Urban Organic Gardener https://www.urbanorganicgardener.com Urban-style organic gardening blog about growing your own food with limited space and creative resources. Fri, 04 Dec 2020 15:00:10 +0000 en-US hourly 1 Rural or Urban, Farm or City – We All Need Each Other https://www.urbanorganicgardener.com/2020/12/rural-or-urban-farm-or-city-we-all-need-each-other/ https://www.urbanorganicgardener.com/2020/12/rural-or-urban-farm-or-city-we-all-need-each-other/#respond Fri, 04 Dec 2020 15:00:10 +0000 https://www.urbanorganicgardener.com/?p=15470 Continue reading "Rural or Urban, Farm or City – We All Need Each Other"

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FB.ORG – Nearly 40 years ago as I started my career in agriculture communications, the week leading up to Thanksgiving celebrated those who live on the land and care for critters (livestock), while recognizing the important partnership farmers have with consumers. Farm-City Week celebrated the harvest and the abundance of affordable and nutritious food available to American families and for export around the world. With that in mind, now is a good time to remember our blessings and celebrate what we have in common.

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way we live, shop and find entertainment. We miss meeting friends at the local foodie hot spot and enjoying a meal but have found ways to handle the disruption by adjusting our lives, applying new technology and simply being grateful. One positive outcome during this time of social distancing is that the food chain, from the field to the fork and the gate to the plate, has received some appreciation as Americans have been reminded that agriculture and all of those along the food chain are essential to everyday life.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE: https://www.fb.org/viewpoints/rural-or-urban-farm-or-city-we-all-need-each-other

]]> https://www.urbanorganicgardener.com/2020/12/rural-or-urban-farm-or-city-we-all-need-each-other/feed/ 0 Green Front Gardens Reduce Physiological and Psychological Stress https://www.urbanorganicgardener.com/2020/12/stress/ https://www.urbanorganicgardener.com/2020/12/stress/#respond Thu, 03 Dec 2020 18:00:49 +0000 https://www.urbanorganicgardener.com/?p=15480 Continue reading "Green Front Gardens Reduce Physiological and Psychological Stress"

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METRO.NEWS – THERE is growing evidence that being in natural spaces — whether while gardening or listening to bird song — has a positive effect on mental health. Being in nature is also linked to improved cognitive function, greater relaxation, coping with trauma and alleviating certain attention deficit disorder symptoms in children.

However, most of these studies have specifically looked at the effect of public green spaces, rather than private gardens. During a time when many people are at home due to Covid-19 restrictions, private garden spaces have been the most accessible green spaces for those who have them. But do these small green spaces have the same benefits for our mental health?

READ THE FULL ARTICLE: https://www.metro.news/green-front-gardens-reduce-physiological-and-psychological-stress/2236961/

]]> https://www.urbanorganicgardener.com/2020/12/stress/feed/ 0 ‘Leave the Leaves!’ https://www.urbanorganicgardener.com/2020/12/leave-the-leaves/ https://www.urbanorganicgardener.com/2020/12/leave-the-leaves/#respond Wed, 02 Dec 2020 16:00:47 +0000 https://www.urbanorganicgardener.com/?p=15477 Continue reading "‘Leave the Leaves!’"

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WMICENTRAL.COM – This has become a rallying cry by gardeners, natural landscape enthusiasts and ecologists. To let fallen leaves stay where they land in yards across America is becoming a popular trend. Not because homeowners and gardeners are lazy (so we claim), but because the leaves provide a protective habitat and ecosystem for the insects, critters and microbes that survive under a blanket of nutrients and protection that leaves furnish over the winter.

The latest natural science recommendation is to simply let the leaves fall where they may which allows insects, amphibians, worms, beetles, millipedes, mites, and larvae of pollinators such as butterflies, moths as well as bees to survive the winter months and complete their life cycle.

Nowadays, leaving the leaves is being a good steward of wildlife. That means we are no longer “leaf slackers.” We’re great contributors to providing eco habitats for pollinators such as the Monarch butterflies which are approaching massive depopulation due to urban sprawl and the heavy use of herbicides and insecticides. Bee populations are also decreasing due to Colony Collapse Disorder, whereby bees mysteriously disappear from their hives, never to return. The decline of these two important pollinators threatens food production which is becoming a worldwide problem. Therefore, leaving the leaves in yards and gardens is a good thing which leaf raking neatniks need to understand and appreciate.

Leave the leaves?! Yes or no…

READ THE FULL ARTICLE: https://www.wmicentral.com/outdoors_and_gardening/leave-the-leaves/article_c56e988a-f8da-583f-925e-5e115703ca67.html

]]> https://www.urbanorganicgardener.com/2020/12/leave-the-leaves/feed/ 0 Shanghai’s First Unmanned Farm https://www.urbanorganicgardener.com/2020/12/unmanned/ https://www.urbanorganicgardener.com/2020/12/unmanned/#respond Tue, 01 Dec 2020 14:00:06 +0000 https://www.urbanorganicgardener.com/?p=15474 Continue reading "Shanghai’s First Unmanned Farm"

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VCG 

NEWS.CGTN.COM – China’s rural development still faces many contradictions and problems, such as the decline of farmers’ enthusiasm for growing grain, the increasing difficulty of farmers’ continuous income increase, and the aging of rural areas increasingly serious, the recently released “2020 China Agricultural and Rural Development Report” shows.

Many experts believe the construction of “unmanned farms” can solve this kind of problem by helping reduce labor intensity and improving agricultural production efficiency, while with the rapid development of agricultural science technology and its in-depth application, unmanned farms have become an important hot spot for the country’s development of modern agriculture consequently.

Would you like to see more farms here in the US take this approach combined with organic gardening methods? 

READ THE FULL STORY: https://news.cgtn.com/news/2020-11-27/Shanghai-s-first-unmanned-farm-VL7XCxJfj2/index.html

]]> https://www.urbanorganicgardener.com/2020/12/unmanned/feed/ 0 Happy National Mason Jar Day! Here’s Some Inspirational Food-In-Jars to Help You Celebrate! https://www.urbanorganicgardener.com/2020/11/mason-jars/ Mon, 30 Nov 2020 15:00:51 +0000 https://www.urbanorganicgardener.com/?p=15488 Continue reading "Happy National Mason Jar Day! Here’s Some Inspirational Food-In-Jars to Help You Celebrate!"

]]> On November, 30th people all over are celebrating National Mason Jar Day! 

This day celebrates the invention of the mason jar and its usability in homes everywhere. Since hipsters and homesteaders alike are making mason jars a staple, let’s drop some facts about mason jars and their fascinating past!

“The origins of the mason jar started with John Landis Mason’s patent #22186 in 1858, which issued a safer design for the screw neck bottles used to store food.” – Days Of The Year

“Even though Mason jars can be purchased at just about any store these days and have a multitude of uses, their creator, John L. Mason, didn’t make any money off of them. He patented his invention in 1858 (at the age of just 26!), but the patent expired in 1879. Since most competitor brands didn’t start making Mason jars until after 1879, he didn’t see any of the profit.” – Country Living

“Five brothers founded Ball in 1880 with a $200 loan from their Uncle George.” Initially, the company made wood-jacketed tin cans for products such as paint, kerosene, and other chemicals. Four years later, the brothers began manufacturing glass home-canning jars, the product that established Ball as a household name. – Mason Jars.com

“The decline in Mason jar manufacturing in North America is due to a sharp decline in popularity of home canning in the 1950s and 1960s with the rise of supermarket canned foods, and the consolidation of the US canning jar industry.” – Wikipedia

“…the rise of refrigeration in the post-war years pushed people to freeze rather than can. As the jar became less of a necessity, the culture surrounding it changed, Kelly writes. She notes that her mother and aunt canned with Mason jars in the 1960s and 70s, as part of a back-to-the-land movement. And now, the jar is back.” – Smithsonian Mag

“Half a century later, the Mason jar is having another moment. Thanks to writers like Michael Pollan, Dan Barber, and Alice Waters, many people are much more aware of the food that they’re eating and the high costs — environmental and economic — of transporting it to their plates, encouraging a return to locally grown produce and activities like canning. Whereas tinned food now connotes poverty, Mason jars, with their pleasing shape and transparency, suggest a kind of wholesome luxury.” – Ariana Kelly

“The Registrar at National Day Calendar® proclaimed National Mason Jar Day to be observed annually beginning in 2017.” – National Day Calendar

Below are some of the most gorgeous Mason Jar photos we came across on Instagram, so be sure to check out their accounts and give them a “like” and a “follow”! Happy Canning! 

 

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A post shared by H O N E Y S M I T H 🐝 (@farmfitmama)

 

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A post shared by Mai & Maxime (@mmbonappetit)

 

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A post shared by Jess🌻Meg🌻Nik (@sisters.inthe.garden)

 

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A post shared by Carla Malloy (@elderflatfarm)

 

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A post shared by Caleb Richter (@closetoamish)

 

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A post shared by Megan Wilson (@wilsonfamilyhomestead)

 

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A post shared by Jason Will (@plantsandprofanity)

 

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A post shared by Ashley Z (@thetinrecipebox)

 

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A post shared by Christi (@farmwifedailylife)

 

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A post shared by Nikki Héri (@moodtoorude)

 

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A post shared by Sammy Jo Graham (@grahamfamilyranch)

 

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A post shared by Must Love Herbs (@mustloveherbs)

 

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A post shared by Wilderstead (@wilderstead)

 

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A post shared by GivensFarm (@givensfarm)

 

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A post shared by Leah Hansen (@homegrownhansens)

 

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A post shared by Jodi (@stellasview8)

]]> An Urban Farm Feeding The Poorest Part of Philly Fights To Stay Alive And Growing https://www.urbanorganicgardener.com/2020/11/poor-philly/ https://www.urbanorganicgardener.com/2020/11/poor-philly/#respond Fri, 27 Nov 2020 16:00:08 +0000 https://www.urbanorganicgardener.com/?p=15463 Continue reading "An Urban Farm Feeding The Poorest Part of Philly Fights To Stay Alive And Growing"

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JESSICA GRIFFIN / INQUIRER STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

INQUIRER.COM – The Life Do Grow Farm on North 11th and Dauphin Streets in North Philadelphia was carved out of the poorest part of the poorest big city in America.

Once an illegal dump, set beside a SEPTA Regional Rail line, the two-acre plot is studded by trees — some in planters made of painted tires — and lined with beds normally thick with flowers and vegetables in the growing season. Run by a grassroots nonprofit called Urban Creators, it yields needed food in a supermarket desert where hunger proliferated long before the pandemic.

The farm also serves as a community commons — a nexus of artistic and entrepreneurial incubation in what neighbors call a “magical” space dotted by sheds and a pavilion used for public events.

CONTINUE READING THE FULL STORY: https://www.inquirer.com/news/urban-farm-north-philadelphia-food-insecurity-supermarket-desert-20201124.html

]]> https://www.urbanorganicgardener.com/2020/11/poor-philly/feed/ 0 A Gardener’s List Of Things To Be Thankful For https://www.urbanorganicgardener.com/2020/11/thankfulness/ https://www.urbanorganicgardener.com/2020/11/thankfulness/#respond Thu, 26 Nov 2020 18:00:23 +0000 https://www.urbanorganicgardener.com/?p=15466 Continue reading "A Gardener’s List Of Things To Be Thankful For"

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NORTHCOUNTRYOUTLOOK.COM – Here are a few of my thoughts on things to be thankful for this Thanksgiving…

Battery-powered tools –  Many of you may know that I love my leaf blower for all the work it can do in places where it is difficult to rake without removing all the gravel or mulch. Over the years I have probably owned just about every incarnation of a gasoline-powered yard care tool ever manufactured. While they were fast and efficient, they also came with noise and air pollution challenges. This year I have upgraded most of these tools to battery-powered units that are clean and quiet and I am extremely thankful for this new technology. I highly recommend that you try some of them out.

Fall Color and Seasons –  Growing up in southern California didn’t afford me much exposure to fall color or seasonal changes for that matter.  Living in the northwest seems to be just the right combination of fall foliage color and seasonal variations. I am thankful for our seasons that bring change but also order to my gardening world. They give me something to look forward to every month of the year.

READ THE REST OF THE LIST AT: https://www.northcountyoutlook.com/the_whistling_gardener/a-gardeners-list-of-things-to-be-thankful-for/article_3a7f8620-2e75-11eb-a8db-93e2818f6eec.html

]]> https://www.urbanorganicgardener.com/2020/11/thankfulness/feed/ 0 Organic Community Garden Established In San Bernardino Nourishes Body, Mind https://www.urbanorganicgardener.com/2020/11/nourishes/ https://www.urbanorganicgardener.com/2020/11/nourishes/#respond Wed, 25 Nov 2020 09:00:01 +0000 https://www.urbanorganicgardener.com/?p=15460 Continue reading "Organic Community Garden Established In San Bernardino Nourishes Body, Mind"

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Nearly 30 families received plots of land this summer to grow their own organic fruits and vegetables. [photos by Chet Williams]
NEWS.LLU.EDU – Families in San Bernardino will enjoy a Thanksgiving bounty of fresh fruits and vegetables they grew themselves thanks to Loma Linda University Health’s donation of a one-acre parcel to establish an organic community garden and outdoor activity center — aiming to improve nutrition and mental well-being among the underserved.

The city of San Bernardino is one of Southern California’s food deserts — areas where people have limited access to affordable, nutritious food due to poverty, food insecurity, access to grocery stores and lack of transportation.

“Jardín de la Salud,” Spanish for “Garden of Health,” is an initiative of the Loma Linda University Community-Academic Partners in Service (CAPS), part of the Institute for Community Partnerships (ICP), to provide wholesome produce and safe outdoor green spaces to the local underserved population.

READ THE FULL STORY: https://news.llu.edu/community/organic-community-garden-established-san-bernardino-nourishes-body-mind

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