VIDEO: GARDEN TOUR: Sept 25, 2017
Join Serina for a quick update on how the garden is doing now that we have officially entered fall. Things are still growing well, but the weather has changed, and there is only a few weeks of strong growth left.
Tag: urban homestead
VIDEO: PICKING HERBS FOR TEA: and arguing with a toddler
Serina and Lia are picking herbs to stock up for tea in the winter. It won’t be long before the fall frost comes and kills all the tender leaves, so you have to be prepared and harvest while you still can. Lia is clearly due for a nap, and is full of her own ideas,…
VIDEO: CLEANING CONTINUOUS BREW KOMBUCHA: too much yeast in my vessel
Kombucha is all about having a symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast, and my yeast is currently not at a healthy balance. To try and get my brew back to the best balance possible, this week I am cleaning my continuous brew kombucha vessel. There is too much yeast, and the yeast that is in…
VIDEO: IT'S STILL SUMMER: massive harvest, and a healthy dose of season denial
I don’t care what the calendar says, it can’t possibly be fall yet. I’m not ready to give up on summer, so I’m insisting that summer isn’t over. To celebrate that it is still summer, Serina and the kids go on a massive harvest, and attempt to create the perfect harvest picture. We are on…
VIDEO: TODDLER MAKES JUICE: with fresh picked homegrown grapes
The second round of grapes are ready, but the concords aren’t as nice of a eating grape as what Lia is used to. So her and Serina pick a bucket to make some grape juice instead. It’s a super simple recipe with tasty results! At least Lia thinks so, lol. There is nothing like using…
VIDEO: DAD GOES TO WORK: last day before working away from home
Ian is off to work. He got the call, and is leaving to start his winter season. Whenever he goes off for his shift work, we don’t have a solid date for when he will come back. We are hoping to see him home before Christmas, but if he works straight to Christmas, we will…
VIDEO: MAKING PESTO: preserving our basil harvest
We LOVE pesto, and grow basil every year specifically to stock our freezer with a year long supply. It is such a delicious and easy way to preserve our basil harvest. Join us as we make up a big batch, and show you how we do it and our “recipe”, as well as our trick…
VIDEO: KOMBUCHA WITHOUT A SCOBY
This week I give brewing kombucha without a scoby a try. I have been seeing conversations about not needing the scoby culture mat to successfully ferment kombucha tea, and just using the starter tea, or even a store bought kombucha, so I gave it a try. And it was a great success! The kombucha brewed…
VIDEO: HARVESTING OUR ONION CROP
Ian, Serina, and Sam pull up the onion crop. Sam is still better at eating onions that harvesting them, but he gets a few tips. Ian tries out a new technique for drying the onions after harvest. Join us as we make space in the garden.
VIDEO: SERINA MAINTAINS TOMATOES, IAN DOESN'T
I always say that it only takes an hour a day. Here’s some video proof that I found, that sometimes your hour doesn’t have to be that hard, lol. The tomatoes in the greenhouse are going crazy, so Serina had to get out and do some picking and trellising. The tomatoes have reached the very…
VIDEO: HOW TO PICK SUNFLOWER SEEDS: QUICK TIPS
Those sunflowers are sure pretty, but did you know you could eat them too? I quickly show you how long you need to leave them on the plant, and how to beat the birds to a great harvest.
VIDEO: HOW TO PICK BASIL: QUICK TIPS
Wondering how to pick basil to keep the plant bushy and productive, and to keep it from going to seed? I quickly let you know. I talk about some general basil care, and then show you with clear close video where exactly you should be picking your basil from.
VIDEO: GARDENING WITH CHILDREN: QUICK TIPS
Have a hard time getting anything done with the baby and toddler in tow, out in the garden. I share a couple of my tricks on how to deal with the destructive force of children in the veggie patch. Most of all, it is important to adjust your mind set on what you will be…
VIDEO: NEW SEEDS FOR THE FALL GARDEN
Ian and Serina open their new package of fall seeds. They purchased a variety of different mustard, spinach and choy to try in the greenhouse and in the garden. With the beginning of September here, it is now or never when it comes to planting the fall garden. Check out what they got and their…
VIDEO: MAKING BABA GHANOUSH WITH EXTRA EGGPLANTS
Have too many eggplants on your hands? Make one of our favorite snacks! Baba ghanoush. This delicious dip is made using roasted eggplants, garlic, tahini, and lemon juice, and stores really well in the freezer. It is an excellent way to preserve your eggplant harvest for the winter, making for quick snacking later. Follow along…
VIDEO: SEPTEMBER GARDEN UPDATE
Take a quick tour with us in the garden, as we fill you in on all the summer to fall changes. Things are very productive right now, but the end is near 🙁 Follow along with Serina as she explains what this mess of green is.
VIDEO: HOMESTEADING RANT: MOVING TOO FAR FROM THE CITY
We like to have discussions about homesteading, and this rant video deals with one frequent issue for new homesteaders, buying land too far from work because its all you can afford and the consequences of that decision.
VIDEO: STORING GARLIC : WHAT WE DO AFTER IT HAS CURED
Ian is obsessed with garlic. He doesn’t think you can ever have too much. Follow Ian as he finishes up cleaning the garlic and sorting out the best heads for seed crop. Are we set for the year?
VIDEO: Root Knot Nematodes
The foliage on our peas was looking yellow and curled and the plants weren’t growing very quickly. I consulted a friend and he gave us some insight.
VIDEO: Groceries for the Month of July
This video shows our grocery shopping trips for the month of July. Our goal is to spend an average of $100.00 per month for the year for groceries. This month brings our grocery spending for the year to $717.82. This brings us to an average of $102.55 per month. We have five more months to…
VIDEO: THE FUTURE OF HOMESTEADING
There are 7 billion people in the world, not everyone can live on an off grid large land homestead. Instead, Ian and Serina offer some ideas on how urban homesteading can provide the answer to creating more livable and sustainable cities. Join us as we talk about some of our ideas on why you should…
VIDEO: Greenhouse haul!!!! Haul video parody: homestead style
Can you believe this haul?!?! But no returns here. Come see why everyone should shop in their own yards! Also, this is me trying to be funny. I don’t actually act like this, lol.
VIDEO: Is this Normal? First Time Making Brined Pickles
Welcome to Fermentation Friday! This week I made up a batch of pickled beans. I had some unwanted growth on the top of my brine, and spent most of the week trying to figure out if it was mold or Kahm’s yeast. I’m still not 100% sure, but everything tasted good, so I’m keeping it.…
VIDEO: Urban Homestead 5 Minute Tour
Watch me say potential 38 times, and quickly get the idea for what we have, and all the… potential… we have to go further. Here is a quick walk through of our yard to give you a feel for our space. I tried to keep this to the bare bones so you could see what…
VIDEO: Garden Harvest and Lunch
We picked cucumbers, green beans, tomatoes, and peas.
VIDEO: Planting Raised Beds with Egyptian Walking Onions
Serina demonstrates our process for harvesting the onion seeds from our Walking Onions, and how easy it is to plant our raised beds.
VIDEO: Pulling Green Beans and Planting Peas
The green beans have slowed down so much that we decided it is time to pull them and plant some more purple hull peas.
VIDEO: Creating a New Strawberry Bed
We are creating a new strawberry bed with the daughter plants we caught off the plants in our original strawberry bed.
