The Urban Farmer ~ About

Surround yourself with beauty.
Our yards can be places that nurture us, inspire us and give us refuge. They can also reflect our own unique vision and creative preferences.

Harvest fresh, organic fruits, berries, herbs and vegetables just outside your door.
There is no way to beat the taste or the nutritional quality of homegrown food. Integrating edible species into your landscape provides you and your family with seasonally fresh and healthy food.

Create habitat for birds, butterflies, bees and other creatures.
Inviting nature into our yard connects us in a profound way with the local eco-system in which we live.

Conserve precious resources and reduce greenhouse gasses.
Through taking some simple steps, our yards can significantly reduce the amount of resources (such as water, energy and soil) that they consume.

Save time and money.
Working with nature, rather than against nature, we are rewarded generously.

Permaculture Cuba!
A seven week immersion in sustainable urban agriculture
in the heart of Cuba. May - June 2010.
Click here for details... (PDF)

Given the opportunity, you would probably choose to live in a beautiful natural environment. You would prefer to eat healthy, locally grown organic food. You would feel good about supporting other species and would enjoy seeing them in your yard. Along with countless others, you are likely looking for ways to do your part to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to conserve life-giving resources like water and healthy soil. You may be about ready to chuck your gas powered lawn mower and the endless hours of watering, cutting and weeding … .

The Urban Farmer is an Edmonton-based organic gardening and specialty landscaping service. Our mission is to support the development of natural, sustainable, and edible landscapes in urban areas. We work with homeowners, families, individuals, community groups and organizations who have the desire to integrate environmentally sustainable landscape practices into their own yards and communities.

Not sure where to begin? Don’t feel like you have the knowledge or the skill to take this on? Feel overwhelmed with the yard you already have? Your intentions are good but your time is in short supply? You have already started on this path but would like to take the next step in creating a truly sustainable landscape?

Free Information! We are pleased to offer some excellent resources for sustainable landscape planning that are relevant to the climate and geography of Alberta, the aspen parkland and the prairie bio-regions. We invite you to explore the documents and links listed below to stimulate your thinking and planning for your own sustainable landscape development.

Consulting: Looking for sustainable landscape planning or organic gardening advice? We offer a consulting service for residential and community scale projects. more information...

Sustainable Landscape Design: Through dialogue with you, we can create a landscape design for your property that reflects your needs and preferences in an environmentally sustainable way. more information...

Sustainable Landscape Construction: Planning to make changes to your existing yard or developing a new landscape? We offer a range of construction services. more information...

Courses and Workshops: Develop your organic gardening skills or learn about urban permaculture by joining one of our workshops. We can also customize a workshop for your group. more information...

Specialty Supplies for Sustainable Landscapes: Compost, edible and native trees and shrubs, rain water collection systems, alternative drought tolerant grass seed. more information...

Please do not hesitate to contact us for any additional information that you may require. If we do not have what you are looking for, we will do our best to connect you with other resources that can help you out. We will make every attempt to respond timely to your enquiries, but please be patient during the spring and summer months as we are spending long hours away from the office at that time.

We look forward to supporting you in your own “urban farming” and sustainable landscaping activities!