Urban Farming — Lloyd the Farmer

Spring is in the air, as winter fades like a distant memory. Winter produce beckons, so I've come up with this perfect dish to use up the final remants of the crops from colder months.

As winter approaches, it'll be time to harvest some of those healthy greens from your veggie patch. Try making this awesome soup with your crop as Lloyd has done with produce from his Café Planters.

Our friend Indira Naidoo has a range of terrific, fresh recipes that I've been trying out this summer. Grow mignonette and red oak lettuce in your Glowpear, and either cultivate or purchase your favorite type of garlic to mix with the rest of the ingredients for this yummy summer salad.

I've been busy experimenting with microgreens from our friends at Farmwall, along with the produce from my Glowpear Café Planters. 

Check out this terrific salad mix that Farmwall suggests, something I've been tinkering with this spring:

Sometimes, you just want a simple dish to use all those more exotic herbs you're experimenting with in the garden.

We've been growing a lot of Asian varieties lately, so here's a quick one that's really tasty too!

Edible flowers. A topic people often brush-off as confusing, weird, too advanced or... just for the 'flower children of the 60s'. But nothing could be further from the truth, in fact, if you dabble in a bit of urban gardening, chances are you probably are already growing some. Most herbs and vegetables produce edible flowers at some point in their growth cycle. For the most part, the other varieties of edible flowers "grow like weeds" and provide a range of benefits to the average urban garden such as promoting plant growth, improving the taste of fruit, and attracting or repelling insects.

I love to keep indoor plants.  They make me feel happy and relaxed.  I keep them beside the TV and sofa, in the kitchen, bathroom, and in the office at work... everywhere.  I love the colour, shapes and texture plants bring to my home, but aesthetics aside, when it comes to the benefits of filling your space with greenery, these are just the tip of the iceberg.

Fungus is extremely common in some potting mix blends where a high amount of bark/wood chip is present. The Fungus will feed on this and other decaying organic matter.

Fungus Gnats are tiny flying insects that are common in houseplants and seriously annoying to have around.  While harmless to people, they are destructive to your plants and can reach plague proportions if not addressed.

What is the best kept secret in container gardening?  The experts know how to promote faster, more vigorous growth, and significantly reduce the chance of pests and diseases... ssssh... it all comes down to healthy soil.