It doesn’t take a farm to have the heart of a farmer. Now, due to a burgeoning sustainable-living movement, you don’t have to own acreage to fulfill your dream of raising your own food. Hobby Farms Urban Farming, from Hobby Farm Press and the same people who bring you Hobby Farms and Hobby Farm Home magazine, will walk every city and suburban dweller down the path of self sustainability. Urban Farming will introduce readers to the concepts of gardening and farming from a high-rise apartment, participating in a community garden, vertical farming, and converting terraces and other small city spaces into fruitful, vegetableful real estate. This comprehensive volume will answer every up and coming urban farmer’s questions about how, what, where and why—a new green book for the dedicated citizen seeking to reduce his carbon footprint and grocery bill.
Worth reading for the introductory over virew of the urban farming phenomenon. The DIY is more or less the same as you'd find in any other gardening manual. But if you want a sense of the politics and sociology of local produce activism, Fox is your man.
A great place to begin your journey as an urban farmer. Plenty of information on a variety of subjects. The information is mostly general, but plenty of resources and references are listed for those who want to dig deeper into amy one subject discussed.
Really liked this book - a good, practical, down-to-earth guide on how to increase gardening/farming in urban areas. He makes a compelling case that urban farming will absolutely be necessary in feeding burgeoning urban populations around the world and shows how the divide between urban and rural has intensified over time (in the 1900s, cows and other livestock were not rare in American cities). A great resource on everything from selecting appropriate cultivars to diagnosing and treating various diseases and pests. It definitely has motivated and inspired me to amp up my own modest production. I did think the ending was too abrupt - a short pep talk about, "now go out and do it!" would have been appreciated.
I'm really enjoying this book! It has great information on both the urban farming movement (historical, political, economic) and great practical tips. While this might not be a perfect book for someone looking for just a "how to" (it does have wonderful elements of that but is not the full purpose of the book), this book is great for someone (like myself) who is just starting to try practicing "urban farming" and wants some background and some practical information! So glad I picked this book up at the library!
Thomas Fox is a curious mix of knowledge, thoughtfulness and hilariousness all wrapped in a food eating guru. Was a great read, provided interesting ideas and good problem solving. I especially found the section on raising your own snail quite informative.