Urban Farmer

I am writing the blog post from my backyard with my computer sitting on a bale of straw. I have arranged several bales of straw to form a makeshift chicken play pen. The chicken coop is built, but it doesn't have a run yet. It is time for my babies to eat grass and scratch dirt, so I made a makeshift play pen for them. They are young, and there are several stray cats in our neighborhood, so I am watching them and blogging.

I put in a full day at school today, supervised the school paper meeting after school, and went to the Feed and Seed store to buy straw. I had heard that straw is a cheap alternative to bags of mulch from the big box store. If you ever need to know how many bales of straw will fit in the back of a Jeep Liberty, the answer is six. Six bales of straw cost $30, and should mulch my garden area nice and deep. I spent $100 on garden mulch from the big box store last year, so I am feeling pretty good about the straw.

I should start getting deliveries from my veggie CSA next week. Eating local and supporting local farmers has become an very important issue for me. Knowing where my food comes from in this day of corporate, genetically modified food has a lot to do with why I have a garden and six baby chickens.

Maybe I am not an urban farmer yet, but I am trying!