I Am an "Urban Farmer"

It may or may not be a well-known fact that I fully plan on burning out on corporate America in the next 5 - 10 years, quitting my job, buying a ridiculous amount of land in some fertile area of the world, and starting a dairy farm.

Before this manure-covered, manual-labor dream can come true, I have to test my chops at farming as best I can living in a major metropolitan area. Baby steps, right? The problem is, I am not very good at doing things in baby steps.

So here is the result:



Look! These will be carrots one day!



These are beets. I don't even eat beets on a regular basis.



This is my herb garden, resplendent with oregano, two types of sage, thyme, Italian parsley, and rosemary



Cauliflower! Broccoli! Leeks! Shallots!



Onions (Cippolini and Sweet!)! Garlic! Chives! Red Russian Kale! Peas!



Here is a closeup of the peas, which have tripled in size since I bought them as baby shoots 2 weeks ago. This is called Oregon Giant. And yes, I bought this variety because it made me think of my 6'6" lumberjack-esque boyfriend who is from (guess!) Oregon.

Not pictured: the three types of lettuce are still too small of shoots to be worth photographing, the cherry tomatoes, beefsteak tomatoes, sweet peppers and cucumbers that are in a "grow operation" in my basement because it is too cold to move them outside, and spinach that just poked out of the soil about two days ago. I have no idea where I plan on planting the rest of the things that need planting.

Now, if I haven't bored you out of your mind yet with my lists of veggies, you may be wondering "Why wine barrels? Why not plant your urban crops directly in the ground, dear Jenn?"

Two Reasons:

One:



And Two:



And as much as I love 'em, I don't want to eat their piss.

So we'll see how I manage to keep these all alive throughout the summer. If it's a go, I'm one step closer to overalls and butter churns.