The Seasons on Henry's Farm: A Year of Food and Life on a Sustainable Farm

by Terra Brockman, Deborah Madison (Preface)

Henry's Farm is in central Illinois, some of the richest farming land in the world. There, Henry Brockman and his family — five generations of farmers, including sister Terra — farm in a way that produces healthy, nutritious food without despoiling the land. Terra Brockman tells their story in the form of a yearlong diary/memoir — with recipes — that takes readers through each season of life on the farm. Studded with vignettes, photographs, family stories, and illustrations of the farm's vivid plant life, the book is a one-of-a-kind treasure that will appeal to readers of Michael Pollan, E. B. White, Gretel Ehrlich, and Sandra Steingraber. The book opens a window into what sustainable farming really entails and why it is vital and relevant to everyone who eats. Though rooted in the rolling oak-hickory hills and fertile fields and flood plains of the Mackinaw River Valley, the book ranges widely, incorporating literary, scientific, and culinary reflections occasioned by the week-by-week events of farm life.

Genres: Nonfiction, Food, Gardening, Memoir, Cookbooks, Nature, Sustainability

320 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2009

Reviews

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Seasons on Henry's Farm is a week-by-week look at the running of an organic farm. Terra Brockman's parents bought what they all called "the Land" in the early 1970's. They eventually moved there full time, but now it's being run by Terra's brother Henry. Three of the five siblings have moved back to the farm or the farm area and all work together on Henry's farm. Terra had taken over writing the weekly email "farm notes" that eventually turned into this book - what's in season, what they're planting, and other farm events/happenings. There is SO MUCH WORK involved in running a full-time farm that at times just reading this book made me anxious! Even in the winter there is work to do they only really get "time off" December through February and even then there are still things to do to prepare for spring planting again. It definitely makes you appreciate that there are people who are willing to do this very difficult and often low-paying job so that we have fresh, healthy food to eat. Each chapter also includes at few recipes using some of the ingredients discussed in that chapter. Overall, an interesting and insightful look at the day-to-day operations of an organic vegetable farm.

[Virginia B · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned so much from this week-by-week account of what goes on at a commercial organic farm powered by many willing hands, where they grow vegetables and fruit for the best taste, not for the best shelf life. So many varieties of so many things, and such hard work to produce it all! Very easy to read, full of personality and personalities; you get to know everyone in the family and their love of food and growing it. Made me long to bite into a beautifully scented fully ripe peach. Recipes, too.

[Marita · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my second time reading this outstanding book, and I'll probably read it again! I love Terra Brockman's poetic, month-by-month recounting of her family's work on her brother Henry's farm. The Brockmans practice sustainable farming in Illinois and truly sell the reader on this practice. I learn something new with each read. Farming is hard work. Farming that doesn't destroy the planet is even harder but plays an important role in sustaining life. A wonderful read, and reread.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the great pleasure of reading this book while apprenticing on Henry’s farm this 2019 season and working alongside the likes of Terra, Henry, Hiroko, and Marlene. So much has changed in the 10 years since this book was written, but the core values of the farm and its inhabitants has thankfully stayed the same. Working on Henry’s farm is truly a challenge, and Terra valiantly goes to bat against the difficulty of conveying how difficult the organic farming lifestyle is. In her writing, Terra seems to effortlessly grasp the subtle pleasures of being surrounded by abundant life and good people all day long, but the reality of the lived life is that those moments are even more fleeting as they happen than they appear when captured on a page. Through my first few months here, I didn’t realize that the tiniest moments of pure bliss I felt while living and working on the farm were of the same nature as the fleeting moments of sunsets and birdsong to which Terra so beautifully grants immortality in her writing. But as the months passed (or the moon cycles, in keeping with the format of her writing), and as I slowly read the book over breakfast and lunch in the trailer, I began to realize that those moments, which are so easily missed when our minds are drawn inward, are life in its purest form. Without the aid of Terra’s book, I don’t think I would’ve enjoyed this season of farming so much and decided that I need farming like I need love and companionship.

As far as content goes, I believe this book should be required reading for any apprentice on Henry’s farm. Day-to-day farm tasks take on a new meaning when you are offered such a big-picture look at the reasons why things are done a certain way. It would be impossible for Henry to convey all the knowledge he has of his crops and methods during a regular workday, so this book offers helpful background on everything from the history of crops to cooking what comes back as a “for-us.”

And finally, a word on Terra. Terra is as wonderful in person as you’d expect from reading this book. She is “earthy” in the most authentic sense and is a naturalist in humble ways. I love working alongside her and asking her everything about books, travel, animals, and, of course, plants. The rest of the Brockman family is as fantastic a family as you’ll ever meet. I am forever grateful to have spent a year farming and living life alongside them.

[Bobby · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book. It was well written and provided wonderful information as well as presenting a hard working family whose lifestyle is shaped to allow an organic farm to thrive. Nonetheless, while enjoyable, I did not find this book compelling. I seemed to read each section as an essay unto itself and felt no compulsion to pick up the book again between each essay. I think had this not been a book club choice, I would have simply let it sit around the house and maybe picked it up now and then to read like a cluster of short stories. I very much appreciated the information shared and would recommend this book to anyone interested in education regarding sustainable farming or knowledge of a variety of sustainable vegetables and how to prepare them. Moreover, anyone interested in the lifestyle of those engaged in farming would gain great meaning. I must admit I took great pleasure in the nostalgia that the book provided. My husband lived on a sustainable farm at the time we were first dating. The farm where he lived and worked was in the Macinaw Valley as is Henry's Farm. At that time, we considered it communal living, quite in vogue with the back to nature attitude of the time. I remember most the winter, the hands so numb they hurt as they regained feeling. I remember the wood stove that heat the house and managing the woods and my someday husband chopping wood with his long strawberry blonde hair flying. Oh my, I loved my memories far more than the book. Sorry, Terra Brockman... maybe what you shared with your wonderful writing just could not compare to the pure gratification of my memories.

[Salvatore Leone · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story of one family's attempts to farm their land, over many generations, without hurting the land. It is written in the format of a memoir and includes lots of interesting pictures and recipes. Not the kind of thing I usually read but my wife kept telling me interesting facts about it while she read it so I gave it a try, and was surprised and pleased to enjoy it so much.

[Craig Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

From alliums to zucchini, author Terra Brockman chronicles a year-long cycle of her brother's organic vegetable farm in central Illinois, with enticing side trips to the farm market that he sells at and to her sister's fruit farm. The writing at times is almost poetically hypnotic with it's descriptive prose and illustrations of the activities engaged in by all of her family and others throughout the growing spring, summer, and autumn seasons, and in mid-winter planning and dreaming sessions.
Triumphs and tragedy, successes and failures, highs and lows... all part of the cycle are embraced, evaluated, and incorporated into further advances of personal and communal knowledge.

As a person who majored in in biology in college and being an avid gardener (10? varieties of tomatoes and 6 of winter squashes/pumpkins in my garden last summer) I found that the descriptions of both the plants and animals in the principles's lives were honest and engaging.
As a former (dairy) farm hand in my teen years, the hard work and long days of the market farm endeavor was a refreshing journey back in time.
As an avid reader, I found that the author's mention of notable writers and works of literature was interesting and pleasant (Shakespeare's "The Tempest", Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Roald Dahl, Jack London).

Note to self: Get started planning the layout of this year's garden...
Note (2) to self: Read "Sand County Almanac"...
Note (3) to self: plant aronia berry bushes this spring...

[Cindy Dyson Eitelman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not enough superlatives in my vocabulary to describe this book! Essays, all so short and often so heartbreaking--and beautiful--and majestic--and down to the earth just plain good! She describes all the stuff that goes into managing a sustainable, old-fashioned farm that supplies both a CSA and the local farmer's market. And it's a whole lot of hard work!

And rewarding work. And fun, back-breaking work that clogs your fingernails with soil and makes you really appreciate where that cellophane-wrapped produce ought to come from.

I recommend this to anyone, anywhere--and if you're a gardener, you just might learn something. The people are well-drawn and you just want to hug them all. And the author--I wish she could be my best friend.

With recipes, if you care about that sort of thing.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wasn't sure I wanted to read this, didn't think I had time to read this, read the whole thing and couldn't put it down! It's provides fascinating information and insight into the world of food, especially organic fruits and vegetables grown on a sustainable farm very nearby. Inspiring!

[Teresa Biggie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow.. what a lot of work. you now know why you pay those premium prices for home grown food.... there is a lot of work that goes into it. I enjoyed the book.. wish it would have gone a little bit more into the sister's farm who grows the fruits and herbs too.

[Julie Hendricks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent

[Heather Alderman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good, well-written overview of life on a sustainable farm. Like other reviewers said, there were parts of the book I would love to read in more detail.

[Renée · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just incredible- the storytelling, the view into the incredible world of organic diverse farming, I didn’t want to finish this book.
Highly recommend

[May · Rating 4 out of 5]

A blending of three of my favorite things: a love of the English language, family, and growing food.

[Nancy Houser-Bluhm · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been reading this well written book one month at a time. It’s been a delight to experience the inner workings of a sustainable farm and transfer some of their wisdom to my own garden life.

[Tricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

At the beginning of the book, Henry worries that this might be the year that the garlic doesn't get planted. It does, with careful timing and much strenuous work. And it comes full circle: not only do we read about the entire life cycles of the garlic interspersed throughout the year, but at the end of the book, in week 52, Henry again worries that this might be the year that the garlic doesn't get planted.

This is a mellow book about life on a sustainable farm (and a few bits about life on the sustainable orchard run by Henry's sister). Henry supplies a large CSA and sells at a Chicago area farmers' market. The author is his sister, one of the farmhands, also the writer of his weekly newsletter. The book proceeds as 52 essays, one per week. I have belonged to CSAs for more than 10 years and have volunteered at a few work days, but the sheer amount of all-day labor (and record-keeping! so many varieties, so many details about each!) that goes into this farm is astounding and eye-opening.

It's a bit ragged at points, as the quality can be inconsistent. I had trouble keeping track of names at times (also ages of the kids - was that ever mentioned?), but a quick check in the x-ray notes would set me straight on characters but not ages. Every now and then she included a segment written by one of the children, and it mostly worked, although you could feel a bit of that over-earnest "let's use lots of descriptive words to keep this interesting" device that many school-aged writers use. Quibbles aside, I did mostly enjoy it and learned a lot.

Kindle edition notes: x-ray feature is useful for keeping track of folks. Pictures suffer. (Are they color in the print edition, I wonder?) Recipe formatting decent.

(3.5 stars, perhaps)

[Ellen Bell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a beautifully written, week-by-week account of the activity and life on a sustainable, chemical-free family farm in central Illinois. Brockman's brother, Henry, is the owner of the farm, which provides a CSA to a few hundred subscribers and also operates a farm stand at a weekly farmer's market. The story is constructed from Brockman's Food & Farm Notes, an emailed newsletter that she writes for the CSA members. Eventually, some of these weekly newsletters are re-worked into this book, which covers each week over the course of a year (November through October) on the farm. The reader is taken on a literary journey through the farm fields, from planting to harvest. The book includes stories about the family, their animals, the recipes they've used to prepare and preserve various parts of their harvest. A wonderful addition to the book are the many photographs that make you feel like you're right there with them, whether they're waking up at 1:30 am to get to farmer's market on time, sweating in the midday heat to harvest tomatoes in the fields, or working under lights in the barn to wash produce after sunset. An exquisite memoir for those who love the earth, the seasons, and the good food produced by both.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you have an interest unsustainable agriculture or organic food I think you will find this book to be quite interesting. The author is part of a farming family and this is the story of a year in the life of her brother's farm. The whole family participates in making this farm work along with friends and interns. As she explains it, this is the way farms and farmers operated for most of time since humans began farming. Modern industrialized agriculture is the outlier, not the family farm. So here she introduces us to a very diversified farm planted and harvested using traditional methods. She does include numerous recipes but that really ins't my thing. Many of the vegetable varieties she mentions are new to me, but old to this world. I can't wait until the local Farmers market gets into full seeing next spring to try some of the ones she mentions. I think I will focus on those farms engaged in sustainable farming as well. Again, an interesting book that gets a bit slow in some places. But, you do feel connected to her family who all sound like people anyone would want to get to know and support.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has been one of the most pleasing things I've read in quite some time. Taken from a weekly farm notes newsletter emailed to customers and friends, it is a book of reflections on farming, on food, on care for the earth, and on family. Structured around the seasons of the farm, we vicariously experience the constant balancing act of working with, around and in all types of weather, soil conditions, pests, and the other vagaries of sustainable farming. The labor-intensive nature of sustainable farming is a near-constant, yet the camaraderie of this community of extended family, complementary farms (the sister who farms fruit and herbs, a few miles from Henry's basis in vegetables, of all kinds, the parents dairy farm), the interns and farmhands are quite evident. Above all, it seems to me that the strength of this book is the personal commitment, of the author and the entire extended family/community, to their joint enterprise, and to each other. It comes through with depth and clarity, in the words of each, and in their stories. This is a truly remarkable book.

[Stephanie Blake · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will probably never work on a large organic farm, but that did not stop me from thoroughly enjoying this book. I was frankly surprised at the excellent writing style until I read the author's bio. Her background is writing even though this is her only book.

Miss Brockman laces her account of a year on a farm with personal stories, illustrations and what look like yummy recipes - many of which I intend to try. After reading her account of why organic farming is the best way to go, I had one of those "aha" moments - that's why the strawberries that look so good in the grocery store have no taste and why the peaches shrivel up on the counter instead of rotting if you leave them out too long - yucky chemicals!

I learned a great deal reading this book and thoroughly enjoyed the learning experience, even discovering some fruits and vegetables I had never heard of before.

For anyone who is curious about this kind of life, I would highly recommend it.

[Dnicebear · Rating 5 out of 5]

My brother, Harvey, (eldest of we 7 siblings) sent me this book for Christmas. He's got insight into how writings by women farmers delight me to no end. I couldn't stop reading through the months Terra Brockman describes. Terra is a member of a family-run organic vegetable farm located in the state where I grew up. Getting to the essence of each "moon" satisfies my soul, which is still grieving over not living on a farm, doing something like Henry and all his relatives. If I were in this family I'd be "Teresa," the sister who lives on a farm close by, who specializes in fruit trees and some animals. Henry is so close in sound and letters to "Harvey" I begin to imagine it could be my family leading this kind of lifestyle and working together so closely, growing all that garlic and much more.

[Lexish · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an enjoyable, peaceful read. This book follows a year of one family's life as they work on their organic, sustainable farm. (Regarding the title, Henry is the author's brother, I believe.) Each week of the year is written as its its own vignette and includes a short recipe based on the produce being harvested at that time. Though the narrator occasionally mentions the changes that industrial farming has wrought on the varieties of produce and the health of the land, the author is not focused on preaching a sermon about the benefits of organics. Rather, this is an engaging but relaxed book about a family dedicated to its farm, the hard but fulfilling work of running it, and the changing of the seasons as the cycle ends and begins again.

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm loving reading this book, little snippets while I rock my daughter to sleep. Brockman brings in Shakespeare and the Buddha and gives you the whys of preservation on the farm and the scientific factoids about plant's life and none of it feels pretentious or dull. She sprinkles in family life so you can grasp the beauty of community, and you are right there with her, in the family house at the holidays, guessing which of the hundreds of varieties of vegetables did best at the farmer's market. A glimpse at a farm you can really believe in, without being exhausting politically--just a strong desire to celebrate the seasons with good food.

[Denese · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed "spending a year" with Terra on her brother Henry's farm. There was information on commercial farming, enough to say "Ick", but not overbearing. There is personal family stories which brings you into the lives of sustainable farmers. The chapters are tied to 12 moons/months and the food harvested or planted during these Moons gave you a sense of all is right in a life lived in harmony with the Earth. There is the Hunter's Moon - November, the Windy Moon, the Rose Moon, and the Harvest Moon of Otober. Did not want to leave the book and read most of the day.

[Julie Bernstein · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this glimpse into a year on a sustainable farm, especially the part of my Midwestern soul that longs to be a farmer (if not for the heavy labor involved). I also take away some new gardening and cooking knowledge. Terra's writing also planted a lot of thoughts about the world, nature, and family. A lovely read. My visits to the Evanston Farmer's Market will now include a bit more pausing at Henry's farm stand.

[Jan Reelitz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Any one with even a minimal interest in organic food and how it reaches our kitchens, how it is grown and by whom , will truly enjoy reading this book by Terra Brockman. With her family on three farms they grow lots and lots of fruits and vegetables for a local CSA and for a farmers's market in the Chicago area. With a sure and wonderful voice, Terra takes the reader through a year of planting and harvesting.

[Nandini Vishwanath · Rating 4 out of 5]

A tad preachy, but a super informative read. If you are interested in food (even eating), Terra talks of how she and her family grow almost everything (no, seriously!). Lots of life lessons, farming lessons and lessons of hard work. Good food isn't easy on the pocket and this book tells you why. And it also tells you why each of us should invest as much as we can on good food.

Plus SO MUCH INFORMATION. Loved it!

[Shell · Rating 4 out of 5]

A week by week journal about the workings of a small organic family farm. If nothing else I have to give it 4 stars for causing me to buy some potatoes from the farmers market because I wanted to taste for myself the difference between "real" potatoes and store bought. I always knew there was a lot of work involved in family farms, but I didn't realize just how much. I have a new appreciation for the people running those little stands at the market - and for their produce.

[Jeanne Johnston · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure if it's because I grew up near here (eastern Iowa) or love a veggie garden, but this was an oddly comforting story of the rhythm of a family's organic farm through the seasons with a few recipes thrown in for good measure. Would be just the thing to savor in those cold spring months when you're waiting for the drifts to melt and poring over seed catalogues for the hundredth time, planning your garden.

[David A-S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Terra Brockman's 'Seasons on Henry's Farm' feeds the heart and the brain as the family farms does so many in Illinois. I have read her articles in other places, and while I am part of a Community Supported Agriculture project and believe in her principles, the book's allure has something more than just facts to feed a viewpoint. Brockman writes with a precision that somehow also allows space for wonder, it is focused upon detail while also finding mystery.