Obsessives: Urban Farming

Published on Monday, October 5, 2009, by Meredith Arthur, Eric Slatkin, and Blake Smith / Edit Post

Obsessives: Urban Farming

By Meredith Arthur, Eric Slatkin, and Blake Smith

Novella Carpenter started small, with some plants in an empty lot next to her house in Oakland. A couple of years later, she was tending to a full-blown farm, with goats, turkeys, ducks, pigs, and a robust garden. Her book, Farm City, details her experiences. As does this video, which tackles questions of neighborliness (which is more offensive: police sirens or roosters crowing?), environmental poisons (raised beds are key), and the all-important slaughter question. The answer: Yes, she does (and yes, there is some bloody footage).

This is a regular series called Obsessives, in which CHOW explores the worlds of singularly focused food-industry figures. These are the people with the dirty hands, answering detailed questions about the work they do.

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POST A COMMENT |11 Comments

COMMENT

  • I am a little concerned about the behavior with the opossum while am in complete agreement with the comment about vegetarians/vegans, however, it seems a bit sanctimonious to convict an opossum of the behavior you support in yourself that being a predator against "wall eyed" prey.

    however I do support making Oakland a moveable feast.

    all day, every day, chewy aroma - west oakland

  • My husband and I thought -- mistakenly, it turns out -- that it was illegal to keep chickens within our city's limits. It's not. You are supposed to get a license for them, but we didn't even bother. We just got the chickens and built a coop, and we've been enjoying the benefits ever since. Our neighbors are all fine with it (as far as we know), the chickens are great fun to watch in the warmer...+READ

    My husband and I thought -- mistakenly, it turns out -- that it was illegal to keep chickens within our city's limits. It's not. You are supposed to get a license for them, but we didn't even bother. We just got the chickens and built a coop, and we've been enjoying the benefits ever since. Our neighbors are all fine with it (as far as we know), the chickens are great fun to watch in the warmer months, and the eggs are fantastic. Another thing we love about keeping chickens is that they eat table scraps. We eat pretty well, no artificial stuff or preservatives, so we feel good about feeding them any bread crusts, brown rice, slightly wilted veggies, leftover yogurt, etc. that we don't eat. It's really great being chicken owners, so if you have always wanted to have them, but thought your town/city didn't allow it, call up the local authorities and find out for sure.-COLLAPSE

  • Check the local laws and consider ducks for eliminating slugs, snails, mosquito larvae and problem insects. If you need a noisy watch animal, consider a pair of geese - unlike dogs, they are too stupid to be bribed and anyone they don't know - and even people they do know - will be greeted by honking and even aggression.

    If you are keeping backyard fowl, consider rare breeds. For ducks and geese...+READ

    Check the local laws and consider ducks for eliminating slugs, snails, mosquito larvae and problem insects. If you need a noisy watch animal, consider a pair of geese - unlike dogs, they are too stupid to be bribed and anyone they don't know - and even people they do know - will be greeted by honking and even aggression.

    If you are keeping backyard fowl, consider rare breeds. For ducks and geese I highly recommend Holderread Farms near my old stomping grounds in Oregon. They have outstanding birds and sell birds from utility grade to show birds that do very well in competition.

    I'm partial to Indian Runner ducks myself; heavy layers, not broody at all.

    http://www.holderreadfarm.com/

    As for laws, some years ago towns and cities were outlawing poultry and "farm animals" because they thought the stock made the town too rustic. Now many are changing the laws back - you can always go to your city council and make your case. Personally, I want to get a couple of Shetland sheep.-COLLAPSE

  • I am reading Farm City right now and enjoying it very much. I still have this crazy desire to have chickens someday. After reading the book, I want them even more.

  • While many people assume (as I'm noting in the comments) that it's illegal or otherwise prohibited to keep backyard chickens, there are very few municipalities where that is really the case. Often there are laws to limit the number that can be kept, and to prevent crowing roosters from disturbing neighbors, but there are very few urban areas in the US where it's not legal to keep a few laying...+READ

    While many people assume (as I'm noting in the comments) that it's illegal or otherwise prohibited to keep backyard chickens, there are very few municipalities where that is really the case. Often there are laws to limit the number that can be kept, and to prevent crowing roosters from disturbing neighbors, but there are very few urban areas in the US where it's not legal to keep a few laying hens in the backyard and supply yourself with eggs.-COLLAPSE

  • The secret, I suspect, is not whether it is legal but whether the neighbors object. Hens are pretty good pets--they are quiet, interesting, clean, and they pay their way. A few eggs given to the neighbors as bribes is good P.R., too.
    We happen to live where it's not even against the law, and we have nine laying hens, pets. As it happens, I just posted about them on my blog. I hope it's "legal"...+READ

    The secret, I suspect, is not whether it is legal but whether the neighbors object. Hens are pretty good pets--they are quiet, interesting, clean, and they pay their way. A few eggs given to the neighbors as bribes is good P.R., too.
    We happen to live where it's not even against the law, and we have nine laying hens, pets. As it happens, I just posted about them on my blog. I hope it's "legal" for me to give the url.
    http://rogersgeorge.blogspot.com/2009/09/i-keep-nine-females-captive-in-my-shed.html-COLLAPSE

  • Yup.. she can get away with a lot... even though I "own" my house and property, if I wanted a chicken in the backyard, I'd probably get slapped with a fine so fast my head would spin. (Rhetorically speaking, of course).

  • SeanR,
    Check out Worldwide Oportunities on Organic Farms - http://www.wwoofusa.org/

  • My sister-in-law is doing great things in LA: http://lakitchengarden.blogspot.com/

  • If only it were legal to do this/you could get away with it in a neighborhood not ridden with drug dealers, gang violence and crackwhores, she'd be living my dream. I've recently moved to a house where I get to start my first garden plot for next year and would absolutely love to have a goat and a couple chickens.

  • Wow good stuff! I wish I had a yard I would totally do this... ive been thinking about moving out of the City and live on a farm. If anyone know of a good farm that I can work for room and Board let me know? Im not looking for a profit just experience.

    Thanks!