Step into the world of sustainable living and transform your backyard into a thriving farm with Sustainable Living Through Backyard Farming. This comprehensive guidebook takes you on a journey from the basics of backyard farming to creating a sustainable lifestyle that is kind to our planet. In this book, you will discover the joy of growing your own fresh produce, harvesting and preserving your bounty, and raising your own livestock for eggs, milk, and meat. Learn the art of composting and soil management, and discover how to keep pests and diseases at bay while achieving a bountiful garden. We’ll dive into the ancient art of beekeeping, explore the world of goat farming, and teach you all about raising chickens for eggs and meat. Discover the benefits of homebrewing and fermentation, and learn how to produce your own sustainable energy for your home and farm. With a section on marketing and selling your farm products, you will be able to share your bountiful harvest with others in your community. You'll also find tips for reducing waste and consuming mindfully, creating a more sustainable lifestyle that benefits both you and the planet. Whether you have a large or small backyard, this book will guide you through the steps you need to take to create a sustainable lifestyle in your outdoor space. With Sustainable Living Through Backyard Farming, you can connect to nature, embrace a healthier lifestyle, and help our planet thrive. Join the sustainable agriculture movement and become a backyard farmer today!

In the vibrant discourse of urbanization and climate change, Sustainable Urban Agriculture: New Frontiers investigates emerging needs, rising challenges, and opportunities to support urban agriculture. Navigating the dynamic interplay of urbanization and environmental challenges, the book introduces two pivotal agendas for urban sustainability—the "green" agenda, focusing on environmental health, and the "brown" agenda, emphasizing human well-being and social justice. The book embraces a global perspective by confronting geographical biases and advocating for context-specific understanding and early interventions in small and medium cities. This transformative journey guides readers through uncharted territories, fostering profound awareness of urban agriculture's role in shaping a sustainable and resilient future in agriculture. Features Presents information on socio-ecological resilience, shaping a sustainable urban future Unveils practical implications, traversing frontiers where urban cultivation extends beyond crops, cultivating a thriving urban ecosystem Discusses diverse urban agriculture practices, from traditional methods to cutting-edge technologies Providing readers with an understanding of the multifaceted layers inherent in urban agriculture, this volume in the NextGen Agriculture: Novel Concepts and Innovative Strategies series is essential for academics, students, practitioners, and experts in urban agriculture and planning, horticulture, landscape architecture, and plant sciences.

As urban populations continue to increase it is essential to consider ways of reducing their impact in terms of the use of natural resources, waste production and climate change. The increasing number of people in cities requires new strategies to supply the necessary food with limited provision of land and decreasing resources. This will become more challenging unless innovative solutions for growing and distributing food in urban environments are considered. The scale of modern food production has created and exacerbated many vulnerabilities and the feeding of cities is now infinitely more complex. As such, the food system cannot be considered secure, ethical or sustainable. In the last few years, there has been a rapid expansion in initiatives and projects exploring innovative methods and processes for sustainable food production. The majority of these projects are focused on providing alternative models that shift the power back from the global food system to communities and farmers improving social cohesion, health and wellbeing. It is therefore not surprising that more people are looking towards urban farming initiatives as a potential solution. These initiatives have demonstrated that urban agriculture has the potential to transform our living environment towards ecologically sustainable and healthy cities. Urban agriculture can also contribute to energy, natural resources, land and water savings, ecological diversity and urban management cost reductions. The impact urban agriculture can have on the shape and form of our cities has never been fully addressed. How cities embed these new approaches and initiatives, as part of new urban developments and a city regeneration strategy is critical. The 2nd International Conference on Urban Agriculture and City Sustainability addressed these challenges and the search for new solutions. The presented papers which form this volume detail research works looking at how urban agriculture can contribute to achieving sustainable cities.

Researchers and policy planners are in search of a solution to address the twin challenges of maximizing agricultural production while maintaining/ improving ecosystem sustainability. Enhancing farm productivity is needed in certain regions of the world to satisfy local food consumption and farmers' needs. Linear economy-based-input intensive conventional agriculture (CAPS) has increased production output but has not made agriculture more sustainable. Henceforth, a farming system that aims to reduce the adverse impact on the environment, as well as enhance agricultural productivity by reducing environmental footprint and improving soil health and economic wellbeing is needed in the present day. Integrated organic farming systems (IOFS) involve residue recycling, bio-intensive cropping, high-tech horticulture, mushroom, dairy, poultry, fishery, apiary, etc can improve the ecosystem health and augment the income and livelihood security of the growers. Worldwide, IOFS are gaining popularity due to improved ecosystem services and improving farm productivity and livelihood security. Hence, IOFS- a circular economy-based (reuse-recycle-repair) agricultural production system can be alternatives to energy-intensive inputs based on CAPS. Hence, there is an urgent need to select suitable IOFS models with proper resource optimization for productivity maximization and better ecosystem sustainability. Undoubtedly IOFS reduces energy use from synthetic agrochemicals but food production in IOFS is highly dependent on fossil fuel energy that must be addressed urgently. Despite the enormous positive outlooks, there are several challenges in the adoption of IOFS models. The IOFS is a multiproduct-oriented production system that needs multi specialties and marketing. Capacity building and infrastructure development are also great challenges in adopting IOFS. Moreover, the development of IOFS models is highly individualistic, and location-specific production systems need proper resource optimization and characterization. Hence, the development of site-specific IOFS models to maintain food quality with productivity improvement is a genuine issue to the researchers, which needs to be addressed. Papers (original research/review/letter to the editors) spanning across the discipline related to the IOFS development in sustainable ways are encouraged for inclusion in this research topic. Papers should explicitly cover ecosystem restoration, farm productivity, and profitability and could have a specific focus on the following areas: -the IOFS models for enhancing productivity and environmental quality through an integrated management approach aiming at the maximization of use efficiencies -the management of biomass waste to restore the soil fertility, and ecosystem services the effect of integrated management practices on greenhouse gas emissions and energy use -Critical approaches for climate-smart food production systems

Papers presented at the 1st International Conference on Urban Agriculture and City Sustainability are contained in this book. The research reviews ways in which urban agriculture can contribute to achieve sustainable cities and considers ways of reducing the impact in terms of use of natural resources, waste production and climate change.

This book is a printed edition of the Special Issue "Sustainable Agriculture–Beyond Organic Farming" that was published in Sustainability

21st Century Homestead: Sustainable Agriculture I contains the first part of everything you need to stay up to date on sustainable agriculture.

Take practical steps to protect the Earth for future generations by creating a sustainable home landscape that is also beautiful, budget-friendly, and low-maintenance. In this updated edition of Grow More With Less, author and horticulturist Vincent Simeone shows us that gardens are living laboratories where we can experiment, grow, and connect with other living things. There are tens of millions of gardeners across the globe. Together, we can create a huge and lasting positive impact on the planet and all the creatures who share it with us. With the well-researched plan found in the pages of Sustainable Gardening, gardeners and homeowners are taught how to: Grow more plants while using fewer resources Conserve water through plant choice and proper landscape care Stop the disposable mindset Mitigate the effects of climate change through intelligent landscaping Plan and plant with low-maintenance in mind Build healthy soil to sequester carbon and grow healthier plants Create a garden that supports wildlife and soil life Design your garden for resiliency and a long, healthy life Banish synthetic pesticides and herbicides for more eco-friendly choices Reduce plastic waste in the garden and the landfill Set your garden on a schedule to reduce maintenance needs Harvest rainwater for future use Adopt a sustainable lawn care program that requires less work and fewer resources Plus, discover profiles of some of the best shrubs, perennials, and ornamental grasses to include in your sustainable landscape. Not only are they beautiful and low-care, they also provide valuable ecosystem services. Sustainability is defined as the capacity to endure, and while the term sustainability may seem a bit overused these days, the truth is that there are few other words that convey the same message. Adaptablity and resilience are close, but they miss the mark in conveying the long-term aspects of true sustainability. Being more mindful of your actions and learning how everything you do in your landscape impacts the ecosystem found there generates a more thoughtful and responsible approach to gardening we all would be wise to adopt.

The Edited Volume Urban Horticulture - Sustainable Gardening in Cities is a collection of reviewed and relevant research chapters, offering a comprehensive overview of recent developments in the field of urban horticulture. The book comprises single chapters authored by various researchers and edited by an expert active in the horticulture research area. All chapters are complete in themselves but united under a common research study topic. This publication aims at providing a thorough overview of the latest research efforts by international authors on urban horticulture and sustainable gardening in cities, and open new possible research paths for further novel developments.

Growing Green Infrastructure in Contemporary Asian Cities examines to what extent green infrastructure (GI) is being implemented in East and Southeast Asian cities. The book reflects upon the integration of contemporary approaches to landscape planning alongside traditional forms of green space design and cultural understandings of the landscape in China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, and South Korea. Working from a multi-locational perspective, the book illustrates how political, socio-cultural, economic, and ecological factors influence the delivery of GI and the consequences of these decisions. The book provides a set of best practice recommendations for the design, development, and management of greener urban areas. It both explains how GI is being utilised in East and Southeast Asia to address climate change, promote economic prosperity, and support the development of more livable places, and identifies future trends in its use. It is a key resource for any practitioners, students, and academics working in landscape planning and green infrastructure in an Asian context.