The abundance of vacant and neglected land in Detroit is being talked about a lot lately. It’s nice to hear about people doing something to clean up their own little slice of the city. Today’s Detroit News featured just that in a story and photos on “The Green Alley.” Check out the story and accompanying photo gallery – pretty neat.
Archive for the Clippings department
Southeastern Michigan Dahlia Society 58th Annual Show
Hundreds of beautiful, show quality dahlias will be on display and expert growers will be on hand to answer growing questions. Show hours are Saturday, Sept 18, 12-5pm & Sunday, Sept 19, 12-3pm at Orchard Mall in West Bloomfield. Admission is FREE and additional information can be found at www.semds.org
Canning summer’s bounty
Looking for some ideas for canning the harvest from your garden? NPR recently featured a story on canning with some great ideas.
Canning — the source of jams, pickles and relishes that can seem tied to the last century — is on the upswing. There is a debate whether the trend stems from the tight economy or the local food movement, but its fans say the results are delicious.
Check out the full story complete with audio and recipes.
The Accidental Hybrid: Discovering New Tomatoes
All Things Considered recently featured a fun commentary by Julie Zickefoose about her adventures in her garden this summer.
Every time I plod out to the garden, jaw set, to pull up the nasty old green bean plants that have collapsed on the straw, their yellowed leaves riddled by bean beetles, they surprise me. They’ve set the table with new white blossoms, and they’ve made dinner for me again. And so I stay their execution and decide not to replant — why start over with a puppy when the old dog still has spring in her step?
Check out the full text and audio here on NPR.org.
Still searching for the perfect tomato?
NPR recently interviewed Arthur Allen about his book, Ripe: The Search For The Perfect Tomato. Tomatoes were once considered poisonous but now are regular staples on dinner plates across America…
Arthur Allen tells the story of the tomato’s redemption, popularization and eventual modification in his book,Ripe: The Search For The Perfect Tomato.
The tomato’s versatility wore down its detractors bit by bit, Allen tells NPR’s Jackie Lyden. “There’s so many different ways that you can eat it,” he says.
It first caught on with peasants in the Mediterranean, where it grows very well, and eventually the protests of doctors who considered it poisonous “gave way to good sense and taste.”
MGM Grand rolls the dice with urban garden
In case you missed it in The Detroit News last week, MGM Grand casino announced a $1 million project to build an urban garden behind their downtown Detroit casino. It looks like a cool project…
The Grand Garden — announced with the city’s skyscrapers as a backdrop — is crucial for the city’s development of a community-driven food system, organizers said.
Detroit is one of a growing number of metropolitan areas that is reintroducing agriculture. Detroit’s neighborhoods are already filled with more than 1,200 urban farms and gardens, Grand Garden organizers said.
“It’s important to actually see where food comes from and appreciate it,” MGM spokesman Jeff Jackson said. “The garden provides an opportunity to get your hands dirty and understand that everything doesn’t come out of the grocery store.”
Spotting sickness in basil plants
In case you missed it, NPR’s Ira Flatow had a segment on Science Friday about spotting sickness in your basil plants. He was joined by Cornell University plant pathologist Margaret McGrath who ran through symptoms of plant sickness and shared tips for preserving plants.
You may know that we’re having a real big heat wave here in the East. Maybe you are also. And I was sure that I went outside yesterday and put a lot of water on my pot of pesto that’s growing on my deck. Of course, it’s not pesto yet. It’s just a nice basil plant. But I’ve got big plans for it and I don’t want the summer heat to do it in because while it is summertime and the living is easy, it’s not easy for everything or everybody, especially plants.
Not only does heat stress the plants, but they’re under a lot of attack. Think about it. There’s wilt. There’s rot, light, rust, and now, the newcomer that worries me the most, the basil downy mildew. Oh, my plant is in trouble.
This is a fungus that was first spotted way back in 2007 in the United States, and it’s been spreading across the country ever since. So how do you identify the disease and what can you do to preserve your pesto prospects? And what about the other sicknesses that are going around your garden?
Gardening on top of a factory
Yes, you read that right. Check out this interesting story from the The Detroit News about a forging company that grows vegetables year-round, on the roof of their shop.
Trenton — Using heat from a forge that turns orange-hot metal into everything from car parts to hand tools, a Michigan manufacturer is developing an energy-efficient way to warm a year-round greenhouse on the company’s roof.
Trenton Forging President David Moxlow started growing fruit and vegetables atop the plant in November and has already harvested greens, peppers, broccoli, strawberries and tomatoes that are shared with employees and visitors.
The company is among a number nationwide that are developing technology and techniques for rooftop gardening as interest in local and homegrown food grows.
Want To Cut Grass Out Of Your Life? Try Moss
Right about this time of summer, many of us start to dread lawn maintenance. That got us thinking about this story from Science Friday on NPR about someone that shunned grass and took to growing moss instead…
Summertime doesn’t have to mean hours behind the lawn mower, at least for shade-dwellers. Forty years ago, David Benner, horticulturist and moss enthusiast, killed all the grass on his property and cultivated moss in its place. Benner has 25 different moss species growing in his garden near New Hope, Pa.
Watch a video about David Brenner here.
Basil Blight Threatens Pesto Lovers
As heard on NPR today, a new fungal disease is affecting vegetable gardens on the east coast…
There’s bad news for gardeners who grow basil to sprinkle over Italian food or Thai dishes — or anyone who thinks pesto is the best flavor on Earth.
A potentially fatal fungal disease called downy mildew has been attacking basil plants in New York, New Jersey, Ohio and Florida. Gardeners are worried that it could spread farther throughout the summer, turning delicate green basil leaves an ugly shade of brown, yellow or gray.