Hey family!
I know I shouldn’t take such long times away from you. However, there is good cause for this. I am trying to start the beginning of our journey towards living sustainably and also thinking about homesteading. I have been asked quite a few times what these terms me so let me share. These terms mean taking care of self. Less reliance on day to day society such as grocery stores, and technology. It also means utilizing alternative methods or going back to basics (like some of the ways that grandmother lived) of wholesome living. Being kind to the environment and its resources. Here is a great blog post from the Dervaes Family website (I highly advise you check their site out, They are my inspiration, AWESOME) http://urbanhomestead.org/urban-homestead-definition.
Well now that I have explained this let me say that this is not anything that will happen overnight BUT I am taking the steps towards learning an implementing things as I go along. I am glad to say that the thing that I am working on now is a garden. I started out small and it is truly starting to look great. This is a day by day process and I am having fun learning and connecting with nature. Right now I have in the garden:
1 Roma Tomato plant (It has gotten huge-about 3 1/2 feet right now and have plenty of tomatoes on it but they have not turned red yet). My plan is to make a variety of things with these including homemade tomato sauce for my family and try my hand at canning. Also plenty of RAW tomato sauce for me. 
1 Krim heirloom tomato plant
1 Green Zebra heirloom tomato plant
1 cherry tomato plant
5 other tomato plants (not sure of variety). The reason is because when my friends over at Dunbar Gardens gave me my three fig tree branches in pots, these tomato plants started growing out of the pots (I had no idea what the plants were until they started blooming flowers and compared them to my other plants). I quickly transplanted them to the garden. So lets see what the mystery tomatoes are.
Black squash zucchini
Cucumbers
Hot peppers
Bell peppers
Romaine lettuce (wich I had planted more of these-I still have time to do so)
Swiss Chard
Spring mix lettuce
Regular lettuce
Green onions
Sweet Basil
Spearamint
Chocolate Mint
Lavender
Oregano
Cilantro
Thyme
Sage
Strawberries plants (I have five right now-making sure I can do good with them)
1 Blueberry bush (I will get a couple more because I learned that they cross pollinate, which helps to produce more and better fruit)
Canteloupe (I have three vines growing)
Watermelon (I have 4 vines that are growing well and I have 4 more vines just coming up from seed)
Oh, and my three fig tree branches that have wonderful big leaves on them
I do want to grow some garlic, potatoes, corn, and beans (I do have a few beans growing but not nearly enough. I wanted to see if they would germinate and do well and surprisingly they are). I also want a Meyer lemon tree, a date tree, a lime tree, an apple tree, and some grape vines this year. These will be a great start and they will (hopefully) set us up to enhance our garden. I am also looking to invest in a rain barrel and my hubby and are are looking at composting right now. We are thinking of ways to contain the compost.
Another goal is teaching our children about gardening, crocheting, canning, and a host of other things as we learn. This will be an interesting summer for sure but an enjoyable one.
In my next post I will share with you some of the books I am and have been reading on homesteading, gardening, sustainability, and green living.
Much love to you and yours!!
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Great site. A lot of useful information here. I’m sending it to some friends!
Love how great your garden looks, and your plans are awesome, as are you!