Urban Homesteading: Reap what you sow

By Donna MacPherson

An interesting phenomenon has been building in suburbs, towns and cities around the globe: a need to connect with the land, grow our own food and return to country basics — known as “urban homesteading”.

Perhaps the need to return to the land, to be at least somewhat responsible for the growing of our own food, is partially driven by our newfound awareness of environmental issues and our recognition that by buying food produced many miles away, we are adding to carbon emissions. Perhaps it is our anxiety at the thought of eating genetically modified foods, sometimes unknowingly. Or maybe it is just that we recognise it is time to teach our children where their food comes from so they appreciate the healthy food choices they have.

No matter what is driving the trend, its benefits are being felt by families around the country and that must be a good thing. So what exactly is urban homesteading and how can you bring it to your backyard? Put simply, urban homesteading means growing food instead of grass. It’s about backyard vegie patches, home orchards, herb gardens, keeping chickens or ducks — it’s about sampling “the good life” no matter where you live.

Although growing your own fruit and veg is not a huge undertaking, it can be life-changing. It can reconnect us to physical activity, encourage children to pluck fresh tomatoes from the vine or to snap off a young pea pod and scoff the baby peas waiting inside. Gluts in one particular produce or another can encourage community as you share with neighbours. Our vitamin intake surely rises as we eat freshly picked vegetables rather than those that have been kept for days or weeks in cold storage. It encourages empathy as we discover the dramas that farmers have long felt when bad weather ruins a crop. Oh — and then there are the incidental increases in our daily doses of smiles as we discover the joys of collecting fresh eggs or rediscovering the real taste of a strawberry or tomato. All in all, the benefits are too great to ignore and it is simple to get started.

One of the easiest things to do is to plant a home vegetable patch. Simply choose a position that gets at least six hours of sunlight a day and either dig up a patch and add as much manure and compost as possible, or try a no-dig bed using straw and compost. You could also buy one of the many pre-made, above-ground tank-like vegie gardens on the market, perfect if you want to keep pets out of your patch or if you want to avoid all that bending. You simply buy in some good compost to fill it and get planting.

For first-time gardeners or if children will be involved, seedlings are a great way to start as you are one step closer to having harvestable produce than if you plant seeds. You may want to go the “heirloom varieties” route, in which case there are several seed companies that specialise in organic, heritage seeds. For a guide on what to plant now, check out our new Back to Basics section. Then it’s just a matter of planting according to the depth and spacing guide that comes with your seeds or seedlings and watering them in. Looking at your vegetables daily is a great habit to get into; it will help you spot pests or diseases early and will help you recognise when they need watering and when the vegetables are ready to harvest. After the first season you may want to save seeds for next year.

The secret to a successful vegetable patch lies in the soil, particularly if you want to grow organically, so you may want to consider starting a compost heap or worm farm as part of your urban homestead. Both are easy to do and are a great way to manage organic household waste rather than sending it to landfill.

As well as creating a vegetable patch, you may want to start a herb garden to supply you with all those culinary herbs that make our cooking so tasty. Pretty much the same rules apply — six hours of sunlight and a source of water nearby are important.

Speaking of water, you may want to invest in a tank so that watering your herbs and vegetables doesn’t end up costing you a fortune. Rainwater tanks go hand in hand with a vegetable patch and make great sense for the urban homesteader.

Then you could think about planting a home orchard — and with all the small-scale varieties of fruit trees on the market, there are options for backyards of all sizes. You can even buy grafted fruit trees with several different fruit on one plant.

For those wanting to go a step further, chooks are surely the next step in supplying your own food to the table. The first thing to do is to check with your local council about regulations for keeping chickens in your area. Then you will need a secure chicken coop to keep your chickens safe from foxes, even in the suburbs, as these night-time marauders have been known to live in even tiny areas of scrub, in parks or on golf courses. To stay in good with your neighbours, be sure to choose only hens, not roosters, as a cock crowing before dawn may not be a welcome sound in suburbia.

You will also need to ensure your chickens are protected from rain and the heat of summer and that they always have an ample supply of food and fresh water. They will reward you not only with eggs, but also with potent chicken manure to add to your compost heap. Don’t be tempted to add fresh droppings direct to your garden as it will burn your plants, but once composted it is a great source of nutrients.

Having had a vegetable patch most of my life, I’m really excited about urban homesteading. For me a connection to the land and growing my own fruit and veg is a huge part of my lifestyle. I love being able to gather vegies for a stir-fry, soup or a salad from my own backyard and I know if you give it a try, you will reap the rewards too.