City Farmer
Adventures in Urban Food Growing
Nonfiction, Science & Nature, Nature, Environment, Environmental Conservation & Protection, Home & Garden, Gardening
| Author: | Lorraine Johnson | ISBN: | 9781553656289 |
| Publisher: | Greystone Books Ltd. | Publication: | May 1, 2010 |
| Imprint: | Greystone Books | Language: | English |
| Author: | Lorraine Johnson |
| ISBN: | 9781553656289 |
| Publisher: | Greystone Books Ltd. |
| Publication: | May 1, 2010 |
| Imprint: | Greystone Books |
| Language: | English |
"It's wonderfully soul-nourishing to read a book that's all about impossibilities made possible, and how to plant your dreams and watch them grow." -- Globe & Mail
City Farmer celebrates the new ways that urban dwellers are getting closer to their food. Not only are backyard vegetable plots popping up in places long reserved for lawns, but some renegades are even planting their front yards with food. People in apartments are filling their balconies with pots of tomatoes, beans, and basil, while others are gazing skyward and "greening" their rooftops with food plants. Still others are colonizing public spaces, staking out territory in parks for community gardens and orchards, or convincing school boards to turn asphalt school grounds into "growing" grounds.
Woven through the book are the stories of guerrilla urban farmers in various cities of North America who are tapping city trees for syrup, gleaning fruit from parks, foraging for greens in abandoned lots, planting heritage vegetables on the boulevard, and otherwise placing food production at the centre of the urban community. Additional stories describe the history of urban food production in North America, revealing the roots of our current hunger for more connection with our food, and the visionaries who have directed that hunger into action.
Throughout the book, sidebars offer practical tips for how to compost, how to convert a lawn into a vegetable bed, and what edible plants are easy to grow with children, among other topics.
"If you are just breaking into the vegetable growing game, you...want to dig into Lorraine Johnson's friendly, smart handbook for the city farmer." -- Tyee.ca
"City Farmer plants the seeds of reimagining our cities as deliberate sources of sustenance." -- Canadian Geographic
"It's wonderfully soul-nourishing to read a book that's all about impossibilities made possible, and how to plant your dreams and watch them grow." -- Globe & Mail
City Farmer celebrates the new ways that urban dwellers are getting closer to their food. Not only are backyard vegetable plots popping up in places long reserved for lawns, but some renegades are even planting their front yards with food. People in apartments are filling their balconies with pots of tomatoes, beans, and basil, while others are gazing skyward and "greening" their rooftops with food plants. Still others are colonizing public spaces, staking out territory in parks for community gardens and orchards, or convincing school boards to turn asphalt school grounds into "growing" grounds.
Woven through the book are the stories of guerrilla urban farmers in various cities of North America who are tapping city trees for syrup, gleaning fruit from parks, foraging for greens in abandoned lots, planting heritage vegetables on the boulevard, and otherwise placing food production at the centre of the urban community. Additional stories describe the history of urban food production in North America, revealing the roots of our current hunger for more connection with our food, and the visionaries who have directed that hunger into action.
Throughout the book, sidebars offer practical tips for how to compost, how to convert a lawn into a vegetable bed, and what edible plants are easy to grow with children, among other topics.
"If you are just breaking into the vegetable growing game, you...want to dig into Lorraine Johnson's friendly, smart handbook for the city farmer." -- Tyee.ca
"City Farmer plants the seeds of reimagining our cities as deliberate sources of sustenance." -- Canadian Geographic
