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Adventures of an urban homesteader growing greens, preserving the harvest and tending a backyard barnyard

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November 7, 2012 by: Renee Wilkinson

November Harvest

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How did it get to be November? The trees are looking half empty of their leaves and telling us it’s time to spend more time inside than out. Thankfully, my winter garden vegetables are ready to start harvesting.

Arugula! I love this meaty salad green, especially in the colder months when we could use something thicker and more substantial in our salads. This veggie has grown great without a cold frame so far this season.

We are still harvesting our beet greens and beet bulbs. They were planted in the summer, giving us a nice long harvest. The winter beet crop I planted in a separate bed are still weeks away from being ready.

Homegrown celery puts that bland grocery store version to shame! We should have stalks big enough to harvest for Thanksgiving.

Bay trees are evergreen, providing year round garden structure as well as year round access to their culinary leaves. I have been snipping here and there for winter stews.

The spring/summer broccoli is still hanging on! We are getting some nice side shoots and I’m planning to leave the plants in the ground through winter.

Our summer swiss chard is also hanging on. We are getting some glossy new leaves shooting up.

And finally, all those onions I planted are sending up shoots. It will be months before the bulbs are ready to harvest, but we can snip some of the green shoots here and there to use as scallions.

What is growing in your garden? Does your climate lend itself to winter gardening or is there snow on the ground already? Tell me about it in the comments below!

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Comments

  1. 1

    Heidi Egerman says

    November 14, 2012 at 6:52 pm

    Hi Renee ~ I love your site and your blog. I am anxious to wander around and see all of your wonderful posts. This is my first year ‘winter gardening’ here in Boise, Idaho. We are a bit colder than you are in Portland so I have a few cold frames, several low-tunnel hoop houses and a larger hoop house that is 13’x7’x20′. I am growing lettuce greens, spinach, arugula, beets, cabbage, bok choy, corn salad, broccoli, and kale. We are also trying to winter artichokes and I my planted my garlic last weekend. I look forward to your future posts to learn more about your success with winter gardening and gardening in general. You can check out our winter garden at http://www.love2dig.blogspot.com.

    I’ve also connected with you on Pinterest and would love to know how I might be invited to share on the collaborative board, Vegetable Garden Bloggers & Writers United.

  2. 2

    Renee Wilkinson says

    November 14, 2012 at 8:01 pm

    Welcome Heidi! I believe I was invited to join the collaborative Pinterest board by Pamela Price over at RedWhiteandGrew.com. I would get in touch with her to see if there is room for you as well!

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Most days on the homestead aren’t big or dramati Most days on the homestead aren’t big or dramatic—they’re made of small, steady moments.

Refilling the chicken feeder. Collecting eggs still warm from the nest. Pulling up a few carrots. Tossing weeds to the flock. Trimming back the roses before they take over.

It’s not about doing it all—it’s about doing what you can, when you can.
Modern homesteading is less about perfection and more about rhythm. A little work, a little joy, and a lot of dirt under your nails.

Homesteading looks different for everyone—what does it look like (or feel like) for you?

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Swarm catching 🐝 This cluster was about the siz Swarm catching 🐝 This cluster was about the size of a basketball hanging in a Doug Fir next to a playground. They were super easy to catch with my extension pole! 

Note: don't put a swarm in anything plastic. I hated putting them in this bucket, but it's all I could grab in time. But they can easily overheat in something like this, which lacks good ventilation. I relocated them into a wooden hive super quick, but I was so nervous every minute they were in here.

As always, I chatted with several onlookers. Folks are always so curious about swarms and honeybees. It's a lovely way to educate and build bee ambassadors 🐝 
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Weekend vibes: gardening in pajamas, coffee in han Weekend vibes: gardening in pajamas, coffee in hand, and dirt under my nails before 9am.
This is how I fit homesteading into modern family life—little pockets of peace squeezed between breakfast and soccer games.

It’s not picture-perfect, but it’s real—and it feeds my soul (and my soil). Here’s to slow starts, messy mornings, and growing what we can, when we can.

How do you squeeze in garden time during busy weeks? Pajamas optional—tips welcome.

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Hey there, new friends! I’m Renee, a modern home Hey there, new friends! I’m Renee, a modern homesteader living in Portland, Oregon—raising chickens, veggies, and three awesome kids on our little slice of urban heaven.

I'm carrying on generations of knowledge to grow my own food, live more sustainably, and teach my family the value of getting our hands dirty (in the best way). Here, I share the real ups and downs of homesteading—think garden wins, chicken shenanigans, DIY projects, and everyday lessons from the land.

Fun fact: I'm a tango dancer and a landscape architect. Both are useful in the garden 💃🏽 

I’d love to get to know you—drop a comment and tell me where you’re from and what you’re growing (plants, dreams, chickens… anything counts)!

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Homegrown asparagus tastes 1,000% better than anyt Homegrown asparagus tastes 1,000% better than anything from the store. So juicy, crisp, naturally sweet. Some of these were 18" long and still tender. 

Asparagus is a perennial vegetable, meaning you plant once and it comes back every year. You have to wait until year three to start harvesting, but it's worth that wait. 

I do nothing to care for it, but every year I have arms full throughout spring and early summer. I planted an 8' row along an otherwise boring fence. The foliage turns brilliant gold in the fall. Tell me if you grow this crop! 
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More garden arches! This one also started with 20' More garden arches! This one also started with 20' lengths of thin rebar, shoved into the ground with my weight and hooped over loosely. Our old Christmas tree trunks are tied to the rebar, to thicken up the base. 

Pruned branches from our fig tree make good vertical supports. Multi-stemmed branches help build up the sides, bc they can also be woven in horizontally.

The most time is spent weaving in thin, flexible branches horizontally from our plum trees. The structure gets more secure pretty quickly, as tension is built up.

I use twine only selectively. Most is just held in place with just tension alone. It won't last forever, but it's not meant to. I'll rebuild in about 3-4 years as branches need replacing.
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Making woven garden arches 💪🏼 I start with a Making woven garden arches 💪🏼 I start with a few 20' lengths of thin rebar. My soil is soft at this time of year, so I can use my body weight to push them deep into the ground. 

Then I start layering in pruned fruit tree branches. Fig and pear work well as vertical sides. Plum and apple are flexible enough for me to weave in between. Multi-stemmed pieces are helpful to create tangles of branches. I use twine selectively, if at all. 

I dream of hopping across the pond to take a workshop at @damsonfarm.house to improve my technique making natural supports. Some day, I hope! 
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I couldn't bring myself to send these cushions to I couldn't bring myself to send these cushions to a landfill, even though the fabric covers were totally deteriorating. But I've never seen cushion covers for sale, until I stumbled upon these at Ikea.

They fit perfectly! I don't need fancy patio furniture - just a place to put my feet up. So hurray for the small wins and keeping these babies out of the landfill 🎉
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Taking care of yourself can be a form of resistanc Taking care of yourself can be a form of resistance. Rest, nourish your body, tend your garden. Keep your tank full 💪🏼 
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