Today I ate my first salad from the garden- included a yummy mix of spinach, beet greens, and a variety of lettuces.

smarterplanet: 4 Tips For Starting A Farm In Your City [Video] | Fast Company Consider this paradox: 49 million Americans live with daily food insecurity, 23 million live in urban food deserts, and collectively we’re all getting fatter. Simultaneously vacant lots, concrete grooves, and other desolate, empty spots dot urban landscapes, while a quarter of traditional agricultural land is severely degraded according to the UN. Enter the urban farm: a fast, smart, cheap way to bring healthy food closer to those who need it, transform ugly vacant spaces into lush gardens, and promote a healthier, greener, more connected urban community. A recently released video by the American Society of Landscape Architects uses case studies from edible-city innovators, such as Cleveland and Detroit, to offer practical advice for bringing urban farms to your backyard (or corner lot or rooftop). Here are four helpful tips:

smarterplanet:

4 Tips For Starting A Farm In Your City [Video] | Fast Company

Consider this paradox: 49 million Americans live with daily food insecurity, 23 million live in urban food deserts, and collectively we’re all getting fatter. Simultaneously vacant lots, concrete grooves, and other desolate, empty spots dot urban landscapes, while a quarter of traditional agricultural land is severely degraded according to the UN.

Enter the urban farm: a fast, smart, cheap way to bring healthy food closer to those who need it, transform ugly vacant spaces into lush gardens, and promote a healthier, greener, more connected urban community.

A recently released video by the American Society of Landscape Architects uses case studies from edible-city innovators, such as Cleveland and Detroit, to offer practical advice for bringing urban farms to your backyard (or corner lot or rooftop). Here are four helpful tips:

I couldn’t resist buying spaghetti squash seeds today at Lowes despite failing at them for the last three years. This year I am trying a new strategy: planting them with raddishes, which are supposed to repell squash bugs. I also planted some marigolds with them, too, because of their insect-repellant nature. Later I plan to move my geranium plants near them for the same reason (but right now they are in pots near my newly planted tomato and pepper plants to repel insects and attract pollenating insects with their blooms.

All this started because I needed some basil to help the tomatoes and some dill to help the lettuce.

Critters encountered while gardening on Saturday

1. Lizard, but not the typical green ones we typically see around here. This one had burried himself.
2. A toad
3. Various insects including what might be a brown recluse spider.

Gardening isnt for wimps.

All in a day’s work: weeding, harvesting, and planting done!

All in a day’s work: weeding, harvesting, and planting done!

archiemcphee:

Once again the awesome power of nature goes and produces something that looks like it couldn’t possibly be real. Last time it was the Jewel Caterpillar. Now we have the prettiest ear of corn we’ve ever seen.

This is the aptly named Glass Gem Corn. The photos are from Seeds Trust (“a 25 year-old family seed company dedicated to teaching you to save your own seeds, grow a delicious home garden and create stunning native landscapes”) who shared the following background story about this stunning vegetable:

“Seedsman Greg Schoen got the seed from Carl Barnes, a part-Cherokee man, now in his 80’s, in Oklahoma. He was Greg’s “corn-teacher”. Greg was in the process of moving last year and wanted someone else to store and protect some of his seeds. He left samples of several corn varieties, including glass gem. I grew out a small handful this past summer just to see. 
The rest, as they say is history. I got so excited, I posted a picture on Facebook. We have never seen anything like this. Unfortunately, we did not grow out enough to sell. Look for a small amount for sale starting in August 2011.”

Of course now we can’t help but wonder if it tastes as good as it looks. 

[via TYWKIWDBI and Farming and Agriculture]

Not going to plant corn, but this is really cool!

Let the second spring planting begin

with tomatos (beefsteak, cherry roma and heirloom), peppers (bell, banana and jalepeno), as well as more spinach, lettuce and beets

Will Organic Food Fail to Feed the World? A new meta-analysis suggests farmers should take a hybrid approach to producing enough food for humans while preserving the environment Full Story:Scientific American emergentfutures:

Will Organic Food Fail to Feed the World?

A new meta-analysis suggests farmers should take a hybrid approach to producing enough food for humans while preserving the environment

Full Story:Scientific American

emergentfutures:

The culling!

Today I have the blood of baby beet sprouts on my hands after I thinned out my garden to allow the stronger plants to have enough room to thrive. I feel like Ayn Rand. I hate Ayn Rand.

At least now I will have a nice salad with micro lettuce, spinach and beet leaves.

Because I compost my organic kitchen waste (at least I try to) sometimes a random seed gets thrown in. Here’s the result: a little tomato plant has started among my lettuce plants. I wonder what kind of tomato it might be? It’s a little early to plant tomatoes where I live, but I’m going to try and keep this one going.

Because I compost my organic kitchen waste (at least I try to) sometimes a random seed gets thrown in. Here’s the result: a little tomato plant has started among my lettuce plants. I wonder what kind of tomato it might be? It’s a little early to plant tomatoes where I live, but I’m going to try and keep this one going.