Asia, a young mother of 2, has developed an impressive urban homestead over the past three years. Starting with a single garden bed for her health-conscious daughter, she has expanded into a flourishing space that produces a variety of fruits, vegetables, eggs, meat, and herbs.
What does this look like?
Asia has cultivated an urban homestead including backyard chickens and quail, a greenhouse, a two-bin compost system, and rainwater collection.
- Grows a diverse range of crops, such as apples, peaches, carrots, tomatoes, beans, zucchini, cucumbers, peppers, onions, medicinal plants, and herbs like basil.
- Employs different methods like raised beds, no-dig beds with compost and cardboard, bags, and trellises.
- Had to overcome garden space boundaries, pesky critters and some pervasive weed species.
Why does she do it?
She started her urban homestead with a need for something to fill her time and provide value to both her and her children’s lives during the pandemic. Her motivation for continuing this thriving space stems from a busy-body personality, a frugal lifestyle and the desire to have food untouched by the presence of chemicals or pesticides.
How she found success
The success of Asia’s urban homestead project can be attributed to a combination of things such as:
- Thoughtful planning
- Sustainable practices
- Resourcefulness
- Clear commitment to self-sufficiency and environmental responsibility
From finding cement bricks for free on Facebook Marketplace, salvaging cardboard for garden beds and taking responsibility for her own compost and fertilizer, Asia was able to create an ever-expanding oasis of food cultivation and nourishment right in her own backyard:
“Starting a garden in your backyard can get expensive, but you don’t have to spend a lot of money to do this, and I kind of want people to understand that. When I started, I was buying everything… I just had to stop, and I had to think, ‘What is it that I can do that isn’t very expensive?’”