New Name

Yes, I am the "Sidewalk Farmer".  Why?  Cause, "Living Off the Street" confused people.  I know that "Living off the land" resonates with folks and so does "Living on the Street", but...  Mixing the two of them together never really communicated what the "Sidewalk Farmer" communicates.


Same great blog, new great name!  Ha ha.

Rain. Lots of Rain!

Sustainable Urban Farming is put on hold today due to rain and hail.  I'm sure the plants and trees are growing just fine without me.

S.U.F.P.S.R.B.

Dirt has been an issue for awhile now.  I've built all of the raised beds that I'm going to build and now I'm just waiting on dirt.  The cinder block planter bed needed some reinforcing, so I picked up three bags of quickcrete. I had no idea that stuff was so inexpensive.  $2.95 for sixty pounds.  I'm working on the wall and along comes my good buddy, and manager of the auto shop, Magnus.  He told me that some people had complained about my wooden planter beds.  He said they had hit their car door on it and were very unhappy.  I can respect the fact that they are pressed right up next to the curb and it could make it hard to exit a vehicle.

Magnus said people should pay more attention and that they planter boxes should stay, but his boss doesn't want to hurt his business or offend the community.  So, the raised beds had to go!  Thank God, I was lackin' on dirt.

Thinking about all the time and energy that went into finding the wood, cutting it, building the boxes, and then painting them... I felt a little sad.  Knowing that they never had dirt in them made it easier for me to move them and mentally let go.

Then "it" came to me like lightening on my brain!  People weren't complaining about the planter beds!  People were complaining about hitting their car doors.  What if the people didn't have to worry about their doors and I could still have beds?  That would solve everything.  This whole Sustainable Urban Farm has been birthed out of seeing an opportunity and making it work.  How is this little moment of adversity any different?

My friend Gregory is in from Canada for a week and we got to talking.  Long story short, we brainstormed the new and improved "S.U.F.P.S.R.B."!  Sounds great right?  Ha ha ha.  Sustainable Urban Farm Pint Sized Raised Bed.  We took the whole thing apart, cut two of the sides down to two feet and put it back together.  Instead of 4ft x 4ft, they are now 2ft x 4ft.  This leaves 24 extra inches of room for car doors.  Now, there is actually more room to open a car door than where trees are planted.  Of course there is less square footage to plant per box, so I'm just going to have to double the amount of boxes to compensate.  Ha ha ha.  Seriously.

Buds & Hud Bud

Even though I might not write about it everyday, we usually take a walk or two through the farm.  The amazing thing about life is that it is always growing and expanding.  If we look close enough and often enough we can see it happening.  The apple and peach trees were like dead sticks when I planted them.  Now, they are showing off their desire to thrive.  In this picture you can see my little Mr. Man "Hud Bud" and a flower bud from the peach tree.

The apple tree is blooming even more so than my last update.  It's very exciting to think that every flower could potentially be a delicious apple.

Even the rosemary is blooming like crazy!

Peach Blossom

Awesome rain gear!

Rain, Glorious Rain!

Not the sunny So. Cal. we all love, but I'm not complaining!  Now that I'm a Sustainable Urban Farmer, rain makes me happy.


Remember, I still have not eaten a single thing from our little strip of land, but growing food is rewarding!


The warm sun beating down and now the rain both bring me joy.  Working the earth fulfills a primal sense of purpose.  God worked to create nature.  Working with nature makes me feel closer to God.

GROW FOOD

Yesterday was one of those perfectly amazing Californian days.  I had picked our daughter up from school on my bicycle, with kid cart in tow.  Then proceeded over to our son's school to give him a lift home as well.  I looked over my shoulder and on the back of a billboard, someone had written "GROW FOOD" in graffiti.


That's AWESOME!


What is happening?  Are people realizing that growing food is rewarding?  Maybe our new system of trading time for money, then using that money to buy food is flawed.


After adding up the pros and cons of both lifestyles, maybe this graffiti artist is on to something!


Only one way to find out, right?  Grow food and see for yourself.  No, I didn't create this work of art. 

It's All About the Kids!

Noe heard the news about our new avocado tree and she needed to get a picture with it ASAP.  The early morning sleepy dust is still in her eyes and she's sporting mommy's jacket.  If Noe had to pick her favorite fruit/veggie "Ah - Nuh - Con - Know's" would be at the top of the list! Heh, heh!

Later on in the day, Hudson and one of his buddies had a serious "Sidewalk Chalk Off"!  I supervised the main event and painted half of the raspberry planter box in sections.

  

Here's the final product.  Well, half of the final product.