MOM's Self-Reliant Homestead

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During the first year there simply wasn't enough time to prepare many new beds along the walkway, but there was one area of existing good soil west of the front walk, between it and the stream. Bob took advantage of this alluvial miniplain and got a cover crop of hairy vetch and rye in during the fall of '83. In the spring he skimmed the vetch and rye and did two seedings of buckwheat. By fall, visitors enjoyed nibbling on young okra, as well as on other vegetables that grew in the shade of the tall okra plants.

On the east side of the walk, Bob prepared more nursery beds (in the spring of '84) by mixing large quantities of rotted cow manure into the rock-hard soil. 1984 also saw the beginning of a privacy fence along the road at the south edge of the property. Rose of Sharon, forsythia, and pink and white spirea will provide a visual screen after they've had a few years to get established.

The two ponds in front of the house haven't produced many fish yet, because the source water-from the hydroplant's intake in a lake above the homestead and a creekhas been too warm and murky. By deepening the hydro intake and tapping another creek's flow into the upper pond, we've managed to improve the water quality dramatically—but the temperature is still marginal for trout in the summer. We now have 500 young hybrid bream wintering in the pools, and we figure that about 50 of these fish should do well there as adults.

The greenhouse inside the earth shelter is used largely to overwinter perennials (especially cash-producing ornamentals) and to grow greens, herbs, and flowers. Potted or namentals being held for sale in the spring are wintered against the back wall of the living room, where the sun penetrates fully during the colder months. In summer, cuttings from parent ornamentals move up to rest on top of the beds in baskets.

In the small planter along the back of the kitchen counter, Bob keeps culinary herbs that won't winter over and some herbs that would winter over but are simply nice to have on hand, along with a scented geranium to keep the area fragrant and an aloe vera to apply to burns.

THE GREENHOUSE

The separate greenhouse we've added to our homestead (shown above) does so many different things that it's been difficult to figure out what to call it. Naming it by its functions could lead to a conglomeration such as this: compost-heat—and active—solarheat-augmented, photovoltaic, earthbermed, plant propagation and production rabbit hutch/ chicken coop/terraced growing bed/runway greenhouse system. See what we mean? Let's compromise and use the New Alchemy Institute's term-bioshelter.

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