Rooftop gardening is a simple idea that could help billions of people worldwide. It’s actually an ancient idea that’s already common in Japan, Singapore and Taiwan. Rooftop gardens are gaining traction in other places as well. The concept involves growing food on top of flat roofed buildings, primarily in urban areas where growing space is limited and the need for fresh food is greatest. France has just signed into law that all new commercial buildings incorporate green roofs.
organic
Building Garden Soil — Throw the Sink at It
Here’s a brief list of things we’re doing to boost the quality of our soil in our forest garden. I’m writing this because I saw a video a while back that explained why they don’t use worm castings, compost tea, leaf mulch, rock dust and so on any more. That video might confuse some people into thinking these things aren’t helpful. What actually happened is their soil has become so good (by using these materials!) in their small backyard garden raised beds that these soil amendments are no longer necessary. Since they’re only dealing with a few pickup loads of soil, it’s not overly difficult to create that much high quality soil.
Curtis Stone’s Urban Farm Tour
We featured Curtis Stone’s urban farming method a few weeks ago — How to Make $100,000 Farming 1/2 Acre You Don’t Own. This farming/gardening method had a big impact on me and readers of this blog, so I thought I’d show this video of his urban farm. It’s very impressive. Most farmers don’t make six figure incomes on half or third of an acre.
Back to Eden Success! Fast Permaculture Soil with Woodchips
“In this video I show you the progress of my 1 year old back to eden garden area! As well as which types of chips break down fastest.”
Earthsong Farm and Herbal School
“Sara Markis, Owner/Creator/Curato, has after 8 years of developing & gathering skills, come to the point of crowdsourcing for 300 acres (or more!) to be home to an Herbal school of 100-200 students from around the world, a natural farm garden & orchards and community of 500 households along with Auditorium,Farmer’s Market & Organic Cafe. … Read more
Bean/Vetiver Borders with Compost/Earthworm Trenches
I’m experimenting with a passive compost trench system along the sides of our forest garden beds. The bean borders/compost trenches are primarily for erosion control, building soil, boosting the worm population and suppressing weeds. Secondary benefits include beans for seed and food, attracting pollinators, and benefiting nearby plants with extra nitrogen and water. The bean/vetiver/compost borders also look really good. In a few years the vetiver will grow into 12” clumps and form a continuous hedge, which will provide a continual source of nutrient rich green manure.