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General Motors and Partners Create Detroit Urban Garden Using Repurposed Shipping Crates

General Motors and Partners Create Detroit Urban Garden Using Repurposed Shipping Crates
GM’s metal shipping crates were repurposed into raised beds. Photo: John F. Martin for General Motors They paved paradise and put up a parking lot. The lot was abandoned. Katherine Guzman, 8, of Detroit fills her bag with tomatoes and peppers during the opening Wednesday of Cadillac Urban Gardens. Officially opened Wednesday, the gardens are a collaborative effort initiated in April between General Motors, Ideal Group, Southwest Detroit Environmental Vision, and local composting company, Detroit Dirt. Detroit Dirt founder Pashon Murray, left, and John Bradburn, manager of General Motors’ waste reduction efforts, helped tend the Cadillac Urban Gardens. “Instead of recycling this material, we found a direct reuse, which saves energy and resources,” said John Bradburn, GM’s manager of waste reduction efforts. One of the metal shipping crates repurposed as a raised bed. Katherine Guzman, 8, of Detroit looking for peppers. Photo: John F. The farms, some say, may also raise home values.

How to Make a Home Garden Greenhouse 1.5 years ago greenhouse, guest post, winter garden As the world is speeding up its pace of development every second, we are losing many important things on earth. Saving environment where we live is the need of the hour. We are losing so much greenery every hour around the world that the time is not far when greenery will be hard to find. Though governments are making efforts to save the environment, it’s not enough- our efforts value the most. Greenhouses are generally built to somewhat gain control over the environment suitable for plants. Frames The greenhouse frames are of three types- the “Quonset” which is simple tunnel shaped, ridged beam with taller gothic shape having arched sidewalls and third one with vertical side walls having able roof. Quonset This basic inexpensive Quonset greenhouse structure is made from 1/2 inch PVC plastic pipe. Gothic Gothic greenhouses are tall as compared to Quonset shape. Rigid Frame These greenhouses are built by professional contractors. Like this:

The World’s First Vertical Forest: An I’d like to introduce you to the world’s first Bosco Verticale (Italian for Vertical Forest), which is being built right now in Milan. According to Christopher Woodward, a writer for the Financial Times, it’s “the most exciting new tower in the world.” This vertical forest will span across two towers that have fabulous balconies designed to house these trees. The pictures below are an image of how it’s projected to look, although I wonder if once the project is completed if it will take a decade for the trees to grow to that height. When it’s all said and done, this vertical forest will consist of 900 trees, 5,000 bushes and 11,000 plants. This forest, designed by architect Stefano Boeri, will allow the greenery to get shade in the summer, sunlight in the winder and protection from the wind while it cleans the air, produces oxygen and cuts down on all the noise pollution in Milan. Via: [Amusing Planet] [Treehugger]

Organic Gardening Information BBC Learning English | Pronunciation Tips Medieval Gardens Daniel J. Foley, Editor of Horticulture The Herbarist, 1953 More than a quarter of a century ago when I first began to explore the plant realm, I remember a visit I made one warm afternoon in June was to an old Salem garden where sweet William and foxgloves, delphiniums and Canterbury bells, ferns and sweet rocket and a host of other plants flourished in a series of meandering borders. The flower beds were edged with violets which were kept trim and formal by reason of the "bobbing" or shearing their owner gave them on several occasions through the summer months. I recall an espaliered peach tree which covered one side of the old tool shed, but most of all I remember a figure of Our Lady enshrined in a shady corner of the garden. During the past twenty years, in fact since the founding of the Herb Society of America, there has been kindled in the hearts of gardeners a new enthusiasm for the symbolism of plants. Illustration by an unknown artist of the 15th century.

Podcasting for the ESL/EFL Classroom The Lazy Lady’s Guide to DIY: Hanging Herb Garden At some point near the middle of March, I always decide that I’m “done” with winter. The sweaters and jackets get pushed to the back of the closet, the flip flops come out, and I inevitably freeze my butt off for several weeks until the weather catches up with my warm-weather state of mind. Likewise, my cravings for fresh herbs and veggies are always a little ahead of the season. Growing your own herbs is a great way to save money and avoid buying too much at a time and letting most of it go to waste. If it’s still too cold to plant outside where you are (or if you’re short on space!) this hanging herb garden is the perfect project to get you in gear for spring. What you’ll need: Tin containers with snap-on plastic lids (tea, cocoa, and coffee cans are a good bet), coat hangers, pliers, scissors, herbs (I bought basil, rosemary, dill, and cilantro for about $2.50 each), masking tape, coffee filters, a nail, a hammer, X-acto knife, scrap fabric or paper, and glue or spray adhesive.

Garden Hack: A Citrus Peel Starter Pot For Seedlings | My Roman Apartment This is one of those desperation is the mother of invention moments. I recently discovered that Mr. Foxypants had thrown out my seed-starting tray “to make room in the garage.” Don’t get me started on the “WTF-buddy-throwing-away-tools?” screed. I’m still mad about it. You don’t want to hear it anyway. Since I’ve pledged to once again “Buy Nothing New For One Calendar Year” and this year is also all about making everything by hand, buying a new seed-starting tray was out of the question. So I had to improvise. Luckily, all my jam-making is providing me with epic amounts of citrus peels. Voila! After thinning to one seedling per peel, I’m going to transplant the whole ding dang thing into the garden. Since oranges, lemons, and grapefruits are springtime fruit in Southern California, I’m guaranteed an endless supply of seedling pots. I don’t think I can ever go back to my plug tray.

Planting Containers - Gardening - Gardening tips, questions, and more By Carol Stocker This is the time to plant your seasonal containers with annals. Anything that holds soil and has drainage holes in the bottom may be transformed into a container garden for terrestrial plants For vibrant plant growth, the containers must provide adequate space for roots and soil media, allowing the plant to thrive. Container gardening has been on the uptrend over the past five years and continues to grow in popularity, especially in urban areas where green space can be limited. Going the container route saves space, helps control pests and overcome soil issues, enabling the availability of home grown fresh produce without a yard. When choosing what to use to fill containers, never use garden soil by itself no matter how good it looks or how well things grow in it out in the garden. Container soils are often referred to as soilless or artificial media, because they contain no soil at all. When these mixes are used, they should be moistened slightly before planting.

Making Moveable Raised Beds From Scrap Your local recycling centre will usually pass on freezer baskets that would otherwise be destined for landfill. Freezer baskets are made from plastic-coated steel wire and measure 18" by 18" by 6" (45 x 45 x 6cm) approximately. They can be used singly (ideal for salad leaves, spring onions, radishes etc.) or stacked 2 or 3 high (deep enough for root vegetables, legumes and brassicas). Rather than buying some sort of membrane to hold soil in place, cut up thickish fabric – old curtains and woolly jumpers are good – into strips about 2" (5cm) wide. Fill with a soil and compost mixture and start planting and remember that strawberries, nasturtiums and herbs can be grown from the sides rather than take up room on the top. Maria Lalic, www.coblynes.co.uk

Vertical Gardening Techniques for Maximum Returns - Organic Gardening Whether your garden is large or small, you can make better use of every square inch by using vertical gardening techniques to grow upright crops. Pole beans typically produce twice as many beans as bush varieties, and the right trellis can double cucumber yields. Then there are crops, such as tomatoes, that need some type of support to keep them above damp ground, where diseases have a heyday. All properly supported plants are easier to pick from and monitor for pests, plus you’ll get help from bug-eating birds that use trellises as hunting perches. How Plants Climb Plants that benefit from garden trellises use a variety of methods to cling to support, including curling tendrils, twining stems or, in the case of tomatoes, long, ropy branches that form roots in places that touch the ground. Curling tendrils produced by peas and cucumber-family crops will twist around whatever is available, so you have plenty of versatility when supporting these crops. Temporary or Permanent?

Saatbomben: "Garden-Bon Bons" - Pralinen für den Garten - fem.co Sie sehen lecker aus, sollten allerdings nur an Erdreich verfüttert werden. "Garden Bon Bons" enthalten Samen und Humus und lassen Kräuter sprießen. Die Idee, Samen in Bällchen aus Lehm und Humus zu verpacken und diese auszustreuen oder einzupflanzen ist nicht neu. Auf diese Weise steht den Samen auch in ärmeren Böden alle notwendigen Nährstoffe zur Verfügung, die sie zum Sprießen benötigen. Auch Anhänger des Guerilla Gardening (fem.com berichtete über das Buch "Guerilla Gardening" von Richard Reynolds) machen sich dieses Verfahren gern zunutze, indem sie sogenannte "Saatbomben" werfen und diesen gerne auch mal die Formen von Handgranaten oder Revolvern verpassen. Frische Kräuter für Tee und Kochtopf Und so einfach verwöhnen Sie Ihre Umgebung mit den erdigen Leckerlis: Einfach ein sonniges Plätzchen suchen, mit etwas Wasser begießen - alternativ gedeihen die Garten-Trüffel auch in einem Blumentopf. P.S.: Sind Sie bei Facebook? Weitere Artikel: Tags: Das könnte Sie auch interessieren:

Home - Plants and Healers International Gardening blog Helleborus vesicarius needs to be grown in a well-drained, sheltered position to succeed. Photograph: Tom Mitchell For understated beauty and elegance, you can't beat green-flowered species hellebores, writes Robbie Blackhall-Miles Continue reading...

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