Kadoorie Farm

Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden (KFBG) spreads over 148 hectares of land and is located on the northern slopes and foothills of Hong Kong’s highest mountain – Tai Mo Shan.

Vegetables are produced on a one hectare hillside area at KFBG and there are over 60 varieties of vegetables and herbs grown in our farmland. We have 17 hectares of terraced orchards producing over 25 different varieties of fruit crops, herbs and tea, as well as honey. Our eco-garden displays organic farming practices compatible to urban settings for visitors to learn how to grow their own food.

Eating local food in season is an important part of a healthy and sustainable lifestyle.

Do you know what kind of produce is in season in Hong Kong and in nearby areas? Supermarkets may not be able to provide you these details as they import food from all over the world. This also adds a large amount of carbon and ecological footprint to the food.

See seasonal vegetables grown at the farm here.

See the Kadoorie Farm website here.

See “growFOOD@home course” at the farm.

See “Near Urban Hong Kong, a Taste of the Farm” New York Times March 15, 2010.

The World in a Garden is an Urban Agriculture Project that connects youth and community to the culture, nutrition and production of growing organic food.

“Children working in our garden are getting to experience nutrition instead of just being taught it. Green foods take on a whole new meaning and the children actually enjoy eating their vegetables because they are growing and cultivating them. And, by donating food to the food bank, children are giving back to their community and making a difference in the world,” said Tricia Sedgwick, the Jewish Family Service Agency (JFSA) community garden coordinator and nutritionist. “There are many interactive opportunities for students to partake in, from growing and preparing food for harvest celebrations to fundraising and donating.”

The JFSA runs a community garden in Kerrisdale at West 57th and East Boulevard. It is one of 55 community gardens in Vancouver run by a variety of community organizations. The JFSA began work on the garden in the spring of 2007 after receiving the 24 X 9 metre lot (80 x 30 feet) and $3000 in start up fees from the City of Vancouver. The JFSA leases the land from the City for $1 a year.

Potato Fusion Workshop. See larger image here.

World in a Garden website here.

Other local community gardens listed here.

Editorial: ‘Urban farm’ bill now ready for some votes

Athens Banner-Herald
March 14, 2010

With a word-word here and a tweak-tweak there, the Georgia legislature’s House Committee on Agriculture and Consumer Affairs has managed to put together an “urban farming” bill that is worthy of the full Georgia General Assembly’s support.

In its original version, House Bill 842 – which is designed to pre-empt local ordinances restricting production of agricultural or farm products on residential or other urban property – virtually eliminated the ability of local governments to take any action against people raising chickens, rabbits, goats or food crops.

As Athens-Clarke County Commissioner Kelly Girtz noted in a Friday story in this newspaper on the original House Bill 842, any legislation on the subject of urban farming should give local governments some leeway, such as the ability to ban noisy roosters, limit the number of animals being kept on a given property, and keep crops a certain distance away from adjacent property lines.

In its latest version, the bill does give local governments some oversight in connection with urban farming operations, noting that the law, if passed, “shall not prohibit or impair” the “authority of a local governmental entity to abate a public nuisance.”

It’s also important to note that the law, if passed, would not supersede any private covenants, such as are routinely applied to properties within residential subdivisions, that regulate agricultural activities.
In its substance, the bill would deny local governments the ability to “prohibit or require any permit for the growing or raising of food crops or chickens, rabbits or milk goats” on private residential property, or in a community garden setting of 2.75 acres or less, as long as “such food crops or animals or the products thereof” are used for consumption by occupants of the residential property or the “growers and raisers and members of their households” using a community garden plot or animal pen.

There is a legitimate argument that House Bill 842, even in its latest version, would usurp local control of potentially problematic land uses. However, an overarching state law also would serve to limit the sort of lengthy local debate over urban farming issues that, over time, can amount to a de facto prohibition of such practices. Such prohibition, even in the face of clear interest within a significant segment of the public for engaging in some small-scale farming in areas carrying urban and suburban zoning designations, could be construed as an attempt on the part of local governments to keep people from the full and free enjoyment of their property.

For an example of the need for some state-level guidance on the urban farming issue, look no farther than Athens-Clarke County. For months now, the issue of raising “backyard chickens” has been on the political sidelines here. Commissioner Girtz attempted in 2008 to set up a “backyard chicken” ordinance, but that effort was thwarted by other commissioners, who cited concerns about noise and odors.

Meanwhile, as this newspaper’s Friday story on the original House Bill 842 noted, “(r)aising chickens for their eggs already is fairly common in some urban Athens neighborhoods, and at least one intown landowner has a small herd of goats, although any agriculture but a garden is illegal in Athens except in rural areas.”

Given the apparent interest in this community and other parts of the state in urban farming, a state law that would establish the legality of such practices, but would allow local governments to retain the ability to regulate those practices through enforcement of nuisance abatement ordinances, would seem to be an ideal approach.

See article and comments here.

Urban agriculture: Growing crops in the city

By Henrylito D. Tacio
Sun.Star Davao – source of Philippine community news
March 14, 2010

Farming is always associated with rural areas, rivers and mountains.

Unknowingly, farming can also be done right in the city. Experts call this practice as urban agriculture.

“Urban agriculture refers not merely to the growing of food crops and fruit trees but that it also encompasses the raising of animals, poultry, fish, bees, rabbits, guinea pigs, or other livestock considered edible locally,” explains Dr. Irene Tinker, an American professor in the department of city and regional planning at the University of California.

In recent years, urban agriculture has been creating a big impact in some thickly-populated areas. In the 1990s, the Beijing government decided that urban agriculture was an important way to meet the city’s food needs. Today, farming in, around, and near Beijing not only provides residents with safer, healthier food, it also keeps farmers in business.

“Between 1995 and 2003, the income for farmers living just outside of Beijing doubled,” wrote Brian Halweil and Danielle Nierenberg in their collaborative report published in the recent issue of State of the World, published by Washington, D.C.-based Worldwatch Institute.

In Vancouver, Canada, 44 percent of the people grow vegetables, fruits, berries, nuts, or herbs in their yards, on their balconies, or in one of the 17 community gardens located on city property. “There, farming the city is part of a much larger movement that includes restaurants buying from local farms, and buying clubs in which neighbors subscribe to weekly deliveries of produce,” noted Halweil and Nierenberg.

In Thailand, 60 percent of the land is under cultivation in greater Bangkok. In Russia, 72 percent of all urban families are engaged in raising food, mostly part-time. In the United States, the number of farmers’ markets selling locally-grown produce increased by 40 percent from 1994 to 1996.

In Guangzhou, China, up to nine crops are grown yearly on any single field. In Hong Kong, six crops of cabbage a year are not uncommon. Urban farming supplies Israel with 95 percent of its food needs. The city of Cairo is host to some 80,000 livestock.

In the Philippines, a presidential decree obliged owners, or entitled others with owners’ permission, to cultivate unused private lands and some public lands adjoining streets or highways in Metro Manila. In Davao City, the agriculturist’s office is promoting the “Gulayan sa Barangay.” This program pushes for the growth and propagation of organically-grown vegetables.

The United Nations Development Program estimates that 800 million people are involved in urban farming around the world, with the majority in Asian cities. Of these, 200 million produce food primarily for the market, but the great majority raise food for their own families.

In a survey conducted for the United Nations, cities worldwide already produce about one third of the food consumed by their residents on average.

This percentage is “likely to grow in coming decades, given that the need for urban agriculture could be greater now than ever before,” Halweil and Nierenberg wrote.

See the rest of the article here.

15Thousand Farmers – Planting A Seed To Feed Ourselves – Louisville, Ky

by Greg & Michelle Vittitow,
Impact Dash
March 11th, 2010

The Vision:

15Thousand Farmers helps create, empower, and inspire 15,000 new, organic, neighborhood backyard/front yard farmers in Louisville, KY to feed their families and themselves and to give away! How? By using simple and easy instructions, checklists and materials and ongoing support provided through local organic growers and resources that will provide everything needed to start Easy Farms in our yards, on decks or in community gardens.

The cramped, dimly lit basement of Clifton Unitarian Church seems the last place a potential farming community would begin. But there we were, watching from the back of the room as people poured in on the morning of February 20 to learn more about 15Thousand Farmers, a grassroots, community movement forming in Louisville, KY.

Such movements are common in this city known for its passion and can-do attitude, but this event was exceptional. A seemingly endless stream of aspiring backyard farmers filled literally every empty space in the room, most standing.

Sitting in our highly coveted chairs, Gary Heine, a 15Thousand Farmers founding sponsor and co-owner of Louisville’s Heine Brothers’ Coffee, explained the vision of this new organization to create and support 15,000 organic backyard farmers in Louisville. It will provide everything necessary for anyone to start a simple, organic backyard garden – easy instructions, materials, support from volunteers and a website where farmers can connect and support each other.

“The problems of the world are so big, how could I possibly make a difference?” he asked, before explaining the benefits of a “kindergarten level” backyard garden.

See the rest of the article here.

See 15Thousand Farmers website here.

Urban farming: A growing field

By V.L. Hendrickson
am New York
March 7, 2010

The Queens County Farm Museum’s history dates back to 1697; it occupies New York City’s largest remaining tract of undisturbed farmland and is the only working historical farm in the City. The farm encompasses a 47-acre parcel that is the longest continuously farmed site in New York State. The site includes historic farm buildings, a greenhouse complex, livestock, farm vehicles and implements, planting fields, an orchard and herb garden.

Early morning livestock feedings and cultivating the herb garden aren’t on the daily list of duties for most New Yorkers, but for Leah Retherford, they’re business as usual. As farm manager of Queens County Farm Museum, she oversees 47-acres.

“I wanted to keep farming when I moved to the city a year ago,” said Retherford, who had been working at a smaller operation in Detroit. “This as the perfect opportunity: I’m living in the city and working with animals among fruit trees.”

All in a day’s work

As farm manager, Retherford, 30, is responsible for maintaining the health of the farm’s sheep, pigs, dairy cows and other animals, as well as day-to-day chores such as feeding and keeping them and their environment clean. The farm also grows vegetables (sold at the farm and at the Union Square Greenmarket). Retherford oversees planting and harvesting and makes sure the farm is using sustainable methods.

A gig for outdoor lovers

Retherford said many people start out as volunteers and become apprentices. You have to love being outdoors and manual labor to enjoy the farming life, Retherford said. “I like to think of farming as applied science, where you are observing a natural system, and trying to make management decisions that will support healthy plants and animals,” she said.

Retherford came to the Queens Farm Museum as an apprentice last year. She had experience working with vegetable farming, but not livestock.

Many city farmers bring their produce to Greenmarkets. These farms need hands to man the stands, especially during the busy summer and early fall seasons. Pay is generally $10-15 per hour.

See the rest of the article here.

From Showpiece to Sustainable Crops, a Farm Shifts

By ANNALIESE GRIFFIN
New York Times
March 3, 2009

FOR a glimpse of agriculture in a land of high-rise apartment buildings, busloads of New York City schoolchildren have come for years to the Queens County Farm Museum. There they have petted Daisy the cow, walked through the cornfield maze, ridden the hay wagon and examined pens and fields that seemed just like those of a real farm.

But over the past year, the museum has become a real farm.

Since Michael Grady Robertson was hired as its director of agriculture a year ago, it has been raising more crops and animals, using sustainable methods, and plans to expand.

For the first time, the farm is running a stand at the Union Square Greenmarket. Every Monday since November, the farm has been selling greenhouse produce — more than 15 pounds of salad greens each week — eggs, honey, frozen heirloom tomatoes from last summer’s abundance, and pork from pasture-raised pigs.

See the rest of the article here.

Urban Farm Hub tries to answer the question

Urban Farm Hub is launching a series of articles addressing the long-term economic viability of urban agriculture. We know commercial agriculture enterprises pencil in shrinking midwest cities such as Detroit, Pittsburgh and Cleveland, but what about thriving metropolitan areas such as Seattle where there’s a shortage of developable land?

We’ll be interviewing small business owners, design professionals, urban farm entrepreneurs, and commercial developers in rapidly growing metropolitan areas to see what they have to say about reaping the green from urban agriculture.

Last week we highlighted the work of Little City Gardens, a micro market garden based in San Francisco. This week we talk to the founder of Seattle Urban Farm Company, one of Seattle’s most successful edible landscaping businesses and award winning designer of the Crops For Clunkers exhibit at the 2010 Northwest Flower and Garden Show.

Seattle Urban Farm Company

What’s one of the most interesting projects your company has worked on?

Bastille Rooftop Garden

The Bastille rooftop garden is really interesting. The owners bought a historic building and retrofitted it with extra trusses to support the garden, which was pretty expensive. We have it set up for high-volume production, much more like traditional farming. We’re trying to produce as much food per square foot as possible. Last year we did all salad greens and this year we’re bringing 40-50 tomato plants up there and a few beehives from Ballard Bee Company to provide honey for desserts.

It’s such a shame to see all of these new buildings going up without rooftop gardens. The best time to put one in is definitely at the time of construction. Retrofits later down the road can be pretty cost prohibitive.

See the complete story here.

Little City Gardens

What is Little City Gardens’ revenue model?

Caitlyn: Our marketing strategy is to create a value added product so we can achieve the greatest monetary value with the smallest amount of space. In 2009 we marketed an artisanal salad mix with 30 different ingredients. We were selling to one restaurant weekly and 4-5 caterers sporadically. We also had an email list with 50-60 people on it. If we had extra produce we’d send out an email and host an informal farmers’ market.

This coming year we hope to start a CSA and be selling to four restaurants. The restaurants are definitely the most profitable. It’s easier for them to spend more on produce because they have such a higher profit margin. There’s also way less administration involved. The informal farmers’ market took way more time and coordination, but we realized other benefits. We’ve now built an alternative structure of support.

See the complete story here.

Urban Farming Summit: Panel Discussion

Panel: February 19, 2010, The University of Michigan – Dearborn

Ashley Atkinson, The Greening of Detroit

Oran Hesterman, Fair Food Network

Susan Schmidt, The Henry Ford

Kami Pothukuchi, SEED Wayne

Malik Yakini, Detroit Black Community Food Security Network

Moderated by Bruce Pietrykowski, Professor of Economics, UM-Dearborn

Urban Farming Summit: Keynote Speaker Robert Kenner

Visit the Urban Farming agenda Feb 19 website here.

Next Event:
UM-Dearborn and Crain’s Detroit Business presents:
The Business of Urban Agriculture
April 7, 2010
7:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.
Fairlane Center North

E. Duchemin, F. Wegmuller, and A.-M. Legault
Institut des sciences de l’environnement, Université du Québec à Montréal, Succ. Centre-Ville, C.P. 8888, Montréal, Québec, Canada
2009

Abstract.

For over 30 years, different urban agriculture (UA) experiments have been undertaken in Montreal (Quebec, Canada). The Community Gardening Program, managed by the City, and 6 collective gardens, managed by community organizations, are discussed in this article. These experiments have different objectives, including food security, socialization and education. Although these have changed over time, they have also differed depending on geographic location (neighbourhood).

The UA initiatives in Montreal have resulted in the development of a centre with a signi?cant vegetable production and a socialization and education environment that fosters individual and collective social development in districts with a signi?cant economically disadvantaged population. The various approaches attain the established objectives and these are multi-dimensional tools used for the social development of disadvantaged populations.

Conclusions

Although there is less surface area of agricultural land available in the city, and although it would be difficult to feed the entire population of a city like Montreal with the available land, a multi-approach implementation of gardening in urban environments, such as land agriculture, container gardening on balconies and roofs and a vertical integration of elements, would certainly contribute to the social development of disadvantaged neighbourhoods. Although not exclusive, the data presented here reveal that the initiatives are socially inclusive, that is, they encourage diversity in the gardens and therefore avoid excluding or stigmatizing certain groups of people. Moreover, this diversity fosters social support.

Studies done on UA, which have mainly been carried out in developing countries, generally examine the issue of economic integration through a segment of the urban population (often women) whereas in this study, we also examined socialization and educational issues that were certainly present in these projects. Here, only one garden (La Croisée) takes action on issues of economic integration. It does so through professional training and through the sale of baskets of organic vegetables. However, in various North American cities such as Toronto and New York, the sale of vegetables and processed products (canned foods, jams, etc.) becomes a tool for the economic development of vulnerable populations.

In conclusion, it appears that a cross-analysis of initiatives taken in industrialized and developing countries would greatly bene?t both, but especially industrialized countries, where UA is still in its initial phases of development.

Read the complete report here.

The Huffington Post excerpt:
March 10, 2010

Said Colbert: “Glenn’s advertisers know nothing moves product like the hot stink of fear.” Case in point: a commercial for a product called Survival Seed Bank, in which the spokesman claims nonhybrid seeds will be more valuable that silver and gold, and thus save you from the impending economic meltdown.

Survival Seed Bank’s message mirrored the craziness of Beck, himself, seemingly predicting an apocalypse. The commercial claimed that the product provided enough seeds to plant a full acre “crisis garden,” which of course got Colbert excited: “When you’re tilling the earth with a human femur while the sky is raining fire, you’ll want a reliable supply of radicchio and mini squash.”

Link here.

See original advertisement here.

By Aaron Newton
Powering Down
March 11, 2010

Excerpt:

Today we’re designing an urban farm. This one will become real if we can get the funding necessary to start the program. The specific location of the farm will have to remain a secret for now but it’s in Charlotte, NC near uptown. Todd Serdula did most of the excellent graphic work on this proposal.

To start with we break down the design considerations into 4 categories.

Physical Components
Programing Elements
Transition and Construction
Marketing and Distribution

The Physical Components can best be thought of as the needs of the plants. At a basic level this means sun, soil and water. The Programing Elements are the energy sources for getting work done. Who or what actually does the work on the farm? What tasks are accomplished using hands, machines or animals? And how are decisions made? These are critical questions more important to the success of the farm than the Physical Components.

We also have to consider Transition and Construction. Farm infrastructure and programing takes development. It’s a process that doesn’t happen overnight. Lastly we have to think about what will happen to the food once it is ready for harvest. How does it get from field to fork? This will affect the farm design.

We start be identifying several vacant urban city lots owned by a willing partner. The partner also owns adjacent infrastructure including a warehouse, a vacant restaurant and parking. We test the soil and find no major problems. We put the land into cover crops to build soil while the design proceeds.

See the rest of the blog story here.

Attack of the Rotten Tomatoes

By Anne Marie Chaker
Wall Street Journal
March 10, 2010

Excerpt:

The city of Baltimore replaced its flower beds in front of city hall with vegetables last year. The goal, says designer Angela Treadwell-Palmer, was to show that vegetable gardens could be attractive and to grow harvests to donate to a local soup kitchen. But the local charity reported that some crops—particularly beets, kohlrabi and eggplant—weren’t appetizing to people.

So this year, Ms. Treadwell-Palmer is redesigning the garden to grow bigger yields of fewer crops like cabbage, kale and collard greens. The garden will also have a less-fussy, more minimalist look. And in the spring, at least, not all the beds will be vegetable plots, leaving room for some tulips—and more time for gardeners to breathe. “It was hard work,” she says.

Spurred by the recession and the trendiness of locally grown produce, many people planted vegetables for the first time this past year. But rookie mistakes, combined with a particularly cruel growing season that included late blight and heavy rainfall, have many now wanting to throw in the trowel. Experienced gardeners say early spring is the perfect time to correct last year’s mistakes.

First-timers typically overlook fundamentals like light, good soil, planting time and proper spacing between plants. Also, “a lot of young people are kind of curious but don’t know the time commitment,” says Jon Traunfeld, a senior agent with the University of Maryland’s Extension service, which assists gardeners in communities statewide. Mr. Traunfeld, who specializes in fruits and vegetables, says the service was hammered with questions, logging in 1,963 phone calls and emails last year, up 47% from the year before.

See the complete article here.

Fewer Farms to Feed ‘Local’ Appetite

By Justin Sheck
Wall Street Journal
San Francisco Bay Area
March 11, 2010

Pocket-size farms have sprung up in cities around the Bay Area in recent years, part of a movement to bring consumers closer to the sources of food they buy.

But even as these small farms show up in urban neighborhoods, bringing with them a sense of a local agricultural revival, the continuing decline in the availability of farmland in the Bay Area’s traditional growing areas threatens to leave consumers further away than ever from where their food is cultivated.

In recent years, the region has lost large tracts of farmland to housing and commercial development.

Between 2000 and 2008, Alameda County lost more than 12,000 acres of farmland, or 6% of its total, according to county data. In Santa Clara County, farm acreage dropped more than 5% between 1998 and 2008 to 229,608 acres, with organic acreage falling 39% to 377 acres between 2005 and 2008, according to county data. Farm acreage in Contra Costa and San Mateo counties also has declined.

“It’s really a conundrum,” says Sibella Kraus, president of nonprofit Sustainable Agriculture Education, or SAGE, which encourages sustainable local farming. “There is this demand for local, but we’re not really investing in local.” Ms. Kraus, known for her work planning the San Francisco Ferry Building market, says that while development is at a lull now due to the real-estate downturn, government at the state and local level hasn’t created enough incentives to prevent farmland loss when economic activity rebounds.

Farmers blame the longstanding desire by developers and local communities to generate revenue from new-home sales. “Cities and counties are looking for a larger revenue stream,” says Gregory Gee, the assistant agriculture commissioner in Alameda County.

A 2008 study by SAGE and the American Farmland Trust on farming within 100 miles of San Francisco found that 22% of Bay Area land used for urban development between 1990 and 2004 occurred on high-quality cropland.

That trend is likely to continue. “It’s questionable whether the agricultural land that’s in the Bay Area can remain,” says Ed Thompson, California director for the American Farmland Trust. Along with development, he notes that some small farms in the area have been forced to switch to high-profit crops like expensive salad greens, rather than staples like potatoes, in order to make a living.

To generate support for local farming and healthier eating, officials in San Francisco’s parks and health departments and urban-farmland advocates are trying to champion local agriculture. While the small projects can’t make up for the loss of large swaths of agricultural land on the outskirts of cities, the officials hope that urban plots will raise awareness about farming, while supplying fresh produce to consumers on a smaller scale.

At times, even those efforts have struggled. Antonio Roman-Alcala became involved with urban farming around five years ago. At the time, inner-city farming in San Francisco was at a lull after a nonprofit called the San Francisco League of Urban Gardeners, or SLUG—which had led much of the city’s urban farm efforts—collapsed due to a political scandal. In the aftermath, community farms such as Alemany Farm, a 4.5-acre parcel at the foot of Bernal Heights that grew vegetables and fruit trees, closed.

In 2005, Mr. Roman-Alcala revived the farm. It has since gotten support from the San Francisco Parks Trust, which is helping to fund several other urban gardens and help neighborhood residents turn vacant lots into green spaces.

On a recent Thursday, Mr. Roman-Alcala, several volunteers and a team of city workers funded with federal economic-stimulus money worked to prepare Alemany Farm for an Arbor Day event that was expected to attract 500 residents. Next to the buzzing 280 Freeway, volunteer Markos Major munched leaves from fava bean plants and said local residents have started planting new crops like taro root.

Despite such progress, Mr. Roman-Alcala and Kearstin Krehbiel, a Parks Trust program director, say San Francisco’s urban-farming movement is just starting to rebuild the network that was lost when SLUG collapsed. Ms. Krehbiel says that while she expects more small farms will pop up on vacant parcels, one challenge to boosting local food production is that some neighborhoods have chosen to plant flowers, not food.

Whether commercially viable farms can survive here might be answered in places like Morgan Hill. Last month, the historically farming-heavy city 20 miles south of San Jose finished a study on the feasibility of sustaining the local agricultural industry, mainly vegetable farms and fruit orchards far bigger than the area’s urban plots.

Greg House, an agricultural consultant and farmer who did the Morgan Hill study, recommended the city institute new taxes to support agriculture and modify local ordinances to discourage development on farmland. If they are willing to pass such measures, he says, other Bay Area cities might help stem the loss of farmland.

But in the long term, Mr. House isn’t optimistic. “This trend that we’re looking at has been going on for 100 years or more, and in no way does it look like it will be ending anytime soon,” he says.

See the article here.

Film by Dr. Shadi Hamadeh

American University of Beirut
In Arabic with English subtitles
2004
(Very interesting! Mike)

Animal husbandry remains the livelihoods of many communities, even in urban areas. This documentary film is a live witness of Arab Khaldeh families raising sheep in the suburbs of Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, an integration of rural communities in urban areas.

Watch the film here.

Visit the Regional Website of Urban Agriculture in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region here.

Roberta’s already grows about 20 percent of its needs, in a good week, in a small roof garden in back of the restaurant and in a backyard garden several blocks away.

Michelle Knapik
Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation Blog
March 10, 2010

Excerpt:

Once inside the unassuming entrance of Roberta’s, if you can cast your gaze past the wood fired stove and pizza gurus, let your olfactory senses take in something beyond the sweet aroma of ricotta pancakes sopping up maple syrup, and put down your mason jar of local beer, you will see, hear and experience the backyard urban oasis – a farming oasis that is. But don’t look out, look up. There is where you will find the first of the rooftop greenhouses.

The hoop greenhouse is built on top of a shipping container that is fitted out as a radio station. The semi vacant lot next door is also being transformed into greenhouse space that will tie into a fledgling compost operation. Look closely as the construction of this greenhouse and you will find yourself peering into salvaged factory windows.

Wait, before you think that this is this some urban warrior plot to cut out the rural farmer, you need to take in the full story. This enterprise is about connecting people to food, and people to people. It is about creating community assets and efficiently using local resources. It is about transforming underutilized urban hardscapes to grow food, while building better relationships with rural farmers to supply the elements that cannot come easily from the urban farm

See the rest of the blog posting by Michelle Knapik here.

Roberta’s locavores farm an acre of rooftop.

Roberta’s pizzaria website here.

Brooklyn Grange working with Roberta’s to build a one acre rooftop farm

Brooklyn Grange aims to build on decades of rooftop farming best practices and establish a one acre farm that operates as a sustainable small business. The farm will sell fresh, organic and affordable food to the local community, contributing to the health and economic development of the neighborhood.

Seeds Sown! March 5, 2010

A couple of nights ago we planted about 5,000 seeds (tomatoes, eggplant, onions, herbs, etc) so that we’ve got an army of seedlings ready to transplant on the roof once the last frost is passed in mid-April. Thanks to the dozen or so volunteers who came out to help get the little guys in soil, and to Roberta’s for letting us use the army tent.

Visit Brooklyn Grange website here.

Hoping for a Rooftop Farm in Brooklyn.

By jnicholl
Center for a Livable Future
March 8, 2010

Excerpt:

This past weekend, I witnessed hundreds of volunteers working in a very tangible way to take back the food system for a community. The ancient Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu said, “the journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” This was a stride. Two high schools in Richmond, Calif in the span of one weekend built urban school farms at their respective school sites. Supported by Urban Tilth http://www.urbantilth.org, those students, teachers, parents and community volunteers laid the infrastructure and built the capacity to grow significant amounts of local produce in Richmond.

These are farms that will not just change the physical environment of the schools and the community, but significantly change the way students think about food. This year, close to 30 students at Richmond High are enrolled in the second pilot year of an Urban Agriculture and Food Systems class, what we call Urban Ag Institutes, and those students will grow from seed thousands of pounds of produce, that will feed families from their high school. Last year, the program had a small but impressive 10 family CSA box (community supported agriculture) and this year with the expansion of the farm at the high school, they hope to do even more.

Just as exciting, across town at Kennedy High School, an even larger farm with thirteen 100 ft. rows were put in behind the football field. Say bye-bye to the school garden and say hello to the school ‘farm!’ Imagine the depth of knowledge that will come as those students learn to manage a working urban farm. Growing seasons, soil, pests, nutrition, food systems, marketing, community food security, advocacy, organics, cooking, and permaculture are just some of the topics that we will engage with students in the program.

See the rest of the article and more photos here.

4 million cracker packages with seeds inside and a pledge to build 50 community-based home farms

Home Farming is about growing your own herbs and vegetables, no matter where you live. To help people on their path to Home Farming, four million packages of Original and Reduced-Fat Triscuit crackers will include cards with basil or dill herb seeds that can be planted directly into the ground.

A recent Triscuit survey found nearly two-thirds of Americans are interested in growing food in a backyard garden. And three out of four of those surveyed prefer to eat foods with a few, simple ingredients, reflecting a popular desire to get back to the simple joys in life. (The Triscuit Home Farming Study, fielded by StrategyOne, is a national telephone survey among a representative sample of 1,018 U.S. adults conducted January 14, 2009 and January 17, 2009.)

Triscuit and Urban Farming will collaborate to create 50 community-based home farms across the U.S., launching with a groundbreaking ceremony in Los Angeles on March 11th at St. Stephen’s and the Jubilee Consortium. Following the groundbreaking event, 49 additional farms will be planted from coast to coast in such cities as Dallas, Detroit, Philadelphia, Phoenix and Tampa, to name just a few. The farms will provide local residents and community groups with the opportunity to volunteer to maintain the farm and enjoy the local produce grown in their neighborhood.

Two of the biggest obstacles people face in starting a home farm are time and space. In fact, over half of Americans (56%) who did not grow food last year said it was because of lack of time and/or space.

Visit Triscuit’s Home Farming web site to see how-to videos and an interactive map where you can add your own home farm.

Detroit wants to save itself by shrinking

Associated Press
March. 8, 2010

DETROIT – Detroit, the very symbol of American industrial might for most of the 20th century, is drawing up a radical renewal plan that calls for turning large swaths of this now-blighted, rusted-out city back into the fields and farmland that existed before the automobile.

Operating on a scale never before attempted in this country, the city would demolish houses in some of the most desolate sections of Detroit and move residents into stronger neighborhoods. Roughly a quarter of the 139-square-mile city could go from urban to semi-rural.

Near downtown, fruit trees and vegetable farms would replace neighborhoods that are an eerie landscape of empty buildings and vacant lots. Suburban commuters heading into the city center might pass through what looks like the countryside to get there. Surviving neighborhoods in the birthplace of the auto industry would become pockets in expanses of green.

Detroit officials first raised the idea in the 1990s, when blight was spreading. Now, with the recession plunging the city deeper into ruin, a decision on how to move forward is approaching. Mayor Dave Bing, who took office last year, is expected to unveil some details in his state-of-the-city address this month.

“Things that were unthinkable are now becoming thinkable,” said James W. Hughes, dean of the School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University, who is among the urban experts watching the experiment with interest. “There is now a realization that past glories are never going to be recaptured. Some people probably don’t accept that, but that is the reality.”

‘People are afraid’

The meaning of what is afoot is now settling in across the city.

“People are afraid,” said Deborah L. Younger, executive director of a group called Detroit Local Initiatives Support Corporation that is working to revitalize five areas of the city. “When you read that neighborhoods may no longer exist, that sends fear.”

See the rest of the article and more photos here.

Fruits, Vegetables: Just Phase 1 of project

By Frank Luba
The Province
5 Mar 2010

Vancouver has made it easier for residents to be nice to the Earth on April 22 — which just happens to be Earth Day.

Starting then, people that live in single-family residences can start pitching their fruit and vegetable waste into their yard waste bins so it can be composted.

The initiative, passed by council Thursday, is still dependent on negotiations with Metro Vancouver and Fraser Richmond Soil and Fibre over use of the company’s composting facility.

That negotiation is subject to confidentiality, but Coun. Andrea Reimer said there will be a “marginal increase” over the cost of landfilling the waste.

Long-term, Reimer said, “the financial arguments are quite compelling.”

Kitchen waste represents about 35 per cent of waste. Composted instead of buried in the landfill, the diverted waste could extend the life of the landfill by as much as 35 per cent.

Because Vancouver has its own landfill in Delta, it only charges $30 per tonne to cover its costs.

When the landfill is full, Vancouverites will be charged what commercial operators pay — currently, $80 per tonne.

Composting fruits and vegetables is just Phase 1 of the plan. Phase 2, in 2011, will allow residents to put all their waste in with yard trimmings — including meat, dairy, cereal products and food-soiled paper like pizza boxes.

If 85 per cent of residents participate in the program, a staff report suggests that composting fruits and vegetables will reduce landfilled waste by 6,100 tonnes annually.

Composting all food waste will divert an additional 9,600 tonnes.

The plan makes a lot of sense to Michael Levenston, executive director of the City Farmer non-profit urban-agriculture group.

“Anything that turns something that would otherwise be buried in a landfill into a useful product is a good thing,” said Levenston.

The first phase of the project carries a $230,000 cost for communication and promotion. Another $75,000 is allocated for Phase 2 communication and $240,000 is being set aside to fund additional local-scale or backyard composting this year.

Metro Vancouver is currently running test projects for composting of the full range of kitchen waste in neighbourhoods in Coquitlam, Delta, the Township of Langley and West Vancouver.

Port Coquitlam began diverting food waste on its own and has seen a significant reduction in garbage.

Comparing a five-week period in January and February 2009 with the same period this year, the reduction was 231 tonnes.

Deborah Netburn
LA Times
December 31, 2009

Ever since “It’s Complicated” was released in theaters last week the online garden community has been buzzing about Jane’s (Meryl Streep) vegetable garden, above. Its lushness, colorfulness, perkiness … well, it’s almost pornographic. One doesn’t know whether to envy it, or to be concerned about anyone that eats from it.

“The idea was it was meant to look like a real cook’s garden,” said Jon Hutman, the film’s production designer, speaking on the phone from a hotel room in Italy. “We try to make the movies look real, but a very delicious version of real.”

Hutman, who does not garden, relied on the talents of greensman Dan Ondrejko, whose previous credits include “Jurassic Park,” “Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events” and “Land of the Lost.” After perusing countless garden books they settled on a French potager garden design, which makes sense for the character — a baker who got her training in France.

While there are no CGI cabbages or rhubarb special effects in the film, this is still not a garden that is humanly possible, even for Martha Stewart. The vegetables were grown in a greenhouse for two months before the garden scene was shot, and any plant that looked a little scrubby was not used.

There was also a little enhancement. “I probably shouldn’t tell you this,” Hutman said, guiltily, “but those tomatoes were wired to the vine.”

Honesty appreciated, Jon.

Article here.