Urban Homesteading: How To Be An Urban Homesteader and Make Money From Your Homestead by Richard Powell

Urban Homesteading: How To Be An Urban Homesteader and Make Money From Your Homestead Reviews

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  Very Poor! Waste of time. Don't bother
  
  Unfortunately, this book was very poorly written. Perhaps the next draft will have more editing.
  There was nothing in this book about permaculture, food forests, or sustainable methods. There was nothing about startup pricing or how to save seeds and save money. In fact this was written almost like a grade school project.
  
  If a school age kid did write this then the following is my advice for the next draft. 1) take out the intro: it's insulting to read about what the author thinks from the reader picking the book. Don't presume to know me, show me that I can get to know you by reading. 2) elaborate: the concepts are not bad but there's no depth; short sentences without much else. (Case-in-point, no example here). 3) antibiotics and organic don't mix: by definition, organic is without antibiotics or chemical additives, so adding antibiotics to the chickens water is not healthy for the chickens or the humans. You wouldn't just start taking Penicillin for no reason, it's for a bacterial infection. And different antibiotics are for different types of infections. Using antibiotics without cause or improperly has created MRSA, VRE, C-Diff and other "superbugs." Those who are into raising chickens in a homestead environment want to have free range chickens who eat a healthy diet of yard bugs, greens, and chicken feed is only a supplement. Despite eggs being sold in the dairy section, eggs are not dairy, dairy is from cows.
  4) sustainability: anyone who picks up your book and is considering homesteading wants to know about sustainability. Some may be growing/raising for prepping, some for health of themselves or family, and some for the health of the environment. Also, people want to know how much work is really needed. What are the shortcuts, what are the tricks. The dog (domesticated animal) section touches on this a bit.
  Check out YouTube for information on all I listed and for so much more. My favorites are: 'edible acres,' 'plant abundance,' & 'one yard revolution' but there are hundreds of different channels. Justin Rhodes is another great resource, he interviews people who are living sustainable/ homesteading or making a living off of their property.
  Last thought:
  5) what to do with all the food: add a chapter about canning or cooking healthy, just some antidotes that you use to preserve food in the off season or what to do with surplus. This really could be a stand alone book so pick a topic or two and write a chapter.