Deep in the heart of many gardeners is the desire for some degree of self-sufficiency. Not all of us can get completely off the grid, but we can certainly reduce the demand we place on it, the money we spend on it, and dependency we have on it.
Not all of us can provide all of the food our family will eat, but we can put a surprising amount of food on our table - vegetables, fruits, herbs, sprouts, fungi. If time, space, and lifestyle allow, we can even add eggs and meats to that.
Lifestyles have certainly changed over the last 100 years. Urban and suburban lifestyles are here to stay. Employment and education opportunities are centered on urban hubs, and so are we.
If the dream of acreage and all that comes with it is just not practical for you, do not despair. Simple changes in lifestyle can lead you to small scale homesteading, while keeping your commute reasonable.
This section of our website addresses the subjects that fall outside of gardening activities. Some of them are an extension of gardening activities, such as recipes, food preservation, or beekeeping. Others are just things that interest us, and things we do here at The Garden Academy as part of our own Micro Homestead.