Growing a Farmer - Part 1

Growing a Farmer by Kurt Timmermeister is essentially a mix between a memoir and somewhat of a farm guide. In this book, Timmermeister talks about how he transitions from running a café and restaurant in Seattle, to moving out to Vashon Island and establishing his own farm. Through each chapter, Timmermeister describes the process of how he becomes a farmer, including all the challenges he faced along the way. From starting with a four-acre plot, Kurt went from growing tomatoes to beekeeping, and even taking care of cows and producing raw milk. He writes in a very businesslike manner, which made it easy to understand the various farm processes that he mentions since I’m not that familiar with farming.

One of my favorite chapters so far is “Chapter Six – Cows”. In this chapter, Timmermeister describes how he got his first cow for the farm. He initially gets the cow so that his farm would be seen as a “real farm”, which would make him “a farmer”. It was interesting to see how he had a whole revelation with bringing in a cow to his farm. The cow became a commitment and would change his life to that of the “farmer’s life” that he always dreamed of. I really enjoyed reading about the different struggles he went through with having a cow and all the things he was able to learn from it. It was funny to see how Timmermeister compares himself to a cow since he considers himself “a stubborn creature of habit” (135).

As someone who doesn’t know much about farming nor has had much interest in it, Timmermeister’s book has found a way to get me to keep reading to see what becomes of his journey in becoming a farmer. I’m excited to see how Timmermeister will continue to expand his farm and making it a business in the next couple of chapters.