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!

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!

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.