Home garden? Say HELLO to Monsanto!

Who needs “Better living with chemistry” when you have “Better breeding with Monsanto?” If you thought that planting your own garden and growing and harvesting your own crops would keep you safe from the long arm of Monsanto, think again!

Chicago, Walmart, Growing Power, and Cabrini-Green – What does it mean?

People like Will Allen and Erika Allen, his daughter, have been able to convince Chicago’s politicians that for-profit businesses like urban farms can be an economic engine, not just for the farmers and their employees, but for the city in the form of tax revenues. A well-functioning urban land use policy will allow small farms and food related businesses to put people to work, to generate income, and to pay taxes.

Free to Grow and Pick!

When you think of Bath, England, you mostly think of the ancient Roman Baths or stately Georgian architecture. That is, if you think of anything at all besides claw foot tubs and jokes about drinking the bathwater. You most certainly don’t think of a thriving food system and underground guerilla gardening.

Campus vegetable garden beckons passing snackers

A little white sign tucked in between the plants offers passersby this invitation: “Need a snack? Come over and have a bite. We’re showing space-saving ideas for vegetable patches and showing that veggies can be pretty and yummy. Go ahead and munch on a tomato as you wait for the bus!”

Community Gardens: Growing Your Own

Gardening not only provides a connection with nature, it connects us to our food. As more and more people are concerned about the provenance of their food – where it comes from and how it is grown – gardening has given “local” a new meaning: “Zero Food Miles.”

Harvesting Your Bountiful Garden

Everywhere you look there great leafy greens and plump fruit. It’s halfway through the growing season with no end to the harvest in sight. Just the thought of another salad or summer squash is enough to make you want to call for a pizza. Now what do you do?

Andrés Duany Explains Agriculture and Urbanism

Andrés Duany, architect and urban planner, breaks down the methods of incorporating agriculture into urban environment in a Pecha Kucha* format in this video from CNU 19 in Madison, WI. The visuals may be a bit rough, but the audio is good and the content is terrific!

New Urbanism Meets Alternative Agriculture

This will be the first of several columns and interviews resulting from a recent 4-day Congress for New Urbanism Conference, otherwise known as CNU 19, held this year in Madison, Wisconsin, home of dairy, bicycles, and wacky politics. How many other states have a quarter of their state senators up for recall or host tractor protest rallies around the state capitol, have 6 months of winter, and a burgeoning organic foods industry?