Urban Farming in Vancouver - Microgreens Grower by Urban Micro

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Urban Farming in Vancouver

Organizational Planning for Urban Farming Network

I think that many of the key challenges around building a successful urban farming movement/network have an organizational basis. One likely key to the success of urban farming is in developing and maintaining a cohesive organization to maintain relationships between farmers while simultaneously building opportunities for farmers and advancing the image of urban farming as…
Organizational Planning for Urban Farming Network

I think that many of the key challenges around building a successful urban farming movement/network have an organizational basis. One likely key to the success of urban farming is in developing and maintaining a cohesive organization to maintain relationships between farmers while simultaneously building opportunities for farmers and advancing the image of urban farming as…
Preparing for urban farming working groups

Well, we met with a facilitator today to start structuring the working groups and how to carry forward. It was good to have a little structure suggested to keep us on track. So now we are going to come up with a one page mission document so as to guide our process and develop a…
Reading and Research

Well, I am off and running with some research already. One of my focuses right now is finding literature on urban farming as a business. Found a few good academic papers as well as some urban farmer websites. I am hoping to be able to contact other urban farmers and get an idea of their…
Resisting Jet Lag

Well, I love to travel overseas – but I get some pretty mean jet lag going east over the pond. So I’ve had to come up with good strategy to ward it off as I will be going direct to Terra Madre from the airport when I arrive. So – when we are going to…
Resisting Jet Lag

Well, I love to travel overseas – but I get some pretty mean jet lag going east over the pond. So I’ve had to come up with good strategy to ward it off as I will be going direct to Terra Madre from the airport when I arrive. So – when we are going to…
Reviving the Yellow Bucket Project – kind of…

Well, after a long hiatus I am back on track for composting my waste. My original idea was a mobile composting toilet, but it was just too challenging to keep up with. I had to carry around this bucket at school and then take it to the bathroom with me every time. It was just…
Second Urban farmer Meeting (a wee bit smaller than the first one)

Well today we had another urban farmer meeting – this one a bit smaller, but still a good time! Although this one was on very short notice, we still had 12 people turn out. And three of those people were new to the group – including another urban farm: City Farm Girls. The idea of…
Slowing down for holidays

Well, things are still moving, but definitely slowing down for the holidays. We are going to have a brainstorming session this Thursday to start developing ideas for the working groups in January. This will help get me out of my head a bit and start creating a more solid vision for carrying forward. It looks…
starting to process samples

Well,I am starting to get through soil sample processing which has been a good learning experience. I have finished recording data for my bulk density tests for the two different areas: a heavily ‘compacted’, high traffic grass area, and an area covered in blackberries. The blackberry soil was beautiful, very loose, and crumbly. The other…
Still Breaking Ground!

Well, I am still soil sampling and getting along pretty well. Last Friday I collected bulk density samples from the larger no-till area as well samples for pH and OM tests. I will also perform these tests on the smaller area (see last blog). I did not yet do penetrometer testing in the larger area…
Successful Planning Meeting

We had a good planning meeting on Monday to prepare for the meeting on the 22nd. There were 8 people in attendance which is a manageable number. The general feedback on the event was positive and it seems that so far we are fairly organized and on top of things. One of the challenges right…
Successful Urban Farmer Meeting! Phew…

So the November 22 urban Farmer meeting was a smashing success! My apologies that I have not written about it sooner. It’s been a very busy time. 50 people were confirmed for the meeting and we only had 4 no shows. The energy for the evening was great and I we managed to stay fairly…
Terra Madre Bad Blogger

Ok, I admit it. While I think blogging is a great idea it sure is hard to keep it up! I’ve been so engulfed in just being here it’s been hard to find time at the computer. So how do I possible sum up the last 3 days. How about: overwhelming; awesome; gastronomical! Not gonna…
The Yellow Bucket Birth

Ok, lets get this project started. My first orders of business are four-fold: 1. To track my urination patterns for one week 2. Use this data to determine the nutrient value of a week’s worth of urine and what this represents in terms of its potential as a soil fertility enhancing resource 3. To research…
Urban Agriculture Office in new US Senate Bill: Greening Food Deserts Act

This is some encouraging news in the US, which contrary to the perceptions of most Canadians, is usually much more progressive on sustainability issues then us conservatives here in Canada. Obviously good for urban farming as well as community gardens and peri-urban farmers. Points from the Bill (http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h111-4971): To increase the emphasis on urban agricultural…
Urban Farmer Meeting Summary

So nearly a month after the urban farmer meeting we are ready to release the summary document and project introduction. I have pasted the Executive Summary here with a link to the full pdf below: Advancing Urban Farming in Vancouver Executive Summary As Canadians become more and more aware of the effects of modern industrial…
Urban Farming and Food Policy Council

I know. I’m a bad blogger. Respect to you who do this daily. Though hopefully you get some people time in there, too. Lots has happened (not all work), so no time to write it seems. The UFN is now an official external working group of the Food Policy Council. So that means much of…
Urban Farming Chugs Along in Vancouver – Second Urban Farmer Meeting

So on January 30 we had our second urban farmer meeting in an effort to develop an urban farming network. This meeting was meant to act as a chance to more clearly define our shared goals and visions. It was attended by about 25 urban farmers on a cold but sunny Sunday afternoon. The meeting…
Urban Farming Connections

So last week I sent an update about this project to Toronto Urban Growers which has turned out to be a very good idea! We were made aware of a grant that we applied for and have had a number of inquiries, including from Joe Nasr who has done a lot of UA work in…

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