The Education of an Urban Farmer - That completes the title. But that surely does'nt complete all the education this book gave me. Education about the good old American Thrift while I always thought that thrift was an Indian virtue and spending was American. How ill-informed have I been!! This book has left me wondering, whoever can match the spirit of the American thrift and living life with a certain vigor, the way one dreams of living.
I guess I picked the book precisely because I did'nt do what the author, Novella Carpenter did, to the weed -choked, garbage-strewn abandoned plot next to her house in inner-city Oakland. When I moved to my house in sub-urban Chennai in late 2010, 'squatting' did not exist in my vocabulary. Still, I did dream about veggies, fruits and even chicken in the vacant plot next door much to the shock of my hubby who was wondering aloud if I still had my brains intact. The difference was that I did'nt bring the guts to realise my dream to reality. Alternately, I limited myself to planting herbs and greens in pots within my territory. This book has inspired me to take my gardening to the next level whenever I go back, with or without the adjacent plot being vacant. Think I will go hunting for whatever plot lies vacant in the area. :) The difference of course will be that I will have to hunt the owner before I did do anything, else I may well be doing the gardening in confinement :D
This book not only shares the charms of growing ones own food and enjoying it, but also the trials and challenges involved. Sometimes it makes me wonder, if I, calling myself green, having a similar ambition as the author, will endure similar hardships. But as the author upgrades from the Turkey to Rabbit to Pig, I as a reader also enjoyed the fruits of labor from the different mouth watering delicacies described, though I have'nt tasted one single dish mentioned in the book. The book did remind me of my childhood days when we raised chickens at home by feeding them with veg and non-veg scraps, cleaning after them every morning, protecting them from birds of prey (sometimes losing them too) and finally seeing them being killed for feeding us. I still remember being shocked the first time of seeing the act being done in front of my eyes but the questions related to it came much later in life. One of the endearing aspects of the book was the sharing of the food grown and the friendships that grew from the food. Sometimes losing the food was too heart-breaking but I guess, like in other aspects of life, we just move on.
Reserving the best of what I have taken from this book - The Bees. In all my farming dreams (which is almost everyday) till I read this book, I have'nt thought of these small wonders. Yes, I am still such a novice. I owe it completely to this book for giving me such a close look into the bee hive. Like the author says, there are some things we don't know about bees, but this book has told me a lot about bees with the exception of the 'Bee Movie'. There is a lot of action in this book, but to me, the most thrilling one was the immigration of the new hive to Novella's garden in Chapter Twenty Three. No doubt, the sweetest product from Farm City is the Honey.
Check out the author's blog Ghost Town Farm for the latest Farm Produce.
I guess I picked the book precisely because I did'nt do what the author, Novella Carpenter did, to the weed -choked, garbage-strewn abandoned plot next to her house in inner-city Oakland. When I moved to my house in sub-urban Chennai in late 2010, 'squatting' did not exist in my vocabulary. Still, I did dream about veggies, fruits and even chicken in the vacant plot next door much to the shock of my hubby who was wondering aloud if I still had my brains intact. The difference was that I did'nt bring the guts to realise my dream to reality. Alternately, I limited myself to planting herbs and greens in pots within my territory. This book has inspired me to take my gardening to the next level whenever I go back, with or without the adjacent plot being vacant. Think I will go hunting for whatever plot lies vacant in the area. :) The difference of course will be that I will have to hunt the owner before I did do anything, else I may well be doing the gardening in confinement :D
This book not only shares the charms of growing ones own food and enjoying it, but also the trials and challenges involved. Sometimes it makes me wonder, if I, calling myself green, having a similar ambition as the author, will endure similar hardships. But as the author upgrades from the Turkey to Rabbit to Pig, I as a reader also enjoyed the fruits of labor from the different mouth watering delicacies described, though I have'nt tasted one single dish mentioned in the book. The book did remind me of my childhood days when we raised chickens at home by feeding them with veg and non-veg scraps, cleaning after them every morning, protecting them from birds of prey (sometimes losing them too) and finally seeing them being killed for feeding us. I still remember being shocked the first time of seeing the act being done in front of my eyes but the questions related to it came much later in life. One of the endearing aspects of the book was the sharing of the food grown and the friendships that grew from the food. Sometimes losing the food was too heart-breaking but I guess, like in other aspects of life, we just move on.
Reserving the best of what I have taken from this book - The Bees. In all my farming dreams (which is almost everyday) till I read this book, I have'nt thought of these small wonders. Yes, I am still such a novice. I owe it completely to this book for giving me such a close look into the bee hive. Like the author says, there are some things we don't know about bees, but this book has told me a lot about bees with the exception of the 'Bee Movie'. There is a lot of action in this book, but to me, the most thrilling one was the immigration of the new hive to Novella's garden in Chapter Twenty Three. No doubt, the sweetest product from Farm City is the Honey.
Check out the author's blog Ghost Town Farm for the latest Farm Produce.
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