Homegrown Revolution

In the Dirt
For the avid homestead gardener, January is the time for dreaming up your next delicious adventure in the ol’ backyard.  With a thriving vegetable garden underway, many of us crave MORE homegrown food & fun.  As they say, a single tomato plant is the gateway drug to a lifetime of hard gardening!!

Any hard gardener will tell you that a few raised beds and a couple fruit trees just ain’t enough.  To really quench one’s thirst to “live off the land” you gotta have CHICKENS!  Whether you live in the suburbs or the urban core, chickens are the sustainable gardener’s best friend.  They voraciously eat harmful bugs and over-wintering pests, and they use their powerful feet to scratch and “till” your beds – fertilizing, weeding, and working in organic matter all the while!!  Better still, they pop out a warm, delicious, golden-yolked egg about once a day.  Last but not least, you can go ahead and trash the TV cuz your kids will be far more entertained by those backyard birds any day of the week.

Now, for the not so good news: “City Chickens” are a controversial issue.  Although many progressive cities across the country are adopting chicken-friendly ordinances, most municipalities in the KC Metro have yet to catch “egg fever.”  However, there’s hope!  With recent egg-recalls and a rising concern about factory-farmed foods, many metro families have voiced their desire to keep heritage hens in an effort to secure healthy food for their children and neighbors.  In fact, backyard birds have been a “hot topic” in both Merriam & Overland Park.  Recently, KCMO bird lovers saw a bit of a victory with an updated ordinance that allows for more lenient distance requirements from neighboring properties, given written neighbor consent.  This “feathered” step forward is the beginning of a larger movement towards a more sustainable (and better fed) Kansas City! 

Want birds?  Check out your municipal codes and contact your City Council members today.                     

On the Plate
Now that I’ve got egg on the brain, let’s talk BREAKFAST.  As a farmer, breakfast is my most important meal of the day.  I need tasty, nutrition-filled substance to fuel my bones before I tackle the day’s labor…especially when it’s COLD outside!  My favorite (quick and easy) classic breakfast includes two sunny-side up, farm-fresh eggs laid over a thick & crusty piece of hand-crafted bread (brushed with olive oil and toasted).  A hearty helping of fried sweet potatoes or beet hash makes for a glorious side, sure to fill-up even the hungriest farmer!  This “working man’s” breakfast is also great for a lazy dinner or a Sunday morning b