Why Growing Food Remotely is the Ultimate Oxymoron
There's something deeply ironic about trying to nurture a garden from 444 kilometers away. While the rest of the world celebrates the flexibility of remote work, I'm here learning that some things—like growing food—demand your physical presence in ways that no amount of technology can replace. Not even video calls to check in on the status of the aglione crop.
The Smart-Working Illusion
After completing my master's degree last year, I spent months scrolling through job listings where "remote/hybrid" had become the sexiest terms in any search engine. Like many of my generation, I was seduced by the promise of location independence. The idea of working from anywhere felt revolutionary, empowering, and smart. Pair that with the fact that I would be physically in Italy and, well… you get it.
But here's what I discovered: you can't grow an orto (vegetable garden) from your laptop.
The Reality Check
Ten months into this crazy venture, I can tell you with absolute certainty that this model doesn't align with what I actually want to be doing. While remote work might be perfect for coding, consulting, or content creation, it's useless when your passion involves soil, seasons, and the daily demands of growing food.
Have you ever tried to tend a compost heap remotely? Don’t.
I want to be physically present at the Fritto Misto Orto…. That river-framed slice of historic Italian City-center where fruit and fig trees watch over vegetable beds and every morning starts bells and birdsong. Instead, I'm monitoring weather reports from afar, checking spamming Sara with texts and video calls, and feeling the constant pull of a place that demands presence, not just attention.
What Distance Teaches You
Being full remote and hours away from the Fritto Misto Orto has taught me something valuable: there's no substitute for being there. You can't feel soil moisture through a screen. You can't spot early signs of pest damage on cavolo nero in a weekly photo update. You can't adjust irrigation timing based on tomorrow's weather forecast when you're not there to implement it.
A very realistic WhatsApp message from Elizabeth in peak season.
On the other hand, this distance (although painful at times) has reminded me of the profound appreciation I have for the farmers and growers who show up every day, who read the subtle signs that plants give off, who know their land intimately because they walk it, touch it, tend it directly. How had I forgotten this? What a strange thing to have re-learned, having spent a large chunk of my career as a farmer.
Bridging the Gap
So what's someone like me—passionate about sustainable agriculture but temporarily stuck in the digital world—supposed to do?
I really hope that this journal is the answer. While I can't be in the orto every day (or even every month) I can bring you closer to it while I make my own way back. I can share the real stories, translate the lessons of the orto into insights you can use, and build a community of people who believe that growing food is one of the most important things we can do. If I’m lucky, I’ll even convince you to come to La Marche on your next Italy trip to tour the orto or join one of our workshops.
What You Can Expect
In the coming posts, I'll be sharing:
Introduce you all to the orto: What's growing, what's struggling, and what we're learning. It will be a challenge to share these from afar - but let’s try!
Practical growing tips: Lessons from our team that you can apply in your own garden
Seasonal rhythms: How traditional farming wisdom guides our decisions
Community stories and events: Meet the people who make Fritto Misto Comune more than just a farm. Imagine how our space cultivates not only food, but community!
The Bigger Picture
This isn't just about vegetables. It's about reconnecting with the fundamental human activity of growing food, understanding where our meals come from, and building communities around shared values of sustainability, gatherings, and caring for the land.
Remote work has its place, but some things require presence. Food is one of them. Community is another.
Join me as I navigate this tension between digital convenience and agricultural necessity, sharing what I learn along the way. Because even from afar, there's still meaningful work to be done in bringing people closer to the soil that sustains us all.
