Grow Something!

Green As Art

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 02:09:58 GMT

I know I’m not the only one noticing this trend towards bringing the outside in. I’m surrounded by philodendrons growing out of old soda bottles at work, moss, vines, and herbs at home, and even a little back-window plant chilling in the car (once it gets a little warmer out). But what I make up for in quantity I seem to lack in creativity. Luckily, there are people out there filling in my design-gap.

Grass Mirror by h2o Architects

Thanks to design milk for catching this (as they’ve done for countless awesome things over the year I’ve been reading their blog). I can’t tell from the website (since I don’t read French all that well), but my guess is that water from each lengthwise segment flows into the one below it. At least, that makes sense to me. If they’re going to call it a mirror, though, maybe they could release one that actually functions as one?

Moss on Walls

I’ve heard of spray-on moss graffiti, and I’ve heard of indoor moss gardens, but combining the two? The house in the picture is in Japan, where the design firm used dried moss to create the aesthetic. Is that cheating? Probably. But it’s still a good looking idea.

Hanging Plants

Another cool idea whose time has come. I’ve grown hanging tomatoes, but the Boskke Sky Planter (right) claims to not spill any water—something my hanging buckets can’t claim. I think their photos are staged though, as anyone who has grown plants upside-down knows that the plants grow towards the light. Unless they’re beaming a grow light up from the floor, I think they grew them right-side up and then flipped them for the photo shoot.

Candle Sticks

This one is my idea for keeping my vines alive. I can usually find them at thrift shops for $1 a piece, and the narrow openings at the top reduce water loss through evaporation. I am more fascinated with the story the roots tell than I am with the one we’re used to hearing from the leaves.

Tree Becomes Book Becomes Tree

I know it’s not technically alive, but I could hang some mean vines on this bookshelf…

How do you surround yourself with living things?

Who Grows? We do!

Sun, 17 Jan 2010 20:57:42 GMT

Bruce Schimmel, City Paper’s ‘Loose Canon’, wrote a fantastic article titled Who Grows? about the unwillingness of city officials to choose a consistent stance regarding city gardens. They claim to want them, but then won’t give any sort of guarantee that the garden won’t be taken away next week, month, or year. I was talking to Mary over at Greensgrow just a few days before this article appeared about our ordeal to get the city to let us buy (at full price!) the lot next to us. You’d think a cash-strapped city in the midst of a down economy would be willing to sell a few parcels, especially when they’re being designated for usages that they want to promote.

The RDA, for instance, is charged with turning vacant land into tax-paying businesses; the Health Department wants to put healthy food into people's mouths; and at the Water Department, farms are needed to filter stormwater.

Our Bouvier Community Garden, which has thrived under the nurturing guidance of Laura and Leslianna, is one of the success stories of land reclamation. Our neighborhood group, Newbold Neighbors, worked closely with the Neighborhood Gardens Association (NGA) and the city to get plots swapped around so we could build, landscape, and grow with the confidence that Domenic Vitiello, president of the Philly Orchard Project, (through Mr. Schimmel’s article) points out is missing for many other gardens and gardeners.

In our sideyard garden, I have been very wary of building any sort of permanent structures. The idea of watching a bulldozer run roughshod over months of work is too much to bear, as it is for many people who would love to invest the time to build something then can enjoy.

Oh, and if you didn’t read Who Grows? to the end, you missed out on one of many of Mary’s gems: “Just give up the goddamn land, and get it over with.” How is she not mayor yet?

Philly Zoning Made Simple(r)

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 12:41:30 GMT

Becky and I went to a Zoning Code Commission public forum last night to hear about the planned changes to Philly’s zoning codes. It was a full house, which made our end seats all the more valuable when we decided to duck out early due to the fact that, with the main projector broken, the slideshow that described most of the presentation was visible to maybe 10 people in the crowd. They’ve promised to put it on their website tomorrow, and there are community meetings occurring throughout the month that will recap last night’s discussion with the added benefit of more public input. I’ll be at one on Tuesday, Oct. 27th from 6-8pm at the High School for Creative and Performing Arts.

The most desirable feature I’d like to see in the new code is zoning for urban farms and green space, which was addressed as a concern last night, as was transit-oriented development and smart growth. The commission’s member list is impressive, and includes years of zoning experience here in Philly and in cities spanning the globe. Don Elliott of Clarion Associates enumerated the goals the Commission has been tasked with, and his enthusiasm and unencumbered speaking style made Mayor Nutter’s opening remarks sound like Ben Stein in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. No offence, Mayor—we love ya!

By the way, did you ever hear the one about the drunken councilman in the City Council Chambers? Well, now you have. Read the whole PDF—it’s worth it. This, from the period that gave us our first taste of sideburns.

Not much to report by way of the garden. The tomatoes have trickled off, the peppers have been picked, and our Cascade-enhanced pale ale is bottled (and delicious). I just have to keep it clean until the Newbold 2009 Beer Tour, of which we are the last stop. It’s been sold out since day 3—if you got a ticket, good call. Any suggestions for our house’s food items? We get $50 to feed people with…

Honorable Mention? I Guess…

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 22:20:37 GMT

Well, Penn Horticultural Society finally sent out the results to the contestants in the City Gardens Contest, and our lovely side garden garnered… *drum roll* Honorable Mention. I was hoping for more, but at least it gets us free entry to the 2010 Flower Show next year for the award ceremony. Next time around, we may even own the lots our garden sits on!

Last night, I attended the Urban Sustainability Forum’s discussion on vacant land re-use along with Becky and our friend Kevin. It’s a sad day when we find ourselves taking advice from Flint, Michigan on how to deal with our problems. Of course, I kid—we don’t have a monopoly on good ideas (in fact, we seem to have more than our fair share of asinine ones…) and as long as we intelligently scale the ideas up (Flint has less than 1/10 our population), it’s worth looking at. The main pieces of the Flint plan were: make the foreclosure process predictable and easier for cities to initiate, create a public entity to do the redevelopment, putting profits from the sale of high-value vacant land into keeping the lower-value properties maintained (instead of speculators’ pockets), and planning redevelopment projects where they have the most impact on the surrounding property values.

I did get up to ask whether Philly would be looking to create any programs to deal with vacant land under the GreenWorks program—it seems like we could benefit from bringing back some variation on the old NTI sidelot program aimed towards getting lots back into the hands of people who have a vested interest in maintaining them. I was disappointed to hear that, as of right now, the city doesn’t see how this could be beneficial. I really need to get clarification from the RDA, because her answer—that vacant land in the hands of private owners doesn’t benefit the community—didn’t make much sense. Given that Dan Kildee, the guy from Michigan, had just gotten done telling us that having vacant land maintained and blight-free is probably the best thing that cities can hope for. Given that most of these lots, if not fenced up, fill up with trash, provide cover for drug sales and petty crime, and bring down property values of the entire neighborhood. Given that the city desperately needs money right now and would benefit from unloading some of these plots of land, even at slightly less than market value.

Makes sense to me, I guess…

Judgment Day

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 02:47:25 GMT

Saturday was the final judging of our garden for the PHS City Gardens contest. I had envisioned judges trooping in with tape measures and magnifying glasses, ready to quiz me on plants’ Latin names and fertilizer formulae. The three judges that eventually showed up at my gate had only notebooks and smiles, and were amazed to see a huge garden randomly springing up amid so many broken-teeth facades and criminally overgrown vacant lots. They couldn’t figure out how I kept my roses so free of powdery mildew and black spot (I pointed them towards neem oil) and were quite impressed with the bat house (still vacant—know any bats in need of a home?!). I figured that, this being the first year I entered the garden, there's no way we could take first. But after checking the contest winner list, I noticed that multiple people can place first. Although this seems unnecessarily generous (you're all winners!), it has raised my expectations. Keep checking that link.

Judging or no judging, this weekend was also time to feed my leafy green denizens. I’m redressing most of the containers with a mix of top soil, lots of mushroom compost, and vermiculite (thanks Gene & Laura!). Some of the fertilizers I had put down earlier in the season had bound to the mulch and caked up, so this was a good time to get everything remixed and retopped. Add to that a weekend of rain and I think I’m going to see a lot of growth this week. It’s never too late in the season for more growing!

The tomato yield has been sparse so far, but what has come off of the plants has been delicious. So far, the green zebras and lemon boys have been the perfect size for grilling—the skin just begins to get that brown crisp while the insides have turned to a soupy green goo that has no earthly substitute. Cherry peppers were also good grilled, although their heat makes them more of a novelty than a real food item. Next year, I need to grow some stick-to-the-ribs plants, like squash or eggplants or pork-on-a-vine. C'mon science—where are my genetically modified bacon-flavored tomatoes?

Tree Map for Newbold

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 01:11:56 GMT

One of our neighborhood’s incredibly effective clean & green leaders, Leslianna, has been dealing with the PA TreeVitalize paperwork for a few plantings now, rounding up volunteers and donations to make sure our tree plantings are successful. I’m 100% on board with the vision to create tree-lined streets that increase our blocks’ abilities to filter and retain water while keeping houses (and tempers) cooler in the summer. True, there are still complaints floating around about how trees damage the pavement, need to be tended and pruned, and generally get in the way, but a great reason that programs like TreeVitalize exist is to determine what kinds of trees work best for our cramped blocks. I’ve put together a map of the tree planting locations that will get another fresh layer of trees twice a year. I give it three more years before the map disappears under the weight of all that green.

Another map that I think represents our area in a much more aesthetic manner is over at the Point Breeze Pioneers. Aside from having a great minor-league basketball team name, our neighbors to the west have been busy cleaning up lots and gardens in Point Breeze and really putting the space to good use. Which reminds me—time to get the broom and dustpan out and give my block a sweep. Good to see there are some positive things going on in PB.

More Tomatoes Than I Can Shake A Stick At

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 01:56:56 GMT

The last frost is well past, and all of those fragile seedlings are now ready to go into the ground, or in my case, the air. On a run around the hood, I was lucky to pull enough four-by-fours and a decent 12’ plank in people’s offerings to the trash gods—why do people throw away perfectly good wood!? A few cuts with the circular saw and a handful of beefy 4” screws, Becky and I were able to put together an amazingly stable frame for all of the hanging plants.

When all was said and done, 6 tomato plants were hoisted into the air. Black Krim, Sweet 100, Green Zebra, Lemon Boy… I wish I had more room for the huge selection that Greensgrow had, but alas—plants need their space and mine is finite. The first green tomatoes have finally revealed themselves after a month of watering, and it already looks like it’s going to be a bumper crop. Can’t wait to see what comes off!

Bricks: South Philly's Bumper Crop

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 21:46:13 GMT

I’m a brick farmer. Considering my garden space sits on top of two infilled homes, bricks are really the only thing my soil is fit to grow. And boy does it grow them. So far, I’m picking at least a crate full a day. Whole bricks are a rare find—mostly it’s just oddly shaped halves and quarters. This debricking process has already leveled off the ground a great deal, letting me put down some grass seed that’s beginning to take. A good dousing with water from my rain barrel every other morning seems to be doing the trick.

Aside from bricks and grass, the hops are sprouting! I was talking to another beer enthusiast last night who reminded me that hops need to have all but the strongest vines cut back to encourage growth. I tried pulling one out of the soil only to find that it brought some roots out as well. I carefully did the same to a few of the other crowns (the vine parts of the hops plant), and quickly potted the extracted vine + root. If they take, I’ll have 5 more Cascade plants to give away. Who wants some hops?

Other than that, planting has been slow. Some basil from Greensgrow, cilantro, parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme have filled a few planters. It’s almost time to head back to buy my tomato plants, which will be hanging upside down as soon as I can built the supports. Anybody else making this work for them?

Too Late To Start Seeds? Greensgrow Has Starters!

Sun, 12 Apr 2009 01:29:43 GMT

It’s way past planting time for quite a few edible vegetables that you might want to grow out on your patio or your community garden plot. I’ve started a few smaller plants last weekend, but for the big producers, I’m getting seedlings from Greensgrow Farm. Last year, I ended up with a small yield that wasn’t worth the time and effort.

I stopped out by Greensgrow today, and took a look at what they’re growing. It’s quite an impressive list, but I had to resist the urge to buy one of everything. Astrid and Natalie agreed that it’s too early to be subjecting the young plants to a possible late frost. I’ll be back in a few weeks, though, to stock up.

Hover over each link for a description of the variety—all of the descriptions below were pulled from the site linked to—almost all of the non-Wikipedia links have seeds for sale, and Greensgrow has the seedlings. I haven’t tried growing any of these yet, but I’m planning to pick up at least 4 varieties of tomatoes and at least two peppers. What would you recommend? Anybody have a preference as to which types we get to bring to the community garden? Let me know in the comments.

Here’s what they’ve got:

Tomatoes

(Hover over each link for a description of the variety)

Peppers

Eggplant

Other Plants

City Council Hearing on Proposed Waste Legislation

Fri, 27 Mar 2009 19:06:55 GMT

Friday, May 1, 10:00 a.m.
City Council Chambers - City Hall, Room 400
RSVP at www.recyclenowphilly.org

On May 1, Councilmen Frank DiCicco and James Kenney will hold a hearing on legislation they have introduced to reduce waste in Philadelphia by banning plastic bags at all retailers or mandating a $.25 fee on plastic shopping bags, and prohibiting Styrofoam food packaging in favor of biodegradable/compostable or recyclable disposable food service ware.

Ways to Support Waste Reducing Legislation- 5 Easy Steps

Attend the May 1st City Council Hearing
Come to Council Chambers on May 1st at 10 a.m. with piles of plastic bag litter, signs, and most importantly other supporters! When Council Chambers are packed City Council members listen to our message. Can’t make it at 10 a.m.? Drop by on your lunch hour. Council hearings typically last a few hours, but it is important for us to show support and pack the chambers at the opening of the hearing at 10 a.m. RSVP at www.recyclenowphilly.org.
Testify on May 1st or Submit Written Testimony
Tell City Council why YOU think Philadelphia needs these important bills to reduce waste, litter, and become a greener city. For information or facts visit www.recyclenowphilly.org. Email your written testimony to info@recyclenowphilly.org or contact Sarah Sachdev at Councilman Kenney’s office at sarah.sachdev@phila.gov and testify in person on May 1st.
Tell City Council to Support this Legislation
Email your City Council district representative and at-large members through this simple online form. You can also call Council members and urge their support.
Send Pictures of Plastic Bag and Styrofoam Waste and Litter
RecycleNOW will be collecting your pictures of plastic bags and Styrofoam litter across the city. Tell us when and where the picture was taken and we will include it in a slide show that will be playing throughout the Council hearing. Email your pictures to info@recyclenowphilly.org.
Bring Your Extra Re-useable Bags!
At the hearing on May 1, RecycleNOW Philadelphia will be holding a “reusable bag collection drive” to donate re-useable bags to those who feel they can’t afford one, and can’t afford the $.25 bag fee.

Read the proposed legislation

Spring time makes me happy

Thu, 19 Mar 2009 20:30:00 GMT

I had a great time out in the garden this weekend. There’s so much prep work that has to go into getting ready for a successful start to spring, but I think I’ve got most of it under control. I stopped by Home Depot and grabbed a huge bag of peat, a bag of organic soil, and a bag of composted manure. I’m betting that the potting soil they sell is a variation on the ground soil with peat mixed in, so I made my own mix of the three bags, plus a little of my own compost.

Tires

I’m still collecting old tires I find around the city to use as planters (it’s a helluva better idea than burning them—even under the pretense of energy creation…) I rolled my Envirocycle over and started shoveling stuff out. Into each tire went a baffle of broken sticks to create air spaces, a few shovels full of compost, and then my potting soil mix. We’ll see how well the plants do (so far, tulips, hostas, and old potatos).

Important: Do not breathe in while shoveling compost (or wear a respirator). I did, and my nose hasn’t been unclogged since. I’ll probably have to go to the doc and get some antibiotic/antifungal crap to get rid of it. It most likely won’t kill me since I didn’t breathe in a lot (unlike this guy), but it can still get in your nose and wreak some havoc.

Roses

The roses have all had the top few inches of soil scraped off and my potting mix added. By the time the peat compresses down, it’ll be time to add mulch for summer. Already, the spring buds are forming—I’m really hoping for a mild start to the year with no more frosts. Maybe too much to ask, but we’ll see. These roses save me so much money on buying flowers for Becky—I lucked out by getting awesome varieties by accident, and every year there are five times as many!

Rain Barrels Coming To South Philly

Mon, 02 Mar 2009 18:19:31 GMT

Lots of good things are coming to Newbold! A community garden at 17th and Bouvier is in the works, the city-wide Clean Up day is coming up on April 18th (not that you’d know from the City’s Cleanup website…), and the Newbold Neighbors are working with Newbold South to bring Philly Water Department’s Rain Barrel program to our hoods.

One thing I’ve been concerned about is the pollution that rain in Philly captures on its way down. So far, I haven’t used collected rain water for edible plants, but if I had a first flush diverter (e.g. Aquabarrel, RainHarvesting) I would feel much more comfortable watering my tomatoes and hops with this water.

Do you have sitting water around your yard (or a negligent neighbors yard)? Moquito dunks that contain the bacteria Bacillus Thuringiensis will kill mosquito, moth, and beetle larvae in water. Even a natural pesticide like this has its downsides: overuse has already caused one resistant breed of moths to emerge, with who knows how many more as usage continues to grow. When possible, a very fine mesh over a rain barrel is prefable to these dunks.

Some Rain Barrel Ideas

How do I maintain my rain barrel?
Not that rain barrels are difficult to own, but there are a few things to do at the beginning and end of each season that will keep your rain barrel working for years.
Can’t wait for the workshop? Build your own! Using a trashcan!
It's easy. As long as you take a few steps to prevent mosquitoes from breeding and algae from taking over, building your own is a cheap way to get what companies offer for over a hundred bucks.
Building a rain garden for your rain barrel
Well, now that you've got all that water, you need a place to put it. Here are tips and suggestions for creating a garden that will thrive on rain water.

Do you have a rain barrel? What are your experiences? Please add a comment and let me know!