CGS Book Club

You can read Novella’s blog here, although sadly she stopped writing it in 2020 — https://novellacarpenter.com/.

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UPDATE: BOOK CLUB MEETING IS TONIGHT

Farm City is a FAST read! Question - if it wasn't part of your childhood, how did YOU come to gardening? Was it a pot on the windowsill or a raised bed in the backyard? Or something else?

My mother loved greenery but laughed about her "black thumb". I found myself drawn to growing tomatoes and strawberries in an open patch of ground in high school that barely survived but I was intrigued. I dabbled in gardening while living in San Jose, CA, where absolutely everything will grow if given half a chance. And then I went to school for landscape design and horticulture ...

Tomatoes really are the gateway plant to gardening!

Join the CGS Book Club and let's chat about plants and books -- https://www.facebook.com/share/1B4ZYoyLKm/
Book Club is this Thursday, 2/26 at 6:30 pm.

Our choice for the February 2026 Book Club is ...
FARM CITY by Novella Carpenter.

Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer is a 2009 memoir by Novella Carpenter about her experience creating a farm in an abandoned lot in inner-city Oakland, California, blending rural self-sufficiency with urban life. The book chronicles her journey from a few chickens to raising livestock like pigs, turkeys, and geese, using food scraps from local restaurants, and navigating the unique challenges and characters of her neighborhood. It's praised as a charming, funny, and insightful look at urban homesteading, food systems, and the intersection of city and country living.

Available on Kindle, audiobook, and in paper/hardback book, chances are EXCELLENT you can also find a used copy or borrow one from the library. One of New York Times “Top 10 Books of 2009".

> FREE EVENT - but your registration is required to obtain meeting updates and the Zoom link! Please note that our meeting will be IN-PERSON at the Columbus Garden School, but you may attend via Zoom if preferred.

We hope you'll JOIN US! And yes, bring a treat to share if you are inspired.

Another question to ponder on our January book club choice, "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle". This is also a reminder that we're meeting this Thursday, Jan. 29 at 6:30 PM. Please register for the class so you can get the Zoom link, updates, etc. You can also attend in-person but it will be around 13F outside. (Register at https://www.columbusgardenschool.com/service-page/book-club-animal-vegetable-miracle.) We hope you can join us!

Q: Do you think local food movements can make a significant impact on global issues? In what way?

Snowstorms are reading storms, I always say.

I'm more than halfway done with "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" and enjoying the heck out of it. If you could spend a year living like Barbara Kingsolver’s family, what would be your biggest challenge?

For me (Tisa), it would be balancing the WORK of gardening with the WORK of preparing/cooking/preserving all the plants. I like both (although I much prefer gardening) but it just seems like I would have to spend 5 hours/day just making food. When I combine running a small business with doing most of the domestic chores to care for my household, I think I would be exhausted all the time! I guess my challenge is simplifying menus and processes to make food prep take no more than an hour or so on *most* days.

What would be YOUR BIGGEST CHALLENGE living like Kingsolver's family for a year? Which parts would be easy, and which ones more difficult? Let us know in the comments below.

(And please join us for our snacktacular book discussion on Thurs. Jan. 29!)

WE'RE BACK! We admit the last few years have been a bit ... distracting, but that doesn't mean we don't LOVE READING ABOUT ALL THINGS GARDENING!

Join us for a discussion of ANIMAL, VEGETABLE, MIRACLE: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver. We'll meet in-person (and via Zoom if necessary) on Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026. Please register here so we have a headcount for snacks and can provide you with any late-breaking updates before our meeting. https://www.columbusgardenschool.com/service-page/book-club-animal-vegetable-miracle

"This book details her family's attempt to eat only locally grown food for an entire year. The family starts a farm in Virginia where they grow and can different varieties of tomatoes, learn about rooster husbandry, make cheese, and adjust to eating foods only when they are locally in season. The book contrasts this with the ecological costs of growing food in factory farms, transporting it thousands of miles, and adding chemical preservatives so it will not spoil." (Excerpt from Wikipedia)

CGS Book Club - Animal, Vegetable, Miracle The Columbus Garden School Book Club reads and discusses books related to gardening, homesteading, food, wildlife, crafts, and taking care of the planet. Like or Follow our FB page at https://www.facebook.com/columbusgardenschool to learn what books we have in the reading queue. Book for our 1/29/26...

TURN YOUR LAWN INTO PRAIRIE • Thurs. 11/3/22 at 7 pm
$10 Online FUNDRAISER -- just $10!
www.columbusgardenschool.com/service-page/turn-your-lawn-into-prairie

How to Grow Practically Everything | CGS Gardening projects anyone can do, by Zia Allaway. Paperback in excellent condition. Original price $22.95. "Inspiring and practical, giving complete beginners confidence to grow almost anything, from herbs on a windowsill to a vegetable garden to feed the family." Your purchase (and book donations)....