Not-So-Rural, 'Bonsai Farming' - Urban Gardening & Livestock (chickens, rabbits, goats, bees)

[Dover]

Ran across a great little magazine the other day titled Urban Farm - Sustainable City Living. There's a wonderful article in there this month on all the steps of choosing, preparing and maintaining chickens in the urban backyard titled, New Chicks On The Block.

The online version of the magazine is also full of helpful information about urban farming, and seeing how there IS no forum for that topic, hope you don't mind if I post it here. It's similar to rural farming but has its own set of problems, parameters and characteristics. I think of it as a new art form, "bonsai farming".

http://www.urbanfarmonline.com/urban-livestock/default.aspx

[ensho]

1. kick

nt

[tekisui]

2. I love the urban agriculture movement.

It has to potential to lessen the impact of many of the problems we face today. Going as local as possible with as many products as possible is a win/win/win.

[Dover]

5. So true. But I think its GREATEST gifts for city/suburban dwellers are

in it's affect on our hearts and minds. An amazing stress reducer and community builder...a source of healing, nourishment and renewal for our
culture as a whole. By renewing our relationship with nature and each other
we can eliminate so many problems.

[tekisui]

6. You are right.

I wrote my undergraduate thesis on urban agriculture and its social/political impact potential. It is very interesting. The benefits are layered. The more you look the greater positive impact is found.

[Dover]

7. What a COOL thesis! Sounds very cutting edge and important.

Are you involved in this movement in any way now?

[tekisui]

9. Not so much, now.

I interned with a local non-profit that would go into neighborhoods and help design, develop and operate community gardens. From there, the urban agriculture movement ripples through the city. All of the elementary schools in the city limits now have school gardens. There are gardens going it at churches and orphanages. There is an edible park in one of the poorest neighborhoods, an orchard with apples, blueberries, peaches, almonds, grapes, pears and more.

During my research I found the possible implications limitless. Veteran gardens. Nursing home gardens. Homeless gardens. Immigrant gardens. And, perhaps most interesting, prison gardens. The prison gardens reduce violence and recidivism. Really cool stuff.

Since the internship and graduation this May, I have been too busy with work and preparing for law school to devote much time to the organizations.

[dgibby]

11. I love the idea of community/urban gardens.

My theory is that the advent of the suburbs and technology, such as affordable air conditioning, TV, computers, etc, has had the effect of isolating us.

When I was growing up in a small, blue collar town, we had no ac, and very few had tv. Computers were unheard of, of course, and organized sports for kids consisted of Little League Baseball. Backyard fences were open wire, designed to keep the little kids and dogs in, not the neighbors out.

Beating the heat meant that we'd all sit out on our front porches in the evening, drinking iced tea/lemonade (Kool Ade for us kids). Houses were fairly close to each other(I could jump from my porch to the neighbor's on the right), so we'd sip cool drinks, fan ourselves, and VISIT with each other.

I knew every neighbor on both sides of our block by name, and they knew me. In fact, not only did they know me, they knew what I was and wasn't allowed to do, and had my parents permission to reprimand me for any bad behavior (maybe it DOES take a village to raise a child?).

All of that changed after everyone got ac and tv, etc. No longer did we sit out on the porch and visit. We stayed inside, enjoying the cool air, and being entertained by the box in the living room.

Would I give up tv and ac or God forbid, my pc? Not if I could help it! My point is that there were unintended consequences to the wonderful inventions/technology we enjoy. They changed our way of life in (what I believe to be) profound and surprising ways.

Community gardens, on the other hand, have served to get us out of our self-imposed prisons and interacting with each other again. Not only do they nourish the body, they feed the soul!

[Dover]

18. It's a paradox that technology has 'connected' us out the kazoo and yet

it has had the affect of creating a greater sense of isolation. There is no substitute for physical human contact and exchange. That kind of intimacy is really not possible in the virtual world...we're not fully engaged with all our physical senses and whatever that 'chemical exchange' provides. We have to work much harder to find real contact with each other. So gardens/animals/nature invite us to step outside and mix it up, engaging our senses as well as our minds.

[dgibby]

14. Good luck with law school!

With your knowledge base, I'm hoping you're heading into environmental law. Maybe you and Erin Brockovitch can take down Monsanto!

[conscious evolution]

21. Could you post a link?

I am part of an urban farm in Atlanta.It would be interesting to read and pass around your thesis.

[LWolf]

24. So true.

Working in soil, with plants, has always nurtured me.

[Warpy]

3. One place I lived in back in Boston

featured wonderful Hispanic landlords who divided the back yard into plots for all of us. Their son's Easter chicks were given free run of the whole business, depositing fertilizer and eating bugs, the rooster becoming Sunday dinner the first Sunday after he started to crow.

My own granny was a couple of blocks from the center of a smallish city and had chickens and a huge garden.

I live in the inner city now and backyard chickens are pretty common. I'm not sure about the bunnies, they're pretty silent. I could swear I've heard goats from time to time, probably kids who were kept until they were big enough to feed the whole family instead of milk goats. Yards here are small.

It's nice somebody has finally noticed this stuff. Most urban farmers aren't the magazine type, though, since they're doing it out of necessity and not for giggles.

[dgibby]

15. Our lot at my childhood home

wasn't as big as a postage stamp, but my mother managed to grow some tomatoes and 2 rose bushes. She had lillies of the valley growing alongside the house, and scarlet runner beans on a string trellis on the front porch.

All of our fresh produce came from a truck farmer who'd visit our neighborhood every Sat in the summertime. I guess we were supporting CSA before it was cool!

[ixion]

4. k/r... and bookmarked.

Very cool! :woohoo:

[dgibby]

8. Thanks for the link.

I tried to register with them, but it kept asking for the verification code. I even tried contacting them about the registration problem, but they require a verification code for that, too. That site is more secure than Fort Knox!:rofl: Maybe they think I'm a spy for Monsanto?

[Dover]

10. What is a verification code?

And were you ever successful with registering?

I just order a subscription to the magazine.

[dgibby]

12. The verification code

is the little box with letters and numbers in it that you have to copy. It's at the bottom of the registration page. I tried multiple times, but was never successful. Very strange, as I've never had any trouble at any other sites that use them. I can still access the site, but can't participate because I'm not a registered user.

Mother Earth News is another magazine you'd enjoy, I think.

Also, just Google the term: sustainable living. The amt of info that comes up is mind boggling! Really interesting stuff.

[Dover]

17. I subscribe to Mother Earth News and love it and have notebooks full of

sustainable living articles. But I'm particularly fascinated by the urban farming movement and find it very exciting and creative due to the inherent
limitations and special problems.

[jwirr]

22. The original publishers of Mother Earth News sold that magazine

and are now publishing a new one called "BackHome". It is also good.

[dgibby]

13. Lots of good info in these DU groups:

Gardening and Rural/Farm. Even though they're not specific to urban farming, you can get lots of answers/info. Quite a few of us who post there are backyard gardeners, who have chickens, etc, if zoning allows it.

[Dover]

16. Good point. I posted some things about balcony and vertical gardening in those forums

that relate to this topic. Also posted and have seen some great articles in the Environment/Energy forum.


Apartment Patio and Balcony Gardens
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=115x149362


Growing UP (vertical gardening)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=115x149362

[dgibby]

20. Yes, thank you!

I have a bad back,so have had to modify my gardens. I'm growing in raised beds/containers and up the fence/trellises. Those articles have been most helpful, and my back and I both thank you!:hug:

[dgibby]

19. Have you seen this site?

pathtofreedom.com

[Dover]

23. And for the even LESS rural, apartment dweller. How about trying a "Window Farm"?

I kid you not:

http://www.windowfarms.org/