Urban Agriculture in Detroit [General]
2014 Jul 26
There is also a lot of food growing naturally in some urban environments that generally goes to waste. If you haven't heard of or volunteered with Hidden Harvest Ottawa, check them out!
ottawa.hiddenharvest.ca
ottawa.hiddenharvest.ca
2014 Jul 29
Walking the dog in Commissioners' Park last night (at Dow's Lake). There was a large bed of flowers with Rainbow Chard bordering it all. The chard looked ready to pick & eat. I'm guessing it was planted for the colourful stems. Would hate to see all that food wasted, yet no picking is allowed :(
2014 Jul 29
I feel fairly conflicted about Urban Agriculture. With the harsh reality that most of the farm land in the city (other than in the greenbelt) is likely going to be developed I think it will become more popular. I just wish the city had stricter zoning and development policies for developing prime agricultural land. Almost all of the farmland in Riverside S. is owned by developers and will likely be developed within the next 30 years.
Urban Agriculture is incredibly expensive to implement. Especially in a City like Ottawa where the majority of the soil downtown is heavily contaminated from the great fire. I can't wait to grow my own plants when I get a place, although I feel many who embrace the concept are put off by how much work it requires.
Urban Agriculture is incredibly expensive to implement. Especially in a City like Ottawa where the majority of the soil downtown is heavily contaminated from the great fire. I can't wait to grow my own plants when I get a place, although I feel many who embrace the concept are put off by how much work it requires.
2014 Jul 30
@lenny,
I'm growing basil, lettuces, kale, pattypan squash and tomatoes in planters and having pretty good success. I wanted to put a decent sized garden in my yard, but we did a new fence and deck this year that wasn't scheduled until July 15th so I knew any garden I put in might end up getting ruined...so I started stuff in planters and it's doing really well. I might just grow in planters next year too.
I'm growing basil, lettuces, kale, pattypan squash and tomatoes in planters and having pretty good success. I wanted to put a decent sized garden in my yard, but we did a new fence and deck this year that wasn't scheduled until July 15th so I knew any garden I put in might end up getting ruined...so I started stuff in planters and it's doing really well. I might just grow in planters next year too.
2014 Jul 30
lenny - I too thought I'd be gardening the yard when we went from rental to our own home. We ended up buying in Little Italy area and I won't/can't grow food in the ground due to contaminated soil. We haven't had our specific yard checked, but the gov't property nearby was checked and a contamination list given to all the homes in the area. So, I am still container gardening. Even container gardening takes work :) I sometimes think the plants are at higher risk, since once a pot gets hit by a pest the whole plant can be gone really quickly. If you leave for summer vacation, someone has to watch the containers because they dry out so quickly, etc.
2014 Jul 30
@hip, if you have contaminated soil, raised beds are the most productive form of gardening anyway. You can lay down geotextile and knock together some 2x4s to creat a raised bed box. It only needs to be 8" deep. Geotextile on the sides protect the wood too, but it's optional. Then fill with 1/3 compost, 1/3 vermiculite and 1/3 peat. That's it - the best growing medium ever. Every year you just add in some compost to replace with the growing plants use. You will get a lot of produce from a small area.
2014 Jul 30
Lenny,
I have rented community garden space for a few years within the urban limits. The soil was awesome. Ironically the majority of folks who also had gardens were ethic. The city offers a great resource in this.
Keep in mind when Ottawa was settled it was a forest, not corn & soy fields.
Krusty,
I have rented community garden space for a few years within the urban limits. The soil was awesome. Ironically the majority of folks who also had gardens were ethic. The city offers a great resource in this.
Keep in mind when Ottawa was settled it was a forest, not corn & soy fields.
Krusty,
2014 Jul 31
Tree that bears 40 kinds of fruit . ..
www.epicurious.com
Actually not too amazing, as all apple trees are grafted (or they don't produce much fruit), and you can graft many varieties of apples unto one base stock. It's easy to have an apple tree that produces many different types of apples.
This "art" takes it one step further.
www.epicurious.com
Actually not too amazing, as all apple trees are grafted (or they don't produce much fruit), and you can graft many varieties of apples unto one base stock. It's easy to have an apple tree that produces many different types of apples.
This "art" takes it one step further.
2014 Jul 31
Beautiful tree Francis plus an interesting idea and interview. Thanks.
On the subject of microfarming in the city: my son volunteers one day a week at a Vancouver business that grows vegetables in people's yards in return for a share of the produce; he gets a share too, plus weekly after work social gatherings with the crew. They have 20+ homes involved, 40+ CSA's, and some restaurants they supply with seasonal vegetables. Nobody seems to make a lot of money at this kind of thing but they are enjoying it. It will be interesting watching these kinds of projects as they develop to see if they can be sustainable over the long haul and what form they take and what other ideas stem from them. I'm all for growing vegetables and fruit in the city or wherever.
Edit to add this link: www.vancouversun.com
On the subject of microfarming in the city: my son volunteers one day a week at a Vancouver business that grows vegetables in people's yards in return for a share of the produce; he gets a share too, plus weekly after work social gatherings with the crew. They have 20+ homes involved, 40+ CSA's, and some restaurants they supply with seasonal vegetables. Nobody seems to make a lot of money at this kind of thing but they are enjoying it. It will be interesting watching these kinds of projects as they develop to see if they can be sustainable over the long haul and what form they take and what other ideas stem from them. I'm all for growing vegetables and fruit in the city or wherever.
Edit to add this link: www.vancouversun.com
2014 Aug 1
Tree farming for food is a great idea. Olives, nuts, avacados, fruits . . . trees live a long time and produce reliably for many decades. Plus they are beautiful to look at, and they clean the air too. I would guess tree farming for food takes less energy inputs than tilling soil and planting every year, will have to google that . . . tree roots go deeper and recycle water and nutrients from greater soil depths back into the biosphere.
The Romans had extensive olive groves in North Africa, which has marginal levels of rainfall. Carthage was Rome's main source of food - olives and dates. Trees can grow in arid places without irrigation because the roots go down deep.
The only downside is it takes years to get a productive tree, but after that it will produce for a long time.
The Romans had extensive olive groves in North Africa, which has marginal levels of rainfall. Carthage was Rome's main source of food - olives and dates. Trees can grow in arid places without irrigation because the roots go down deep.
The only downside is it takes years to get a productive tree, but after that it will produce for a long time.
2014 Aug 1
I think the most interesting concept is creating "food forests." See the link attached for info.
londonfoodforest.blogspot.ca
londonfoodforest.blogspot.ca
2014 Oct 15
The vegetables grown at commissioners park (Dow's Lake) were harvested and are being given to Ottawa Food banks. Nice to see initiatives like this.
www.cbc.ca
www.cbc.ca
Francis