Tag: urban homestead

St. Johns Urban Homestead

Posted on by Kim Parmon

Classic Bungalow on .68 acres

9233 N Bristol Ave.  | Portland, OR 97203

Offered at $799,900 | MLS #23502861

3 Bedrooms + Bonus |  2 Bath |  2,655 sq. ft. + Outbuildings

Located on a quiet street in St Johns is a solid craftsman farmhouse on a magical .68 acre lot. This is a rare opportunity to create a true urban homestead in the middle of the city while being blocks away from shops, restaurants, and incredible parks. The beautiful 1914 home retains its original charm, with a grand front porch leading to a spacious living and dining room with original millwork and wood floors, plus a newer permitted woodstove for cozy evenings by the fire. The kitchen features original handmade cabinetry with updated appliances and an open passthrough for flow to the dining space. There is a main floor bedroom and bath as well as a spacious sun porch that could be used as a guest space.

Upstairs, find a large common area with two additional bedrooms, a bathroom, and a bonus room that could be a fourth bedroom or home office with access to a rooftop deck. The unfinished basement offers plenty of storage and workspace.

The house is special, but the real showstopper here is the property itself: there are so many nooks and crannies to explore, including an oversized shop, a private Airstream area with an outdoor bathroom complete with ADA accessible shower, a Cob-style pizza oven, extensive gardens, an alpaca enclosure, and so much more. For the development minded, the property is zoned R5 and could potentially accommodate a small subdivision with the Residential Infill Project allowances (buyer to do due diligence), or work the land to create the urban farm of your dreams as there is plenty of space to spread out and play. HES=1

Walk Through Tour

There is no such thing as too many tomatoes!

Posted on by Andee Zeigler

We are steadily moving towards fall and harvest season, this is always a busy time in the garden and in the kitchen.  Hustling to preserve all of the fruits and vegetables before powdery mildew creeps in or that first night time frost takes it all.  This year we planted 40 tomato plants with the hope of having enough preserved for the winter.  So, what can you do with this many tomatoes if canning isn’t your thing? Oven slow roast/dry them and freeze them! Besides eating them fresh, this is hands down my favorite way to consume tomatoes and once they have been slow roasted they are basically candy!

We grew roma and pinky cherry tomatoes and process them the same way.  Harvest just before they are ripe to avoid splitting, remove the stems, wash them and slice them in half.  Some people recommend removing the seeds and flesh from the inside but I leave it and they are equally delicious.  Once they are sliced in half, toss them in olive oil, salt and pepper and if you like a little spice sprinkle with calabrian chili powder.  Lay them cut side up on a large baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Roast at 200 for 8-12 hours, set a timer to check on them every 30 min once you have reached 8 hours, they go from almost done to burnt very quickly.  Remove them from the pan and let cool. Store them in the freezer and pull out a handful for a snack, to chop and add to pasta or soup or to sprinkle in a salad.

Absolutely worth the effort!

Growing Potatoes = Magic!

Posted on by Andee Zeigler

There is truly no potato more delicious than a potato fresh from the ground! Did you know that potatoes are super cheap and easy to grow and the absolute most fun veggie to harvest?!

You can buy seed potatoes or if you have a favorite store bought potato you can let them go to seed.  To seed an existing potato let it start to sprout, once green/white shoots have started you can cut the potato and plant those right in your prepared beds.

We prep our beds in mid March and get the potatoes in the ground before April.  They don’t require any fancy excessive watering or staking, just plant them, give them a little love and wait.  Once the leaves start to yellow and die it’s time to harvest!  I like to do a pretty lengthy watering before harvesting to help soften the soil, making it easier to pull the entire plant.

Once you pull them don’t wash them until you are ready to eat.  Let them lay out for a few days in the shade to cure and then store in a cool dry place. We use the crisper drawer of a spare basement fridge. This year we planted roughly 100 seed potatoes and each plant will produce 8-12 potatoes.

Pure magic, thank you garden!