For the past week it has snowed like crazy. Draping the city in sparkling white. The sky has been an unrelenting grey which is unusual for Colorado and also a bit depressing.
I currently live in a garden level condo that I love. I have a front lawn but I don’t have access to an area to plant a garden. This has become a problem for me because I’ve been wanting to grow some of my own food. I would like to experience the feeling of cultivating something. The warm soil underneath my hands. The smell of earth after a rainy day. I want the thrill of watching little green shoots pushing through the earth towards the sunshine in an effort to change light into chlorophyll.
I’ll tell you a secret: I have a goal to one day live “off the grid” and become an urban homesteading guru. My current urban homesteading idols are the Urban Homestead City Farm Family in L.A. While I wouldn’t want to live with my parents for so long this family is on to something that all of us should be embracing to a certain degree. Self-sufficiency.
The father, Mr. Dervaes believes that farming your own food can be seen as a radical act. I must admit I had to think about that statement for a moment. Farming for yourself is a radical act? Learning to provide for yourself, feeling empowered, and being in control of how you sustain yourself. I can see how becoming self-sufficient could be considered a radical act.
Check out the following video.
Have you ever thought about eliminating a huge part of your monthly budget through the cultivation of a skill, or in this case growing your own food? WIthout living on a farm? I have and I’ve discovered that a lot of other people have begun to think the same way and urban gardens are becoming more and more common.
We need to reclaim some of our power back. What do I mean? Up until the industrialization of food people were farmers. Not only were we healthier but we had a hand (pun intended) in our food production. If people lost their jobs, they still were able to eat if they had a garden. So, I started trying to look for a garden of my own.
After trying for the past three years I finally have a garden of my own! I am participating in the Denver Urban Community Garden program and was very fortunate to be given a plot this year. Denver Urban Community Garden is a wonderful program in the Denver/Boulder metropolitan area that makes plots available to residents throughout the city.
This program is incredibly popular and at this point in time 99% of the plots/gardens are full! My garden leader called me a week ago and warned me that I might not like the plot because it has some shaded areas. I met with my garden leader who brought her adorable little baby along. My plot is 3x the size that I expected and I’m so excited to get started. I do have to pay a small fee towards water usage and maintenance but that’s ok! They provide all of the larger tools, water, and even compost! There are shared herbal gardens and fruit trees that we can harvest fruit off of once they begin to bloom later in the summer. There will be plums, sour cherries, and I think peaches. There is a also a shared raspberry bush. These gardens function as a community and there are around 30 plots in my location.
After much thought I’ve decided to plant the following: potatoes, carrots, green onion, garlic, corn, strawberries, kale, arugula, peas, brussel sprouts, tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, cauliflower, and bell peppers. Yes, the plot is that big! I am so excited and looking forward to lowering my grocery bill for several months-most likely end of June through early September.
Have you ever gardened before? Was it hard? What did you/do you grow? What was the easiest or hardest thing that you discovered about gardening and yourself? Do you consider yourself and Urban Homesteader?
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I really want to start a garden, and we say this every year. We need to finally just get on it!
Michelle-when would you have the time??LOL!!
Yay! That’s exciting! I think Jana from Daily Money Shot is doing the pioneer project for the reason you mentioned. We’ve lost some of those skills which make us more self-sufficient. I can barely even sew a button! I’m upset about my garden this year. I did what I thought I had to do, but my plants are not doing well. 🙁 The first year I ever planted a garden I was surprised and how it grew. Not sure what will happen this year.
I think your garden will grow. It’s still early in the season. What did you plant? I’m planting seeds not the starter plants so I’m hoping that they will grow. I will have a lot of experienced gardeners around me who can offer guidance and support. I’ve never heard of the pioneer project? I’m going to check it out. It sounds like something I could get into.
Gosh this is amazing – I wouldn’t even know where to start with a large plot. We have a very small garden and I would need to make raised beds to grow veg! Good luck 🙂
I’m really looking forward to it! A couple of friends and my mom will be helping me out in exchange for food…obviously my mom would get food either way. LOL. The Community Garden program rocks in Denver, but it’s hard to join because once people get plots they don’t get rid of them unless they move or hate gardening.
Great post Michelle, never heard of an urban garden program, but I totally dig 🙂 it!! I live in small town Tennessee, so land is in abundance. I have recently acquired 14 acres which I hope to do a small tree farm on, along with some gardening. I am working to prepare the plot now, but will likely wait until next year to really go all in on the planting. This year I have done a small garden of strawberries and blueberries, which is for bonding and enjoyment with my daughter. Great post!
Wow! 14 acres of land so cool. If I had that much land I would get mini goats so that I could make goat cheese, but that’s a whole other post. LOL. I picked blueberries in the mountains when I was little and loved it. I am so excited about the garden, I can’t believe I waited for 3 years it. Your daughter will love hanging out with you and growing things. Then, you two will have to make some pie with the blueberries. A win, win situation for everyone.
I have thought about goats but they eat everything…and I mean everything! They also do not like to be out in the rain, so they need shelter that I do not have for them. May do some chickens one day, then I have fresh eggs for the neighborhood! I love the whole gardening thing for my daughter, I want her to appreciate natural things and patience while things grow. Plus she really gets a kick out of putting on her boots and trudging to the garden with me!
They don’t like rain? That’s ridiculous! Chickens are on my list too…