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Our little suburban homestead tackles gardening for food, ducks, and more.

Homesteading Renaissance, an old idea with a modern twist

By: Rachel Hill, August 30th, 2023

People ask, can you really consider yourselves Homesteaders? You don't own a farm, and you don't own a large piece of land. The answer is yes, and here is why...

The history of homesteading started in 1862 during the civil war when the U.S. government enacted the Homestead Act. This meant that any adult citizen or intended citizen could claim 160 acres of land, under the stipulation that they live on and work to cultivate the land. After five years the land would become theirs free and clear with the exception of a small registration fee.

Today the term "Homesteading" still holds the original meaning of self-sustainability, but has more of a broader meaning to include those in the community who do not have a large plot of land. And It is true, so many of us within the modern homesteading community would love to own acres of land to grow crops, raise livestock and forage on. But this is simply not a realistic expectation for many, including us. This does not mean that the journey towards self-sufficiency is dead. A "Suburban homestead" or even an "Urban Homestead" is attainable with a little ingenuity and a barrage of technological advancements. People can still work towards a certain level of self-sufficiency, no matter how small their living space is.

For those living in apartments or condos, a little careful planning of their small porch space can allow a person to do multilevel container gardening giving access to multiple vegetables and dwarf fruit trees. A single modular rain harvesting system can be set up to catch rainwater to support the container plants growing. With innovations such as grow lights, and hydroponics, people can grow a plethora of vegetables year-round indoors without having to give credence to seasonal weather changes and decreased daylight.

Those that do have an outdoor space, 'seed starting' indoors allows us a leg up on mother nature. Once seedlings have been established indoors, they can be planted outdoors after the last frost, and extend the growing season that folks have to harvest food.

All this has helped evolve the term "homesteading". In this modern day the end goal is to reach a level of sufficiency and sustainability, whether that is total or partial. As our economy puts more and more pressure on the middle- and lower-income communities, homesteading can help to relieve some of the costs of our ever-increasing water and grocery bills. It is also a way to bring us and our children back to nature and away from a computer screen for a period of time.

Homesteading is certainly not for everyone, but for those looking to connect with the outdoors and a like-minded community, it is very rewarding and brings an entirely different sense of appreciation of what it takes to bring healthy food to your table.

If this is something you're interested in please subscribe to Our Little Suburban Homestead to get updates as we share them with the community.

References:

National Archives

https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/homestead-act

Our little suburban homestead tackles gardening for food, ducks, and more.

Our little suburban homestead tackles gardening for food, ducks, and more.

Homesteading Renaissance, an old idea with a modern twist

By: Rachel Hill, August 30th, 2023

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