Livestock

The City/Farm Garden

The Systems Approach to life expects one to look at pattern, process, and structure. That’s what we have done here at Mezzacello.

The Ghost Foundations of Mezzacello

Sustainability and Renewal

The secret to sustainability is finding ways to reintegrate waste and produce more than you started with. Repeat and add diversity.

Sustainability and Renewal

Feathered Exterminators, Landscapers, and Quality Control

At Mezzacello, we have a fence line that abuts the alleys to the south and west of the property. This is our front line for invasive species of vining weeds like poke, wisteria, and belladonna. I also store donated bags…

Harvest, Hunger, and the Art of Preservation

The harvesting of food is the single greatest chore in urban farming, the next greatest is preserving it!

Potatoes, onions, tomatoes, and duck eggs collected from the garden and livestock gardens at Mezzacello.

Amazing Fried Chicken

Rick made fresh fried chicken in his mother’s mother’ cast iron skillet with fresh herbs and garlic. It was very, very pretty and super delicious! I will ask Rick to post the recipe here if you share with me your…

Rick’s maternal grandmother’s cast iron skillet with fresh chicken, and rosemary, thyme, and garlic straight from the garden.

Things Break, And You Must Replace Them

Living on an urban farm you learn three things real quick: If it can go wrong it will so have a backup plan The sun and the winter corrodes everything Things are not as important as ideas I was out…

Example of the IBC spigot
My wildly useful 1000L IBC rain barrel nozzle snapped.

Six Years of Constant Improvement and Modification

Everyone knows we started an urban farm on an inner city plot of land. What they might not realize is that we really did start from scratch. It’s the sixth anniversary of our first spring at Mezzacello. It’s also the…

The Humble Chicken Tractor

The ins and outs of how to build, deploy, and care for various poultry in a chicken tractor in the city; or in the country.

Chicken Tractor
The PVC chicken tractor with a new tarp for the top.