EAT UPthe groundhog done it
It finally happened. While harvesting cherry tomatoes from my backyard garden earlier this week, a patch of topless broccoli plants caught the corner of my eye. Slowly turning to assess the damage – brow low, fists…
West Philadelphia pilot garden
Elderly residents sit on their front stoops watching tattooed hipsters peddle by on fixed-gear bikes. This cultural juxtaposition runs rampant throughout West Philadelphia’s Cedar Park neighborhood, while grit and urban decay provide a strange sense of continuity…
harden off those youngins
With spring upon us, greenhouses across the country are full of eager seedlings. Sheltered greenhouse environments are ideal for sprouting seeds and providing a head start for young veggies, but the real growing occurs outdoors. Before transplanting…
the hottest of hotspots
If the U.S. were a cupcake, and the rooftop farms and gardens dotted around the country were the sprinkles, then Brooklyn would be the cherry on top. Thank you for bearing with me on that analogy….
fishy business
Does all this talk about lettuce and broccoli make you hungry for some real meat? Let’s talk aquaponics. For centuries, people around the world have raised fish as a food crop. This cultivation occurs in ocean…
rooftop beekeeping video
This is an outstanding WHYY video on Urban Apiaries; Philadelphia’s most popular urban honey producer. WHYY Rooftop Beekeeping
Singapore: food localization poster child
Urban food production in North Philadelphia, SHARE Food Program || (photo by Lauren Mandel) We are an overweight, undernourished nation. Plain and simple. The condition of public health in the U.S. does not need to be…
the woman behind the farm
Annie Novak is an absolute gem. As the co-founder and farmer of Eagle Street Rooftop Farm in Brooklyn, NY, Annie gracefully juggles the responsibilities of food production, managing volunteers, answering to the media, marketing, and of…
160,000sf north philadelphia rooftop farm
Philadelphia is blessed with a burgeoning urban agricultural scene, which provides residents with access to fresh, locally produced, often organic food. While most of these farms and gardens are concentrated around the city’s central and western regions,…