What is an urban farmer?

My Mac's dictionary has no definition whatsoever. Wikipedia has a ho-hum one: "Urban agriculture is the practice of cultivating, processing and distributing food in, or around, a village, town or city. [1] Urban agriculture in addition can also involve animal husbandry, aquaculture, agro-forestry and horticulture. These activities also occur in peri-urban areas as well."

I feel an urban farmer (or in my case, an Herban Farmer) is a person who lives in an urban or suburban setting who wants-- no, needs, to be close to nature. It could be health-related (organic food and herbs), a hobby (it's fun and satisfying to grow things), spiritual (a need to connect with Mother Earth), financial (if you go about it correctly, you could save grocery money), or the primal need to be able to feed oneself (the old hunter/gatherer urge).

You can consider yourself an urban farmer, in varying degrees, if:

• You grow herbs or veggies in your kitchen window or elsewhere in your home;

• You grow herbs and veggies in containers on your patio, balcony or back yard;

• You have a small garden;

• You have a big garden;

• You've added chickens to the scenario;

• You've now added goats or whatever your zoning permits... or not.

If you live on a few acres and do any of the above, you are NOT an urban farmer, you're a bona fide farmer and probably won't want to follow my blog.

I am an urban farmer. I live in the most suburban of suburbs. I've always wanted to live on a farm, but so far that hasn't happened. I've gardened, indoors and out, all my life. As of this past year, I keep chickens. I've been known to cook, preserve, sew, make my own soap, paper and candles, knit, crochet, weave and use herbal remedies. I can use power tools. I paint. I own a horse. I fish and clean and eat them. I make food from scratch for my dog, parrots, chickens and family. I also know html, Photoshop, other Adobe software and three independent web development tools. I have a sense for natural remedies. And I love my planet.

So, if you're currently an urban farmer, or want to be one some day, stick around and I may come up with some information that you'll find interesting and useful. I'll report findings from my various gardening experiments and my experiences as a first time chicken and horse owner, share recipes inspired by my garden's bounty and possibly outline a crafty project here or there. If you want to follow my blog, you'll get emails when I make a new post which will keep me inspired since as of now I'm the only person on the planet who knows about this blog!