Turn your back yard into an urban homestead

By Connie Meyer
Gardens on Spring Creek

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While the Homestead Act of 1862 granted land to applicants after five years of living on the land and demonstrating improvements, modern homesteading has no such requirements.

Believe it or not, it is taking place right now in back yards across America. Friends and neighbors in urban areas are returning to a lifestyle of self-sufficiency lived by many of our grandparents and great-grandparents. And the best part is that anybody can do it.

While raising your own produce may seem daunting, it is quite rewarding. As a fruit and vegetable gardener, I am literally living off the land. With cold frames, my harvest season runs April through early November.

Homegrown produce tastes better because I pick at the peak of ripeness. I also save on grocery bills. For example, a packet of heirloom tomato seed may cost around $3. Now compare that to store-bought heirlooms that run $5 to $7 per pound. According to the National Gardening Association, in 2009 the average home garden of 600 square feet yielded about $600 worth of fresh produce.

My savings also continue through canning surplus produce. Homemade ketchup, dilly beans, pickles and jams grace my pantry shelves.

When Fort Collins City Council allowed chickens within city limits, I took another step toward my own backyard homesteading. The ordinance allows up to six hens, but no roosters, and they must be provided at least 2 square feet of coop space per chicken. Businesses around town and online sell premade coops. If you are a do-it-yourself type, download plans from the Internet. New materials can be purchased at local home improvement stores or reclaimed materials from sources such as Freecycle or ReSource.

Chickens provide many benefits to the backyard homesteader. For starters...eggs. There is nothing quite like gathering a warm egg from the coop. Besides being on egg detail, my hens get to roam about the enclosed back yard during the day. While they are out, they enhance the garden beds by scratching the soil (shallow tilling) searching for insects. This natural form of insect control is gentle on the environment as well as saving money on chemical applications. And lastly, each week their coop is cleaned out and the soiled bedding is added to my compost bins. This breaks down beautifully, creating wonderful compost.

Speaking of compost, I have a three-bin system placed in a corner of the yard. Gathered grass clippings, spent blossoms, vegetative kitchen scraps, dried leaves and the soiled straw bedding all go into the bins. Dried items such as fall leaves or grasses are considered brown material in the world of composting and they supply carbon. Fresh grass clippings or vegetative kitchen scraps are considered green materials and they add nitrogen.

Composting is basically plant recycling. Plant material naturally decomposes with the assistance of water, oxygen and heat. Benefits include the following: improves water holding capacity of soil, improves soil structure, improves and stabilizes soil pH, adds nutrients to the soil and supplies significant organic matter. With only the labor of adding items and mixing the contents of the compost bins, I have a great no-cost soil amendment. Once the compost is ready, it is tilled into my vegetable garden, creating an improved soil.

Another step toward self-sufficiency is beekeeping. My husband and I attended beekeeping classes offered by the Northern Colorado Beekeeper's Association. Armed with that knowledge, we ordered bees, built our hives and waited for the bees to do their work. Not only are we looking forward to fresh honey, but also to increased pollination in our garden (which means better produce yields) and beeswax. The honey will become our replacement for sugar as well as creating mead (honey wine), the increased yields mean more savings on grocery bills, and the beeswax will be turned into candles. What's not to love about beekeeping?

New for 2011 will be pressing apples. On a previous trip to the Midwest, we came back with a vintage cider press that had sat in the family garage for the past 60 years. All it needs is a thorough cleaning and a bit of restoration (replacing some rusted bolts). In classic cider fashion, we will use a blend of apples for a crisp, complex flavor. Our Weatherford, Golden Delicious, and Red Delicious apples should do quite nicely.

Backyard homesteading is within your reach. Whether you garden, keep bees or raise your own chickens, your time and effort will be greatly rewarded.

Connie Meyer is volunteer coordinator and project manager for the Gardens on Spring Creek in Fort Collins.