Urban Homesteading PDX
A collection of stories from our urban homestead in Portland Oregon.
Our Stories
Follow along as we learn and explore urban homesteading in Portland, Oregon
Heat Lamp for Ducks
Best Heat Lamp for Ducks Ducklings need heat. A heat lamp for ducks can be either a traditional red heat light, a ceramic heat emitter, or a heat plate. The best source of heat for ducklings is a ceramic heat lamp or a heat plate. We like the ceramic-style heat...
Cultivating Tool
Choosing the Right Cultivating Tool Hand Tools for Urban Gardeners Hand tools are best for urban gardeners for many reasons. First, they do not require a lot of room to store. Second, the maintenance is minimal. Third, the cost of each tool is reasonable. Most...
Duck Predators
Duck Predators and How to Protect Your Flock There are many duck predators in urban and suburban environments. Understanding the basics of securing a duck coop and run will go a long way in reducing the impact of predators. A couple of rolls of 1/4" hardware cloth...
Root Pouch
Thriving Container Gardening with Root Pouch Grow Bags Grow a thriving container garden using grow bags from Root Pouch. These specialized garden containers are designed for optimal plant growth. Made from recycled materials that are BPA free and non-toxic. These...
Woodchips for Chicken Run
Keep Birds Healthy with Woodchips for Chicken Run Turn woodchips for a chicken run into the perfect mulch for gardens and a food forest. Wood chips are the best ground cover for chicken and duck runs due to being high in carbon and low cost. Source chips from...
How to Use a Garden Hoe
How to Use a Garden Hoe Like a Professional Pick the hoe for your garden. Stand firm, push, and pull the tool through the soil to transform the dirt into a luscious garden. Knowing how to use a garden hoe like a professional makes your days weeding, cultivating,...
Container Gardening
What is Container Gardening Container gardening is perfect for growing in small spaces or homesteaders that can never say no to one more plant, but lack additional ground. Containers come in all shapes and sizes, so match the right size pot to the vegetable, fruit,...
Harvest Root Vegetables
Harvest Root Vegetables from a Backyard Garden Everyone loves to harvest root vegetables from a backyard garden. These crops are a staple. We dedicate an entire bed to growing specific varieties of organic garlic for their tasty scapes and massive bulbs. Harvesting...
Community Garden Projects
Our Community Garden Plot
Duck Ducks
We love our ducks.
Home Garden Project
Our 1/4 acre property is home to fruit trees and bushes, raised garden beds, and diverse native plants intermingled throughout.
Enjoying the Harvest
Using what we grow to feed ourselves, friends, and family.
About
Hi I am John Johnson and an avid urban gardener in the greater Portland Oregon area. We raise ducks and chickens in our urban lot. We also have planted a large food forest including apple, pear, persimmon, quince, cherry, apricot, and pawpaw trees. Our favorite understory shrubs include blueberries, raspberries, marionberries, honeyberries, and jostaberries. We grow a substantial garden with both in ground garden beds and raised garden beds. These are stories from our adventures growing food and raising animals in an urban setting and the tools that we use to make it happen. This site is supported by affiliate ad revenue.
Urban Homesteading in Practice
What elements of urban homesteading are you interested in?
- Reducing Resource Use. By using alternative energy sources such as installing solar roof panels, riding a bicycle, using public transportation, harvesting rainwater, drying clothes on a line, and reusing greywater.
- Raising Animals. A backyard poultry flock of chickens, ducks, or even other animals such as rabbits or goats. Honeybees and worms in a vermicomposter are also popular urban homesteading animals to raise.
- Edible Landscaping. Growing vegetable gardens, backyard orchard fruit trees, medicinal plants, and herbs, and converting lawns from traditional grass to food forest gardens.
- Self-Sufficient Living. Connecting with your community to trade and share resources that can be repaired, recycled, or made from scratch materials.
- Food Preservation. Managing a harvest of vegetables or fruit is just as important as growing. Canning, drying, freezing, and fermenting are the most popular methods for preserving a harvest for consumption over many months.
- Composting / Building Soil. On-site composting of plant materials and basic kitchen scrap materials. Building soil spreading compost throughout food forest or practicing chop and drop methods or spreading wood chips to feed the microbiology of the soil. Developing a rich soil ecosystem over years of intentional actions to feed the life in the soil.