Category: Urban Farming

It’s 6:35 a.m. on a humid Saturday in a community garden on Milwaukee’s north side, and a black man is kneeling to inspect the green tomatoes starting to form on a vine.

He’s singing an old Negro spiritual: I am on the battlefield for my Lord. And I promised him that I would serve him till I die.

Andre Lee Ellis spends every day on the battlefield.

It surrounds his home, his garden, his neighborhood. His fight is to save boys growing up in the 53206 ZIP code, which has one of the highest incarceration rates for black men in the nation — and one of the shortest life expectancy rates.

I am on the battlefield for my Lord.

Ellis’ weapons are fruits and vegetables, mentorship and love. And, when called for, a stern demeanor.

READ THE FULL STORY AT: “ProjectsJSOnline.com“

“ATLANTA—On a 4-acre farm a few miles south of the Fulton County Jail, Abiodun Henderson swung a pickax into the soil at her feet. She kept at it until she was winded and sweating on this brisk October morning. Around her, 10 young men and women tentatively swung their own tools at the ground, loosening the soil for a set of raised beds where turmeric and ginger plants would grow inside a hoop house through the mild Georgia winter.

“This is how deep we’re going!” Henderson shouted over to Derriontae Trent, one of her trainees, as she pointed to a rusted spike hammered nearly a foot down in the soil. “Teamwork makes the dream work!”

Trent, a smart and wiry father in his early 20s, had recently completed a 2-year prison sentence for multiple weapons and drug charges. He figured that with a rap sheet longer than his résumé his only choice might be a return to the streets. Over the summer, a friend suggested he call Henderson, who had just started a program that would train previously incarcerated youth how to harvest crops. Best of all, it promised to pay $15 an hour. Even though Trent had never worked on a farm before, by early August he was enrolled as the newest member of Gangstas to Growers. Two months after that, he was gripping a hoe, shoulder to shoulder with Henderson while trying to keep the mud off his fresh white sneakers.”

READ THE FULL ARTICLE: “Politico.com“

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) Census of Agriculture found that 14 percent of principal farm operators were women, a nearly 300 percent increase since 1978, when it began counting women as farmers.

Before that, as “farm wives,” women’s work went unnoticed. “There are real implications from that,” says Audra Mulkern, who started the Female Farmer Project to call attention to how women were missing from agricultural narratives. “What have we missed because we haven’t heard women’s voices? What lessons did we not learn? What knowledge is missing?”

READ THE FULL ARTICLE: “FoodTank.com“

“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.

“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 neighborhoods. The concept has gained in popularity over the last several years and seemed a natural fit for a 6-acre parcel of land in Santa Clara, California, said Vince Cantore, senior development manager at The Core Companies. Based in nearby San Jose, Core was awarded the site through a request for proposals issued in 2015, and now the integrated development and construction firm is in the last stages of the entitlement process.

“We’re paying homage to the past history of the site,” Cantore told SHN.

The site — 17 acres in its entirety — was previously used by the University of California to conduct research on agricultural best practices. The real estate also included housing constructed in the 1920s to house widows of Civil War veterans.”

READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT: “SeniorHousingNews.com“

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, with Civic Works.

READ THE FULL STORY AT: “Baltimore.CBSLocal.com“

“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, but they’re not enough when it comes to tackling agricultural contributions to climate change. Strong-worded warnings from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) detail the potential for climate disasters to worsen if modern consumption patterns don’t change — and soon.

There’s evidence that reimagining urban environments’ food systems might help reduce carbon emissions. With more than 60% of the global population expected to live in cities by 2030, urban agriculture might be one piece of the puzzle for reducing strain on city resources. The practice typically involves growing food in smaller, city environments such as on rooftops, apartment balconies, or even walls.”

READ THE FULL STORY AT: “Mashable.com“

“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 not very happy) clients, which included laying some astroturf, popping a few plants along a wall and forgetting to tell the driver of the van that contained everything they needed where he should be going.”

READ THE FULL STORY AT: “DigitalSpy.com“

“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 believe that just over 20 years ago this space was nothing more than a vacant lot in a forgotten space.

The chances that more urban farms will grow in the city’s empty lots improved dramatically with the recent launch of the Philadelphia Land Bank, which makes it much easier for the city to transfer its 8,700 vacant lots into private ownership. How easy? It costs about $1 to acquire the vacant lot next door, plus closing fees. Says Mayor Michael Nutter, “We would have liked to have had this about a decade ago.”

Vacant lots, which account for roughly 16.7 percent of large U.S. cities’ land area, have long been perceived as eyesores. Many are unkempt, empty hunks of land between buildings that all too often become sites choked with litter, contaminated by asbestos, lead, and arsenic, and breeding grounds for disease-carrying animals like rats. But more cities are seeing in vacant lots an opportunity to revive neighborhoods.”

READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT: “AlterNet.org“

“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 (note the shape of the Venus fly trap for cues to how it got its name); detailed care instructions (carnivorous plants evolved in acidic bogs, which means they need distilled water, not tap, and lots of it); and a show-and-tell of Mr. Satch’s collection of butterworts and sundews.

Among the rapt attendees were Madison Steinberg and Lindsay Reisman, both 23 and working in public relations, and Brayan Poma, also 23, who works in construction; afterward they each took home an attractive tropical pitcher plant. “I like plants, but I kill so many of them,” said Mr. Poma, who wore a green hoodie and a goatee. “Maybe that’s why I find them so alluring.””

MEET THE PLANTFLUENCERS HERE: “NYTimes.com“