Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
Urban Homesteading: Heirloom Skills for Sustainable Living
The urban homesteading movement is spreading rapidly across
the nation. Urban Homesteading is the
perfect "back-to-the-land" guide for urbanites who want to reduce their impact
on the environment. Full of practical information, as well as inspiring stories
from people already living the urban homesteading life, this colorful guide is
an approachable guide to learning to live mo...more
the nation. Urban Homesteading is the
perfect "back-to-the-land" guide for urbanites who want to reduce their impact
on the environment. Full of practical information, as well as inspiring stories
from people already living the urban homesteading life, this colorful guide is
an approachable guide to learning to live mo...more
Paperback, 304 pages
Published
April 27th 2011
by Skyhorse Publishing
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
This book is not yet featured on Listopia.
Add this book to your favorite list »
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
570)
Urban Homesteading.. Heirloom Skills for Sustainable Living
Rachel Kaplan with K. Ruby Blume
Published by SkyHorse Publishing
Source: Review Copy
I often hear people mention they can’t wait to get out into the country to start homesteading. With the information in this book, you can start homesteading right where you are living now.
The first 4 chapters are much like a text book on topics like global warming, your carbon footprint and resources. A good lead in to urban farming but I wanted to get in...more
Rachel Kaplan with K. Ruby Blume
Published by SkyHorse Publishing
Source: Review Copy
I often hear people mention they can’t wait to get out into the country to start homesteading. With the information in this book, you can start homesteading right where you are living now.
The first 4 chapters are much like a text book on topics like global warming, your carbon footprint and resources. A good lead in to urban farming but I wanted to get in...more
Urban Homesteading, by Rachel Kaplan with K. Ruby Blume, is a breath of fresh air in the usually stuffy room of gardening and homesteading literature. Don't get me wrong --- I adore books by Paul Stamets, Steve Solomon, and others, but these texts tend to be written by, for, and about middle class, white, straight people. Urban Homesteading highlights ideas that are applicable to everyone, and the stunning photos in the book back that theme up.
The case studies sprinkled throughout Urban Homestea...more
The case studies sprinkled throughout Urban Homestea...more
Jan 15, 2012
Tinea
rated it
2 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
California hippies
Shelves:
food-agriculture-hunger,
ecology-diy
Great intro to permaculture, especially the ethical & holistic nature of that system. And if you like woowoo kinda earth spirituality, you'll love this. But I pretty quickly ran out of patience, and this felt like a whole lot of blahblahblah. Written by California hippies who live in sprawling cities where every home has a yard, where people own their homes, and where you already have access to a "local neighborhood seed bank" and a warm, sunny climate all year round. Every few chapters had...more
This was a pretty cool introduction to the concept of living a sustainable lifestyle, with overviews of raising your own produce, meat/eggs, beekeeping, make your own fermented drinks/foods, etc. There are some detailed projects in this book, like how to create your own self-watering containers for vegetables or make your own kimchee.
Other parts of this book were interesting but a bit far-fetched, like the section on composting toilets. For example, how about sterilizing your poo by growing a tr...more
Other parts of this book were interesting but a bit far-fetched, like the section on composting toilets. For example, how about sterilizing your poo by growing a tr...more
The book has wonderfully rich and colorful photos that detail models of a variety of urban homesteads - a.k.a. backyard gardens and farms, including layouts and diagrams. The book was a bit over the top and philosphically hippie dippie for me, but there were a lot of great ideas in the presented. It very much emphasized the Northern California geographical and cultural region, so a lot of the ideas did not seem as plausible for other parts of the US that have harsher winters, as well as truly ur...more
B+ Really nice book. HUGE focus on gardening, and I wish they would've done more stuff w container in houses gardening. Great tips, how I really want to live, total hippie in a little log cabin with my chickens. They do a lot on urban environments, but I almost feel like if it's suburban. I know two people in NYC with backyards....so it's not always a possibility. But great book, stuff on canning, composing, seed saving, etc.
Usually these types of books encourage methods that are either too extreme or too expensive. This book had neither. It was a wonderful introduction to small, affordable changes that can be made to not only save money but make the world a better place. It was well written, organized well and had fantastic pictures. I also particularly appreciated the additional resources listed in the front and the back of the book.
The first few chapters are for skimming in my opinion - the author gets up on her soapbox and is a little patronizing since readers probably won't pick up this book unless they already carry some of these beliefs. However, the rest of the book is a gold mine of tips and instructions on how to get back to the basics in your own backyard - everything from gardening to foraging to building a composting toilet and moving towards a zero waste household.
I love that ideas were scaled to different leve...more
I love that ideas were scaled to different leve...more
Well-written, informative, inspiring and practical. Hugely helpful in identifying clear ways any home can become more whole, more earth and community-friendly. Anyone with an interest in homesteading, sustainability... here is an excellent place to start gathering ideas and projects.
I am enjoying this book, it currently has natural remedies for urbanites. Natural Pest control, wild weeds that are medicinal in your neighborhood, Urban farm kitchen, canning rules, etc.. just to give you an idea of what the book is about.
This book was like main stream permaculture. It had nice pictures and touchy feely graphics and info, but wasn't too interested in the hard to get to information and hands on work. It reminded me of some home renovation shows where you see the work, but know that there are more than 2 people putting the patio in. Nice overview, but not too much behind it.
maybe I have read too many of these recently, but there was nothing outstanding or different in this for me. It is a bit more into community projects rather than individual homesteading.
Aug 09, 2011
Acn
added it
Really enjoyed it. This is the only book I've come across that has photos of people's urban homesteads. It's interesting to see how people set up their properties for this life style.
First book to use diagrams RE: permaculture that made it all click for me. Love this book and it's rules for sustainable living. Have them posted in my house. Very empowering!
I could not recommend a better book for anyone with the slightest inkling of sustainable living. best birthday present I can remember getting.
I need to own this book. I checked it out from the library and quickly realized it is a valuable reference book I MUST own! If you have any interest in sustainable living or gardening then you must read this (and own it). Several amazing drawings, pictures, reference charts on items to grow, how to cook and can items (or other ways to store them for the winter...roots in a cellar)!
Such a helpful tool for homesteading in the city!
Such a helpful tool for homesteading in the city!
Excellent !!!
Jun 28, 2012
Kat
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
tree hugging hippies
Recommended to Kat by:
the internet
This book is an eloquent treatise on sustainability for city dwellers. It was very inspirational, filled with beautiful pictures, interesting and well written. It is not the encyclopedia of country living but it is a good place to start if you have an interest in permaculture and living a more harmonious, earth-friendly, healthy life.
I think this book lost me when it suggested peeing in a bucket & dumping it in the compost as a good source of nitrogen. I'm sure it was a useful description of how to do many things but I felt that it was a) over the top, and b) meant to sound scientific but written by non-scientists. Glad it was a library book.
1 like · like · see review
view 1 comment
Aug 15, 2012
Tricia Gonwa
added it
Not exactly what I was looking for.
A great introduction.
A wonderful resource for anyone interested in self-sufficiency, especially in an urban or suburban setting.
An amazing book, and a call to arms against the grinding degradation of these modern times. Albeit surprisingly optimistic. Of course, the co-author is my wife.
Jun 19, 2013
Janelle Feldes
marked it as to-read
Jun 11, 2013
Megan Trehey
marked it as to-read
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
