Category Archives: Garden

Will survival gardens replace victory gardens?

by Tory Davis WHAT’S HAPPENING Worried by the decreasing global oil supply, threats of terrorism and fear of climate change, suburbanites in Lafayette, NJ, have begun digging up their pristine expanses of lawn to sow survival gardens and become self-sustainable. Some locals are taking survival gardening classes taught by Linda Grinthal, a 55-year-old former financial [...]

BEST GRASS IN TOWN IS ON THE PRAIRIE

by Rebecca Kolls What is it with Americans and their lawns? As a group, we’re obsessed with perfecting our yard and its terrific turf. From broad expanses of green carpet stretching from curb to front door to those perfectly groomed checkerboard backyards, lawns are high art for some homeowners. We spend hours working, watering, and [...]

USDA will grow some of its own produce

by Katie Elfering WHAT’S HAPPENING It’s not just all talk about community gardens at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The government agency is putting its money where its vegetables are by starting up gardens of their own to help feed communities. As part of the Obama administration’s push to get citizens to grow more of [...]

Vertical farms give urban areas room to grow

by Nissa Hanna WHAT’S HAPPENING Dense city neighborhoods don’t generally have much space for garden plots, so the Urban Farming Food Chain project constructs vertical gardens for inner-city communities (ArchRecord.com 10.7.08). The green walls don’t just provide a calming connection to nature, they produce edible fruits and vegetables — fresh and free nourishment in food deserts. In Summer 2008, [...]

Latino, Asian American youth find common roots in environmental activism

OBSERVATION by Derek Reveron WHAT’S HAPPENING A group of Chinese and Latino teenagers are going door-to-door in San Francisco to educate people about environmental pollution. Common Roots Youth Organizing Program, a group of teenagers from low-income and immigrant neighborhoods, forms teams of Latinos and Asians to visit homes, businesses and organizations in poor and immigrant [...]