Urban homesteading is a growing trend in which eco-conscious individuals who live in an urban setting are utilizing the small parcel of space they occupy to sustain themselves. Although many people think of homesteading as moving out to the country and working their land full time in order to be self sustaining and more eco friendly, homesteading in an urban environment can be even more sustainable because you use less in fuel, water, and space. There are many things that you can do to become self sufficient while living in the city, most if not all of which you will have access to learning at the Irvington SkillShare "Feast"ival.
When you decide to strive for the goal of becoming an urban homesteader you should start out small. Just start by growing a small amount of food or herbs at first. You can grow herbs in your windowsill, hang a tomato plant upside down in front of a window or on a balcony, or plant a potato in a 5 gallon bucket on your porch. Even though at first you will not be supplying all of your own produce, you will be learning many valuable lessons on how to grow vegetables. (Be sure to save seeds at the end of the season to plant next year! ) If you have a moderately sunny yard you can build a couple of raised beds (best to build in the fall so they are ready to go in the spring), start a compost pile or get a tumbler, and make a rain barrel once you get your gardening skills set. If you have even more room in your yard you can plant fruit trees or bushes, wheat or oats in place of grass in your front yard, or even grow grape vines along your fence. Many urban homesteaders also keep small animals also. Common animals for city keeping are chickens for eggs, dwarf goats for milk, bees for honey, and rabbits for meat. By the way, all of these are legal to keep in Indianapolis. (Check your neighborhood's regulations though.)
Once you start producing your own food you can start cooking and preserving it so that you can reap your gardening rewards all year long. There are many ways to preserve foods that you will have access to learning at the Skill Share and everyone has their personal preference. You can dehydrate, can, freeze, root-cellar, or ferment. Since you won’t be producing all of the food you need at first, and may never get to that level depending on the size of your property, make sure that you make the most of the local markets. Try to do the majority of your grocery shopping from local sources and buy extra of your favorites when they are in season to preserve for the winter when choices of in season foods are slim.
The biggest challenge that new homesteaders face is to learn the changing of the seasons and what to do when. To start out build some garden beds in fall. The real garden planning begins in January when the seed catalogs become available. Plan out what you want to grow and where it will fit in your garden or yard. Order seeds in late January/ early February. Start seeds in late February through mid March. Mid March to mid April is when you plant spring plants (peas, spinach, broccoli, kale.) The old saying is to have peas planted by St. Patrick’s day. Look up the Last frost date for Indiana and plant summer plants around then, usually late April to early May (things like tomatoes, cucumbers, corn, zucchini.) Warm weather crops like sweet potatoes and watermelon should be planted in late May or early June. Wait until late June or early July to plant pumpkins so they are ready for Halloween. Then if you are planting a second crop of cool weather crops they should go in mid August. July and August are the main months for preserving as most things will be ripe then. As plants die off in the fall you can turn the soil over and add compost so that they are ready for the spring. You can also grow some plants year round with row covers but they need to be planted by the end of August. September and October is a good time to make soap for the year or other crafts for holiday gifts. Enjoy thanksgiving and Christmas and you’ll be ready to start planning your garden again in January!
The biggest thing is to do what you can and have a desire to do yourself and form relationships with local vendors for the rest. You want to enjoy what you are doing and not force yourself or you’ll stop and a little is better than nothing. Urban homesteading is all about going back to relying on ourselves and our local community to supply our needs rather than being disconnected from our food source and having those products come from large monoculture farms that are negatively impacting our environment. Learn all you can from the SkillShare and have fun putting it all together!
Autumn lives with her husband and two children in the Community Heights neighborhood. She shares recipes, knitting patterns, and her experiences on the urban homestead at Autumn Adventures.
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