Gardener grows tangerines, lemons, figs, papaya, Moringa, passion fruit, pineapples, avocados, sweet potato greens and more exotic foods

By John Cueler
growingyourgreens.com
Nov. 23, 2011

John Cueler from (http://www.growingyourgreens.com) goes on a field trip to a viewer’s home in South Florida to see what’s growing there. In this episode you will learn what a couple are growing and eating in their edible garden. You will specifically learn about wild jungle peanuts, and many perennial tropical crops that can grow year-round in Florida. As well you will learn how to propagate mulberry/fig tree cuttings.

“Growing Your Greens” is a fun and enlightening show on how to grow food at your home and beyond. John provides you with tips and tricks as well as shares his experiences growing food at his urban homestead. John is dedicated to helping you sustainably grow your own food in your front yard and beyond.

See more videos by John Cueler here.

A Guide By The San Francisco Urban Agriculture Alliance

By Booka Alon, Elan Segarra, Eli Zigas
A Guide By The San Francisco Urban Agriculture Alliance
November 2011
25 pages

From SPUR – San Francisco Planning and Research Assoc.

Starting a garden or farm in San Francisco just got a little bit easier. Pulling together the most recent changes to city laws, the San Francisco Urban Agriculture Alliance recently released a guide to the regulations for growing and selling food within San Francisco.

The guide covers a host of topics including:

Finding land
Gardening on private versus public land
Water access
Selling what you grow
Specific sections on rooftop gardens, animal husbandry, and soil testing.

The booklet was produced based on the guidance of staff from eight city agencies, ranging from the County Agricultural Commissioner to the Department of Building Inspections. It consolidates, for the first time, the specific wording of agency rules as well as relevant departmental contact information.

The guide won’t help your plants or animals thrive, but it does serve as a road map to the rules and policies specific to the City for aspiring gardeners and urban farmers.

Read the book online here.

John Jeavons to give 3-Day Workshop in NYC, January 6-8, 2012

Bu Cindy Conner
Homeplace Earth
Nov 1, 2011

Excerpt:

When I was learning to garden back in the 70’s, I had read John’s book How to Grow More Vegetables (HTGMV) along with all the other organic gardening information available at the time. I gained skills and knowledge over the years, first growing food to keep my family healthy, then expanding as a market gardener, growing food for my community. Since I was the only organic grower most people knew, I would get a lot of questions. In fact, the cooperative extension office used to refer people to me.

Out of self defense, I began teaching through our county parks and recreation program in 1998 and at J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College (JSRCC) in Goochland, VA in 1999. Those classes are the Sustainable Agriculture Program offered there now. I left the college in 2010, but the classes continue with our daughter, Betsy Trice, as the instructor.

When I began teaching, I was bringing together a lot of material from various sources. About that time I came across a copy of the 5th edition of HTGMV in a used bookstore. I was pleased to see the ongoing research on sustainability. Just what I needed for my classes! I took a new look at what John Jeavons was doing at Ecology Action and discovered their teacher certification program. All the better!

Read the complete article here.

More about the course here.

“City farm vegetables are fresh, nutritious and safe, grown in a responsible way”

Why are LEDs extremely suitable for city farms:

With LED lighting it is possible to provide exactly the wavelengths which are useful for growth and development of the crop. Contrary to the sun, traditional assimilation lighting and TL lighting, LED only omits one color of light. No energy is wasted with light spectra that are not used or less used by the plant. This means that LEDs provide exactly the colors which the plant needs for photosynthesis. Plants mainly need blue and red light for photosynthesis and far-red, a color not even visible to the human eye but visible to the plant.

A city farm is a closed room where plants are grown in several layers to make best use of space. As there is no influence from outside, in the farm room the conditions can be kept constant and hygienic, so people can enjoy safe vegetables all year round, independent of seasons and weather. The city farm is designed to minimize the use of valuable natural resources: it requires only 20% of water, space and energy compared to traditional ways of growing.

More from their website here.

Audrey Silk grows 100 tobacco plants in her back yard

By zolofilms.com
2011

Audrey Silk, founder of New York City Clash (Citizens Lobbying Against Smoker Harassment) started growing tobacco in her back yard in Brooklyn three years ago as a protest against New York state’s increase in the cost of tobacco and the recent ban on smoking in public places. Today, she is growing 100 tobacco plants in her back yard and has quite a healthy yield of dry tobacco to make her own cigarettes. Zolo films visits her home to document her story and hear about the process of growing tobacco.

Zolo films is a team of film makers, committed to original storytelling across all media platforms. We are currently working on a mini-documentary web series about individuals and young entrepreneurs across the five boroughs that are innovating in the realm of design, art, technology, and urban farming.

See zolofilms.com here.

“Saffron’s aroma is often described by connoisseurs as reminiscent of metallic honey with grassy or hay-like notes.” Wikipedia

At the Vancouver Compost Demonstration Garden.

Maria planted ‘Crocus sativus’ last Thanksgiving and now, a year later, the plants have bloomed. We look at the spice and its three vivid crimson stigmas used for cooking.

We asked Andrea Carlson, Executive Chef at nearby Bishop’s Restaurant, for some ideas on how she might use the spice.

“It is often used to perfume or flavour subtle things like risotto or rice pudding (Persian or Indian style). We might also use it for a custard base or fruit desserts such as pear/apple/quince. If you want to make a ’tisane’ or simple syrup with them to show off the colour, that would be easy and then the ‘tea’ can be mixed in to finish rice, or the sugar syrup could be used to poach a crab apple.”

See Bishop’s Restaurant here.

‘Crocus sativus’ -Richters Catalog here.

Saffron’s story on Wikipedia here.

Forthcoming December 27, 2011

By Novella Carpenter, Willow Rosenthal
Publisher: Penguin
December 27, 2011
592 pages

From Ghost Town Farm blog – Novella Carpenter:
My new book is coming out December 27 (hmm, right around the baby coming)! Willow Rosenthal and I have been slaving on this giant how-to book for the past three years or something. It’s called “The Essential Urban Farmer”. It’s got everything a budding or experienced urban farmer might want to know about growing veggies and fruit, securing land, and raising livestock in the city.

Finally, big news. Are you sitting down? I’m pregnant! Yup, that’s what happens when I take a break. Baby is due on Christmas. Billy and I are so excited. Human livestock. Wait, is that illegal?

Link to the book here.

By Amy Pennington
Sasquatch Books (April 1, 2011)
192 pages

Grow squash on your patio, flowers in your window box, and pick blackberries from your parking strip. Apartment Gardening details how to start a garden in the heart of the city. From building your own planter box to sprouting seeds in jars on the counter, every small space is plantable. Beginning and experienced gardeners will discover how to save money on produce and impress friends with their newly-tenacious green thumbs.

This book reveals that the DIY future is now by providing hands-on accessible advice to start using space sustainably, efficiently, and inexpensively.

Apartment Gardening includes instructions on how to build your own planter box, grow lettuce in recycled containers, keep bees on your patio, and infuse spirits with herbs grown right in your kitchen. Eating locally starts at home — every surface holds an opportunity for something planted, pickled, or preserved. Amy Pennington’s friendly voice paired with Kate Bingaman-Burt’s crafty illustrations make greener living an accessible reality, even if readers have only a few hundred square feet and two windowsills. Save money by planting the same things available at the grocery store, and create an eccentric garden right in the heart of any living space.

See the book here.

The string bikini tops worked best at the Vancouver Compost Garden

Sean and Maria built a small greenhouse this past spring at the Vancouver Compost Garden. The raised beds inside were filled with a soil blend that included leaves, various composts we had around the garden, and layers of ‘White Dragon’ compost made from our mid-scale electric composter that was fed food scraps from a local restaurant.

Now in August, tomatoes and cantaloupes are crowding the plastic shelter and the heavy, growing cantaloupes need some support. They are “EarliChamps” from West Coast Seeds. Using a tip from a visitor, Maria visited a local Sally Ann thrift store and bought a variety of different sized brassieres to help hold up the growing melons.

At City Farmer’s Compost Demonstration Garden 2150 Maple Street, Vancouver BC.

2011 Classes
Instructor: Maria Keating, City Farmer’s own Bug Lady

Adults:
Learn how to safely deal with insects in your backyard. This two-hour garden seminar includes; insect identification and lifecycles, attracting native pollinators, predators and butterflies to your garden, hands-on pest control methods and how to make, use and take home handy tools of the insect trade. Turn over a new leaf and see what the macro world is doing in the city and in your own backyard!

Adult Classes: $20 per person
Friday June 17 – 1pm – 3pm or Saturday July 23 – 10am -12pm
(space is limited to 10 people per class – please contact the Compost Hotline (604) 736-2250 for availability)

Kids:
Let’s go on a Bug Safari at the City Farmer Demonstration Garden! Children aged 5-12 (accompanied by a parent only) can come and explore the garden with City Farmer. We will discover the relationships between insects, plants and the food we eat. Learn to identify and attract our urban insects and win buggy prizes!

Kids Bug Shops: $20 per child
Monday June 20 – 1pm – 3pm or Saturday July 23 – 1pm -3pm
(space is limited to 10 kids per class – please contact the Compost Hotline (604) 736-2250 for availability)

Looking at the soil in a vacant lot

By Melissa Iverson M.Sc. (Soil Science)
University of British Columbia – Faculty of Lands and Food Systems
2010, 39 pages

Introduction – How to Use This Guide

Have you ever walked by that vacant lot near your home, work, or school, and thought “I would love to make this place a garden!” If so, then this guide is for you!

The purpose of this guide is to help you answer some of the big questions about the environmental quality of your site. Questions like:

How can I find out if the soil is contaminated?
Is the soil deep enough for my plants to have healthy root systems?
Are there enough nutrients in the soil?
Is the site too shady for a garden?

These are important questions to answer after issues regarding site tenure, community support, and liability insurance have been addressed.

To use this site, go to the decision tree diagram on the next page. Starting at the top of the “tree”, with the box entitled: “Does the site’s history or location present a contamination risk?” Go to the corresponding chapter heading and carry out the suggested activities. These activities should provide information to help determine a “yes” or “no” answer. Proceed down the decision tree, concluding with the boxes “Garden” or “Select another garden location.”

Read the complete report here. (4 MB)

How to build an MBrace raised bed from Art of the Garden on Vimeo.

Raised Garden Bed Brace System

The Raised Garden Bed Brace System consists of four steel corner braces – no hardware is needed. Decide on the dimensions of your raised bed, and have your lumber cut to size. The inside of each brace has a raised channel where you’ll slide your cut-to-size boards to form the four sides of the bed. This system allows you to customize your raised beds to any site and any size, up to 12 feet on each side.

You can use Raised Garden Bed Brace System with any 2″ lumber (2×4, 2×6, 2×10, etc.) The width of the boards you choose determines the depth of your bed. For example, using three 2x4s will give you a depth of 10.5 inches. Using a 2×10 and a 2×6 will result in a bed that’s 14.75 inches deep. (Each side of the Raised Garden Bed Brace itself measures 11″ wide x 13″ high).

Every raised garden bed kit is made in the U.S. from recycled metal. The unfinished steel corners will oxidize and develop their own unique character over time — unless you choose to paint or seal them. We also offer a powder coated bronze-tone finish that will weather the elements without rusting.

We also have three laser-cut designs including a simply elegant Tendril design, an abstract Swirl design and a whimsical Carrot.

See their website here.

Vertical mini allotments: What grows up

By Harriot Lane Fox
The Telegraph
05 May 2011

Excerpts:

What could be more metro-horticultural than ushering your dinner guests out onto the balcony and inviting them to pick their perfect salad?

That’s almost what the Michelin-starred chef-patron of Vuelve Carolina in Valencia, Spain, is doing with this chic new restaurant. He has taken the green wall — an eco-cool way to soften new shopping centres, offices and Olympic villages, including London’s — and made it edible. Diners now enjoy garnishes grown right in front of them.

A crop of new products designed to create instant vertical allotments mean that big harvests are possible from the tiniest spaces, particularly if you can harness the heat stored in a south-facing wall.

Vuelve Carolina uses the MiniGarden system, which comes in small kits. The basic version comprises three modules like lidded window boxes that stack up to be 57cm tall and 64cm wide (22.5in by 25in). Hook these up to a micro-irrigation system and you only need to water for 10 seconds every eight hours and the lids channel excess water away. Each module has three planting “mouths”.

Read the complete article here.

See Vuelve Carolina in Valencia, Spain here.

The Complete Guide to Year-Round Organic Gardening in the Pacific Northwest

By Linda Gilkeson
New Society Publishers
April, 2011

Are you itching to start your own garden or grow more in the one you have, but feel that gardening is too challenging or time-consuming for your busy schedule? Would you like to enjoy fresh, home-grown produce every month of the year?

Backyard Bounty is like having your own Master Gardener to consult every step of the way. This encyclopedic reference demystifies gardening, bringing it back to the down-to-earth, environmentally practical activity that anyone can enjoy. Learn about:

Planning your garden and preparing the soil
Organic fertilizers and simplified composting
Sowing, growing healthy seedlings, transplanting, watering, easy weeding, and mulching
Planting for winter harvests, intensive planting schedules
Growing fruit, simple pruning methods
Greenhouses, tunnels and containers
Organic pest management, and more.

Packed with a wealth of information specific to the Pacific Northwest, this complete guide emphasizes low-maintenance methods, exposes common gardening myths, includes a monthly garden schedule for year-round planting and harvesting and features plant profiles for everything from apples to zucchini. Perfect for novice and experienced gardeners alike, Backyard Bounty shows how even the smallest garden can produce a surprising amount of food twelve months of the year.

Visit publisher’s website.

Monkey going after fruit at breakfast buffet. Photo by JakeChalkley.

“The snakes death of course was the signal for the most joyous chatterings and gambols.”

From a very old, undated, New York Times article

“The gentleman had a garden where he grew delicious fruit. The sacred monkeys easily scaled the walls and helped themselves. They were not content with simply eating, but amused themselves with throwing half-munched fruit at each other. To shoot these pests was out of the question, and to hit them with stones was impossible, as they easily dodged any missile that might be thrown at them.

An idea struck the Englishman one day, and he at once proceeded to carry it into effect with great success. He got a large basket of the largest potatoes that were to be found and had them boiled.

Cold-hardy greens and even carrots are part of the Wegmans Organic Research Farm’s winter crops. Photo by Jeff Marini.

“A hoophouse can pay for itself in three years or less.”

By James Leach
Rochester City Newspaper
January 5, 2011

Excerpt:

Up on the hill above the Romanesco bed stand two unheated hoophouses. Over near the treeline stands another. Inside them, it’s not quite summer, but it feels and smells like early spring. In the houses closest to the Romanesco patch, densely packed rows of rainbow chard, arugula, and carrots are growing directly in the soil underneath cloth-like row covers that keep in the heat and most of the moisture. The chard and the arugula look like they will be ready to harvest in a few weeks, the carrots are the length of my pinky and intensely sweet because freezing temperatures cause carrots and other root vegetables to concentrate their sugars. All of these vegetables were slated to be harvested and on sale at the Wegmans flagship store in Pittsford before Christmas.

In the next 1,440-square-foot hoophouse, tiny spinach plants stand dormant, strong enough to withstand the cold, but not to grow in any appreciable way until February. In another structure, row upon row of perfect spinach grows under the cover of a double-layer hoophouse (the gap between the sheets of plastic inflated to create an insulating pocket of air). The space is so well sealed that moisture rising from the ground condenses on the steel roof supports and “rains” back down on the deep green leaves that grow most densely beneath the drips. In the nearby barn, several dozen trays of microgreens sit under grow-lamps awaiting harvest and shipment in one-ounce containers to Pittsford, where they will sell for $4.99 each.

What the team at the farm has accomplished in its first season of winter farming is stunning, and even more impressive is what it plans to do over the next year or so. Stency Wegman says that while it currently produces some vegetables that are sold in the Pittsford store, the Organic Research Farm isn’t intended to supplant the local growers with whom the grocery chain has developed a working relationship over the years. Particularly in regard to winter farming and extended-season production, the farm is intended to act as a research laboratory, and its findings will be shared with the 540 local producers who are part of the Wegmans farming “family.”

Read the complete article here.

Photo: OSU scientist Joe Kovach’s test site in Wooster, with his parking-lot plantings in the center and his polyculture plots on the lawn at the left.

Ohio State University Urban Farming Study

By Kurt Knebusch
Ohio State University Extension
Dec 22, 2010

Excerpt:

WOOSTER, Ohio — An old asphalt parking lot might not seem like a good place for a garden.

But in urban areas it can be. It tends to be cheap open land. And an Ohio State University expert on intensive small-scale horticulture has started a three-year study on what works best there.

Joe Kovach, who specializes in maximizing fruit and vegetable production in limited spaces, is comparing three ways to do it in empty, abandoned parking lots: in giant-sized pots and in raised beds on top of the blacktop, and in trenches cut right through it.

“There are a lot of vacant parking lots in places like Cleveland and Youngstown,” said Kovach, who works at the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC) in Wooster and holds a joint appointment with Ohio State University Extension. “We’re hoping to learn if the trenches work, if the pots are worth it and of all three techniques, which is the best?”

His work could boost the use of abandoned urban land. It could help people who live in urban food deserts — areas having little or no access to affordable, nutritious foods — grow more of their own tomatoes, spinach and other fresh produce. And it could help them do it more easily.

Turning blacktop green isn’t new. It’s part of the growing wave of urban farming. But Kovach wants to see if there’s a better way to do it.

Read the complete article here.

A Guide to Growing Fruit, Vegetables and Spices from the Asian Subcontinent

By Sally Cunningham
Eco-Logic Books
2009

The author, Sally Cunningham, has been a professional organic gardener for nearly 30 years. She has been Deputy Head Gardener at the prestigious Ryton Organic Gardens and worked on a variety of projects from setting up Community Allotments to gardener at Belgrave Hall, a garden founded in 1500. Her work with the Plantcultures project (run jointly by Kew Botanical Gardens and Leicester Museums) gave her an opportunity to fulfill a lifelong ambition.

Since moving to Leicester in the early 80s she has been intrigued by the exciting mixture of food cultures of that city. And what started out as fascination with the huge variety of fresh produce on sale in the Asian shops and market stalls, has turned into her life’s work, researching, writing about, cooking and growing these delicious vegetables, fruits and spices.

See the book here.

Cobras and the Russel’s viper are responsible for the close to 20,000 yearly snake bite deaths in India. Many of these fatalities occur because of the Cobras’ appetite for rats. It’s not uncommon for the snakes to lay in wait for the rodents inside a home or a hut. If a human gets in the way the encounter usually proves fatal.

The Big Four are the four venomous snake species considered to be responsible for the greatest number of human deaths caused by snakebite in South Asia.

Indian cobra, Naja naja, probably the most famous of all Indian snakes.
Common krait, Bungarus caeruleus
Russell’s viper, Daboia russelii.
Saw-scaled viper, Echis carinatus.

The following discussion took place on the Indian cityfarmer@yahoo listserv in August, 2010.

Question about keeping snakes away.

We bought a house in the south with a yard, which has some trees in it and a few shrubs. The house is currently lying empty and now someone has begun to go and clean it up, however we find that snakes are a big issue – apparently the people who went to clean up the yard spotted 4 snakes – all poisonous.

The surrounding areas have seen heavy construction in the recent past (which continues). I assume that may be the reason for the spurt in snakes in the house and the fact that the house is lying empty.

We had suggested that all the dry leaves be collected and composted but one of the spots where two snakes were found was that very pit.

D.

A response

We faced exactly the same ‘problem’, when we had started to develop our farm at Karjat back in 1986. Yes, the so-called-problem is acute on the western ghats, with its heavy rainfall.

To be honest with you, one cannot hope that this problem will go away entirely. One can only make efforts to minimise the risk to human life.

1. Ensure that your house has snake-proof security, that means all plumbing/sewage ducts, windows and walls must not provide any access points for snake.

2. Keep the immediate vicinity of the house clear of any undergrowth. If that area is to be used at night, make it well-lit.

3. Have pathways around the farm similarly cleared of any undergrowth, and these should be at least 3 feet wide. Proper shoes are a must. I also carry a villager style 5 foot bamboo stick with me when I move around. Banging it on the ground during a walk ensures snakes get early warning and go away.

By the way, snakes are needed to keep the rodent population under control. And to be fair, it is we as humans who are encroaching on their habitat. They do not mean us harm at all.

Just last week, when I was taking a walk alone, with my stick of course, I came across a 5 feet long cobra strolling around. It was a shiningly beautiful specimen. Wonderful patterns on its glowing skin! After watching it move around for 15 minutes from a distance of less than 8 – 10 feet, I went my way and he went his. So you see, 1986 – 2010 – The ‘problem’ has NOT gone away.

Educate your workers to identify poisonous and non-poisonous snakes. They tend to treat all as poisonous ones. Get a chart for easy snake identification and also some books. And also familiarise your workers with first aid – what to do in case of a snake bite. Know about the nearest doctors/hospitals before hand.

One of our workers met with a snake bite once. He killed the snake, carried it in a plastic bag and rushed straight to the nearest hospital 6 kms away, which he reached in 45 minutes. The doctors looked at the snake and treated him accordingly. His life was saved. The snake was identified as a Russell’s Viper one of the deadliest ones.

To answer your question, no, snakes can not be kept away from a farm/garden. What you can do is to ensure that there need not be any loss of human life due to snakes, even while allowing the snakes to live their rightful place in nature and we farmers gaining from their rodent-eating benefits. Live and let live.

S.

Another response:

Just a few tips on the snakes.

1. As human activity increases, snakes know what is good for them and keep their distance.

2. All walkways can be layered with pea sized pebbles or sand around the house. Snakes cannot move on either of them. If they do come on it, they will coil up as they cannot move. In that case they are just to be shifted with two sticks.

3. If you can get hold of some ‘Vekhand’ (in Marathi) roots, (‘Naru Baje’ in Kannada and ‘Ugragandha’ in Ayurveda), tie a small piece on every door and window. Every worker should carry a piece in their pocket when they go to the bush. Scatter about a kilo of these pieces per acre around your garden. The ones that are carried in pockets and tied to doors and windows can be scratched every month or so to create a fresh strong fragrance.

4. A trick I learnt in Botswana. If you happen to startle a snake, be immobile. The snake strikes when there is movement.

5. They are very graceful and wonderful beings. Stop resisting them.

B.

A garden on wheels designed by Christina Cho

By Rachel Johnson
From Green Harvard
“A Moveable Feast”
June 24, 2010

Excerpt:

A garden on wheels may soon be rolling up to your department or dorm, thanks to GSD student Christina Cho. The project, undertaken this spring with the support of an OFS Sustainability Grant, combines food, public art, and community gardening into a unique setting: the Mobile Ethnic Garden.

Working on an assignment for an MIT course called Public Art: Issues in Spatial Cultural Identity, Cho started from the idea that food is a great way of understanding different cultures. She wanted to create a space that would bring Harvard’s community together not only around eating but growing diverse kinds of food—and came up with a garden that actually comes to the community. She designed a network of raised planter beds set on wheels that can be easily transported and fit together in multiple arrangements. The beds double as benches, offering visitors a way to gather and interact. Plus, the format benefits plants as well as people: the garden’s mobility means that it can maximize sunlight and raised beds reduce soil compaction and improve water conservation and drainage.

See the complete article here.

See Christina Cho’s blog with more photos here.