Extending The Growing Season-November Update



Here at City Pastures in Staten Island, New York we have extended our growing season in our outdoor and indoor gardens. Our indoor container garden is in our non heated screen house. The broccoli raab, lettuce, spinach and red pepper plants are doing well. The greens are coming along at a nice pace, while the pepper plant (which was brought in from our outside garden) is continuing to produce. The peppers are brilliant red colored that taste very sweet. They enjoy basking in the sunshine that fills their side of the screen house.


The outdoor garden is doing well. The rainy and unseasonably warm fall weather has extended the production of eggplants and peppers;while the broccoli plants continue to provide a generous yield. The Fall crop of kale,spinach,collard greens and lettuce are doing very well. We are looking forward to having our first Urban Garden Fall grown greens compliment our Thanksgiving Dinner.

Extending the growing season for the first time here at City Pastures has been both work and fun. The container garden experiment has been successful thus far, except for the spinach which appears not to like either our outdoor soil or indoor potting soil. The outdoor soil has too much clay and the indoor potting soil is not porous enough for this plant. Also, the Aphids have found their way to the broccoli raab inside the screen house and are being taken care daily with sprays of water. Regardless of a few rookie problems, the garden to table benefit is a great pleasure and we look forward to harvesting through early winter.

October 24 International Day of Climate Action-Get Involved






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On Saturday October 24 you can take responsibility for your impact on the Global Climate. Join your community by participating in a local event or sponsor one in your home. There is information about 350.org and some great ideas for Saturday.

Here are some photos of 350.org events from around the World.



Urban Rain Water Harvesting


Large urban cities in the United States such as Seattle, Portland and New York City are using rain water harvesting for a variety of environmental reasons. Rain water harvesting, simply defined, is the process of catching and holding water. This process has its beginnings in ancient history that flows back to the Roman Empire. Romans used cisterns and aqueduct systems to catch and hold the rain water. The Romans used this water for various household activities such as laundry, bathing and watering their gardens. They were inventive enough to use water to create one of the earliest methods of air conditioning. However, the Romans were not the only ancient culture to harvest rain water, many of the South Asian and Mid-East countries used similar means for catch and hold.
 



Urban gardeners are utilizing this ancient principle of "catching and holding" rain water for use in their gardens and community gardens. Catching rain water rolling down the roofs and down leaders of their homes into barrels. This harvested rain water is used to water their gardens and lawns. This is one example of a small scale water harvesting system used by urban gardeners, however for larger areas there are more elaborate systems used for rain water collection.

There are many reasons to harvest rain water that are beneficial to an urban environment. Rain water flowing down our urban streets are collecting toxins (like petroleum and animal feces) on its way to sewer systems or storm drains. Reports indicate that some of our largest cities have great amounts of rain water running through their vastly complex sewer systems to treatment plants that are unable to handle the load. Therefore, urban gardeners catching and holding water are reducing the strain on these easily overloaded treatment plants. Additionally, harvesting rain water may also be helpful in preventing urban flooding and of benefit to areas that have little rainfall.

Harvesting rain water is an ancient method for catching and holding water, which is being harnessed by urban gardeners across the country for use in their gardens. It is useful for conserving home water usage, relieving stress on treatment plants and possibly reducing urban flooding. However, it is important to have an awareness of the ecology of your particular geographical location when considering whether to harvest rain water. If you live in area where there is a large concentration of industrial and manufacturing plants it would be prudent to restrict using harvested rain water to watering of flowers and lawns.








Combining Urban Garden and Regionally Grown Bounty In A Meal

At our local Green Market yesterday we purchased many fresh and vibrantly colored fruits and vegetables. Today we used the potatoes to accompany our Herb Rubbed grilled London Broil. With the potatoes we made delicious Garlic Mashed Potatoes with a sour cream and chive topping. The chives were picked fresh from our Herb Garden and then combined with the sour cream. We then spooned the topping softly atop the mashed potatoes. George's Herb Rub (see below) was rubbed into the London broil. The London Broil was then grilled outside on the barbecue . The Garlic Mashed Potatoes are a perfect partner for this herb rubbed grilled London Broil dish. It was also served with a fresh green salad which included ingredients that were purchased at the Green Market.

The freshness of the produce purchased at our local Green Market was a welcome to our table. A meal with out dessert is not complete. Honestly, we were not disappointed by the freshness and tastiness of our Green Market peach -blueberry pie and apple cider donuts.

So, if you are an Urban Gardener try combining the freshness of your harvest with regionally grown foods purchased at your local Green Market. The two compliment each other for a delightful garden to table family meal. Next week, I will be back at our local Green Market, how about you?

George's Steak Rub
1/2 teaspoon of fresh basil
1/2 teaspoon of fresh parsley
1/4 teaspoon of coarse sea salt
1/4 teaspoon of peppercorns grounded
1/4 teaspoon of onion powder
1/4 teaspoon of cumin
1 tablespoon of Organic Canola oil

Combine the basil, parsley, salt , ground peppercorns, cumin and onion in a small bowl/mortar and with a pestle grind the ingredients into one another. Then place in a small container and add the oil. Allow the mixture to blend together for 5-15 minutes. Then take the steak and rub the
mixture into it. Grill outdoors. I found this a very tasty rub for Skirt Steak.

Staten Island Mall Green Market- A New Market To Get Your Fresh Produce

The Staten Island Mall parking lot on Richmond Avenue is the new home for the Island's second Green Market, the other is in St. George. This location has been in operation for the past month and is sponsored by the Council on the Environment of New York City .
It is open on Saturdays from 9AM to 4PM until November 21 2009.

It hosts Regional Growers from New York and nearby New Jersey, a bread company and a fish market from Eastern Long Island. All the vendors were friendly and provided information enthusiastically to all who inquired.

The setting for this Green Market is somewhat interesting, it is situated in the parking lot of the Island's largest retail shopping mall and across the road sits one of the Earth's largest closed garbage dumps. This market is a welcome site to the borough's commitment to it's "Green " mission and maybe the lyrics of a new song could read "put up a parking lot and put in a Green Market". As Islanders we should be calling our local officials and those at CENYC; applauding this added market and informing them we want more "Green" businesses on this wonderful Island of Staten.

Here are a few photos from the Green Market at the Staten Island Mall Parking Lot taken on a cold damp and rainy morning which found Ellen from the Green Market cooking egg sandwiches for the vendors.



















The Orchards of Cocklin- Pamona, New York


Bread Alone

Gill's Seafood- Long Island, New York

Urban Garden Review

Here are some pictures from urban gardeners around the country.




Here is a backyard garden from Andrew Turner. This was taken in Mission Dolores, San Francisco.







This is the STARS Complex urban garden in Ft. Myers, Florida. It is maintained by the Boys & Girls Club of Lee County. Photo by Gabriel, Sown Together.









Here is a vegetable garden from our nation's capital,
Washington DC, from Wayan Vota.










A sidewalk cafe in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle grows their own herbs. Photo by Satrina0. 









Girl Scouts maintain this urban garden in Cooper Young, Memphis Tennessee. Photo by ilovememphis. 










A bumblebee visits the community garden in Wilmington, Delaware. Photo by tcd123usa. 








Standing out amid the urban blight in Old North St. Louis, a community garden flourishes. Photo by velo_city. 











We don't generally think of Montana as an urban space, but rachemicah has done a lot of planting on a little bit of land. 

Winterizing Your Garden

As the northeast starts to descend into colder weather, it's a good time to start preparing your garden for the winter. Most of your fruitful plants will have expended their yield, and now is the time to make the improvements in your garden's design that you've been meaning to get to.



First and foremost, if you haven't created a compost, now is a great time. As you pull up the tomato plants and cucumber vines, don't just throw them away. They have all winter to break down and create some really great, nutrient-rich soil for you to cover your garden with in the spring. Just be careful not to toss in any weeds or plants that have shown signs of disease, as this may result in headaches next summer. A Tumbleweed composter  is a great choice for a small urban space.

Now is also the time to expend a little elbow grease. Tilling and turning over your soil in the fall is a great choice, as the dirt is often muddy after the spring thaw. There are many varieties of weeds that germinate at this time of year, so consider using a light cover of mulch or cover crop like annual ryegrass to protect your dirt as well. The rye will germinate in just over a week, and will create an extensive root system that will keep the soil loose and attract friendly visitors like earthworms and yeasts. If your soil has become too acidic over the course of the growing season, late autumn is the best time to add some lime to the soil (it'll help the ryegrass thrive as well!).

Root vegetables like onions and carrots often grow well in cold temperatures. Cut off any green growth as we approach Thanksgiving and make sure you mulch to protect the stem. Just remember that mulch, as important as it is, can also be a detriment. If it's applied too thick before the ground freezes, it can become a haven for rodents.

If you use your garden for food and beauty, it is also the right time to plant spring bulbs. Tulips, daffodils, hyacinths and crocus will all develop their root systems over the winter. Remember to take a long view of your garden. Assess what worked and what didn't, and make the changes to your landscape now that will make the difference in your garden next summer.