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Leafy greens get a bum rap. You're not going to find many die-hard fanatics of kale or chard. Mention to your household that you're cooking turnip, mustard, collard or beet greens for dinner, and you're likely to be met with a scrunched up face or two. At the Portland Farmers Market Blog, we stumbled on a great post from Jane Pellicciotto, who offers some convincing arguments in......read more
It seems like one step forward, two steps back for the environmental movement these days. The once-high hopes of achieving national and/or international action on climate change have faded to a mere memory. Backward-thinking Republicans are attacking the Environmental Protection Agency in Congress. Eco-minded folks are getting bummed. But another movement, one that shares a common ethos with......read more
Getting your first backyard chicken is a big step, one of life's key milestones rivaled only by losing your virginity and getting your first car. So you better go in prepared. With spring around the corner, fuzzy chicks are showing up at pet and feed stores, waiting for someone to take them to their new backyard homes. With amazing names like Black Austrolorps and Buff Orpingtons, how do you know......read more
Foraged Food Porn: Thanks to Cold Splinters, we just discovered our new favorite food blog. Whole Larder Love comes correct with "thrilling yarns of cooking, hunting, fishing, and harvesting" from Ballarat, Australia. Beauty photos! Re Up Gang: Looking to build green? The Design for Reuse Knowledge Exchange is the online encyclopedia of materials reuse. Good resource. Eco Brick and Mortar:......read more
Clover Chadwick, owner of Dandelion Ranch here in Los Angeles, describes her approach to floral design as "natural, organic, balanced, with lots of movement." It's a design philosophy rooted in her experiences studying agriculture and working in a Napa eatery, where fresh, seasonal ingredients were the order of the day. Chadwick's creations involve wild, native plants that are outside the realm......read more
In Brooklyn alone, there are 596 acres of vacant land just sitting there gathering garbage and gravel. Imagine if that was all green space, growing plants for food and providing parks for BK denizens. That's precisely the vision of 596 Acres, a public project which encourages people to connect with empty lots in the city. The group's actions range from guerrilla seed bombing to pushing for......read more
There are about 20,000 vacant lots in Cleveland, with 1,000 more being added every year. Across other Great Lakes cities, the picture is much the same. To most, the empty parcels of land are a painful reminder of American economic decline. To Ultra-Ex, a team of Cleveland-area scientists, they represent space for ecological experimentation. The Ultra-Ex scientists (the "ultra stands for......read more
By standard definition, "local food" is that which is produced within 100 miles of where it's sold. BrightFarms wants you to forget that. The New York-based greenhouse company aims to shift our understanding of local-ness by bringing rooftop gardens to the place where consumers buy food: the supermarket. Launched in January 2011, BrightFarms' vision is to convince grocery retailers to grow......read more
If you want to get away from it all, but you don't want to sacrifice style or good food, then this little slice of paradise is just the spot for you. Situated in the Winelands region outside of Cape Town, South Africa, Babylonstoren is a converted 1692 farmhouse and row of whitewashed old workers’ cottages that have been transformed into a tastefully-done "resort." Reshaping......read more
Summer may be officially over, but there's still time for a good gardening project. This vibrant vertical pallet garden is just the one. Spotted on Design*Sponge, this DIY idea comes from Fern Richardson at Life on the Balcony, a gardening blog with tons of great growing ideas. It's been modified by Steph from the local spoon, whose directions are excerpted here. Materials a pallet......read more
