the really simple life

[cosmo starr]

did any one else catch this segment on nightline last night. Its about a suburban family that subsistence farms their fifth of an acre. They also ride and xtra. Very inspiring
http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/story?id=4863733&page=1

[katmu]

Thanks for posting that. I am a big believer in edible landscaping and urban farming.

[FXjohn]

it says they sell eggs. I thought most ordinances required a few acres to have poultry.

[Ashen]

Nah a lot of places you can have up to 5 (or some small number) hens even in the city. True here in Seattle. It's the roosters that have more rules.

[fordfasterr]

This is good. However, they are not car free.

[Anthony87]

That is grand!

[katmu]

Minneapolis allows city dwellers to have chickens if you have permission from 3/4 of your neighbors.

I would like to see more articles about people who are both car free and at least somewhat self-sustaining.

[Nightshade]

This is good. However, they are not car free.

Yes, this IS good! However, while not 'car free' this type of info needs to be scattered
all over the net so that people will see that suburbia can be a great place to live if
you think and act differently even if you don't have a car.

[roseskunk]

that's really great!! good for them!

[roseskunk]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCPEBM5ol0Q

[roseskunk]

http://www.pathtofreedom.com/

[Foldable Two]

These folks are less than a mile from the corner of Orange Grove Ave & Colorado Blvd - from where the entire world sees the Rose Parade on TV every New Years Day....and they are less than a mile in the other direction from Downtown Pasadena. (They are also about a block from the edge of the Arroyo Seco & Brookside Park- home of the Rose Bowl) This is a very densely populated area with very heavy traffic and it's not a cheap neighborhood.

Pasadena is also not a small city; it's population is around 135,000, and it's only 10 miles from downtown L.A.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pasadena,_California

What they are doing is very good, especially in that area. (I grew up about 6 miles directly South of them in Alhambra, so I have a bit of local experience.)

[Johnny_Monkey]

These folks are less than a mile from the corner of Orange Grove Ave & Colorado Blvd - from where the entire world sees the Rose Parade on TV every New Years Day

Are you sure? I never even heard of it let alone seen it on TV.

[FXjohn]

Are you sure? I never even heard of it let alone seen it on TV.

if you were to tune itin , that's where the cameras are, in other words.

[gerv]

Yes, this IS good! However, while not 'car free' this type of info needs to be scattered
all over the net so that people will see that suburbia can be a great place to live if
you think and act differently even if you don't have a car.

In my neighbourhood there are a couple of families who have devoted their front lawns to growing vegetables. These yards look very interesting... nice to see some diversity amid the yard after yard with kentucky bluegrass.... (what a waster!0

You can actually grow quite a huge amount of food on a 1/5 acre lot. My garden is just a small fraction of my backyard and I am surprised by the amount of food we get out of it.

[Foldable Two]

if you were to tune itin , that's where the cameras are, in other words.

Correct, right after the start of the parade, where they right turn off of Orange Grove Ave onto Colorado Blvd (Colorado Blvd is the main street in Pasadena, CA). All the cameras are stationed right there.

I am sure there are folks elsewhere who have not heard of the Rose Parade, but it now includes a foreign band or two each year (Far East, Europe, etc.). It's claim to fame is that every "float" is covered entirely in flowers. It's also usually viewed "in-person" by 1 million or more people over it's 5+ mile course.

Check here
http://www.tournamentofroses.com/history/photogallery.asp
for pictures of the 2008 Award winners - it will give you some idea what it is about. There are also lots of High School and College Bands.

[Lamplight]

Thanks for posting this. For a while now I've been toying with the idea of having more food-producing plants in my yard. I'm in the process of remodeling the house right now, but after I move in I think this is the direction I would like to take. Don't wait for others to help you when you can help yourself.

[politicalgeek]

This is kind of my plan. When I can afford a house, hopefully in just another year or so, I want to make it as self sustaining as I can. Veggie garden, chickens, orchard and wood burning stove/fireplace insert. Maybe some home brew hard cider.

[bragi]

This is good. However, they are not car free.

I'm reasonably sure that their impact on the environment is quite a bit less than that of the average car-free person.

[Johnny_Monkey]

if you were to tune itin , that's where the cameras are, in other words.

Is probably on in the middle of the night.

[Nightshade]

One really bad thing that has happened in recent years is the
arrival of GM seeds from Monsanto etc. These seeds will NOT
grow from the fruits/produce like heritage seeds will. Now try
and find heritage seeds to buy......if you can.

[Kabloink]

One really bad thing that has happened in recent years is the
arrival of GM seeds from Monsanto etc. These seeds will NOT
grow from the fruits/produce like heritage seeds will. Now try
and find heritage seeds to buy......if you can.

While they may be scarce at the local stores, you can find quite a few sources by searching online for heirloom or heritage seeds.

[wahoonc]

One really bad thing that has happened in recent years is the
arrival of GM seeds from Monsanto etc. These seeds will NOT
grow from the fruits/produce like heritage seeds will. Now try
and find heritage seeds to buy......if you can.

They are available...I get mine from either Baker Creek (http://rareseeds.com/) or Hart Seeds (http://www.yankeegardener.com/seeds.html), there is also the Seed Savers Exchange. (http://www.seedsavers.org/) I saw this one coming several years ago and sought out alternate sources. We also save our seeds and replant at least a portion from year to year.

Aaron:)

[FXjohn]

unless you're planting soybeans or field corn the hybrid thing isn't much to worry about really.
I always get volunteer peppers and tomatoes from last year.

[donnamb]

One really bad thing that has happened in recent years is the
arrival of GM seeds from Monsanto etc. These seeds will NOT
grow from the fruits/produce like heritage seeds will. Now try
and find heritage seeds to buy......if you can.
If you live near a food cooperative, you can find them there. Fortunately for me, it's just a one block walk.

[wahoonc]

it says they sell eggs. I thought most ordinances required a few acres to have poultry.

Depends on the locale...the town we WERE considering buying a house in bans all poultry/livestock inside the city limits. Pretty short sighted IMHO. You can keep as few as 3-5 chickens on a typical city lot with no issues if you take care of them. But there is alway someone that will have a problem with it:rolleyes: FWIW I have over 2 dozen hens and a rooster now with more on the way. That flock is in an 8x12 hen house with about 320sf of run space (about double what is needed) You can run a flock of 5-6 in a space as small as 10'x12' easily. That would provide enough eggs for a couple of families. We have 40 acres BTW:D

Aaron:)

[donnamb]

Our leading mayoral candidate keeps chickens in an urban neighborhood.

[Nightshade]

Our leading mayoral candidate keeps chickens in an urban neighborhood.

Many cities/towns have a ban on keeping animals , other than dog/cats, within city
limits due to health issues of the manure they generate.

[wahoonc]

Many cities/towns have a ban on keeping animals , other than dog/cats, within city
limits due to health issues of the manure they generate.

That wouldn't be an issue if people handled it properly;) Even our hen house is a non issue. We use deep bedding in our hen house and it gets put in the compost pile once a year, no odor, and minimal flies. I know some people that have several dogs running in a yard and IMHO it is a manure pit and the health department should intervene....glad I don't live near them anymore.

Aaron:)

[Roody]

That wouldn't be an issue if people handled it properly;) Even our hen house is a non issue. We use deep bedding in our hen house and it gets put in the compost pile once a year, no odor, and minimal flies. I know some people that have several dogs running in a yard and IMHO it is a manure pit and the health department should intervene....glad I don't live near them anymore.

Aaron:)

I hate to rile up the powerful dog lobby, but I have to agree. I don't understand the ban on small farm animals when people can have as many dogs, cats, potbellied pigs and ferrets as they want. I doubt if even a goat poops as much as a St. Bernard.

[cradduck]

I grew up about 40 miles away from where these people live and while my parents never had anything growing in the front yard. They were always growing stuff in the backyard (and still do today). My parents house in on a weird plot where they have double the backyard space of the surrounding neighborhood and at the peak of production they were growing lemons, apricots, plums, green beans, corn, radish, other foods I can't even remember and a multitude of spices. Looking back it was a great experience.

I live in an apartment now so I can only grow a few spices, but there is an empty plot just down the street from me. Nothing grows on it except weeds and I would like to find the owners to see if it can be used as a community veggie garden till something is done with it. I just don't know how to find who owns land when there is nothing on it.

[politicalgeek]

I don't know about there, but here you can get on the county recorders site and search properties. Ours has a map and if you had something similar, you could look up your address and find the vacant lot and its owner.

[bigjim1]

Is it not true that when man turned from a hunter/gather into a farmer he imprisoned himself? That backyard lot could imprison you. You have to be there to make it work. Chickens need feeding and plants need to be tended. You cannot just take off for a bike tour or decide to stay over at a friends. How wonderful it must have been to wander and feed off the fruits of nature that grow freely by the pathways. The garden of Eden must have been a great place. I think we are ignorant about the amount of free food that is available for the picking.

Jim

[TuckertonRR]

II live in an apartment now so I can only grow a few spices, but there is an empty plot just down the street from me. Nothing grows on it except weeds and I would like to find the owners to see if it can be used as a community veggie garden till something is done with it. I just don't know how to find who owns land when there is nothing on it.

Easy. try to find the address of the lot (if its next to a building, just count up/down) and head to your local city hall or tax office. Ask to see the tax rolls. They may also have a map showing all the buildable lots in your town. Then try to see who owns it. Check also to see if they owe back taxes/fees on the property. It might be coming up for sheriff sale.

[Torrilin]

One really bad thing that has happened in recent years is the arrival of GM seeds from Monsanto etc. These seeds will NOT grow from the fruits/produce like heritage seeds will. Now try
and find heritage seeds to buy......if you can.

Hybrid fruits and vegetables that won't grow from seed have been around longer than my parents been alive. Sky hasn't fallen yet. If you're aware of the problem (not hard) you can take action and buy appropriate seedstock for your purposes. Home gardeners have been doing it for decades.

Cloned monocultures are a lot more alarming, but we've been doing *that* one for many centuries. Not fun when disease strikes, but it hasn't stopped anyone yet. Potatoes, many fruit trees, some strawberry varieties, several sorts of herbs and probably a lot more things I don't know about are best spread by cloning. The reason the Irish potato famine was so devastating was because they only had about 3-4 different plant genetics in use over the entire island... and all were vulnerable to the same disease.

[Roody]

Hybrid fruits and vegetables that won't grow from seed have been around longer than my parents been alive. Sky hasn't fallen yet. If you're aware of the problem (not hard) you can take action and buy appropriate seedstock for your purposes. Home gardeners have been doing it for decades.

Cloned monocultures are a lot more alarming, but we've been doing *that* one for many centuries. Not fun when disease strikes, but it hasn't stopped anyone yet. Potatoes, many fruit trees, some strawberry varieties, several sorts of herbs and probably a lot more things I don't know about are best spread by cloning. The reason the Irish potato famine was so devastating was because they only had about 3-4 different plant genetics in use over the entire island... and all were vulnerable to the same disease.

I think when people worry about GMOs (genetically modified organisms) they're not referring to hybrids or selective breeding. Like you say, these things have been around for generations without seeming to cause many problems.

Most people are worried about new GM practices like splicing frog genes into tomato plants (so tomatoes can eat bugs?) or modifying the genes of crop plants so they can withstand a certain company's herbicides.

According to Marion Nestle (http://www.foodpolitics.com/), the only GMOs you're likely to find in the supermarket at this time are soybeans and papayas from Hawaii.

[politicalgeek]

Is it not true that when man turned from a hunter/gather into a farmer he imprisoned himself? That backyard lot could imprison you. You have to be there to make it work. Chickens need feeding and plants need to be tended. You cannot just take off for a bike tour or decide to stay over at a friends. How wonderful it must have been to wander and feed off the fruits of nature that grow freely by the pathways. The garden of Eden must have been a great place. I think we are ignorant about the amount of free food that is available for the picking.

Jim

It's a thought. but the same could be said for a lot of things. Kids? Need to have a babysitter for some occasions. Pets? Need a petsitter or kennel for vacations.

Sure having an urban type farm would be a challenge. But its the reward I like. Being able to pay a fraction of what you would spend at the grocery store, the health benefits from tending a garden vs. watching TV, stress reduction and so on. Besides, when friends and family are begging for your produce and eggs, you can always bribe someone to come and take care of things.

[gerv]

According to Marion Nestle (http://www.foodpolitics.com/), the only GMOs you're likely to find in the supermarket at this time are soybeans and papayas from Hawaii.

When GMOs do hit the market in any appreciable way, we'll probably never find out... since companies are not required to label GMOs on the packaging.

But also... you will note that just about every food product produced in or for consumption in the US contains corn derivative products. Like high-fructose corn syrup. I really wonder who knows just how much BT corn has found its way to the human food chain. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bt_corn)


The StarLink corn controversy

StarLink was a variety of Bt corn patented by Aventis Crop Sciences (a subdivision of Aventis, acquired by Bayer AG in 2002), intended for use in animal feed.

U.S. regulatory authorities permitted the commercial sale of StarLink seed, with the stipulation that crops produced must not be used for human consumption. This restriction was based on the possibility that a small number of people might develop an allergic reaction because the version of the Bt protein used in StarLink is less rapidly digested than other Bt varieties.

StarLink corn was subsequently found in food destined for consumption by humans, with an episode involving Taco Bell taco shells being particularly well publicized. This led to a public relations disaster for Aventis and the biotechnology industry as a whole. Sales of StarLink seed were discontinued.

Corn sent by the UN and the US as help to Central African nations was also found to contain some StarLink corn. The nations involved refused to accept the aid.

The southern portion of the U.S. corn belt planted the greatest amount of StarLink corn. It is this portion of the U.S. where corn borer damage creates the greatest economic loss to farmers.

Greenpeace, which opposes genetic engineering in general, responded with a movement to ban the production and distribution of StarLink corn.