Baby's First Urban Homestead

My mother could vouch for my stubbornness - I refused to let anyone help me do something I knew I could do myself... even if I couldn't really do it. From the time I was a toddler, I would adamantly refuse her assistance when it came to putting my shoes on. It may have taken me the better part of a year to figure out how to do it while I wasn't tolerating her "bunny runs 'round the tree" lessons, and even longer to give up my Troll shoelace-biters that kept the sloppy knots in place, but that never lessened my determination. I would get it done, and I'd do it myself.

This has, evidently, not lessened any over the years.

In college, I rediscovered my love for all things environmental. No more Captain Planet and crying about endangered animals in my bed at night! I was an informed, rational, slightly cynical college woman, and I found something I was passionate enough about to do for the rest of my life!

Then I graduated and moved to northern Florida.

Critically wounded but not yet down, I determined that I would make the best of this. And I would do it myself. So, now that I've settled some tentative roots down here figuratively, it's about time I do it literally.

I've started an urban homesteading experiment in a neighborhood with a Homeowner's Association, no fences, no backyard, and on less than a quarter-acre of sloping land. Oh, and I live paycheck to paycheck working retail for several hours a day, so my resources are limited. I've dabbled in gardening before - mostly by growing lavender, chamomile, and a monster of a rosemary bush in the scorching heat of southern Nevada. But this is my first real attempt at gardening for supplemental sustenance.

Plants so far!
Strawberries (alpine variety and Quinalt)
Fig tree
Pomegranate tree
Blackberry
Blueberry
Dwarf snow peas
Miscellaneous herbs

Some plants were started last year and kept in containers. But this year I was able to transplant all of them! My first project for the year is a concrete cinderblock planter.

This was the first process. Plain cinder blocks from the home improvement store, play sand, and weed block. I chose the southern-facing side of the house since most of what I was planning on planting there is sun-loving producers. 

The play sand was put down to level the land out for the blocks. Otherwise, they tilted and it looked absolutely hideous. (I learned this the hard way, by thinking about leveling it out, saying "naaah", putting blocks down and then having to move them again). The weedblock got put down on top of it, rolled in one sheet and then cut out around parts that needed to be exposed. Then the blocks got piled on top. 


Then it got painted and filled with dirt. Here's some of the seedlings!

Once the rest is planted, the whole thing will be cleaned up. Excess weedblock trimmed, dirt scrubbed off, etcetera. So far there is dwarf snow peas on top, and a mix of strawberries on the bottom tier.

Materials
Cinder blocks - $14
Weed block - $18
2 bags Play sand - $8
2 cubic feet garden soil - $8
Concrete block paint - $15

Plants (grown from seed) - approx $5 

 The rest of the peas are in that planter in the front, along with alllll those seedlings in their trays. As you can see, it's a pretty crowded set up right now, but hopefully over the next month everything will be cleared out and put where it needs to go!