It’s 9:30 on an early May morning, already well into the day on Lindentree Farm in Lincoln. A crew of five is planting cauliflower and broccoli in the field, while in the barn basement Susan Viskin and Marilyn Hughes, both of Concord, are planting tomato seeds in small pots.

Supervising the work is farm owner Ari Kurtz, a tall, fit man with gray hair peeking out from under a North Face cap. “A lot of this is like baking,” he says of planting, and true to his analogy, the pots will be placed on heated mats to germinate.

First, though, the seeds are watered in an adjacent greenhouse, which is filled with neat rows of what will soon be tomatoes, summer squash, melons, and herbs like Genovese basil. The food will help feed the farm’s crew and 275 members, including Viskin and Hughes, who have paid for a portion of the farm’s harvest.

Lindentree Farm’s community-supported agriculture program, or CSA, is one of more than 80 such programs in Massachusetts, according to localharvest.org, an organic and local food website that maintains a directory of CSAs nationwide. For an annual fee ($650 for a small share or $800 for a large, which can be split) and a work commitment of four hours during the March-to-November season, members earn a weekly allotment of organically grown vegetables, fruits, herbs, and flowers. Members are vital to the farm’s success. In turn, they experience how food is produced.
By Ami Albernaz

Boston Globe Correspondent, May 22, 2008

Read more here http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/articles/2008/05/22/a_growing_interest/

Selecting the right greenhouse gardening supplies is often a process of trial and error for most gardeners. Sometimes you get lucky and find a particular brand name product that meets your needs perfectly, but most often, you can spend hours browsing greenhouse catalogs and the shelves of your local gardening supply store to find those perfect greenhouse gardening supplies. Here are a few ideas to help you select the right supplies.

Know Your Budget Before Shopping for Greenhouse Gardening Supplies

Greenhouse gardening supplies are available in nearly every price range, but more expensive price tags do not always equate better products. Some greenhouse gardening supplies may be worth investing a few extra dollars. A quality built ergonimic gardening tool, or one with a lifetime guarantee, may be a good investment. Quality fertilizers and organic pesticides are also a worthwhile investment in your greenhouse gardening supplies inventory. Paying extra for special features and quality in the greenhouse gardening supplies department is often worth it in the long run. One great example is the greenhouse itself. You can find cheap greenhouses and possibly add some extra supports to try to stregthen them against the wind and weather. That might help get it through a few seasons, but more often that not, gardeners wish they had spent the money on a quality greenhouse the first time, so they could spend more time enjoying their hobby rather than repairing the greenhouse.

Be Social: Talk About Greenhouse Gardening Supplies

Gardeners are most often a social group of people. They love to share their love for greenhouse gardening and jump at the chance o show off the fruits of their labor. Joining a gardening club or even making a few friends at the local greenhouse supply store can help you glean valuable information about what greenhouse gardening supplies would best suit your needs. In a large group of gardeners, chances are good that someone has tried a particular product you are considering and can give you a hands-on opinion before you invest your hard-earned cash.

Surf the Net to Find Greenhouse Gardening Supplies

The Internet is bursting with information about greenhouse gardening supplies. Discussion forums, chat rooms, and website-rings all centering on gardening can easily be found with a simple Internet search. You can even comparison shop for all your greenhouse gardening supplies online to ensure you get the lowest price without ever leaving the house. Ordering greenhouse gardening supplies online has never been easier with secure shopping sites and a wide variety of greenhouse gardening supply sellers.
Selecting the right greenhouse gardening supplies for your particular gardening needs is a little easier with these quick tips.
 

There are countless advantages to container gardening. Many gardeners begin container gardening due to a lack of ground space for planting a traditional garden. Others simply use container gardening as an outlet for creative gardening. No matter what reason motivates you to try container gardening, the advantages are plentiful.

The Basic Benefits of Container Gardening

Container gardening is a great way to garden all year long! Container plants look terrific, are easily moved indoors or into your greenhouse during inclement weather, and are easy to care for. With container gardening, you control the condition of the soil for each plant. Container gardening lets you grow plants anywhere, even in an apartment or on your kitchen counter.

Visual Freedom

Container gardening allows gardeners the freedom of adventure. You can grow exotic plants, or try out a few hard to grow crops. Plus, if you move your container into a greenhouse during the winter, those once seasonal plants can be saved year after year!
The visual appeal of container gardening is spectacular. Exotic plants grow beside common houseplants and vibrant floral varieties.  An added bonus unique to container gardening is the freedom to select any combination of color, shape, and size containers to create varying visual presentations.

Mix and Match for Beneficial Results

Container gardening with a variety of complimentary and contrasting plants allows the gardener to choose plants that benefit one another. Planting ornamental flowers alongside edible plants attracts pollinating insects, while placing pots of French Marigolds next to potted tomatoes repels whiteflies. The only precaution when mixing containers in an arrangement is to keep poisonous plants away from the edibles to remove the possibility of eating the wrong plant by mistake.

Easy on the Knees

Container gardening is ideal for anyone with joint or mobility problems. The planted pots can be arranged on shelves for easy access without bending or stooping. Container gardening is often used in nursing homes, rehabilitation centers, and children’s treatment homes to instill a love a gardening.  Bringing each individual container to eye level during the care of the plant also allows for a thorough inspection for pests and disease. This allows the gardener to catch any problems quickly and remove the plant from the vicinity of other containers to prevent spread of the disease or pests.

Less Watering Woes

Container gardening often begins with a layer of gravel or polystyrene to provide a drainage bed for perfectly watered soil. A plastic tube with holes drilled at intervals can be placed in the soil of thirsty plants to help disperse the fluid evenly throughout the container. This procedure helps distribute water to the roots of the plants, where it is needed most.

Container gardening provides endless hours of agriculture enjoyment for gardeners of every age and physical condition. Container gardening is inexpensive and easy to begin. It is a terrific way for experienced gardeners to expand their gardening horizons. It is also a great way to introduce a love of horticulture to others.

More people are growing their own vegetables because of rising food prices.

Driving to the supermarket burns gasoline that is approaching $4 a gallon. And, once at the store, food prices are much higher than they were months ago.

So, some people are staying home and growing food themselves.

It’s the kind of thinking that is leading to a big year for companies that sell to fruit and vegetable gardeners.

Interest in growing fruits and vegetables picks up during economic downturns, experts say. Seed companies say a dime spent on seeds yields about $1 worth of produce.

Bad economic times can also mean more time to garden. For instance, people who cancel their summer vacations are around to water their tomatoes. The housing crunch also works in favor of vegetable gardens: If you can’t sell your home, you can replant it.

By BRENT BURKEY
Daily Record/Sunday News, Read the full article here http://ydr.inyork.com/ydr/businessfull/ci_9327843

Mindy Joy Schwartz is growing 95 varieties of tomatoes this spring at her urban farm and nursery in Wilkinsburg.Lenore Schwartz is sitting at a picnic table under a towering Norway maple tree, smoothing printed labels onto plastic plant sticks: Sungold, Chianti Rose, Mortgage Lifter, Indian Moon, Red Calabash, Green Zebra.

“How many varieties is it this year, honey? 86?”

“95 this year,” her daughter answers. “Next year it’s the Pittsburgh 100.”

Mindy Joy Schwartz believes she has discovered one of the keys to urban renewal, and it’s not government money, massive demolition or tax incentives for developers.

It’s small and red, unless it’s pink, purple, orange, yellow, white or green.

“The heirloom tomato is the draw that pulls them,” Ms. Schwartz said. “It’s the bait on the end of my hook.”

What she wants to hook people on is living sustainably on their own patch of Earth. It starts with growing their own food, which she already is doing using organic methods at Garden Dreams, her urban farm and nursery in Wilkinsburg.

Read the full article here http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08138/882540-47.stm

Saturday, May 17, 2008
By Patricia Lowry, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

When the first warmth of spring came calling, soft delicate heads of curly, wavy and frilled lettuces in bright sunset colors and tender green were sprouting all around Kris and Steve Van Haitsma’s Mud Lake Farm.

The farm’s two biomass-heated hydroponic greenhouses sit on the Ottawa-Allegan county line on land that has been in Steve Van Haitsma’s family since 1904.
 
Year-round, they grow more than 30 varieties of hydroponic lettuce, available through their community-supported agriculture farm, West Michigan Cooperative and area stores, including Sister’s Natural Foods, Grand River Grocery and Bill’s Best Market in Delton….

….Lettuce likes daytime temperatures below 80s and nighttime temperatures in the 50s. You can plant your seeds outdoors or, if you like, start your seeds indoors in containers — go for wide, shallow containers.

Treat them lightly — always tear with your hands. Salad greens with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar make the tastiest and easiest salad. An herb vinaigrette is another simple option. These lettuces are too pretty to wilt or puree, so use as a wrapper for fish and shellfish, in Asian summer rolls, as a bed for chicken salad and in fritattas and egg salad.

“Growing lettuce in your soil makes cleaner, tastier lettuce,” Van Haitsma said. “With grocery store lettuce, they take off so much of the plant that you only get the tight center. They take off the outer leaves wherever there are bugs or dirt, and sometimes that doesn’t leave you with much.”

Wednesday, May 14, 2008
By Jaye Beeler
Grand Rapids Press Food Editor

Read the full article here http://www.mlive.com/entertainment/grpress/index.ssf?/base/features-2/121077093610091.xml&coll=6

A good soil-less system for growing lettuce is Emily’s garden and Solexx Greenhouses are durable, insulated greenhouses to grow lettuce throughout the year.

It ain’t easy eating green, but Edmonton’s on the right track

Ben Wetsch and Theresa Carey sit at a sturdy old picnic table under a tent enclosed by mosquito netting.

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