Being a homesteader on a plot of land is usually the way people go with this. But what if you’re someone that doesn’t have the ability to leave the big city, and wants to do this on an urban level? There is such a thing as urban homesteading, and during the summer, or whenever you choose to do this, you can try out these new and fun tricks and tips to help you get the most out of this. So, what are you waiting for? Read on to learn how to become a great urban homesteader.
Your first step in all of this, is to initially assess the resources that you possess. Actually, sit down in the city, and from there look at what you realistically do have before you begin to take action. Via observation, you’ll create choices that are wiser and much more responsive, and the results will last a long time. You should earn everything that’s possible from the region that you’re in including what water is able to be drank, how much sunlight and wind you have even if you’ve got growing space, such as on the balcony. You should also look at the space near your neighbors, and if it might bother them if you’ve got chickens or not. You should also look into the laws for this as well.
You should also look at where food is originating from, and even where sewage and garbage goes, so learn what you can from the area. You should also know that chickens smell a lot and are loud, and you could raise a pig, but what if the neighbors find out? You should look into all of this before you begin.
Growing food within the city is a hard one, mostly because of the space. However, there are a few options, such as a community garden, where you can pay a little bit of money, and then grow some food on a plot of land. But, if you want to do it near your home, you always can.
If you’ve got space, and you see that the neighbors are just unkempt on the space themselves you could totally do this to help out everyone.
When it comes to gardening you want to use spaces that are vertical. That’s because they have a lot more surface area than the horizontal ones without crowding everything. Usually if you have a place that’s got a wall that faces south and gets ample sun you can grow tomatoes and beans really easily and you don’t have to do a lot.
If you’ve got some rooftops that are just hanging around there and if you’ve got permission those also work perfectly for growing gardens.
You could even do this in abandoned parking lots. Sometimes there are small open spaces and if you’re willing to de-pave the area before you put it in the plants or anything. really if you have an undeveloped lot, you could benefit quite a bit from a garden like this. You can put a ton of food in a small space as well.
For example, if you’ve got a parking lot that has minimally six or so hours a day, but no soil, you can install raised beds on this. You can even get some barrels with a drainage hole put in near the bottom so that it’s not oversaturated. You can also start to grow various thing such as potatoes carrots and even leeks in buckets and you can put lettuce in small pots. Various fruit trees do grow in a straight manner, and they don’t always have to branch out, and some even grow on vines like grapes and such. In essence, if you do this you’ll want to make sure that you take care of the growing space, since you will be able to grow a lot.. 
As a good rule of thumb though, you should always read to see what the conditions are for this, and from there, you can start to put in whatever it is that you need into this space. Take the time that you need to grow what you want, and work with whatever you’ve got in order to be successful.
If for whatever reason you can’t get some foods to grow in your space, you should go to farmers markets and any local food places where you can buy and sell food. You can even get some bulk-food groups for staples purchasing from these wholesalers themselves. You can also even use some of the unused items to get some food from them. You can find wild edibles out in the open too, and using websites and buying in bulk can help with food that you want to get.
Learning how to make food in the kitchen is a huge part of homesteading. This doesn’t include just butters and such, but we are also talking various bread products, dairy, and even preservatives and jams. You could virtually cook and make anything so long as you’re willing to learn a little bit.
You can even grow a huge garden in your small space, preserve the food, and then use it, and you’ll not only save yourself a boatload of money, but you can control what ingredients you put into there.
The best way to learn this is to find some cookbooks, get the supplies that you are missing, and then explore these, and take advantage of various classes to even learn how to become the best person you can be in the kitchen.
You should also learn canning. This can include freezing the food, smoking it, drying it, and canning in a water bath with a canner, and it can help you preserve the food in bulk, including hauls from what you’ve gotten each season, and even harvests that you’ve locally accomplished.
The fruits from trees or tomatoes that are ripe that you get from the farmers nearby can be preserved, and you can even make your own pasta sauce and various butters too. You can even ferment some of the food as well to create cheese, and if you like sauerkraut, you can make this.
Composting is one of the best things that you can do if you’re in the city. You’re in essence turning your waste into fertile soil. Putting together a bin for composting in a certain area in your backyard with a couple of wooden pallets can easily make things good. Getting a compost bin as well that’s already made and has a lid is good if you’ve got neighbors that like to be nosey. You can put some holes on there, and then put a lid on top of this if you’re really that worried.
When you do fill this, consider putting in just about anything. from dinner waste, to leaves that are shredded, to clippings from mowing the lawns, to even scraps from veggies.
If you do want to do vermicomposting, which is essentially worm composting, you can actually put this inside. You can put a bin of worms within a container, and you can keep this indoors, put the scraps in there and anything that’s biodegradable, and it can be quite amazing.
Greywater is water that you see in the washing machine, shower, bathroom sink, or even your bathtub, and you can even reuse this with the right plumbing which is a common basic level of homesteading. You can put the water to the gardens and you can make sure that you grow the plants.
However, if you do this make sure that the soap used is all natural because otherwise you’re going to kill all the things.
To simply do this put the greywater under the drain of the sink. Literally you disconnect your sink and instead let it have the drain go to a bucket that’s 5 gallons. Make sure to empty this periodically.
However, you should always check the ordinances before you do this because there are laws involving this.
You can also install some rain barrels outside by the gutters. Let the water go into those and you can use it for gardening.
Urban homesteading is a fun activity and this chapter showcased just how you can do this effectively.