Have you ever watered a neglected plant only to find the water bouncing off the surface of the soil? If so, your potting soil likely has peat in it, which has been a go-to ingredient in potting soil since it’s been sold. Not only does peat require regular watering to keep its surface permeable, it
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The strongest prosthelytizing tool in a food sustainability advocate’s bag-o’-tricks might just be a farm fresh egg. Crack that thing open into a hot skillet and watch onlookers gasp in awe at a yolk the color of a perfect Florida orange.
Only the hardiest souls flourish in the dead of winter. Far from the glimmer of spring, with little sun and no warmth, most reasonable organisms are hunkered down. Fortunately, mushrooms (like bloggers) don’t have much use for nice weather—they do just fine in the damp darkness of February. So, at a time of year when
MoreWith help from a USDA grant, PHS Launches the Community Grower’s Allianceby Lee Stabert
The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society has been awarded a $300,000 grant from the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Over the three-year lifespan of the grant, PHS will use the money to expand City Harvest, its expansive urban food growing program, through
On a roof or in a yard, Grace Wicks grows gardenersby Char VandermeerIt was easy to pick Grace Wicks, sole proprietor of Graceful Gardens, out of the horde of stern-faced suits bustling by the Four Seasons Hotel in Center City. She was the one wearing a great big grin and carrying a giant green gardening
MorePrisoners and community gardeners help feed Philadelphia's hungry by Natalie Hope McDonald
Adjacent to a soccer field in fairmount park, in view of what’s left of the Delaware River’s wetlands, the Philadelphia Prison System operates eight correctional facilities for men and women along State Road.
The Fair Food Farmstand triples in sizeThe new and improved Fair Food Farmstand celebrated its grand opening on October 2, after months of diligent planning and construction. The Farmstand’s new home, on the 12th Street side of the Reading Terminal Market, provides more space and visibility for the ever-growing hub of locally-sourced foods.
MoreBeechwood Orchard brings fresh fruit to Philly's farmers' marketsby Will DeanA fifth-generation family operation, Beechwood Orchards in Biglerville, PA specializes in heirloom and unusual varieties of fruits—particularly apples—and sells them at many farmers’ markets in the city and beyond.
MoreAnimal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Lifeby Barbara KingsolverHarper Collins, 2007; $26.95Animal, Vegetable, Miracle will not rest on your bookshelves with Barbara Kingsolver’s fiction; this book demands permanent residence in your kitchen. Filled with delicious, seasonal recipes and tips from growing to canning, this stellar book chronicles the Kingsolvers’ move from Arizona to a
MoreWeaver's Way helps start high school farmsby Andrew ThompsonOn a May afternoon at Martin Luther King High School in East Germantown, several students tilled compost onto one of the many mounds being readied for sowing. Along with their stewards from nearby Weaver’s Way Co-op and the Philadelphia Orchard Project, they had just finished harvesting some
MoreMill Creek Farm sets a standard for sustainable farmingby Will DeanBat Cave #2. That’s the first thing you can easily make out about the main farm building at West Philly’s nonprofit Mill Creek Farm. It’s painted in yellow on a piece of metal that juts out of a low, glimmering building in the middle of
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