The Urban Permaculture Farm Magazine
For
The Garden Girl
I have to say it has been a super mild winter, the ground hog was way off the mark for me here in Boston until this morning. That is when we were hit with our first frost in almost three weeks. I had been waiting for this day for weeks as I prepared to publish Kenny Point's article on growing shallots. Onions and Shallots are great cold climate crops. Today I "snatched" this month's cover photo of my shallot and onion patch at sunrise as the warm air was blowing in. It's moments like the one captured in this photo that makes me thankful that I can be a tiny part of a natural system. This picture is just as grand in it's smallness as pictures of Alaskan landscapes to me.
In this issue, besides the great Kenny Point, we have more video and articles from our great friends and collaborators William Moss of Moss in the City and Mark Highland from the Organic Mechanic Soil company. There is so much information and tips in these articles and video I can almost guarantee there will be something new in there for you. We have a huge interview that Dana Gordon did with the City Farmer Michael Levenston on their operation in Vancouver. Michael has been a personal inspiration for me since I first started on my own path to Urban Sustainability.
I was given a awesome introduction to fermented foods this past month by Chef Alex Lewin at the Boston Kimchi festival, an incredible event that we will highlight on video soon. Chef Alex is also contributing a really eye-opening review of the book The Vegetarian Myth. Really interesting, I will be picking that book up for my flight to Seattle with Joe Lamp'l as we shoot Growing a Greener World there this month.
And if your new around here don't forget to visit our archive page, which is being updated weekly with articles from last year!
From the Sustainable Home Front,
Patti Moreno, the Garden Girl
Check out Last Months issue with Great Articles.
New Urban Sustainable LivingVideo
In the second video Patti Moreno continues to install a drip irrigation system with Leon from DripWorks USA in her main raised bed garden. Drip irrigation is one of the most important break throughs in agriculture of the last forty years.
Visit: http://www.dripworksusa.com and read more about drip irrigation.
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.
We must pay attention to time of year and plant temperature requirements for germination and growth.
The Vegetarian Myth, by Lierre Keith, review by Alex Lewin
In her book, The Vegetarian Myth: Food, Justice, and Sustainability, Lierre Keith successfully assails not only vegetarianism, but also industrial civilization and agriculture itself. The effectiveness of her assault may dishearten anyone with abiding fondness for these institutions. She puts the puzzle pieces together excellently and without holes; the resulting picture challenges the foundations of industrial capitalism. She gives no quarter, and, as in James Howard Kunstler's The Long Emergency, her proposed resolution is not an easy one.
Growing Grape Vines
No matter what your experience in gardening everyone can grow grapes in their backyard successfully. Let your grape vine grow over an arbor or trellis as a sunshade or keep trimmed for smaller spaces. This is an excellent low cost way to add value, beauty and summer hade to your patio or deck. Growing grapes is a long term commitment. It can take several years before your vines are mature enough to grow grapes and longer for a bountiful harvest. Success begins by picking a sunny south facing location for your grape vines.
City Farmer
I spoke with Michael Levenston, Exexutive Director of City Farmer in Canada and was completely fascinated with everything he had to say. Such experience and devotion to the green movement for over 30 years says something about the establishment that has foundations built off sweat and labor, research and trials.
What or who inspired you to become an urban famer? We started in 1978, working on energy conservation programs with the government to teach people how they could conserve energy in the city. A few of us looked into growing food. The City People’s Book of Raising Food by Helga and William Olkowski was instrumental.
Featured Urban Sustainable Living Video
Part one of how to install a Drip Irrigation system into your garden, Container Gardening with Grapes and more Urban Sustainable Living and friends with William Moss as he and Patti prepare a raised garden bed for planting.
Sowing Seeds
Seeds are little marvels. If someone needs proof of miracles, have them plant a tiny carrot seed and then harvest a fat carrot six weeks later. Or sow a gritty morning glory seed and watch throughout the season as it rambles over a chain link fence producing a neon electric color display. Or let them plant a typical looking sunflower seed and then crane their neck to look at a plate-sized flower head over 10’ tall. The potential locked inside these tiny treasure chests is awe-inspiring and humbling. Mankind is dependent upon seeds for food, fuel, pharmaceuticals, and commerce. As we approach spring, gardeners in particular begin to buy seeds by the thousands. With preparation, skill, and a little luck those seeds will become millions of flowers and fruits later in the year.
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.
Around The Web
Grist.Org
Grist.org serves up environmental news, commentary, and green living advice, all designed to inform, inspire, and link America's next generation of green citizens. Also, we're funny.
CHOW
CHOW is a new kind of food media. Not only is our subject matter different—about the parties you really want to throw, the meals you really want to eat, the gear you really want to have—but we deliver it to you in audio, video, and everything else the Web's got to offer. Come to us for recipes, instruction, news, entertainment, discussion, and advice.
GARDEN TIME
Producer of the Garden Time tv show and owner of a video production company. Garden Time is the number one garden TV show in the Pacific Northwest. This half hour show is seen for 39 weeks each year. It features how-to stories and the newest in garden tools and plants.
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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.