Arthur - Vegetables, Chickens & Bees: An Honest Guide to Growing Your Own Food Anywhere

I love growing my own food. I know that the flavors are better and the food is healthier than anything I could buy in a store. Taking a tiny seed and nurturing it is incredibly rewardingthe taste of the first tomato that you grow validates all the hard work that goes into producing it!

And these rewards arent limited to owners of sprawling yardsyou can grow your own food in pretty much any space. Whether you have a small window box, a community garden plot, a big backyard, a farm of multiple acres or a patio with just a few pots, there are always options open to you, and the security that comes from knowing youre equipped to feed yourself and your familywith nothing more than some sunshine, water, dirt and seedsgoes a long way!

6 years ago, I bought a small plot of land 2 hours outside the city. I wanted to try my hand at having my own farm. I even managed to convince my partner, who is as city as they come, to do it with me. To be fair, I do have a little background knowledge to go on. Not only am I a landscape designer by trade but I also grew up on an apple farm. I learned how to grow stuff from an early age with the help of my mom and my grandma. We ate what we grew and put away for the winter so that wed have our own supply all year long. When I grew up and moved away from the apple trees and into the city, growing things stayed with me.

With farming in my blood, I have traveled back and forth across the country for the past 17 years, helping people create the outdoor spaces of their dreams. I have been showing people how to make the most of whatever space they have, and how to find balance between their own human needs and those of the world around us all. Ive seen how gardens can grow in all kinds of places and climates. Ive also witnessed an awful lot about what not to do if you want your garden to surviveand thrive. Like the fact that you should call to check the locations of cable wires and gas lines before you start digging; like understanding the growing process is more than just sticking plants in the dirt; like avoiding angry queen bees; like the fact that absolutely everything wants to kill your chickens.

Ive learned a lot working on my own garden, and in this book I am passing my advice and experience on to you so you can avoid a whole bunch of the #gardenfails Ive already made. First, Ill show you to look at your space and truly understand it. Ill help you assess the sunlight and the dirt; show you how to get seeds started; help you protect your garden from pests; teach you when to water your garden; and give you DIY guides for raised planters, composters and self-watering systems, to name just a few. Then Ill give my advice for growing 20 key veggies (from preparing the dirt, to harvesting them, to prepping your seeds for next year). Parts 2 and 3 are a primer on chickens and bees: Advice on choosing the right breeds for you, how to feed, care and collect from both, and some hard truths about why you might not be ready for this step yet. Plus my fav recipes for cooking all those gorgeous veggies, and what to do with the eggs and honey you collect from your chickens and bees.

Many of us (me included) have been feeling a pull toward becoming more self-sufficient in sourcing our own food and are looking at how we can use our own spaces to grow that food. Some people have called it the grow it yourself movement; others think its some sort of fallout from all the end of days movies and TV shows. Whatever the reason, if youre keen to jump on board, my advice can help you ease into this way of life as smoothly as possible. I warn you thoughthis is not a dreamy look at an adorable Instagram-ready farm. I dont gloss over the dirty bits, but literally go into the shit you need to know (see for a guide to choosing manure!) and share my honest experience of growing food in every space.

Happy growing! And keep me posted on how it goes

@carsonarthur

Carson Arthur

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