It is hard fucking work. On your knees for hours weeding, and picking off insects (everyone wants organic, free-range corn but has zero fucking idea how to grow a weed, let alone what it takes to keep the corn loopers at bay). Sunburnt. Dirty. Get used to bruised fruits, sub par yields, and on and on and on.
Not to mention, the real estate required to raise your family on all those organic veggies. A traditional suburban 60x120 lot might grow enough, if you’re really efficient. No row gardens, you’re doing square foot gardening or something like that.
It is a daydream, by the same fellas who drive their urban bro-dozer to the office for their 9-5 job in chinos. Fucking LARPers.
most of them want the marie antoinette experience, to be in a position where they can have the parts of small scale farming that they think is/will be fun, but it doesn’t matter if they fuck it up because they are financially secure and they can just go to the grocery store
It’s this. They dream of having what is essentially a side hustle that conforms to an escapist fantasy that conveniently nests within their current ideology. It’s the maximum level that they can “escape” the rat race of the rest of reality but if they fuck up they can still reintegrate like you pointed out ala the grocery store or using their primary income to offset the losses. Hell, a lot of these will probably just be vanity projects of one spouse where they probably get burnout once they realize how much work it takes to do it themselves. If they really did get that land watch how many of them would just eat the losses to have a big fucking yard because it’s not their real source of income. In a generation they’d turn 40 acres and a mule into golf courses and subdivisions.
I think it comes from some type of yeoman farmer/farmstead idyll and white fear of cities. Just like the “I’ve gotta keep a weapon for protection in my gated community” it feels like it’s more of a power fantasy and wanting to more fully control their lives.
I used to work a farm back in my 20s.
It is hard fucking work. On your knees for hours weeding, and picking off insects (everyone wants organic, free-range corn but has zero fucking idea how to grow a weed, let alone what it takes to keep the corn loopers at bay). Sunburnt. Dirty. Get used to bruised fruits, sub par yields, and on and on and on.
Not to mention, the real estate required to raise your family on all those organic veggies. A traditional suburban 60x120 lot might grow enough, if you’re really efficient. No row gardens, you’re doing square foot gardening or something like that.
It is a daydream, by the same fellas who drive their urban bro-dozer to the office for their 9-5 job in chinos. Fucking LARPers.
most of them want the marie antoinette experience, to be in a position where they can have the parts of small scale farming that they think is/will be fun, but it doesn’t matter if they fuck it up because they are financially secure and they can just go to the grocery store
It’s this. They dream of having what is essentially a side hustle that conforms to an escapist fantasy that conveniently nests within their current ideology. It’s the maximum level that they can “escape” the rat race of the rest of reality but if they fuck up they can still reintegrate like you pointed out ala the grocery store or using their primary income to offset the losses. Hell, a lot of these will probably just be vanity projects of one spouse where they probably get burnout once they realize how much work it takes to do it themselves. If they really did get that land watch how many of them would just eat the losses to have a big fucking yard because it’s not their real source of income. In a generation they’d turn 40 acres and a mule into golf courses and subdivisions.
Excuse YOU, I’m amazing at growing weeds! Pro tip for the newbs: let weeds come to seed, then mow them in frustration. Guaranteed huge yield
The problem I have is all the damn grass outcompetes and kills the clover in a lot of spots. I hate grass lawns so fucking much.
I think it comes from some type of yeoman farmer/farmstead idyll and white fear of cities. Just like the “I’ve gotta keep a weapon for protection in my gated community” it feels like it’s more of a power fantasy and wanting to more fully control their lives.
Ive met folks who moved to the country to do organic farming, they had one of the following:
-a focus on cash crops like lavender, saffron or oyster mushrooms
-a secret grow op
-a tech worker girlfriend
-rich parents
Farming is not profitable and only the government or shenanigans can make it a living
Like a tomato plant right?
Lol