We built a beautiful 1/4-acre urban homestead in New Orleans from 2016-2021. Starting from a blank canvas, we built everything from scratch, and learned countless new skills along the way! We raised honeybees and a wonderful flock of friendly hens. We built 300 feet of raised garden beds, which we filled with our own blend of homemade compost, bio-char, and organic soil, producing hundreds of pounds of vegetables annually. The ecosystem flourished with beneficial insects, butterflies, and birds, after we planted pollinator gardens, and helped create a safe habitat. Our compact farm produced vegetables, pickled vegetables, eggs, and honey. We also ran a successful AirBnB out of our duplex, inviting guests (and their dogs) to spend time enjoying our backyard, garden, and flock.
From the moment we moved to the Lower Ninth Ward, we approached everything we did with the intention of that being our home base forever. Everything we built, repaired, improved, planted, and raised, was done with love and thoughtful planning for the future. For five years, we poured ourselves into our home: literal blood, sweat and tears. We had never been gardeners before; I viewed gardening as “yard work” which was not to be enjoyed. We learned how to do everything along the way, gaining confidence by reading books and watching how-to videos, almost always at Evan’s encouragement.
Please enjoy these photos that show our homestead’s progress over the five years we were blessed to be its caretakers.
Naturally, we worked to improve the neighborhood around us also. The Lower Ninth Ward needed a lot of love. I can’t count how many abandoned tires I collected, then fought for the garbage company to pick up for recycling (a service they begrudgingly provided). I couldn’t estimate how many hours I spent filling large garbage cans, twice a week, with debris and litter from the neighborhood. We adopted a number of empty lots for regular weed-whacking, unearthed a sidewalk that had been buried by 8-foot tall weeds, and regularly pulled encroaching vines from neighbors’ trees and fences. The soil had a strange habit of pushing long-buried pieces of broken glass to the surface, from what we can only imagine were remnants of the previously hurricane-destroyed homes, so we went on “glass patrol” after every rain.
Raising chickens for eggs, and as our pets:
Raising Honeybees:
Making homegrown lacto-fermented pickled vegetables:
Then, the New Orleans city government’s shutdowns and mandates happened, which effectively ended our ability to run our businesses. Foreseeing continued regulations and food shortages, we left behind everything we’ve known and loved. We have hopes of re-building our homestead in Mexico or Japan, but in the meantime, we’re enjoying this unexpected temporary “uprooted” life, as we travel via house-sitting, and plan for our future together.
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