June is Bustin' Out All Over.......

Overall, I am very pleased with my garden so far this year.   We got about an inch of much-needed rain today.  As wet as the Spring was, it had been weeks without a drop, and that meant brown, crispy lawns and having to water the garden.

As promised, I worked on a way to water more efficiently. I punched holes in the bottom of several plastic juice bottles and placed them next to the plant I wanted to water. My first attempt was a total failure. The holes were small, but there were way too many, and I watched my bottles empty in seconds, when they were supposed to seep water to the roots of the plants. That a pot could swallow 1/2 gallon of water that quickly told me how much I was pouring on my plants, too. I'm saving up more bottles and next time will only put one or two small holes in each.  In extremis, I could also save 'gray water,' (stopper up the tub while showering, then scoop it out with a bucket) and use that to water.  I've done it in the past, but it hasn't come to that.  

There are those who will tell you not to water your plants at night, due to the risk of fungal diseases. They have a point of course, but I compromise.  I go out about 7-ish, when the heat of the day is past its peak, and the sun has dipped lower, and water then.  I water at the base of the plant, and try to avoid wetting the leaves.  That way the plants have a while to dry off if they did get wet, and all night to soak up the water, minimizing evaporation loss.  If  you water during the day it will 'burn' off much of your water through evaporation, and droplets on leaves can act as a prism, allowing the sun to burn holes in your foliage!

True, water soaker hoses are a good solution, but pricey, and not very do-able in pots.

I've been harvesting all Spring, mostly herbs.

But some of the bigger stuff is coming on now too. 

 I have 2 yellow squash plants in this pot, and two squash that will be ready to eat this weekend.   As the plant grows, I hope to use the deck railing as a trellis.  (we'll see how that goes :)

I also have 1 zucchini in a pot and 1  Patty Pan Squash that was in a third pot, but got transplanted into the garden under the pole bean tee-pee.  I finally gave up in the battle with the robins pulling up all my seedlings, and put a more grown-up plant there. The advantage of having the potted ones "up close and personal" on the deck is maybe I can keep a closer eye on them and avoid baseball-bat sized zucchini. 

I had Kale with dinner last night

and Chard the night before.  I am not one for 'long-cooked with a ham hock, pot liquor and cornbread' style greens - although I love the cornbread part.  Just not slimey greens.  (It must be my Yankee genes)  I gave them a quick saute - long  enough to wilt them, season and eat.  Yum!  

The Roma tomatoes (from purchased plants) are well up and setting fruit

The 'German Pink' tomatoes, started from saved seed well after the Romas, are coming along - interplanted with Opal Basil, Nasturtium (said to repel Tomato Hornworm - we'll see) and Marigold - to repel nematodes.

My 'potatoes-in-a-pot' are huge.  A few blossoms, but not the real thing yet.  These are the white potatoes, and I have a pot of reds at the top of the steps.  If I had something to go around those plants, and then added soil or straw, I cold have potatoes growing the whole length of those stems :(   I didn't get one potato last year though, so I guess I should wait to see if I get any before I complain.     

The Basil is ready to be cut and preserved!  

Last year I bought a dehydrator, and preserved lots of things that way, besides freezing a few more in my tiny above-the-fridge freezer space.  It's hard to remember to use them though!  I could blame it on being  someone who doesn't cook all that much at home, but I've read a bunch of  'family' blogs this season that are saying the same thing.   

Earier this week I pulled out a jar of store-bought baby Portobello mushrooms that I dehydrated and saved last year.  I put some warm water on them to rehydrate them, and they were great - but there was an unexpected bonus..... 

This lovely bit of mushroom broth that could be added to stock. 

I'm going to use it tonight to make Mediterranean Couscous .  I got the recipe from Homestead Revival,  and I make it a lot. It is one of those go-to recipes that can be added to or altered, depending what you have on hand.   I sub canned white or cannelonni beans for the garbanzos, because I like them better, and use regular, not whole wheat couscous.  She calls it a side, but with added veggies, mushrooms or greens, I eat it as a vegetarian main dish.  

The animals are fine, Abigail is back to an egg-every-other-day laying schedule, and Ivy now has solid black peachfuzz-fur on her backside.  Niko is the only one who still needs his summer haircut, and if I would ever get up from this computer.........

Until next time from Wren Cottage.... 

        

Derby Day in the Garden

 There is no rain (yet), but it is overcast and the temp is mild.  A great day for working in the garden!

I created two new small planting places this morning:

This place at the foot of the deck stairs has always been soggy.   The downspout is on that side of the house, and the way the yard drains, water would always run this way and some would collect here.   I've read that Comfrey likes the wet, so one or two plants will go in here.   Today is rabbit pan clean-out day, so I will just dump buckets of poo there.   

I have a theory.... a couple of rains wash any urine out of the poo, and (I think) also kills weeds and grass underneath.  Call it the lazy-girl's method of 'lasagna' or compost gardening.   I have also read this spring that some folks don't like the cardboard base that one is supposed to start the lasagna layering with.  They say it doesn't break down fast enough.  My 'big' bed is doing well with the dump-and-leave-it method, so I'm going to see how it does here. That is a very pretty pink-flowering geranium you see under the steps.  If it starts to look like it is being shaded out or overwhelmed by the Comfrey, I'll move it.

This is the corner where I planted my German Pink tomatoes last summer, and they loved it there.  This year, instead of them having to fight for space between the rose and the compost pile, I moved the pile over a couple of feet, and will plant in the compost left behind.  The cement edging used to go all the way around the big bed, but I thought it was ugly, and changed that to fieldstone.  Frugality is winning out this year, so I hauled it out again and made some practical and weed-wacker proof, if not attractive edging for the new planting areas.     

These have to go - out of the big bed anyway, but they are just too pretty to get rid of, so I think I can fit them in on the other side of the rose from the tomatoes.  When you are an urban farmer, it's all about using all the space you have, no matter how tiny! 

This nice low-growing shrub that I can't remember the name of, has the sweetest white flowers.  It roots anywhere the branches touch the ground, so I have it several places, including the bed across the front of the house.   I like the way it adds to the potager feel, so it will stay.   You can't see it on the rose in the background here, but they are crammed with buds, as are all three of my roses in the backyard. Some are ready to burst open: 

As for the vegetables and herbs, I added a couple more chard plants.  I like it better than spinach, and they  can be used interchangeably.    I planted the Roma tomatoes and jalapenos, cut back the Feverfew by about half and harvested an armload of Lemon Balm to dry.  The Feverfew isn't good dried, but always used fresh, so it just went to the compost pile. With all the rain though, it was about to take over the garden. 

I need to get another stake, then I will plant a pole-bean tee-pee (is tipi pc now?) with eggplants at the base. There hasn't been one big planting orgy this year.  Everything has sort of trickled in.  But it's only early May and there should be plenty of time.   The oregano could be harvested.  It's higher than it looks here - about 2 feet.  It needs to be clipped before it flowers.  I might be able to get 2 (or more?) harvests this year.     

                    

Well it's off to Tractor Supply for some feed and bedding for the chickies.....I want to get back in time to watch the 137th running of the Derby!  I picked a couple of 20-1 shots in the office pool this year, and with no outstanding favorite, I'll just cheer for the winner, whoever it is!  

Have I gone too far?

Yesterday I went to Tractor Supply to pick up rabbit feed.   These are 'chick days' at Tractor Supply, but the ones they got in last week were gone already, so there weren't any to watch and enjoy.  I mean it! Really!  I would have just looked!  While I was in that section, I saw a bag of  "freeze-dried mealworms."  They were cheap, so I picked up a bag to have as treats for Abigail.    Treats for the chicken.......too much?   

Actually, it's more like a bribe, since she hasn't started laying again yet.   I want to get her (and the bunnies, one at a time of course) outside in a pen if we have a nice day, but the grass isn't growing all that much yet in the backyard, and after two days of heavy rain this week, it could turn into a mud pit in a snap, so we're all staying off it. I think I'll throw down some grass seed this afternoon to help things along a little. 

Those mealworms are pretty gross. They aren't all shriveled up, but look exactly like the worms in the picture. I had read chickens love mealworms, but I don't know where they sell fish bait around here.  
Freeze-dried will have to do.  At least they're a little less disgusting.  I couldn't tell if Abigail liked them or not. I took her out of her coop last night and she was very content to sit in my lap and watch TV.  OK, maybe that's the point at which I went too far!  

While I was out, I bought a few more packs of seeds - yellow squash, zucchini (which I plan to grow on a trellis), Cilantro, regular curled Parsley, and lemon cucumber.   I would need a garden the size of a football field to grow everything I have seeds for.   Often I only grow one plant, though.  I haven't had the greatest success growing seeds either ( see  Boulderneigh  post for today) except those that go straight into pots or the ground.  If I could get a handle on growing healthy starts, it crossed my mind to put up a sign out front with the seedlings - maybe for fifty cents or a dollar.  If anyone paid any attention, I might get to know some of my neighbors better, but more importantly, encourage others in the neighborhood to garden too!   

Maybe Phil was right

Since Phil saw his shadow on Groundhog day, we've had some cold days, but a definite change from the unrelenting winter we've had this year. 

One of the things I have learned about since moving to Kentucky are "Redbud Winter," and "Dogwood Winter."   That means even though we might have a February thaw, there will still be two more cold snaps, one at the time of the Redbud trees bloom, and another at the time of the Dogwood bloom.

This morning it even felt like Spring.  Taking a look around the garden, I found a few signs...

This is Artemesia "Silver Mound."  Artemesia (or Wormwood) is good for repelling lots of insects in the garden.  The dried fronds made into a sachet are said to repel moths!!   "Silver King" variety is best for that though.  The big drawback to Artemesia is it is toxic when ingested by people or animals, so if using it, be sure it isn't anywhere your livestock - or your pets or kids - will eat it,  Silver Mound stays put, but the other varieties are very invasive, so they need to be grown in an enclosed bed.

This is Feverfew, with some daffodils coming up in the background.  (the white patches are bunny wool)  Feverfew is used for migraines, among other things. 

I have always grown herbs.   They are so easy to grow, and their uses are very interesting, although some writers are, well......out there.  SUPER CAVEAT HERE  I would be very, very careful about taking any herbals until I had done my homework with a good herbal book - or 5 or 6 of them.   Before the days of modern medicine of course that's all there was, and gardens were developed for the growing of medicinal plants since the days of the monasteries and beyond.  The most famous still in existence today is probably Chelsea Physic Garden .  Not to be outdone, America has its own, Philadelphia Hospital Physic Garden .  

Back to my garden, with much smaller ambitions, when Spring is really and truly here, I'm ready!   

Until next time, from Wren Cottage ......

Gleaning

End of harvest clean-up, or whatever you want to call it.  I went over the pots on the deck and the mini-garden, to see if there is anything left that can be of some use.  I came in with some salad tomatoes, rose hips for tea **, flower heads for saving seed (marigold, mini snapdragon, and my favorite blue salvia), and I put the red pelargonium in a pot to see if I can overwinter it inside.

**For tea, Rose Hips  may be used fresh or dried:

• For fresh brewing - steep a tablespoon or two of clean hips in a cup of boiling water for about 10 minutes. Sweeten with honey and enjoy.
• When using dried hips, use only two teaspoons to one cup of boiling water and steep for 10 to 15 minutes.

The monster tomato plants at the corner of the deck were showing no ill effects from either the drought or the chilly nights we've had lately.  They are 7-8 feet tall and just as wide.  They didn't seem to produce much, though.  All foliage and little fruit.  I cut them back by about half and threw the cuttings on the compost heap.  I don't know why I didn't just cut them down.  Lo and behold I found several pounds of green tomatoes,  medium and large.  I have ripened a few inside already, and will do the same with these.  I like fried green tomatoes, but juicy red ones beat that for me.

I have seed beans saved from the pole beans and I put some herbs I have dried in jars and labeled them - Dill (weed and seed), oregano, peppermint, lemon verbena and basil.  I still have some marjoram to do.   There are still chard, lettuce and turnips growing, and I'm hoping the seed on the basil will develop and begin to dry before frost.

 I'm doing a little gleaning inside, too.  I pulled out a couple of boxes and started looking around the house with an eye toward what to get rid of - some to Goodwill, and some I want to take to the auction to sell, and see if I can recoup a few of the dollars I have spent there.  It is usually a buyers market at the auction I go to, so if they sell, I don't expect to make much.  It's better than messing around with selling on-line though and it feels good to have some of the clutter going out of the house for a change. 

This week - be still my heart - I bought a partial set of old (Enoch Woods Woodsware) cranberry red transferware dishes, for a price that I have seen one or two pieces go for in on-line auctions.  22 pieces in all.   I was so convinced I didn't have a chance at them, I was shocked when I had the winning bid.   They are in pretty good shape for being old (1900-1940).  No crazing in the glaze,  and only 3 pieces had chips.  My favorites are a small platter and vegetable bowl.  The pattern is "English Scenery" and each type of piece has a different scene.  The serving pieces had a man and boy herding sheep (no wonder I like them best) and the man has stopped to talk to a woman in a cottage.  The boy has his arms up and hands on his head, and even on such a tiny decorative element, the body language screams "I'm bored.  Let's go..." 

I would like to find a few more pieces of brown transferware, then I'll quit.  Like the silver spoons  I collected, my view is there can be too much of a good thing, where decor is concerned.  I like the charm of old transferware, and have several pieces of blue, and now the red/pink.  I only have 1 piece of brown , and those are the only colors I like.  When I get enough, it's easy for me to stop.  (She says.....am I in denial?)

Now, with books, or animals for that matter, it's a bit harder.....

Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer

That song, sung by Nat King Cole, was always played on the radio station in my home town as I was growing up, as the 'official' start of summer.  It still means summer to me - and very appropriate these days - except maybe for the lazy part.

I'm beginning to harvest and dehydrate some of the crops in my garden, along with fruits and veggies I have purchased.   I've done onions, mushrooms, jalapenos, eggplant, strawberries, (Bing) cherries and plums.   It's amazing how a packed-full tray dehydrates down to nothing.  2 pounds of fresh cherries can fit easily in a pint jar when dehydrated.   Snap peas and garlic are done for the year, and will be used without dehydrating.   No sign of broccoli or brussels sprouts forming on the plants yet.  

I think you can 'biggify' these pictures.  This isn't a bad shot considering it was taken with a point-and-shoot camera with no macro lens.  

These are my yellow pear salad tomatoes.  They are a little farther along than my other tomatoes - paste type and beefsteak type, because I purchased a plant of these, and the others took 3 tries to get seeds going, so they went in a little later. 

My attempt to take an 'artsy' shot with a different cluster of tomatoes 

  

Some other shots of the mini-farm.  Basil, Lemon verbena surrounded by thyme, a pot of mixed flowers for pretty, Patty Pan squash, eggplant, and under the chair,  a sedum.  Peppermint and chard not shown - to the right.  

At the foot of the stairs, potato plants in a tall trash can, 3 pots of tomatoes (5 plants in all - some are 2 to a pot), on every other step, plus a pot of tarragon in there too.  I'm not sure its a good idea to plant 'nightshade' plants next to each other since they draw the same pests, but with tiny spaces, compromises must be made.   

Thyme and rosemary in the back, 1 Jalapeno, 2 yellow bell peppers, 3 plants of 'Greasy Grit' pole beans in buckets.  I may only get enough beans to save for seed this year.  If I get more, I'll make 'leather britches' for eating later.  

   

Lima beans in large pot, flowers in large planter, beets in small planter, shallots, onions, blueberry plant, flax in background and a few turnips behind the chair..

(note swimming pool on deck next door.  I wonder if they considered the weight of a pool full of water..........which is why I use ugly, but lightweight plastic containers instead of cool clay pots)

This is the only shot I took of the garden, showing more basil (can you ever get enough?) brussels sprouts, oregano and broccoli tucked around the edges.   Not shown, but elsewhere in this garden, more onions, brussels sprouts, broccoli, and 'extra' tomato plants.   

Also last weekend, I went to Ohio for this bee-yoo-tee-ful girl! 

Do I need another rabbit?  Like a hole in the head. I saw this breeder's Mini Rexes  ( Kelsey's )  at the first rabbit show I went to in Ohio, and when I saw this doe on her website, it was love at first sight.  Her color, Sable, is not 'legal' for showing in her breed, but she can be used in a Sable Pointed breeding program, should I choose to breed them.  I'm hoping I'll be able to cage her together with my lilac Mini Rex, but it's not likely.  Two un-spayed females would probably be too territorial, but I'm working on getting them used to each other, and it's worth a try.   She doesn't have a name yet, but I'm thinking of some possibilities. Her color is really a much richer brown than you see here, with almost black head, ears, feet and tail - like a Siamese cat, and she has a sweet, wonderful temperment.  I haven't forgotten my angoras.....more on them at another time. 

That's all today from Wren Cottage.

Something's coming, something good.....

But I'll say no more just yet.  Suffice it to say I am spending this weekend assembling cages......

Most of my seeds have started, but because the only place I have for them isn't the best for direct sun, they are are already very leggy.  That's OK for tomatoes, because you can bury the stem when you transplant.  I'm not sure about the rest.   I am going to try to grow a little of a lot of things.  I have Japanese-style eggplant, patty pan squash, beets (I hate beets, but they say when they are pulled up as babies and roasted, they are completely different), bush beans, a few different tomatoes, potatoes (in buckets) and as usual, lots of herbs.   I yanked out clumps of lambs ear yesterday to make room for them.  I left a few small clumps, and it spreads so fast, there is no danger of not having any left.  I have not been able to find sugar snap pea 'seeds,' but I would like to grow some of those too.

There were lots of signs of life in the garden yesterday.  Crocus and early daffodils up, Dutch Iris and daylilies sprouting, the few roses I have left are budding, along with Alpine strawberries and artemesia putting forth new growth.  (My garden is both ornamental and food crops)  As beautiful and warm as it was yesterday, it is hard to resist the temptation to start putting things in the ground, BUT....... we are far away from our last frost date, so only cold-loving plants need apply at this point.

I bought a blueberry plant ("Duke" variety) which is supposed to be able to be grown in containers, so I am going to give it a shot.   I bought a bunch of 5-gallon buckets at Lowe's - less expensive and sturdier than plastic pots - and will be growing some things in those.     I don't think I am the only one more interested in growing some of my own food this season. At Lowe's, they had LOTS of food plants for sale - potatoes, asparagus, grapes, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, and many more.  Much more than I have seen in the past.  It's a good trend.

seed time

The seed catalogs have been out for a while.  I only get one or two, but when I saw the price of seeds had gone up 100% or more this year, I pushed them aside.   Since then, I've decided I should look for non-hybrid varieties that I can save seed from year-to-year.   I found this place http://highmowingseeds.com/  and really liked it.  Completely organic, mostly non-hybrid, and some heritage varieties.  They don't have a huge selection, but I have a postage-stamp sized garden.  I ordered 5 or 6 packs and got good, very quick service at a good price.

When I first moved into my townhouse, I planted a big English-style flower garden.  I reduced the size of the plot a few years ago, and over the years droughts, hard winters and short-lived perennials left holes.  That's where I plant, mixing flowers, veggies, and lots of herbs.  Herbs can be tucked in almost anywhere and are so easy to grow - not to mention the difference it makes in cooking.  Fresh, or (in the winter) home-dried herbs have SO much more flavor that the grocery store varieties.  For those, I buy local, already started plants in pots. 

This year I want to try growing potatoes in a tub, and utilizing my deck stairs for more pots.  For varieties that need to be staked - the railing makes an automatic stake to tie to.   I bought a drying variety of paste tomato and want to try sun-drying some.  My deck gets incredibly hot in the afternoon, so it seems like a possibility.     

What I did on vacation

As a person of (ahem) 'modest means,' I don't take vacations. This one started out to be semi-business for me, and when that fell through, the friend who agreed to go with me and I decided to go anyway. Destination....Amish country in northern Ohio. I am from Ohio originally, but farther south than where we were headed. We both wanted to get away and think about something besides work for a while.

After stowing our stuff in a motel in the nearest town of any size, we took off. First stop - Lehmans in Kidron OH.

Lehmans is famous among homesteaders, folks off-the-grid, and those with an admiration for old-fashioned ways and things. I've purchased several items out of their catalog over the years and have always wanted to go there. I must admit, it was a little different than I expected. Since they have been in business for many years, catering to a largely Amish clientelle, I thought it would be kind of an old, dusty, giant hardware store. It is anything but. It is huge, but newish, and geared to the 'visitor.' It was FULL of tourists at 10 a.m. on a weekday morning. It may not have been exactly as expected, but we still managed to spend a couple of hours there, and still didn't see everything! I bought a burner and lamp chimney to convert a canning jar into an oil lamp, some wicks for the oil lamps I already have, and some wooden spoons.

By then we were starving, so we headed up the road to Mt. Hope, to 'Mrs. Yoder's Country Kitchen.' (of COURSE it would be Mrs. YODER) The weather was dark, gray, rainy and COLD the whole time we were there, but the fall color was gorgeous. We so enjoyed the drive through rolling hills with tidy, neat, beautiful farms. Not many cars, but lots of Amish folks in their buggies - some also going to Mrs. Yoders for lunch, as it turned out. When we got to the restaurant, it was packed. We had to wait 20 minutes or more for a table, with at least 50 other people. It was worth it though. The food was plain and simple (of course) but wonderful. I asked our server and found out no, the business is not Amish-owned, but they employ large numbers of Amish people - about half the staff. All the food is LOCAL - the chickens (some of the best chicken I've ever had!) and the fruits and vegetables come from a local co-op of farmers, in season - like now. Mt. Hope seemed to be just an intersection with a few houses and businesses. This feed store was right across the street, and seemed to speak to me of the real spirit of the area, we tourists notwithstanding.

Following suggestions from a fellow blogger who lives in the area, we went on from there to Berlin, only slightly larger than Mt. Hope, but with quite a few shops - and traffic jams! The traffic was backed up a long way in either direction of the (only?) street light. We had already figured out the pattern - wide open spaces with beautiful scenery, and then - boom! Literally HUNDREDS of people all trying to park and cram into whatever site or shop we were also there to see.

On the way to Berlin we stopped at Heini's Cheese and candy store (Heini's - I'm not kidding) and discovered .....bulk spices! We didn't get all that excited about the cheese or the candy, but when we discovered the spices.....! Large quantities of about anything you could think of, with prices lower than I could imagine. A cup-sized container of cinnamon - $1. A fist full of bay leaves - $1.20. Wow!

We stopped at the Country Primitive Store in Berlin, and also several other stores. Intimidating crowds (it WAS 'peak color' weekend) and a looming time crunch (everything in the area closes at 5!) sent us on down the road. We went to the last stop on our journey of recommendations - Walnut Creek Foods. Why drive 5 or 6 hours to go to a grocery store? Wonderful stuff and incredible prices! I bought half a cart full for $22 - including more spices: Cilantro, cinnamon sticks, cream of tartar (for home-made baking powder) sure-jell (for canning a recipe I found for apple pie filling), etc, Amish noodles in several sizes, locally grown potatoes...it was great.

Exhausted but satisfied with a wonderful day, we drove back to the hotel and crashed. The next say we headed back to a different world. It was a great time. With only a 3 days, including drive time, we only stopped at a few places, but saw a lot more we will put on the list for next time.

Harvest Time

I'm all about "urban farming." Since I can't live in the country, I do what I can in to live "rurally" in town. I live in a townhouse. I have a deck, and a small patch of yard in the back. Ten years ago when I moved here, I created a big flower garden, and I have always had lots of pots of flowers on the deck. Years later, the flower bed has been reduced to a more manageble size, most of the English roses and other perrenials I planted have died, and I have started filling in the bare spots and the deck pots with can't-fail herbs.

Last Spring, with the economic climate what it was (and largely still is) I tried to plant more edible things in the deck pots and garden. Overall, my deck and garden are more of a 'potager' now.

A 14"pot of green beans on the deck produced enough single servings over the growing season for at least 6 meals and a growth spurt last week allowed me to freeze a quart! The foliage is dying now so I took the last beans off today - make that 7 servings.

Another big pot gave me 2 eggplants (I had lots of blossoms but they did not set fruit-despite the bees and my attemps to hand-pollinate).

Although it is still warm here, we could have our first frost any time, so today I pulled up the basil plants - an armload - that I will make pesto from. I also harvested sage, rosemary and thyme, (no parsley, sorry) and oregano to dry. I already have LOTS of basil I dried throughout the summer. I still have carrots that I will pull after first frost (I'm told they are sweeter that way?) and I noticed some rose hips I will harvest later for tea. I cut and dried peppermint earlier for tea also.

I have Swiss Chard I planted in the spring that is taking off now that Autumn is upon us. I will plant some garlic later today, if it doesn't rain.

If I got serious about making every square inch and surface productive, I could do a lot more, but I also have the dreaded "townhome association" to deal with. Arrrrrgggh! I would love to have a few laying hens in a coop under the deck (it is supposedly legal in my town) but association rules trump city ordinances here, so I'm assuming it is out of the question.

There is something really primal about planting and harvesting, "putting things up" for the coming winter. I don't think I've done too badly, and it really feels good.