Every morning these are all the wonderful (and sometimes disturbing) sounds I get to hear on the Urban Farm…
Sounds on the Urban Farm
April 23, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Chickens and Goats in the City
January 16, 2012 By
Goats are one animal I haven't contemplated adding to the urban farm. I do, however, admire those that dedicate themselves to raising goats. It takes a very special person to raise them; goats are not as simple to keep as chickens are.
To those that raise goats, you have my respect. When you make cheese with the milk too… wow.
December Urban Farm Picks
December 14, 2011 By
There is so much power in one little seed.
Every time I plant another seed, and watch it break through the soil, it is nothing short of a miracle.
Yes.
Every time I see a seed sprout, I know I have been privileged to witness a most magical event.
But there is much more to the seed that stimulating the soul.
Without seeds we have no way to survive.
Without heirloom and organic seeds, we have to resort to eating crops that make us sick.
Without each and every one of us taking responsibility for our food, and saving seeds, right now, tomorrow and the next day, we will have lost a most important opportunity for human survival.
Take this seriously and secure your future today.
October Urban Farm Picks
October 7, 2011 By
Tilapia fish are almost as comical as the chickens and already I am quite fond of them. I look forward to lifting the lid off of the fish tank and seeing their hungry attitudes and their willingness to greet me.
I am trying my best to NOT name these little boys because it will be hard to eat that which I have named and made personal.
There is one fish, however, who has a fin that is not quite perfect and I call him Mr. Circle Fish because he, well, just keeps making circles. At first I thought he was going to be history but now I see his circle ways are just his own unique style of living life. So he circles all day and then when I feed him he eats in a circle. His life is just about revolving around the tank and he knows no other way.
Mr. Circle Fish, I hope to have you around for a good while because you make me smile.
Dear Tilapia Fingerlings
October 4, 2011 By
Fearless has been my M.O. since I began urban farming last February. Getting chickens and raising them from pullets to egg layers was actually easier than I had imagined.
But this whole process of building the aquaponics system, from beginning to end was more on the nightmare side of things. Nothing in the garden has brought more frustration to me (and the Hippies I hired to help me) than the building of the aquaponics system.
Whatever could go wrong would go wrong and Murphy was writing all the laws for us daily. By the time the system was finally completed, over 5 weeks later, it was rather anticlimactic. We finally turned it on and it worked and we said, "it works."
It has been three weeks since we acknowledged that the thing finally works and today, I am expecting the tilapia fingerlings to arrive. I just got word from Edgar that he "shipped the babies".
So Edgar shipped the baby tilapia fingerlings…
I am secretly freaking out because I have read so many stories of aquaponics people killing their fish, accidentally of course. It is always the pH or the ammonia levels and the delicate balance between fish food, waste and the ability of the plants to filter everything to perfection.
My days of being a simple farmer are over… I have to be a scientist now and since that is not my forte, this will be a challenge. My pH is swinging wildly and just last night I finally got the pH correct for the fish. I have been praying feverishly because I am headed into unknown territory that involves very sensitive creatures.
As I type this the tilapia are in the air, flying from Florida and on their way to a new life and journey. Their new life is also my new life and journey, and apprehension is in full force as I tread lightly into new and uncomfortable waters.
Dear Tilapia Fingerlings:
I am not sure if I am fit to take care of you but I will do my best. This is all very new to me so please be patient if I overfeed you, or if your tank isn't warm enough or if the pH swings too high or too low too quickly.
I hope you like the greenhouse and I hope it is warm enough for you because I know you love that tropical feeling. I have done my best to accommodate your needs.
Thank you for volunteering for this position and I also thank you for being willing to give up your life in the end, for me and my family.
I appreciate you and how you were put on this earth to serve us.
Love,
Karen
(your nervous aquaponics newbie farmer)
September Urban Farm Picks
September 12, 2011 By
It is all about Aquaponics right now and the system is finally complete!
Warm & Fuzzy Carpenter Friday
August 26, 2011 By
I get some great testimonials coming in regularly from those that only know me on the web, but I have to say that I have never received one quite like this.
Yesterday I had a strong feeling about the fish tank and when it would be installed under the grow table. The foresight saved the guys a lot of time and effort. We have been working together like this the whole time, completely in sync.
I happened to find the coolest and sweetest hippie carpenters around. We have a couple of days more of work on this project, but so far this adventure into Aquaponics has been fantastic.
I truly feel warm and fuzzy inside right now.
From: David M. <davidxxxxx@gmail.com>
Subject: More photos
Date: August 25, 2011 11:42:14 PM EDT
To: Karen
Hi Karen,
Here are some photos I took of assembly of fishtank box underneath the grow table. There is a sheet of plywood that we've now screwed to the support legs off to the right side of the frame in the first photo
(the one with Mr. Water Cooler in it).
You have no idea how thrilled we both are that we didn't put the
entire grow table on top just to disassemble it to put the fish tank
underneath.
As two side notes:
1. I know that when you live in a household around other people you
don't have the perspective of what outsiders see, but I wanted you to
know how impressed I have been with your family and your girls from
what little contact I've had with them. One of your girls was going
off to school the other day and saw me and said, "Have a wonderful
day, sir", and little things like that just leave you with a great
feeling. Both of your children have been extraordinarily polite to
virtual strangers amongst their daily lives, and while one would hope
that such things would be universal — that isn't the case. But you
have a wonderful family that I have a great deal of respect for.
2. Along those lines, I am so impressed with your ambition about
growing your own food and putting Shohn and myself to work on this
project. I think the world would be a better place if everyone put
more thought into what they eat, where it comes from, and not relying
on strangers or huge corporations to provide a healthy product. We've
gotten so far away from the basics in our society, and at the same
time it is staggering to think of how many people don't even know how
to grow some vegetables.
Enough of my babble… I hope the photos help add to your collection
and I'll see you in the morning.
All the best,
David
AQUAPONICS FROM SCRATCH
Federal Terrorists Seize Raw Foods
August 4, 2011 By
We all know our country is in a very sick place and here is some evidence of that fact.
Here in the USA, where about 70% of us are OBESE and in DEBT, the US officals are focused on confiscating RAW FOODS. You know, the same foods that keep us HEALTHY and off of big pharma drugs.
These are the very same foods that we could grow in our own backyards and SAVE money. But we are not so free here in the USA and those that want to live on the healthier side of life are being terrorized by a government that has a secret (now obvious) agenda of keeping us sick and in debt.
Let's face it, we are easier to control when we are sick and in debt. That old school thinking is going to backfire though, and time will play that one out for all to see.
Rawesome Foods, a private buying club offering wholesome, natural raw milk and raw cheese products (among other wholesome foods) was the latest target of the feds. This club was founded by James Stewart, a pioneer in bringing wholesome raw foods directly to consumers.
James was followed from his private residence by law enforcement, and when he entered his store, the raid was launched. Read the full story at NaturalNews.com.
August Urban Farm Picks
August 1, 2011 By
Glorious bursts of red are popping up in the EarthBoxes and plant beds.
It is all about the peppers right now… and as many of us toast from the heat on the outside, we have a great opportunity to sizzle from peppers on the inside too.
I read somewhere that the heat of peppers actually cools a person off in the summer. That being said, try this salsa recipe and make sure to put a big dollop on your free range and organic eggs in the morning (if you keep chickens that is…).
August Salsa – Use all your homegrown goodies!
homegrown tomatoes (chopped)
chopped onions (any type)
chopped garlic (chopped)
bell peppers or hot peppers chopped
fresh lemon juice
a good salt
a strong dash of cumin (if you like it)
cilantro (chopped)
Toss together and adjust the seasonings. Make sure to add enough salt and lemon juice. Chill and serve on everything you eat (until you run out of your garden tomatoes and peppers).
The CPC
July 21, 2011 By
Chickens are great for controlling garden pests. They love weeds and bugs and they especially love any opportunity to eat a large and crunchy bug.
Cicadas are super crisp and crunchy. I think a cicada must be like a potato chip for a chicken.
See Helen.
She is CEO of the CPC (Chicken Pest Control) of Atlanta.
See Helen eat the cicada.
I will eat the egg that Helen made after she ate the cicada.
I hope I can get that visual out of my head, or I won't be cooking up Helen's eggs anytime soon.
Like a Full Metal Jacket
June 28, 2011 By
In our last episode, PepperWhip had some issues with the plaid belt photo shoot and with SpearWhip taking center stage.
All ended well though, and PepperWhip took a good long look at itself and the urge it had towards jealousy.
PepperWhip confessed to me that it was sorry for sinking to a lower place and letting jealousy overcome it. PepperWhip displayed great humility and then apologized with a heavy heart to us and SpearWhip.
PepperWhip's sincere introspection and commitment to work on inner issues melted our hearts so we wanted to feature PepperWhip with an honor of being on the homepage and we even gave it a new design for the 4th of July too.
When we got the script for the following video (which included a trip to the shooting range in Atlanta), PepperWhip was our 'model bottle' of choice. PepperWhip did an amazing job of posing with the gun and the 45 caliber bullets.
It was a fantastic day at the range! See for yourself in the video below:
Tooth Soap® versus Viagra
June 6, 2011 By
It has been almost a decade since I decided that TV was not worth watching anymore. I was sick of the drug commercials, the diet ads and the fast food promotions. TV ads seemed to be a very sick and manipulative game that advertisers were playing on the public (me and my young daughters).
The attitudes and images on TV and in magazines were crass and sinking into the gutter, slowly but surely. I knew that I didn't want my girls to absorb any of it. So I slowly did a TV detox in the house. It began with only allowing PBS or the cooking channel, and not more than an hour a day. Then I removed it completely and it wasn't an issue. I had the girls create things instead of sitting in front of the tube.
Prior to that, I was using the TV as a babysitter (horrible, but true). I did keep my eye on the girls but they were glued in front of a video, of some sort. It didn't make it right that they were watching educational things though. I really didn't want them to be "sitting" in front of a TV screen while growing up. That is how I grew up and I found it brought no lasting value to me in my life. It was a waste of time.
I was successful in this TV removal endeavor and we still do not have a TV in our home. I was also successful in keeping my home free from fashion and "style" magazines because I didn't want my girls to grow up with a distorted body image. It worked. They don't overeat or under-eat. They don't use food as a friend and certainly don't see it as a foe.
This "no TV" and no style/fashion mag thing does have occasional Amish-like side effects though.
For example, I had no idea there was a royal wedding, let alone an engagement. I kept getting email ads about "royal" this and that and wondered what it meant but didn't care enough to check. I don't pay attention to the gossip mags in the check-out line at the grocery store either, so I was clueless. Then one Friday the whole world was watching this "royal" wedding and I had no idea it was even happening. I bet the Amish didn't know either.
I also bet you are wondering what does Viagra have to do with any of this, right?
Well, since my city slicker self has been urban farming full time, I am not seen in front of my Mac so much like in the old days. But one night I clicked on a link (somewhere) and I ended up at the CBS website. I clicked on a video about a serial killer of young girls and as I sat there waiting for the video to load, I was questioning myself heavily because life has taught me to stay far away from dark people and their ideas.
I wasn't able to overcome my curiosity about this serial killer though, so I watched the segment and tolerated the ONE and ONLY ad that the 20 minute segment played at least 5 times. There was no way to get rid of the ad because it was part of the video. If I wanted more info on that serial killer, I had to put up with the ridiculous commercial.
The single ad during the program was for Viagra. There was this good looking older guy driving a muscle car, in great shape and then the Viagra pitch followed. I had no idea it would be for Viagra and was actually surprised and totally rolling my eyes all the way into the back of my head when I realized what the ad was for.
I am thinking, yeah, right! Like this guy has erectile disfunction. Anyone who knows about this knows that men that work out regularly get great blood flow throughout their entire body and I am pretty sure that 50 year old man with rock hard muscles was not really having any problems in that area.
Why can't Big Pharma be honest for a change? Why not show an obese dude who never eats a salad and subsists on junk food and who never bothers to put on sneakers to walk around the block? He is the Viagra guy, not the senior body builder.
By the end of the serial killer segment the tune of the Viagra melody was stuck in my head which I didn't appreciate. I was taken back to the years when I decided that TV was nothing more than brainwashing of things I had no interest in.
I then decided to make my own "ad" and I have to say that there could be something to Tooth Soap® competing with Viagra.
Science has proved that the "placebo" effect is absolutely real.
And Tooth Soap® does give a man "confidence", similar to how a placebo could give confidence. With all that fresh breath and brighter teeth, what man wouldn't feel really good about himself? That feeling could go far and it is all from Tooth Soap® (no prescription needed by the way).
Tooth Soap® is also perfectly safe to use and won't interfere with any spontaneous activities.
Yes, it's true Virginia. All your honey needs in the golden years is Tooth Soap®.
June Urban Farm Choice Picks
June 1, 2011 By
Heys Britto Luggage, two different watering cans, the HOTTEST pepper ever, fish and seaweed fertilizer along with super soft plaid shirts made it to the top this June.
Radiation Readings in Fukushima Rise To Highest
May 1, 2011 By
Radiation Readings in Fukushima Reactor Rise to Highest Since Crisis Began
"Radiation readings at Japan’s Fukushima Dai-Ichi station rose to the highest since an earthquake and tsunami knocked out cooling systems, impeding efforts to contain the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl."- BloomBerg, By – Apr 27, 2011 5:14 AM ET
But here is the part I want you to see most…
Radiation in Tokyo’s water supply fell to undetectable levels for the first time since March 18, the capital’s public health institute said today.
The level of iodine-131 in tap water fell to zero yesterday, and cesium-134 and cesium-137 also weren’t detected, the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Public Health said today.
Tokyo residents were told on March 23 that the city’s water was unsafe for infants after iodine and cesium levels exceeded guidelines.
See the dishonesty.
Side Effects of Urban Farming
March 31, 2011 By
When a neighbor got a glimpse of the Tooth Soap® Urban Farm recently, she got very excited and asked if it was okay if her boys came over to see it.
I was all for it since I believe we owe it to our children to show them the basics of food production.
When the boys showed up and saw the garden they ran to it like it was candy! They wanted to plant, dig and be a part of what was going on, in any way they could.
It was a beautiful sight to see the boys so excited about the dirt and what would eventually grow out of it.
The boys asked if they could come back to water the trees and give a hand when the chickens arrived.
I said, “Yes! Absolutely! You can all help me clean out the chicken coop!”
They all cheered and had HUGE smiles on their faces imagining how fun it would be to clean out the chicken coop.
I didn’t mention to them that when they cleaned out the coop, it would be full of chicken doo. If I let them know of the doo, they might not want to do what they said they would do.
Honestly, I didn’t want to ruin their moment.
After watching the boys and their excitement I am even more convinced that what all of us need to be doing is planting a seed or two.
I believe one way to overcome factory food is to GROW YOUR OWN. Even if it is just ONE plant.
Every organic or heirloom plant that each of us sows, harvests and eats is one less crop that is planted and harvested by the GMO profiteers.
The silos are overflowing with GMO corn, wheat and soy. But it has to stop somehow. It has to stop with each one of us, a little at a time.
Even if it is just a tomato or potato plant, every little bit helps. It is always the little things that make the biggest difference. Imagine if this was done by thousands and thousands of people.
The fact remains that we can most certainly change the world, one person at a time and I believe we can make a different one organic plant at a time.
Consider starting an Urban Farm today in your community and get ready for the side effects!
Avoiding Thyroid Inhibitors
March 28, 2011 By
The thyroid supporting foods have been listed, but what about those foods that "inhibit" the thyroid gland?
What foods or chemicals suppress your thyroid? This info is from 2001 and it helped many who were suffering from EXTREME hypothyroid symptoms.
What these HYPOthyroid sufferers did was:
AVOID ALL unsaturated liquid oils like flax, sunflower, canola, safflower, corn oil and other vegetable oils.
They DID use Extra virgin olive oil. If they were dealing with SEVERE thyroid symptoms, they avoided (IN EXCESS) ALL raw cruciferous veggies (cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower– They ate them more OFTEN IF THEY were LIGHTLY STEAMED FIRST).
They avoided fluoride, excess estrogen (birth control pills, Estrogen Replacement Therapy) and pesticides (they are estrogenic).
Those with very severe HYPOthyroid symptoms omitted:
- brussels sprouts
- peaches
- pears
- spinach
- turnips
- cabbage
- broccoli
- kale
- mustard greens
until their symptoms were under control.
They avoided all soy because of the phytoestrogens and other chemicals. Read more on soy.
They shunned GREEN and BLACK tea as it contains extremely high levels of fluoride.
More on avoiding thyroid suppressing raw foods…
No one needs to avoid thyroid suppressing foods like cabbage, kale, broccoli, etc., they just need to avoid them IN EXCESS. Most people would never eat enough to make any difference.
This fact is very important, and it is a huge mistake for people to avoid them completely because they contain unique and very necessary nutrients.
For instance, there is no reason to avoid cabbage in an occasional salad or coleslaw, none whatsoever. Nor to avoid taking broccoli or cauliflower at a salad bar, or picking the red cabbage out of a salad.
But if a person eats a large serving of coleslaw everyday for lunch, and lots of raw broccoli and cauliflower in their dinner salads everyday, then a problem could develop.
Most people don't normally eat enough of these vegetables to make any difference and most people only decorate with them.
Sometimes in farm communities where these vegetables are grown, people will eat excess. Also, sometimes a person that loves cauliflower (for instance), wanting badly to lose weight, will munch on a whole head of cauliflower every evening after work.
This could result in some thyroid suppression, just like juicing a half head of cabbage everyday might or regularly drinking lots of sauerkraut juice might.
Always the key is moderation in all things, never extremism.
Something to take note of is that if you are dealing with hypothyroidism, it will show in your teeth and gums.
Many people I know were actually made aware of their hypothyroid condition by a dentist, who was knowledgable in this area.
Crunch These Instead
March 7, 2011 By
Who doesn't love the crunch of a good chip? We all do because they taste good and more importantly, chewing relieves stress.
There was a study done many years ago that showed that chewing frequently helped reduce stress and that's why people were reaching for crunchy junk food and overeating it.
I have one solution for that gluttonous urge to crunch to obesity.
It just takes a little time on your part and a dehydrator. This is a great way to get regular vegetables into your child's diet too.
Zucchini Chips with Faux Cheese Sauce
You might be thinking it is too much work but once you get into the routine of making vegetable chips, it's a breeze. And these chips have SUBSTANCE. Some are on the crunchy/chewy side and are not like potato chips that melt in your mouth.
You won't eat a bag of these, but you will have a small handful of them. The nutrients in bell peppers help build strong gum tissue and there is plenty of fiber to keep everything running smoothly.
If you have a picky one or don't want a chip with strong flavor, skip the garlic and use just bell pepper, almond butter and salt for the sauce.
Jealousy Is Ugly
February 25, 2011 By
When the new Land's End Canvas 1963 Plaid belt arrived, we knew right away that Spearmint Tooth Soap® Gel was the perfect one to call for the photo shoot. With that smooth, yet peaceful personality, Spearmint Tooth Soap® Gel would be the one to model that Plaid belt best.
During the photo shoot (to our surprise) PepperWhip showed up demanding to speak to the photographer. PepperWhip Tooth Soap® felt that the modeling job should have been offered to other bottles, jars and pumps of Tooth Soap®, and that there was some unfair favoritism going on.
PepperWhip insisted we take test shots of it with the Plaid belt. PepperWhip wanted us to be sure we had the right Tooth Soap® for the modeling job. We took a few shots of PepperWhip to appease and calm down the tense situation.
The truth is, PepperWhip has had an attitude since the Spearmint Collection made the homepage. Instead of being happy for the Spearmint Collection's success and being content with being the flagship flavor of Tooth Soap®, PepperWhip began to obsess about what it didn't have.
Unfortunately, PepperWhip forgot about all the blessings that had been bestowed upon it and got caught up in some ugly jealousy.
The photos made it obvious that Spearmint Tooth Soap® Gel was in fact more at ease in the shoot than PepperWhip was. PepperWhip then apologized and quietly left to contemplate the whole episode.
At Tooth Soap, Inc., we know that most problems in the world stem from jealousy of others (and their things) and especially the inability to be happy with one's particular lot in life.
That is why we strive for being happy with what we have at all times, no matter if it's a little or a lot (or on the homepage or not).
Always be grateful for all that you have and do your best to be happy for others who are having success. It's just the right way to be.
Temporary Teeth and Permanent Retirement
February 23, 2011 By
When it comes to teeth, you need to think about retirement. I realized this when I hit Bank of America's home page recently.
The big blue letters screamed, "How much will you need to retire?".
I have always thought I would work until the end. Still, I couldn't resist using BofA's calculator to compute that number I should shoot for (if I suddenly planned some sort of retirement).
I typed in my info and clicked submit. There it was. The amount I would need to retire if I was blessed to live to be 74…
$3,880,100
A mere $3,800.000 and some change. I laughed very hard! I wanted to thank Bank of America for that afternoon chuckle.
This got me to thinking about teeth and gums and how most procedures done on teeth are temporary. Yes, teeth (and gums) are on my mind quite often.
Once teeth have undergone repair there will be a need to maintain that repair and this can costs hundreds and thousands of dollars over a lifetime. The cost of maintenance of teeth needs to be figured into retirement funds. Keep this in mind when you plan for your future.
I began pondering about how much money I have saved over the last 20 years on dental care and procedures. I have managed to avoid filling and drilling and so have my two children (so far). But even with all the savings I have enjoyed (because we were sans dental bills), I am not even close to saving that three point eight million. 
I will say though, using Tooth Soap® is surely one way to make sure you enter into retirement with the cleanest teeth and gums possible. Clean teeth and gums stay healthier and will serve you longer without needing repairs (that will need more repairs down the road).
When it comes to retirement, there is something you can do right now to invest in yours and it starts with brushing with Tooth Soap®.
If you aren't using Tooth Soap® yet, know that it is never to late to start that investment and it will certainly pay off for you in years to come.
Tooth Soap® Affiliate Program
February 17, 2011 By
After being shut down abruptly (and making many unhappy), the Tooth Soap® affiliate program suddenly appears again…
This post is to let everyone know that the Tooth Soap® affiliate program is in full force once again.
We stayed with our original system because it was simpler and we had more control to tweak things. I have chosen to not be listed in the major affiliate networks at this time. This keeps it smaller and is better for what we are trying to accomplish.
Affiliates get to enjoy marketing our new PLAID look and the banners are ready right now in their affiliate module. This affiliate program pays 20%.
Sign up for the Tooth Soap® Affiliate Program now.
Bart Smith and his team are going to be heading this up so if you have any questions, please email toothsoaphelp@gmail.com and we will get back to you asap.
Join the revolution of those that REFUSE to use (or market) oral care products with warning labels.
Why Plaid?
February 9, 2011 By
Yeah, what's with the new look to Tooth Soap®?
It was time for Tooth Soap® to make some changes.
One change led to another and before we knew it, we had redone all the labels and the web site. Prior to that we changed the company name to Tooth Soap, Inc. and also rolled back prices to the same that they were in 2003. We have certainly changed and for the better.
But the plaid… why PLAID labels?
Tartan is distinguished, traditional, elegant, highly identifiable and the woven patterns give a feeling of bonding and unification. Plaid is the perfect background pattern for the Tooth Soap® label and there is a plaid for every flavor too.
Tooth Soap® now gives you some style and personality to go with your super clean teeth and gums. That style is then topped off with some wisdom for your Body, Mind and Soul via the product descriptions, my newsletter, and this blog.
Welcome to the new and improved Tooth Soap®!
