Urban agriculture

1. With food riots around the world and such, thinking about locally grown food options is on my mind more. Especially because my "new" house has a big backyard, as much as 70 feet long... which I thought was really big, having for most of my living out in DC and the DC metro being in rowhouse neighborhoods with concrete backyards... but then on the Takoma House Tour this past weekend, one of the houses we had the privilege of visiting is on one acre! of land, within three blocks of the Metro station. Other houses had big yards too.

And some places in the city, particularly churches and religious houses (such as a religious house off 28th Street NE, just on the border with Maryland) have land suitable for growing. In fact a neighbor told us he had grown green beans on the religious house property one year, and had so many that he "sold" 450 pounds to the Glut Food Co-op for resale. (Although, doesn't that put agriculture in perspective? One farmers yield was enough green beans to satisfy 450 customers... but what about all the other customers).

The Langley Crossroads Farmers Market, which is an affliliate of the Takoma Park Farmers Market in Maryland, targeting ethnic customers and growers, is working with farmers and institutions to seed urban agriculture.

2. The Toronto Star has an article about urban chickens, "Poultry in motion: Chickens adopting urban lifestyle." As in DC, chicken coops are illegal in Toronto, but not in New York City... My "new" house would be suitable for chickens, but my girlfriend says they are dirty, and if you have a rooster, loud, especially early in the morning.

RON BULL/TORONTO STAR. Lucky Clucky feasts directly from the bowl of plenty while behind her Sally and Heidi forage on the backyard lawn. The chickens are illegal in Toronto, a situation their owner is hoping to change.

It sounds "romantic" but of course, it's work. And who really wants to be encouraged to eat lots of eggs, since we all have to watch our blood cholesterol levels...


This year, every crop gets its own square in the garden. When its growing season is over, it can be removed without disturbing the other plants. (Florence Low / Sacramento Bee)

3. But square foot gardening, in any case, is the direction to move. The Sacramento Bee had stories on the subject a couple weeks ago, and they are growing a test garden of their own:

-- Give us a square foot and we'll give you a year's worth of produce. (It helps to have a year round growing season.)
-- Interactive graphic: See what's planted in The Bee garden
-- Audio slide show: Pat Rubin shows you how to set up a garden
-- A garden plan that's strictly on the square
-- Interview with the author of the book Square Foot Gardening: Author says that a row is no way to grow


4. The DC Urban Gardeners and the Historical Society are sponsoring a talk on sustainable gardens on Saturday May 17th at the HSW.

5. But I want to see a presentation on composting...