How to homestead when you don't have a homestead

Possessing neither the tools nor the talent yourself, pay a crew to come in and fence your quarter-acre backyard in the city. The fence defines the space and gives you the illusion of privacy, but the truth is your neighbors can still look down on you from their balconies on both sides.

After storms blow in and level some of the mature trees in your neighborhood, chat up the tree chippers and invite them to dispose of the wood chips in a pile in your driveway. Spread this as mulch on top of cardboard on top of your grass lawn, smothering it. Six months later, broadfork the soil and plant vegetable seeds. Pray for rain.

Buy a set of rain barrels from your brother’s neighbor, who’s moving and doesn’t want to take it with him. Install it in your backyard and immediately wish it were taller so that gravity could turn the trickle of water coming from the hose into a more useful stream.

Purchase a freezer for the basement. Buy meat in bulk from a local farmer and store it there, hoping you never have to deal with a long-term power outage. Visit the farm and meet the cows you will eat.

...Cont'd in full here: Harvest chervil the first year...

Narrated version.

Nice! Yep, that's the way to do it.

I love how this narrative fits with the methods from a century ago.

Those big urban backyards were for kitchen gardens, not polo ponies.

Lisa! You are speaking my language!

You have a lovely writeup that I very much connect with. Small plots can be productive and fruitful, just on a smaller scale.

I know of four households in the village that I live in that have converted their lawns into semi-native polycultures. I myself am converting some areas of my third of an acre into wildlife/food habitat. It is a rewarding endeavor both physically and mentally. Something is therapeutic about it to me.

Instead of waiting "six months to plant seed", you might try French Double Dug. It's a whole lot faster than waiting, and it immediately vastly improves the soil fertility and tilth.

Jim Fry wrote:Instead of waiting "six months to plant seed", you might try French Double Dug. It's a whole lot faster than waiting, and it immediately vastly improves the soil fertility and tilth.

Another factor can be the soil and any potential contaminants that urban lots have been known to harbor. The idea of "upping" the soil, particularly with wood chips which are fungi/mycorrhizae friendly, really appeals to me. Fungi have been shown to disassemble many chemicals into less dangerous atoms and sequester atoms which aren't so human-friendly.

Also, my soil has a lot of big rocks in it, so double digging would take a back-hoe! That said, digging a few holes in compacted soil and filling them with lots of carbon and goodies that worms like, can get them working for you and help water infiltrate faster in some environments.

As for Lisa - well done! A productive poly culture is more welcoming to everyone - including birds, bees, and toads - than grass. Choosing high-value and nutritionally dense foods to grow in the space you have, can improve your diet and health. I was having a similar discussion with a friend on the weekend. We were comparing the size of her dad's veggie plot when she was growing up and mom was feeding 2 adults and 4 children, compared to the back yard she's currently building raised beds in. They were pretty comparable in size. Food has been so cheap for years that we've forgotten that "Cabbage Town" in Toronto was named for the cabbages the homeowners used to grow in their front yards to feed their families.

Douglas Alpenstock wrote:Nice! Yep, that's the way to do it.

Thank you, Douglas!

Douglas Alpenstock wrote:I love how this narrative fits with the methods from a century ago.

Those big urban backyards were for kitchen gardens, not polo ponies.

Ha, ha, you got that right! This house was built in 1904, and our research has turned up references to a cistern in the yard. Too bad it's not still here!

Timothy Norton wrote:Lisa! You are speaking my language!

You have a lovely writeup that I very much connect with. Small plots can be productive and fruitful, just on a smaller scale.

I know of four households in the village that I live in that have converted their lawns into semi-native polycultures. I myself am converting some areas of my third of an acre into wildlife/food habitat. It is a rewarding endeavor both physically and mentally. Something is therapeutic about it to me.

Thank you so much - it's gratifying to hear the piece spoke to you. And I agree on the therapeutic value. It's the best physical exercise and the best therapist, all rolled into one!

Jim Fry wrote:Instead of waiting "six months to plant seed", you might try French Double Dug. It's a whole lot faster than waiting, and it immediately vastly improves the soil fertility and tilth.

Yep, what Jay Angler said above. That was six years ago, and we've been through several successions by now, always overwintering with leaf mulch or wood chips and then broadforking in the the spring prior to planting. Besides, we get a hard freeze and months of severe winter weather, so we were in no hurry that first year anyway. If your patience can't hold out for six months, gardening is probably not for you, right? All that said, I'm familiar with the French double dug method, but we opted for sheet- or smother-mulching instead for a host of reasons.

Jay Angler wrote:

Jim Fry wrote:Instead of waiting "six months to plant seed", you might try French Double Dug. It's a whole lot faster than waiting, and it immediately vastly improves the soil fertility and tilth.

Another factor can be the soil and any potential contaminants that urban lots have been known to harbor. The idea of "upping" the soil, particularly with wood chips which are fungi/mycorrhizae friendly, really appeals to me. Fungi have been shown to disassemble many chemicals into less dangerous atoms and sequester atoms which aren't so human-friendly.

Also, my soil has a lot of big rocks in it, so double digging would take a back-hoe! That said, digging a few holes in compacted soil and filling them with lots of carbon and goodies that worms like, can get them working for you and help water infiltrate faster in some environments.  

Yep, you nailed it!

Jay Angler wrote:As for Lisa - well done! A productive poly culture is more welcoming to everyone - including birds, bees, and toads - than grass. Choosing high-value and nutritionally dense foods to grow in the space you have, can improve your diet and health. I was having a similar discussion with a friend on the weekend. We were comparing the size of her dad's veggie plot when she was growing up and mom was feeding 2 adults and 4 children, compared to the back yard she's currently building raised beds in. They were pretty comparable in size. Food has been so cheap for years that we've forgotten that "Cabbage Town" in Toronto was named for the cabbages the homeowners used to grow in their front yards to feed their families.

I love the idea of Cabbage Town! Never heard of it, but I believe it. I think the future will see more of us both in cities and on the outskirts repurposing lawns for food and habitat.

I live in Wichita, KS and am learning to work with the city councils to change old policies about plant and animal food growing but in the meantime, I installed rain barrels and hooked 3 of them together at the lower end of the barrels so I get ~150 gallons of water pressure that will feed my drip irrigation system 50' away and up 1' to the drip line attached to the fence so the mice don't chew it. If you hook the barrels together near the top, then you only have ~50 gallons of pressure and have to have a spout on each barrel.
Grading the yard was exciting, maneuvering a mini skid steer around the place to control water flow away from my basement into rain gardens, water gardens, and swales to still keep the free rain water on my place instead of shedding off into the gutter, to the river, to the sea. People don't realize that they're creating deserts under our cities from not holding onto the free rainwater. The system is working well though I need to finish the hand digging over the next couple of years.
I fence my chickens, so they have 2 spaces to forage and a free-range area when I'm out there puttering. Growing edibles in the flower beds seems to work fine and low growing meadow lawn plants in the easements between the sidewalk and curb is working this last year. (white clover, red clover around the base of the tree, ground ivy, vinca minor, violets, alyssum, allium, crocus, birdsfoot trefoil, thyme, healsall, creeping jenny, low growing grasses, etc.) I won't have to mow unless it gets tall when it goes to seed. I'll try moving the solar electric net fencing to those areas next year and let the birds eat out there. I made a portable coop on top of the stretch metal wagon so I can move it around and still keep the chickens safe. They love scratching in the plant beds that I'm preparing with cardboard or plastic and leaves gathered from bags on the street or native tree chip mulch that the tree services will dump for free unless they have to drive a ways.
It also helps to live in a less structured area of town so the neighbors don't call in complaints. For the most part, if I keep a lawn not much more than 6" of mixed plants and grow my taller plants in beds, all be it large beds, there doesn't seem to be a problem here.
Next year, my plan is to get 2 dwarf Nigerian goats to milk. My neighbors like the animals and I'm planning to get their permission to graze in their yards so I can have the total of 1 acre that the city allows. My properties total a little over 1/2 acre.
I'm retiring this winter from 25 years of landscape gardening and plan to teach Urban Permaculture Homesteading.

Usually the idea of a homestead is very labor intensive, but what I love about perennials are the neglect factor of producing food. If you create the microenvironment they need to thrive in they will largely do the heavy lifting for you. We have many crops we fail to harvest each year just because there is so much. Granted, things like apples, peaches, and plums have to be micromanaged otherwise the entire crop will be destroyed, but for the most part this isn't the case for most of our species.

Rabbits are quiet and, in many places, exist in the gray area between livestock and pets.

Their manure is excellent.

No harder to process than chickens and the meat is good if also needing more careful cooking.

Karen Lee Mack wrote:Rabbits are quiet and, in many places, exist in the gray area between livestock and pets.

Cui also fit into that category. They're a large version of Guinea Pigs. They may be a bit of an acquired taste, but unlike rabbits they've got more fat. Animals fed lots of healthy greens can produce the healthy fats that many modern diets are lacking.

Charolett Knapic wrote:I live in Wichita, KS and am learning to work with the city councils to change old policies about plant and animal food growing but in the meantime, I installed rain barrels and hooked 3 of them together at the lower end of the barrels so I get ~150 gallons of water pressure that will feed my drip irrigation system 50' away and up 1' to the drip line attached to the fence so the mice don't chew it. If you hook the barrels together near the top, then you only have ~50 gallons of pressure and have to have a spout on each barrel.

Charolett: Your rain barrels don't look any different from ours except for that third barrel. Ours are also connected at the bottom, and they're about the same height as yours. Are you telling me that if I simply add a third rain barrel, my water pressure will triple? I'm having trouble with that one.

Charolett Knapic wrote:
Grading the yard was exciting, maneuvering a mini skid steer around the place to control water flow away from my basement into rain gardens, water gardens, and swales to still keep the free rain water on my place instead of shedding off into the gutter, to the river, to the sea. People don't realize that they're creating deserts under our cities from not holding onto the free rainwater. The system is working well though I need to finish the hand digging over the next couple of years.
I fence my chickens, so they have 2 spaces to forage and a free-range area when I'm out there puttering. Growing edibles in the flower beds seems to work fine and low growing meadow lawn plants in the easements between the sidewalk and curb is working this last year. (white clover, red clover around the base of the tree, ground ivy, vinca minor, violets, alyssum, allium, crocus, birdsfoot trefoil, thyme, healsall, creeping jenny, low growing grasses, etc.) I won't have to mow unless it gets tall when it goes to seed. I'll try moving the solar electric net fencing to those areas next year and let the birds eat out there. I made a portable coop on top of the stretch metal wagon so I can move it around and still keep the chickens safe. They love scratching in the plant beds that I'm preparing with cardboard or plastic and leaves gathered from bags on the street or native tree chip mulch that the tree services will dump for free unless they have to drive a ways.
It also helps to live in a less structured area of town so the neighbors don't call in complaints. For the most part, if I keep a lawn not much more than 6" of mixed plants and grow my taller plants in beds, all be it large beds, there doesn't seem to be a problem here.
Next year, my plan is to get 2 dwarf Nigerian goats to milk. My neighbors like the animals and I'm planning to get their permission to graze in their yards so I can have the total of 1 acre that the city allows. My properties total a little over 1/2 acre.
I'm retiring this winter from 25 years of landscape gardening and plan to teach Urban Permaculture Homesteading.

Kudos to you for carving out a slice of permaculture heaven! We can't have goats where we are, but I have a question just out of curiosity: I've read that they prefer to live in herds, even if the herd is a small one, so will two goats do all right?

Also, question for you on the portable coop: What's your winter shelter like for them? One of my issues with the chickshaw is it's too open to drafts. It can get as cold as -10 below at times here. I've considered putting up hay bales to insulate the sides in Nov-Feb. Thoughts?

Lastly, congratulations on your retirement!!!

Kevin Goheen wrote:Usually the idea of a homestead is very labor intensive, but what I love about perennials are the neglect factor of producing food. If you create the microenvironment they need to thrive in they will largely do the heavy lifting for you. We have many crops we fail to harvest each year just because there is so much. Granted, things like apples, peaches, and plums have to be micromanaged otherwise the entire crop will be destroyed, but for the most part this isn't the case for most of our species.

Totally agree! We make great use of perennials: asparagus, horseradish, potato onions, garlic, herbs, apples, blackberries, persimmons, paw paw, elderberries.

Karen Lee Mack wrote:Rabbits are quiet and, in many places, exist in the gray area between livestock and pets.

Their manure is excellent.

No harder to process than chickens and the meat is good if also needing more careful cooking.

Excellent! My only issue with rabbits is the low fat content. I just read about this in Sally Fallon's books, Nourishing Traditions. But if you're diversified in your meat sources and intaking dairy fats as well, it's not an issue. I've heard that about their manure and actually just found a source from a farmer who also supplies me with raw goat milk.

Jay Angler wrote:

Karen Lee Mack wrote:Rabbits are quiet and, in many places, exist in the gray area between livestock and pets.

Cui also fit into that category. They're a large version of Guinea Pigs. They may be a bit of an acquired taste, but unlike rabbits they've got more fat. Animals fed lots of healthy greens can produce the healthy fats that many modern diets are lacking.

Great point - I just read about "rabbit starvation" in Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions. Never heard of Cui!

Lisa Brunette wrote:Great point - I just read about "rabbit starvation" in Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions. Never heard of Cui!

Sorry, I spelt it wrong - Cuy. It a large version of a guinea pig.
https://www.eatperu.com/eating-cuy-guinea-pig-peruvian-delicacy/
I have never tasted it, as I'm not aware of anyone in my area growing the food version as opposed to the smaller pet version. In the past, the west and south areas of the US had populations of them, but I got the impression that the people who believed they were pets objected to them as a food source. This is why we have a feral rabbit problem in our local city.

Lisa, yes, a pair of goats are fine. If you want milk &/or meat, a mating pair, as artificial insemination has a very low success rate, for goats. If raising them only for fiber, manure, packing, companionship, brush control, etc, a pair of does or a pair of wethers (neutered bucks) will be better than a uncut bucks, in a small area. Also good to note, is that some breeds are noisier than others. For example, Nubian, the ones with the Roman noses and long, floppy ears, are notoriously loud. So, if you're in a populated area, that will be something to consider.

Smaller breeds are usually better in suburban or urban locations. As milkers, they give a bit less milk than a full size goat, like Saanan or Oberhasle, but are hardy little critters that are easier to shelter, and still are typically good milk producers. Nigerian Dwarf even have the highest fat content in their milk, at a whopping 9% average. Pygmies are the meat-goat equivalent of the Nigerian Dwarf, and the Nigora (which I raise) are amazing milkers, with a fat content close to the ND, but also give incredible 'cashgora' fiber, for spinning &/or felting.

Edited to add: I forgot about the Pygora! Similar to the Nigora, in a meat/fiber version, as opposed to the dairy/fiber of the Nigora. Both are also hardy and great for brush control, pets, manure... oh. I also forgot - goats are generally very sweet, if raised gently, and are wonderful for comic relief!

Carla Burke wrote:Lisa, yes, a pair of goats are fine. If you want milk &/or meat, a mating pair, as artificial insemination has a very low success rate, for goats. If raising them only for fiber, manure, packing, companionship, brush control, etc, a pair of does or a pair of wethers (neutered bucks) will be better than a uncut bucks, in a small area. Also good to note, is that some breeds are noisier than others. For example, Nubian, the ones with the Roman noses and long, floppy ears, are notoriously loud. So, if you're in a populated area, that will be something to consider.

Smaller breeds are usually better in suburban or urban locations. As milkers, they give a bit less milk than a full size goat, like Saanan or Oberhasle, but are hardy little critters that are easier to shelter, and still are typically good milk producers. Nigerian Dwarf even have the highest fat content in their milk, at a whopping 9% average. Pygmies are the meat-goat equivalent of the Nigerian Dwarf, and the Nigora (which I raise) are amazing milkers, with a fat content close to the ND, but also give incredible 'cashgora' fiber, for spinning &/or felting.

Edited to add: I forgot about the Pygora! Similar to the Nigora, in a meat/fiber version, as opposed to the dairy/fiber of the Nigora. Both are also hardy and great for brush control, pets, manure... oh. I also forgot - goats are generally very sweet, if raised gently, and are wonderful for comic relief!

Thank you for the generous share of information here, Carla! I'll bookmark this post for later reference. We're not allowed to have goats where we live, but if we move, this is one of the contributing factors. I'd really like to try raising just a couple of goats for milk.

I'm also learning from the Homesteading Today forum, and when I asked how much space you need to be considered a homesteader they all agreed its more about how you use what you have than acrage.  That made me feel better about starting where I'm at and learning from there.

Riona Abhainn wrote:I'm also learning from the Homesteading Today forum, and when I asked how much space you need to be considered a homesteader they all agreed its more about how you use what you have than acrage.  That made me feel better about starting where I'm at and learning from there.

That's awesome! I'd have to agree.