Tag Archives: urban agriculture

From Plot to Pots

18 Tuesday May 2010

Posted by in Gardening

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In 2005, I started my very first garden in a fabulous sized plot in the shared yard of our apartment in Blacksburg, VA. I learned quite a bit that first spring (e.g. there’s a reason why you should space seedlings a certain distance apart from one another, so as not to create a jungle garden). The next season (same plot) I felt quite experienced and confident in my gardening skills, but quickly realized that each season is different and brings with it different challenges (weather, pests, etc.).

Apartment Garden Plot | Blacksburg, VA

My husband and I then moved to Alexandria, VA, where I was exceptionally lucky to discover that the Chinquapin Park Community Garden was expanding and had some extra, unclaimed plots. My friend, Sara, and I were able to take over 2 plots. What a fabulous summer of gardening. The plots were huge – about 20 feet by 20 feet.

Chinquapin Park Community Garden Plot | Alexandria, VA

Sadly, my community garden plot days are over. My husband and I moved to Washington DC at the end of 2008. We quickly learned that community garden plots are in high demand, and there just isn’t enough of them to meet this demand. We tried to get a plot at the Kalorama Heights Community Garden. Although we live only a 5 minute walk from the garden and they had a couple of openings, as Adams Morgan residents we are out of the “catchment” zone. Perhaps these plots are meant only for those wealthy enough to live in Kalorama Heights. Well, after giving up on getting a community garden plot and being inspired by my friend and co-worker, John (the mastermind behind Grown in the City), I decided to take advantage of my patio and plant a few tomato plants and herbs in flower pots. While we do not get the best light (we’re on the north side of the building), the plants are flourishing.

Patio Flower Pot Garden | Washington, DC

Cherry Tomatoes

Mint

Basil

Garlic Chives

Since we have roof access, I’m going to take my tomato plants up to the roof so they’ll get full sunlight. Maybe if I ever become brave enough (note: we never asked for permission from our landlord to put our plants on the roof), I’ll expand my small flower pot garden to a full-sized roof garden. Perhaps a project for next summer?

Urban Farming at Lynchburg Grows

21 Sunday Mar 2010

Posted by in Food System

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On Friday, March 5 and Saturday, March 6, I attended an Urban Agriculture Workshop at Lynchburg Grows in Lynchburg, VA, facilitated and lead by Will Allen‘s team–Growing Power. Professionals, farmers, high school students, food security advocates and homemakers from the Mid-Atlantic region gathered in the warmth of a greenhouse at Lynchburg Grows to learn about aquaponics, compost, vermicompost, and the basics of starting an urban farm. Below are a few images from the 2 day workshop and a brief description of each workshop activity. All the materials and handouts that were used during the workshop are now available for free at Lynchburg Grows. To view all the images from the workshop, click here.

LYNCHBURG GROWS

WORKSHOP | DAY 1

The workshop began with introductions and an inspirational speech by Will Allen. Following a strict urban agriculture time protocol (translation: a very loose agenda with little attention paid to the clock, and all attention focused one of several hands-on activity, relationship building, and the enjoyment of delicious, freshly prepared food that featured local farms and businesses), the workshop commenced with the hands-on building of an aquaponics system.

AQUAPONICS

BUILDING AN AQUAPONICS SYSTEM

FEASTING

After an amazing lunch featuring grass-fed beef burgers and a savory sweet potato salad with fresh herbs, Will Allen provided a hands on compost and vermicompost lesson to eager and energetic participants.

COMPOST & VERMICOMPOST 101

URBAN POULTRY FARMING

WORKSHOP | DAY 2

The evening concluded with another fabulous meal – vegetarian and omnivore lasagna options and apple crisp – and a presentation about Growing Power. The second and final day of the workshop included a presentation by the Environmental Protection Agency’s Ann Carroll and Virginia’s Department of Environmental Quality’s Meade Anderson about the importance of testing not only the nutrient quality of the soil before beginning any type of urban agriculture activity, but most importantly the testing for contaminants, such as gasoline, diesel fuel, asbestos, heavy metals, solvents, lubricants, acids, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Brownfields, or abandoned or underused sites where redevelopment or reuse is complicated by the presence or perceived presence of contamination, can be found in the commercial, as well as in some residential, areas in most cities, suburbs and towns across the country. Lynchburg Grows discovered early on in the redevelopment process that much of the land within the existing greenhouse structures was contaminated. Through a remediation process with EPA funding, Lynchburg Grows was able to clean up the soil and use the existing structures to create a successful urban farming operation. For more information about brownfields redevelopment and urban agricultures see How Does Your Garden Grow? Brownfields Redevelopment and Local Agriculture and Cornell Waste Management Institute’s Guide to Soil Testing and Interpreting Results.

Following the presentation, Martin Bailkey, Co-Coordinator of Metro Ag: Alliance for Urban Agriculture and Growing Power Consultant, lead the workshop participants in a discussion about the importance of planning (developing a vision, goals, objectives, and implementation strategies) for a successful urban agriculture program.

BROWNFIELDS REDEVELOPMENT

The 2 day workshop concluded with a tour of an adjacent brownfields facility that is scheduled for redevelopment in the next few years.

Bon Appetit Montreal!

31 Saturday Oct 2009

Posted by in Food System, Restaurant

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Last weekend my cousin got married in the beautiful, romantic city of Montreal. As a kid, I grew up visiting Montreal every summer, where my Polish grandparents – Babcia and Dziadzio – lived. I can remember walking with my sister and Babcia to the small grocery store at the end of the street to pick up fresh bagels, bread, yogurt, cheese, and other food items to complement the deliciously fresh produce from Babcia’s backyard garden. Every meal was homemade and scrumptious. Breakfast always included some type of fresh fruit, homemade jam, and fresh bread. For lunch I can remember eating raw, sliced radishes, Polish coldcuts, cucumbers, tomatoes, cheese, and bagel sandwiches with some sort of Polish soup – potato or cucumber. For dinner Babcia would concoct some type of Polish meal – cabbage rolls; kasha, beets, and meat; stew; pierogies; or some other yummy, hearty food. My sister and I would often be given the chore of picking raspberries, strawberries or some other fruit from the garden for dessert. Of course we would eat everything we picked, and come back inside, empty handed but with bright red lips, tongues, and fingers and try to convince Babcia that there were no more berries on the bushes.

While I have such fond memories of Montreal, it’s been wonderful to explore the city as an adult. My husband and I have had the opportunity to visit the city twice in the last 4 years. The first time we stayed in the English section of town and this past time in the French section. The city is walkable and bikable, has an amazing public transportation and subway system and an amazing arts and culture scene. We definitely ate and drank well, walked everywhere, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

Here are some of the places we visited:

Jardin Communautaire L’Eglantier | Parc Maisonneuve, Boulevard Rosemont, Montreal, QC

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While biking around Montreal, we had the opportunity to visit a community garden. Unfortunately everything had already died, but we were impressed by its size and number of composting bins and the view of the Olympic Stadium in the background. For more information about Montreal’s extensive community garden system, click here.

Cafe Santropol | 3990 Rue St-Urbain, Montreal, QC H2W 1T7, Canada, (514) 842-3110

CafeSantropol

A quaint, cozy cafe in a converted corner row house in the Plateau Mont-Royal neighborhood. The sandwiches are huge and delicious and come on fresh bread made down the street at a small bakery. Highly recommend the carrot and apple sandwich – delicious. Save room for dessert and coffee!

La Maison des Cyclistes | 1251, rue Rachel Est, Montréal, QC H2J 2J9, Canada

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This small, cozy cafe shares space with Vélo Québec – a non-profit cycling member-based organization that has been defending the rights of cyclists since 1967. Try the coffee, chai tea, biscotti, and other baked goods. This makes the perfect pre- or post-pit stop for a day of biking on Montreal’s bike sharing program – Bixi.

St Viateur Bagel | 1127 Mont. Royal East, Montreal, QC

StViateurBagels

A great, local bagel chain. If you’ve never had Montreal bagels, you’re in for a treat. This bakery/restaurant serves up tasty bagel sandwiches, salads and soups and offers options to-go, including a dozen bagels.

Corner Stores | Integrated into all neighborhoods throughout Montreal

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There is no shortage of healthy foods in Montreal – or at least in the neighborhoods we ventured to. It seems like there’s a corner produce shop or market on every other corner. Here are some pictures of a few of them.

The Rocky Mountain West Food Scene

30 Friday Oct 2009

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Last week I traveled to Denver, CO for a work related trip. I wasn’t sure what to expect, and was pleasantly impressed by the city. From the network of community & urban gardens, trails, pedestrian bridges, and other bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, to the amazing selection of microbrews and restaurants. Considering how difficult it is to find good, scrumptious food while on the road, I’ve decided to expand the scope of my “seasonal culinary journey” to include my culinary and food system experiences in other parts of North America.

Saturday morning, I woke up early to attend a field trip of Denver Urban Gardens (D.U.G.). Below are a few pictures from 2 different sites: Atlantis Community Inc. (a community center in Denver for people with disabilities) and Fairmont School. Unfortunately, the weekend prior, Denver had its first frost of the winter season, so all the beautiful vegetables, except for a few winter greens, died.

Denver Urban Garden

Atlantis Community Inc.

Denver Urban Garden

Fairmont School, Denver

Winter Greens

Winter Greens, Fairmont School, Denver

After spending some time exploring the local Denver food system, I had the opportunity to try several delicious microbrews. My favorite included: Avery Double IPA, Avery Dougana, Great Divide Brown Ale, and Russian River Damnation. For more information, check out the beer page. I highly recommend grabbing a beer or two at the Falling Rock Tap House. They have over 50 regional microbrew beers on tap.

Sunday, I made it out to Denver just in time to grab lunch at The Kitchen, a fabulous restaurant in Boulder, CO that features locally produced produce and meat. Each day, the staff updates a large blackboard with information about growers and producers in the region that provide the restaurant with ingredients. The Kitchen is quite expensive for dinner, but decently priced for lunch. I recommend the portabello mushroom sandwich – delicious.

Other great restaurants I tried while in Denver include: Lola, Osteria Marco, Sushi Sasa and the Wazee Super Club. Everything I ordered was delicious. Try the roasted vegetable chile rellenos at Lola, the beet salad and mushroom panini at Osteria, the dragon roll at Sushi Sasha, and a pizza with sun dried tomatoes, pesto, and chicken at Wazee Super Club.

For more information about The Kitchen and other great restaurants, check out the restaurant page.