Guest Blog: Farm Camp Review

Written by Guest Blogger Ursula Stauder (the most awesomest 14 year old in the world)

Farm Camp was the highlight of my summer. I learned so many things about Urban Homesteading! :D:D

At first, I was quite skeptical about the chickens and goats. I have always been a little afraid of chickens and the goats were trying to eat my clothes, but soon I started looking forward to waking up and feeding the animals. I found them quite amusing. Lucy, the pregnant goat, and Ethel, the non pregnant goat, were hilarious when they ate apples. The chickens were also very funny, and I learned that when you hear obnoxiously loud squawking that can sometimes sound like a barking dog, that a chicken is laying an egg! 

My favorite part of Farm Camp was cooking. I love to cook! Heidi and I cooked apple pie and bread. The apple pie was very fun to make and was delicious. I love apples, and to cook them into such a fantastic pie made it 10 times better. Along with apples, I also really like bread. I learned how long bread takes to prepare, and how cold the dough can be (editors note - This was a no knead bread method where the dough requires some refrigeration.). Ute also introduced me to uncooked bread dough. It is so good!

Heidi showed me how to double dig with compost for raised beds. It was hard work, and very smelly, but afterwords it was rewarding to see a fresh raised bed. After I replaced the soil, I had to soak it with water, which took a very long time. When it was soaked, we planted beans, beets, and other plants.

She also showed me how to make a planter with a plastic bucket and a drill. We also filled this with compost and a self watering bottle, which was an old two liter soda bottle. It looked great when we had finished.

Aside from the work, Heidi, Esteban, and Ute all helped me be more aware of my diet and surroundings by giving me small reading assignments and lectures that were very interesting and quite informative.

All in all, Farm Camp was amazing. I am so lucky to have had this experience. You guys have really opened my eyes to a lot of things, and I am very happy to be more aware about my food and lifestyle. Thank you so much Heidi, Esteban, and Ute. I love you guys!

Love, Ursy