This book is amazing! I got it from the library, but am seriously considering buying my own copy: such is the radness contained herein. Kelly Coyne and Erik Knutzen also wrote The Urban Homestead, which I dug, and I think this book is even better, or at least a fantastic follow-up. In the intro to Making It, the authors talk about how The Urban Homestead was basically a book of ideas, and they wanted to follow that up with a practical toolbox. I’m all for this line of reasoning — we need broad and inspiring visions for the future every bit as much as we need the nuts-and-bolts skills for how to get from here to there.
Coyne and Knutzen have a pretty epic urban homestead from the sounds of things, but many of these projects will also be completely within reach for folks who live in apartments and are just starting to learn how to garden or compost or become do-it-yourself makers of stuff. I like how approachable they make the process of learning: the book is organised into five sections: day to day, week to week, month to month, season to season and infrastructure. Each individual project gives you a very clear idea of the time commitment you’re making by taking it on. If you’re working from the day to day section, you can start with what the authors describe as “gateway projects that may addict you to a more homegrown lifestyle,” such as homemade oil lamps that take five minutes to make, simple homemade tooth powder, styling gel (just flaxseeds and water, amazingly enough!), and the like. Week to week tackles anything from easy one-pot meals to old-fashioned vinegar-based sodas like the adorably named switchel to basic sewing skills. Month to month will school you on indoor gardening, tinctures, cloth menstrual pads and many other handy things. Season to season contains more ambitious projects like soap-making, saving seeds, and how to espalier. Basically, this book will inspire you, but also give you the practical tools and instructions needed to turn that inspiration into concrete results.
If you’re feeling inspired already, but your copy of Making It hasn’t appeared o the library hold shelf, I would recommend checking out Coyne and Knutzen’s blog, Root Simple. They are mega frequent bloggers, posting anything from cool random DIY links to more involved tutorials or descriptions of their projects. Definitely worth adding to your list of places on the internet machine to check out from time to time.
My initial quick browse through Root Simple turned up some inspiring and varied projects that I wanted to share: Our New Earth Oven and How We Built It, Ditching the “Flushie” for a Composting Toilet, How to Roast Your Own Coffee in a Stovetop Popcorn Maker, and 3 Things To Do With Citrus Peel are all pretty totally fascinating, clearly presented, and look really fun to work on.
If bok choy and green onions aren’t exotic enough for you, you can even try 
When I first saw this photo, I got so distracted by the gorgeous candy colours of the planters that it went completely over my head that they were old toilet tanks. You might not be able to find the same amazing array of vintage tanks that 
For some great books on container gardening and lots more inspiration, check out the public library. I’m particularly fond of 
Thanks to everyone who attended last Saturday’s Portable Permaculture workshop. The image to the left shows participants braving the cold evening to mix up a batch of potting soil for our container gardens. It was really inspiring to hear about all the creative small space gardening and permaculture projects everyone had on the go, and exciting to share ideas about our epic future plans (home greywater systems! tool share collectives! backyard ducks!).
I also wanted to share this great book I found at the Victoria Public Library: it’s called 
Fascinated by permaculture, but wondering how you can possibly implement all those great ideas in an apartment that changes every 8 months? Drooling over other people’s giant backyard food gardens, and wishing you could grow more food on your balcony or windowsill? Wondering what this permaculture thing is anyway? Then this workshop is for you! For so many of us young people who are passionate about living sustainably in the city and growing our own food, it can sometimes feel impossible to implement it all in our transient lives and small, temporary living spaces. This workshop will tackle this conundrum as we work together to discover ways to implement permacultural principles and grow food in the small, and ever changing spaces of our lives. We will be doing some hands on work with container gardening and sprouting to get you started, and all participants will leave with a planted container that will grow food as well as a jar of seeds that will grow yummy sprouts.
