A Random Act of Kindness : My Latest Aldi Shopping Trip

Hello again, fellow enthusiasts. I am sorry for the second post today but I just HAD to share with you a wonderful story. Today my husband got home from work early so I was able to get a quick shopping trip in, before I had to start babysitting these two toddlers. So off I drove, tugging my oldest son along for the ride. When we get to Aldis I frantically look for a quarter to get a cart. Praying that someone left a quarter in the cart I searched every nook and cranny. Luckily I found one just as I was about to give up and try my luck. See I usually leave my cart not "locked" so I cant obtain the quarter back, leaving it for someone else to use. Hoping some good karma caught up with me I looked to find not just 1 but 2 carts with extra quarters, and these little cards.

I stole one of the cards, left the quarter, and then had a lengthy conversation with my son about how kindness can spread like fire if you fan it enough. I have since visited their website and read their touching story. I checked out their Facebook page and was able to see all the wonderful and inspiring stories of peoples generosity and kindness. Now I have a question for you? What random act of kindness has befalling you? What have you done for others? Id love to hear your stories, leave a comment below. Have a good night - The Geeky Farmer

Urban Farming Adventure

Welcome back fellow enthusiasts. What is a potatoes least favorite day of the week? Fry-Day! ( Like cheesy jokes) Today we will be covering urban farming. Urban farming has been a solid focal point in my family's life. But it hasn't been the easiest endeavor. In fact, its been an uphill struggle. Between pure ignorance and situations out of our control we have faced lots of adversity. Such as, neighborhood conflicts, city ordinances, and financial strain. But through all the misfortune we have since provided our family (and others) with plenty of great food. Like Gandhi said; "Everyone wants to be strong and self sufficient, but few are willing to put in the work necessary to achieve worthy goals."

So what is urban farming exactly? Urban farming involves using small plots such as vacant lots, gardens, containers, or roof tops in the city for growing food. It can take many forms and involve animal husbandry, aquaculture, and many more. Did you know that urban farming has the potential to provide economic regeneration and stability to our growing population? Not only does urban farming provide us with good-for-you-food but it can also help families learn to support them selves and make communities thrive. All-in-all urban farming is a great way to start contributing to yours (and other) needs, education, and well being.

Now that you know what urban farming is how can you start farming to produce your own food? Well the first step is education. As of now you already started that step. Try and research as many small farms as you can. Go to your local farmers market and ask questions. You will soon find that more people are willing to share their knowledge and experience, than you'd expect. I personally like following Omnivores Homestead on Facebook. This family taught me how to make a killer fly trap. Next you need to come up with a business plan. Figure out what you can produce with the space you have. Then decide rather you are farming seasonal or year round and will you be selling to others or preserving for personal use (even both!). You need to be asking yourself: What is its you are trying to achieve? Why are you starting an urban farm? Who are you serving? And how long do you see yourself doing this? The answers to these questions will help develop that broader picture.

For us, we are urban farming to produce fresh, organic, pesticide free food for our consumption and a little extra to substitute animal feed costs. I plan on farming until I die. We haven't yet made the decision to produce on a mass scale for a profit margin. Although it is in our minds as a retirement plan. We started big at first and took a huge loss due to lack of education and experience (Least to say we learned the real hard way!). Now we are starting small. We made sure we could afford a quality food source BEFORE we got animals. We chose to feed our animals as close to a natural diet as we could. In the small dining room space of our home I converted that dining room table into a "Feed Zone". (We all eat in front of SiFi shows or video games anyways) In this area I have a medicine cabinet, fermenting chicken feed, a quarantine area, a fodder system, super and meal worm farms, storage, and bags of feed. As well we are converting the space under our back porch into a rabbit shed. 

As you can see all of our farm projects take up very little space. With the 12 by 12 chicken pen and hen house in the back yard, all together we are only taking up a fourth of an acre of space on our new property. And by the next harvest season I will be able to provide 216 lbs of rabbit meat, 33 dozen eggs, a years worth of vegetables, AND reduce the cost of animal feed by a lot. But how do we do it all? Stay tuned for a dive into each of our projects. Or just follow us on Facebook. Until then, have a blessed day - The Geeky Farmer

Mona's Greatest Gift: An introduction into The Geeky Farmer

Hello fellow enthusiasts. My name is Danielle and Id like to tell you my story. Lets take you back nearly seven years ago. I was a freshly remarried young woman with 3 little boys, a mortgage on a two bedroom house, and very little life skills (due to being sheltered in my life up to this point). My cousin-in-laws just moved in with my family and new husband, with her three young sons. Oh, and my mother was sleeping on the couch. By my count that was 10 people living off my husbands puny $250/wk paycheck. We applied for food-stamps and that began our three month wait to get them in. Soon our cupboards were bare and WIC only provided so much. We began going to the monthly food-banks in our area as well as I decided it was time to ask for help. So I did the only thing I knew how to do, I used social media to reach out. And when I did, I soon found a few willing to help us with food. One gentleman gave us last seasons deer meat that was taking up room in his deep freeze. One gentleman named Bill let us come pull weeds out of his garden and he provided us with pounds and pounds of fresh organic produce. And then we had this one kind lady give us the biggest gift of all.

Mona was her name, I have lost contact with her through the years, but she was one heck of a woman. I remember the conversation vividly. She asked me if I have considered raising my own food. Now, see I am from the city, and not just any city but I came from California. I either lived in the desert or a little box apartment. I had never been giving the opportunity to learn, well anything of importance. That's what Mona's greatest gift was. The gift of knowledge. She also gifted me with my first trio of rabbits, my soon to be biggest life long addiction *haha*. Mona taught me my first lessons in farming, too. Love your work. If its not something you are going to passionately pursue, then its not worth pursuing. Or like Steve Jobs said; "The only way to do great work is to love what you do." That's some of the best advice Mona gave me. And I am. I am very passionate about my work. So much so I am starting this blog. See I have a form of social anxiety. And reaching out to the public, where you can be so harshly judged, is quite a nerve wreaking experience.
Now that brings us to today. As I sit in my room writing this, I just cant wait to write the next upcoming blog about our dive into self sufficiency and farming. Did you know that urban farming has the potential to alleviate two of the worlds most crucial problems: poverty and waste!? I am just so excited to write about it, and cant wait for your feedback So stay turned for more from me, The Geeky Farmer