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How to grow a forest in your backyard | Shubhendu Sharma (TED TALK)

Forests don’t have to be far-flung nature reserves, isolated from human life. Instead, we can grow them right where we are — even in cities.

Eco-entrepreneur and TED Fellow Shubhendu Sharma grows ultra-dense, biodiverse mini-forests of native species in urban areas by engineering soil, microbes and biomass to kickstart natural growth processes.

Follow along as he describes how to grow a 100-year-old forest in just 10 years, and learn how you can get in on this tiny jungle party.

TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world’s leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes (or less).

Find closed captions and translated subtitles in many languages at http://www.ted.com/translate Follow TED news on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/tednews Like TED on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TED

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We’re on SNAPCHAT! [Let’s Get Snapping]

We want to be where our fans and fellow gardeners are, so we’ve headed over to snapchat and created an account! We hope you’ll share all of your awesome gardening successes/tips/and learning experiences with us over there.

Let’s be friends! Just use the snap code below to quickly and easily add us and see more great content from us, everyday!

SnapChat UOG IG

 

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The “Gangsta Gardener” Who Believes REAL Masculinity Is About Being a Conscious Citizen of the Planet

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“Los Angeles-based ‘gangsta gardener’ and community leader Ron Finley is determined to redefine ‘gangsta’ as being about building thriving communities, not machismo.”

“Gardening is gangsta: Mother Nature is gangsta. Being educated, creative and self-sustaining is gangsta. That whole concept was about turning a negative into a positive. If you want to be gangsta about anything, make it about building your community, sharing knowledge.

Men are brought up being told that we’re supposed to be provider and protector. But, as far as I can see, a lot of our communities are basically designed to kill people, because you can’t find healthy or nutritious food in them. Why is it easier to get alcohol than an organic apple? Why, in certain communities here, is it easier to get a gun than it is to get an organic carrot? Cities are designed for commerce, not for people.”

This article was first published by Positive News and is republished with permission.

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Help Save The Urban Garden that Changed the World

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“The garden was beautiful,” Finley said teary eyed, “and then someone complained.”  The city threatened him to remove the garden and put out a warrant for his arrest. The LA Times picked up the story, which prompted a petition, which prompted the city to change its zoning laws. The garden grew and thrived.

In 2011, the owner of the property on which the Gangsta Garden and the Ron Finley Project headquarters now sit defaulted on his loan. But over the past few years – since the garden became a success – the owner has been battling the bank for a loan modification that would allow the project to continue and expand. But the bank refused, foreclosed on the property in November, and sold it to a real estate corporation called Strategic Acquistions, Inc., in what Finley calls “a shady business deal.”

Read the FULL Article at: “ReturnToNow.net“

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A Guerilla Gardener in South Central LA

Ron Finley plants vegetable gardens in South Central LA — in abandoned lots, traffic medians, along the curbs. Why? For fun, for defiance, for beauty and to offer some alternative to fast food in a community where “the drive-thrus are killing more people than the drive-bys.”

Original post can be found at, “Ted.com“

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Join the new Urban Organic Gardener’s Monthly Seed Club

JULY UOG

Don’t wait, join the new Urban Organic Gardener’s Monthly Seed Club now! Must join before July 4th at 11:59pm PST to receive the next shipment.

Sign up now at: https://urbanorganicgardener.cratejoy.com

For $10/month our garden experts will build a custom curated collection of seeds & garden supplies designed around you – your grow zone – garden space – and your preferences.

Includes everything you need to grow 5 new edible plant varieties every month – varieties can include herbs, vegetables, flowers, sprouts, micro-greens, bulbs, and more!

Join the rest of the UOG community and get growing now! We promise to make this a great experience for you and your family.

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The “Food Is Free” Laneway

This woman started a “Food is Free” laneway next to the side of her house that she rents.  The entire community supports the project by sharing their own “extras” and working together to take care of the plants that are growing there.  Everything is free.

“The concept that something is free blows peoples’ minds,” says Risdale to Happen. And yet the rewards far outreach the giving or receiving of food, as Risdale has seen from her own experience with the free-food laneway she started at the corner of Ripon St Sth and Warrior Place, Ballarat, Australia. The laneway has reinvigorated the sense of community.-“ThePlaidZebra.com”