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Urban Homesteading
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Posted by Katrs5 z5IN (My Page) on Mon, Dec 5, 05 at 13:34
| I've devoured the path to freedom website and am very interested in urban homesteading. I'm wondering if there other resources for "homesteading in the city". While I'd love to move to some acreage in the country, my city lot is all I have to work with at this point and I'd like to make it work to my advantage.
Any tips? Anyone else doing this? |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Urban Homesteading
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Here is a link that might be useful: Path to Freedom
RE: Urban Homesteading
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| Yes, this is the only site I've found. Does anyone have any others? |
RE: Urban Homesteading
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I too have read POF over and over. I will have to look to see what types of files/favourites have been saved (I share a computer with dh and 3 kids ... its an old computer).
Things that we have done on our 100x80 lot is: edible landscaping: trees of apples, pears, apricots, medlar, plums, almonds, hawthorn, hazel, fig; shrubs of elderberry, raspberry, ollalie, huckles, salal, thimble berry, roses w/hips, ukraine highbush cranberry, so. side of house is a pomegrante, fuschias that produce fruit; groundcovers: strawberrys ever bearing and alpine, lingonberry (which has not done well): climbers of grapes (both native and table) and kiwis; other things that are out in their area of the garden are sunchokes and edible flowers plus the herb garden with the artichokes. We have several grow boxes with wire bottoms (we have an active gopher pop.) in the front and the back. We keep chickens for eggs and manure. I have adopted angora bunny/long hair bunnies over the past years that give wool and manure. The kids get a big kick out of maintaining the rain barrels. We are getting closer to serious about bees. We garden in containers on our driveway (so. side of house) in the summer months (mainly toms, basil and peppers that need some heat in our fog heavy neighborhood). While we are not self sufficent, we are trying to do more for our selves. We have studied Square foot gardening, permaculture, forest gardening, ethnobotony and more to try to intergrate a living system that will be healthy and helpful to our selves, our people neigbors and the wildlife in our neighborhood that is quickly loosing theyir habitat (in the last year we have gained a cinema, a Starbuck, a Dollar Store, a mini strip mall and now a high-density sub division all under 1/2 mi.). How I miss the cows that use to live there!!
The local 4-H bug group gathers insects from our yard to study because we have such a variety and use no chemicals. The variety of birds we have that come to our yard grows yearly. We also have skinks (lizard creatures) and garter snakes.
I know this is a long post but I really want to encourage people forward to do more and try more :) |
RE: Urban Homesteading
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| ok, I'm back and promise to try to be brief. Bagel Hole is www put a dot here bagelhole place a dot here org Gardening as an Anarchist Plot (I'll try linking) Worm Digest (I for got to mention our worms!) is a dot org NaturalHub is dot com Plants for a Future www place a dot here pfaf place a dot here org book: Forest Gardening, Culitivating an Edible Landscape by Robert Hart I'm not good at linking but I will try |
Here is a link that might be useful: Anarchist Plot
RE: Urban Homesteading
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Here is a link that might be useful: City farms
RE: Urban Homesteading
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| Thanks to all for the links. Foglily, what zone are you in? You've done so much on a little lot. I'm amazed at how many fruit trees you put in. Wowsers!!! |
RE: Urban Homesteading
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| I too am trying to learn how to urban homestead. I have a blog where I am documenting my experiences and has a good links to sites and blogs I follow that are also urban gardening. Last year our garden was 8'X8, plus a raspberry patch. This year we are doubling our garden and adding a strawberry patch. You can visit my blog at: http://theurbanhomestaed.blogspot.com |
RE: Urban Homesteading
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| When you are using the term urban homesteading, what you have simply said is that you would like to claim space in the center of Los Angeles, and then try to live for free off the land. This is simply not a reality since the urban environment is prohibitive right from the start in that you will be taxed, restricted and charged more for everything that you will need to buy, and you will have some purchases no matter how well you homestead. To be a successful homesteader, you have to have the guts to go to the outskirts of the urban into lesser expensive counties without restrictions and high taxes, and take the next available pieces of land. Then you have to know about green design buildings, how to get water and other utilities to your property, and how to quickly start to grow food. You still will also need to have a source of monitary income. The site I recommend gives many sources to help you:
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Here is a link that might be useful: cheap land - tightwad guide
RE: Urban Homesteading
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| I decided over the winter that I am going to turn my lot in town into an urban farm. I have always had a veggie garden, raspberries, gooseberries and strawberries. This year I am going to add dwarf fruit trees, dwarf nut trees and plant my veggie garden on a larger scale. Of course my husband is not really on board, because he will have more tilling to do.I live in a small community so I dont have to worry about pollution. I have always tried to grow as organic as possible. I really dont have a question I just wanted to tell everyone. I think I'm going to need some prayers that I can do this. |
RE: Urban Homesteading
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| Congratulations on your decision. I am a 'suburban homesteader' I live in a village and have a 3/4 acre lot. I've always had a garden but a few years ago we decided to become more self sufficient. We work our garden more, We have a beehive (planning to add 3 more this year), I just bought 6 chicks so we we can have eggs (and meat). I can, freeze and dehydrate what I grow, buy in bulk, bake bread and make laundry soap. I'm thankful there are many others who do the same and share there journey and discoveries and failures on line. Good Luck and God bless you. |
Here is a link that might be useful: my blog- Little Homestead in the Village
RE: Urban Homesteading
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| You can check out spinfarming.com its about intense growing in a small space. I started raiseing chickens in town, it was nice to have fresh eggs. I could have always culled them if i couldnt get to the store because of weather. A good magazine is "Urbin Farmer". Check it out good stuff.I moved up and out of the city,I bought A five acer mini farm in amish country. We love it,and hope more can make the same kind of move if you want to. We are truely blessed. |
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