Farming in the Urban Setting

My dream for farming has been brewing for some time. Farming is a lifestyle. A lifestyle which features not only independence, but also dependence. There is the satisfaction of being self-sufficient, while simultaneously inviting reliance on ones Creator Who makes the sun to shine and the rain to fall.

A farming lifestyle relies on the symbiotic relationships of numerous facets of our life. For instance, the food scraps from our kitchens can be composted which in turn enriches the earth from which the spinach and green beans grow. There are also the rhythms of the seasons which allows for the outdoor work-in-the-sun summer months and the cozy “hibernation” of the winter months.

I have wanted to enter such a lifestyle, but not owning land and foreseeing many decades before I could purchase a farm, I felt trapped in city-life. Until I read The Urban Farmer by Curtis Stone. With great excitement I read the words, “you can farm without owning land.”

Carefully following the tried and true method presented by Curtis Stone, I found landowners willing to partner with me. I would plant, grow, and harvest produce on their land in the city while giving them a percentage of the crops. I could enter into the ebb and flow of a farming lifestyle and they could see tasty vegetables grown in their backyard. Who would have imagined a farming lifestyle in the city!

I offer fresh vegetables for sale primarily through CSA’s. Those who purchase vegetables from an urban farm such as mine partake in a lifestyle which surpasses our culture of immediate gratification. It is an acknowledgement of our inability to control the entirety of our environment. Farming invites a firm reliance on the loving providence of God. And it allows for an ordered appreciation of the land which provides us with the tastiest of carrots and the sweetest tomatoes.

I encourage you to consider the benefits which comes from purchasing food— not from the grocery store shelves—but more directly from the field itself—or in this case, from large backyards!

And if you have large backyards, which could be farmed, you may consider reaching out to see if a partnership would be a good fit between us! You may just find yourself in a better and more life-giving situation.