Eugene weekly., March 05, 2015, Page 13, Image 13

digs Home
& Garden 2015
we have here in Eugene such as The Backyard Farmer and
Territorial Seed. Most of all, do not let it intimidate you.”
The connection between soil and soul is an important
aspect to urban homesteaders, and it teaches their children
valuable lessons.
“Our culture has become convenience oriented and so
fast-paced,” says Monet Bloom, who is just beginning her
urban homestead. “We miss out on the little things like be-
ing out in the cold outdoors and getting warmed up by the
sun. Getting down on your hands and knees to work in the
soil. There is something primeval about working the soil
with your hands.”
For Parrott, the time spent urban homesteading saves
her family enough money to allow her to stay at home and
take care of her children and grandmother. Their weekly
grocery budget for a family of six is about $50, a far cry
from the $329.30 a week the USDA considers a moderate
average cost of food for a family similar in size to the Par-
rott’s family.
“I am not putting out any money; this is all leftover
scrap stuff that nobody thinks to use anymore,” Parrott
says. “Back in the day you used what you had.”
Parrott says she believes that being able to run down to
the grocery store has taken away our perspective on food.
PHOTO BY AMANDA L. SMITH
Emily Parrott, 9,
snatches eggs
from a nest
after school on
Wednesday
The Parrott family
practice urban
homesteading and
grow or glean the
mast majority of
their food
Urban Homesteads
W
BY AMANDA SMITH
arm summer days picking apples for home-
made applesauce and canning with Grand-
ma in a hot kitchen are memories Annika
Parrott cherishes — ones she hopes to pass
on to her daughters. Parrott is one of the
many people living in Eugene who has turned back the
clocks 100 years and started urban homesteading.
An urban homestead is a household that produces a sig-
nificant part of the foods, including produce and livestock,
that are consumed by its family, with a focus on the fam-
ily’s desire to live in a more environmentally conscientious
manner.
“It’s a lifestyle,” Parrott says. “I try to grow what I eat,
and try to eat what I grow.”
Urban homesteading can be scaled to an individual’s
backyard size and the amount of time they have to invest,
Santa Clara resident ErinMarie Langsdorf says.
Homesteaders can start with a simple flock of hens for
eggs and graduate to milking a dairy goat daily, turning the
milk into cheese and yogurt, or expand to growing veg-
etables and fruit or raising livestock for meat.
Langsdorf’s Santa Clara urban homestead makes use of
every inch of its 9,538 square-foot lot. It consists of five
laying hens, a large garden with more than 20 varieties of
fruits and vegetables, multiple fruit trees and Cascade and
Magnum hops for her husband’s homebrew operation.
To preserve harvest for the winter, homesteaders must
spend hours turning raw produce into canned, dehydrated
and frozen foods. Ideally, this is enough food for fall and
winter.
“We typically start really pining for the growing season
in February, as our homegrown stash dwindles and I have
to become more creative with cooking to use up the odds
and ends,” Langsdorf says.
Kimmy Gustafson, who has an urban homestead in the
Oakway neighborhood, says, “It doesn’t take much time
at all. Just do one thing at a time and find shortcuts where
you can. For example, instead of weeding and turning my
garden this year I put my chickens in my garden in their
chicken tractor, and they did it for me.”
The journey from newbie to seasoned homesteader can
start with a simple tomato in a pot on a porch step and grow
from there.
“I think the most important aspect is to not find your-
self overwhelmed in it but rather satiated,” Langsdorf says.
“Talk to farmers at local markets about their process, visit
farms and other families making this work to glean what-
ever knowledge you can. Use the incredible local resources
PHOTO BY AMANDA L. SMITH
Back to the land … in the city
“Our thought process goes: ‘Oh, I just bought it at the
store, it’s bad, I’ll just throw it away,’” she says. “If you are
actually raising this chicken and watching it grow up and
then you actually have to butcher it, you are not going to
overeat that chicken. You are going to respect that chicken.
You are going to respect that egg.”
Urban homesteaders understand that their lifestyle is
not one size fits all, but for them it makes sense.
“It’s like our body remembers,” Bloom says. “And the
great feeling of accomplishment of growing your dinner. It
feels healthy, relaxing, rejuvenating.” n
Wednesday,
March 4th
thru Sunday,
March 8th
• Luxurious Citron solid and printed silks
• Special Occasion rack with jackets and
S a l e s t a r t s at 1 0 a m
WED N ES DAY
dresses (Mother of the Bride!)
• Casual knits by Staples and Moonlight
• $25 and under rack
• Assorted spring & winter closeouts
• Lots of sale jewelry
• Starting Saturday, additional
markdowns on selected items!
Bring in this ad for an additional
20% off one total purchase.*
18th & Willamette, Meridian Building
(541) 431-3411
*Can be used for one total purchase of
in-stock merchandise (sale and non-sale).
Cannot include special orders, layaway
pick-ups, gift certificates, consignment
merchandise or be applied retroactively for
refunds on prior purchases. One coupon only
per transaction. Expires March 31, 2015.
eugeneweekly.com • March 5, 2015
13