10,000 Gardens in Africa

Photo credit: Food Tank

All community members are given opportunity to learn, and engage with food through Slow Food project, 10,000 Gardens in Africa.

Slow Food London

Let’s Get Growing: 10,000 Gardens in Africa

Approximately three out of every four Africans are 25 years of age or younger. Many of these individuals are also food insecure, with roughly a quarter of the estimated 842 million chronically hungry people in the world living in Africa. The Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity has re-launched a project aiming to engage these youth in sustainable food and agriculture systems.

Originally started as one of their main projects in 2012, the project created 1,000 gardens over two years in schools, communities, and urban outskirts in 30 African countries. In 2014, this initiative became the 10,000 Gardens in Africa campaign, with the objective of creating 10,000 gardens across the continent, and the mobilization of a network of young African leaders dedicated to preserving biodiversity, traditional knowledge and food culture, and small-scale agriculture. Here are seven reasons why you should know about the 10,000 Gardens in Africa project.

Read the full article: Food Tank

Chillis in pots

Photo credit: The Telegraph

CHILLIES CAN MAKE A BIG IMPACT FOR GARDENERS SHORT ON SPACE

CREDIT: ALAMY

 

How to grow chillis in pots

by Kay Maguire

With their bright fruit and lush, glossy leaves, chillies are perfect for bringing a touch of the tropics to the garden and, whether they’re edible varieties or not, work brilliantly in combination with other plants.

Add them to a hot sunny border once frosts have passed and they are the perfect companion to late summer perennials such as golden rudbeckias, rich red monardas and sunny heleniums, as well as more tender plants like dahlias, cannas and cosmos.

Read the full story: The Telegraph

 

Teaching Families to Grow Own Food

Photo credit: WFMY

The Jamestown Farmer’s Market is looking for donations of gardening tools as it starts a new non-profit.

Jamestown Farmer’s Market Teaching Families to Grow Own Food

Meghann Mollerus, WFMY

The Jamestown Farmer’s Market’s new non-profit program aims to teach families how to grow their own food. The goal? To alleviate food deserts by capitalizing on a growing trend — container gardening.

“We are going to teach them to grow a garden from scratch,” said Jamestown Farmer’s Market employee Laura Simpson. “They could do a little square in their yard and put something on vines.”

The Jamestown Farmer’s Market opened in April 2015 and shortly after began the process of obtaining a 501(c)3. Market owner Deborah Mitchell said she recognized the need for families to learn home growing skills and saw it as a means of helping alleviate food deserts in the area.

So, the Jamestown Agriculture and Educational Junction — certified by the NC Dept. of Agriculture — will launch early next year, with classes beginning Jan. 25, 2015. Sign up by e-mailing: thejamestownmarket@aol.com, visiting The Jamestown Farmer’s Market’s Facebook page or visiting The Jamestown Farmer’s Market in person on E. Main St. in Jamestown (next to Potent Potables).

Read the full article: WFMY News2

There is interest in food gardening again

Photo credit: Tri-City Herald

Young gardeners are making a comeback with vegetable gardening after the hobby saw a decrease in the 1990s.

MIA AIGOTTI — New York Times

Garden Tips: Vegetable gardening seeing comeback

BY MARIANNE OPHARDT

Having been at this job for more than 30 years, I have seen gardening trends come and go. In the 1980s, there were numerous gardeners interested in food gardening, growing vegetables and tree fruit in their backyards. You could always find vegetable transplants available at big box stores, as well as at local nurseries.

In the 1990s, things started to change. Fewer gardeners were interested in growing their own produce. The big box stores changed to offering fewer vegetable transplants, instead focusing on colorful annual flowers. Maybe people realized that gardens and fruit trees were a lot of work, they had easy access to fresh produce from local farmers markets, their busy lives did not allow time for gardening, or a combination of all these.

I am happy to say that we have come full circle, and gardeners, especially people under age 50, are interested in food gardening again. The focus is on veggies and herbs. A survey by Today’s Garden Center shows that these “youngsters” say gardening gives them a sense of accomplishment, allows them to become more self-sufficient and have more control over the safety of their food, and provides a way to get children outside and teach them about nature.

Another point to remember about younger gardeners is their interest in food and cooking. There is a proliferation of TV cooking shows that are enjoyed by young adults and older folks like me. Because the All-America Selections (AAS) organization has noticed that cooking fresh foods is trending, they plan to market their 2016 winning herb and vegetable selections with five videos that demonstrate cooking techniques.

Read the full article: Tri-City Herald

Grow salad greens on your balcony

Photo credit: * Balcony – Bottles – Sweet potato – Photo Edna Palomares – 574655_3430734820619_1361214987_n.jpg

Balcony Gardening – Grow A Salad Bowl

Now is a good time to plant baby lettuce, spinach and micro-greens for early Fall harvest.  You do not need a deep container to grow salad greens and you can grow the greens from seed.  Covering the potted seeds with loose plastic wrap holds the moisture and heat and encourages sprouting.

Growing Container Salad Greens:  “You will be able to harvest your first crop in just a few short weeks, using the small tender leaves that are often not available to buy. These micro-greens are the mix of choice for gourmet salads. Leafy greens also make a flavorful addition to sandwiches or wraps.”

Radishes also mature quickly.  Use radish greens instead of basil in your pesto recipe.

Read the full story: Denvergardeners

Old Produce Into New Food

Photo credit: GOOD

Sweden’s Ingenious Plan to Turn Old Produce Into New Food Sources

by Laura Feinstein

Despite global hunger and widespread poverty, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization, humans still waste more than a third of our food. As with most international problems, Sweden already has an ingenious solution. Recently a group of graduate students at the utilitarian sounding “Food Innovation and Product Design” program at Lund University has created a unique way to turn otherwise unusable produce into a valuable source of nutrition. FoPo Food Powder, a system of dried and powdered fruits and vegetables similar to astronaut space food, can be easily dropped into disaster zones to provide non-refrigerated goods. Freeze-dried food is popular for many relief efforts (as well as interstellar travel) because of its ability to retain much of the nutritional benefits of “raw” food. Even food that has expired, or is no longer able to be sold at the market, is still rich in vitamins, minerals, and protein.

“When we found out that one-third of the food produced was going to waste while people in the world were starving we couldn’t back out,” student Kent Ngo tellsSmithsonian.com.

Read the full article: GOOD

 

A school garden in the school pool

Photo credit: New Zealand Gardener

Andrew Farquhar/Contemporary Creative

Pupils at Wairakei School in Taupo tend the veges growing in their aquaponics system

How a Taupo primary school pool became a vegetable garden

by CHRISTINE RUSH

What do you get when you cross a former swimming pool, some keen pupils and a whole heap of goldfish? A highly productive aquaponics system.

Wairakei Primary School in Taupo has what is thought to be the only school aquaponics unit in New Zealand. Officially opened in May, it is the culmination of three years planning and fundraising, says teacher aide and Enviroschools leader Diana Fitzsimmons.

The school used to have outdoor gardens but due to the chilly climate and light pumice soil, nothing grew.

“Adding compost and nutrients didn’t help and they were costing a fortune,” says Diana.

At the same time the swimming pool was decommissioned. The pupils came up with ideas for the space: a skateboard park, flying fox, spongeball pit, trampoline or garden.

“They went through pros and cons and how they would run them, and came up with one with the most benefit for school and community: an aquaponics unit.”

Local businesses and tradesmen helped supply and fit the plumbing, equipment and electrics. The pool area is covered with a FlexiTunnel and needs little maintenance.

Read the full article: New Zealand Gardener

Urban Farms and Gardens Are Feeding Cities Around the World

Photo credit: Food Tank

Around the world, urban farms and gardens are cultivating good food on underutilized land.

Jeff Wright (www.flickr.com/gojeffrey)

28 Inspiring Urban Agriculture Projects

 

 

Around 15 percent of the world’s food is now grown in urban areas. According to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), urban farms already supplyfood to about 700 million residents of cities, representing about a quarter of the world’s urban population. By 2030, 60 percent of people in developing countries will likely live in cities.

At Food Tank, we are amazed by the efforts of hundreds of urban farms and gardens to grow organic produce, cultivate food justice and equity in their communities, and revitalize urban land. Urban agriculture not only contributes to food security, but also to environmental stewardship and a cultural reconnection with the land through education.

The Urban Food Policy Pact (UFPP), to be signed on World Food Day, will address the potential of cities to contribute to food security through urban agriculture. Atechnical team of 10 members organized physical and virtual workshops with many of the 45 cities participating in the Pact, and drafted a Framework for Action that includes 37 provisions covering the themes of governance, food supply and distribution, sustainable diets and nutrition, poverty alleviation, food production and food and nutrient recovery.

“The 2015 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) recognize the importance of building sustainable cities,” says Maurizio Baruffi, Chief of Staff of the Mayor of Milan, Italy. “The City of Milan is partnering with urban areas around the world to embark on this journey, starting from food.”

Do you want to discover urban agriculture projects in your own city, or are you interested in visiting farms during your travels to new urban areas? Check out these inspiring projects, and find even more links to urban agriculture projects below.

Abalimi

Abalimi is an urban agriculture and environmental action group located outside of Capetown, South Africa. The organization supports and assists groups and individuals looking to improve their livelihoods through organic farming.

Alternatives’ Feeding Citizenship

A nonprofit that promotes social and environmental justice in Montreal, Canada, Alternatives’ Feeding Citizenship is growing healthy food to fuel healthy communities. The project engages the community through horticultural training programs while supporting school and neighborhood gardens.

Read the full article: Food Tank

Urban Agriculture Projects in Mumbai

Photo credit: Food Tank

Urban agriculture projects in Mumbai, India, make use of balconies and terraces.

Shutterstock

Mumbaikars Innovating with Space: 10 Urban Agriculture Projects in Mumbai

In a city that is hungry for both space and fresh produce, the need for urban agriculture in Mumbai is paramount—but its implementation requires some finesse. According to The New York Times, Mumbai occupies more than 370 square kilometers (230 square miles), but just 18.6 (11.6) are covered by open space, and only 6.3 (3.9) of those are open to most residents. How are Mumbaikars to grow in a city so pressed for space? These 10 organizations prove the city can do it.

City Farming is an organization that inspires students, families, and corporations to grow their own food in Mumbai—on terraces, balconies, and even the sides of buildings. Hosting weekly workshops, City Farming teaches Mumbaikars the growing methods of Dr. R. T. Doshi: with a little sugarcane waste, used polyethylene bags, soil, and seeds, the environmental impacts of pesticides, synthetic fertilizer, and the unnecessary disposal of organic waste are avoidable.

Established in November 2011, Earthoholics hosts urban farming shows, nature bazaars, and workshops on composting and hydroponics. Founder Smita D. Shirodkar teaches Mumbaikars that being green does not require buying expensive organic products, but rather a willingness to change your lifestyle, step out onto the balcony, and dirty your hands.

Fresh & Local is an organization that collaborates with various Mumbai establishments to use urban farming to transform the city. Its pop-up garden project addresses issues of privacy and safety for women, and The Table Farm garden provides food for the Mumbai restaurant The Table. Future plans include opening a series of shops carrying everything an urban farmer could need in Mumbai, “from open-pollinated vegetable seeds to eco-friendly pots to homemade natural fertilizers.”

With gardens at four schools in Mumbai, Green Schools Mumbai is an educational organization that teaches children about drip irrigation, growing medicinal herbs and plants with homemade compost, recycling wastewater, and harvesting rainwater. Using raised beds, children grow beans, garlic, okra, tomatoes, onions, and more at school.

Read the full article: Food Tank

Living Small in a Big Way : urban farming

Photo credit: Green City Acres

Built a big shelf for microgreens on my deck.

https://www.facebook.com/GreenCityAcres/photos/a.398067716900889.93422.348784481829213/979684942072494/?type=1&theater

Urban Farmer and Instructor in Kelowna

Green City Acres is a farm with a vision.  In 2012, we grew over 50,000 lbs of food on less than an acre of land, using 100% natural, organic methods and only 80 litres of gasoline.  Every year we strive to revolutionize how we farm in order to reshape our local food system to be more environmentally sustainable and socially responsible.  Follow our journey, as we try to change the world one seed at a time.

• http://www.greencityacres.com/ – website
• Green City Acres  – facebook page