Farmbrarian

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In July 2005, artist Fritz Haeg arrived in Salina, Kansas to create an exhibition commissioned by the town’s art center. Haeg proceeded to replace the tough Bermuda grass of a selected Salina lawn with a completely edible landscape. Thus began the Edible Estates series.

Haeg warns in the preface that “this book is not intended as a how-to or technical resource for making your own Edible Estate” (11). A scrapbook is a better term.

The book (2008) begins with a series of essays condemning the front lawn, including excerpted text from Michael Pollan’s Second Nature: A Gardener’s Education.  Each essay presents a different perspective, but all of the authors agree that traditional lawns are a useless monoculture. The second portion profiles the Edible Estates Haeg designed throughout the United States and beyond. Reflections from the homeowners who volunteered their lawns are also included here. The next section of the book is comprised of testimonials from others who have transformed their front lawns independent of the Edible Estates project. A planting calendar for each climate zone, a selection of statistics, and a helpful bibliography conclude the book.

The hodge-podge theme is reinforced through the book’s style: matted black and white pages are followed by vibrant, glossy ones, which are proceeded by undyed, textured pages. Just as Haeg’s text combines varying styles and stories to create one-cohesive text, Edible Estates are created by fusing climates, communities, personal preferences, and other influences.

Collectively, lawns comprise more than 30 million acres in the United States (118); and just like lands used for conventional agriculture, most of this acreage is doused yearly with chemicals.  Although this book is far from comprehensive, it serves as an accessible introduction to alternative landscapes that are more productive and more environmentally friendly than the green that likely encircles your home now.

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“First make sure that your husband is doing the kind of work he enjoys and is best fitted for and then cheerfully accept whatever it entails.” –Mother

And thus begins the hilarious tale of Betty MacDonald as she recounts her time on the rugged coast of the Pacific Northwest where her husband decides to build his chicken ranch.

The Egg and I was originally published in 1945 and soared to stardom shortly thereafter.   The memoir provides readers with an entertaining glimpse into the joys, hardships and harrowing adventures of rural living before modern conveniences like electricity and running water.

Vary rarely will you find a story about farming that is as witty, captivating and beautifully written as The Egg and I. However, the book will appeal more to a female audience.

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Jane Goodall is a scientist, scholar, activist and humanitarian best known for her research on chimpanzees. In Harvest for Hope: A Guide to Mindful Eating (2005), Goodall collaborates with Gary McAvoy and Gail Hudson to illustrate how our eating habits impact the world.

Goodall begins with a short discussion on the fundamental role of food in our lives. She moves on to discuss harsh treatments on factory farms, hazardous fishing techniques, the benefits of vegetarianism, the plight of family farmers and the local foods movement. Issues surrounding obesity, hunger and education are also discussed. Most chapters conclude with simple suggestions on how you can help.

The content is thoroughly researched but is not laden with scientific terminology or complex data, making it approachable for all readers. Plus, anecdotes throughout give the scholarly work a more personal feel.

Harvest for Hope is a perfect primer for those wanting to learn about the environmental impact of our current food system. For readers well versed in the arguments against conventional agriculture, not much new information is presented; nonetheless, it is still a worthwhile read.

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David Mas Masumoto’s 1995 book Epitaph for a Peach: Four Seasons on My Family Farm won the Julia Child Cookbook Award for literary food writing; was a nominee in the writing on food category of the James Beard Foundation Awards; and received the San Francisco Chronicle’s Critics Choice Award. The praise is well deserved.

Epitaph for a Peach is a yearlong account of life on Masumoto’s family farm as he tries to find a market for his Sun Crest peaches. Through stories of his own attempts, Masumoto gives readers an inside look into the many challenges and rewards of sustainable farming. You’ll read about cover crops, the art of pruning trees, the purpose of a porch, forgotten fruit varieties, strong family ties, and much more. The story is eloquent and intimate, reading like an inner monologue of Masumoto’s thoughts as he roams his fields. You won’t find another like this one.

The folks at Point Reyes Books, located on the Northern California coast in Marin County, recommended the book. Like Masumoto, the store is committed to supporting “sustainable agriculture and living” through literature (Kinsella 18). Thanks for the recommendation!

Kinsella, B. (2006). “Peer Eye for Booksellers.” Publisher’s Weekly. 253 (14), 18-19.

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In her book Plant Seed, Pull Weed, Zen Buddhist teacher Geri Larkin tells of achieving spiritual goals through simple acts of gardening. She specifically focuses on the teachings of the ancient text The Ways of the Bodhisattva—which discusses generosity, enthusiasm, patience and other attributes.

The book is much more about Zen than gardening. In each chapter, Larkin uses lighthearted prose to illustrate ways to nurture your soul and improve your outlook on life. Some stories focus on gardening, but many others are about miscellaneous topics.

Plant Seed, Pull Weed is an enlightening read about finding joy in everyday events that gardeners and non-gardeners alike will enjoy.

For those of you looking for short but interesting reads, check out the following articles from The New York Times: “The Farmers Are Local, the Products Exotic” and “Field Report: Family Heirlooms.” Both pieces tell fresh, personal stories of farmers growing unusual crop varieties such as Roman mint, Iroquois white corn and jostaberries. Some of the farmers featured are also raising rare livestock breeds. “They’re more rare than pandas,” Kris Spence says of the American Guinea hog piglets being raised on Spence Farm in central Illinois (Field Report).

Applaud the Times for spotlighting crop diversity by reading the two articles. And if you have time for another, read the tale of city-girl Kim Severson’s ‘haycation’ on a New York state farm also printed in the Times and available here.

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Alice Waters is widely known as the creator of California cuisine, which aims to prepare delicious food by utilizing the freshest local ingredients available. And Chez Panisse is recognized as one of the best restaurants in the United States. In the first authorized biography, Thomas McNamee triumphs in telling the intricately woven story of the famed restaurant and its renowned proprietor.

McNamee chronicles the early years of Waters’ life, the experiences that led her to open Chez Panisse, and the many “romantic, impractical, eccentric, ultimately brilliant” events of the years that followed. This is also very much the tale of the chefs, waiters, farmers, cooks, foragers, friends, mentors, lovers, and countless others who form the Chez Panisse famille.

McNamee’s conversational tone and inclusion of lengthy dialogues will make you feel like you’ve occupied a cozy corner in Chez Panisse since its inception. By the end of this captivating and inspirational story you’ll feel like a genuine member of the family.