Bucolic Bushwick

What a Difference a Week Makes!

2012-05-31T10:03:00.000-04:00

Even though this is my fifth year gardening I still get surprised by how fast vegetable plants grow.

The Flexum Hybrid pepper plants are much leafier than before and they have gained several inches in width and height. I added the second level to the cage to accommodate the changes.

The Hakucho Hybrid melon plants have adjusted to their new home and have put out new leaves. Once they get a little taller I will lead their growth toward the reed fence.

Pingtung Long eggplant.

The Black cherry tomato plant has now grown above the second rung of the cage.

As plants grow taller I like to trim off the lower leaves to promote air circulation and to prevent soil from splashing back onto the plant.

The 2 Summertime Green tomato plants in the full sun location are finally starting to fill out. Last week they looked much smaller.

They are still, however, well behind the Summertime Green tomato plant in partial shade.

The Mountain Magic tomato plant is growing by leaps and bounds. It is definitely the fastest growing plant in the garden this year.

How is your garden doing?

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Reading Round Up: Zoetrope Cake Edition

2012-05-29T10:03:00.000-04:00

Disaster Café – Where Every Meal Comes with a 7.8 Earthquake

Dollars and Scents: The Chemistry of a Delicious Tomato

An Animated Zoetrope Cake Inspired by Tim Burton

Worm Towers: Perfect for Small Space Gardens

Rooftop urban farm may sprout at Microsoft’s Redmond campus

Urban Gleaners: Reducing Food Waste to Reduce Hunger (video)

Malaria vaccine candidate 'could be grown at home'

Our Meals are 4 Times Larger Than in the 1950s

Leaf 'stamp' could detect crop diseases

‘Leisure Agriculture’ is in vogue in China

A Pickup Truck Grows an Educational Mini-Farm

What Sunken Sandwiches Tell Us About the Future of Food Storage

Gardeners warned to wash their hands after using compost as rare strain of Legionnaire's disease infects six in Scotland

Have a Lawn and Eat it Too – The Edible Backyard Barrel Garden

Plants Could Use Light Even More Effectively for Food Production

Would You Like a Side of Dirt with That?

Solar Desalination System for Arid Land Agriculture

Ease the pain of guerilla gardening with stretches and proper tools

Protecting “The Last Farmer” from Globalization

New York City Farmer and Feast – Harvesting Local Bounty

The Birth of Non-Alcoholic Ketchup

Study: Kids Will Eat More Veggies If They Drink Water Instead of Soda

Try using edible plants in ornamental arrangements

Cupcakewurst

In 1999, 35 million small family plots produced 90% of Russia’s potatoes, 77% of vegetables, 87% of fruits, 59% of meat, 49% of milk

The father of the Philadelphia farmer's markets

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All Systems Go!

2012-05-24T10:03:00.000-04:00

There are a lot of photos in this post so slow Internet connections beware.

Alright, everything is in! I planted a few more plants than my original plan so here is the rundown:

1 Black Cherry Tomato
3 Flexum Hybrid Sweet Peppers
4 Giant Aconcagua Sweet Peppers
3 Hakucho Hybrid Melons
1 Mountain Magic (F1) Tomato
1 Pingtung Long Eggplant
4 Summertime Green Tomatos

In the photo above the three, 16" diameter pots near the reed fence have 3 Hakucho Hybrid melon plants. These were planted on May 18th. Next to that is the Southern Patio Jumbo Growing Tower with 3 Flexum Hybrid pepper plants, planted May 11th. The non white container has flowers to attract beneficial insects.

The mini greenhouse has my leftover seedlings, these will be given away. The non white container has flowers. The 22 gallon tote has 1 Black Cherry tomato plant, the 16" pot has 1 Pingtung Long eggplant and the 18 gallon tote has 4 Giant Aconcagua pepper plants. All of these were planted on May 11th.

The Black Cherry tomato has a tall cage. I took a large cage, flipped it over, and zip tied a small cage to the spokes that usually go in the ground. These spokes are too tall to be slipped into the soil, the resulting structure would be quite wobbly, hence this alternative. The wide base makes it nice and stable. A bungee cord was added for extra security.

Some birds have been biting the leaves off the smaller pepper plants so I put netting over them until they get larger. The netting us just re-purposed onion bags.

More netting for the smaller flower plants. I don't know why but once plants reach a certain size the birds stop trying to eat them. I just hope they don't change their mind and decide to bite them when they're bigger. I don't have enough netting for the entire garden!

2 Summertime Green tomato plants, planted May 11th, in the 26 gallon tote. More flowers in the non white pot.

1 Summertime Green tomato in the Garden Patch Grow Box on the left and 1 Mountain Magic tomato in the Garden Patch Grow Box on the right. These were planted on May 11th. The one new container I added to the garden this year, the white cube with black straps, has 1 Summertime Green tomato, planted May 17th.

The new container is the 12" gro planter from CB2. This is a standard planter so, of course, I converted it into a self watering container with my usual directions. My sister gave me several of these planters for Christmas, but I did not feel like lugging bags and bags of soil up to the roof this year so the rest will have to wait.

What I find very interesting is that the plants growing in the gardening section that gets the least amount of sun, the new section I opened up this year next to the stairwell, are the plants that are growing the fastest. This area only gets direct sunlight until 12 noon, several hours less than the other gardening sections, but the plants growing here are noticeably larger than the plants growing everywhere else.

The Summertime Green tomato plant in the photo above was planted at the same time as the Summertime Green plants in the photo below, but as you can see it much larger than the plants that are growing in a location that gets full sunlight.

I have no idea why that is, but it certainly is encouragement for me to figure out a way to add more shade to the garden.

The wind is shredding all of the pepper plant leaves, especially the older leaves that developed indoors. This is normal for rooftop gardening though so I'm not alarmed. It will take several weeks for the the plants to adjust and put out tougher leaves.

Wind gusts can snap unsupported stems so every plant is tied down to their stake/cage.

Now that my planting is done it's time to giveaway the leftovers. I have 5 plants to giveaway, 1 Black cherry tomato, 1 Giant Aconcagua pepper, 1 Hakucho Hybrid melon and 2 Summertime Green tomatoes. They are already hardened off so they can be planted immediately, which I highly recommend because their roots are seriously crowded in their cups. Also, whoever gets the Black cherry tomato has a lot of digging to do, there's a lot of stem to bury!

I don't have much so I'm going to limit the giveaway to one plant per person, so choose wisely! Email me if you're interested in a plant, my email is thegardener at bucolic bushwick dot com. During the week they will be available for pick up at the front desk of my office building in Manhattan, which is just a few blocks from the Union Square subway station. On the weekend they can be picked up at my home in Bushwick.

If you're new to gardening I encourage you to email me, there's no better way to start gardening than with a free plant!

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Reading Round Up: Bananaphone Edition

2012-05-22T10:03:00.000-04:00

Groupon Gardening Deal for NYC

You Are What You Eat: Why Do Male Consumers Avoid Vegetarian Options?

Plants! In! Space!

Dwarf plants could reduce demands for water, fertilizer, nutrients and pesticides

Bananaphone synthesizer ripe for a spot of grubstep

The Most Beautiful Corn in the World

Why You Shouldn't Eat Cheap Sushi

Massachusetts to become first US state to ban commercial food waste

Does Organic Food Turn You into a Jerk?

Healthy Foods Are Not Expensive, Government Study Finds

One in six adults in UK have started growing their own food in the last four years

U2's Bono talks curbing hunger with NBC's Andrea Mitchell

Doctors Office Transforms 4,000 Sq.Ft Lawn into Edible Landscape

Canada: Beetle-infested lawns a bonanza for farmers

Dream Job: University Will Pay You $3,500 to Eat Fast Food for Three Months

From Rooftops And Abandoned Lots, An Urban Harvest

2007-2008 Food Crisis: Causes, Responses, and Lessons Learned

Engineering a More Nutritious Banana

Detroit, MI: Urban Farm Plan Reels in Cash, Tilapia

Plant Breeders Develop an Even Heart-Healthier Oat

Could Superweeds Mean the End of Genetically Engineered Crops?

Walmart Rattlesnake Bites Man Getting Mulch For Marijuana Plants In Gardening Department

Banana Tattooist Turns Fruits into Awesome Artworks

Canada: Fire ants invading B.C. gardens

Bush vegetables have an advantage in gardens

Home-built "Bio Computer" runs Linux, grows wheatgrass

Austin, TX: Urban farmers fight to be treated like their country cousins

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Reading Round Up: Hiccupop Edition

2012-05-15T10:03:00.000-04:00

The Case of the Contaminated, Reusable Grocery Bag

#TomatoBomb Louisiana

Top 10 food trailblazers

Soybeans Soaked in Warm Water Naturally Release Key Cancer-Fighting Substance

13-Year-Old Girl Invents Lollipops That Cure Hiccups

A rooftop fish farm for every family?

The Plant Explained: A Tour Of Chicago's Amazing Vertical Farm

British company registers a Trade Mark for ‘Vertical Farming’

Sensoaesthetic Spoons

Massachusetts may ban big institutions from discarding food in the trash in a bid to cut down on the methane from landfills

Just Deserts: 6 Ways to Bring Good Food to Poor Neighborhoods

SNAP Participants to Have Greater Farmers' Market Access

Safeway shuns tiny pig cages

Increasing Predator-Friendly Land Can Help Farmers Reduce Costs

Two-acre farm being built on asphalt in Vancouver

'Sustainable' Seafood Labels Come Under Fire

Atlanta's urban farms

How US snacks are taking over the world

Map of Life: keeping tabs on all living plants and animals on earth

Hong Kong: Up on the roof

Scientists Urge Action on World's Biggest Problems

CNN iReport: The swimming pool garden

Canada: BMW dealership in full bloom for Richmond Food Bank

Toronto Government Warns Against Eating Raw Fiddleheads

Urban Vertical Farming: Generative System for a Vegetable Growing Infrastructure

Licorice: The Candy That Fights Diabetes

There might not be a Thursday post this week, so if not have good weekend everyone!

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Creeping Closer to Planting Time

2012-05-10T10:03:00.000-04:00

The windowsill is at capacity, I can't wait to plant these guys outside!

The rooftop is ready for them, all containers have been fertilized, mulched and caged/staked. The mulch is actually 2 layers, the base layer is black to block weed growth and the top layer is white to reduce heat retention. Last year I only used a white layer and had a problem with light penetration. At the end of the season I removed the mulch and found small weeds and moss growing under the plastic.

The seedlings are usually more exposed to the elements, but during the day when there is rain in the forecast, and I'm away from the apartment, I don't want to risk a freak thunderstorm drowning the plants, so they stay covered until I return. Once I get back everything comes off, even if it's raining. If it is raining I just go up every once in a while and drain the trays so they're not sitting in a pool of water.

The larger tomato plants in the yogurt tubs don't fit in the greenhouse so they are tucked behind the greenhouse next to the chimney. With protection on 2 sides I'm comfortable leaving them outside while I'm away. When I'm home I move them to a more exposed location.

The seedlings spend most of their time outside, I only take them in at night. Not anymore though, the next few nights will be overnight in the mini greenhouse.

Soil temperature is up to 62 degrees. I would be okay with planting tomatoes now, but mine aren't ready for prime time yet. Definitely by this weekend though.

Have you planted outside yet?

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Reading Round Up: Big Maconomics Edition

2012-05-08T10:03:00.000-04:00

Human genes engineered into experimental GMO rice being grown in Kansas

Big Maconomics: How McDonald's Explains the World

A Visual Guide to the Potential of Urban Agriculture

How the Taco Gained in Translation

Rooftop Fish Farm Ups the Ante for Urban Agriculture

10 Tips to Prevent Common Gardening Diseases

Eat Scum: The Science Behind the Algae Fat Substitute

Can an African "Green Revolution" Help Feed the World?

Mebiol’s Futuristic Hydrogel to Grow Food on Desert Sand

Tree roots in the vegetable garden

Fish: The Latest Addition to New York's Urban Farm

Windowfarms: Apartment Farming Technology Coming in August

Where a Tower Was Tabled, a Farm Took Root

'Green bullet' innovations aim to feed world of 9 billion

Will Allen Speaks On the Future of Food

Garlic Compound Fights Food-Borne Bacteria

Inexpensive sensor measures ripeness of fruit

UK: Rising price of fun: Football tickets up 184% and cinema 46% dearer - but at least gardening's still affordable

Nine ways food growing can help you meet neighbours

Perennial vegetables: a treat for tastebuds

How Researchers Came Up With Nutrition Requirements (It's More Interesting Than You Think)

Taste For Pork May Be Determined By Genes, Study Finds

MLS-listed house selling with ‘Urban Farmer’ pitch

How to cash in on an edible landscape

Flexible partition wall and indoor herb garden become one with Herb 2

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Getting Ready for Rooftop Planting

2012-05-03T10:03:00.000-04:00

Now that May has arrived and evening temperatures are warming up I've begun the hardening off process.

I started at 2 hours a day and, so far, have worked up to putting them outside when I return from work and bringing them back in before I go to sleep. By Monday or Tuesday of next week I plan to put them out before I leave for work. By Friday of next week I plan to keep them out overnight so that they will be ready to plant on Saturday or Sunday.

If all goes well the tomato and pepper plants will be planted next weekend and the eggplant and melon plants the following weekend.

The Mountain Magic and Black Cherry tomato plants outgrew their cups so I had to pot them up again into yogurt tubs. They're very leggy, but I don't worry about this too much since tomato stems can be buried to promote root growth.

I'm determined to perfect my seed sowing timing so I can avoid extra work like this. Potting up twice is one time too many. I don't mind doing it, but creating unnecessary work is pointless. It's a waste of time, labor and resources, and I hate waste of any kind. Next year I'll start seeds at the beginning of April instead of the last week in March.

I made a bamboo trellis for the jumbo container. I skipped the zip ties this year and tried my hand at square lashing. I think I did okay, the structure remains stable when I push it around. We'll see how well it handles supporting weight in a few months.

If you are assembling several trellises do it before you plant. Do not think you can have all of them up the same day you plant, they take longer than you think.

Last year one of the cages for a Garden Patch planter was destroyed in a storm so this year the planter also got a bamboo trellis.

This section of the roof might be unfamiliar to you. I used to use the area for storage, so I never needed to photograph it for the blog. The area is now cleared out and will be the 4th gardening section on the roof. The section is sandwiched between the north side of the staircase and the skylight. It's shaded from mid to late afternoon sun and offers partial wind protection.

It is the only area on the roof that offers mid afternoon shade, hence it is the coolest spot on the roof. Right now the plan is to plant 2 tomato plants here, but in the coming months if another plant looks like it's struggling with hot temps I'll make room for it here. It's all part of my plan for preparing for the unexpected.

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Reading Round Up: Wasabi Edition

2012-05-01T10:03:00.000-04:00

Extreme Gardening On Mars? European Research Project Focuses On Development of Life Support Units

A Plan to Turn Brooklyn's Unused Acres Green

Gulf seafood deformities alarm scientists

Tomato trials yield the best of the bunch

Dow's new corn: "time bomb" or farmers' dream?

One Thing Missing from the Urban Farm Movement: Farmers

Visit to a Rare Wasabi Farm

How To Grow A Great Garden On A Budget

Community garden to occupy roof of garage in downtown Seattle

Bowerbirds do a bit of accidental gardening

Will Organic Food Fail to Feed the World?

Japanese Artist Invents New Way of Peeling Tangerines

Get a ground-level look to find bugs, disease

Want to Feel Fuller After Breakfast and Lunch? Toss Some Almonds in Your Cereal

Edible: Rooftop Brewery Fills Brews With Real Italian Flavor

BBC Horizons – Urban Farming

Could Mushrooms Uproot Plastic Packaging?

Gardening Tools, for Sowing or Reaping

10 Mistakes New Gardeners Often Make

Genes Shed Light On Spread of Agriculture in Stone Age Europe

Boston gardening initiative to offer free tomato plants to urban growers

Breadfruit Trees are 'Trees That Feed' and Create Jobs in Jamaica

Better Growing ... Through Plastic?

Heart Attack Grill Strikes Again!

A Place for Old Chickens, Outside the Pot

Sow right: tips and tricks for veg seeds

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Indoor Vegetable Gardening Harvest: Carrots

2012-04-26T10:03:00.000-04:00

I wanted to wait another week to harvest these, but I needed the windowsill space to start my melon seeds, so out they came.

They were incredibly sweet and crunchy, it's a shame I didn't have room to grow more.

I'll grow some more later in the year, after the height of summer, when it's no longer oven hot on the windowsill.

Carrots (Parmex): 4.1 ounces

Running Weight Total 2012: 4.1 ounces

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Reading Round Up: Twinkies Edition

2012-04-24T10:03:00.000-04:00

The Legumes of War: How Peanuts Fed the Confederacy

Japanese Goggles Make Food Look Bigger, Help You Lose Weight

Strike threat at Hostess could kill off Twinkies

Dutch Insect Cookbook Will Have You Eat Bugs

Studies Question the Pairing of Food Deserts and Obesity

Brain freeze found: scientists uncover the cause of ice-cream induced pain

If the food’s in plastic, what’s in the food?

Urban Farm Pop-Up Shop Sprouts in Brooklyn

Mechanism That Gives Plants 'Balance' Discovered

Gardening Tips: Getting Started on Your Summer Vegetable Garden

Making Preserved Food Actually Taste Good

For a Healthier Country, Overhaul Farm Subsidies

Climate Change May Create Price Volatility in the Corn Market

Crown Heights: Urban farmer lets you buy eggs — straight from the source

Join the CNN iReport Team: From garden to table

A fresh approach: Restaurant gardens take root

Starbucks to phase out bug extract as food dye

Straw-bale gardening lets you grow vegetables without soil

An interesting perspective from a small island state: The Cost of Living: Three experts give their views

New fruits and veggies look good, taste great

The Hell's Kitchen Farm Project: Church Farming Provides Food And Community

Biodegradable fast food containers made from waste straw

Erb Foundation gives $1 million to SHAR Foundation's urban farming project on Detroit's east side

Urban Farming Is Growing a Green Future

Solar powered greenhouse desalinates sea water for irrigation

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Preparing for the Unexpected

2012-04-19T10:03:00.094-04:00

I'm not sure what this year's summer will bring in terms of high temperatures, but I'm preparing for the worst. I can't build any large, elaborate structures to help keep the plants cool, the wind will knock down anything too big, plus I live in a rental so whatever I make must be removable, so instead I focused on smaller fixes.

To help keep the soil and water cool I painted the containers white to reduce heat retention.

I also built platforms out of some old bookshelves to raise the larger containers off the roof. The black tar roof gets ridiculously hot in the summer. Raising the containers off the roof will reduce the amount of heat that passes from the roof to the pots.

I've been considering shade cloth, but I'm not sure how I could effectively implement it on the roof, assuming the wind just doesn't pick it up and sweep it away. I thought I could just drape it over the plants, but I've read the cloth shouldn't touch the plants. I need to think about this some more.

Some birds have been lingering near the garden so I bought some bird netting in case they get daring. If squirrels return I'll upgrade to chicken wire.

All that's left to do is add mulch, fertilizer and stakes/cages. And plants of course!

How's your garden prep going?

Bird Netting: $9.94

Landscape Fabric Pins: $10.50

4 Cans of Paint for Plastic: $21.73

Soil & Perlite: $48.04

Total: $90.21

2012 Running Total: $166.40

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Reading Round Up: SushiBot Edition

2012-04-17T10:03:00.085-04:00

Hey , NYC: Get growing! Bucolic Bushwick is in the NY Post!

SushiBot Rolls Out 3,600 Pieces per Hour

Michigan State Proposes 100-acre, $100-million Urban-farming Research Center In Detroit

Master Gardeners: The dirt on soil problems

“Aztec” cuisine breeds gourmet taste for rare bugs

The Chork Is the Beautifully Awful Lovechild of a Fork and Chopsticks That Will Prevent World War III

The Stories Behind Five Famous Advertising Characters

Open Source Permaculture will include Urban Permaculture Guide

What's Inside The 26-Ingredient School Lunch Burger?

Consumers eating adverts: The world’s first lickable wallpaper

Economic Theory Plots a Course for Good Food

PBS America Revealed: The Food Machine

Vertical vegetables: in pictures

Gardening advice: How to prepare seedlings for the garden

Farmers of 800-Years-Ago Could Teach Us How to Protect the Amazon -- With Raised Farming Beds

Till waffle fries do us part: Meet the Chick-fil-A couple

America Has the Saltiest Fast Food in the World

Whoa: Brazilian Cannibals Make Empanadas With Human Meat

Care For Some Wine With Your White Castle Sliders?

Running for L.A. Mayor 2013: Farmscape, A Gang of Urban Gardeners

Food's Biggest Scam: The Great Kobe Beef Lie

In an Old Chicago Meat Plant, Greens and Fish Grow

The Veggie Pipe: Singapore gets a new veggie home growing idea

The Plot to Seed Bomb Brooklyn

Sharing the Bounty: Dining Hall Swipes as Hunger-Fighting Tool

Urban Agriculture in Australia: Growing Food in Expanding Cities

Incredible Miniature Food Sculptures

Revealing The Revolting Beauty Of Food Waste

To Heal, First Eat: Doctors Learn to Cook Healthy, ‘Crave-able’ Foods

Can technology rescue women farm workers from drudgery?

Farm-in-a-truck teaches kids about sustainability

Patagonia Gets Into Sustainable Fare, Releases Wild Salmon Jerky

Malaria vaccine from the teats of genetically altered goats

We have smart phones, so why not smart gardens?

Petunia Points the Way to Better Harvests: Understanding Plants' Relationships With Helpful Soil Fungi

'Food Forward' PBS Series Debuts With 'Urban Agriculture Across America' Episode

Micro-Farms

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Growing Flowers to Attract Beneficial Insects

2012-04-12T10:03:00.109-04:00

When I first started vegetable gardening I used all my pots to grow vegetables. I have zero interest in ornamental gardening so I saw no point in growing flowers. Over time I've learned that flowers do have a place in an edible garden.

Flowers will attract more pollinators to your garden, which can improve vegetable yield, and they attract beneficial insects, which can help combat pest infestations.

This year I'll be using my 5 smallest pots to grow flowers. My hope is that these flowers will attract enough beneficial insects to manage the harmful ones that will attack the vegetable plants. Mother Earth News has an excellent article on attracting beneficial insects.

If your garden is teeming with beneficials, these bugs may often thwart budding pest infestations before you’ve even noticed the threat. It’s nature’s way of managing pests — no pesticides required.

You can then kick back and enjoy the natural pest control provided by the diverse and amazingly complex balance among what we humans see as the “good bugs” and the “bad bugs.”

I think there'll be a lot of insect pests in the garden this year. No deep freeze means lots of bugs survived winter.

Whatever flowers you choose to plant it is very important to pay attention to their bloom time. Provide flowers with different bloom times so that the beneficial insects have a continuous food source for the entire growing season.

The Internet offers many lists of plants to attract beneficials, but one of my favorites is from Colorado State University. Their article states the bloom time of plants that attract beneficial insects, a critical piece of information when considering what plants to grow.

If you don't provide food for adult beneficials, it's likely they won't inhabit the garden and you'll inherit their work. Plant a wide range of plants that bloom throughout the growing season to gain the benefits of natural insect control in your garden.

I'll be growing 2 varieties from Colorado State's list, sweet alyssum and fernleaf yarrow, plus some random wildflowers just to mix it up.

I do not have enough room on my windowsill for both vegetable and flower seedlings so the flowers are growing in my DIY Self Watering Container + Mini Greenhouse on the roof.

If this flower strategy works it means less time spent maintaining the garden!

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Reading Round Up: Peeps Show Edition

2012-04-10T10:03:00.048-04:00

Peeps Show VI: Power to the Peeps

Use of Common Pesticide, Imidacloprid, Linked to Bee Colony Collapse

PowerPot uses cooking heat to power campers' devices

Ice cream prices to soar during summer as world faces vanilla pod shortage

How Coral Bleaching Could Lead to Famine

Cookie maker lets you dictate other peoples' fortunes

All-American Selections: When you're looking for desirable qualities or cutting-edge characteristics in plants and vegetables, AAS winners are bound to have them

Monsanto Threatens to Sue Vermont Over GMO Labeling Law

Kitchen cures doctors swear by

Enviropig, the Genetically Engineered Eco-Friendly Pork, Is Off the Table

Baguette Tables: An attempt to raise awareness on food wastage

Magic Cheese Chips, 1934

X-ray technology harnessed to grow more nutritious crops

Weight of Pink Slime Furor Sends One Company Under

Citywatch: Food Industry Named World’s Worst

Gardeners SNAP to It

Gardening goes to prison

What Does Sweetness Sound Like?

Fire in the belly - evidence suggests early man may have cooked

The Fisher king

Pitcher Strains Oblique Muscle From Severe Vomiting

Technology makes the desert bloom

Healthier Eating Starts on the Roof

Indian man works nearly 30 years to create a 550 hectare forest

New Forage Plant Prepares Farmers for Climate Changes

A Farm Doesn’t Have to be a Distant Rural Place

The Healthy Bodegas Initiative: Bringing Good Food to the Desert

Young U.S. Farmers Coax Crops from Conservation Lands

Window Farming: Why a Sussex, WI Man is Bringing the Worldwide Trend Home

Extra-value veggies: New Burpee line boosts nutrients

Oh, Grow Up!

New interdisciplinary minor in Urban Agriculture at the University of San Francisco

Gardeners Across Five Boroughs Converge

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Almost Two Weeks Later...

2012-04-05T10:03:00.006-04:00

It's been 12 days since 2012 rooftop vegetable seeds were started. Most of the seeds have sprouted and grown seed leaves (cotyledons).

As soon as the more than half the seeds sprouted I removed the dome to improve air circulation. Last year I had a problem with damping off due to poor air circulation so I'm very eager to avoid this problem this year.

Freshly sprouted seeds often look very much alike, so it is at this stage of growth when it becomes clear how important it is to label your seedlings. It's awkward to directly label seed starting pellets so I just add labels to the edge of the tray.

For multiple reasons my preference for labels is blue painter's tape. Painter's tape can be removed and reattached multiple times before the the adhesive wears out, on the roof the wind cannot blow it away and the ink (permanent marker of course) takes a long time to fade, so the text remains legible for the entire growing season.

The Black cherry seeds were the first to sprout. They are already forming their first true leaves.

I'm not sure if the germination rates for the Summertime Green tomatoes and the Giant Aconcagua peppers are low, or I'm being impatient and just need to give them more time. I did take the dome off early, which reduced their temperature, so that could have slowed down their progress.

To be safe though, I started a few more seeds in some deli containers.

It's always amazing to me that in a few short months these little guys will be hundreds of times larger and producing nutritious and flavorful food!

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Reading Round Up: Placenta Edition

2012-04-03T10:03:00.058-04:00

NYC’s first urban farming shop opens April 4th

I Regret Eating My Placenta

Enlist Beneficial Insects for Natural Pest Control

Solar Cooker is a solution for emergency

42 Flowers You Can Eat

Avalanche research aids search for tastier ice cream

Food, Not War, Is the Biggest Threat to World Security, Argues Lester Brown

Cooking up Energy: Waste gases from fried chicken offer clean power

Food Poisoning's Hidden Legacy

World’s Largest Rooftop Farm Planned For Brooklyn Making New York The Model For Urban Agriculture

Cornell Research Helps Lotus Rice Use Less Water and Taste Better Too

Watch Some Clips From PBS' New Series, Food Forward

The world’s first cookbook that you can eat

NYC Investigating Possible Tofu-Related Botulism Cases

DIY Mini Aquaponic Vegetable and Fish Farm

Pesticides harming bee populations, researchers suggest

Farmers blend traditional and science-based forecasts

Five Sustainable Innovations in Aquaculture

Thinking Outside the Window Box: Urban Garden System Suspends From Windowsill

Foods in the Year 2000

Food Start-Ups Find a Home in Brooklyn

A Natural Approach to Gardening

Plot to beat the drought

In Bangladesh, a Battle Between Farmers and Climate Change

Van Gogh’s Sunflowers Were Genetic Mutants

Seeing is Believing: The Story Behind Henry Heinz’s Condiment Empire

Arid land and salt water to help grow food in Africa

Startup turns your old sandwich into electricity

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Starting 2012 Rooftop Vegetable Seeds

2012-03-29T10:03:00.134-04:00

The rooftop vegetable seeds were started last Saturday. The indoor carrots were moved to the side so that the only thing under the grow light is the seed starting dome.

Seeds don't need light at this stage of growth, but I have other vegetable plants growing on the windowsill so it's staying on. The heat mat is on a timer, it comes on at 8pm and turns off at 8am. Sunlight provides enough warmth during the day. They're too small to photograph, but I can see some seeds have already sprouted.

Here's the planting plan for this year:

26 Gallon Box: 2 Summertime Green Tomato
22 Gallon Box: 1 Black Cherry Tomato
18 Gallon Box: 3 or 4 Giant Aconcagua Peppers
Garden Patch Grow Box: 1 Summertime Green Tomato
Garden Patch Grow Box: 1 Mountain Magic Tomato
Southern Patio Growing Tower: 2 or 3 Flexum Hybrid Peppers
16" Pot: 1 Hakucho Hybrid Melon
16" Pot: 1 Hakucho Hybrid Melon
16" Pot: 1 Hakucho Hybrid Melon
16" Pot: 1 Pingtung Long Eggplant
Water Cooler: Flowers
12" Pot: Flowers
12" Pot: Flowers
12" Pot: Flowers
12" Pot: Flowers

As plants expire, or I get sick of eating whatever they produce, I'll replace them with root vegetables or peas for a fall harvest.

Notice I'm growing 5 pots of flowers. I'm not growing them for aesthetic reasons, these flowers will be used to attract beneficial insects to the rooftop. I'll get into this in a later post.

Above is my tentative planting schedule. If it warms up sooner I'll cut a week or two off the schedule.

How is your seed starting going?

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Reading Round Up: Self Heating Food Edition

2012-03-27T10:03:00.076-04:00

Is self-heating food the future?

New Zealand faces shortage of beloved breakfast spread

Something to Chew On: Healthier Hot Dogs Substitute Cellulose for Saturated Fats

This is the year you garden

Coconut and mango waste could help power Asia

Master Gardeners: 10 ways to kill plants you love

Aquaponic Garden School proposed for Branson, MO mall property

At The Community Garden, It's Community That's The Hard Part

Heat Wave Hangover

Maker Pulls Pesticide Amid Fear of Toxicity

Sensor-managed garden goes ‘beyond organic’

Consumer Reports Called Out in Bagel War

Social Snacking: Three Companies Add Impact to Your Empty Calories

Vancouver downtown training school offers farm lessons to city folk

Cooking Better Biochar: Study Improves Recipe for Soil Additive

Urinating on your tomato plants could give you fruit four times larger

What’s Next: Digging our way through to the future of Hydroponics!

Irish Farming Colleges Thrive During Recession

FYI: Why Does Some Food Taste Bad To Some People And Good To Others?

Strong Food Smell Cuts Down Quantities

Master Gardener: Starting seeds inside

Don't let the weather trick you into planting too soon

Old dresser repurposed into a mini garden

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Indoor Carrots and Soybeans Are Looking Good

2012-03-22T10:03:00.046-04:00

The carrots and soybeans in my indoor vegetable garden continue to do well.

It's been about 6 weeks since they were planted.

The soybeans were moved to the side of the grow light since they no longer fit underneath it.

No flowers yet, but I think soon.

I'm starting the rooftop seeds this weekend!

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Reading Round Up: Film Farming Edition

2012-03-20T10:03:00.136-04:00

Scientists working at creating allergy-free eggs

Is future in film farming?

Rooftop farm for Brooklyn Navy yard

Chinese Fish for Meaning in U.S. Carp Rampage

Apple’s new ‘campus’ to include hundreds of fruit trees for 14,200 employees in Cupertino

Eating any red meat hastens death

Just great! Unusual Warmth Expected to Fuel Extreme Weather in the U.S.

Glow in the Dark Sushi

Brooklyn food pantries go grow-your-own with indoor hydroponic farms

Soilless boost to terrace farming

Camping Tents That Look Like Real Food

'The Lunch Tray' Responds to Beef Industry Defenses of 'Pink Slime'

USDA Offers School Districts Choice on 'Pink Slime'

A Little Patience Please

Growing Potatoes in Burlap Bags

Sound Barrier: Can High-Power Ultrasound Protect Produce from Pathogens?

Dietary Patterns Exist Among US Adults Based On Demographics

Elementary school gardens teach math, science and patience

California Farming Communities Threatened by Nitrate Pollution

Huge Shift In What We Eat

Growing Heirloom Tomato Varieties

FYI: Why Do Kids Hate Brussels Sprouts?

Introducing the Farm Hack Tools Wiki (Beta)

Homegrown foods have a homecoming

Curbing the Killer Nutrients: Lawsuits Aim to Reduce Gulf Dead Zone

Hydroponics Gardens to the Rescue

Councilman gives Oak Park, CA residents free gardens

How to Trick Your Taste Buds Into Enjoying More Healthy Foods

Dry farming tomatoes for increased flavor

Pallet Vegetable Garden

The best ducks to keep at home

Learning to read nature's cues can help a gardener

The Farm of the Future Will Grow Plants Vertically and Hydroponically

Choosing Heirloom Or Hybrid Tomatoes

The Willy Wonkas of Urban Farming Consider Peekskill

A Chicken Without Guilt

Fake Meat America Could Love

Plot – A Stunning Cityscape Made of Carved Potatoes

Chickens in suburbia: One couple's foray into urban homesteading

Poor Diets Lower Sperm Counts

Clean Your Plate, Save the World?

Rooftop community initiative in Shanghai, China

Hoophouse of Hope

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2012 Rooftop Vegetable Seed Selections

2012-03-15T10:03:00.225-04:00

Charantais Melon - Hakucho Hybrid
Cherry Tomato - Black Cherry
Eggplant - Pingtung Long
Shelling Peas - Caselode
Sweet Pepper - Flexum Hybrid
Sweet Pepper - Giant Aconcagua
Tomato - Mountain Magic (F1)
Tomato - Summertime Green

Plus seeds from last year:

Beet - Detroit Dark Red
Carrot - Parmex
Radish - White Icicle
Soybean - Envy
Turnip - Purple Top White Globe

The Hakucho Hybrid melon is from Kitazawa Seed.

Aromatic, sweet and just over 1 pound, Hakucho is a superior melon. Sugar content is 16%—sweet but not cloying.

Their melon selection is interesting, they're all small fruited varieties, so possibly all of them could be container friendly. Maybe I'll work my way through their selection.

The Black Cherry tomato is apparently the only truly black cherry tomato in existence. I bought mine from johnnyseeds.com, but thought this site had a better description.

Fruits are irresistibly delicious with sweet, rich, complex, full tomato flavors that burst in your mouth, characteristic of the best flavorful black tomatoes

I've read a lot of good things about this variety: excellent flavor, open pollinated and disease resistant! I hope they live up to the hype.

The Pingtung Long eggplant is from Tomato Growers Supply. These should do well on the roof.

One of its other attributes is an ability to thrive and produce continuous, large harvests despite summer heat and humidity.

This year I'll grow just one eggplant. Last year, and the years before that, I grew two plants, which frankly was one too many. By mid September I couldn't bear the sight of them, let alone eat one more. I've learned my lesson, grow only what you want to eat.

The Caselode peas were from johnnyseeds.com, but they no longer sell them. I've never eaten fresh peas before, only frozen, so I'm curious to see how different they will taste.

I think the Flexum Hybrid pepper will be the most attractive plant in the garden this year.

Beautiful, 4 oz. cone-shaped peppers start out ivory then mature to yellow, orange, and finally red.

The Giant Aconcagua pepper will be the most interesting to watch. The photo on the web site is what convinced me to give these a try.

A pepper with flavor as sweet as apples. Oblong fruit grows up to a huge 12 inches long and is produced in great abundance.

I doubt I can get them to grow that big in a container, but it will be fun to try.

Mountain Magic tomato is my safety play for this year. Flavorful, highly productive, crack resistant, disease resistant to fusarium & verticillium wilt and disease resistant to both early & late blight . The only way I can screw this plant up is if I forget to water it.

The plant I'm most excited about is the Summertime Green tomato. I bought my seeds from Tomato Growers Supply late last year. They have since sold out, but they're now available at Heritage Tomato Seed.

Summertime Green is from the Dwarf Tomato Project. If you grow in containers pay attention to what this all-volunteer group is doing. They're breeding heirloom flavor, open pollinated tomatoes that are container friendly. Container friendly heirlooms!? Yes, please!

What are you growing this year that you're most excited about?

Seeds: $40.14

Seed starting pellets: $2.80

Total: $42.94

2012 Running Total: $76.19

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Reading Round Up: Wonderbag Edition

2012-03-13T10:03:00.018-04:00

I Am the Lorax, I Speak for Rainbow Sprinkle Pancakes and Mazda SUVs

In the developed world a 'Wonderbag' will save you money - elsewhere it helps save lives

Yes, skeptics, Olive Garden does have a Tuscan culinary institute

Stop-Motion Guacamole

Coke and Pepsi Change Recipes to Avoid Printing Cancer Warnings

Vegetarian Cutlet: New Method to Prepare a Meat Substitute

Why We Have Sliced Bread

Potato and plantain batteries show promise

What's Wrong With Pink Slime?

Young Woman Is Strangely Addicted to Sponges and Soap

Aiming high: FarmingUp has sights set on Greenpoint

Supermarket Checkout Scanner Uses Object Recognition Instead of Bar Codes

Easy Themed Edible Gardens

Salt resistant wheat could help reduce food scarcity

Farmers Face Tough Choice On Ways To Fight New Strains Of Weeds

Five Great Grains with Promise for the Future

EcoCity Urban Farm Takes Root Amid Strip Malls

For Deliverymen, Speed, Tips and Fear on Wheels

Kill-It-and-Eat-It Locavores Give Cities Indigestion

Spike in Food Prices Projected by 2013

Berries Keep the Brain Young, New Study Reports

The Many Faces of a Planter

Time to get gardening seeds and supplies ready to go

Food security and climate change mitigation through urban agriculture

Campbell's Soup Phasing Out BPA Use in Cans

Dissolving fruit stickers

Egypt: A New ‘Roof-Top Revolution’ Emerges

100 years of Oreo cookies

Cupcake ATM vends sweet treats around the clock

Hydroponic Farmer Produces Year-Round Harvest

Myths about vegetables and fruit

The "Pink Slime" in Your Kid's School Lunch

Peak Meat: US Meat Consumption Falling

Pepper Jack sales soar as buyers say spicy cheese, please

It’s Not Junk if I Made It: Recreating Snack Cakes, Cookies and Chips at Home

Shedding a light on indoor gardening

What gardeners do on wet weekends

How Young Scientists Are Determining the Future of Organic Farming—and Craft Beer

Eat more, move less and don’t gain weight by blocking a marijuana-like chemical in the brain

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Indoor Vegetable Gardening Carrots and Soybeans

2012-03-08T10:03:00.081-05:00

It's been about a month since I planted the carrot and soybean seeds indoors. I think they look pretty good, no signs of disease and the leaves are a nice healthy green.

According to the seed packets the carrots should be ready for harvest early April and the soybeans by late April. Those packets assume full sun exposure, however, so these indoor grown ones might take a little longer.

Seed starting for the rooftop vegetable plants will begin in a few weeks. I cannot wait! Once those seeds are started these pots will be moved from directly underneath the grow light to the sides, closer to the wall. Moving these plants away from the grow light will also increase the time to maturity, but I'm not in a rush so I don't care. As long as they're edible when they're harvested I'll be happy.

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Reading Round Up: McRibster Edition

2012-03-06T10:03:00.119-05:00

Urban Farming with Kids: Seeking Simplicity Through Seeds, Chicks, and More

Nestle Crunch Girl Scout Candy Bar Is Real, But Not Yet Available, Says Girl Scouts

London 2012: Growing for gold with Olympic gardening

McDonald’s Austria Has A Deep-Fried McRib

Determine food freshness with edible silk stickers

The State of the Chicken

Mobile Mumbai

New proposal could grow rooftop farming in NYC

US Navy Food Posters 1939-1945

Iowa Approves Nation's First 'Ag-Gag' Law

Food security and climate change mitigation through urban agriculture, Philippines

Family heirlooms tell a gardening story

Weighing what trash is worth at Mexico City 'Bartering Market'

Loans for Urban Agriculture in NYC

New Labels Required on Ground Meat, Poultry Packages

Master Gardeners see increased demand for vegetable workshops

New York City Residents Join Farmers in Calling for a Fair Farm Bill

Gardening 101 – Container Soil

The Last Piece of Chocolate Tastes the Best

Five Urban Garden Programs that are Reaching Inmates and At-Risk Populations

Taco Bell Doritos taco to debut in March

Urine-powered restaurant pops up in Melbourne

Why We Need Food Trucks in a Recession

Weird Winter Has Gardeners Itching To Plant, Despite The Risks

Comfort eating with vegetable cake

Seven Garden Activities to Help Kiss Winter Goodbye

Epic drought leads to both innovation and pollution in Spain

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