#urban-agriculture

#urban-agriculture

Standing on the street and looking at the turquoise house tucked into Oakland's Laurel District, you wouldn't suspect there's an overflowing urban farm around back. It far surpasses any average homeowner's idea of a "garden" - 1,400 square feet of fruit trees from persimmons to papayas to bananas, a large variety of vegetables including four types of peppers, many native seeds from California poppy to scarlet flax and hummingbird sage. There are seven chickens, two beehives, an outdoor shower, a pond, and a hot tub.

An old red telephone box in Waltham Forest has been turned into a vertical farm growing herbs for a local charity. Funded by the local council through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), the transformation of a disused British red telephone box, located just outside the William Morris Gallery on Forest Road, has turned it into a self-watering vertical garden. Inside the phone box is a custom designed, 3D printed 'Petal Planter' vertical system, complete with solar-powered ventilation and a self-watering pump.

The apps say heavy rain, but apps ain't always right, and farmers more than anyone are used to the whims of the weather gods. Rose and Ruth, the farm's chief growers, decide to keep calm and carry on. When I arrive, their optimism appears to have paid off. The clouds are low and grey, but it's not actually raining. I walk past the Caractacus Potts-style compost loo and along the grassy path between the veg beds where a scarecrow stands guard in a red jumper.

Santa Rosa 9-year-old Nicholas Bard is a walking encyclopedia of honeybee facts. A colony needs 30 to 60 pounds of honey to survive each winter. The average lifespan of bees is about two weeks. And individuals hold distinct jobs, from cleaners to foragers, during their life cycle. Nicholas knows how much bees contribute to California's agricultural economy and the alarming rate at which the population is declining.

Some foreign shippers are suspending US package deliveries, as a customs tax exemption for low-value goods comes to an end this Friday. Also, a look at the status of the Russian mercenary force Wagner Group's operations in Mali. And, new mouth guards with flashing lights may be able to alert rugby players of potential concussions. Plus, Istanbul's free public orchard allows visitors to pick their own produce.

We were spread out across different buildings. Now it's all under one house, which is so nice,

Alemany Farm is home to the largest urban agricultural site in San Francisco, including a medicinal herb garden that serves as a public medicine chest.

Composting has transitioned from a niche practice into a regular part of city life in the U.S., with cities like New York adopting mandatory composting.