This is a 5 minute promo from a lady who is trying to get her own tv show. It's about urban sustainable living.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvDzgJKK-ng

Apparently, she does. LOL

I have a pond, but I'm not in the city anymore. And there's no fish in it. Just a bunch of snapping turtles that moved in on their own.

Snapping turtles are edible. My dad used to catch/butcher them all the time when we we growing up. If he caught a female still containing her eggs mom would use the eggs to make pound cake.

-Blast

Neat idea, but I'm not sure I want to smell the manure left my neighbors livestock. In Manhattan, most people would not have a yard into which they could create such an environment.

I do like the idea of the show because many people who live in urban areas have no skills that they could rely on if they needed to raise anything more than their hands. I cannot tell you the last time I met a woman who could spin yarn. I know I do not know many, women or men, who can knit or sew anything worthwhile. I also have an inkling that people posting on this forum are more likely to have these skills.

As far as the pond, one might be able to get away with something much smaller with a different fish. Someone has apparently raised channel catfish in a barrell, feeding them worms raised on table scraps. See: http://www.kurtsaxon.com/foods007.htm.

I don't know about the pond, etc, but I know two things I would love about her having a show...

OK the question was raised about no backyards in cities. Much can still be done even by apartment dwellers.

In many major cities it is not uncommon for homing pigeons to be raised on rooftops. Pigeons while not as big are a meat source. Don't like pigeons, what about a dove cote? You might even get away with rabbits. Although chicken might be a bit much if only because of the noise factor.

For growing crops there is container gardening. Think of it as smaller scale raised bed gardening. This can be accomplished on rooftops and on balconies.

There has in the past movements for groups to raise community gardens in nearby vacant lots.

Yes! In any of these you might suffer vandalism and outright theft. They are possibilities. And there are many other ways a city bound apartment dweller can raise quite a bit of their own food.

I'd watch that show!

I've thought of pigeons and rabbits, etc., but raising them is simply not going to work. When you live in a high-rise with no porch, balcony, or roof access, raising livestock is not really an option. In my neighborhood, the most common things people raise for dinner are the phone, before they can dial for delivery, and their feet on they way to a restaurant. I'd have to get a hydroponic kit with a light to get any plants to grow most of the year, as we have a Northern exposure.

I think shows like this are great however. Surviving whatever we encounter is helped by preparation. Equipment helps, but IMO, it mostly requires us to be able to us our brains. After watching a show like this, I may have an inkling of knowledge about how to do something that helps me at some point in time.

And, I've got a few snares, in case I need to catch and begin to raise pigeons. I don't think it will ever come to that, but that's part of my planning for the worst.

Your sure the "B" in OBG stands for "bald"?

Well, gee, what else could it stand for???

I think it would be a great show. There are shows like that in Australia.

Lots of people have 7000-gallon "ponds". They're called above-ground swimming pools. One like this http://www.aquaquip.com/Page_236.aspx, 20x12x4' deep would be right close to 7000 gallons. And if you built a 30x25x7' greenhouse over it, you'd have a nice heatsink with fish in it, and could probably grow some vegetables in it all year long.

Chickens aren't really very noisy if you don't have a rooster. The hens will cackle when they lay an egg, but that's about it. Keeping them (mostly) in a pen with 6-8" of straw, cleaned out twice monthly, doesn't produce any smell at all.

Some city dwellers have gotten together and cleaned up empty lots (if such things still exist). They pick up all the trash, improve the soil, and grow food. Sometimes it lasts several years, until the estate is settled or whatever. Of course, these days, they would probably have to put a high-voltage fence around it.

Sue

Growing up in suburbia, a neighbor of mine had chickens. Lived across the street, 1 house over. I don't think I knew they had them till I went into their house when i was about 8 or 9. So they must be relatively quiet. Then again, an 8 year old boy on Saturday morning probably makes enough noise to drown out a few measly birds

BTW, I just broke 400 posts!

OBG, I'm SURE the 2 things you'd watch for are her table saw and electric screwdriver. y'know, power tools and women are sexy. I'm right, huh?

"...OBG, I'm SURE the 2 things you'd watch for are her table saw and electric screwdriver. y'know, power tools and women are sexy. I'm right, huh?..."

But of course, what else could it be???

Check with your county soil conservation service. They can provide advice on what to do for the turtles (or use Blast's option) and can also provide recommendations for types of fish to stock the pond with.

I always had the idea to add crawfish to a pond, they would be integral to establishing the little ecological system that I'd be trying to achieve with a pond.

Perhaps some ducks and geese with clipped wings would also be a smart addition.

yeah,she kinda "grew" on me too...

there should be a show on survival preps and skills.:)

peace
al

Apparently you don't even need to clip geese, at least not common farmyard goose.