Adventure of the Week

I've taken to scanning Craigslist a couple times a week for anything I think might be useful on the farm. Tools. Vehicles. Compost. Livestock. All of these things will be needed. On Tuesday morning as I did my perusing with a hot cup of coffee in hand, a Chevy van jumped out at me as looking like a good deal. I knew it had to be a Chevy, because that's the engine Mickey prefers on American-made vehicles. He was a used car mechanic for 17 years. And it was a 6-cylinder, so that gave it a star, too, with regard to better gas mileage. Now, if it was just what the Craigslist ad said it was. I jumped over to the Blue Book website to see if the price was in the correct range for it's age and condition. It was. Now to call the phone number listed in the ad.

Yes, the van was still there. It had just been listed the day before. The gentleman gave me the address and was willing to give me directions, but I told him I had a GPS and would call if I got lost. Oh, I forgot. The van was in a used car lot in Valdosta, Georgia. Actually, Valdosta is only 60 miles away from the farm, about the same distance to Gainesville. And from what I can tell, prices for lots of things are cheaper in Georgia. At least vehicles and gasoline. Similar vans were averaging $2000 more in Gainesville. So I talked handyguy Charlie into making the trip with me, just in case I needed someone to drive the van to the farm, and off we went.

It took about an hour and 15 minutes to get to Valdosta, a straight shoot up I-75. And just as the salesman promised, the van was there and waiting for me. He even let us take it for a spin without asking for my license or first child. It was exactly what he said it was. What do you know? A truthful salesman. I still insisted on him running the Carfax report for me, just in case he had not been told the truth by the owner. But even that turned out well. One owner, 1 small fender bender, no frame damage. The only thing that could make this better would be if I could get the salesman down in price. And I did just that. A whole whopping $300, which equated to a 7.5% drop in price. Not too bad for my first time negotiating a car deal on my own, huh?

The end result? Why, our first farm vehicle, of course.

It'll be used first and foremost for delivering produce and setting up for market, but it should prove useful in many other ways, too. Now for van driving lessons for me.

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Chicken Rustling on the Urban Homestead

We've been robbed. Really. Our urban homestead has been visited by chicken rustlers. I originally ordered 36 meat birds. The hatchery sent us 40 chicks. They all survived. I counted them numerous times when they were babies and still corral-able, if that's a word. There were 40 chickens, roosters and hens alike, but 40 chickens in total.

This past Tuesday was the day they were scheduled to be readied for the freezer. As directed, Mickey had fed them their last meal on Sunday evening and they received only water from Monday forward to make sure they didn't get dehydrated. Not feeding the chickens for 24 hours makes for a cleaner and much easier processing. Tuesday, Mickey and the husband of the friend whom I had bartered with to perform the freezer readiness duties did their jobs transferring the 12-week old chickens into cages and getting them to my friend. It was a several-part transfer because the cages weren't large enough to hold all the birds, but it worked out well because she would be working on the batch she had just received while they guys were transporting the next batch.

And then I received a Facebook chat message from my friend asking me how many birds there were again. I responded quickly with the 40 I knew it to be. She said she had counted twice and there were only 34. I didn't know what to say to her. All I could think was that while I've been up in Lake City readying the farmhouse for move-in that some of the birds had passed and Mickey didn't have the heart (or the guts) to tell me. He was having a rather tough emotional go of it with the purpose of the day, and I decided I wouldn't ask for a day or two, giving him time to get past the situation.

So here's what appears to have happened. One day a couple weeks ago, Mickey came home to find our backyard gate open and a bicycle he had never seen before lying in the walkway between our home and our neighbor's. He thought it was odd, but let it go and continued into the backyard to count the hens who roam freely and might have escaped. All 10 were there. He noticed some feathers in the yard, but again let that go knowing that all 10 hens were safe. It never crossed his mind that it might be the meat birds because they were safely locked in our homemade chicken tractor. He could see them. And the tractor was locked. There were lots of red chickens. About an hour later, he went back outside and the bicycle was gone.

My guess is that someone in the neighborhood was hungry. And I'm okay with that. I've always told anyone stopping by to see the garden or the chickens that if they want something all they have to do is ask. I often give egg customers fresh produce from the garden when they stop to pick up their egg orders. What goads me is this person didn't ask. I would have given them the chickens. I would never knowingly let someone go hungry if I have the means to feed them a meal.

So the missing chicken mystery is solved. We've got chicken rustlers in Pembroke Pines. Beware.

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What Is It About Laundromats?

What is it about laundromats that give me the creeps? Is it because they're usually in the worst parts of town? That they're hot and stuffy? That they always feel dirty to me? I've been twice now since I got up here to prepare the new farm for living in. The first visit was exactly what I remembered my experience to be in my early 20s on first moving to south Florida. Hot. Dusty. Dingy. Stuffy. Uncomfortable. Almost creepy. This one was located right next to a liquor store in the not best part of town, so there were lots of people in and out of the parking lot who didn't look to be walking straight. They probably weren't driving straight either, now that I think about it.

Always good to be able to pick up a bottle while doing laundry.

My second trip to the laundromat I looked for a step up and found it. A newer laundromat, newer machines, and air conditioning. Well, sort of. It was definitely cleaner, less dingy, and cooler. The A/C was running with the doors open to let out the dryer heat. The seating wasn't any more comfortable. Metal chairs as opposed to wooden benches. Would it hurt the owners to supply a cushion or two, or do they want you uncomfortable on purpose so you get out of there more quickly? And the cost. Do they really need to charge $1.25 a load? My gosh! Somehow I remember 50 cents almost 30 years ago.

Looking forward to having my washer, dryer, and clothesline up here on the farm.

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The 250-gallon food-grade rain barrels have arrived. I've got them protected under the carport for right now till we can begin to set up our drip-tape irrigation system.

250-gallon food-grade rain barrels.

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No Idle Hands on the Urban Homestead

Up here in Lake City getting the house ready to move into, I've been trying to keep busy even in the evenings while sitting in front of the computer watching TV.

Simple garter stitch dishcloth.

True homesteader spirit, eh?

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Investing in Efficiency on the Urban Homestead

Well, we've done it. Yesterday we purchased our first piece of farm equipment. An Earthway Precision Seeder. A friend of mine and fellow fledgling farmer, Crystal at HeartSong Farms, was selling hers and I was able to pick it up for a great price. Brand-new, they usually sell for between $90 and $109 plus tax and shipping, and I was able to get this once-used Earthway for $65. Period.

Earthway Seeder

Seeders are a great tool not only for the small farmer, but for urban homesteaders, too, because they furrow, plant, cover seeds, and mark the next row for planting all in 1 pass. Just think about how much time (not to mention backache) you could save by using one. The Earthway Seeder comes with 6 plates for different size seeds (sweet corn; radish, leeks, and spinach; carrots, lettuce, and turnips; beans and small peas; jumbo peas; beets, okra, Swiss chard) and has an optional plate kit for other size seeds (carrot; broccoli; cucumbers; popcorn; lima beans).

Here's a video of the Earthway in action:

Have you used a seeder before? I'd love to hear about your experience.

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DIY Projects

Be sure to take a look at my DIY Projects page in the upper left corner of the blog. I've been adding tons of great new DIY ideas to save you money and help make your urban homestead more efficient and productive.

Happy urban homesteading!

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