You may have heard the term urban homesteading more often recently, especially as people have hunkered down and stayed pretty close to home in the time of COVID-19. But what exactly does it mean to urban homestead, and how do you get started?
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What is Urban Homesteading?
Today, the term urban homesteading essentially means you're trying to make most of the food you consume as a household in an urban area, and that can include produce and livestock. A homesteader tries to make their own food as much as possible and to become as self-sufficient and practice sustainable living as much as they can.
Self-sufficiency when it comes to homesteading is the goal and the term has expanded to include composting, recycling, resource reduction, and food preservation including canning, drying, freezing, and more. But living a sustainable lifestyle might seem a little more difficult when you're in an urban area as opposed to living in the country.
Can You Practice Homesteading in a City?
The good news is, you can still balance out sustainability and even having a small garden in a city. Permaculture News noted that even those without outdoor space can get into homesteading as long as they have a porch or even a window for plants. Ultimately, you don't need a front yard, or large vegetable garden, or backyard chickens to develop an urban homestead.
The urban homestead might look a little different from a rural one, but it's still possible to do. You can still grow veggies or spices in small spaces available to you in or around your apartment and be making some sort of environmental impact, even if you're not able to grow fruit trees or attempt beekeeping in your backyard.
Or, better yet, research whether or not a community garden is available to you — that's a great alternative for urban homesteaders who are low on space. You'll still end up with "homegrown" fruits or vegetables in the end.
As someone who lives in a city, I know self-reliance when it comes to growing food is a little more difficult than it is in wide-open spaces. But urban homesteading is still possible, as long as you are willing to get a little creative.
