The second half of the fire pit keg makes a great planter

Chicken Waterer

All you need is a bucket and pan to make a waterer for chickens. The size is perfect for large flocks, too. Make sure to place the waterer a few inches off the ground to avoid having the chickens soil it too quickly.

Homesteading 101

These are the books I have been using as references for the whole backyard project.

Golden Gate Gardening is ideal for beginner gardeners in the Bay Area. You can find it at most nurseries, Rainbow Grocery, and your local apothecary. Or, you could read the blog: http://goldengategarden.typepad.com/ This book is what I trust the most for gardening information (and recipes), even over the whole world wide web.

Back to Basics and Homesteading are both by author Abagail Gehring, who also wrote Self-Sufficiency. These books remind me of my science textbooks in grade school. They are large, have lots of photos, and give basic overviews of essential concepts. I think they are worth having just for the inspiring pictures.

The Backyard Homestead, by Carleen Madigan, is an ambitious book. It packs in a lot of information about all the possibilities for small areas. The format is harder to read as the information is densely packed, but the index is pretty useful for navigation. I think I will use this book for food preservation techniques and perhaps, someday, for the how to 'cut up a chicken' section.

Keg to Firepit

Kevin converted an old, empty keg into our new firepit. Hello summer!

Water catchment system from an old garbage can and spigot.

Now we can store excess water from brewing beer (about 3 gallons per recipe) and from steaming our veggies to feed our plants!