Posts from — December 2008

Photo by Matt and Polly. Mapalo gardens. See larger image here.

By Godfrey Hampwaye, Etienne Nel, Christian M Rogerson
Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy 2007,
Volume 25, pages 553 – 572
May 2007

Abstract

The topic of urban agriculture has, for a significant period of time, been recognized as a key facet of urban survival in the cities in the South. While it normally forms part of multilivelihood strategies and its overall significance is the subject of some debate, it nonetheless is an important feature of both urban landscapes and urban survival. This paper examines the current status quo of urban agriculture in Lusaka, the capital of Zambia.

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Watch 1943 – You Cannot Eat Lilies – Victory Garden Video

Perhaps the weirdest Victory Garden video ever.
1943 Dig For Victory Leaflet No 1

Dialogue from the video.

“In spring this gardener sowed away
He meant to eat well every day.”

Gardener: Waiter,

Father Time: Yes Sir, coming Sir.
Your summer course Sir.
Pardon Sir, will you order your winter course now?
I say will you order your winter course now?

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Chickens as pets: city living with a farm feel

By Deborah Netburn
LA Times – December 6, 2008

In Mount Washington, furniture designer and artist Dakota Witzenburg built a chicken coop for his wife, Audrey Diehl, for Christmas last year as part of their ongoing effort to live green. When designing his coop, his priorities were keeping it easy to clean and making sure his chickens were safe by sinking corrugated metal at least 6 inches below ground so that burrowing predators couldn’t get in. But he also considered aesthetics.

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Interview with gardener at Hands and Heart Garden in New York as seen in the Bill Moyers interview with Michael Pollan. Link to video interview here.

From the transcript from the video:

BILL MOYERS: Are you suggesting that the president should rip up the South Lawn?
MICHAEL POLLAN: Not all of it. Not all of it.
BILL MOYERS: All right, say five acres.
MICHAEL POLLAN: Five acres. They’ve got 17 acres to play with. I don’t know exactly how much. But I’m saying five acres. Put in a garden, organic garden. Hire a good farmer to grow food there. I think that that would send a powerful message. You know, this has happened before. Eleanor Roosevelt put a victory garden in, in the White House in 1942.

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(Possibly not the complete news report.)

Down On The (Urban) Farm – Inner City Agriculture Brings Produce Closer To Consumers, And Nourishes More Than Just Appetites

By Rita Braver
CBS News – Nov. 23, 2008

Mary Seton Corboy loves showing off what she grows:
“We grow eggplants, peppers, beets in the spring and all different kinds of greens.”

She showed us some fat figs. “You know that a fig is ready to go when it pulls away very easily from the sun.”
And in the eggplant section – “This is a Sicililan eggplant,” she said.

“Really purple, wow,” remarked Braver.

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