The Urban Permaculture Farm Magazine
For 
The Garden Girl
Gardening Season is finally in full swing! I am truly in my glory. It's been a rainy spring this year, but it's been great for all of my new plantings because I haven't had to water. I have planted so many new things this year, I can't wait for you to see my Urban Sustainable Landscape. In fact, you can get a first look, Saturday, May 28th from 10am- 4pm. I'm having a plant sale and giving tours of my garden so far. Details are below so please come by if you can. I'll post more Garden Tour dates soon!
I had the pleasure of having the Public Radio Show, Living on Earth, come by my garden and get an early spring tour. To hear the show, visit Living On Earth
I also have 16 new videos available for viewing. Please visit http://www.gardengirltv.com/hgtv-videos-patti-moreno.html
In the midst of all of my spring gardening bliss, I did manage to get this issue of Urban Sustainable Living out so I hope you enjoy it. Thanks for your support!
Happy Gardening!
From the Sustainable Home Front,
Patti Moreno, the Garden Girl
SpringDucklings!
Those of us who raise small livestock know Spring is not just a time for planting seeds and prepping gardens. It's also a time for spring chicks!
I've been raising chickens for years now. They're really easy to care for and require just minutes a day. I raise Aracuna chickens that lay beautiful pink and blue and green eggs. They also help me in my garden with fertilizer and help me manage my kitchen waste by consuming much of what I can’t compost. All in all, they are a great addition to my urban farm. But baby chickens aren't the only poultry I've raised.
Every so often I raise ducklings. My first experience was raising Muscovy ducks for meat. The birds were ultimately delicious, but quite messy. Last year I started the growing season with a family of 6 Mallard ducklings.
Throwing Biotech Lies at Tomatoes - Part 1: Killer Tomatoes
Remember the pictures of the fish tomatoes? For years they were an unofficial emblem of the anti-GMO movement. They depicted how anti-freeze genes from an Arctic fish were forced into tomato DNA, allowing the plants to survive frost. Scientists really did create those Frankentomatoes, but they were never put on the market. (Breyers low-fat ice cream, however, does contain anti-freeze proteins from Arctic fish genes, but that’s another story.)
The tomato that did make it to market was called the Flavr Savr, engineered for longer shelf life. Fortunately, it was removed from the shelves soon after it was introduced.
Plant the Yard for Beauty and Food
Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of shady overhanging trees can keep these five fantastic edible landscape plants from becoming standards in the Southeastern garden: crabapple, yucca, sunflower, native rose and pawpaw.
“Forgiving” is what I call these attractive plants. That’s another way of saying they aren’t terribly fussy about temperature or soil, they don’t fall prey to pests or diseases and they don’t need much pruning – yet they all produce delicious, organic food while adding drama to the garden throughout the year. At their blooming best they attract birds, butterflies and beneficial insects into the yard, filling space with subtle motion and fragrance, too.
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!
Around The Web
How Much is Climate Change Going to Cost You?
Urban Farming Grows Up
Copyright © 2008-2010 Urban Sustainable living. All rights reserved.
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.