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The Urban Homestead: Your Guide to Self-sufficient Living in the Heart of the City (Process Self-reliance Series) Paperback – June 1, 2008

by Kelly Coyne (Author), Erik Knutzen (Author)
4.6 out of 5 stars 371 ratings

The Urban Homestead is the essential handbook for a fast-growing new movement: urbanites are becoming gardeners and farmers. Rejecting both end-times hand wringing and dewy-eyed faith that technology will save us from ourselves, urban homesteaders choose instead to act. By growing their own food and harnessing natural energy, they are planting seeds for the future of our cities.

If you would like to harvest your own vegetables, raise city chickens, or convert to solar energy, this practical, hands-on book is full of step-by-step projects that will get you started homesteading immediately, whether you live in an apartment or a house. It is also a guidebook to the larger movement and will point you to the best books and Internet resources on self-sufficiency topics.

Projects include:

  • How to grow food on a patio or balcony
  • How to clean your house without toxins
  • How to preserve food
  • How to cook with solar energy
  • How to divert your grey water to your garden
  • How to choose the best homestead for you

    Written by city dwellers for city dwellers, this illustrated, smartly designed, two-color instruction book proposes a paradigm shift that will improve our lives, our community, and our planet. Authors Kelly Coyne and Erik Knutzen happily farm in Los Angeles and run the urban homestead blog www.homegrownrevolution.org.

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  1. Part of series
    Self-reliance
  2. Print length
    330 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Process
  5. Publication date
    June 1, 2008
  6. Dimensions
    6 x 0.8 x 9 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    1934170011
  8. ISBN-13
    978-1934170014
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Kelly Coyne and Erik Knutzen are creators of the blog homegrownrevolution.org, a green living and self-sufficiency resource for urbanites. They contribute regularly to Daniel Pinchbeck's new online magazine, realitysandwich.com. They live in Los Angeles.

Kelly Coyne and Erik Knutzen are creators of the blog homegrownrevolution.com, a green living and self-sufficiency resource for urbanites. They contribute regularly to Daniel Pinchbeck's new online magazine, realitysandwich.com. They live in Los Angeles.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Process
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 1, 2008
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 330 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1934170011
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1934170014
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.05 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.8 x 9 inches
  • Part of series ‏ : ‎ Self-reliance
  • Best Sellers Rank: #3,495,107 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 out of 5 stars 371 ratings

About the authors

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  1. Kelly Coyne

    Kelly Coyne

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    Kelly Coyne and her husband Erik Knutzen are co-authors of The Urban Homestead: Self-Sufficient Living in the City, which the New York Times called "the contemporary bible on the subject" and the upcoming Making It: Radical Home-Ec for a Post-Consumer World (Rodale, 2011). They are also the proprietors of the popular blog, www.rootsimple.com. Kelly and Erik live in a small house on a small piece of land in the heart of Los Angeles, where they garden, teach, bike, brew and occassionally, chase the chickens around.

    See more on the author's page
  2. Erik Knutzen

    Erik Knutzen

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    Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

    Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read book recommendations and more.

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Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
371 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find this book well-written and easy to follow, with lots of helpful information and references to excellent resources. They appreciate its practical approach to urban homesteading, with one customer noting it covers all the bases, while another mentions it's a great resource for natural home care. The book offers ideas that are more doable for beginners, and customers find it inspiring, with one mentioning it gives ideas to kickstart an earth-connected lifestyle.

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Information contentReadabilityIdeasInspirationEase of useUrban homesteadingWriting styleHomesteading
66 customers mention "Information content"63 positive3 negative

Customers find the book informative, with helpful tips and resources for further reading. One customer specifically mentions it is great for beginner urban homesteaders.

"This book has made it into my top 10. Very informative, if you want more details on a subject they covered they recommend other books on that..." Read more

"An interesting and informative book for those starting out on the self sufficiency path and wanting to know how to go about it...." Read more

"...It has good information and references to further reading on advanced items yet shares detailed guides/stories on "beginner projects"...." Read more

"Good book, good tips but somewhat unrealistic for many folks. Still, I enjoyed it and it’s worth your time reading." Read more

51 customers mention "Readability"50 positive1 negative

Customers find the book engaging and easy to read, describing it as a nice, down-to-earth guide that serves as a great starter for homesteading.

"...When I got the book, I couldn't put it down! It would be a great book just for the tremendous and varied amount of knowledge that it contains, but..." Read more

"I enjoyed this book quite a bit: it was well organized, easy to read and absolutly full of information...." Read more

"Best book I discovered for Urban prepping at home. The only reason why I give it 4 star cuz I'm still waiting for its competitor to take its place...." Read more

"Love this book! Loaded with useful ideas and information." Read more

17 customers mention "Ideas"17 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's ideas, finding them practical and doable, with one customer highlighting specific projects like seed bombs.

"This is the best book of all time IMHO. It changed my life. It has great projects but is also surprisingly motivating and sneaks in some solid..." Read more

"This book is a great starter, it's full of fun projects and information. It also has a lot of resources for further reading." Read more

"This book has so much information, easy to understand, and full of great ideas!..." Read more

"...There are many ideas in this book, some of which I have been able to implement without major costs or changes to my lifestyle...." Read more

14 customers mention "Inspiration"14 positive0 negative

Customers find the book inspirational, with one mentioning it provides down-to-earth advice on creating a city oasis, while another notes it gives ideas to kickstart an earth-connected lifestyle.

"This is the best book of all time IMHO. It changed my life...." Read more

"...I find the read to be very relaxing and inspirational." Read more

"...What I appreciate most about this book is that it inspires me to problem solve and think about possibilities that are available to me in my urban..." Read more

"...This is the first book on self-sufficiency I have seen that directly addresses the fear that underlies the desire many people have to become more..." Read more

13 customers mention "Ease of use"11 positive2 negative

Customers find the book easy to follow and read.

"...Loved the chapter on composting toilets too, it was easy to understand and actually made the topic seem fairly reasonable...." Read more

"Straight to the point, easy to get through, good for new urban gardners" Read more

"...THe ideas range from things that are very easy to implement, to things that can be rather life changing, such as chickens...." Read more

"...With its density of information, the clarity of instructions, and the breadth of references to additional resources, this book just might be the..." Read more

13 customers mention "Urban homesteading"13 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's coverage of urban homesteading, with reviews highlighting its comprehensive approach to sustainable living in the city, including urban foraging, keeping livestock, and raising small-scale animals.

"...& benefits of creating your own mulch, managing garden pests, urban foraging, and keeping livestock (poultry, rabbits) within city limits, food..." Read more

"...Covers the growing of garden crops( on the cheap ), foraging the city for food and the raising of small livestock, all in the city...." Read more

"...and describes a lot of ideas for growing crops and raising small scale livestock in the city...." Read more

"...this book contains useful in-depth suggestions and projects for creating urban homesteading." Read more

10 customers mention "Writing style"8 positive2 negative

Customers appreciate the writing style of the book, describing it as well written, with one customer noting its keep-it-simple methodology.

"I loved all the ideas and information it provided. It was well written and super informative and covered all the bases of Urban Homesteading!..." Read more

"...does not have to live in an urban area to benefit from this very well written book...." Read more

"Just what I needed. Written in a format that was easy to read." Read more

"Too much writing" Read more

9 customers mention "Homesteading"8 positive1 negative

Customers find this book to be a valuable resource for natural home care, with one customer noting it serves as their bible for container gardening, while another mentions it provides good suggestions for gardening and cooking.

"This is my go to book for natural home care. It's crazy how common sense so much of this is...." Read more

"Fantastic book! Must have for any home. Great tips on how to make the best use of your home and yard. I have learned so much from this book...." Read more

"This book is great for a homesteading! I even let my friend borrow it who knew nothing about gardening and now she's an amazing little Homesteader." Read more

"...The book is my bible for container gardening and gave me the knowledge and confidence to start my veggies from seeds...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • BelleMacabre
    5.0 out of 5 stars An Informative Guide for Beginners
    Reviewed in the United States on December 6, 2010
    Verified Purchase
    Since I'm an apartment dweller who has never gardened before I wanted a guide to show me where to start. That's exactly what I got from Urban Homestead.

    General: It's an engaging read full of interesting trivia and personality from the writers. It's well organized so it's easy to sit down and read from cover to cover or to go directly to the section that interests you. Although this won't be the end place for any particular subject, this is a great book to generate ideas. It also includes illustrations for several build-it-yourself projects.

    The two chapters (162 pages) are about growing your food and helpful projects to aid that objective. They continue to be mindful that readers don't have a lot of room to grow food so space matters so you can take advantage of windows, patios, balconies, rooftops, community gardens and what little yard you might have. Then, it goes into how to start composting with or without worms and other gardening advice. The writers also keep cost verus time effectiveness in consideration by telling you how to build things yourselves. For example, they tell you where you can buy a $40 self watering container if you're short on time and they also give you step-by-step instructions on how to build your own if you want to save money. There are recipes for potting soil and seed balls. There's tons of advice on how to plant, water and deal with pests. It's never condescending, always helpful.

    The third chapter is on urban foraging. Their first advice is to seek professional help rather than a book and gives suggestions where to find that professional. Since plants can easily be mistaken by amateurs, this made sense to me so I skimmed through the descriptions of helpful "weeds" you can forage is almost any city. It's a good chapter, though, and I might seek a local group to help me start foraging.

    Chapter four is about keeping livestock in the city. It made me wish my landlord would agree to chickens, ducks, rabbits, pigeons (people eat them!), quail and bees. It mostly focused on chickens but included short intros on the others I listed. Again, this is more of a place to get informed ideas rather than a comprehensive guide.

    Chapter Five is about natural (and cheap) house cleaning solutions and how to preserve different types of food, including some that you grow in the garden mentioned in chapter one. It's very practical advice that isn't common to those of us who grew up as suburban and urban kids whose parents fed us out of a box. The writers talk about drying, fermenting, pickling, etc.

    Chapter six is about saving water and electricity. It's probably useful for homeowners but not practical for apartment dwellers beyond throwing suggestions at your landlord.

    Chapter seven is about green transportation. Beyond showing how to build your own bike light, there's nothing terribly revolutionary about this chapter. It's a good reminder, though, that it's healthier to walk, bike and ride the bus not just for the environment but also for personal health physically and emotionally.

    There's a resource list in the back which is super helpful. I know that this book has inspired me to branch out in several directions. You can check out the writers' website: [...]
    15 people found this helpful
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  • Kelly
    5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding Book - Worth Reading!
    Reviewed in the United States on May 22, 2009
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    This is a really cool book.

    I see several negative reviews that said this book was too "beginner" or was too "basic".

    I really disagree with that. I have been gardening my whole life - almost 40 years now - and raising animals for a decent number of those years. And yet, I found this book very helpful.

    This book is about a different way of looking at things - about a whole different kind of lifestyle and perspective. While many of the things were familiar to me [composting, raised bed gardening, etc] it was more the *mindset* that I found intriguing and helpful.

    And, in addition, I did pick up many new ideas and helpful tips and advice as well. The book covers a broad range of subjects and has been very useful to me.

    The book is easy and fun to read. I enjoyed the authors' "voices" and how they wrote. I thought they had a lot of very good advice and some real wisdom to share about living the self sufficient life where ever we are.

    The only [very small] thing that I wish they had done differently is that there is a fair amount of swearing in the book. While I occasionally slip the random curse word now and again, generally I prefer my educational reading without "cussing" :) . It seems like an odd choice for the authors and the editor to include foul language in an otherwise exemplary book.

    But, that one small complaint aside, I found this book outstanding and helpful in every way!
    18 people found this helpful
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  • Harold Roth
    4.0 out of 5 stars Worth reading because it is different
    Reviewed in the United States on July 31, 2008
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    I've read various books on self-sufficiency in the past ten years, but this one is different. First, it doesn't tell you how to recreate a 19th-century homestead, which is beginning to seem to me like another version of faux chateaux, but which also is not going to work very well if it is not surrounded by other 19th-century homesteads. And it doesn't describe what you can do "some day" when you get your five acres and independence. Instead, it focuses on what you can do right now in your own city to become more self-sufficient and sustainable. That makes it unique.

    The reviewer who said that this is not a compendium of how-tos is right. It is more of an idea book, although there are many references to sources of detailed info about, for instance, raising ducks. But the problem with other self-sufficiency books I have run across is precisely that they are NOT idea books--that they become absorbed with one particular way of growing food, for instance, or one particular way of heating your (19th-century farm) house. There is nothing about woodstoves or woodlots in here.

    This is the first book on self-sufficiency I have seen that directly addresses the fear that underlies the desire many people have to become more independent of the economy--the fear of some apocalypse, social collapse, disaster, etc., which they here dub "when the zombies come." I loved that they use humor to address that fear. There is a LOT of humor in this book; it's almost worth reading just for that.

    Other books on self-sufficiency focus on being isolated and seeing other people as the enemy. I read one that recommended you get a house in a dip that no one can see from the road. They'll tell you how much ammunition to squirrel away with your self-heating lasagne rations. This one tells you to get to know your neighbors, because there is strength not in isolation but in community, where we can trade not only stuff like food, but our skills. In that way, it is similar to Food Not Lawns, but much as I admire the ideas in that book, this one offers ideas that are much more doable, I think, for most people.

    It is a bit strange that Amazon is bundling this book with Gardening When It Counts, since that book recommends using extra-wide spacing to grow vegetables in situations where you do not have irrigation, and space is a real problem when you are growing on a city lot. Gardening that is a bit more intensive works better in that situation. But Gardening When It Counts is good in the way it ranks veggies by growing difficulty.
    374 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • A. Kamphuis
    5.0 out of 5 stars Well-written, compact, curvy corners
    Reviewed in Germany on March 3, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    Packed with info and easy to read. This reference is compact enough to travel and the curved corners will make it wear al lot less than most convetional paperbacks.
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  • Damascus
    5.0 out of 5 stars just love this book.
    Reviewed in Canada on August 21, 2012
    Verified Purchase
    they have changed the way i make my garden, it is just a great book to read for beginers or veteran gardeners, it is just good common sense and trial and error,this summer we have had some dry spell and i did not need to water my garden ,i just whent about it like they tell you in the book ,planted in old tires and plastic on top of the earth ( keeps weeds out and water in ) ,next year now that i have tested it i will make the whole garden that way, keep on planting and keep on reading.
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  • Katy
    5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 17, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    A brilliant, practical and inspiring read. Since most people live in the city, and the dream of living on the land may not become a reality, it is vital that those in the city learn to live sustainably. This book gives masses of helpful and practical advice, with lots of humour along the way!
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  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Every home should have one.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 17, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    Brilliant! Very detailed and every home should have one... you realise how self sufficient you could be and how much you can save.
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  • M. Hanke
    3.0 out of 5 stars Nice to read summary
    Reviewed in Germany on June 17, 2011
    Verified Purchase
    I like design and appearance of this book. Its rounded edges are quite unconventional.

    The content is a lot about garden basics. That is how to grow differnt kinds of plants. Furthermore it explains husbandry of small animals like chickens and ducks. It is also explained how to make for example cheese or other products from your harvested fruits.

    There are some hints on sustainable living that is how to get water, heat and power to your house.

    Figures are a bit rare. The book could really gain from some more.

    Alltogether the book gives a nice summary but is a bit superficial. You will not find any detailed building guides. Anyway it is nice to read.
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