Sustainable Gardening News

November 2009 Issue

Feel free to admire my new front-yard fence! It's natural cedar and replaces a chain-link fence covered with English ivy (memories of which are fading fast.) Here's the before and after, with a link to waaaay before.

Urban Gardening on the Web

Urban Gardening - What is it? is my definition and a call for links to more great programs across the U.S.
Baltimore's City Hall Feeds the Homeless. And more photos are here.
USDA reports that farmers' markets are up 13 percent over 2008! Here's the story.
Excellent new resource: Growing School and Youth Gardens in NY City. [pdf]

Sustainable Gardening on the Web

Prune now? Don't do it! yells Rodale. But they know what they're talking about.
I interviewed the botanist inventor of FreezePruf - read about it here. (Note: They're a sponsor of Sustainable and Urban Gardening.)
What I'm really doing in my garden in October still applies in November (I'm in Zone 7).
Blog Action Day 2009 tackled Climate Change, so I compiled lots of links about gardening and climate change - first on my blog, then on GardenRant. (Very little overlap.)

Ed Begley's Preferred Fencing? It's recycled plastic. I wonder what he'd say about cedar (see photo above).
Who cares about honeybees, anyway? gripes about all the concern for (nonnative) honeybees. Commenters agree AND disagree. And here's how to encourage native bees with "insect walls".
Great overview of the Great Deer Problem and How to Solve it. Don't miss the comments.
The lowdown on Eco-Tulips? In short, they're organically grown. Also, I like the young Dutch guy who's bringing them to us.
Does the Daily Green just make stuff up? Their list of best cities for community gardens sure looks like it was.
Turns out "smart irrigation controllers" aren't so smart after all - they use up to 2.5 times the recommended amount of water, as reported in Nursery Management.
New research explains why pruning encourages plants to thrive - in Science Daily.

Spotted in a Garden Center

The top photo shows you the most exciting thing in my garden right now, so I'll just add this close-up of one of the zillion Christmas trees at Homestead Gardens right now. I like that it's bipartisan, with White House ornaments representing both the Obama and Reagan administrations. Hmm, wonder what happened to the old Dubya ornaments.