The Rise of Urban Farming and Other Varieties of Sustainable Ag | Buildings My newest buzzword for 2011 is CSA. I'd never heard the term until recently, but now it seems to be popping up all over, as is interest in sustainable agriculture and urban farming. CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture -- the practice of signing up with a local farm for weekly produce and, in some cases, meat and dairy. I first read about CSA in Kristin Kimball's recent memoir, "The Dirty Life," which is justly attracting rave reviews on Amazon. Kimball's book is an engrossing depiction of the back-breaking work and edible rewards of CSA. Urban farming is also on the rise. Urban farming comes in a variety of models. A vision of urban and vertical farming. Next Page: More visions of urban farms.
17 Apart: Growing Celery Indoors: Never Buy Celery Again Remember when we tested and shared how to grow onions indefinitely last week? Well, at the same time, we've been testing out another little indoor gardening project first gleaned from Pinterest that we're excited to share the successes of today — regrowing celery from it's base. We've figured out how to literally re-grow organic celery from the base of the bunch we bought from the store a couple weeks ago. I swear, we must have been living under a rock all these years or just not be that resourceful when it comes to food, but we're having more fun learning all these new little tips and tricks as we dive deeper into trying to grow more of our own food. This project is almost as simple as the onion growing project — simply chop the celery stalks from the base of the celery you bought from the store and use as you normally would. In our case, we had a particular homemade bean dip that needed sampling! Update 2: Here's how we are looking at almost 3-4 weeks of growth: Discover More:
Small Urban Space Rain Gardens Rain gardens aren’t just for homeowners with large tracts of land. A rain garden planted in a small urban area can make a big difference in the water quality and environment of its surrounding area. When it rains in densely populated urban areas, impervious surfaces such as roads, sidewalks, and roofs not planted with gardens, trees, or turf, produce runoff that goes straight into storm sewers. Photo, City of Kingston, Melbourne, Australia In addition to impervious surfaces made of concrete or asphalt, many urban areas have vacant, muddy lots. Planting a rain garden, even a small one, can help divert water and keep it within the aquifer and out of streams and lakes. Small urban rain garden at 2008 Chelsea Flower Show Rain Garden BasicsWhether the garden is in a small space of land between a building and a sidewalk, or part of a larger yard, there are a fundamentals to rain garden construction that apply to all garden design. Eupatorium is suitable for rain gardens.
Bitterwurz (Lewisia cotyledon) Bitterwurz, Porzellanröschen Die Gewöhnliche Bitterwurz (Lewisia cotyledon) wird auch als Porzellanröschen bezeichnet und stammt aus den USA (Kalifornien, Oregon). Von ihr werden viele Sorten angeboten, mit einfachen und gefüllten Blüten. Lewisia cotyledon (Bitterwurz) Die Pflege im Beet Standort: Ideal ist ein Standort, an dem die Bitterwurz für mindestens 3 Stunden täglich besonnt wird. Boden: Damit die Wurzeln während unserer nasskalten Winter nicht verfaulen, sollte der Boden in der Mehrheit mineralisch sein. Gießen: Lewisia cotyledon ist an das Überleben in trockenen Regionen angepasst aber nicht ganz so sukkulent wie zum Beispiel Hauswurze. Vermehren: Die Vermehrung kann durch Samen, das Abtrennen von Tochterrosetten oder Blattstecklinge erfolgen. Winterhärte: Die Winterhärte scheint zwischen den einzelnen Sorten zu variieren. Die Pflege im Topf Standort: Auch wenn sie im Topf oder Kasten wächst, möchte Lewisia cotyledon sonnig stehen. Video: Lewisia cotyledon – Bitterwurz
Window Farms Lets Green Thumbs Grow Fresh Veggies Indoors Window Farms – Inhabitat - Green Design Will Save the World It all started when Britta Riley decided to build a mini-garden in a Brooklyn window, creating a low-maintenance and self-sufficient alternative to consuming. We’ve been fans of Window Farm‘s edible gardens for long while, and just in time for the holiday season the team has evolved their fantastic gardening systems to create a brand new stand-up version of their original microfarms. These mini-gardens can hang in columns or stand on the sill, allowing you to grow fresh vegetables, herbs, and leafy treats in practically any space. Britta Riley‘s vertical hydroponic Window Farm systems are a boon for space-starved urban dwellers looking to start their own garden. + Window Farms
ABC de las Plantas Medicinales | Para cada dolencia, existe una planta que la cura. Paracelso Green walls create new urban jungles UK company Biotecture have created a green wall for the side of Edgware Road Underground station in London which sits near the busy, and very polluted, Marylebone Road. It is hoped that the new wall will help eradicate some of the air pollution in the area. Buildings with green walls are popping up all over the UK thanks to companies like Biotecture. This one is on a library in the town of Grimsby in northeast England. Green wall pioneer, Patrick Blanc created this flourishing facade for the Musee du quai Branly, Paris in 2005. He also oversaw the creation of a vetical garden on the side of the CaxiaForum, Madrid in 2007. The WestBlaak Building (bottom left) in Rotterdam was recently fitted with a green facade which its developers, Rotterdam Climate Intiative, hope will cover large sections of the car park. London (CNN) -- Vertical gardens are cropping up all over cities these days, transforming drab urban facades into vibrant jungles of color.
10 Most Useful Medicinal Plants For Your Garden Would you like to create your very own backyard pharmacy by growing medicinal plants? There’s no better way to use whatever extra space you have at home than to create a garden space where you can grow medicinal plants. In fact, even if you live in an apartment setting, you can create a windowsill garden where you can grow medicinal plants. This is especially useful if you have little kids running around in the house who can acquire a burn, a shallow wound, a sore or strike up a fever. Basically, the medicinal plants to grow in your very own little garden space should be ones with the most number of medicinal values. Factors that You Need to Consider when Growing Medicinal Plants in a Garden Before giving out the top 10 medicinal plants that you can grow in your very own garden, here are a few tips to get you started. First, check on the area where you plan to grow the medicinal plants in. 1. If there’s one medicinal plant which has 101 uses, that is none other than aloe vera. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
18 of Nature’s Most Powerful Medicinal Plants (Part of an Exclusive WebEcoist Series on Amazing Trees, Plants, Forests and Flowers) From marijuana to catnip, there are hundreds of remarkably common herbs, flowers, berries and plants that serve all kinds of important medicinal and health purposes that might surprise you: anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal, insect repellent, antiseptic, expectorant, antibacterial, detoxification, fever reduction, antihistamine and pain relief. Here are eighteen potent medical plants you're likely to find in the wild – or even someone's backyard – that can help with minor injuries, scrapes, bites and pains. Marijuana Images via Current and Street Knowledge Seriously. Lady Ferns Image via US Forest Service If you grew up in the Pacific Northwest you likely know what ferns are good for: treating stinging nettles. California Poppy Images via Netstate and Mountain Meadow Seeds The brilliant blooms of the poppy make this opioid plant an iconic one. Blood Flower Tansy Image via Earth Heart Farm Korean Mint (hyssop) Catnip
Grow Your Own Super Fruit: The Pomegranate By Mindy McIntosh-Shetter This year I have made a commitment to be more hyper-local in my food choices. I have decided not to eat anything out of season that I have not canned or frozen and I will not eat anything exotic that I have not grown myself. But when I made this personal commitment I did not think about one of my favorite fruits and that is the pomegranate. Pomegranates are not that difficult to grow and actual do well indoors since they are self-pollinating. They can even tolerate a few nights of below 32 F degrees but it is always a good idea to move indoor when the temperatures dip into the low 40s F degrees. To start pomegranates from seed requires a little work and patience. Once the seeds have dried out plant two to three of them in a 5-inch pot that is filled with an all-purpose soil and cover with ¼-inch of soil mixture. Once the sprouts appear, remove from the plastic bag and place in a brightly lit area. To keep the pomegranate at a workable size, prune in the winter.
Top 10 Natural, Eco-Friendly and Anti-Pollutant Houseplants | The New Ecologist – Get rid of indoor pollution in a natural way You must have spent practically thousands of dollars to buy the latest vacuum cleaner and the latest floor cleaners that help you keep your house clean. However, there comes a time when these machines fail to work leaving you to the unhealthy dust particles and other pollutants in your house. These plants are quiet unlike the noisy machines when you switch them off. Hence, to get rid of pollution in your house in a natural way, you must go through the top 10 houseplants that you can buy. 1.The Feston Rose plant ( photo by missouristate ) While looking for a houseplant, you generally prefer the one’s that need the lowest maintenance. This houseplant brilliantly tolerates highly saline conditions, lack of water, scorching heat and billowing winds. 2. ( photo by jayjayc ) Even if this plant is not taken care off, it thrives on and continues growing. 3.Phalaenopsis ( photo by mendelu ) 4. ( photo by eco-friendly-promos ) 5. ( photo by mgonline ) 6. 7.