roger's friend Wiley. What a nut. He wanted a self-portrait I guess.
Harley, Wiley's daughter. Isn't she a cutie?
Hard to see, but this is Darik our neighbor that Wiley has been hanging out with and drinking with. Well, Darik and his friend had been drinking all day and had passed out early. Wiley came over looking for lipstick and mascara to put on them, but I didn't have any to give so he took a red permanent ink pen. He painted all thier nails, including thier toe nails. Hahahahaha! Super funny! Anyway, Wiley is always good for a laugh. He's a 40 year old still living in the 80's.

Pumpkin ready for Halloween

Haven't posted in awhile. Will post pics when I'm home again of our neighbors and friends that live near us. Oh and going to put the pumpkin on the porch. It's in the back of my truck at the moment as you can see. Pretty cool huh? Compared to the dog and the kid.

Garfield Park Conservatory in Chicago

So, I went to a wedding for my cousin in Chicago and had seen in the Organic Gardening magazine a couple months ago that they had featured Chicago and places to go. So, I saw this place on thier list and thought it would be great to go to. I loved it! They had several linking greenhouses with different themes and they were all lovely! Here is a beautiful hanging basket I encountered.
A close-up of the basket.
A bird of paradise.

Click on this pic and you'll get a better view. It was just awesome.
These palms almost touch the top of the greenhouse.
Giant Sea Grapes. Very cool.

They had lots of lovely gardens outside as well. It was all beautiful. They also had several different examples of composting including worm composting. They had it set-up so kids could dig in there and find worms. So neat!

WoW! It's been over 3 Weeks

We moved over 3 weeks ago and I just got the internet hooked up. We had to figure out who to call since AT&T would have to re-wire the house in order to get thier service. So we figured it out and here we are. Still in the land of boxes and some child proofing needed. The yard is pretty safe so I'm not too worried about that. Whew! It's a lot of work to move.
Well, I gotta get some things done around here,but I'm sure I will be back soon to post more, most likely with pictures. ;-)

Roger met the neighbors the other day. He says they are really nice and they have a yellow lab about a year old. Yeah for Shelby! She'll have a buddy to play with for sure.

I also found out that there is a community garden about 1.5 miles away. Yeah! So exciting. I can see we are going to be doing a LOT of walking. So great! Hopefully they will have an extra space for us. Will have to start my compost bins right away so that I will have compost by the time I will need it for next Spring. I will have to see if I can put a cover crop in January and then hopefully they will have a tiller I can use or I could rent one for the day. Then maybe just dig in what area I need to start with some cold crops in February. I wonder how big the spaces are? Will have to make a whole garden plan and all that. Sounds like fun! Can't wait to plant flowers and veggies next year. Going to go with smaller pumpkins and probably only one butternut squash plant, but will have to plant those next to corn or something to save space. Hmmmm..... (rubbing chin). I'm thinking since there is a community bulletin board that I will plant some tomato and herb starts and post them for sale there. So many things to think about and do. Maybe even some squash starts.

Basil

Genovese basil ready to be planted at the new place. Will probably plant some of it on the farm. That's a lot of basil. Mmmmm..... Pesto!

Got the keys to the new place. Looking forward to moving in and getting set-up. Woohoo! Our own place, how exciting! James and Shelby will be ecstatic because there is a huge park close by with a playground and a dog park! James will be excited to see a whole bunch of dogs running around so he can say Arf! Arf! He loves to go out and bark with Shelby when she goes out to investigate things.

Pumpkin on Display as Soon As It Stops Growing! LOL!

Won't this pumpkin look great on the front porch. I hope it gets even bigger and wows the neighbors when they come over for trick or treating. I decided maybe this year I will participate in trick or treating hand-out since I will be able to give out those little raisins packages. Don't you remember those houses that gave those out and you just ended up giving them away or better yet throwing them away because there was better candy in your bag than those darn raisins. LOL!

Our New Place

Scratch the last one you saw. This one is cheaper and in a better neighborhood. Rog can use the bike trail most of the way to his work. ; ) Maybe James and I can bike with him to work every once in awhile. Will get the keys Thurs. or Friday. Woohoo! It has a nice backyard, but no pics. Soon though.

Looks Like We've Found A Place To Move

Probably start moving in next Saturday. Hopefully Roger's friend Doug will still be able to help. I will be gone, but I think it will be better for them to move without my supervision. ; )
I need to make signs to find most of the chickens homes. Atleast most of the Buff Orpingtons and the rooster. He is a little hard on the hens compared to the Cochin rooster. They certainely are good layers.
Now we can get away from the rattlesnakes. Had a scare the other night. I went into the greenhouse and when I went to come out there was a rattlesnake on the step into the greenhouse. Auuggghhh! I don't know if I just stepped next to it or on it. How scary is that?!?!?!?! Rog came to my rescue. Thank goodness he was home!
Another suburban living tip. Use a milk jug with holes in it. Then you can get the soaker hose affect in a smaller area. Still will probably get a soaker hose too. Great idea though!

Might try the Pet Waste Digester when we move. It just seems like a lot of poop to throw away and all the plastic bags you use to get rid of it. Will only use it for shrubs and flowers though. Not in the vegetable garden. Also want to make a pallet compost bin since I make too much kitchen waste for my worm bin to keep up.

Upside Down Maters

I want to try this next year for my tomato plants. Upside Down Tomato Planter . If we get accepted for the rental we looked at yesterday I might not have as much space to garden as I thought. Will have to talk to the gardeners when they come if we get this place. I will do my Sungold maters in this kind of contraption. Pretty cool space saver.

Bittersweet

James watching the goats. This is what I will miss the most is James having the farm experience right out the front door. Its purely bittersweet. We will miss our goaties.

May Have to Get a Little Creative in The Garden

This might be something I will have to make in the near future. Isn't this just the coolest teepee trellis for vine growing plants? Pogo on organic gardening created the teepee. So cool!

German Angora Rabbits

Since these little cuties will be in this chapter of my life I'm going to expand on them. Show you there cuteness with some pics from the farm I will be buying a couple from. Top is a mama with her babies. Second is a buck and third some 10 day old kits. I can't wait for thier lovely poop. It's great for the garden and for composting.

Looks Like Were Making a Change

We are looking for a place to move to closer to Roger's work. Hence the title of my new blog. Moving to suburbia. Hence the web address farming in suburbia. We're going to make the most of living life in suburbia. We'll be composting, gardening (quite creatively with less room), and tending to a herd of Angora rabbits (ok, not a herd, but a bunch?) ; ) . Bungalow Farms is where I will be buying the rabbits in Sacramento. It's a big change from the farming life, but hey you do what you can with what you have at the time. New chapter of our lives I say, new chapter. I will have my goats again, I swear. Just not in this chapter, maybe the next. I might learn to love Angora fiber from the beautiful German Angora Rabbit creatures while living in suburbia. Atleast I won't have to worry about rattlesnakes in the yard. Oy!