Posts tagged as:

garden

Suburban gardener maximizes her space for growing food

by Cassandra West August 15, 2011 Gardening

Share Debbie Kong, a master gardener and gardening educator in Chicago’s western suburbs, gave us a tour recently of her spread. Debbie decided this year to expand her “farmette,” as we fondly refer to her garden, and use more of her land to grow food. She and her daughter, who’s known as Little Green Girl, [...]

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How does your garden grow: Make your own compost

by Cassandra West April 24, 2011 Composting

Share Composting was long sort of a mystery to me. Making soil? Your own dirt? I didn’t get it. Even after driving to Milwaukee and taking a tour of Will Allen’s big composting enterprise, Growing Power, I was still wondering what was the big deal about dirt and worms. Then my friend Nancy told me [...]

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In thick of winter, seed swap season heats up

by Cassandra West February 7, 2011 Community
Seed packets

Share The snow may keep coming down here in Chicago, but we know the growing season is coming, too. To help gardeners get ready, communities and organizations are hosting seed swaps this month. In the last few years, seed swaps have become popular in the U.S., and they’re growing trend in the U.K., where Seedy [...]

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Building an ‘intentional community’ around permaculture

by Cassandra West July 25, 2010 Local food production
Thumbnail image for Building an ‘intentional community’ around permaculture

Share As the local food movement grows, Chicago-area residents are developing more imaginative and creative ways to embrace it and make it work for them. Oak Park resident Estelle Carol is one of those people. An artist and designer, she wants to create an “intentional community” that revolves around transforming her suburban yard into a [...]

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How to build community

by Cassandra West March 23, 2010 Community

Share What does it take to build a community? Mostly a little effort by all of us. Check out the list here for ideas–or come up with your own. We borrowed most of this list from a poster we got from Chicagoan Naomi Davis, founder of Blacks in Green. Turn off your TV Leave your [...]

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"Dirt! The Movie" screens @ Chicago Cultural Center

by Cassandra West March 19, 2010 environment

Share “DIRT! The Movie” explores the wonders of the soil and tells the story of Earth’s most valuable and underappreciated source of fertility. Chicago Community Cinema will present a screening of “Dirt!” 2 p.m. Saturday, March 20 Chicago Cultural Center 78 E. Washington St. In the Claudia Cassidy Theater We hope you will come out [...]

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