By Cindy Naas

Although our gardens are slowing down now (at least in some parts of the country) there are still vegetables waiting to be picked and stored or used.

I love this time of the year, and storing squash is one of the great pleasures of the fall garden.

Filling my root cellar with various types of squash makes me feel ready to settle in for the long winter.

Squash don’t need to be brought in right away unless you live in a rainy area, in which case you’ll need to get them off the ground. Preventing mildew is really the only reason to bring squash in before the first frost. If you grew them nestled in straw, this won’t be a worry.

Harvesting – Use a sharp knife and cut them from the vine leaving about 1 inch of vine attached to the squash. Rinse squash off outside to Read the rest of this entry »

By Cindy Naas

It’s nearly that time of the year, much as I hate to say it.

It’s time to start thinking about putting the garden to bed for the winter.

Here are a few tips to keep in mind as the days get colder. By using some of these ideas, your soil or planters will be in great shape for planting next spring.

1. Mulch – Yes, even in a vegetable garden, winter mulching is a good idea. Giving the soil a good covering of manure or compost will add needed nutrients to the soil and will also prevent some weeds from taking over the space. Spread manure or compost about 2 inches deep.

2. Compost – if you have the room, starting a small compost pile directly on the earth will do great things for your soil. Allowing a compost pile to Read the rest of this entry »

By Cindy Naas

I’ve been traveling a bit this summer, and one of the things I most enjoy doing when visiting a new city is to see just how visible urban gardeners are.

I’ve found some amazing rooftop gardens, have been delighted by finding all sorts of veggies tucked into more formal floral gardens, and have even found a guerrilla garden planted in the middle of a traffic roundabout.

People are taking urban gardening to heart, and that is good news!

I want to know what your cities look like. Which city has the highest number of urban Read the rest of this entry »

By Vanessa Richins

An agricultural oasis is nestled on two acres in Milwaukee.

The land holds 6 greenhouses, 8 hoophouses, goats, ducks and turkeys, beehives, a chicken coop, perch and tilapia, and a worm composting station.

They also have facilities that study how to use food waste to produce fertilizers and methane gas (for energy)

This is the dream of Will Allen, founder of Growing Power.

In the middle of one of Milwaukee’s poorest neighborhoods, he has managed, with the help of his staff of 3 dozen and 2000 local residents, to produce $500,000 worth of produce, meat and fish.

With the new grant of $500,000 Read the rest of this entry »

By Cindy Naas

I was shopping in the Crocus Hill district of St. Paul Minnesota this week.

I stopped in at the Cooks Of Crocus Hill store, and discovered an absolutely stunning urban garden, right in the middle of an upscale shopping area!

Needless to say, I had to stop in and talk to the owner.

The landscaping around this store is a series of raised beds in which all manner of vegetables, herbs and even fruits are grown. Herbs are tucked into edges of walkways and into planters.

Visual interest is maintained by growing scarlet runner beans up twig wigwams, and grapes twine along the fence which separates this store from the adjacent property. There are Read the rest of this entry »