Urban Homesteaders

[NorthTexasWink]

I thought I'd resurrect this thread and ask what y'alls plans are for spring 2017?

I'm in zone 5b, so we won't be planting for at least a couple more months, but I've been checking out the seed catalogs. I'm hoping to plant:

spinach
peas
carrots
garlic
potatoes
beans (a few different kids, most for dried beans)
tomatoes
& peppers

We're getting our first chickens this spring, so we've been collecting pallets for our coop.

We're also planning on installing rain barrels once it starts warming up

My 2017 plans. I made my list in November 2016. I'm happy to report most is done! We decided on chickens for eggs. No meat birds this year, maybe next year. Still working on coop and run, and the drainage is 3/4 handled. Still some brush in back lot to clear, but much is already gone. The patio and BBQ areas about half done, cover finished. Fall garden planned and seedlings growing now. Pond is waiting till next year, if I still think it needs a revamp to look nicer. Plants there filled in well this year and we've had a lot of rain. Didn't get to the bat house yet. Might wait till winter to build and hang it.
2017 To Do List:

• Haul trash!
• Build raised beds x 3. Haul compost &mulch and turn everything. Start new compost pile. Stack surplus bricks &stone by retaining wall.
• February-get seedlings started. Plant extra for Jim.
• Plant shrubs & trees. Relocate purple sage and witch hazel. Trim crepe myrtles in east divider.
• Reassess drainage around pond, patio, BBQ pad and plan remedy. Assemble supplies.
• Clean and repair existing French drains PRN.
• Clear brush south fence
• Clear brush front west fence
• Cut dead trees front and island. Call Bald Guy- chip for mulch and source continued supply. Get the widow makers!
• Clear brush east fence
• Inspect and repair/replace east fence (back and front)
• Replace east street fence. Inspect east retaining wall and repair PRN.
• Weed all beds and planting areas.
• March-April plant beds. Plant the island. Make bench more stable.
• Plan patio and BBQ Pad expansion. Build shade pergola over patio. Double check drainage plan.
• Poultry: Ducks vs chickens. Coop and run planning. Add storage? Breed research. Hatchery or local source research. Feed research. Join Handley Feed discount group. Begin assembling supplies and equipment. Add meat birds? Brooder set up w/supplies.
• Add another bat house
• Clear brush back lot.
• Plan fall garden. Source seeds/plants.
• Pond aesthetic revamp?

 

[Dharmachick]

I live within city limits, but my city has a population of 3,700. I am one of several urban homesteaders on my block. I have a cottage garden, two veggie gardens, 18 chickens, 2 of which are broody and sitting on 24 eggs total, 3 coops, soon to be 4, 2 mastiffs and 2 cats. I also have 3 semi- dwarf apple trees, plus many shoots, a pear tree, nectarine, and a plum.

My list:
Finish building 2nd broody coop and run.
rebuild several raised beds - I have 12
plant fall seeds
move cottage garden to front yard so I have more veggie space, and the chickens don't ruin it when they sneak into the garden.
Fix garden gate and hang.
Pick and freeze veggies.
Add 2 feet of chicken wire to my chain-link fence to keep the 2 explorers in the yard.
Start espalier apple fence in front yard.
Prune fruit trees.
Try to grow grass in the bald areas in the backyard.

This is a lot of stuff for me since I have chronic back pain, but I get it done. I get a lot of free stuff from Craigslist, so I have lots of wood to work with. I want to can tomato sauce this year, and freeze broccoli if I have enough. I have tons of zucchini to freeze, and give to the food bank. I share my stuff with the neighbors too. I sell eggs to cover the cost of feed, which isn't much since they free range all day.

 

[nayeli]

We bought our new house in April and it was/is a fixer upper. Future plans are:
Raised garden beds
Ducks
Maybe aquaponics
Fruit trees
Maybe rabbits or a couple goats
Maybe 2-3 chickens
Compost bin
Vermicomposting?

But it is super hot here in the summer and we are focusing on the inside first. I'm planning on buying/getting welsh harlequin ducklings in a month or two, but they won't be laying or butcher size (for extra males) for many months.

Once it cools off we will do our fencing, and build the duck coop.

 

[Diannastarr]

i raise chickens & my love of chickens has turned into an eggs business, well so my husband of 30 years died a wile back very suddenly , so im on my own here with my 75 chickens 2 wild cats and my 42 year old parrot, i like to invent stuff from other stuff i find , so here is the latest , the store that buys my eggs gives me crates & i take as many as they will give me , i make nest boxes & other stuff out of them & my BR roo needed a new sturdy door with some ventilation for the summer, so i cut off the bottom of a crate , & it came out good..! gotta love those crates..!!!

 

[Dharmachick]

@Diannastarr, I'm sorry for your loss. I admire you for all the work you do alone! I love to repurpose things too, and have built another broody coop out of those big road construction signs. I got 3 huge pallets of them and made a deck, and now a coop. I also bought wood from an estate sale down the street, and have used it to build and repair coops and fences and a brooder.
I also have an egg business, very small since I live in town. I would love to have a few acres to have goats too.

 

[NorthTexasWink]

@Diannastarr Well done! And great thinking @Dharmachick ! I love reusing/recycling/repurposing/reinventing/upcycling.

I'm lining my coop floor with a bunch of those corrugated plastic signs like those used for political campaigns, housing developments sales, etc. Gorilla tape them together to make a waterproof durable folding mat that cleans easily. I have a bunch I grabbed off curbside a while back. Tested a patch in my new henhouse and worked a treat!

 

[Dharmachick]

@NorthTexasWink, now that's a great idea! I used the road signs to refloor my big coop, but that sounds much better! I'll keep an eye out for them to line the floor of the coop.

 

[NorthTexasWink]

IMG_9803

• NorthTexasWink
• Aug 6, 2017

Corrugated plastic sign. Have bunches I got free curbside a while back, plus a few left from...

IMG_9804

• NorthTexasWink
• Aug 6, 2017

Taped a bunch of corrugated plastic signs together for a waterproof easy-clean folding mat for...

Here's pics. I think I'll cut a bit to have it run up the sides maybe 6". Working fine on my test area.

 

[Diannastarr]

@Diannastarr, I'm sorry for your loss. I admire you for all the work you do alone! I love to repurpose things too, and have built another broody coop out of those big road construction signs. I got 3 huge pallets of them and made a deck, and now a coop. I also bought wood from an estate sale down the street, and have used it to build and repair coops and fences and a brooder.
I also have an egg business, very small since I live in town. I would love to have a few acres to have goats too.

thank you your kind words & it sounds like your doing great..! i love recycling and its amazing what you can make, yes i have lived most of my life alone as a farmer and raised 5 kids , all my kids are all well off now ,being electricians nurses, herbalists & engineers, & farmers, i had milk goats horses geese & chickens back in the 1970's & cooked on a 100 year old cast iron wood kitchen stove year round to feed my family and heat the house & did it all by my self when my first husband died back then , i split our wood all summer long and got by with my labor alone so what i have learned is that we just need to depend on our selves to do what we need done , and its such a great feeling of accomplishment..! when i was younger we had a 350 acre farm and 38 horses, i love horses, such amazing beings..! so you keep up the good works & recycle ,recycle recycle...!!! and diy it all...!!~ take care &good luck with your egg business & keep up the good work..!

 

[Diannastarr]

IMG_9803

• NorthTexasWink
• Aug 6, 2017

Corrugated plastic sign. Have bunches I got free curbside a while back, plus a few left from...

IMG_9804

• NorthTexasWink
• Aug 6, 2017

Taped a bunch of corrugated plastic signs together for a waterproof easy-clean folding mat for...

Here's pics. I think I'll cut a bit to have it run up the sides maybe 6". Working fine on my test area.

i love this great idea ..!!!! but one thing about the duct tape chickens like to peck off tape and try to eat it, i found that out ..lol.. so try covering it up with wood chips or hay or something , or maybe wood strips that are smooth since ruff wood can cut their feet and they can end up with bumble foot, and you dont ever want chickens with bumble foot believe me.