Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer

by Novella Carpenter
Published by Penguin Books, 2009, 269 pages

Reviewed by:
Mark Pontious (mpontious@sa.utah.edu), Assistant Director, Orientation & Leadership 
Development, University of Utah

        “I have a farm on a dead-end street in the ghetto” is the opening line and intriguing hook of 
Novella Carpenter’s captivating account of the trials and tribulations of her life as an urban farmer. 
Situated in a shady part of Oakland, Farm City takes readers on a rollercoaster ride. The story starts 
on a weed-strewn, abandoned lot, and proceeds through a tale of one woman striving to be closer to 
the source of her food in our packaged and processed society. Themes of discovery, responsibility, 
and trial-and-error throughout the book provide discussion points for first-year college students 
experiencing the same issues in their own right. 
        Novella, however, is no uneducated, illiterate “hippie” trying to get back to the land, which is 
how she describes her parents and their experience of living in the 1970s. She includes excerpts of 
poetry and references to Thoreau’s experiences at Walden that give away her intelligence. On top of 
mental acumen, Novella adds her own ironic, somewhat twisted sense of humor. In one section, she 
declines to kill garden-ruining slugs by drowning them in beer because “this seemed suspiciously 
close to buying the slugs a beer, which is more generous than I felt” (p. 52).
        Novella and her boyfriend, Bill, are the type who intentionally add to their travel itinerary 
places they are told to avoid. They looked into Oakland because they were told “whatever you do, 
don’t go to Oakland” (p. 8). They stay away from San Francisco because it “is filled with successful, 
polished people,” while Oakland “is scruffy, loud, [and] unkempt” (p. 7). Moving onto a street with 
a homeless man who collects abandoned cars, a Buddhist temple, a Vietnamese family, and Lana, 
who runs her own speakeasy, they fit right in with an apartment filled with furniture and appliances 
found abandoned in the streets. Novella then finds herself next to a large abandoned lot that presents 
a golden opportunity: an urban garden. 
        Having previously experimented with urban farming in Seattle, Novella and Bill relish the 
chance to build the garden beyond a few fruits and vegetables and a beehive. The blissful feeling of 
bringing life miraculously out of something so dead and barren drives her to expand the scope of the 
farm—meat birds. 
        The box of young turkeys, chickens, geese, and ducks arrives from a nervous postal carrier, and 
Novella further develops her relationship with her Vietnamese neighbor, who remembers his farming 
years in Vietnam before helping the Americans in the war. After losing some of the birds to a possum 
and more to the junkyard dogs behind their lot, Novella must bring herself to complete the 
food-related task most removed from society: killing the birds. Much as young people attempt to 
avoid conflict rather than face it, Novella first attempts to find someone to serve as executioner; then, 
out of options, she must face the task alone. This proves to be a transformative experience, leaving 
Novella closer to her Thanksgiving meal since she has been responsible from just after the birth of 
the turkey all the way to the table. 
        With the addition of rabbits to the back deck, and eventually two pigs to the backyard, 
Novella expands into other realms of the unknown, which causes her to find and read the “Whole 
Earth Catalogue,” one of the publications likened to a Bible, according to her parents. Through all of 
this, Novella begins to feel more and more connected to her parents and their effort to become closer 
to the land. However, Novella does not want to end up like her parents, who divorced when she was

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four, partly because her mother could not stand the isolation in the country. Novella wants to have 
the best of both worlds; growing Cream of Saskatchewan watermelon, lime trees, and raising pigs, 
while still having a social life and the city scene. This theme becomes another rich discussion 
opportunity for first-year college students, with the struggle between having the comforts of home 
and family and making a life of one’s own. 
        The challenges of Novella’s chosen path, much like that of a young college student, could 
easily lead to giving up, but leave the reader hoping for success. Pig-raising includes rituals like 
diving into dumpsters three times every week with Bill to find food for the fast-growing animals. 
Novella’s humor surfaced again when she proudly stated that the pigs were once eating pellets, but 
“now they were eating Chinese, like good urban pigs” (p. 202).
        On one of these outings, which also involve large buckets and headlamps, Novella is told she 
has to meet Chris, the head chef at a restaurant with particularly plentiful dumpsters. After her first 
meeting with Chris, her closing line is the eloquent, “You have great dumpsters. Keep it up” 
(p. 225), which is typical of Novella’s unintentional humor. She ends up learning how to make 
salumi, the encompassing term for prepared meats like salami and prosciutto, from Chris. 
        The apprenticeship under Chris, contrasted with the experience with the rancher who 
thoughtlessly butchers one of her pigs, teaches Novella about the patience and delicate touch 
required in many of life’s situations. Along with the oddball situations throughout this story, Chris 
also helps Novella learn about balancing between reliance on others for success and striking out 
alone to make the best of it, knowing there will be bumps along the way. 
        Farm City concludes with Novella working with a friend to jump start an urban farming 
program for other families in GhostTown, as her neighborhood is known. She is raising chickens 
in her backyard that will eventually go out to families who then harvest their own eggs, as well as 
building garden boxes that will turn into raised beds for her neighbors. In this sense, Novella has 
gone from being the student to being the teacher and advisor, and passing along her passion, 
knowledge, and experiences to assist the next generation of urban farmers. 
        As a reader for new students, this book has positive and negative factors that could affect the 
success of the program. On the positive side, the book offers may opportunities for rich discussion, 
could serve as the basis for a campus-wide environmental project, and could be tied into various 
types of courses across all years of students. On the other hand, the themes of the book have the 
potential to turn 18- and 19-year-olds off from completing the reading, and those themes may also 
be difficult to connect to the lives of a recent high school graduate.
        The story provides opportunities ripe for discussion with new college students. One of the 
major themes is Novella’s struggle to live in much the same way as her parents, while avoiding their 
social isolation. She wants the independence of a city social scene while still having her farm. This 
is especially relatable to college students living on campus and coming from out-of-state. These 
students, more so than those living at home, must bridge the gap between the values of home and 
family and those of an independent young adult in a college environment. During this 
experience, Novella consistently finds aspects of her mother’s personality manifested in her actions 
and thoughts, and eventually becomes thankful for all that was instilled into her by her mother. 
Students may not see this right away in college, but they will come to face it more as the first 
semester progresses. 
        Another theme rich for discussion is that of taking risks and coping with potential failure. 
Novella consistently takes on new aspects of farming with only books to guide her. Though her risk 
is somewhat calculated, there is still the chance of financial and emotional failure. Two situations 
provide great examples for a discussion. The first is when she is faced with killing her meat birds for 
Thanksgiving dinner. Novella initially avoids the topic by reading about raising birds and then how 
to prepare them for the meal, skipping the section on killing. When she finally faces the situation, 

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Novella attempts to shirk responsibility and find another person to serve as executioner. She 
eventually finds someone to assist her, but Novella performs the act itself. The second situation 
that could promote discussion is Novella’s work with Chris. Novella comes to realize the value of 
patience in waiting for her salumi creations, all the while knowing they could be failures. She has 
invested both of her pigs in this venture and could be left with nothing. Relating these situations to 
new college students, likely on their own for the first time, provides opportunities to discuss 
taking of responsibility for one’s actions and decisions instead of avoiding conflict or risk. Students 
may also discuss the importance of making decisions only after researching potential outcomes and 
avenues. 
        Farm City also presents several opportunities for partnerships with departments and 
programs across campus. In first-year experience classes, this book may serve as a starting point for 
the discussions on learning about resources and opportunities on campus, teaching students 
responsibility, and encouraging an internal locus of control. Other first-year classes, such as 
American history courses discussing the Industrial Revolution through the present, can frame 
discussions around the impact of specialization in production and its effects on society. Introductory 
English or writing courses may potentially use this book for a paper around the themes mentioned 
above. Finally, partnering with an environmental studies department provides an opportunity to use 
this book as the inspiration for a campus-wide project. Projects could include campus gardens that 
grow food to be used in dining halls and a campus farmers’ market that supports locally grown food 
and crafts. 
        Farm City could be particularly successful if used on urban campuses with a high population of 
students from urban areas. The themes around the more rural aspects of the book will expose urban/
suburban students to ideas and situations not usually encountered while growing up in the city. Even 
on campuses with students from rural areas, this text provides the opportunity for these students to 
challenge their assumptions about what is considered farming and how “city-folk” can also 
contribute and impact food in society.
        While Farm City provides overall positive opportunities for use on campus, there are 
negative aspects as well. Many students may be put off by some of the above-mentioned themes, 
like killing the meat birds, especially if coming from urban/suburban areas. Students may also not 
find connections to Novella and her story. Both of these issues may lead students to not finish the 
book, which will negate all of the rich opportunities for use on campus. However, if students do 
persist through the story, these connections to the text and uncomfortable themes can be explored 
during discussions. This would then lead to the same connections and outcomes that were not 
accomplished by students on their own.
        Ethics courses may utilize this text for discussions around the ethics of food production in 
modern America. Environmental studies courses could also utilize Farm City for discussions 
surrounding the use of land in cities. Finally, learning communities built around any of the above 
topics, as well as underserved populations or serving urban populations could also benefit from this 
text. Overall, this book provides humorous stories while provoking students to discuss often 
uncomfortable situations and themes that may directly or indirectly relate to their lives and 
experiences.

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