June 14th, 2013

Eventually every gardener realizes they may want to save some seeds, or experiment with growing red carrots or purple tomatoes. Here are some resources for picky seed consumers.

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September 15th, 2010

In addition to writing the Declaration of Independence and being a U.S. president, Thomas Jefferson was also an innovative gardener:

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July 21st, 2010

By Harriet Blake Green Right Now Count yourself lucky if you live in a part of the country that has rich organic soil. Dirt in the Midwest and Mid Atlantic states tends to be easy to work with, while soil in warmer, drier Southwestern states requires some help. However, even if you live in an area with hard-to-work clay [...]

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April 7th, 2010

Those tomatoes are looking good. Your compost is top-notch, you’ve added extra manure for a nitrogen boost and the aphids have been blasted away with a strong spray of water. The grass-clipping mulch has smothered any weeds, and there are no spotted leaves or blossom-end rot to be seen.

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May 21st, 2009

By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now

We all need to start eating closer to home, and with all due respect, I don’t mean down at the corner KFC.

I’m talking about finding fresh, locally grown produce for home cooking. Do we even need to list the reasons? Buying local food cuts down on polluting “food miles”, bypasses refrigeration trucks, supports local farmers and puts nutrient-rich foods on our plates.

But unless you grow a lot of your own food, how can you distinguish what came from your friendly local farmer in Illinois (or Texas or California) from what came from a rain forest-encroaching big-Ag operation 2,000 miles away?

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April 30th, 2009

By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now

It’s been brought to my attention that my earlier references to the Clampetts ages me terribly and may be sailing over the heads of some of our younger readers.

Apparently, the person flagging this didn’t realize that I’ve seen the Beverly Hillbillies ONLY on TVLand in recent reruns and never in person in real time (during the 1960s and 70s, God forbid).

Of course, I failed to watch TV in the 1980s, and I only remember two shows from the 1990s, which are rather a blur. Those would be Seinfeld and Everybody Loves Raymond. But no one had gardens on those shows. I mean, Jerry, gardening? Maybe if the garden were in his refrigerator. So we may be stuck with Jed, Jethro and Daisy May and Elly May. We’ll see.

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March 23rd, 2009

By Melissa Segrest
Green Right Now

A seed hidden in the heart of an apple is an orchard invisible

– Welsh proverb

The recession-fueled increase in home gardening of vegetables, herbs, fruit and berries is creating another boom: seed sales.

Seven million more households are planning to grow food for themselves this year than in 2008, a 19 percent increase, according to a recent National Gardening Association report. That’s a pretty significant number, given the fact that 31 percent of all American households already garden for food. And it is likely that their 19 percent estimate is growing every day.

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March 20th, 2009

By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now

You’ve probably heard that efforts to persuade the Obamas to turn over some turf to a veggie garden have been victorious: the first family will be planting a “Victory Garden” on the South Lawn.

Technically, it won’t be a “Victory” garden per se, but will be the first food-producing garden to grace the White House compound since Eleanor Roosevelt oversaw a real Victory Garden during WWII.

Still, it’s a victory for local foodies and specifically Eat the View, the prime perpetrator of this movement to turn back the grass and turn up the turnips, which is now asking folks to thank the Obamas via a form at their website.

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March 16th, 2009

By Christopher Peake
Green Right Now

It’s already mid-March and that means the snows will melt and if the ground’s not too saturated farmers will soon be planting seeds for the food that will feed us this year.

Since time immemorial farmer’s markets have been with us: farmers harvest, bakers bake, dairy farmers milk their cows and they all meet at a central location where there’s lots of foot traffic … and they sell. The common theme: the food is fresh.

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March 6th, 2009

By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now

It seems that the iconic American wide, grassy lawn, which has lately been encroached upon by rock beds and strips of native flowers designed to cut down on watering, is undergoing some more surgery. It is now giving up real estate to another pursuit: Homeowners are claiming portions of their lawns for produce production.

Landscapers have noted the emergence of these small scale agricultural endeavors, with a new survey by the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) finding that about 20 percent of residential landscape architects report they are replacing part or all of traditional grass lawns with food/vegetable gardens.

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February 26th, 2009

From Green Right Now reports

Food gardening in the United States is rising rapidly with 7 million more households planning to grow their own fruits, vegetables, herbs or berries in 2009, according to a new report.

The National Gardening Association’s new survey, “The Impact of Home and Community Gardening in America,” finds a 19 percent increase from 2008 in the number of Americans planning to grow their own food.

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January 22nd, 2009

By Julie Bonnin
Green Right Now

Looking for a mid-winter activity that costs little and reaps big benefits for families who are trying to grow more of their own organic food (or flowers)?

Consider starting seeds indoors to plant outside when the weather warms up in your region of the country. Even for experienced gardeners, the sight of little green sprouts emerging from seeds when little else is growing is always a thrill. Not so thrilling is the disappointment that comes if your perky little seedlings start to droop.

Though seed-starting isn’t difficult, it’s not foolproof. There are lots of different ways to do it, and you can buy accessories like covered trays and plug-in warming pads to help the process along. But why not keep things simple, and make this an off-the-grid, green activity that takes advantage of recycled items?

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