Politics meets horticultural therapy + underground greenhouses

Politics is top of mind for everyone in the USA and beyond as well. So it was interesting to see the Republican National Congress, Real Clear Politics and several credit unions in Ohio have joined forces to create a year-round horticultural therapy program. The Democrats are doing the same soon!

-Solutions for Change has been the leader in aquaponic education and production. They are tripling their size this year thanks to a $1,000,000 dollar grant.

-In Minneapolis an experimental sunken greenhouse has come through the winter, none the worse for wear, while still producing vegetables. This could be a turning point for those in colder climates.

-The insect farming industry has just reached the next level, as Mark Zuckerberg's sister has invested in a leading company. 

The world's first desktop edible insect harvester

 I think this week marks an important point in the urban agriculture revolution. A group (which may or may not be based in Germany, it's hard to tell) launched a Kickstarter campaign to manufacture the first desktop edible insect harvester. As many know the idea of eating insects, in much of the West, is absolutely foreign to most people. But with people now keeping chickens in urban environments instead of depending on farms, it was only a matter of time before someone decided to up the game.

I predict that there will be a slew of imitators very soon, who strive to make desktop harvesters sleeker, easier to use, smaller, you name it. But this is the first. Tell your kids (or grandkids) about it.

-Singapore now has 72 hectares of rooftop greenery (enough to cover 100 football fields, says this article), an increase of 8 hectares in a year. There's of course room for growth. In Melbourne, Australia they currently have only 5 hectares of green roofs and rooftop gardens, but the city council is really behind the idea and have mapped out over 240 hectares, across the city, which would be suitable for greening!

-In Memphis, Tennessee, if you mow the vacant lot adjacent to your piece of property, you can now own it! Wow!

Will insect farming (and eating) save the world?

When I see videos about eating insects pop up, I can't help but feel like my prediction for 2014 might have been right on the money. Only time will tell...

Insect farmers meet insect chefs

Oh, I nearly forgot this. I'm all wrapped up in designing projects for next year and I almost neglected to make a virtual introduction, the folks who hope to grow insects should meet the ones who are trying to make them into tasty meals...

Nightshades Unite! A plant which grows tomatoes and potatoes

No genetic engineering is necessary. All you need is a little grafting to create one plant which produces tomatoes and potatoes. In small spaces, particularly in urban environments, could this become the latest trend urban agriculture trend?

Grafting is a big part of agriculture in Japan, 90% of watermelons and other greenhouse veggies (cucumbers, eggplants) are grafted before being transplanted to get larger yields.

What could be a bigger deal than this? How about farming insects? A team from Montreal won a million dollars to commercialize their idea.

This is a fantastic idea , but something about it seemed familiar. And then I recalled seeing someone else a couple of years ago at Nuit Blanche in Toronto talking about the promise of raising insects. I wondered if the two ventures were somehow related. It looks like they very much are...and related litigiously. Word has traveled quickly about the dispute; we'll see how this plays out!

Book review - Eating the Landscape + Praying mantis on a green roof

There are lots of books which combine personal musings and food. Enrique Salmon's book, Eating the Landscape, is unique in that he's not just some foodie writer, he's an Indigenous ethnobotanist with a gift for storytelling. With warm, colloquial and riveting writing, he manages to combines timeless myths from the southwest US/northern Mexico and more recent personal history to produce an enjoyable book.

And I just had to post this picture. While doing maintenance on a green roof a few days ago I spotted this praying mantis egg sack.

If you've never seen one hatch, check this out!

An ode to random green roof insects - especially those that photosynthesize!

I am definitely missing the warm weather...it can't come soon enough. Of course warm weather means  insects and I miss them too, even the pesky ones.  I have seen a few, but this year I  resolve to look more carefully, to truly appreciate the diversity on the installations we maintain. I'll especially keep my eyes peeled for this one, what's not to love about a photosynthetic animal?

So I salute all the lesser loved insects and hope to see them  around soon.

Donna Fargo - The Cricket Song
Friedemann - The Eye Of the Dragonfly

Mills Brothers - The Glow-Worm 
Jonathan Richman - I'm Nature's Mosquito
Malvina Reynolds  - God Bless the Grass