Urban agriculture and survival: Family grows 6,000 lbs produce on 1/10th acre

Thanks for your comments, everybody. I never expected this thread to garner so many S&F's and positive responses, so I certainly do appreciate it.

One thing that struck me is how pleasant the well-laid-out garden is to look at and (presumably) to spend time in...much nicer than the typical lawn or parking lot you'd be more likely to find in that kind of environment. I've heard stories before of people who live in suburbs and gated communities who have been told they can't have food gardens because of this or that regulation; in reality, people seem to think it would be an "eyesore" that would lower the property value. But the stubbly golfcourse-green lawns and scraggly trees of your typical subdivision generally strike me as far uglier. I bet the air is fresher and cooler there than anywhere nearby, too.

As for the amount of time and effort it would take...I guess it would depend on exactly what they were growing, right? They look like they are running a pretty tight ship there, so I'm assuming they have the ability to vary the planting schedule and amounts for different crops in line with whatever their schedule happens to be. The fact that it takes place in such a small space cuts down the time needed for lots of things, too. No massive fields to hoe or plough, no irrigation pipes to drag though the muck, assemble, and dissasemble; no fiddling with tractors or hay bailers or tedders or combines; probably minimal pesticides...they have animals, but not many. I'm not saying it would be easy for anyone to grow so much in that kind environment, of course, and I think you'd have to have pretty good working knowledge of horticulture to begin with in order to keep that kind of show running. But nobody says you have to grow 6,000 pounds of food....a few hundred pounds is more than enough for starters I would think

Another thing: With so many jobless young people moving back into their parents' homes, unemployed friends and relatives of all ages, and soon-to-be-pensionless retirees everywhere given the moribund economy, most people should be able to organize informal gardening brigade to help with the labor issues in no time. Participants would be be well rewarded for their time and efforts with the beginnings of a new skill-set and armfuls of produce, to say nothing of the health and community-building benefits.

Very encouraging and inspiring, thanks for bringing this thread up.
This is a very positive way of taking care of oneself and definitely should be done more often.

If you don't have much space or lack a balcony, you can start small and plant your veggies in buckets.

Its awesome what is possible with some imagination and the right attitude.

Originally posted by RedmoonMWC

Originally posted by Kargun
Man this video makes me want to start my own garden. Not so doable in a condo

This was great to see!

I'm with you man, I rent a 2 Bed room upstairs apartment, and have been trying to figure out how I can at least grow some tomatoes on my deck without pissing off my downstairs neighbor every time I water them.

Use ice.

I wonder if you have to have a lot of sunshine for the success the people in Los Angeles have achieved. In Britain we do grey, we do wet, we do windy and the odd hail in summer, but sunshine, not so much.

reply to post by Hessdalen


I'd recommend a place called Bountiful Gardens www.bountifulgardens.org...

They're based out of Willits, CA and specialize in open-pollinated heirloom seeds. I order all of my seeds from them. They have a book - tons of books and pamphlets, really, but one in particular - called How To Grow More Vegetables by John Jeavons that outlines their biointensive method about which they say: "Our method is also the best way to grow all your food in a complete diet, or in the case of backyard gardeners, learning all the essentials in a small area, that can then be scaled up to full self-sufficiency if necessary" and I completely agree.

For another previous poster who needed info about growing veg all season long I'd recommend a book called Four-Season Harvest by Eliot Coleman available here: www.bountifulgardens.org... Mr. Coleman writes about growing and harvesting all through the year in Maine. It's another one I love.

reply to post by shagula


Shag - I'm in Utah and gardening here is awesome, even with the late start these last two years. I have fantastic rhubarb and lots of greens this year with the help of my little (tiny) greenhouse. Happy to help if I can - I've been gardening here for years, in the backyard gardens my grandfather started in 1960.