An urban organic farm (supplying food on 1/5th of an acre)
Urban Homesteaders? That’s what the Dervaes family (of Pasadena, California) calls themselves as they challenge the rest of us to try to live a 100 FOOT diet. They run an urban farm on one-fifth of an acre (to put that in perspective, if their lot was square it would measure approximately 93 feet at each side). They grow enough food for themselves as well as supplying some of the local community around them.
Watch the following 2-minute video from 2006 to get an idea of what they have been up to since 2001:
The project goes far beyond growing food and is a journey into self-sustainability. They grow their own food, harness their own energy, produce their own wine, share educational info and share their journey. Check out their journal for a glimpse of their urban farm and the bounty so far this summer.
It’s an interesting site and certainly offers a challenge to each of us to consider. Cheers to them and fascinating stuff!
Comments
My constantly recurring thought with this is … yea, but they live in Pasadena, CALIFORNIA. What’s the plant hardiness zone there? 10? I look at their site – they’re able to harvest 138 pounds of produce in *February*. They have a frost-free time between December 13 and February 3.
Of course I’m impressed with what they do. Even in California, I’m sure their harvests are impressive – and they do so many other things, too. I follow their blog and I try to figure out ways that our family can eventually do the same thing.
However … I keep coming back to “But they live in California. They have a winter of a month and a half.” There’s only so much info I can pull from their example except that “It’s possible to be self-sufficient, even on a tiny lot, if you have a 10 1/2 month growing season.”
laughing, this is so, so true..
Maybe to be more sustainable we should all have to move closer tot he equator..laugh…
I shared the same thoughtand know I couldn`t do what they`re doing here – but also thought about all the people in the same zone who could and still behave the way many here do… I can`t imagine a 10.5 month growing season…
Did you know that people in Northern climates tend to drive their motorcycles more in a year than those in the south… the seasons are shorter but they ride more, in part because they know the season is ending. It would be very curious to know if a similar pattern exists in overall gardening trends…
Oops, a typo. I meant that their frost-free time is between February 3 and December 13.
Makes a difference.