The following is an online extra from our January 2019 issue, headed to newsstands soon.
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A little over five years ago, Richmond magazine contributing food writer Piet E. Jones embarked on an urban farming adventure at his North Side home. “Bees, chickens, fruit trees and berries — my wife drew the line at a goat — we tried it all, from the growing to the canning,” he says. Here, he shares some lessons learned along the way.
1. Take classes and network.
There’s no need to be out there on your own. From beekeeping to vegetable gardening to raising chickens, there’s an organization or a group with people you can meet who’ll help you find out what works and what might not.
2. Include your neighbors.
Sharing eggs or honey with the people next door can help quell any complaints about your menagerie, and good relations are key if you need them to stop using chemicals or pesticides that might negatively affect your efforts.
3. Be flexible.
The vision in your head of a dream garden might not be practical. Vegetable plants, fruit trees and berry bushes all have distinctive needs that might not fit into your orderly design, necessitating changes that may not fit your original concept.
4. Prepare to fail.
Things go wrong, a lot. Bees die. Chickens escape. Nature doesn’t always cooperate. When I discovered my apple trees had gotten the rust, a chronic affliction, I cut them down and replaced them with cherry trees. Learn, grow, adapt.
