Growing health, fitness and fresh food movements are fueling the rise of urban backyard gardens across the country. As studies identify food as a primary component of disease prevention, people are turning away from commercial, processed and packaged foods, instead working fresh food into their diets. Gardening itself has physical and mental health benefits. The...
A new state initiative will bring an urban farm to a vacant lot in West Baltimore, but instead of growing fruits and vegetables to eat, the focus will be on plants that can be turned into natural dyes for artists, Gov. Larry Hogan’s office announced Wednesday. The inspiration comes from the governor’s trade mission to Asia in 2015, and a 2017 visit by first lady...
Ikea doesn’t just want to sell you furniture–it also wants to sell you on sustainable living. And how best to live sustainably than to grow your own food? That’s the idea behind a new line of products the Swedish company is developing with British industrial designer Tom Dixon. Due to be announced in May 2019 and released in Ikea stores in 2021, the products...
Women have been contributing to American agriculture (often invisibly) for centuries. Now, they’re stepping into the profession’s spotlight in a new way. When the National Young Farmers Coalition (NYFC) surveyed more than 3,500 farmers under 40 in 2017, 60 percent of the farmer respondents were women. And in 2012, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)...
Growing your own wheatgrass at home is easy and fun to do – especially during the winter months! There are a lot of different methods on how you can achieve this, so below we are going to share with you some of our favorite. There are both soil and soil-less methods. Today we are focusing on soil-less. Make sure you choose which will work best for you. Before...
“Urban farms cropping up all over Richmond are more than backyard gardens on steroids. Joe Jenkins and his wife, Whitney Maier, were growing more organic vegetables in raised beds in their backyard in North Richmond than they could eat, so he started taking some to his job at a restaurant to give to co-workers. The chef there said the arugula was better...
“The growing information about possible negative health effects caused by over-processed foods and artificial additives like artificial sweeteners has fueled interest in eating clean. Now more people are opting to eliminate artificial additives, such as flavors and preservatives, and replace them with simpler whole ingredients like fresh produce and whole grains. Watch...
“There is a small bacteria called mycobacterium that people who are suffering from depression, anxiety, or other similar issues, should know all about. Scientists claim that this – and maybe other microorganisms – has a comparable positive effect on humans as pharmaceutical have. However, it is important to mention that the negative side effects, observed...
“A real estate development in the works for Silicon Valley is bringing together affordable senior housing with an urban farm, as part of the “agrihood” movement. The project exemplifies the growing trend of combining farming and senior living, as well as the trend of multi-generational housing. An agrihood places agriculture right in the midst of residential...
According to sources at Business Insider, “Romaine is off the table again because of E. coli poisoning, and the lettuce trouble reveals why outbreaks are so common!” Source: businessinsider.com “CDC, public health and regulatory officials in several states, Canada, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are investigating a multistate outbreak...
BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Many city residents have come to rely on small urban farms to put fresh crops on their tables as they supplement what they buy at the grocery store. “Right now we’re in the fall season so we’ve got lots of greens, you’re looking at lettuces, kale, collards, mustard greens, cabbage, radishes, all that fun stuff,” said Charlotte Haase,...
“Eco-consciousness is a hot trend. It’s become a common occurrence to see shoppers with reusable grocery totes at the supermarket. Bamboo straws are flying off shelves as people opt for eco-friendly products. Urban gardening and composting, too, has taken root as consumers try to minimize their carbon footprints. These small actions are encouraging first steps,...
“The Apprentice sent its remaining contestants into the brave new world of urban gardening in last night’s (November 14) episode, with the not-so-green-fingered candidates being asked to make London a little bit brighter. The task saw the teams set up their own urban gardening businesses, where they carried out commercial and domestic jobs for their (often...
After his discharge from military service, Sales went to college and began exploring urban agriculture and its therapeutic qualities. He attending school in Florida when Milwaukee Growing Power founder and CEO Will Allen recruited him. After arriving in Wisconsin, he founded Green Veterans to help veterans find healing and a way to reconnect with their communities...
“In the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia, locals stroll through Greensgrow Farms. A couple picks up baby spinach and collard greens grown on site, while a few teenagers greet Milkshake, the farm’s resident pet pig. Neighbors ask each other for recipe ideas as they reach for bundles of fresh herbs. Looking in on this lively urban farm, it is hard to...
“Horticulture and red wine were served up the other night at the Sill, a boutique on Hester Street, as Christopher Satch, a botanist wearing a T-shirt that read, “Plants Make People Happy,” the company motto, led a workshop on carnivorous plants. It was plant stand-up — slightly blue patter with quick takes on Linnaeus and Darwin; binomial nomenclature...
“Local gardening enthusiasts on Saturday braved freezing winds to learn winter plant management techniques at an urban garden in Uptown, the latest in a series of grassroots workshops aimed at educating city growers. Breanne Heath, the education program manager at Peterson Garden Project, offered participants tips for caring for perennial herbs, planting garlic...
“When Gracie and Bob Cavnar launched the Recipe for Success Foundation in 2005, their main goals were to battle childhood obesity by changing the way children understand, appreciate and eat their food, and to provide the community with healthier diets. Today, their hands-on curriculum is the largest outreach of its kind in the nation, empowering over 4,000...
“Vertical gardens allow you grow veggies at several levels, so you can get more out of less space, a definite advantage if your growing area is limited. That is not to say that vertical gardening is just for those with space constraints. Concentrating your food generation to a limited area frees up space for other uses while the veggies get more attention...
1. At the nursery: Buy the best Look for plants that have healthy foliage and no roots creeping out of the nursery container’s bottom drain holes (which means they’re probably rootbound). 2. Small is smarter When you have a choice, buy little plants (in 4-inch nursery pots); they’re less expensive (usually under $5), easier to handle, and will catch up to...
