"Eating is an agricultural act." - Wendell BerryTo add to Wendell Berry's quote, eating is also an interpersonal act, in fact a pact, between the grower and the eater.
I grew up playing in the dirt. My family moved around a lot when I was young, and one of the first things my mother would do at each new rental house was put in a vegetable garden. I remember digging, tilling, planting and of course, harvesting veggies usually in excessive abundance. And I remember collecting nightcrawlers to sell to local fishermen.
Fast-forward through many years of computer work and my green thumb comes out again in our home garden, a respectable 350 square feet, but I always wanted more. Sure, we had too many tomatoes than we could possibly eat, but we could only can a dozen quarts. And yes, my daughter ate nothing but fresh picked peas for many a summer day, but it only took a couple autumn months before our frozen stock was depleted. We dug up ornamentals and expanded to four raised beds, then five, with plans for more. But no matter how intensively I planted, I wanted more.
For several years, I eyed an empty lot across the street. Finally, I had the opportunity to rent it from the owner, and the Fruits of our Neighbors garden was finally born. In early 2009, Dan Bravin and I began preparing the lot for an intensive market garden. This is my first year as an urban farmer and I get a lot of help from my daughter Lily. Her business card even says "farmhand" on it.
