Category: How To

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, it actually dates back to the 19th century, when former Detroit Mayor Hazen Pingree devised a plan to help the city’s unemployed laborers during a period of economic crisis. Pingree developed an idea to use acres of vacant and idle lands throughout the city to create subsistence gardens. Begun in 1894, the program would peak in 1897 with the participation of more than 1,500 families. The program would taper by 1901 as the economy improved, but there’s no denying the relative success of the mayor’s program.

READ THE STORY https://www.myvalleynews.com/story/2019/03/08/lifestyles/how-urban-gardeners-can-lower-their-risk-of-contact-with-soil-contaminants/64932.html

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 do near other plants or when alone. By itself companion planting your garden will not work miracles but applied in a well-maintained garden, it can produce startling results. It sure has for me. It can drastically improve the use of space, reduce the number of weeds and garden pests, and provide protection from both heat and wind, two problems I run into every year. So, as far as I am concerned, in my vegetable garden, this all adds up to getting me what I really want: increased yield.

I will be employing companion planting in my vegetable gardens, but it can also be used when flower gardening and in full-scale farm fields. In fact, some of the most familiar examples come from farming, where it’s a long-standing practice to sow vetch or some other legume in the fall after the harvest. This cover crop provides erosion control through storms and supplies both nitrogen and organic material to the soil when it is plowed under in spring. Most such crops themselves need a helper, known as a nurse crop, usually, a grain that is sown along with the legume. The grain provides weed control while the legume gets established, and helps protect the legume from both wind and the weight of snow.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE: https://www.sanmarcosrecord.com/features/growth-gardening-companion-gardening

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, according to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization.

The trend takes many forms—from collective market gardens in even the most run-down of urban districts to connected vertical farms using indoor farming techniques to meet spiraling food demand in areas largely bereft of arable land.

The FAO wants to see the trend prosper and become durable and sustainably embedded within public policy.

Yves Christol, of French cooperative In Vivo, has identified six models of the genre.

They include a key European variant, electronically managed without recourse to pesticide—or even soil or sunshine.

Read more: https://phys.org/news/2019-02-urban-agriculture-viable-durable.html

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 the power of the plant kingdom, given the issues of climate change.

“The biggest risks for soil contamination are in urban areas, and former industrial sites,” writes Lauren Svejcar, a researcher at Murdoch University. “Common contaminants in urban soils include pesticides, petroleum products, radon, asbestos, lead, chromated copper arsenate, and creosote.”

Svejcar has specific tips for gardeners. “Urban gardens are usually a good idea, but it’s best to know your soil. Many vegetables and herbs can absorb contaminants as they grow. That puts you at risk if you eat them. Also, vegetables and herbs can have dust on them coming from contaminated soil. If not properly washed, you could ingest the contaminants. Some garden beds may also be lined with chemically treated wood. If you did not build your garden beds yourself, it’s best to test your soil because the chemicals can leach into the garden soil.”

READ THE ARTICLE: https://www.newswise.com/articles/what-are-soil-contaminants-and-how-did-soil-get-contaminated

Our ancient relatives, Homo heidelbergensis, were constructing shelters at least 400,000 years ago, and architectural innovation has been a defining feature of societies since then, changing to suit the needs and desires of the builders and occupants as they evolved. From energy-efficient designs to community-based spaces, these seven designs could help shape the future.

As the population ages, society is faced with a challenge: How to help people who require special care. The current way that many buildings are designed—and even the way hospitals are set up—makes it difficult for older people to get around and be independent. This is a big problem, because older people are a huge part of the population. As of 2015, there were nearly 50 million people in the United States over the age of 65. By 2030, the Census projects that 20 percent of Americans will be older than 65. “By 2035, there will be 78.0 million people 65 years and older compared to 76.7 million … under the age of 18,” Jonathan Vespa, a demographer with the U.S. Census Bureau, stated in a 2018 press release.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE: http://mentalfloss.com/article/91686/innovative-architectural-designs

Last November, I stood on the stage of the Meeting of the Minds Summit in Sacramento, sandwiched between a panel led by energetic Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs and his vision for economic prosperity, and a talk on the future of autonomous delivery vehicles. My talk? To encourage city planners, developers and urban architects to bring agriculture back to cities and urban spaces, and what this addition can do for the future of their communities’ resiliency, job creation, healthy citizens and carbon footprint.

Stay with me here. I know, agriculture is not “the new wave.” It’s not even close. I mean, we’re talking something that started about 10,000 years ago when eight of the Neolithic founder crops, like emmer wheat, hulled barley, lentils, and chickpeas, were first cultivated. Fast forward to the late 1800s in the Sacramento Valley, when Yolo County was the largest producer of wheat in the entire United States.

READ THE ARTICLE AT: https://www.comstocksmag.com/article/we-need-prioritize-urban-farming-city-planning