Through the Green & Clean Mom Forum, I have met the most amazing women (and men) that have great ideas, are passionate about going green and learning and most of all are doing something. If you haven’t joined the forum, you’re missing out. One recent topic of conversation is Urban Homesteading. A forum member, Beth, got my attention when she posted this topic to the forum and after visiting her blog and seeing what she was doing, I asked her to compose a guest post about her experiences. I am positive you will love what she has to say…
Our Little Patch of Heaven:
Urban Homesteading in Idaho
By Beth of Coming Up for Air
What comes to mind when you think of a homestead? Perhaps a cozy little farm somewhere out in the country? What about a homestead in the city? Think it’s impossible to have a little farm inside city limits? Well it’s not! It’s called Urban Homesteading and it’s more prevalent than you might think!
My husband and I have embarked on such an idea for our family. Our journey into living “green”, being environmental stewards and growing our own food began last fall of 2007 when we began to make plans for a garden in our backyard. As we researched methods for gardening, we stumbled upon several websites that described a unique way of living. People inside city limits turning their suburban grass into food growing farms, big city apartment dwellers turning their balconies into small gardens by planting vegetables in planters and large corporations devoting the tops of their sky scrapers for food crops. Many cities, large and small, declaring vacant lots as community gardens and giving out “allotments” to citizens to grow food. Quite a few of these private property owners have chickens, goats and ducks! Many even sell some of their yields for profit to their communities. Of the websites we found, all were practicing organic farming and humane livestock practices.
We got excited! We didn’t have to move out to the country to have our own little “farm”! We could remain in our dream home and learn to be Urban Homesteaders. We live on roughly ¾ of an acre in the middle of Nampa, Idaho, 20 miles west of Boise. Plenty of room for a small “farm”! The first thing we needed to figure out was what type of garden we wanted to plant, what veggies and fruits to plant, and what kind of animals we could raise within our city codes. My husband and I chose to build raised garden beds with a plot of dirt beds for corn. The best thing to consider first is what types of veggies and fruits you like and can plant in your area. Then think about how much your family will consume and how you plan on preserving the food for future use. It’s also a good idea to talk with your city about what types of small farm animals are allowed within the city limits.
