Gardening for the Hungry

Garden where foreclosed homes & a vacant lot used to be. (Detroit)

Community garden in the Projects, Detroit.

Foreclosed home... a Food bank facility and garden?

Detroit

Community garden, Detroit.

Community garden...Savannah,Ga.

Vacant lot now a garden. Detroit

Rooftop garden of Car dealership in Detroit.

Portland ,OR 

Newly completed White House garden.

If the 90 million gardeners in the country today planted an extra row of produce per garden, it would produce enough food to feed most of those that receive S.N.A.P Supplemental nutritional assistance program (aka Food Stamps). Gardeners usually produce more than they can eat. At the end of the season their's usually a surplus. And that surplus usually gets canned, given to family and friends,or just simply goes to waste. Planting an extra row in your garden could help feed those that are hungry.The extra row along with your usual extra produce will greatly help.You can just give the food away or donate the fresh produce to a food bank. In doing so you don't have the red tape and politics you would as when going through a government agency to so. Just give the food away ,it's just that simple. When planting that extra row or rows, you would want to plant vegetables that grow fast and over produce. Tomatoes,Yellow squash and Zucchini fast  and over produce. Lettuce, Cucumbers,Peppers,Herbs,Beans and Peas are also good for a over producing crop. Their are cities nation and worldwide that are starting community gardens where family and friends get together and plant a garden ,or two that everyone takes care of. Detroit  has built and is continuing to build community veggie gardens on property of foreclosed homes and vacant lots. The homeless can come by and eat along with others that mat need food to eat. Volunteers and those in the community organize and help with maintaining of such gardens.Detroit is just one of many major cities turning eyesores into gardens. With Atlanta having such a high foreclosure rate, individuals are taking the time to create community gardens on foreclosed land. The city of Portland, Oregon (considered by some to be the "mecca" for green living) has thirty different community garden sites. The blight of foreclosed homes and vacant lots which can a haven for crime is now replaced by the bounty of a community garden. Millions country and worldwide are now eating fresh produce, that were once going hungry. For more info. visit Ampleharvest.org

Pecan Harvest!!!

PECANS.....UMMMM.

Small Space Gardening

Veggies growing up Bamboo poles.

Casual garden in a small space.

Forgot to trim back his veggies...

How can you use a small space to garden in a big way? Most would have you believe that you need a lot of room to garden , or a lot of time. But that's simply not true. Whether you have a small patio, apartment balcony or a small narrow side yard you can garden. Over 90 million people in the U.S have a garden of some sort today. Anything that is grown in the ground can be in grown in a container pot on your patio or balcony. The key with such spaces is to use plants that grow taller than they are wide, giving the appearance of being larger than they really are. You can also use eye level plants that have plenty of color. For side yards with limited space you can use trees with smaller leaves that are "airy", planting trees and shrubs of the like in groups of three gives the illusion of the space(s) being bigger than it really is from afar. Hanging trees or vines can give the appearance of a space being larger as well. Want a Veggie garden? You can start with herbs in containers, as well as dwarf fruit trees.You can grow trees and climbing veggies such as cucumbers, squash and green beans in containers,or up a fence or building.You can hang tomatoes from a bucket, then on the top of the tomatoes plant herbs such as basil or mint, further utilizing space. Vertical gardening can be done anywhere, even inside your home. Vertical gardening against your home can cool your home during the summer, and heat it during the winter. Which equals savings. There are so many other ways to garden in  small spaces that aren't listed in this post. But you can always find new and exciting ways to garden, even in small spaces. For more details on how to garden in small spaces visit the following sites: growingagreenerworld.com, Nourishlife.org, gardenguides.com

Oatland Island

Flower Garden outside the greenhouse.

Greenhouse and flower garden.

Farmhouse,which houses Cows,pigs,sheep and goats. 

Oatland Island,one of my favorite places to visit as a child(and now as an adult.) I guess their's a certain amount of nostalgic wonder that comes to mind when I think about Oatland Island. Maybe it's the old field trips I use to take there as a child in elementary school, or those piles of canned dog food we use to bring for admittance.Or maybe it's the thoughts of the Annual Harvest and Cane festival's from years past. Oatland Island has increasingly gotten better over the years,but before we explore the future, let's talk about its colorful past. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the land that Oatland Island sits on was cleared for farmland,where cotton crops were planted and harvested. In 1927, the large white columned building opened as a retirement home for the brotherhood of Railroad conductors. During World War II, the center was used as a public Health Service hospital. Afterwards, the Center for Disease Control used the facility as its technical Development Laboratory. During this time several new inventions were developed and tested here. In 1973, the center was declared surplus and was purchased by the Savannah-Chatham County Public School  system. And for the past 38 years, the center has been introducing school groups and other guests to the wonderful natural wildlife of Georgia and beyond. As a child I remember spending hours walking the trails with my family. I was always excited to see the bears,bison and mountain lions.Oatland since has built a wonderful place for the Grey Wolves, but the bears are now gone,but maybe not forever. Oatland now has a community garden,compost area and a bee hive where they harvest honey.They also have a small greenhouse which showcases plants and shrubs from the area.The white columned building has been completely renovated.Walking the boardwalk through the marshes is one of my favorite moments at Oatland Island.But my favorite time to visit Oatland Island is when the Harvest and Cane grinding festival unravels. For me this is the unofficial start of "Fall".I love the smells and the autumn ambience that the festival brings from year to year. The smell of the festival is what draws you in. First you smell the smoke from the cabin fires burning, then the smells of all types of soups,cornbread ,hot dogs and chili cooking. Then the smell of 100% natural Cane Syrup being made right there in front of you.Fresh local honey is being sold just a few steps from the cane syrup. Fresh apple cider and the unforgettable smell of the "Funnel Cakes" in the air. Cool crisp air blows through carrying all the above smells past your nose every few seconds.Falling leaves dance across the sky.  Face paintings,Folk music and games are available.Staff and volunteers are dressed in period attire.So to put it mildly, I would encourage everyone to visit Oatland Island and marvel at its beauty and wonder  it provides.

Urban Farms( Video)

First Harvest from this Summers garden.The picture above includes: Peaches, Bell peppers,White eggplant, Japanese eggplant  and an assortment of tomatoes, Figs and hot peppers. I also had Corn,Okra and lots of Green Beans. More pictures to come later.

Community Supported Agriculture Farms: OHIO

    

Simple Fall Gardening:What to plant and when?

So we're now at that time of the year when the nights seem longer, and the days are surely shorter. If you're just a novice gardener or an expert gardener, you tend to spend less time in the garden this time of the year. But you can still garden well into the late winter months (Just not in zones 1-5a). It used to be widely believed that Spring is the best time of the year to plant trees, plants and grass( and in some areas that's still true),but in most areas Fall is the best time to Plant trees,etc. Why? Because the roots of most living trees and plants get rooted in during this time. What does that mean? Trees grow through out the year,but when it gets close to Winter, the tree starts to shut down and goes dormant.The cooler night temps sparks this change to put it simply. The leaves fall off , and that extra energy goes to the roots,that's why this is a great time to fertilize,so the rooting Trees and plants can become strong for the Spring. Fruit and Japanese Maple trees are my favorites. Fruit trees will usually have beautiful flowers and smell wonderful in the Spring, while Japanese Maples start off with a light to dark green foliage, then in the fall the leaves turn a amazing crimson red. And for other maple trees; orange,yellow, brown or purple. What about the veggie garden...what can we grow there in the Fall and Winter? Mostly leafy greens, Winter Squashes and Root vegetables. Swiss Chard, Spinach,Cabbage,Collard greens and most lettuces will grow very well. Collard greens taste a whole sweeter after the first frost. Garlic, Leeks and Onions will grow well, but are usually harvested early spring. Sugar snap and Snow peas grow well also. Beets,Potatoes,Radishes,Turnips,Rutabagas,Parsnips and Carrots are all root vegetables.Potatoes are tubers. Note: Carrots get sweeter as the weather gets cold.Acorn Ambercup,Autumn cup,Banana, Butternut,Buttercup, Gold nugget,Hubbard,Pumpkin, Kabocha and Spaghetti squashes grow well in a Fall/Winter garden, but you'll have to sow the seeds in the late summer ,usually around august because most squash takes 75 or more days to grow. Ensure that you plant all squash seeds in small hills or if you're growing them on the ground, give them plenty of space, at least 20 ft to spread out.You can plant any of the above veggies starting in August-December.Some seeds take as little as 28 days to germinate(sprout) up to 120 days. So plant your seeds accordingly. So now that you know what to plant,why to plant and when to plant it get started on your garden now, because it's never too late.                                For more on trees, watch the video on twitter @ 80sgreenblog