Book 37 - My Empire of Dirt - Manny Howard

No, I haven't really slowed down, I'm just a little backed up on entries. I've got this one and another, and I'm halfway through a third book.

Book 37 - My Empire of Dirt - Manny Howard

I've always had an interest in urban farming. My ears perk up whenever I hear a story of someone who's converted an unused lot into a community farm, or someone that is growing food in or close to the city in a commercially viable and/or sustainable way. It's not that I know much about farming, it's just one of those topics that I find it interesting. So when I heard Manny Howard in an interview talking about this project, I figured I was going to have to get around to reading it sometime.

In My Empire of Dirt, Manny Howard, a magazine writer, who at one time was on the masthead of Gourmet Magazine, accepts a freelance writing assignment to turn his Brooklyn backyard into a farm, live off the food it produces for one month, and then write about the experience. Although, he makes an allowance for salt, pepper and coffee, everything else he consumes must come from the farm.

As the book's subtitle tells us, this is "A Cautionary Tale." Very little goes right for Manny, and although sometimes he is the victim of circumstance, like when a freak tornado whips through Brooklyn, he also brings misfortune upon himself. He seems to be a bit manic, and often rushes into things without thinking them through, such as buying animals without preparing enclosures for them. This mania also manifests itself in an obsession with the farm to the exclusion of everything else, including his family, which puts a heavy strain on his marriage.

But that's not even half of Manny's problems. The yard does not receive adequate sunlight, so only certain parts of it are productive. The rabbits refuse to mate, and when he finally manages to impregnate them, they eat their young. Many of the crops are destroyed by the tornado. Many don't grow well in the first place. Even the potatoes, which he thought were going to be the easiest, turn out to be a disappointment.

Still, he manages to get some food out of the farm. He manages to grow tomatoes, eggplants, and collard greens. On the animal protein side, he is fairly successful with eggs, and manages to raise some chickens to a size at which they can be eaten. He also manages to eat at least one gamy rabbit, although this is an experience I think he would prefer to forget. There is also a bad experience with a not so freshly slaughtered bird that you would think someone who wrote for a food magazine would be smart enough to avoid.

It's an entertaining book for the most part, though I could have done with less of his personal background at the beginning, and I wasn't all that interested in the history of Brooklyn as a farming community. However, his farming misadventures definitely held my interest. If you are expecting to learn something about urban farming or the locavore movement however, there is very little here for you. Howard's failures aside, there is nothing sustainable about his venture, and as the magazine editor was footing the bill, he does not explore the economics of what he spends in order to set up the farm and tend to the plants and animals.