There is a house in Pasadena, California, that's known as the Urban Homestead. From the street, you might be confused as to why it's earned such a name or why it's special among the other homes in the suburb just outside Los Angeles.
But when you take a peek around the back of the home, what you see is a yard in which every inch is filled with fruits, veggies, and even a stray chicken or two (or three).
Image via The Urban Homestead
The property, which is less than a tenth of an acre, is owned by the Dervaes family of four. Patriarch Jules developed the backyard farm in 1985 as part of an effort to reclaim ownership of his food.
Since then, Jules and his three children developed the project, and now take care of hundreds of plants, all of which are grown without chemicals or fertilizers.
Image: The Urban Homestead
"It's a challenge to grow things organically," Jules told mindbodygreen in an interview. "Sometimes we just have to let nature be, and if the crops are too infested, we'll just pull out the crop and plant another batch."
The Dervaes family are vegetarians and get most of their food from their yard. Many residents from L.A. even pop by weekly to buy a box of Urban Homestead produce.
The Urban Homestead

