Surrounding nearly every suburban business center and office park are swaths of manicured grass, occasionally interrupted by ornamental landscaping. Unlike green space at schools or residential complexes, it’s rare to see this outdoor space used for recreation or sunbathing. In fact, it isn’t really used for anything. Up Top Acres, an agricultural startup based in
MoreAlex passed his Publisher’s Notes duties along to me this month because I am, simply put, obsessed with food. I’ve been looking forward to this issue for months. Last June, I moved back to Philadelphia—my hometown—after a few years in the wilderness (read: Nashville, TN).
MoreSunnyGirl Farm is the fulfillment of a lifelong dream for Mary Ann Petrillo, and her partner Jennifer Cully is along for the ride. Growing on only an acre and a quarter near Kennett Square, the pair sell at farmers’ markets, supply local restaurants and offer a 20-share CSA.
MoreFarming tools by women, for womenby Lee Stabert
Women are pretty amazing and resourceful,” says Ann Adams, one half of the team behind Green Heron Tools, a company designing gardening and farming equipment specifically for women.
Nic Esposito and a new generation of urban activists are starting in the garden
Answering a question about his favorite things to grow is a challenge for Nic Esposito. After a few nods to his Italian heritage—eggplants, tomatoes—he settles on a response that speaks volumes about the work he is doing in his West Philadelphia community: “I love
Spotted Hill Farm proves that size doesn’t matter
Donna Bowman’s farm isn’t very big, but neither are its primary inhabitants: a herd of miniature Nubian goats.
They’re inquisitive, friendly little creatures, with long, floppy ears and prominent noses. Bowman breeds them, and uses their milk for the homemade soaps and lotions she sells through the farm’s website
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
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
"There are so many opportunities. We wish we were 20 years younger,” Paul Crivellaro mused, sitting across the kitchen table from his wife Ember in their Berks County home. It was a cold, gray December day and the Crivellaros had invited me in for coffee and cookies after a short meet-and-greet with their herd of
MoreWendell Berry understands technology’s lure to farmers. In 1950, when he was 16, his father bought a tractor, and suddenly he found he was impatient with his mules. But what does a tireless machine do to a farmer’s relationship to the land? Land becomes something to overcome—a perspective shared by a traveler on an interstate
MoreTo the Readers of Grid,All of us at the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA) are delighted to share our story with folks who truly understand the importance of building a food system that not only helps to keep good farmers on the land, but good environmental practices in the field and good food on
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