Its a beginning....

Why a farm, not a garden?
Because farm is an attitude and a way of life, it connotes a functional purpose that goes beyond flowers

Why a front yard farm?
Because I live in a major metropolitan area.

Why bother?
In the beginning, I cooked. I don't remember being too young to cook. I've worked in restaurants, catered, taught cooking, and most of all, cooked and eaten with friends. Then, from time to time I dabbled in gardening.

I've become increasingly distressed by the less flavorful, less nutritious foods that our factory farms churn out in uniform truck loads. I'm distressed by the chemicals that ooze into drinking water, I'm distressed by the repeated outcrops of food poisoning caused by factory farming.

And so I've decided on an exercise in partial self-sufficiency. No, not a "back to the earth" retreat; my career and life is inexorably interwoven with city life.

Something in my personal life changed last year, I began working from home. While I still work absurd hours, I've eliminated commuting and with it a lot of stress. I've begun eating better again, because it's easy to throw a quick home made soup on the stove while I'm in the middle of a conference call. And now I want to take it to the next step and begin growing some of my own food organically.

Here, on these pages, I'll track and chart my progress. I'll notice what works and what doesn't. I'll complain about my aching muscles, and I'll brag about what makes me happy.

I dedicate this garden to the commute I no longer do. I pledge to dedicate my commute time to learning to feed myself, and feed myself well. Some of this will be about gardening, and some of it will be about cooking up the results of my labor.

I'm new at this, your comments and advice are welcome.