The rising food prices have been in the news a lot lately. I mean c’mon it helped to cause an uprising in Egypt. Here in the States, the food prices are starting to rise as well. While indeed that may be true, it’s not the food that is too expensive it’s everything else that goes into getting the food to your plate that’s causing the price to increase. The...
Author Archives: Mike Lieberman
About two weeks after I started my garden from scratch, I did some succession plantings. Since I’m gardening food to eat, not look at, this will help me to grow more on my balcony garden and eat from it more than twice in a year. Succession planting is when you plant a new set of seeds about 2-3 weeks after your initial planting. The purpose of this is that it will...
I’d like to introduce BevoWorks as a sponsor of Urban Organic Gardener. I spoke with one of their operating managers and co-owners, Taylor Hill to learn more about the company. Here’s the Q&A. What does your company specialize in? We hand-select beautiful, durable products for the home, specifically outdoor products like raised beds, greenhouses, garden...
When I was a kid broccoli was one of the only veggies that I actually liked, but I used to eat them floating in a pool of melted butter (or whatever it was). Since broccoli is tough to be eaten it’s raw form, this roasted soup is a nice way to get more broccoli in your meals during the cold winter months. This broccoli soup is dairy and gluten free. Here’s what...
One of the questions that I’ve been getting a lot in the past week is just how mobile the Stack N Grow mobile planter is. When it’s filled is it too hard to push? The short answer to that is – no. It’s on wheels and can easily be pushed around from spot to spot. I actually had to move mine to the since the gutter is broken above my balcony, the...
I’d like to thank everyone that entered the contest for the Stack N Grow Mobile Planter and Algreen Products for supplying the product. There were 170 entries. To select the winner, I went to Random.org and put in the number 170. The random number that it generated was 82. Sorting the comments from newest to oldest, I counted down to the 82nd comment, which was left...
Spaghetti squashes are another winter squash that are prevalent this time of the year no matter what part of the country you are in. This recipe is simple and the squash can be used in a variety of ways afterwards. It can be used as a standalone dish or it can be mixed in with regular pasta to lighten up the dish a bit. Here’s what you’ll need: 1 spaghetti squash ...
There are plenty of safety problems in the food industry and your dinner is linked to them. These safety problems are why you should grow your own food and organic gardening makes sense to me, but right now I want to discuss problems beyond the food. Let’s talk about how the workers are treated, but more specifically the female workers. There was an article on Alternet.org...
Since I’m running the contest for the Stack and Grow Mobile Herb Planter I thought I’d show you how to set it up. The set-up was a bit mess for me and potting soil got all over, but overall it was pretty simple. Here’s how you set it up: Check all of the planting trays. One of them has a closed center. If you want to grow smaller plants, then put that...
A while back I received that tip from my Facebook friend, Leah, about how to grow green onions from green onions. Now here is a salad dressing recipe using those green onions. Here’s what you’ll need: 2-3 whole green onions 1/4 cup of olive oil 2-3 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar 1 tablespoon of raw honey Dash of sea salt How to make Place all ingredients...
This is my second post for Rodale.com’s Plastic-Free February. Last week, I showed you my kitchen and how I do my best to avoid storing food in plastic containers and the challenges that I’m facing. This week, I want to show a small tip that I’ve started to use in my balcony garden to reduce some of my plastic usage. I know that I’m growing food...
Since I’ve been called out on not being able to eat from my balcony garden, I’ve decided to start it from scratch. To start, the plants that were left over from being harvested were pulled up from the roots. Using a trowel, the soil in the containers was loosened up and turned. Any big clumps of roots were taken out as well. The plants, roots and soil were...
I’d like to introduce Home Harvest Garden Supply as a new sponsor of Urban Organic Gardener. I spoke with their Director of Internet Marketing, Jeff Edwards to learn more about the company. Here’s the Q&A. What does your company specialize in? Hard-to-find gardening supplies including organic fertilizers and soil amendments; natural pest controls and beneficial...
Regardless of what part of the country you are in, winter squashes should be in season and available at your local farmers market. Our market has them for $0.59 a pound, so we’ve been loving them. When buying a butternut squash, you want to pick one that has a longer and/or fatter neck because that’s where most of the squash is. The bottom part has squash,...
The main reason for me writing this blog and being active in the social media world is to encourage you to start growing your own food. I show that I could do it on my fire escape in NYC and now my balcony in LA. It’s been 9-10 months since I’ve moved to LA from NYC. During that time I’ve had a total of one balcony salad. Yes, one. Uno. The other day...
I’d like to introduce Urban Gardening Solutions as a new sponsor of Urban Organic Gardener. I spoke with one of the founders and co-owners Rachael Ross to learn more about her company. Here’s the Q&A. What does your company specialize in? Innovative and earth-friendly products for the small-space edibles gardener. What are your best selling products? It...
Collard greens are one of my favorite greens to eat. Most people usually cook them and couldn’t imagine eating them raw. I’ve found a way that you can enjoy this hearty green in it’s raw and pristine state by massaging it down and marinating it. You would swear that it’s been cooked. What you’ll need: One bunch of collard greens One lemon...
One of the biggest news stories over the past week has been the USDA’s announcement that it’s going to be deregulating Monsanto’s genetically engineered alfalfa. There has been a lot of confusion circulating around this news. This confusion started with Organic Consumers Association report that the “Organic Elite” of Whole Foods, Stonyfield...
