What You Need to Know About Homesteading In the City (Urban Homesteading)

Are you interested in homesteading but worried that you don’t have enough room? Gardening, raising animals, and alternative energy systems can take up some space. However, even people living in the middle of the city can take advantage of the space they have and embrace a kind of homesteading lifestyle. It’s called Urban Homesteading and it may be just the thing you’ve been looking for.

Gardening in Small Spaces

You don’t need acres to grow produce. What you do need, whether you have a small space or not, is a plan. Think about maximizing the space you have. For example, climbing plants like beans can be placed at the back or edge of your garden space where they can use the fence or wall to climb. Steer clear of plants that require lots of space like pumpkins or watermelon and instead look for plants that produce a lot of fruits or vegetables without requiring too much space. Tomatoes are a great example of a plant that has a high yield without taking up a ton of space and soil. Herbs can be grown in windowsills and on elevated planters too.

Doubling Up

An aquaponic system that involves tilapia or perch, watercress and tomatoes. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

There are some opportunities to double up your homesteading activities. For example, you might farm fish and embrace hydroponic or aquaponic gardening. This is something you can place either inside or outside your home. Both greens and herbs grow quite successfully this way and what’s better than fish and a salad for dinner?

Get Creative with Your Space

Take a look at the space you have. Roof tops, window sills, fencing and patios and porches all provide a perfect space for gardening and more. In fact, many urban dwellers keep chickens in their back yard. All you need is space for a small coop.

Whether you’re in the city or in the country, homesteading is an acquired skill. You’ll learn as you go. Next time we’ll take a look at a few fun ways to improve your homesteading skills, so be sure to check back Thursday!

Nature-Inspired Spring Decorating Ideas for Your Home

Nature provides some amazing decorating options. And if you’re environmentally conscious or simply inspired by the out-of-doors there’s nothing better than bringing a bit of it indoors. Decorate with nature this spring, and bring a touch of spring's beauty into your home after this long, cold winter!

Flowers

Yellow and White Flowers in Glass Vase (Photo credit: Michael Kappel)

The simplest way to decorate with flowers is to cut them from your garden and bring them indoors. You can get creative with the container or vase to add flair. For example, an old bucket packed with large blooms can be quite striking.

Dried flowers can be used to create interesting elements to your home. You can laminate them and create coasters, placemats and even wall art.

A single large bloom cut from its stem can be added to a decorative bowl filled with water. Add a few floating candles and you have a serene centerpiece.

Rocks, Shells, or Pine Cones

Fill a basket with large pine cones for a smile lodge feel. Add drama by painting the pine cones with glitter, silver or gold spray paint.

River rocks can fill a tall glass vase or be used to surround a candle in glass holder. Likewise small shells can be used to fill a vase or hold a candle. Larger rocks or shells can be used independently as a focal point. Large shells or rocks can be used as bookends as well.

Plants

Plants are of course an easy way to bring nature inside your home. However, rather than simply putting a plant in a decorative pot you can get creative. For example, you might craft a basket out of chicken wire. Using a plastic liner you could fill it with dirt, place several succulents or cacti in the dirt and then place decorative river stones or sand to conceal the dirt.

Pussy willow branches (Photo credit: Chris Devers)

Sticks & Branches

Bamboo stalks leaning in a corner add a nice, simple touch. You might find a few larger branches and mount them on your wall. Or bundle sticks together to create a centerpiece or wall hanging. You might also weave small green sticks into a bowl or a basket to hold other natural items.

Of course you can also keep it simple and place a few ornate branches in a decorative vase. In the spring pussy willow branches add a nice touch. Their soft buds add an unusual texture and contrast to the rough branches.

When it comes to bringing nature indoors, you’re only limited by your imagination. Keep décor basics in mind. Scale, balance and theme all help to make sure your outdoor items look natural indoors too.

Book Review: The Craft & Art of Bamboo

Bamboo is a very versatile and green material. It is therefore very popular with eco-conscious people and builders. It has a wide variety of different uses, from clothing, to paper, furniture, flooring, and much more.

Cover via Amazon

The Craft & Art of Bamboo, by Carol Stangler, provides fantastic bamboo projects to beautify your home and garden. The projects come with detailed instructions about tools and materials required as well as techniques on how best to work with bamboo. You will learn how to flatten, bend, attach and preserve the bamboo to keep the finished bamboo designs looking beautiful for a long time to come.

Here are just a few examples to give you an idea of some of the stunning projects you can make yourself to accent your backyard: Bamboo Mosaic Gate, Bamboo Brush Fence and an outdoor trellis for your climbing plants.

Overall, this is a beautifully designed book with spectacular photographs on creating unique pieces of art with bamboo. If you are handy and crafty and would like to experience working with this sustainable and green material, the book offers good and detailed advice and instructions, as well as great project ideas.

Buy on Amazon: The Craft & Art of Bamboo, Revised & Updated: 30 Eco-Friendly Projects to Make for Home & Garden

Organic Gardening for Beginners

If you enjoyed Monday's article on growing your own food, we thought we'd continue the theme today by sharing some more tips on getting started with organic gardening. If this strikes your fancy, be sure to check out our Sustainable Gardening blog for ongoing info on this subject.

If you decide to grow herbs and vegetables in your own garden, then you will have the satisfaction of knowing that you have not sprayed poisonous pesticides anywhere near them. You can eat your own home grown food without worrying about what has been done to it.

The aromatic herb garden. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In fact, herbs are some of the easiest things to grow, so we strongly recommend growing some herbs when you are starting out with gardening if you're a beginner. You can either put them in a sunny spot in the garden, or have them in containers outside, or even on the windowsill indoors. Most herbs are small enough for this, and you will not need to grow large quantities because you will only use a little in cooking. It is so rewarding to be able to taste your own home grown organic herbs in the delicious dishes that you prepare in your kitchen!

So what is the first thing to do when starting your own organic garden? You will need to prepare a small garden plot. You can do this by hand digging, with the use of a machine, or use the no-dig method. If the land that you are working with is overgrown and has never been used for a garden before, you will probably need to hire a machine. Otherwise, start small by digging a manageable area. Or, if you would like to try gardening without digging, try the lasagna gardening method. This is pretty easy for beginners, and you can use it in areas that have never been gardened before.

Then you can start planting. Be sure to choose correct plants for the season. Whatever time of year it is, in most areas you can find something that can be planted right now. Choose plants whose colors or fruits you will enjoy, and don't plant them too close together.

If you have just moved to a house that already has a garden, the first thing that you should do is try to identify all the plants that are there already. You can draw a plan of your garden and write down all of the names. If you have a wireless internet connection, the easiest way to identify the plants is probably to take your laptop into the garden and call up some pictures of popular garden plants and weeds. Then you can pull out anything that is obviously a weed.

(Photo credit: RaeAllen)

The first year in your new garden, you may want to wait and see what comes up. Don't start pulling leaves as soon as you see a weed, but wait until it is large enough that you can be sure what it is. If the land has been cultivated before, there may be some valuable self-seeding annuals that will surprise you!

Of course, if you simply avoid using chemical pesticides and fertilizers then technically your garden will not be organic. For that, you would need to use organic seeds too. These are available from many online suppliers. But if you can't find them, don't worry about it too much - most of what matters is what is in your soil, and what you put in the garden yourself which the plants will absorb.

Gardening is a wonderful activity that keeps you fit, makes your home more beautiful and brings an aspect of your life into harmony with nature. Gardening for beginners the organic way can be one of the most rewarding hobbies that you could imagine.

And if you're wondering about growing other foods yourself, besides vegetables and herbs in the garden, be sure to check back next week when we're going to discuss raising your own chickens!