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06/23/06, 10:22 AM
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Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Connecticut
Posts: 880
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For a few years of my childhood we were forced to live in city housing. But~we knew where to go to pick the blueberries, huckleberries, raspberries and wild strawberries all in their own season and in the woods & fields around the project. We would take the 2 quart Kool ade pitcher and pick it full to the brim with fresh berries, go back in the afternoon and do it again. Each kid would take a plastic cup to fill as well. Mom made lots of things with our free foods. We also knew whose yard had the best apples and if we asked nicely we'd get a grocery bag or 2 full just for the picking up. We'd pick up Hickory nuts, black walnuts, peaches, pears, grapes, cherries any free garden produce that anyone was giving away and the rhubarb in the Spring was given to us by the grocery bagful. Mom would prepare it for us and we thought we were having a royal feast! Kings didn't eat any better than we did when free fruit was in season.
The best thing that happened was a neighbor drove a chicken truck. One Summer afternoon he brought us a live chicken then chopped off its head right out there in the yard for all to see! I can still remember seeing that poor chicken flying up without a head. Next Mom took it inside to prepare it in the kitchen sink. There was a long line of kids walking thru the front door, thru the house so they could get a glimpse of Mom cleaning that chicken. Mom joked that we'd get rich if she charged them a quarter apiece to look at the chicken being cleaned. We ate it for dinner that night and it was pretty darn good.
Even in city housing you can glean and find free food. Granted, we were kids and weren't too proud to knock on a door and simply ask-----to Mom's embarassment. But I'd say we did get enough free fruit to make a difference in our grocery bill not to mention we were eating things we couldn't afford to buy, especially in those quantities.
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02/14/08, 11:35 AM
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Fiber artist & Instructor
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Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Walla Walla, WA
Posts: 19
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Disclaimer about picking herbs in vacant lots
Hi Everyone: Sorry it's been so long, but I had a couple surgeries and was down for a while.
I wanted to say that if you harves things from the vacant lots, old building lots, country roads, etc. Make sure you are far enough away from where the cars are because they through off stuff from their brakes (like asbestos) that can be a cancer or lung hazard. Even if you wash them, the plants/berries, etc. will pick it up through their roots. It's still a good idea, just be careful.
Lady_Je  t
Quote:
You can also harvest things in vacant lots, old building lots, along country roads, etc, or even in the city. Just remember to wash well before you use them. You can also go into areas (vacant lots, for instance) and harvest plants to use in your salads, like lambs' quarters, purslane, clover (can also be used for teas), sheperd's purse, dandelions, etc. You can harvest dandelion roots to roast, then grind for a coffee substitute. There's also chicory growing wild along some country roads (tall with nice beautiful blue flowers on a high stalk) that you can harvest when they're young for salads, use the flowers in salads as they get older, and dig up the roots for another coffee substitute. There used to be an instant coffee on the market that had chicory in it to "stretch" out the cofeee, but it was more expensive than regular instant coffee. Also, lots of herbs can be harvested wild from the roadsides (if the roads are not too busy. Always be sure to wash the pickings and spin it in the salad spinner to make sure it's clean. Some of the parks even have watercress growing along the banks, but be sure to pick it if it's in running water or it could pick up bad things and you don't want to eat it then...If it's in running water, it has no chance of picking up toxins.
You used to be able to harvest lots of things from forests, but you can no longer do that in State or Federal forests. Many things have been picked to the point they're almost extinct, so you have to be very careful about what you pick and how much you pick. Check with books about harvesting in the wild to find out how to do it correctly so you'll always have some to go back to. For instance, like mushrooms: if you pick all the mushrooms in one area, you've left no spoor for new mushrooms to grow from and they go away from that spot, never to return. Or what about ferns: if you pick all the fiddle heads from the ferns, they are no new leaves and they'll stop growing and producing seeds to start new plants. Only harvest one fiddle head from a plant so that there will always be more seeds growing on the leaves.
So, you can grow pation types of container veggies, or you can harvest from the wild if you understand what you're doing. You can even grow herbs and other lealfy plants as long as you follow the directions... If you grow cukes, peas, or squash--even tomatoes, you need to have a network of trellis, rope, string or some other way for the plants to hook onto and grow up (you need less room if they don't spread all over and you increase your harvest).
Good luck and let us know how it works out.
Jet 
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Jet Tenley, Fiber Artist, Instructor & Shepherdess
Celtic Crossroads Alpacas & Icelandic sheep, Since 2003
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02/14/08, 11:40 AM
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Join Date: May 2003
Posts: 100
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02/14/08, 12:32 PM
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Milk Maid
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Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Northern Missouri
Posts: 2,635
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I second the rabbits idea. That's what we do and the neighbors don't even know the buns exist.
I wish we could get rabbits as cheap as $10 a rabbit here! The cheapest I found when I was looking was $30 to $50 a rabbit. We eventually found someone who gave us three free rabbits to get started and we'll be forever grateful. We in turn started off some other families with free rabbits, but now we sell them for $20 a rabbit and the interest we have received is overwhelming... I have had more requests than I have rabbits available, and we still need to keep some for our freezer!
If you watch craigslist you will often see rabbits being given away on there, or for a low "rehoming fee" so you may want to try there.
You can find a meat rabbit breeder's directory at http://www.rudolphsrabbitranch.com/rrrbrdusa.htm but I don't think it's been updated in quite some time. Two of the rabbitries I contacted no longer breed rabbits.
I second a veggie garden too, we finally had a very successful garden last year for the first time. It wasn't huge but it fed our family of 7 all summer and we didn't have to buy any veggies all summer.. it was great! We're expanding this year so we have more to share with neighbors and to can.
Good luck!
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“You may choose to look the other way but you can never say again that you did not know.”
~ William Wilberforce
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02/14/08, 01:42 PM
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Join Date: Feb 2008
Posts: 43
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Your small hilly yard sounds ideal for a small orchard with dwarf trees Yhey are compact, can be planted close together and come into production fast.
You might also want a couple of raised garden beds.
I like the rabbit idea mentioned above, or hens. I wouldn't try to keep a rooster in the city.
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02/15/08, 04:36 AM
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Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Indiana
Posts: 1,559
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Have you thought about a few hives of honeybees?
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02/15/08, 03:39 PM
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Fiber artist & Instructor
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Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Walla Walla, WA
Posts: 19
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Rabbits
Speaking of rabbits, why not think about our wild rodent pests, rabbits? My uncle used to snare wild rabbits that his gutted, skinned and my aunt cooked them up...better than chicken and definitely less fatty than domesticated rabbits. Set up some snares adn get your wild ones....it will definitely help your garden from getting eaten up and snare you some free meat. 
Jet
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Jet Tenley, Fiber Artist, Instructor & Shepherdess
Celtic Crossroads Alpacas & Icelandic sheep, Since 2003
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02/15/08, 04:51 PM
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Escapee
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Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Northern California
Posts: 440
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I've not seen rabbits in the city! But if there are some it would be a good idea. Btw... rabbits are not rodents, they are not even in the same family. 
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02/15/08, 08:45 PM
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Join Date: Sep 2005
Posts: 1,485
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I'm in the city and from time to time I see wild bunnies in the backyard. I'm planning a garden by the house and they better not think its their own personal salad bar or they are gonna be bunny stew.
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Life isn't like a box of chocolates... it's more like a jar of jalapeno's. What you do today, might burn your butt tomorrow
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02/15/08, 09:53 PM
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RainyDay
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Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Georgia
Posts: 84
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I would do container gardening. Maybe plant some veggies in with the flower bed. RainyDay
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"Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt..." Colossians 4:6 
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02/16/08, 06:50 AM
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Join Date: May 2007
Location: South Jersey
Posts: 1,470
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There is a member here who is really good at the urban homesteading thing...I believe her screen name is Pelanaka but she has an outstanding blog site! Take a look
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"Nothing else matters in the whole wide world, when you're in love with a Jersey Girl..." --Tom Waits, 'Jersey Girl'
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02/16/08, 08:25 AM
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Columnist, Feature Writer
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Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Maine
Posts: 4,568
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Don't forget Patty Moreno. She's awesome. I subscribe to her videos on youtube.
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Robin
Last edited by MaineFarmMom; 02/16/08 at 08:29 AM.
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02/16/08, 09:28 AM
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Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: western New York State
Posts: 2,863
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I would build a nice raised bed. You can then also compost all your veg waste and a certain amount of paper. Maybe one dwarf fruit tree or some berries in large plant pots. Also some plant pots in the house for lettuces and herbs. Raising animals for meat is not particularly money-saving in many cases, so don't fret that too much. Sue
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02/16/08, 11:03 AM
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Join Date: May 2007
Location: South Jersey
Posts: 1,470
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by MaineFarmMom
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Garden Girl rocks!
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"Nothing else matters in the whole wide world, when you're in love with a Jersey Girl..." --Tom Waits, 'Jersey Girl'
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02/16/08, 12:47 PM
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Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: SE Michigan
Posts: 808
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If you have room for a small pond you can try raising catfish, or perhaps tilapia if you can find them. Catfish would probably be easiest to get though.
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02/16/08, 12:58 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Florida and South Carolina
Posts: 2,167
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If you can keep them warm, iguanas are supposed to have one of the best meat/acre ratios- if you want to eat lizards! Of course, they say it tastes like (wait for it)... chicken!
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"What one generation tolerates, the next generation embraces." -John Wesley
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02/16/08, 01:28 PM
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homesteader
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Join Date: May 2004
Location: SE Missouri
Posts: 28,248
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by ladyrua
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WOW! I'm impressed!
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I believe in God's willingness to heal.
Cyngbaeld's Keep Heritage Farm, breeding a variety of historical birds and LaMancha goats. (It is pronounced King Bold.)
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02/16/08, 04:29 PM
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Fiber artist & Instructor
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Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Walla Walla, WA
Posts: 19
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Hi Everyone:
There is a rabbit magazine you can buy in the pet stores (Petsmart, Petco, maybe the feed stores) called "Rabbits" (what else?). In it you can find any kind of rabbit you need: pets, meat, or fiber. I've read in the Storey book version about rabbits and that the Tan breed is really great in terms of food/meat ratio, they grow fast and are not as large as the California Whites and those types of breeds. They have small bones and lots of meat, so may be better, but that's my thought on it. Big rabbits have big bones...so a smaller rabbit that grows faster and has great food/meat ratio, might be better. Plus, you can tan the hides and sell those too or make things out of the hides and sell the hats/mittens, etc.
Also check the ads in MEN, Countryside, and Backwoods Magazines. You can usually find someone selling meat rabbits.
Jet
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Jet Tenley, Fiber Artist, Instructor & Shepherdess
Celtic Crossroads Alpacas & Icelandic sheep, Since 2003
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02/17/08, 12:12 AM
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Join Date: May 2006
Location: north central wv
Posts: 2,321
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I would check the town laws if you live in the city limits. As far as anything being against the law hahaha guess what. Hedge hogs are susposed to be against the law in Pa. Ok guess why. Some of the political people that have no clue as to what a hedge hog is thinks they would ruin the hog industry so maybe pigs of any kind is considered live stock. Some of our law makers have no clue. Good luck with your plans and if you were a lot closer we might could fix you up with a rabbit or two. Sam
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