A family of five, we live just a ten minute walk from Old Towne and famous Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena, California. Our 1917-built house, where we have lived for sixteen years, sits on a typical small city lot of about 1/5 acre in size.

Five years ago we started a home based business providing many fine, local restaurants and caterers with the edible flowers and herbs that we were growing in our yard. Today we have shifted our efforts to growing our own food year round, and selling the surplus to restaurants and caterers in the area.

Everything is grown as organically as possible, and no harmful chemicals or insecticides are used on our garden. We also try to follow agrarian principles outlined in the Bible and tithe ten percent of our increase. By the process of directly working in harmony with nature, we do the one thing most essential to change the world--we change ourselves. We use a variety of agricultural methods, such as permaculture, bio-intensive farming, plus our own unique gardening system developed over time by trial and error.

Nature in Southern California presents a tough challenge even for the typical lawn landscape because the average rainfall is just 19" a year. From May to November rain does not fall here. So, to contend with this semi-arid condition, we brought in several loads of chips from local tree-trimming companies as a way of conserving water in the soil.

Each day, especially during the abundant harvest of summer, our meals consist primarily of our own healthful, organic produce. Many times we make desserts using fresh fruits from trees growing on our lot. We eat according to the seasons; from nature's shelves we make our meals. Practicing stewardship of the land has turned our small property into a haven for many "wild" animals. There are a variety of birds feasting on the multitude of bugs and seeds, butterflies and bees that busily pollinate our plants, and a family of squirrels. We get night visits from possums and even a cute little skunk has taken up residence under a neighbor's house. Besides providing our wholesome daily "bread," gardening gives us one good workout. And, where else can one enjoy serenity everyday but by living in a garden?

The Path to Freedom website is where we document our journey. It is updated daily with headline news and views on current issues, and weekly & monthly with our current homesteading projects. The website contains links and other resources on such topics as organic gardening, simple and sustainable living, composting, solar power, etc., an ongoing record of facts and figures from our urban garden project, and, we hope, is a means to bring individuals together who have similar visions and goals--for encouragement, education and support. We operate the website as a non-commercial, home-based effort with no advertising or things to sell.

By showing what we are doing locally at our home in very urban Pasadena, we hope to prove that Living Free is possible one day. Until that time, we intend to offer encouragement with this website to all who desire to join us along the way, along the path to freedom

Basic Information:
Lot size: 66' x 132' = 8,712 sq.ft. (1/5 acre)
House: 1500 sq.ft
Garage/Driveway:1300 sq.ft
UNDER CULTIVATION
Backyard: ~ 1300 sq.ft.
Front yard: ~ 1300 sq.ft.
Containers: ~ 1300 sq.ft.
More than 300 varieties of plants (and more on the way)

2002 YIELDS ... and counting!
January 1 to December 1
Vegetables - 2509 LBS 1 OZ
Fruits & Berries - 789 LBS 3 OZ