The Urban Permaculture Farm Magazine
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All About Strawberries
I love planting strawberries in my garden. Not only are they delicious, they also have beautiful, rich, green foliage and cute flowers (which make a great ground cover in a planting bed or along a path). My daughter loves to come outside and pick them for a healthy snack, and we enjoy planting them together, too.
There are so many varieties of strawberries to choose from! I like to plant several different kinds because certain varieties ripen at different times. By combining early bloomers with late bloomers and ever-bearing varieties, you can get strawberries all summer long!
Three Unique Ways to Grow Your Own Potatoes
It’s that time again gardeners; time to plant potatoes.
The Potato plant is a hardy and versatile plant that produces a lot of food in a small amount of space. Potatoes are formed out of the tuber that grows on the plant. In order for the tuber to grow into a potato it cannot be exposed to light. These tubers grow above the seed potato. In order for potatoes to grow as the plant grows you must mound around the plant to prevent any light getting to the tubers.
Starting Amaranth Seeds Indoors with a Hot House
Here in New England and across the Northern states, we tend to give up on our gardens as soon as the snow begins to fall. The ground is frozen, the days are shorter, and the weather is fierce!
But as you’ll see, you don’t have to force your inner gardener to hibernate. Especially in colder areas where our growing season is so short, it really pays to start plants from seed indoors.
The 5 Seed Catalogs for Organic and Heirloom Seeds
'Tis the Season to be Jolly...It's Seed Catalog time. This is a cherished time for gardeners because it's our time to plan what we're going to grow in the garden starting in the spring. What better way to help, but seed catalogs. We've put together a list of 5 catalog companies that specialize in heirloom and organic seed with easy links to order their catalogs for free. Because of the high demand for these types of seeds, you'll need to place your order soon, many varieties sell out quickly. These catalogs are also chock full of information about unique heirlooms with pictures that will have you trying new things in your kitchen garden.
My Garden Doctor the new book from Pat Lanza
Recently I had a chance to teach school children how make a Lasagna Garden. A chance meeting with a parent, who knew about my no-dig, no-till garden methods, asked if I would teach the children how to make and plant a garden.
During the first meeting with the class Dave and I told them about our project; to make a garden in a place that would let us grow vines up an ugly fence that bordered their playground. The kids taught us something that day; they wanted to plant pumpkins and nothing we said would distract them. We explained that it was fall and we would make the garden but the pumpkin seeds would have to wait until spring. They just wanted to grow pumpkins.
Lasagna Gardening With Kids
Recently I had a chance to teach school children how make a Lasagna Garden. A chance meeting with a parent, who knew about my no-dig, no-till garden methods, asked if I would teach the children how to make and plant a garden.
During the first meeting with the class Dave and I told them about our project; to make a garden in a place that would let us grow vines up an ugly fence that bordered their playground. The kids taught us something that day; they wanted to plant pumpkins and nothing we said would distract them. We explained that it was fall and we would make the garden but the pumpkin seeds would have to wait until spring. They just wanted to grow pumpkins.
Gardening with Heirloom Tomatoes
Heirloom vegetables are becoming more and more popular. As people look to save a few bucks by growing edibles, they are rediscovering the joys of these tried-and-true plants. Many of the cultivars are literally heirlooms, prized possessions passed down from generation to generation. Flavor, nutrition content, extensive variety, and adaptability are the traits that give heirlooms value and the reasons more people are choosing heirloom vegetables for their gardens.
To qualify as an heirloom tomato the variety must be traditional (old), open-pollinated, and flavorful. Age is an important factor because by 1951 commercial agriculture began breeding hybrids and the mass production of heirlooms declined.
10 Reasons to install Drip Irrigation in your Garden
I travel all the time to produce videos and with my automated drip irrigation system from Dripworks I no longer have to worry about asking the neighbors to water my plants while I'm away. I had a great time learning from Leon and my raised beds have flourished since installing a drip irrigation system.
Drip irrigation has been used since ancient times when buried clay pots were filled with water, which would gradually seep into the grass or crops. Modern drip irrigation has arguably become the world's most valued innovation in agriculture in the past forty years, which offered the first practical alternative to surface irrigation like sprinklers and flood and drain systems. Drip irrigation may also use devices called micro-spray heads, which spray water in a small area, instead of dripping emitters. These are generally used on tree and vine crops with wider root zones.
Create a Weed Free Garden in Under 30 Minutes
Starting a garden doesn't get much easier than this.
One of the things that puts some people off from starting up a raised bed garden is the effort and materials required. They might only start a garden if it is as easy as humanly possible. Well, there's a product out there that makes starting a raised garden or container garden completely excuse-free and utterly un-intimidating.
GardenSoxx is a two-foot long fabric sack of compost that creates a weed-free garden in minutes. Patti Moreno, of The Garden Girl fame, shows us how easy and fast it is to set up a raised vegetable bed with GardenSoxx.
Plan and Start your Spring Garden
Sow your own slew of seeds for a vibrant backyard vegetable harvest
There are few satisfactions to match that of starting your own vegetables from seed. Part craft, part science, the process awakens nurturing instincts in even the most hardened urban dwellers. Sowing seeds connects you to the very cycle of life, beginning with the alchemical blending of dry seed with moisture, temperature, light, and the day-to-day care and feeding that brings a bounty of fresh food to your table.
It may still be dreary outside, but now is the time to start seeds indoors so that they’ll be ready for outdoor planting in early spring. And with seed catalogs now appearing fast and furious, winter is the best time to dream up your edible garden for 2010. If you’re hoping for just a few salad staples, begin with tender, ruffled red and green lettuces, iron-rich spinach, and spicy radishes. More adventurous gardeners with refined palates should try their hand at seductive heirloom varietals: Charentais melons, purple sprouting broccoli, and ‘Brandywine’ tomatoes. But before you start sowing row upon row of fancy tomato cultivars, think about how many plants you can realistically manage in your outdoor garden. Your best sources of information and supplies are local seed companies, which offers a wide selection of regionally adapted varieties. By late February, sowing the seeds of your spring and summer vegetable garden can start in earnest. Timing is everything.
Gardening Basics: Building Raised Beds and Hoop Houses
Hydroponic/Aquaponic Seed Starting Factory
Hydroponic Seed starting system that feeds my Roxbury Neighborhood
Every year I start just over a thousand seedlings for my vegetable, flower, and annual gardens. I get a basic, primal joy out of the process. It is one of the highlights of my gardening life, spending those hours gazing at books, magazines, catalogues and playing with my seed packets as the gloomy, winter weather takes hold outside.
These seedlings make life more bearable for those of us battling cold climates. But the process doesn’t have to be so hit or miss. I used to grow the way you probably do. I set up a simple shelf with fluorescent bulbs balanced for daylight in the 5000 degree Kelvin color temperature. I set up elaborate watering procedures and, of course, freaked when I would come back from TV shoots and find that some of seedlings were either dead or shocked. I had to do something, anything to create an automatic system that was simple and would fit into my busy lifestyle and was husband proof.
How to Winter Sow Seeds
Get a headstart on Mother Nature with Winter Sown
First, let me give you a little background as to why I sowed the seeds during the Winter. I live in a very small house, a cottage actually, and I simply do not have room for a light set up, also, any window space I have must be fought from the cat and "Prinny" likes to look out on the street and watch the world go by, so I have to give her a windowsill. She's a good cat and deserves her place in the sun.
I got hooked on seed trading, and as you all know seed trading is like Pokemon card tradeing for foodies......"you gotta have 'em all." I had tons of seeds, I had them all. Though I am not a novice at gardening, I am a novice at growing seeds. This was my second season doing so. Because of my lack of experience with growing seeds, and not having the space for a light set up, I traded for "easy to grow" seeds; I had to start them in the windowsill or out on the patio in flats during Spring and Summer.
Lasagna Gardening
About twenty years ago, while living in New York’s Catskill Mountains, I wanted to make a garden. Armed with my shovel I began to try and dig the soil. The shovel jumped back at me so I went back to the woodshed for a pic-axe and began again. This time the pic jumped back and almost took me down. It seemed the garden plans would have to wait.
During a walk through the woods I tripped over a root and sat down hard. While I was getting my breath I noticed the wonderful aroma, un-mistakenly humus. I brushed aside the
30 Minute Gardening
Leafy Aspirations
Eat Healthier by Scrapping the Iceberg Lettuce and Growing Your Own Baby and Microgreens
In recent years, salad greens have enjoyed a culinary renaissance fueled by the American fascination with local and artisan foods--and a spate of books on the health benefits of French eating habits. At fine restaurants, the standard house salad, with chunks of cucumber, tomato and a choice of five fatty bottled dressings, has all but disappeared, replaced by tender heirloom greens, mesclun greens, baby greens and even microgreens, freshly picked and dressed with the lightest touch of vinaigrette. These fashionable young greens are the same crops as the adult versions, just harvested at an earlier stage. They are simple to grow and make an easy transition from garden plot to plate. Most leafy greens bolt and turn bitter in hot, dry weather. Thus, early spring is the perfect time to sow: These greens grow more quickly and taste sweetest when daytime temperatures range from 60 to 70 degrees.
Organic Weed Control
There's no doubt about it, organic is the way to go! Maybe you have heard terms such as "organic," "eco-friendly" or "earth conscious." So what does it mean to you, and where can you start? This summer, try an "organic" approach to weed control. Organic weed control is the process of ridding your garden of weeds with out the use of harsh chemicals. Weeds are simply plants that are considered undesirable, growing in places you don't want them to! Weeding doesn't always require hard, physical labor. There are lots of easy ways get rid of those pesky weeds in your garden.
To properly win the battle against weeds, it helps know who your foe is. Identifying weeds is one of the first steps you can take to protect all your hard work in the yard. Some types are incredibly invasive and fast-growing, and others can cause problems for humans if they get too close. Most of us have had the unfortunate encounter with the infamous poison ivy, oak or sumac. However, most common weeds are just a plain, old nuisance. These don't cause skin reactions or breathing difficulties, they just don't look good!
Basic and Hydroponic Indoor Gardening
Growing Herbs: Horehound
Many will probably remember the days of a most popular candy. Old fashioned horehound candy and with autumn fast upon us, it is also time to start thinking about the dreaded coughs and colds that inevitably come with the colder time of the year. Sipping on warm herbal infusions does a lot for the symptoms, if not the soul, when one is in the deepest cavity of misery but there is more that can be done by the frugal self sustaining home gardener. Horehound has been used since early Egyptian times for bronchial afflictions and coughs and even today is popular in over-the-counter cough medicines. A single cup of horehound tea can have profound impacts on accumulated mucus in the respiratory passages, reducing phlegm and easing the gloom of illness. Use for bronchitis, flu, colds, and sinus infections. Have a sweetener on hand, horehound has a bitter taste!
Growing A Rainbow of Carrots
It may surprise you to know that the carrot did not make it's orange debut until a mutated strain of the yellow carrot came to the Dutch who cross-bred it with red varieties to create an orange specimen in honor of the royal House of Orange. Thus creating the sweet and very orange variety that we know and munch down on today.
Growing carrots can be a snap with a couple of considerations. The first is to realize that they are from a sandy region of the planet and grow easily in sandy, rock free soil rather than regular soil. While carrots can grow in regular soil, sandy soil will yield better and straighter root crops. And the young seedlings are rather weak and will need an easy surface to break through. Traditionally, they are planted with radishes for this reason, but there are other methods to ensure that they are able to get through. My favorite is to trench the sandy soil and then place my seeds. I cover them with peat moss, and the seedlings have no problem sprouting without the aid of radishes.
Double Digging Garden Beds
If you are interested in creating raised beds using your native soil then you may want to try double digging. Double-dug, raised beds are highly productive because the process loosens the soil up to a depth of 24 inches allowing roots to penetrate more deeply and creates a raised, very well amended bed. It is one of the secrets to a seriously productive garden. I will be straight up with you though - this is really hard work! The good news is - that if you double dig your bed and then avoid walking on the growing bed soil, amend with compost regularly, and occasionally use a U-Bar/Broadfork or garden spade to lift and aerate - then you should never have to double dig that bed again. If you are creating new beds or trying to rejuvenate a garden bed, I would encourage you to give double digging a try.
Native American Three Sisters companion gardening
The Family Garden
20 things to help get the youngest in the family involved in the garden!
Ever wish you could get the family more excited and involved in the garden? Here are some tips to help make that happen:
1. Start with a trip to the grocery or farmer's market. Let the kids show you what fruits and vegetables they like. Do some "compare and contrast" to talk about varieties - so leafy lettuce looks different than romaine, etc. Hopefully you'll be able to do some tasting too.
2. Let each child select seeds to order from seed catalogues or from the seed packet displays at the grocery. Get them to talk to you about how they make their decisions (why this variety of tomato vs. that one)
All About Cilantro
Cilantro, the leaves and stems of Coriandrum sativum, and Coriander, the seeds of the same plant, is native to Southwestern Asia and North Africa. Reaching 12 to 24 inches tall, this plant has long been used for a variety of medicinal and culinary purposes. The leaves, stems, seeds and roots are edible and each have their own uses. Used as an appetite stimulant, aiding in the secretion of gastric juices, and a topical remedy for rheumatism and join pain, Cilantro has seen its share of medicine cabinets.
Cilantro has been cultivated all over the world for thousands of years in countries such as Egypt, India and China. It was introduced to Mexico and Peru by the Spanish and is now a major part of the cuisine in those areas. It has been mentioned in Sanskrit texts and also the Bible. It is further mentioned in a The Tales of Arabian Nights as an aphrodisiac.
Growing Mint
Used in teas to aid in digestion and ailments of the digestive track, facial sprays to sooth, calm and refresh, and of course in the kitchen in all manner of foods and drinks such as Mint Julep, an additive to plain iced tea for a cool summer Compost in a Bowltreat and as a flavor enhancer to herbal teas. And while it is sometimes shied away from due to the fact that it can very easily take over one's garden, once it is there, what else can you do with it?
Well, make pesto, of course!
Wild About Gardening
I grew up in the high desert of Albuquerque - that translates to very little rain. I can well remember watching my mom mound the dirt around the cucumber plants to help retain water. I can also remember complete strangers showing up at our doorstep to praise mom for her beautiful gardens. Now a lively 85, mom is still gardening. I inherited her love for dirt and plants, and the anticipation of things to come runs through my bones.
I've had a tiny apartment garden that was pretty successful. I even had a secret compost pile hidden near the apartment manager's office. Late at night, I would sneak out, dig a hole behind the overgrown hedge, and bury my kitchen scraps. This composting was so much fun - partly because it was clandestine, but also because it produced beautiful soil with very little effort.
Now I live in the country, and gardening in the country is a whole new ball game. I have ample space to try 20 varieties of tomatoes instead of just growing one tomato in a container on the porch. There is room for pumpkin vines and giant Jerusalem artichoke plants. Strawberries share space with sage and thyme. It is all so lovely. But here is the rub: Living in the country means living with wild animals and wild animals are very interested in my garden.
Starting Seeds 101
Seed starting…indoors or out? Every year nothing brings every gardener more joy than planting seeds and watching them grow. I am no exception. The prospects of watching an empty bed fill in with different leaf colors and textures makes me drool in anticipation of the spring veggies that will end up on my dinner plate. I can taste the mustard greens and mesculin lettuces, tossed in a basic vinaigrette…mmm mmm!To achieve this garden state, we must first become expert seed sowers.
Shallots a Rewarding Choice for the Home Garden
It’s those gourmet crops such as shallots, herbs, and heirloom tomatoes that really make growing your own vegetable plot such a great idea, and will also make you look like a genius both in the garden and kitchen! What’s so special about growing shallots, you ask? Well just venture over to your local grocer and check out the prices that they are asking for a few small bulbs that look like they’ve been sitting in those cellophane containers for months.
A Sustainable Veggie Garden Design In My Front Lawn
When I first began the journey of removing the grass from my front lawn and installing 5,000 pounds of rotted buffalo manure in 2009, I had no idea where it would lead. In the first year I learned a lot of hard lessons and soon realized that a vegetable garden requires more water than all the rest of my garden combined. Building a sustainable vegetable garden became a priority more than ever.
How to Fight the Winter Blues by Growing an Inside Herb Garden
Most people think about gardens and planting only in the spring time, and again as harvest time comes. This is certainly true, but there is no reason you cannot plant and grow crops all year around, and one way to do this is by growing an inside herb garden during the winter. What do you need to have a nice inside herb garden, just a window that gets some southern exposure, and even that's not necessary.
Lets say you do have a window with southern exposure, you need something to grow your herbs in, and a place to set them.
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An urban area is characterized by higher population density and vast human features in comparison to areas surrounding it. Urban areas may be cities, towns or conurbations, but the term is not commonly extended to rural settlements such as villages and hamlets.
Sustainability, in a broad sense, is the capacity to endure. In ecology, the word describes how biological systems remain diverse and productive over time. For humans it is the potential for long-term maintenance of wellbeing, which in turn depends on the wellbeing of the natural world and the responsible use of natural resources.