The Modern Victory Garden

The Review

I have been following the amazing journey of Annette Cottrell for approximately three years now via her blog (Sustainable Eats).   I began reading her blog during the first full year of the journey that her husband, Jared, likes to refer to as her “Crazy Bus”.   This journey was one of having her city dwelling family no longer support the mainstream food industry with their purchases, and devoting herself whole heartedly to the concept of growing as much of their own food as possible and buying the rest from local farmers.   Her husband supported her in this scheme but was not nearly as enthusiastic.   In fact, often when she would come up with a new thing to undertake he would be heard to mutter…”Next stop on the Crazy Bus.”   Thankfully Annette’s “Crazy Bus” did indeed depart the station and has taken a road less traveled that has yielded inspiring results, a lot of lessons learned, and connected her (and her family) to a diverse community of like-minded people.   One particular individual that Annette ended up connecting strongly with was Joshua McNichols.   He and his family had a somewhat parallel journey with their own unique experiences and approach.   Together they collaborated and wrote a book called “The Urban Farm Handbook” that not only describes and contrasts their individual journeys to sustainable eating, but lays out an inspiring introduction to the whole concept and possibilities of achieving a more sustainable urban kitchen and garden.   Whether you live in an urban area, the suburbs, or on a rural property, there are vast opportunities to feed ourselves and our families in a more healthful and meaningful manner.   Those opportunities can be nothing more than just changing our purchasing habits, or if we are really in for a ride on the “Crazy Bus”, we can go all out and integrate the concepts of growing and preserving our own food; small animal husbandry; eating seasonally and buying locally; building a food community; and preparing food from scratch starting with the freshest and most sustainable sources possible.   The choice of how far to go with this food journey is for each of us to make individually, but the rewards for choosing to travel this road are abundant - whether we choose to amble down it on foot or hop aboard the “Crazy Bus” for a wild ride.      

The Urban Farm Handbook is an inspiring introduction to the many areas where we can make decidedly different choices in how we obtain and prepare the food we eat.    It covers a wide waterfront of topics including purchasing and using whole grains; vegetable and fruit gardening (intense growing on small urban properties in particular); raising chickens for eggs; raising small animals for meat and dairy, sourcing your food locally when you cannot grow it yourself; building a food community where you live; and a variety of other topics that all contribute to an improved quality of life via the products and resources we use daily.    Naturally, any undertaking that covers so many topics is limited in how in-depth it can go on any one item.   However, while each topic area can (and does) have books devoted only to that subject, what I really liked about this particular book is that it gave a strong enough overview on each topic that someone could easily get successfully started without further research, and are likely going to be inspired enough to seek out more information on their own.   I also appreciated that there was something in each section for readers of all experience levels – from novices to those with years of specific experience.   I personally found several items that inspired me to give it a try, including some of the many delicious recipes that are interwoven through the book.      

Both Joshua and Annette have engaging writing styles that achieve a happy balance of good story telling and delivery of useful information.   In addition, the quality photography throughout provides visual appeal and the organization of the information flows well from chapter to chapter.   There are literally hundreds of tips and resources provided, many of which will be particularly useful for people like myself who live in the Pacific Northwest region.   Recurrent throughout the book are the concepts of “seasons” and the continuum of choices (or steps) we can take from relatively modest steps - to going all out on each subject.   Also woven throughout the book are personal contrasts of how differently Annette and Joshua often approach the same undertaking.   Reading about their individual methods and philosophies not only provided more information to use, but also emphasized that no one approach will work for everyone.   The underlying message is that the “Crazy Bus” journey will be quite different for each one of us - as it really is all about deciding what makes sense and feels comfortable given the unique circumstances and resources we each have to work with.   Regardless of where you may find yourself on this continuum, I think The Urban Farm Handbook is a great resource to help you to eat the most nutrient-dense and sustainably produced foods possible.   

The Giveaway

When Annette announced that this collaborative writing effort was being released, she asked if I would be willing to read and review it for her.   When I answered to the affirmative, she made sure a copy was sent to me free as a gift.   Little did she know that I had already placed an advance order and purchased one already!   The result of this is that I have an extra copy on hand of The Urban Farm Handbook by Annette Cottrell and Joshua McNichols that I am going to giveaway to one of my blog readers.   If you are interested in having your name thrown into a hat for a drawing for this book, just leave a comment to that effect on this blog post and let me know.   All the names posted as being interested by end of day Wednesday January 18th will be put in a hat and the winner will be drawn at random by my husband (who does not know yet that he has been volunteered for this duty) and announced soon thereafter.   Good luck! 

Laura

kitsapfreedomgardener