When it comes to seeds, Kim Massare does the work for you
A few years ago, frustrated by the lack of heirloom varieties available at local garden centers, South Philly gardener Kim Massare went on a seed catalogue shopping spree. She lit up her rowhouse’s basement with grow lights and brought down all those non-recyclable plastic containers she’d
I really hate malls, which is one reason I love this idea. From the original story in the Cleveland Plain-Dealer: Now Vicky Poole, the Galleria’s marketing and events director, who worked on her grandpa’s farm as a child, expects that by late spring or early summer, there will be fresh tomatoes for sale among the
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Now that temperatures are on the rise and spring is growing near, our attention is once again brought back to the garden. Also growing near is the release date for Urban and Suburban Meadows: Bringing Meadowscaping to Big and Small Spaces, written by photographer, certified horticulturalist and landscape designer Catherine Zimmerman (my mom!).
Urban and Suburban
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It might be difficult to gain access to Vollmecke Orchard’s CSA this season, but getting on their waiting list will work to your advantage in the end. The 37-acre family-owned farm in Chester County is on a mission is to “be a vibrant successful family farm based on quality produce and respect for nature.”
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Love ’n Fresh Flowers is the place for locally-grown blossoms
Jennie Love, owner of the Mt. Airy floral boutique Love ’n Fresh Flowers, describes her business as “far from traditional.” Operated out of Love’s home studio and garden, Love ’n Fresh sells only flowers grown within a 50-mile radius of Philadelphia. In fact, Love grows most of
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Prepare yourselves: In January 2011, electricity rates in Philadelphia will increase, if not skyrocket. Back in 1997, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed a deregulation measure that capped utility rates for consumers in preparation for allowing competition—or “Energy Choice”—in the market. PECO’s cap will expire next year, but citizens in other areas of the state
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I've been talking a lot recently about the fact that the more I learn about industrial/unsustainable food production, the fewer things I can enjoy eating. This isn't all bad. It's important to be an ethical, conscientious consumer, and sometimes the more you learn about a product (especially when it comes from a local, independently-owned source)
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Red Earth Farm, located in Schuylkill County, promises fresh local produce grown without any synthetic, artificial or chemical substances. The 13-acre farm shares its bounty at local farmers' markets and with CSA members from June to November. Weekly CSA shares are chosen by members from an online list of available produce. These orders are then
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The health of a nation (or in this case a city) begins with the initiatives of young people. Teens 4 Good, a program of the Federation of Neighborhood Centers, shows the kind of initiative and promise Philadelphia needs to become a healthy and sustainable city. The group transforms vacant city lots into urban gardens, providing
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Russ KremerSpeaking of Fresh, one of the film's most interesting and affecting stories involves Russ Kremer, a pig farmer in Missouri. For years, he ran a commercial pork operation, which meant daily doses of antibiotics for all his animals. One day he was injured by a hog, and nearly died from an antibiotic-resistant infection he
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