Sunday, September 18th from 11:00 am until 5:00 pm; to be followed by RiverSing. Mount Auburn Street from Eliot St to JFK St and in Winthrop Park, Cambridge, MA.

The Third Annual Urban-AG fair will be held on Sunday, September 18, 2011 on the site of the first marketplace in Newtone (1630s) and will showcase locally grown fruits and vegetables. Come sample delicious local fare, purchase locally grown foods, get tips from local experts on composting, community gardening, container gardening, and raising chickens and bees and more!

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Gotham Greens’ greenhouse assistant, Noelle Stanziale. Photo by Celeste Sloman.

40 photos of six roofs by Celeste Sloman

By Celeste Sloman
Village Voice
August 17, 2011

Excerpt:

Throughout the five boroughs, the phenomenon of urban agriculture has greatly developed and spread on the city’s roofs. Rooftop gardening and farming benefits the city not only aesthetically, but environmentally and socially as well. Rooftop gardening provides food, temperature control, recreation, habitats for wildlife, educational opportunities, and hydrological benefits.

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Photo by Michael Abelman, Foxglove Farm.

At Michael Abelman’s farm – Salt Spring Island, BC. Canada

Tuesday, September 27th, 7:00pm – Friday, September 30th, 2011
instructor: Michael Ableman and Josh Volk
cost: $285 plus HST (lunches and dinners included)

Urban agriculture as a movement has come into its own, with a dramatic increase in individuals wanting to create agricultural enterprises on small plots in the city. While enthusiasm is high, the skill level required to make these enterprises financially viable is often lacking. This workshop, taught by two veteran farmers, will provide the nuts and bolts for starting an urban agricultural enterprise from site selection and soil remediation, to developing a business and crop plan, to propagation,

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The author homesteads in Denver with her chickens, goats, bees, and organic front yard garden.

By Sundari Elizabeth Kraft
Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Alpha; Original edition (June 7, 2011)
(If there’s an “Idiot’s Guide”, we’ve come a long way! Mike)

A note from Sundari Elizabeth Kraft from her web site:

Last August I was approached by the editors from Penguin Publishing, who oversee “The Complete Idiot’s Guide” books. Despite their goofy-sounding titles, I’ve always been a fan of the Idiot’s Guides. I like the way they’re structured, and I feel like I’m getting comprehensive information when I read them.

The editors asked me if I would write the book, and what followed was a period that was both challenging and immensely rewarding.

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PodPonics Inc. employees harvest lettuce inside of a pod farm container in Atlanta on Aug. 12, 2011. Photo by Chris Rank/Bloomberg.

City planners hope urban farms will also revitalize long-forgotten downtowns

By Jennifer Oldham
Bloomberg
Aug 15, 2011

Excerpt:

More farmers are marketing their products directly to consumers than ever, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Aug. 5 when it released its 2011 National Farmers Market Directory. The guide lists 7,175 markets, up 53 percent from 4,685 in 2008.

States experiencing the most rapid growth aren’t in the West or Northeast, where the local-food movement germinated, the USDA found. The agency reported a 46 percent increase in markets in Alaska, and a 38 percent jump in Texas, Colorado and New Mexico.

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Thayne Tagge displays a cantaloupe grown on land Salt Lake County is leasing near the Holladay Lions Recreation Center. The county leased three parcels as part of its urban farming initiative; Tagge says Holladay soil is particularly productive for melons. Photo by Erin Alberty | The Salt Lake Tribune.

Tagge’s fruits and vegetables are sold at the Holladay stand, at the South Valley Unitarian Church.

By Erin Alberty
The Salt Lake Tribune
Aug 15 2011 04

Excerpt:

That’s the goal of the farming leases, said Julie Peck-Dabling, director of Salt Lake County’s urban farming program. The three parcels — one in Holladay and two in Draper — were originally bought for future parks land, but funding shortages left them undeveloped.

“It actually takes staff time to go out there a few times a year and cut the weeds and spray them,” Peck-Dabling said. Until the space is converted to parks, leasing the land to local farmers is more productive, she said.

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