Detroit, Michigan
Homesteadin' Detroit chronicles the real journey — soil under the fingernails, mistakes in the garden, and wins worth celebrating. No curated feed. No rural fantasies. Just a native Detroiter doing the work and sharing every bit of it.
The Approach
Most homesteading advice assumes you have acreage, a trust fund, or a film crew. Homesteadin' Detroit assumes none of that. We grow in backyards, side lots, and city blocks. We figure it out as we go. And we tell you exactly what went wrong — because that's where the learning is.
Detroit gave us something nobody else has: room to grow. Not metaphorically. Literally. Vacant lots, open sky, and decades of community knowledge waiting to be rediscovered. This is urban homesteading for people who actually live in a city.
What We Cover
From seed starting in a Detroit winter to harvesting in August heat — practical advice for city soil, city seasons, and city schedules. We grow food without shortcuts.
Before and after documentation of a Detroit home coming back to life. The mess, the budget surprises, the moment it finally clicks. Real renovation for real people.
Regal repurposing to spirited creativity — tools, builds, and ideas that make a house a home. From raised beds to reclaimed furniture, every project is documented step by step.
Urban homesteaders, DIY lovers, and Detroit home rehabbers sharing what works. This isn't a blog — it's a living community of people doing the work together.
Our Story
Homesteadin' Detroit wasn't planned. It grew the same way a garden does — slowly, with some things dying and others thriving in ways you didn't expect.
A native Detroiter with a camera, a backyard, and a willingness to be wrong on the internet. That became the whole thing. The site now reaches folks across the city and beyond — people growing food on $100 Land Bank lots, rehabbing century-old homes, and figuring out how to make a city feel like home again.
The city has over 2,200 gardens and farms. It's becoming a national model for urban agriculture. We want to be part of that story — documenting what it actually looks like to grow where you are.
Spring
Seed starting, soil prep, planning the garden
Summer
Growing, harvesting, dealing with pests
Fall
Preserving, planting cover crops, reflecting
Winter
Planning, indoor projects, home rehab
From 100-year-old homes getting a second life to tomatoes ripening in raised beds on what used to be a vacant lot — Detroit is building something nobody else has. Homesteadin' Detroit is here to document it, celebrate it, and be part of it.
The city gave us room. The soil is ready. The only thing left is to do the work.