Archive for May, 2010

Yesterday, I wrote my first guest post on Prince of Petworth, a popular DC neighborhood blog.  In the comments section, a reader asked a question that I thought deserved a bit more attention.  I’ve pasted it below: “So I’m a below-novice gardener, and just received delivery of my “beginner’s veggie garden”. It’s 8 little starter plants in 4 inch plastic containers: cucumbers, a couple of different tomatoes, squash, and something I’m not remembering right now. I only have container gardening as an option, and my plan was to dump a bunch of potting soil in four of these 13-inch pots (12-inches deep), add the starter plants, and then in a couple of months…MAGIC! right? Experts, what else should I be doing? Am I setting myself up for failure? I am dedicated enough to water a couple of times a day, what else will I need to do?” My initial (abridged)

Several readers have asked me questions about how my garden is doing, and what’s growing in it.  Well, it’s been about 10 weeks, and I have some photos to show you! I started the plants from seed in late February, sowing some in seed starters and some directly in their self watering yogurt-cup planters.  The herbs have remained in their self-watering planters, though I had to thin them as they germinated.  I hate doing that, as the soft side of me likes to give every seedling a chance to grow. By mid-March, they were ready for bigger and better things.  I transplanted some of the hardier varieties, such as zuchinni and peas, to small pots to give the roots more room to grow.  The others I left in their seed starters.  This gave me the opportunity to move them outside during the day, and back inside during the cool nights.  The

Welcome, Prince of Petworth readers.  Given the recent surge of interest in urban gardening (where to, how to, when to, etc.) the great Dan Silverman afforded me the opportunity to be a guest contributor to his blog. So you’ve made your way here.  First and foremost, this is a blog about all things urban as they relate to gardening and food systems.  From time to time, I’ll discuss things such as farmland preservation, but for the most part, it’s all about the city.  I focus on a few main areas:  Do It Yourself (as a young apartment dweller, I had to learn quickly how to grow things with limited space and budget); Policy and Planning (this is where my urban planning degree – and google skills – come in handy!); and feature articles, where I explore everything from guerrilla gardening, to local farmers markets, to restaurants that use local ingredients. 

 This is part 2 of a 4 part “Grown in Louisiana” series on urban gardening initiatives in the state of Louisiana. Yesterday, I posted about the concept behind the River Road African American Museum’s Freedom Garden.  Today, I’ll show you what’s actually growing there.  Janice Linton explained that every item chosen for the garden is purposely selected to teach a lesson – these are items that newly freed slaves would have relied on for sustinance, for celebratory meals, or for medicinal purposes.  The crops are rotated throughout the seasons, so that the soil is evenly replenished.  On my vist, we saw onions, shallots, collards, garlic and peppergrass.  Peppergrass, Jacice explained, was often cooked down to season items like collard greens.  I had never tasted it before, but it had quite a bite in its raw state.  Tomorrow, I’ll have more about this delightful garden, including how lessons are taught through beautiful, museum-like placards throughout the grounds.

This is part 1 of a 4 part “Grown in Louisiana” series on urban gardening initiatives in the state of Louisiana. During the 2010 National Planning Conference in New Orleans, my colleague Ryan and I had the opportunity to go to Donaldsonville, Louisiana – a community located between Baton Rouge and New Orleans – for the Community Planning Workshop.  While at the workshop, I had the opportunity to meet Kathe Hambrick Jackson, Executive Director of the River Road African American Museum who told Ryan and I that we absolutely had to stop by the museum if we had the time. The museum was incredible – a topic for another post – but I noticed a small sign that said “community gardening education.”  I asked Janice Linton, one of the museum’s curators, what the sign meant, and she proudly explained the freedom garden.  When I asked to go see it, she

As I mentioned yesterday, the garden is growing like crazy!  I think it has something to do with all the nitrogen from the thunderstorms we had this weekend.  I’ve noticed the snow peas are maturing.  They’re the most beautiful and delicate plants in the garden right now, and I’m training them to climb up the trellises.  To think they’re considered a weed!

I left on Saturday morning for New York City for the five borough bike tour.  When I returned home today, the garden had grown and matured seemingly over night!  One of the most exciting developments is the appearance of these beautiful, vibrant zuchinni blossoms.  Once the plants mature a bit more, I’m looking forward to harvesting some of the blossoms, stuffing them with goat cheese, breading them, and then flash frying.  Served warm on top of a nice mescalun salad with a light vinaigarette - a delicacy!