The Urban Homestead: Your Guide to Self-sufficient Living in the Heart of the City Book

Unleashing The Homesteader Within     14
Start Your Own Farm     20
Strategies for Growing Food in the Urban Setting     20
How to Make Seedballs     30
Permaculture     32
The Practicalities of Growing Food     34
Essential Projects     46
Five Essential Projects     46
Start a Compost Pile     46
Vermiculture or Composting with Worms     51
Mulch Your Yard     55
Build a Raised Bed     60
How to Build a Self-Watering Container     65
A Treasure Chest of Gardening Projects and Advice     71
How To Start Seeds     71
How To Transplant     74
Fertilizer Tea     77
Grow Some Lettuce     78
Tips & Tricks for Gardening in Containers     81
The Dirt on Potting Soll     83
Installing Drip Irrigation     84
How to Make a Bean Teepee     87
How to Design a Polycultural Vegetable Bed     89
How To Make Tater Tires     94
Controlling Insect Pests     97
Rotating Crops     102
Animal Pests     105
Why You Might Test Your Soil     108
Not Digging It     110
Urban Foraging     114
Feral Edibles     114
Invasive Edibles     120
Fruit Foraging     122
Tools for the Fruit Harvester     123
How to Eat Acorns     124
Dumpster Diving     126
Revive Day-Old Bread     128
Livestock In The City     132
The Chicken is the New Pug     133
How To Set Up A Brooder     147
Ducks     151
Rabbits     154
Pigeons: A Modest Proposal     155
Quail     156
Bees     156
Revolutionary Home Economics     162
Preserving the Harvest     162
How to Can     166
Pickling via Lacto-Fermentation     169
Daikon Radish Pickles     171
Dehydration: Why Save it for Hangovers?     172
Three Methods for Drying Food     173
Preserving With Vinegar     175
Preserving Fruit In Alcohol: Le Cherry Bounce     177
Preserving Root Vegetables     177
How to Culture Milk     180
Making Yogurt     180
Making Labaneh, or Yogurt Cheese      181
Fil, Piima And Viila     182
Cheesemaking     183
Whole Milk Ricotta     183
Making Butter     184
How to Make Fruit Butter     186
Jams and Jellies     189
Making Stock     189
The Homemade Speakeasy: From Mead to Moonshine     190
Baking on the Homestead     193
Baking with Sourdough     193
Cleaning the Urban Homestead     200
Our Cleaning Cupboard     202
Less Toxic Ways to Deal with Unwelcome Critters     214
A Homestead of Your Own     215
Location Location Location     217
Be Your Own Utility: Water And Power For The Homestead     224
Harvesting Water     224
Conserving Water     226
Six Ways to Harvest Rainwater     229
Become a Readical Depaver     230
Smart Gutters and Downspouts     231
Earthworks     232
Mulch Basins     233
Terracing     235
Rain Barrels And Cisterns     236
How Much Water Can I Harvest From My Roof?     238
Non-Invasive Greywater Methodologies     243
HIghly Invasive Greywater Strategies      243
Greywater Plumbing 101     243
Showers To Flowers     246
Recycling Your Suds     247
Arranging A Twosome or Threesome-Using Diverters     250
Making a Greywater Wetland     252
The Composting Toilet: How to Poop in a Bucket     253
Power to the People     256
Energy Principles     256
Heating     258
Insulation     258
Gathering Solar Heat     259
The High Mass Rocket Heater     261
Cooling     261
How to Make a Living Awning or Shade     262
We're Fans of Fans     264
Water Heater     265
Alternatives to the Gas-Heated Shower     267
Solar Water Heaters for General Household Hot Water     268
Lighting     270
Stoves And Small Appliances     271
Solar Cookers     271
Build a Rocket Stove     274
Electronics     276
Washer & Dryer     277
Refrigerator     278
Dishwashers     278
Generating Your Own Power     279
Electricity From Solar Power-The Components     279
Solar Systems: Small, Medium And Large      281
Wind Power     284
Transportation     288
Transportation Principles     288
The Transportation Triangle: Walking, Biking, Mass Transit     289
Walking     289
Cycling     290
How To Ride In Traffic     291
Finding A Bike     293
Route Choice     295
Cargo Bikes     295
Conclusion: The Future     298
Resources     302