Reproduced with the permission of:
 
Michael  Levenston
City Farmer - Canada's Office of Urban  Agriculture 
    
 Triscuit crackers joins Home Farming  Movement

Home Farming is about growing your own  herbs and vegetables, no matter where you live. To help people  on their path to Home Farming, four million packages of  Original and Reduced-Fat Triscuit crackers will include cards  with basil or dill herb seeds that can be planted directly  into the ground.

Blighted Detroit considers plan to  turn large swaths of land back into  fields

DETROIT - Detroit, the very symbol of  American industrial might for most of the 20th century, is  drawing up a radical renewal plan that calls for turning large  swaths of this now-blighted, rusted-out city back into the  fields and farmland that existed before the  automobile.

Operating on a scale never before attempted  in this country, the city would demolish houses in some of the  most desolate sections of Detroit and move residents into  stronger neighborhoods. Roughly a quarter of the  139-square-mile city could go from urban to  semi-rural.

Vancouver (BC)  approves scheme to collect household  compost

Vancouver has made it easier for  residents to be nice to the Earth on April 22 - which just  happens to be Earth Day.

Starting then, people that  live in single-family residences can start pitching their  fruit and vegetable waste into their yard waste bins so it can  be composted.

The dirt  on the 'It's Complicated' vegetable garden

Ever  since "It's Complicated" was released in theaters last week  the online garden community has been buzzing about Jane's  (Meryl Streep) vegetable garden, above. Its lushness,  colorfulness, perkiness ... well, it's almost pornographic.  One doesn't know whether to envy it, or to be concerned about  anyone that eats from it.

Controversial? Crisis Gardens -  Survival Seed Bank

As the meltdown progresses,  one of the first things to be affected will be our nation's  food supply. Expect soaring prices along with moderate to  severe shortages by spring. If you don't have the ability to  grow your own food next year, your life may be in danger.  Supply lines for food distribution in this country are about  three days, meaning a dependence on "just in time"  distribution systems, which will leave store shelves empty in  the event of even the smallest crisis.

Zoning for Urban  Agriculture

As sustainability moves up the  municipal agenda, cities have begun to take an interest in  urban agriculture as a way to promote health, to support  economic and community development, and to improve the urban  environment. This article places urban agriculture in a  historical context, examines regulatory approaches, and makes  recommendations for planning and zoning  practice.
    
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