Urban Homesteading

So I've been slowly integrating various green concepts into my life- vermicomposting, getting rid of wasteful things like paper towels, using the Diva Cup during periods, using only earth friendly cleaning supplies, trying to use and buy less, carpooling, trying to rid myself of water bottle usage, etc. Most things have been surprisingly very easy.

I have recently become interested in Urban Homesteading. That is, trying to distance myself from the dependency on others, specifically corporations, big business, and such. I love the idea of moving towards self sufficiency and it really horrified me how far I am in similarity to the lifestyles my grandparents once lived.

So now I am looking for a place where I can start my own little Urban Homestead when I get to St. Louis. I have to find a place with a fenced yard and some green space!

I stumbled across Square Foot Gardening. Basically you build boxes to plant your crop in. So we can do this. My problem is that I have no green thumb. But I was thinking that maybe I could get involved with one of the community gardens to learn. Also I heard the Missouri Botanical Garden holds all sorts of classes.

Food that I would like the grow (note: I've not done any research on the viability of any of these, so they might not all be feasible):

Broccoli, Cauliflower, Carrots, Squash, Zucchini, Onion, Garlic, Pepper, Tomato (for April... I hate tomato), Potato, Sweet Potato, Soy beans, Green Beans, Lettuce, and Spinach. Then I'd also like to grow some basic herbs- Basil, Oregano, Rosemary, etc.

Luckily in St Louis there are various Farmers Markets that I can't wait to visit. Old North city has one and Tower Grove has one. Tower Grove even does yoga on the lawn on Saturday mornings. I'm totally doing that once I get settled in STL. But yeah, if I can buy most of my stuff locally, that would be a huge help too!

So, of course, thinking about doing these things and actually doing them, is a whole nother concept all together. I think that if I take it slow and learn as I go, a year from now I'll be that much closer to significantly lessening my footprint!

Also, in other Green news, I want to build a Doggy Poo Composter. Obviously you wouldn't want to but this compost on garden goodies that you eat, but it can go on ornamentals and such. What a great solution to wasting more bags and landfill space!

Once I get to St Louis I will also be making a much larger vermicomposting bin because the smaller one I have now is just too hard to bury the food in different sections. I have to redo the box anyway because I'm having a little fruit fly headache.