Just wanted to drop a note and say hello from Tucson, AZ, USA
Raised in the city of Seattle, WA, USA but always had a dream of being self sufficient.
Not doing much along those lines now, but when I was able to be a stay at home mom, I used to buy grain in bulk and grind my own flour to bake my own bread and other baked goods. We raised a steer for our own beef, which was the best beef ever. And when in Washington State,which has a very mild and damp climate, I was able to pick our own raspberries,
, blueberries, and wild blackberries and huckleberries to use fresh, freeze and make jams and sauces. YUM!I buy organic foods as much as possible and try to make most of our food at home, but I'm now a single mom of adult and teenage kids, so I don't have the time to devout to it that I used to with having to work outside the home full time.
I've lived in Tucson for 3 years now and we are able to grow citrus fruits here very well. I've lived in this house only a year but am growing an orange tree and lemon tree. I am composting everything because our soil is extremely poor here in the desert. It's a "lush desert" meaning the natural ground is covered with various native grasses, wild flowers, weeds, prickly pear and other cactus and such with native deciduous trees like mesquite and palo verde. It's amazing how little water a tree like the Mesquite takes to grow here! I've learned that the pods from the Mesquite tree can be collected and ground for flour. I have a very large Mesquite tree and will try that this year. It's said that the Spanish which came to settle this area were suffering malnutrition because they didn't want to eat the native foods that the Indians had used for food and medicines for hundreds of years. I would love to learn more about this, but also learn to grow my own 'typical' vegetables, berries and fruits in this arid climate.
I'm planning to try my hand at raising chickens for eggs soon and would also like to raise a sheep for our own lamb meat and sheep milk...but must get the proper permits since I do live in the city. Why a sheep? I hate the taste of goat's milk and a cow is way too large. I have heard that raw milk is so healthful and full of the enzymes needed to digest milk properly (I'm lactose intolerant). There is a local farmer who has raw milk for sale but it would be at least $15-$20 per gallon! Years ago I went to a Fair where there was a sheep with her new lambs in one of the exhibits. I asked if I could taste the sheep milk? The owner was surprised but said "sure". He milked some into a container and let me have a drink. It was so sweet and light! Probably more like human milk than cow's milk which is very fatty. With the extra milk I can make our own yogurt and cheese. How cool would THAT be!
Well that's enough for now.
Looking forward to learning a lot and making friends while sharing experiences along the way.
Blessings!
Colleen...aka luvraspberry
(thanks)
