| | |  | Energy Efficiency | Home » » The Urban Homestead: Your Guide to Self-sufficient Living in the Heart of the City (Process Self-reliance Series) | | | | | | | Description: | | The 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: - How to grow food on a patio or balcony
- How to clean your house without toxins
- How to preserve food
- How to cook with solar energy
- How to divert your grey water to your garden
- How to choose the best homestead for you
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.
| | | Product Details: | | | Author:
| Kelly Coyne | | Paperback:
| 330 pages | | Publisher:
| Process | | Publication Date:
| June 01, 2008 | | Language:
| English | | ISBN:
| 1934170011 | | Package Length:
| 8.9 inches | | Package Width:
| 5.9 inches | | Package Height:
| 0.7 inches | | Package Weight:
| 0.95 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 36 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.
 This is a "must have" book for anyone intersted in this topicJul 14, 2010
I am in love with this book. It's now my "bible". As a big city girl all my life, I find myself suddenly very fasciniated with the whole subject of growing my own food, self-sufficiency, the environment, etc. Probably has to do with the fact that my husband just got his masters in urban planning. Anyway, this book is very simply written and laid out well. You can tell this is a book written with first-hand experience with everything that is discussed. It covers all the basics and then some. They also make everything easy and simple and not overwhelming or expensive. You don't need to spend $500 on a chicken coop, or $200 on a composter. They tell you how to do everything the best way that has worked well for them living in the city) and the most cost effective way. I don't see how anyone could go wrong with this book, especially city-slickers like myself who are looking to implement these strategies in their lives.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
This book is AMAZING!Jul 05, 2010
As I found myself getting more and more back to my country roots and wanting to share those experiences with my kids, I've been slowly transforming our suburban life. Little did I know there was a term for this activity "Urban homesteading". When searching for this term at my local public library, I put my name on the waiting list for this book. I thought it may have a few nice tips on planting, etc.
When I got the book, I couldn't put it down! It would be a great book just for the tremendous and varied amount of knowledge that it contains, but above and beyond that it is told in a very conversational and often humorous way. The authors's philosophy toward this growing movement is perfect for beginners all the way to hard-core "off the grid" folks. You are encouraged to do just what you can do and to try for more when you are ready. They share their strategies, their past mistakes (so you don't make the same ones) and money saving tips. This book has changed the way I look at my world, from needless paving to guerilla gardening.
After devouring my public library copy, I knew I had to own this! Since purchasing it here @ Amazon, I've read and re-read it, adding post-it bookmarks for quick references in the future (how to make a self-watering container, raised beds, etc.).
Thank you so much to the authors for a great book. I plan on buying more copies to give as gifts to my friends who are also interested in "city farming" and living a better lifestyle.
 Gave me some great ideas!Jun 06, 2010
I enjoyed this book. As an urban renter, this gave me some great ideas for growing my own food and implementing more natural and environmentally-friendly products and processes into my everyday life. I have never had a garden or grown my own food, but I am excited to start some of the projects in the book. I also plan to switch to some all-natural products and learn to can! The book is great for giving a general overview of homesteading & gardening practices. I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in becoming more self-sufficient, whether you are an urban or suburban renter or homeowner!
FabulousMay 23, 2010
Great book for the urban homesteader. Much more practical than The Backyard Homestead. The Backyard Homestead is more of a reference book, a compilation/reprint of Storey's different books into one geared toward backyard homesteading. This book is written by urban homesteaders, for urban homesteaders!
Great referenceApr 23, 2010
Great book, and I will always keep this as a reference. Have gotten a lot of good tips from this neat book.
| | |
|
