(The image above is of the Russian dacha neighborhoods where every yard is full of food.)
Silverado Canyon And The Homestead Life Is A Reality
Most people think that miles of machine-planted row crops and crowded feedlots are required to feed everyone. And without the agricultural industry we would all starve to death. Even people who know that organic agriculture is just as productive as industrial agriculture often think you need to have acres of land to grow all your own food. This is false.
How Much Land is Enough?
Millions of subsistence farmers and smallholders around the world will tell you, you can grow all the food you need in a very small space, depending on the quality of your land and the size of your family. It simply requires designing a food production system that works with natural processes to make the most of what you have. You can potentially grow all your food on as little as a quarter of an acre! Most people in the suburbs could start living off their land today!
Biointensive mini-farming is an elegant, small-scale agriculture system that makes the bold claim of enabling you to “grow more vegetables than you ever thought possible on less land than you can imagine.” Ecology Action has been avidly teaching Biointensive mini-farming to smallholders worldwide, with the goal of helping as many people to become food-secure as possible. In fact, Biotensive soil care and gardening techniques work so well that you can grow a complete diet in less than 1000 square feet (not including animal products)! Biointensive gardening, when combined with holistic land design strategies like Permaculture, you can create a complete homestead that is not only highly productive, but also low maintenance. Biointensive gardens require a lot of soil preparation work up front, including the infamous “double digging.” But for all your efforts in preparation, your gardens will become extremely drought and weed resistant, and very easy to maintain for years to come, a must-have for getting very high yields out of a small garden space.
You could go through a process that moves you closer to your homesteading dreams in as little as 21-days , whether you live in an apartment in the city, or on 100 acres in the middle of nowhere. From planting fruit trees in multi-level, vertical guilds that increase yields to building renewable energy and greywater systems that fit your family’s needs of a newbie homesteader. If you have a quarter acre or more of good land and a dream of greater self-sufficiency, then I hope this information will inspire you to start planning your suburban or urban homestead now so you can get started building it this spring!
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