Illustration by Michael Scott, James Owens. Complete image is here.

There are at least 250 farms or gardens in Cleveland alone (covering a total of 65 acres)

By Michael Scott
The Plain Dealer
July 18, 2010

Excerpt:

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Toxic lead might still be the dirty little secret beneath Cleveland’s growing patchwork of urban farms and community vegetable plots– but it doesn’t have to ruin the garden party.

Even moderately lead-contaminated soil, of course, is still considered dangerous if untested or untreated at high concentrations — and city garden spots are among the most likely to have those dangerously high levels.

But lead contamination is also fast becoming an easily cleared hurdle for the new, aggressive agricultural pioneers pushing for more city farms and gardens. That goes for the rest of us simple backyard tomato, bean and zucchini growers, too, if we follow a few basic guidelines to keep toxic lead at bay.

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Cartoon – Citylicious.

Citylicious: A Movie About Growing Food in Cities

The Sustainable Economies Law Center (SELC) is working with a team of interns, community members, activists, and professionals to explore the legal needs of a growing urban agriculture movement. We are developing an online Urban Agriculture Legal Resource Library, and designing resources and presentations that explore legal issues that relate to urban agriculture, including: land acquisition, zoning, property taxes, land covenants, health codes, building codes, nuisance laws, land conservation tools, and so on.

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Jane Stubbs poses for a photo with her chickens, Breakfast, left, Lunch, center, and Dinner, right, at her home in New Orleans. Photo by Rusty Costanza, The Times-Picayune.

This is a neighborhood that doesn’t have a grocery store

By Matt Davis
The Times-Picayune
July 18, 2010

Excerpt:

“It would be great if everyone on this block had some kind of animal and grew vegetables. We could be almost self-sufficient,” said Frank Carter, an engineering technician who trained with the farm network and keeps 12 chickens with his wife, Laura Reiff, in a 60-by-50-foot foot pen in their backyard in Algiers. Their chicken breeds include Rhode Island Reds, Brown Leghorns, and even a Buff Orpington — ordered via the U.S. Postal Service from a breeder in Texas.

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