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We all want our children to be enthusiastic about local, sustainable food, but there are moments when they can get a little too, er, focused on it. For Pete Wells, author of the always great (and too infrequent, in our opinion) Cooking With Dexter column in NYT Mag, that happened when his six year-old started demanding backyard chickens and rooftop beehives. After hiding his copy of "My......read more
For a nice example of an economic slump yielding positive results, check out this ingenious urban farm that has popped up in midtown Manhattan, where the recession halted development of the Alexandria Center, a bioscience complex just east of FDR Drive. When the project stalled, the developer leapt on the opportunity to use the space to grow fresh produce for Riverpark, the Tom Colicchio......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
At an empty storefront in East London, a group of designers led by the crew from Something & Son have opened what must be the world's first farm in a shop. The disused shop has been transformed into productive urban farm with hydroponic and aquaponic plants, a backyard garden, a rooftop chicken coop, and tilapia in the front room. Meanwhile, the bottom floor dishes out......read more
Farmscape, California's largest urban farming operation, has recently launched what may be its most ambitious project to date: a 200-square-foot custom garden on the roof of The Jonathan Club in Downtown Los Angeles. Completed in December, the garden provides fresh, organic produce for chefs working in the kitchen of the private social club. Writing for LAist, Lauren Lloyd sums it......read more
Hallelujah! A baptist church in a neglected Manhattan neighbourhood has entered the urban farming game, with a 1,000 square foot rooftop garden that's producing abundant fruit and veg for the church's busy food pantry. Located in Hell's Kitchen between the Port Authority Bus Terminal and the Lincoln Tunnel, the Metro Baptist Church is as far removed from rural farm life as it gets. But with......read more
As any parent can no doubt attest, kids like dirt. In Canada, teachers are taking advantage of that impulse with seeds and soil that teach kids vital lessons about food, sustainability, and the environment. In fact, school gardens are getting so popular up north that the Canadian charity Nutrients for Life this week launched a school garden network, complete with case studies, lesson guides and......read more
For sixty years, an empty space gathered garbage in a section of Berlin's Kreuzberg district. In 2009, over a hundred volunteers cleaned the area of two tons of trash to make way for a community garden. Today, Prinzessinnengärten (Princess Gardens) is a thriving urban agricultural project, providing fresh, organic produce for Berlin residents and a space to come together to learn more about......read more
Nestled deep in the hills of Glassell Park in northeast L.A., Hidden House easily fulfills the three non-negotiable features of our dream home: bucolic seclusion, sustainable architecture, and a big-ass garden. The home, which sits on a rustic 7-acre site that's accessible via a half-mile of unpaved road, offers amazing views of Los Angeles - while feeling a world away from the city. Designed......read more
Brooklyn Grange, the rooftop farming operation that launched in Long Island City a couple years ago, celebrated its first harvest at its new site, a 43,000 square-foot rooftop farm in Brooklyn -- now the largest such farm in NYC. Located in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, the rooftop farm was financed in part by a $592,730 grant from the DEP's Green Infrastructure Grant Program. Mayor......read more
