1)  Branches from a tree.  Trees branches can be used for so many things in the garden, bean poles, trellises, row stakes, children’s forts, arts and crafts, decorative garden sculptures, next years fire camp fire wood, or wood chips.  And of course the leaves go in the compost. Trees are a gift, are a gift, are a gift.

2) Lawn waste.  Lawn waste is vegetables waiting to happen.  Compost your lawn waste and it will provide food for your family in less than a year.  This is not an exggageration, nor a glorificiation.  One year from waste to table.

3)  Cardboard toilet paper rolls. These make great seed starters.  Cut them in thirds or halves, put in tray, fill with soil, plant seed, water, and transplant the entire thing, straight into the ground when it’s time.

4) Coffee grounds – these are my secret to a nice hot compost pile.  They are rich in nitrogen and carbon and the microbes love ‘em.  Dont throw yours away!  In fact, dont let your local coffee shops throw them away either.  They are black gold.

5)  Old Pallettes – Oh, so much you can do with these things…start with compost bin.

6)  Coffee bean sacks from the roasting

5)  What else . . . . . .

Strawberries grow best in full sun in a well drained sandy
loam soil that is slightly acidic.  The pH should be between
5.5 and 6.8 for best fruit production.  If you are not
blessed with a sandy loam soil in your garden, consider
building a raised bed for your strawberries.

There are three main types of strawberry plants to choose
from:  June-bearing, everbearing and day-neutral.

June-bearing strawberry plants produce one large crop of
berries each year, typically in June to early July.
June-bearing plants tend to grow the largest berries and the
plants easily multiply from the runners they produce.

Everbearing strawberry plants produce two crops annually,
in the spring and the fall.  Everbearing plants grow medium-
sized strawberries for about three years, after which the
fruit production declines and the plants need to be replaced.

Day-neutral strawberry varieties continue to produce fruit
throughout the growing season as long as temperatures remain
below 90 degrees Fahrenheit.  In warmer climates these berries
can bear fruit for much of the year, and in cooler climates
they produce from late May until the first fall frost.  D
ay-neutral plants produce medium to large berries and they
tend to be more disease resistant than either June-bearing
or everbearing plants.  Day-neutral varieties are the best
choice if you want to grow strawberries in containers.

Space each plant 15- 24 inches apart within the row.  Each
row should be planted 3-4 feet apart to give you room to work
between the rows.  The plants should be settled into the bed
with their crowns at the surface of the soil.

Once the plants begin producing ripe berries, the strawberry
patch must be scouted regularly.  Berries may need to be
harvested as often as every other day during their peak
production.

After the strawberry plants have gone dormant for the winter,
a layer of straw mulch can be applied about two to four inches
deep over the plants.  Move the mulch into the aisles between
rows in the spring when the first new leaves are beginning to
develop on the plants.

For more details on growing strawberries, go to
http://freeplants.com/strawberries.htm

The Farmer

The Farm

Cold Crops

On the roof

Enjoy the possibilities of The Urban Rooftop Farm.  Meet Erik Lindberg of Community Growers, a builder, farmer and visionary and darn good guy.  Erik will begin blogging here soon.  Enjoy the pics!

Gretchen being interviewed on WUWM

Listen Here:

Gretchen Mead, founder and director of the Victory Garden Initative (VGI) and a UWM Master’s of Social Work graduate, joins with Deb Padgett, Associate Professor and Chair, Department of Social Work in the Helen Bader School of Social Welfare, to discuss with host Tom Luljak the VGI as an example of how UWM’s social work alumni create change in their communities.

Grow your own Food in Shorewood.  Build community, meet your neighbors, east good food, connect to something larger than yourself!

http://shorewood.patch.com/articles/a-victory-for-our-community-growing-a-new-food-system

A recent interview with Third Coast Digest.

http://thirdcoastdigest.com/2011/04/podcast-building-communities-one-garden-at-a-time/