Growing a Farmer

A book about the pursuit of a simpler, yet richer life...

What I like most about Growing a Farmer is the humorous way in which Kurt Timmermeister has conveyed his moments of failure in his journey of becoming a farmer. The spoken English writing and the slow pace at which he introduces new chapters allow me to escape from the hustle and bustle of downtown Los Angeles to a faraway land shared by cows, sheep, fruit and vegetables. Although I could never imagine working on a farm myself, the book does a good job in describing the simple pleasures one might find in at least exploring the origins of their food.

As a young adult about to enter the workforce, I am also comforted by Kurt’s choice to live by passion, and to not worry about the twists and turns that come up in life. What initially sounded like good ideas to him – beekeeping, cultivating fruit or grazing cows – don’t turn out to be very successful, yet he is persistent. I strongly resonate with this trial-and-error approach, as I also learn most when I do things myself.

What I like least about the book is the tendency Kurt has to go into excessive details about farming techniques – he might be sharing his life’s story but I wish he kept brevity in mind when discussing the tools of his trade! I distinctly remember how in the Bees chapter he spent a good ten to fifteen pages describing the steps he took – including details about the dimensions of the frame, the role of the queen bee and the process to extract honey – even before he mentioned the first yield of his farm. 

To summarize, to me Growing a Farmer is a book about persistence and the pursuit for a simpler life. I look forward to reading about Kurt’s next adventures of raising fowl, pigs, vegetables and the present state of Kurtwood Farms.