Emerging to the massive wreckage on Tuesday, October 30 we saw that most stores in our part of Brooklyn had been able to open, even though some streets were closed due to debris and broken windows. We were able to get groceries. However, other parts of Brooklyn like Red Hook had been much more damaged and were not so lucky. My organization moved into disaster-relief mode, organizing trauma recovery clinics for people hardest hit including working with had trained over the weekend.

As I remained grounded in Brooklyn for the next few days, unable to fly back out until the end of the week, I pondered the question of urban food security. I became determined to learn how to create a life of food sanctuary and independence for myself and my family in case the supply chain became interrupted, even if it took me years to do so.

I had already developed an interest in home farming, realizing it's very difficult to be healthy without access to really good food. With the progress of GMOs, processed food and chemicals in our diets, it was becoming more and more difficult to eat in a healthy way from commercial agriculture. I had co-sponsored a series of workshops on home farming, and released a book in 2012 called The Home Farming Revolution for Drylands. This latest experience was just proving the point that It was time to move towards growing a lot more food.

But where and how? I knew I would need some land…

Brianne Bernsen, a food growing phenomenon, was speaking and we met. Brianne grows all the food she needs to feed her family of eight on less than 1/10 of an acre, in about four hours a week while she home schools her six children and helps her husband run their surveying business.

Why should anyone have to reinvent the wheel? Brianne has figured it out in more than 15 years of trial and error.

After the conference we met by phone and planned our first course together, teaching people how to build good soil, the key to Brianne's prolific gardening results. We also launched a live, online course for the growing season in 2024, with Brianne teaching people step-by-step to do what she does.

I was completely blown away by the quantity and quality of the information Brianne shared. She is a great teacher and leader.

Fast forward again and it's spring of 2025. My partner and I have moved to an intentional community of 250 homesteads in Utah, where we are completely off the grid, with well water and solar energy.

As we plan to put in our garden I am going back step-by-step through what Brianne shared in the 2024 class, and marveling at its excellence.

Her methodology is truly about turning dirt into gold.

Now you can follow along in your own time and learn everything you need to know to create an incredible garden, saving yourself years and years of trial and error, and thousands and thousands of dollars in food costs each year, not to mention the increase in quality of life from eating truly healthy food.

Here's how...