Farmbrarian

Click to find at a library near you!

Anyone who has stumbled across a fruit tree while walking the dog probably shares the sentiment of author Darrin Nordahl. To pull a fig, apple or orange from a tree and eat it on the spot is a great experience. Perhaps we enjoy the  fruit because of its freshness, but I suspect there is something more innate about it; as though our bodies simply know this is the healthiest way to eat. Indeed, our ancestors survived exactly this way.

Public Produce (2009) advocates for gardens and fruit trees on public land not just for the enjoyment of dog walkers, but also to improve access to fresh, healthy food. Many of society’s most vulnerable lack the ability to find or afford what has sadly become somewhat of a luxury.

Many cities and municipalities are taking steps in the right direction. Michelle Obama’s much publicized White House garden is a great example. Public land already must be maintained – why not increase its value and grow nutritious foods at the same time? If done with conviction, a community stands to benefit greatly.

Click to find at a library near you!

Every sentence of Novella Carpenter’s Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer (2009) is marinated in the perfect combination of humor, eloquence, grit and ghetto. Once you start reading, you won’t be able to stop.

The story chronicles the author’s successes and failures while farming an abandoned plot of land in a crime-ridden part of Oakland, California. She first tells of adventures raising turkeys, including a hilarious scene in which she chases an escaped bird down a main Oakland thoroughfare. The second portion of the book recounts Carpenter’s experiences raising rabbits on the deck of her second-story apartment. And the final section features two 4-H bred pigs that quickly become neighborhood menaces. Stories of colorful characters encountered along the way are juxtaposed between stories of the ever-growing garden.

Urban farming has been widely discussed as a potential solution to food security and a way to satisfy the growing desire for local food. Carpenter proves that urban farming can do this, and more. She feeds her flocks and pigs with dumpster waste from nearby restaurants; brings unlikely community members together in her squatter space; mingles with culinary stars; and shares her bounty with many.

Novella Carpenter shows us the way of micro-farming in this wonderful book that will leave you with the urge to find your own slab of deserted concrete and begin growing.

Publisher’s Weekly also wildly praised Farm City, calling the book “utterly enchanting.” Read the full review here.