What are some of the challenges faced by urban homesteaders?
The obvious, external challenge is to find ways to work with nature rather than against her. Today that is harder than ever because nature has been thrown out of balance. There are difficulties of finding enough space; abiding by city codes; and getting by with few resources for the novice homesteader. Additionally, because it will take time to build a skill set to become proficient in homesteading tasks, there is the personal, internal challenge of persevering through the inevitable failures and setbacks, while continually striving to improve. What were the starting conditions like on your property? On our one-fifth of an acre, we had a typical front yard lawn and a backyard that had extensive concrete areas. Underneath it was adobe-type soil that dried hard like a brick, which I joke could have been used to build a California mission. It was beige in color, worm-challenged and devoid of any other living microorganisms, such as bacteria and fungi. The soil was really junk—it was basic
