Category — How to

Vegetables Fresh and Simple, in Any Climate Without Artificial Heat or Electricity the Way It’s Been Done for 2,000 Years

By Caleb Warnock
Cedar Fort, Inc.
April 9, 2013

Without fresh, all-natural winter gardening in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries people would have starved to death. The good news is that feeding your family fresh food from your own backyard garden all winter long is far easier and less time-consuming than you might imagine. And you won’t find better-tasting food at any price!

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Excerpt from Preface to the Fourth Edition:

By Norman Gill
Superintendent, Kumaon Government Gardens
May, 1920

Although nearly a decade since I last edited “Gollan’s Indian Vegetable Garden”, the continued demand for this useful and practical work proves that it has lost none of its deceiving popularity.

It is to be regretted that with many in this country the meat supply takes precedence but we have only to look at the general health of those who study their own garden food supply to recognize the importance of good fresh vegetables. Many argue that vegetables can be purchased cheaper from the bazaar or market gardens than grown.

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On 1000 square feet of land, backyard farmers can grow enough wheat to bake 50 loaves of fresh bread.

By Sara Pitzer
Storey Publishing, 2009
Sara Pitzer is the author of Homegrown Whole Grains and more than a dozen cookbooks and travel guides. She has studied and written about grains in Amish country in central Pennsylvania, in the southeastern United States, and in California. More recently, she has studied small-scale rice growing in Thailand and quinoa production in Peru. She lives in North Carolina.

A backyard field of grains? Yes, absolutely! Wheat and corn are rapidly replacing grass in the yards of dedicated locavores across the country. For adventurous homeowners who want to get in on the movement, Homegrown Whole Grains is the place to begin.

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Written by The National Gardening Association

By Paul Simon, Charlie Nardozzi
For Dummies
January 2013
Paul Simon is a nationally recognized landscape architect, public artist, horticulturist, master gardener, and urban designer. Charlie Nardozzi is a nationally recognized garden writer, speaker, and radio and television personality.

Learn to:

Make the most of limited space with vertical growing tips, rooftop gardens, and more

Add beauty and color to your landscape with annuals, perennials, and bulbs

Grow the freshest, healthiest produce possible

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A staff member (left) and youth intern (right) walk through East New York Farms in Brooklyn, NY. Photo by Natasha Bowens.

In the end, the goal of urban community gardens and the key to their success is the same, says Singer: “It’s about growing community.”

By Rhea Kennedy
Civil Eats
March 26, 2013

Excerpt:

Americans cultivate an estimated 18,000 community gardens, and now more of their growing is taking place in city lots and building rooftops. Urban gardeners see numerous benefits, from a heightened sense of empowerment to a lighter grocery bill to lowered crime rates. Yet challenges to such projects inevitably spring up like crab grass.

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UK’s ‘I’m an Urban Farmer’ does the interview

From I’m an Urban Farmer
March 20, 2013

Excerpt:

In our first of two interviews with expert gardener Alan Titchmarsh we are treated to his recommendations on how to grow our own food in the City.

Having established a career as a gardener and a gardening journalist, Alan also become a media personality through presenting and appearing on programmes such as ’Gardener’s World’ and ‘Ground Force’.

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Viola tricolor has long been used as an edible flower, sprinkled on salads or desserts.

Depend on flowers to brighten up your plot and add a little magic to savouries, salads, puddings and cocktails

By Lia Leendertz
The Guardian
22 February 2013

Excerpt:

I ate a lot of flowers last year. Not terribly filling, I’ll admit, but they proved to be the most magical of ingredients, turning a green salad into a flowery mead and a scoop of ice-cream into a fairy castle. They earned their keep pre?harvest, too: they looked so at home on the allotment, nestling brightly and dependably among the veg, and providing something to lift the heart even when skies were grey and produce was lacking.

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(Must see ‘how to’ video. Mike)

‘How To Be A Gardener No. 7’

By Alan Titchmarsh
From Wiki: Alan Fred Titchmarsh, MBE DL D.Sc. h.c. (born 2 May 1949) is an English gardener, broadcaster and novelist. After working as a professional gardener and a gardening journalist, he established himself as a media personality through appearances on gardening programmes. More recently he has developed a diverse writing and broadcasting career.

“Growing flowers is wonderfully fulfilling. Growing fruit and vegetables is wonderfully filling. To pick and eat your own crops is a great thrill. You know they have been well grown; you know they are fresh and you know that, just like your own baby, they are the best in the world!”

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Do you wonder how to access land, how to reclaim a contaminated site, how to maximize use of a small growing space, or how to most successfully target your urban market?

By Hannah Koski
Dec 2012 for the Dept. of Horticulture at Cornell University
as a Master of Professional Studies paper

The Cornell Small Farms Program is pleased to announce the release of our new “Guide to URBAN Farming in NYS”. The Guide answers these and many other common questions about farming in urban environments, and can help you launch, continue, or expand your urban farm business.

The 105-page resource guide contains fact-sheets on a myriad of topics, including tips for advocating for urban agriculture, engaging communities, dealing with contaminated soils, intensive growing techniques, urban composting, site security, urban livestock, direct marking options, accepting food stamps, grant and financial opportunities, and many more! Also included is an appendix listing services and resources available from several urban farming organizations throughout New York State

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“I stand in front of one of our mango trees which has at least 300 beautiful Bowen mangoes on it. This year has been a great season for mangoes in our sub tropical climate of Brisbane.”

Cityfood Growers is located in Samford, Queensland, Australia

Cityfood Growers Blog post
Jan 4, 2013

Excerpt:

You can extend the cropping season of your mango trees by choosing early, mid and late cropping varieties (cultivars). In addition, you can also choose cultivars that are more dwarf in size as the mango trees can grow quite large, up to 15m high) if not pruned. In our Gardener subscriber site, you can find a large number of mango cultivars grouped into cropping, dwarf and heritage and sorted based on your local climate profile. The cultivar we grow at our place in Brisbane is Kensington Pride which is a very common Bowen mango variety for Australia.

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Growing your own self-sufficient garden

By Tim MacWelch
The Survivalist
Jan 4, 2013

Excerpt:

When planning a survival food garden, it’s critical to know what seeds to purchase and what to skip—and it’s just as vital to know how to store those seeds and what you can expect from those food crops.

I was fortunate to grow up with the concepts and calluses of growing a family garden, so I have seen bumper crops and more than a few disappointing yields. I’ve also seen that there are a lot of different interpretations when it comes to growing your own garden.

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All royalties from sales of the book go to the charity S.E.E.D. (School Earth Education Developments)

Trevor’s Kitchen Garden: A Week-by-Week Guide to Growing Your Own Food
By Trevor Sargent
2012
(Trevor visited the City Farmer Garden a few years ago. See here.)

Named after his popular blog Trevor’s Kitchen Garden, Trevor Sargent’s debut book on growing your own food is for those who want to grow their food in a small space and in an Irish climate, and who aren’t afraid of getting their hands dirty.

Trevor’s Kitchen Garden:

- Is structured on a week-by-week basis, with information on planting, maintaining and harvesting for every week of the year, based on the author’s experiences in his own garden.

- Contains other practical information on compost heaps, sheds and garden design.

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My allotment garden is based in Crystal Palace, London, UK.

Sean James Cameron grows on an allotment in London, a community based garden site. Sean first became engaged with gardening when he was a teenager by his cousin, Betty. He helped maintain the family garden and changed it from a little patch of flowers into a productive garden of vegetables, fruit, herbs and flowers. “I love scent in the garden. Even though allotments are for food growing we can still keep a patch for flowers and especially scented ones.”

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A miniature farm in West L.A. Steven Wynbrandt in his garden, which just three years ago was a barren yard with problematic soil. Photo by Anne Cusack.

“There is a Hebrew phrase, Tikkun olam,” he says. “It means ‘Heal the world.’ That’s what I’m trying to do.”

By Lisa Boone
LA Times
December 7, 2012

Excerpt:

Wynbrandt eventually grew more food than he ever thought possible. On 3,000 square feet, more than 20 crops spill out of 13 beds, each 15 feet long. Walk the aisles now and you will find cabbages, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, leeks, collard greens, onions, carrots, asparagus, even quinoa. Over the summer, he grew more than 200 pounds of Brandywine tomatoes along with heirloom and Sun Gold cherry tomatoes. Around the perimeter of the garden, he planted 16 fruit trees — navel orange, pomegranate, avocado, peach, dragonfruit and fig among them — to create a sound barrier from the traffic on nearby Overland Avenue.

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Anthony Boutard “It’ll make a fine backyard corn.” (In reference to his purple flour corn.)

By Rebecca Gerendasy
Co-founder
Cooking Up a Story
Food.Farmer.Earth.
Nov 7, 2012

Excerpt:

That corn has become his passion, so much so that he wrote a book about it called “Beautiful Corn: America’s Original Grain from Seed to Plate.” Not bad for a crop he says was originally just a whim, borne from childhood memories like the smell of cornbread fresh from the oven.

“It was a listing in the High Mowing Seed Company catalog that said ‘makes good cornbread,’” he said, chuckling. And he thinks it’s the perfect crop for where he is in his life.

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New gardens in public places in Australia

By Russ Grayson
Australian City Farms and Garden Network
Oct. 2012, 50 pages
(Must See. Mike.)

Excerpt:

I SUSPECT it’s been going on a long time, however my formal introduction came when a woman in Sydney’s southern suburbs showed me how she had colonised a part of her footpath and replaced the lawn with a rich and tasty blend of vegetable, herb and pawpaw.

That must have been around 25 years ago and it made me aware of the potential of the footpath as a place for the cultivation of food and other plants and as a place for civic engagement with public open space… what local government calls the ‘public domain’. At the time I didn’t think that the idea of gardening your footpath would be something that attracted people, but I was wrong.

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The Todmorden clickable egg map, shows where surplus eggs are available.

Making maps like this may be something you want to do for your community.

By John Robb
Resilient Communities
July 13, 2012

Excerpt:

Here’s something I found incredibly useful as a way to improve a community’s resilience: an Egg Map.

Take a look at this map of egg producers, from the innovators at Incredible Edible Todmorden UK.

Every point on the map is a home, farm or business that has a chicken coop. Many of them got started with chicken keeping through the Todmorden “Every Egg Matters” campaign.

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New small farmers are key to building new farmers markets. Cultivating those new farmers in small or emerging farmers markets can help those farmers advance to larger, more successful markets.

By Randii MacNear and Shelly G. Keller
Davis Farmers Market Association
9.01.2012
32 pages

Excerpt:

You will learn why farmers markets are good for small farmers, and the traits of successful farmers market sellers. You will learn how to examine your readiness to sell at farmers markets and how to plan, including researching markets, estimating costs, connecting with farmers market managers, creating a farmers market stand that works, delivering good customer service, expanding your market, and tracking and evaluating results.

This how-to guide shares what we know from our personal perspectives: that of a 30-year veteran farmers market manager, and a 30-year marketing professional, who work together to promote and grow farmers markets and small farms.

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Carlton Jackson and Todd Alexander, co-owners of Tunnel Vision Hoops, working on a hoop house in Ohio City.

In recent years, Cleveland’s growing urban farming scene has gained national recognition as a creative response to the problems of foreclosure and vacancy.

By Lee Chilcote
Freshwater Cleveland
Oct 25, 2012

Excerpt:

On a pair of empty city lots that once grew pop bottles, weeds and trash, Elle Adams of City Rising Farm in Hough recently broke ground on an 8,000-square-foot market garden that will be used to teach teenagers how to grow their own food.

“The neighborhood is a food desert — there’s no grocery store within a mile of here,” says Adams, who launched her farm as an alternative to the corner stores that sell only canned goods. “At first, people didn’t know what cherry tomatoes were. They’d say, ‘What is that?’ There’s a whole generation that grew up without a grocery store.”

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Cover, Oct, 2012 issue of Farmers’ Markets Today.

When these garlic growers got so busy marketing product to the public that they couldn’t keep up with producing it, they opened an online store for other growers.

By Clay Coppedge
Farmers’ Markets Today
Oct. 2012

Excerpt:

Grow a better garlic and the world will beat a path to your doorstep. In the case of Bob Anderson, of Bangs, Texas, the world did beat a path to his electronic doorstep — his website.

“I set up on the information super highway instead of the local highway,” explained the farmer who is known far and wide as the “Garlicmeister. “That changed everything.”

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