In episode 10 of the Root Simple Podcast, Kelly and I have a conversation with Erica Strauss, professional chef turned gardener and self described urban homesteading fanatic. Her voluminous and amazing blog Northwest Edible Life offers practical advice on a wide variety of topics: food preservation, gardening, keeping livestock in urban spaces, kitchen tips and home economic hacks. Some of the many topics we touch on in the interview include:
- How she got started homesteading
- Gardening in the Northwest United States
- Four season gardening
- Growing fruit in the Northwest
- Dave Wilson’s Backyard Orcharding
- Her viral blog post, The Terrible Tragedy of the Healthy Eater
- Meal planning for families
- Time management on the homestead
- Getting up early to get things done
- Irresponsible chicken keeping
- Livestock vs. pets
- Ducks vs. chickens
- Slugs and snails
- Lining a duck pond with clumping cat litter
- Duck housing
- Selecting and preserving avocados
- Erica’s book project
You can also find Erica on Facebook.
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Great podcast! It’s inspiring to hear Erica talk about her “Urban Homestead” and to know she has faced and overcome the sample hurdles I’m facing in trying to create a more productive home environment. I’ll definitely be checking out here organizational PDF’s. I hope they can help me to bring some order to the chaos at my own homestead.