Farmbrarian

Upon discovering City Farmer: Adventures in Urban Food Growing (2011) by Lorraine Johnson, I feared the book would be yet another personal tale of small-scale urban agriculture. But Johnson delivers a much more important story. She tells of various successes (and some failures) of urban food growing across Canada and the United States. I’ve yet to discover another book that details this movement on such a large scale.

Johnson weaves in stories of her personal initiatives and experiences but more of the focus is on others. She discusses the resurgence of victory gardens, planting edibles on public land, protecting spaces used for growing food, strengthening community through gardening, and many other related topics.

City Farmer will inspire and motivate readers, especially those who are actively involved in community initiatives to shape cities that embrace growing food within city limits.

Find it on Amazon or at your local library!

Click to find at a library near you!

With the wealth of new books on homesteading, creating a backyard farm has never been easier. Sue Weaver’s guide The Backyard Goat (2011) is a great addition to the mix. The book is a comprehensive yet approachable reference for anyone considering goats.

Goats are a great source of milk, fiber, labor and companionship, not to mention that they’ll mow the lawn for you. But they require more knowledge, preparation and care than the most common backyard livestock, the chicken. Weaver educated readers on every aspect of keeping goats. She discusses anatomy, breeds, training, milking and many, many more skills and considerations.

The Backyard Goat is definitely meant to be an introduction for hobby farmers. Anyone exploring the idea of keeping these fascinating creatures will benefit from this book.

Thanks to Storey Publishing for sharing this new resource with us!

Today, farming memoirs abound. We’ve featured many books on how a farmer was “grown,” such as The Dirty Life, Made From Scratch, Farm City and Goat Song. Growing a Farmer: How I Learned to Live Off the Land (2011) isn’t necessarily the most unique tale. But it is a great account of one modern farmer’s story, and above all else it is a good read.

Kurt Timmermeister is a restaurant owner turned full-time farmer on Seattle’s Vashon Island. The book is organized by aspects of the farm–vegetables, dairy, pigs, etc. Each chapter contains personal experiences as well as reflections, recipes, techniques and more. Today the farm stays afloat by selling artisan cheese and providing Sunday dinners at the farm.

Despite having no writing background, Timmermeister’s book is cohesive and interesting. Indeed there are random, seemingly out of place bits strewn around, but to me that only gave him and his farm a sense of accessibility. I could easily picture myself on his farm churning butter or pressing cider. In fact, the entire tale made me think that I too could become a farmer like him.

In the end, despite many other similar books, Growing a Farmer is a worthy read. Timmermeister portrays his deep respect for the land and desire to return to a simpler time (although he still uses an iPod on particularly monotonous farm tasks). A renewed interest in urban farming has yielded many similar stories, which is wonderful for the health of people and land. I suspect Timmermeister might even convince a few others to “grow” themselves into farmers.

Find it on Amazon, or at your local library.

Click to find at a library near you!

“Point is, it feels good to get dirty, work hard, and slow down.”

And so begins Jenna Woginrich’s guide to living a simple life filled with homemade and homegrown pleasures. She shares stories and advice on how to become more self-sufficient, covering a range of topics like making your own clothes, providing your own entertainment, and of course growing your own food.

Nowadays, you can find lots of how-to books about raising backyard chickens (Woginrich herself has a new book out titled Chick Days) or about keeping bees. More and more people are rediscovering the satisfaction that comes with producing your own food. And many have begun doing so as an environmental effort. However, sourcing clean food is only one piece of the sustainable puzzle.

Most of us are burdened with unnecessary possessions; and consumerism constantly lures us in with false promises of fulfillment. Made from Scratch: Discovering the Pleasures of a Handmade Life (2008) illustrates that greater happiness can come from less. Woginrich fills each chapter first with personal stories and ends with a how-to summary. The stories communicate her passion for the homesteading lifestyle. And readers will see that so much joy can come from gathering eggs right from under the hen or from knitting creations from fur you sheared yourself.

Made from Scratch will introduce you to new hobbies and illustrate how approachable they really are. You don’t need to be an expert or own lots of land to learn any of the skills discussed in this great, little resource.

Read more about Jenna Woginrich’s adventures in homesteading on her fabulous blog Cold Antler Farm.

You might also like: Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer by Novella Carpenter

Click to find at a library near you!

As a result of the surge in urban homesteading efforts, more and more people are raising chickens and keeping bees right in their backyards. For anyone interested in learning about the intricacies of beekeeping, this book by C. Marina Marchese is worth reading. Honeybee: Lessons from an Accidental Beekeeper (2009) is both a memoir and an instructional guide about bees.

Marchese was captivated by bees upon first being introduced to them by a neighbor. Before long, the post office was calling to notify Marchese of her delivery of live bees–more than 20,000 shipped in a wire box. Marchese’s enjoyment of bees and beekeeping increase exponentially as she becomes more experienced with the possibilities provided by the bees. She discusses every aspect of bees and beekeeping: their important role in pollination, establishing and caring for a hive, healing aspects of honey, how to taste the delicacy, and more.

Honeybee is a great book for those who love a story and who have yet to read about beekeeping. Unlike most educational texts, Marchese teaches readers about every aspect of bees through stories of her own experiences. Her storytelling is warm and inviting, and her fascination and respect for honeybees will surely captivate readers.

You might also like: Goat Song: A Seasonal Life, A Short History of Hearding, and the Art of Making Cheese by Brad Kessler

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 review here.

You might also like: The Egg and I by Betty MacDonald