The Urban Farming Lifestyle
By Cindy Naas
When I planted my first vegetable garden in the city, I was hoping for a connection between my dad’s farm and my children, and also wanted a few good tomatoes.
I hoped that I would be able to gain both from my few pots of cherry tomatoes and my small rows of lettuce.
What I really got out of it was a renewed love of gardening, a much keener interest in issues affecting farms and farmers, and some pretty basic lifestyle changes.
Here are a few areas in which urban gardening has affected my life:
A greener lifestyle: the city I live in has always pushed recycling since I moved here, and I was an enthusiastic supporter. However, I began to rethink how I recycled, and now everything I throw away is examined to see if it has a secondary use before being recycled in the blue bins for the recycling truck. If I can reuse something, that’s an even greener way to recycle, and I’ve gotten some good things for my garden, too.
A commitment to local farms: As the urban farming movement grows, the ‘eat local’ movement grows too. Many of us who grow our own veggies want to supplement with foods grown by local farmers. I’ve become quite an aficionado of farmers’ markets and always look them up whenever I travel. I spend as much of my grocery budget as I can on locally-produced food. Whenever we eat out, our dollar goes to locally-owned restaurants and not chain or fast food restaurants. This is improving my family’s health along with the local economy.
A slower-paced life: Let’s face it, gardening takes a lot of time. You need to commit to weeding, watering and tending your garden in order to get a good crop of whatever you grow. So, I stay pretty close to home in the summer months, and as a result, do a lot more cooking with my children. Family suppers can be started in the early morning before I go outside for the day, and as harvest season begins, we can all go outside, plan our menu based on what’s ripe right outside our door, and then cook together. Bringing my family closer together is the best side benefit of growing my own garden!
Creating a community: When I created a much larger veggie garden out of my side lawn, I did it hoping to get people to talk to one another. That was my most successful garden ever- neighbours I’d never met would show up early each morning to see what was ready to pick. During the long winter months, we would speak if we saw each other in the store and some people became close friends as a result of meeting in my vegetable garden. I’ve come to believe that this may be the most important element of urban farming- drawing people closer together.
Caring for one another: As I wrote about earlier in the summer, there are many groups who are fighting hunger by growing urban vegetable gardens, teaching others how to garden, donating veggies and teaching by example. This is something which benefits us all, gardener or non-gardener. I think that reducing hunger amongst the needy is something every urban gardener should consider when planting his or her garden. It doesn’t take a lot of effort or even room to grow a row or a pot for the hungry, and it changes lives.
How has urban gardening changed your life? I am moving to another city, and my realtor is looking for a house with a large yard so I can continue my urban farming in the wilds of Minneapolis. I wouldn’t consider buying a house which couldn’t have a veggie garden. I’d love to hear your stories and want to know about any plans you have for the future.
