Compottery is a simple solution for reducing household food waste while growing fresh produce. This happens through a process called Vermicomposting. What is Vermicomposting? Vermicomposting is the process of transforming organic waste into fertilizers with the help of nature’s gardeners- composting worms! Learn more about Compottery on KICKSTARTER,...
Spring will officially be here on March 20th and whether there’s still snow out where you are, or it’s already feeling like summer… Spring is a great time of year to start working on a few things in the gardening department. In March, in addition to starting seeds indoors, gardeners with cold frames (see season extension techniques) may use them...
During the partial federal shutdown in December and January, news reports showed furloughed government workers standing in line for donated meals. These images were reminders that for an estimated one out of eight Americans, food insecurity is a near-term risk. In California, where I teach, 80 percent of the population lives in cities. Feeding the cities of the nine-county...
Family-owned farms are decreasing as community gardens and urban agriculture find their footing in a world of food ethics. In Arizona, it is not atypical to see farmland sold for urban development. Arcadia, a neighborhood located 10 miles from ASU’s downtown Phoenix campus, was originally known for its citrus groves before the land was sold for development. Similarly,...
Home-grown vegetables are only as good as their soil and environment. For urban gardeners, that can be a challenge. “In food deserts and other areas where people don’t have access to food, they take matters into their own hands through urban gardening,” said Ahkinyala Cobb-Abdullah, an associate professor of environmental science and ecology at Virginia...
TEMECULA – City dwellers may once have thought that gardening was a hobby for suburbanites or those living in rural areas. But urban gardening has grown in popularity as more and more city folk have looked for ways to increase their access to healthy, low-cost produce. Urban agriculture may seem like a relatively new idea, but according to National Geographic,...
The Elizabeth Street Garden’s paved paths meander around a granite balustrade from the early 20th century, limestone lion statues, benches and beds of roses and daffodils. For years, the half-acre of green grass and leafy trees, tucked in between Spring and Prince Streets in Manhattan, has been a lush backdrop for fashion shows, photo shoots, games of hopscotch...
1. If it’s getting cold and you have tomatoes still ripening on the vine — save your tomatoes! Pull the plants up and bring them inside to a warm dry place. Hang them up, and the tomatoes will ripen on the vine. 2. Companion planting is an excellent way to improve your garden. Some plants replenish nutrients lost by another one, and some combinations effectively...
I am jumping on the companion gardening bandwagon with both feet this year. I have experimented with companion planting in small ways in my gardens over the last several seasons and I am 100 percent convinced that the system is the way to go. The basic idea behind companion planting is as simple as it is sensible: many plants grow better near some comrades than they...
Houseplants make a wonderful addition to our home’s décor and improve the indoor air quality. Those with pets, however, may struggle with keeping plants safe from curious pets and the pets safe from indoor greenery. The good news is you can grow an indoor garden even when you own pets. Yes, some do love to dig in the soil or even eat our favorite houseplants,...
COIMBATORE: A piece of open space reserved (OSR) land near a busy residential area at Thudiyalur, which was overgrown with thorny bushes and stinking of garbage, is now producing organic vegetables, thanks to a city-based NGO. Local residents, who used to avoid the place at any cost, now find a stroll through the vegetable garden refreshing. NGO Helping Hearts had...
If you’ve always wanted to start your own herb or vegetable garden but don’t have the yard space or the “green thumb” to pull it off, there’s now another option. The OGarden Smart is an indoor gardening system that grows up to 90 plants at one time—20 of which are edible. Strawberries, celery, kale, bok choy, green beans, cayenne pepper,...
Milwaukee’s past is often seen through the lens of industry and big factories, but “Growing Place: A Visual Study of Urban Farming,” now at MSOE’s Grohmann Museum, shows there were more ways to grow a city. Milwaukee was a frontrunner in gardening dating back to the late 1800s, laying the groundwork for the urban farm visionaries of today. Guest curators...
East Side youth nonprofit Urban Roots will spend 2019 celebrating its 50th anniversary. The urban agriculture organization will kick off celebrations with an event at Summit Brewing Company, 910 Montreal Circle in St. Paul, on Wednesday, March 6, from 5:30 to 8 p.m. The organization has grown substantially over the past half-century, starting with one small garden...
Gardening can seem like a daunting task. When do you plant? What should you plant in your area? How can you effectively grow produce? When you start asking the questions, it may become too overwhelming to tackle. But don’t walk away from the idea of a balcony overflowing with greenery just yet, because the team at The Green Conspiracy understands your angst. The...
As part of its growing support for urban agriculture, the Recreation and Park Department plans to launch a new garden resource center in the southeast part of San Francisco to provide supplies, plant starters, and advice for community gardeners. The site would include a fruit tree nursery, orchard space, and space for managed beehives. Mei Ling Hui, Rec and Park’s...
In a world faced with the conundrum of mountains of waste and obesity for some and dire shortages and malnutrition for others, the future of food is the main dish on today’s global menu. A key ingredient is a trend in ever more imaginative forms towards urban agriculture, a multi-faceted recipe already being pored over by some 800 million people globally,...
Some children garden at the knee of their parents or grandparents, and by the time they are young adults and ready to start their own plant adventures, a lot of the horticulture comes naturally. But such lucky people are thinner on the ground than in previous generations, I suspect, even though there has never been a more urgent time to introduce younger folks to...
Insects are important wildlife often overlooked in urban habitats. What we do notice are the cockroaches, ants, and mosquitoes in and around our homes. All too often we reach for the insect spray. But not all insects are pests – a wide variety of them help keep our cities healthy. They pollinate plants, feed other wildlife, recycle our rubbish, and eat other insect...
Newswise — Feb. 18, 2019 – Soil is all around us, in cities and rural areas. But some soil becomes contaminated. The Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) Feb. 15 Soils Matter blog post summarizes common contaminants and the risks they carry. “The biggest risks for soil contamination are in urban areas, and former industrial sites,” writes Lauren Svejcar,...
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