On Good Land: The Autobiography of an Urban Farm

A jolting four-page aerial photo spread shows the urban creep of Goleta, Calif., that encircled the 12-acre Fairview Gardens from 1954 to 1998. Ableman has managed the 103-year-old organic farm since 1981, a tenure that has been marked by the garden's growing anomalousness. His urban neighbors brought court action against the farm for its crowing roosters (""one of the last natural sounds left in this valley""), while rapacious developers maneuvered to turn rich topsoil into the 58 houses allowed by zoning laws. In the end, Ableman and his co-workers gained support not only with chutzpah and headlines (including Ableman's 1993 book, From the Good Earth), but also with vibrantly fresh food. Using strawberries as an example, Ableman points out that organic farming may be labor-intensive and expensive, ""but it does not involve methyl bromide or a single one of the 65 pesticides registered for use on strawberries."" Today, the farm employs 21 and feeds nearly 500 families with the aim of reconnecting people to the intimate act of growing their own food. The last step to saving the farm from becoming part of the 46 acres lost per hour to nonagricultural uses in the U.S. was to buy the agricultural island for $750,000 and place it with a local land trust. ""Nature seduced me,"" confesses the devoted Ableman, through ""the magic of emerging seeds and enchantment of early morning harvests."" His homage to ""earth's placenta"" offers readers a wonderful harvest of anecdote, practical information and, most of all, deeply rooted detail of farm life and lofty goals. Photos. (June)