A Good Read

Every once in awhile a book comes along that is pure vicarious joy to read. I read quite a few great books, but few that I actually could see myself living out. Kurt Timmermeister's new book Growing a Farmer: How I learned to Live Off the Land is just such a great book. It is the story of an urbanite restaurant owner who buys a piece of land with a naive but determined vision. Over the course of 20 years and alot of trial and error, he turns this land into one of the most interesting little micro farms around.

Having spent much of my life in and around farms, I find that urbanite farmers often come at the problems of agriculture in interesting ways that can be eye opening. What I often find fascinating is how productive some of this tiny farms can be. Timmermeister does an incredible amount of production in the space that most modern farms would take to park a few tractors. Although I grew up on a grain producing farm that covered over 1000 acres, I've always found the practice of growers applying modern ecological science and good stewardship to small plots of land the most interesting. The idea of someone planting their suburban yard or recovering an urban lot and turning it into a productive oasis has always been compelling. Before I sold my house, I was headed this way. Apple trees, grapevines, berry bushes and a profusion of herbs and vegetables filled my yard. Unfortunately, when I sold it, the new owners lacking all sense of vision, ripped everything out. I am an urban "farmer interrupted", so reading a tome like this gives me a good feeling that someone else is achieving the dream that I can only engage in vicariously.

Timmermeister relates in vivid "how to" detail his experiences with bees, fruit, vegetables, pigs, sheep and milk cows. As a former restaurauntuer, he comes at the process of small farming from the standpoint of an end user of fine ingredients. This brings a cooks ambiance to the whole text that makes it about farming which is never far from the end that justifies the means. His writing about making fine cider vinegar from apples in oak barrels, craft cheese and ham using centuries old techniques are incitements to run out and start doing it ourselves. This book will make anyone who reads it want to redouble their efforts to do something interesting on a small plot of land.