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
The Latest
Gardeners, meet your new best friend: the brown snake
Don’t freak out—it’s just a snake. It’s a really tiny snake, totally harmless. The worst it can do is poop on you.
Sure, you weren’t expecting to find a real live snake in West Philly (or North Philly, or Northwest Philly), roaming the soul patch of green that passes for
2 mins read
Come spring, we local eaters are deeply hungry for regionally-grown produce beyond cold-loving Brussels sprouts and storage apples, potatoes and onions. Sadly, with a stinging chill remaining in the air, summer berries, stone fruit and corn (oh corn!) are still a long way away. Happily, there’s one plant that starts appearing earlier than all the
More2 mins read
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
More1 min read
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
1 min read
My neighbor is standing at my back fence, looking at my ripening tomatoes. “I wanted to ask you something,” he says. “Every year, you work so hard to grow them. So why don’t you ever pick them?”
Hmmm… I was hoping nobody had noticed.
I could tell him I’d been too busy. I could tell him it’s
2 mins read
Did you think we could get through an entire issue of Grid without mentioning Michael Pollan in our media section? Maybe next month. Best-known for his work on food politics, Michael Pollan’s second book, A Place of My Own (1998, reissued in 2008), focuses on architecture and building, documenting his efforts to construct the titular
More1 min read
This film is available on DVD (including through Netflix). For information, visit endoftheline.com.
The End of the Line is a disturbing portrait of what commercial fishing technology (paired with an increasing consumer appetite) has wrought in our seas over the last 50 years. According to Robert Murray’s film, global, edible fishing stocks will be exhausted by 2048.
1 min read
LEEKS
Having grown up in a leek-less household, I find them endlessly intriguing—in no small part due to their resemblance to obese scallions. But leeks are so much more than portly onions; they have an amazing rich, mellow flavor and a dynamic range of textures, depending on how they’re cooked.
A member of the Alliaceae family, which
1 min read
Mugshots makes buying local even easier
Mugshots Coffeehouse and Café has a deep commitment to local food, and their buying club is a logical extension of that philosophy. The weekly club is a simple way for customers to purchase food straight from the farm.
1 min read