I am driven by a desire to how the world naturally functions, and by learning to incorporate into my daily life. Only recently had I discovered how simple it is to make things like butter or vinegar at home. Then my fascination continued to grow about what else can I make myself, and that curiosity inevitably flows into the idea that I must figure out how to grow food.
I began with a few recycled milk containers for growing lettuce, spinach, and mint on the steps to my apartment. I have no suitable yard space for growing things, and the "porch" is just big enough to squeeze two people in and out the door at the same time. But I began that experiment with little research and failed miserably. Out of these first "crops" I was only able to harvest a little bit of mint that I used in some iced tea.
Initially this failure significantly reduced my desire to continue, but thankfully I received some of the items I had requested on my Christmas wish list. I had received a set of basic canning tools and two urban farming books (The Urban Homestead & The Urban Farm Handbook). A couple days later I had read through each book, and my path in life seemed clearer: I want to establish my own urban/city farm with the intention of sharing the produce and learning experience with those in my community. With the new knowledge I gained from these books, I realized what mistakes I made with my last attempt and I am motivated to try again. I certainly don't know everything I need to know, but I have a foundation that has allowed me to get started. I immediately sought ways to grow things not only in my own limited space, but in other people's available space. Some vegetables have been sown in a raised garden container down the street, I have built a self watering container to grow salad bowl lettuce on my steps, and plans are being developed to grow edible crops in other people's yards.
I am excited to see city homes being transformed into places of productivity, and the promises each hold for sharing with each other and those in need. I foresee produce boxes being given to those with little to no money for healthy food, and preserved foods being swapped with neighbors and friends who have ended up with different items than my own. A local, organic, sustainable community can be developed through the cultivation of the space around our small, city spaces. No need for large acres of land. You might think of it as the evolution of victory gardens, but I prefer to think of them as revolutionary gardens and city farms. There is a growing need to ween ourselves off of the commercial food industry, and the most guaranteed way to thrive in an increasingly complicated and detrimental society based on industrial production is to cultivate our surrounding community.
