I like to think of myself as a farmer in a city boys clothing, a sustainable lifestyle hidden behind a consumers credit card, an organic diet hidden behind the nearest grocery store. About two and a half years ago my wife and I bought our first real house together. We were able to buy a modest old home on a double lot (1/2 acre) in the middle of Des Moines, Iowa. We are now building a lifestyle that better reflects our views and priorities. What does that mean for us? It means we started a business that builds 100% organic wood toys using sustainably harvested lumber. It means that we are not perfect but we are in the beginning stages of building a more sustainable life with an organic garden, back yard chickens, compost bins, and even a wood stove for heat.
To me, an urban farm is something that is done maybe to save a few bucks on the utility bill, but more to improve your quality of life. And while it is about growing organic food, not everything you do is built from wood or cotton. For instance, one of my posts will be on the advantages of buying a resin shed/storage building, as opposed to a conventional wood or metal shed building. In the long run, over time I believe that the resin building will take less maintenance, energy, paint, and it will last longer which may, over time, make it the "greener" choice for my urban farm. We will talk about more then the garden and chickens; let's talk about fishing, tackle, farmers markets, disaster preparedness, fruit trees and bushes, rain barrels, fire wood, and so much more. And let me say this, an urban farm may not be pretty as that chemically treated lawn, but it can be done in a way that fits in your neighborhood. You don't have to be the neighbor with the ugly yard. For instance, I used landscape timbers to frame my wood pile to keep it neat and tidy outside of my work shop.
The life is not necessarily less complicated, but it is less cluttered and I feel more in tune with the world around me and I know that food comes from the ground, not from the grocery store shelf. I have skills and knowledge about food preservation, carpentry, wood working, fishing, hunting, sewing, and more. Lets save the skills of our grandparents generation and pass them on to our children so that they are not lost. Lets not only learn them, but lets use them in our own lives. It is not as easy as running to the local big box store, but I promise that it is healthier and it will build a stronger family than video games and smart phones.
To me, an urban farm is something that is done maybe to save a few bucks on the utility bill, but more to improve your quality of life. And while it is about growing organic food, not everything you do is built from wood or cotton. For instance, one of my posts will be on the advantages of buying a resin shed/storage building, as opposed to a conventional wood or metal shed building. In the long run, over time I believe that the resin building will take less maintenance, energy, paint, and it will last longer which may, over time, make it the "greener" choice for my urban farm. We will talk about more then the garden and chickens; let's talk about fishing, tackle, farmers markets, disaster preparedness, fruit trees and bushes, rain barrels, fire wood, and so much more. And let me say this, an urban farm may not be pretty as that chemically treated lawn, but it can be done in a way that fits in your neighborhood. You don't have to be the neighbor with the ugly yard. For instance, I used landscape timbers to frame my wood pile to keep it neat and tidy outside of my work shop.
The life is not necessarily less complicated, but it is less cluttered and I feel more in tune with the world around me and I know that food comes from the ground, not from the grocery store shelf. I have skills and knowledge about food preservation, carpentry, wood working, fishing, hunting, sewing, and more. Lets save the skills of our grandparents generation and pass them on to our children so that they are not lost. Lets not only learn them, but lets use them in our own lives. It is not as easy as running to the local big box store, but I promise that it is healthier and it will build a stronger family than video games and smart phones.
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