Vermicompost: Compost for an Urban Farmer

Jul

2011

Authored by Stephanie Price, 2011 Education and Outreach Intern

Compost is a great fertilizer and soil amendment. As a fertilizer it provides additional nutrients for developing plants, and as a soil amendment it improves soil qualities such as water retention and aeration to enhance plant growth. Composting is a complex process at the microscopic level where organic matter from plants and animals is decomposed by organisms such as worms and fungi, and converted to nutrients by aerobic bacteria. The good news is that it doesn’t take much on our end to reap the benefits of composting. Successful composting takes little effort; it essentially involves compiling wastes and letting the microorganisms get to work! Composting is a great way to get rid of wastes in an eco-friendly manner.

Backyard Composting

Jul

19,

2011

by Tom Winkleman, Zero Waste Intern

Download Tom’s pdf paper to learn more!

Farmer’s Markets Innovations Make Healthy Food an Easy Option

Jun

2011

Growers of heirloom vegetables and classic edibles are using innovative new ideas to make farmer’s markets better for shoppers seeking sustainably grown, in-season food.

RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—There’s often a throwback feel to farmer’s markets, where you can seek out the same heirloom vegetable varieties your great-grandmother adored. Old-school, heritage-breed chicken eggs? Yep, a true farmer’s market probably offers them. And while the farmer’s market is a place where you can escape the creepy elevator music and pre-fabricated food of the modern day grocery store, vendors and market managers certainly haven’t left innovation in the past. Today, farmer’s markets continue to cultivate tradition while tapping technology and offering new products to make shoppers’ lives easier. Visit Rodale’s website to read the full article and learn more about Mill City Farmers Market’s innovations!

Learn how to make ‘skivers from the pros at Aunt Else’s

Jun

2011

“Off the Market” – Vendor Updates

May

23,

2011

Women’s Environmental Institute is hosting an Organic Farm School at the Midtown Global Market

June 13 – August 25

Urban and rural farming systems must unite to create food everywhere — fresh, nutritious, healthy, REAL food at affordable prices and with lower costs to our environment. Learn more about this new movement at WEI’s Organic Farm School. The theme for this year’s lecture series is on Farming and Food Justice with a stellar line-up of lectures and hands-on field day workshops designed to get you thinking, talking and planning about how YOU can make a difference with local consumer demand, farming by the square foot, organic growing practices and personal involvement in your community. Don’t miss this year’s Organic Farm School classes!

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)

Mar

26,

2012

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)

is a direct-marketing, agricultural business model. This model has become increasingly popular with the rise of Local Food, though it developed in response to post-World War food insecurity and more modern concerns about food safety and the urbanization of agricultural land (a.k.a. suburban sprawl). CSAs provide consumers with an opportunity beyond farmers markets to purchase farm products directly from the producer and support small-scale family farms.