Category Archives: family

A Backyard Farm Evolves in Seattle

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Tom and Didi with their backyard La Mancha goats in Seattle.

Sometimes there’s no grand plan to having an urban farm, it just happens. That’s the way it went with Tom and Didi’s Seattle backyard. Didi had always been a big gardener and wanted chickens, so growing vegetables and getting chickens was easy. Next a friend needed someone to take over her bee hive, so they adopted the hive and got bees.  And then they met Jennie Grant, a neighbor whose son went to school with the Burpee kids. When Jennie needed help getting backyard goats legalized they naturally gathered signatures for the petition. (Jennie Grant’s  story is in Backyard Roots.) Tom even made a hilarious music video about the process called Justice League Blues. Check it out, the entertainment value is high! After tasting how good  fresh goat milk was,  the Burpee family became interested in the idea of getting goats. The deal was sealed when Jennie’s baby goat needed a new home. Tom says at that point the backyard became “the land of milk and honey.” Now the animals and garden is just part of the daily routine.

Tom cautions others to not “jump into goat-keeping lightly.” The amount of work that goats require is a lot more than chickens. He and Didi milk the goats twice a day for up to 18 months after they give birth. He says a big part of  being successful requires having patient neighbors. “Bribe them regularly with cheese, eggs and honey,”  he advises. It’s also crucial to have friends and neighbors trained to help you milk the goats when you need a break. The Burpees have La Mancha goats that tend to be quieter, calmer and better milk producers than other small breeds.

Tom and Didi haven’t pushed their kids with lots of farm chores but the two girls help collect eggs, harvest honey and  like to cook and eat whatever is in season. Ada is the expert in making goat milk ice cream in exotic flavors like candied ginger and they both love having the animals, especially the baby goats.

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Ada (left) and Mette on the back steps with chickens.

 

Ada looks for eggs (left) and walks Phyllis, the goat. Since these photos were taken, Phyllis has gone on a diet and lost close to 50 lbs. They found controlling her food portions of everything except hay and walking her regularly helped her get down to a healthy size.

Ada looks for eggs (left) and walks Phyllis, the goat. Since these photos were taken, Phyllis has gone on a diet and lost close to 50 lbs. They found controlling her food portions of everything except hay and walking her regularly helped her get down to a healthy size.

Dyptich-Tom

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The chickens love cat food and take the opportunity to steal it whenever they can.

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Didi makes remakes used feed sacks into purses and bags.

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Ada and Tom walk Phyllis the goat, who has since lost close to 50 lbs.

Brad Dunks and his Rooftop Garden in Vancouver

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Brad Dunks still remembers his great grandfather’s reaction to his mother’s garden. He looked around and remarked “all these flowers and nothing to eat.” His grandfather grew up during the depression and knew the value of growing food. Brad feels the same way.  “Why do we put food on ships and send it half way around the world when we have so much space right here?”

He takes full advantage of his rooftop in downtown Vancouver BC. He finds it’s way easier to grow food than people realize and advises new gardeners to keep it simple. “Be practical, use whatever space you have and grow whatever is easiest. Don’t force it.” He likes growing greens: lettuce, kale, and chard. He’s found that kale gets sweeter in the winter and is fine even with 2″ of snow. Herbs are also a good plant to start with –you can’t kill mint– according to him. He also says the food he grows tastes way better than what you can buy. His wife always hated beets till they grew them and his daughter likes vegetables way more now that she helps care for them.

Brad also advises new gardeners to pay attention to the soil. “It’s really all about the dirt.” He composts his kitchen scraps and cuttings and when a plant becomes too rooty he adds it to the compost too. He rotates the compost out every six months or so–keep the soil moving he says.

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