Log in

View Full Version : Hello from Maine



WendyB
09-02-2008, 11:01 PM
I'm a homeschooling/Work From Home Mom of five great kids (two who are adults and out on their own), and I have one granddaughter. For a very long time, my dream was to have a small homestead somewhere out in the country, and in fact, when my husband and I first started looking for a house eleven years ago, the hope was to find an acreage. Unfortunately, that's not what happened, and we ended up on a quarter acre in the "suburban area" of a coastal, resort town here in Maine. For the next eight years, I looked and looked for a place out in the "country", to no avail, and finally, about three years ago, I realized this was it, and either I had to make my dreams of self-sufficiency work here, or abandon them altogether. Thanks, in a large part, to Patti, I've embraced the whole "urban/suburban" homesteading movement, and we're raising backyard chickens and rabbits and have one heck of a garden ;). We're that much closer to being self-sufficient, and I have to tell you, it feels great!

We've adopted a "locavore" lifestyle, and I'm a "regular" at my local Farmer's Market, where I purchase what I can't or don't grow from local farmers. I also tend to buy as much produce during the summer as I can and "put it up" for use during the winter. I'm also a forager and where I can find free food (mostly berries at this point), I do, which often ends up in our winter food reserves (there's just nothing like dropping a few Maine blueberries into my hot oatmeal and dousing it with some Maple syrup when the snow is howling outside ;). At this point, most of what we eat is grown in Maine, including all of our meat (some of which we raised ourselves on our quarter acre), all of our dairy, and all of our "fresh" produce. The only foods that aren't local are grains (rice and flour), olive oil, tea/coffee, some spices, chocolate, and sugar - none of which grow in our climate.

I'm very excited about your forum here, Patti, and I'm looking forward to following your discussions. In particular, the Peak Oil topic, as that's one I have been following myself for the past couple of years. I'd love to hear your take on it :).

Ani
09-02-2008, 11:13 PM
Hi Wendy!

Nice to meet you! We should start a discussion somewhere about what you put up, your favorite methods for different foods, and how you use it out of storage.

-A

lisamnolan
09-03-2008, 02:54 AM
Hi, my name is Lisa and I'm from Wicklow in Ireland. I just wanted to thank Patti for her amazing website. I live in the suburbs and own a small garden which was basically a forest of long grass. I am currently studying nutrition and had been considering producing my own organic vegetables. Then as luck would have it I found this site. I found your story so inspiring that it made me want to get out and put my unkempt garden to use. The layout and videos on the site are great! In fact I went through everything on the site and bought the books suggested and now have two raised beds out the back. Everything grew so well and now I have beetroots, lettuce, carrots, peas, apples, blueberries, strawberries(which disappear mysteriously anytime my 2 year son is in the garden) peppers and cucumbers! I love the idea of urban sustainable living and we are slowly incorporating it into our lives here in Wicklow. So thank you so much for everything you're doing, you are an inspiration to people everywhere! :)

AbbeyLehman
09-03-2008, 01:28 PM
....[snip]....I realized this was it, and either I had to make my dreams of self-sufficiency work here, or abandon them altogether....[snip]....

I'm thinking I should skip all of the "intervening years" part of your story and get to the happy ending! I am pretty sure that the only way we could get any kind of acreage is if DH hits the lottery, so I've been trying to create ways to become self-sufficient right here, on our very small city lot. Now we just need a *little* more money to make it come together--who doesn't?!

gardengirl72
09-03-2008, 03:09 PM
Great post! Yes I will make a putting up the harvest forum today! And like you I have scoured the real estate pages for years to find a nice spot for a small farm for years. At some point I realized I had better learn to use what I have.

I only have maybe 1500 square feet devoted to growing and I am stunned every year at how much food comes out of it. Wendy, maybe you could share some homeschooling wisdom with us as well?

Thank you for joining and hopefully we can build a community here that helps teach, inform and inspire!

All the Best,

Patti