I had a very personally profound experience on Youtube this week. I also celebrated a 1-year anniversary as a Youtube creator recently; if you’re not subscribed and tuning in, I’d say you should be. But the experience I’m about to describe has nothing to do with my channel. I’ll do my best over the next few paragraphs to demonstrate why I think this reflection is worth sharing with the public.

I watched this video on Youtube on Thursday: My Thoughts on Urban Farming After 10 Years. You can make guesses as to why that clickbait title hooked me. And for context, I’ll say the guy that made the video, Curtis Stone, is one of my most impactful farming mentors. After I read his book, The Urban Farmer, I messed around and started my own urban farming business. His personal and political persuasions have become more apparent through his Youtube work, and we would disagree on several important topics of today. But I still tune in occasionally even since he’s gone more homesteading content creator and less “urban farmer”.

Curtis observes in this video that he believes the urban agriculture model is broken; that he wouldn’t advise anyone to start such a farm anymore. Community cannot be built in the fearsome environment of the city under tyrannical COVID physical distancing guidelines, he says. Restaurants are closed, farmers markets are dead. Since community engagement and proximity to markets were always the main competitive advantages for urban growers, it’s time to head for the hills!

A small, egotistic part of me felt personally attacked when I first watched. I realize now how absurd it is to take a video intended for mass consumption personally. But my reality in 2020 was so very different from what he described in this video. In Roanoke many restaurants closed briefly in March, then re-opened in pandemic-friendly ways a week or two later. Unfortunately a few restaurants I had a relationship with did permanently close. But the majority who remained worked with me to find ways we could provide ingredients for takeout menus. And I’ve stated before how proud I am that our Grandin Village Farmers Market didn’t miss a single week this year! We opened an online marketplace and drive-thru pickup, and I took my gardening classes to Facebook Live and Zoom like everyone else has. I had more conversations with passing neighbors while I was tending gardens than ever before. Folks are curious and interested in growing food in a new way. The urban micro-farms felt like oases of security and fresh air in 2020.

knock on wood: we’ve had decent weather for our outdoor winter farmers markets

If GVH was operating in a larger or otherwise different city, I would likely see this through a completely different lens. I know I am beyond fortunate to be in this place of unique scope and character in this time. Serving local salad eaters was an immense pleasure, and it was Garden Variety Harvests’ best year on record by any measure thanks to everyone who helped make that possible.

Curtis and I disagree as to whether growing food in, or maybe even living in cities is a good idea going forward. But in our current social climate, I think it’s important to remember that we have a lot to learn even from those we vehemently disagree with. This dude has taught me more than most about running a farm business, and I’m so very grateful for it. He gave me illumination on a path toward success when all I had was an ambiguous farming dream.

People often say you shouldn’t meet your idols, but I prefer not to idolize human beings in general. Instead, I intend to celebrate and uplift their ideas while leaving the thinkers firmly planted on Earth. When I was 21 years old legendary filmmaker Spike Lee came to my college campus for a day of master classes and lectures. As an undergraduate film and TV student, I would be lying if I said I didn’t have personal hopes of becoming the next Spike Lee at the time. So I sat in the front row at the master class and made sure to push my way to the front of the stage for an autograph and a handshake after the talk was over. But I came away from the experience seeing the man as aloof and curmudgeonly. And while I still love many of his movies and I appreciate the way he thinks and moves in this world we both inhabit, I quickly removed him from the pedestal on which I had placed him in my mind. He’s just a guy, and to have expectations of superpowers was very foolish of me.

lately, a little more fishing than farming

So I don’t do that anymore, and I don’t have personal struggles when I see someone I once treasured do something stupid or heinous in the public eye (here’s to you, Mr. West). It allows me to take and appreciate the good and discard the bad and keep it moving. So for the record, I wouldn’t discourage humanity from growing food in cities because of ongoing economic and political and social uncertainty. In fact, I’d say that those could be counted as good reasons to consider planting food in your city this year. Food is medicine not just for individuals, but also for communities. The Urban Farmer Curtis Stone and I can disagree about this and we’ll both be okay. And I’ll continue to be thankful for everything he has taught me, including this very lesson.

56. Don't Meet Your Idols