Baby Steps

Practicing our homesteading skills...







Jason made 2 of the rain barrels last July/August and added 3 more this May. One 'good rain' fills all 5.

We also added a second garden this year. The tomatoes are loving the freshly tilled, nutrient-rich soil.

Our vegetable garden is only 6 weeks old. In addition to our 23 tomato plants, we're growing a couple varieties of green beans, shell peas, sugar snap peas, cabbage, eight ball zucchini, spaghetti squash, butternut squash, brussel sprouts, peppers, asparagus, carrots, spinach, sweet potatoes, six varieties of potatoes, and four types of onion.

All of this rain has flooded the garden a few too many times. Jason replanted the spinach seeds, but otherwise things don't seem too bad from the excessive moisture. We recently spotted our first couple green tomatoes, about a dozen tiny jalapenos, several purple flowers on the potatoes, and five fist-sized cabbage heads.

Last summer, we started collecting our coffee grounds, egg shells, and vegetable scraps to use as compost and add nitrogen to the soil naturally. Together, we constructed a compost bin out of leftover decking wood. Unfortunately, its one design-flaw was that it was backbreaking. So, this year Jason found a composting tumbler on CraigsList - much better - even I can do it.

We also lucked out on mulch this year. (Last year our mulch consisted of grass clippings.) For those of you who don't already know, Jason is especially skilled at winning at contests/give-aways on the radio. He won a $50 gift certificate to Iowa Outdoor Products, so tah-dah $50 worth of mulch for free. Better than concert tickets any day.  :o)

Ankeny Expanding Concerns - How close is too close??

Possible issues coming up the in the next few years.  Ankeny is wondering how far east they should extend water/sewer type services.  (Elkhart is in the yellow, right above the red arrow.)

Aerial View of Property

Here is an aerial view of the property. You can see more of the general (original) layout. There is a fairly large pond at the back east side of the property that we intend to clean-up. Our garden and greenhouse will probably be on the south-west side near the road...at least that is what we have envisioned. **Note: I am still trying to get the hang of this blogger.com formatting, so things might be a little wacky for awhile.** 

Not a pretty sight

Not much to look at, but this is the only image available (for now). Jason and I have been eying this abandon property since last winter. We can't stop planning the sequential steps necessary to restore it into our very own full-functioning homestead. Tearing-down this 110-year old house will be one of our first projects along with cutting-back the overground trees and towering weeds.