The Urban Homestead: Your Guide to Self-sufficient Living in the Heart of the City (Process Self-reliance Series)
Selected Book Details
- Paperback
- Edition: First Edition
- Author: Kelly Coyne, Erik Knutzen
- Publisher: Process
- Release Date: June 2008
- ISBN-10: 1934170011
- ISBN-13: 9781934170014
- List Price: $16.95
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Summaries and Customer Reviews provided by Amazon
SummaryThe Urban Homestead is the essential handbook for a fast-growing new movement: urbanites are becoming gardeners and farmers. Rejecting both end-times hand wringing and dewy-eyed faith that technology will save us from ourselves, urban homesteaders choose instead to act. By growing their own food and harnessing natural energy, they are planting seeds for the future of our cities. If you would like to harvest your own vegetables, raise city chickens, or convert to solar energy, this practical, hands-on book is full of step-by-step projects that will get you started homesteading immediately, whether you live in an apartment or a house. It is also a guidebook to the larger movement and will point you to the best books and Internet resources on self-sufficiency topics. Projects include:
Written by city dwellers for city dwellers, this illustrated, smartly designed, two-color instruction book proposes a paradigm shift that will improve our lives, our community, and our planet. Authors Kelly Coyne and Erik Knutzen happily farm in Los Angeles and run the urban homestead blog www.homegrownrevolution.org. |
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Great information and a FUN read.
Rating:
I am always looking for new ways to save money in this money grabbing society and this book although not an alternative for everyone, gives ideas on savings and even some not so everyday ideas, (such as raising your own chickens) to help save. There are many more practical yet unconventional ideas as well to help with the high cost of living but you need to read it for your self and find what works (and doesnt work) for you. Even when an idea was not for me, the information was entertaining as well as enlightening. Did you know, chickens are natural bug fighters in your garden and that they eat slugs, grubs, and they do weeding in the form of "scratching" the soil to get at the pests? You can use solar panels to fight high electric and heating bills (and the government gives tax credit on many energy fighting ideas) which washer will save you hundreds in water and energy costs? Many more good and fun facts inside!
It can be done in the city
Rating:
Like many Americans, this past year I have taken gardening more seriously as a means to providing my family with organic fruits and vegetables free of any chemicals. The book covers topics such as edible landscaping, and methods & benefits of creating your own mulch, managing garden pests, urban foraging, and keeping livestock (poultry, rabbits) within city limits, food preservation, bread and cheese making, making your own cleaning products, energy efficiency including use of solar panels and wind turbines and recycling greywater for use in landscaping around your home. There are many ideas in this book, some of which I have been able to implement without major costs or changes to my lifestyle. I do wish I had a bigger piece of property, but the beauty of this book is that you can squeeze every little part of your suburban plot to achieve what you want to do (including gardening on your roof - something I would not have thought of before reading this book). I would not say there is anything new and groundbreaking regarding the content of the book, but I am motivated to become more self-sufficient and do like the fact that a suburban couple has managed to successfully implement these ideas to their home/lifestyle, and I feel that is a key motivator to the reader. If they can do it while living in the city, so can you.
One thing that I wanted to mention here that is not mentioned in the book regarding water conservation. Each day, while I wait for the water in the shower to heat up, I catch it in a bucket. (I would estimate this is 1.5-2 gallons of water). I then use this water for 3 things: 1) to water my garden/potted plants, 2) when the garden is already watered, I pour the water into a water barrel for future garden watering, or 3) I pour it into the washing machine with a load of laundry. These methods have consistently saved me several units of water on my water bill each month. It's not hard to do, but must be diligent to see benefits.
An urban homestead book must have!
Rating:
Want to recommend this book even if you don't see yourself as some urban homesteader, since the book is a must have for anyone who lives in a city that can suffer a power outage, yearly hurricanes, or if here in California, earthquakes. Any place where you may need to provide for yourself for days and weeks.
The book is also excellent because using the authors suggestions can save you plenty of money, be it water, power, food bills. And the authors never suggest that their book is the end all, or only book you should ever own. Just the opposite. They want you to use the book to seek out specific information about which trees are best for your city.
Informative and easy to use!
Rating: 
A friend purchased this book for another friend. I then purchased it for my husband and I. It's fantastic! The topics are well outlined and organized, giving practical advice without being too over the top or complicated or 'talking down' at all. They included far more than I wanted or needed, but perhaps it will come in useful in the future.
A light and enjoyable read
Rating:
I appreciate the positive tone that authors maintained throughout the book. It wasn't political either. And unlike some reviewers, I am grateful for the references to the apartment dwellers. While a lot of projects are still not feasible for me, this book gives a good idea about what type of house to look for when the time comes. Before, I had no idea that South facing backyard even mattered much. Or that positions of the trees around a house could help/prevent me from taking on certain projects.
This book might not provide a lot of technical details, but it gave a lot of ideas and references to books and websites that cover specific topics. That is exactly what I needed.
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