GARDENS - How to grow green beans, even with a brown thumb

Green beans are one of the most popular vegetables to grow for backyard gardens, and with good reason, as they're both easy and fun to grow ...

http://www.treehugger.com/lawn-garden/how-grow-green-beans.htm

GARDENS - Photo: Pink blossoms in Kyoto

Kyoto’s Cherry trees are blooming now ...

http://www.treehugger.com/slideshows/travel/photo-pink-blossoms-kyoto

GARDENS - Magnolias, rhododendrons and camellias shine in this Cornish garden

Caerhays, Cornwall: Flashes of sunshine enhance the brilliance and luxuriance of the trees and shrubsPrimroses line the narrow lanes in steep valleys beneath the ploughed and sprayed plateau fields above Veryan Bay. Close to, but out of sight of, the sea, the hilltop church of St Michael Caerhays is buffeted by a cold wind. Over the blocked north door, a Norman tympanum features a lamb, its head worn away but its sturdy legs like those of the woo ...

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/apr/01/caerhays-cornwall-m

GARDENS - The Concept of Vertical Farming

The key to vertical farming is space. The Vertical Farm Project, led by Dr. Despommier, claims that one indoor acre of farming is equal to 4 to 6 outdoor acres. They cite a farm in Florida that was converted into an indoor hydroponic farm where strawberries grow in stacks. That farm now grows the equivalent of 30 acres of strawberries in a one-acre greenhouse ...

http://www.good.is/posts/the-concept-of-vertical-farmin

GARDENS - 6 Easy spring vegetables you can start now

You don't have to wait until the weather's hot to start growing some of your own food, and these 6 spring vegetables can be a great way to get some locally grown green on your plate ...

http://www.treehugger.com/lawn-garden/6-easy-spring-vegetables-you-can

GARDENS - Garden on the Go— Japanese Train Station Rooftops are Covered in Farms

While these rooftop farms are often found on private warehouses and industrial buildings, a new farming project in Japan utilizes the tops of public transit stations to give passengers a moment to work their green thumbs while waiting for the next train. Soradofarm occupies the roofs of five different stations around Tokyo, transforming these otherwise idle spaces into productive sites that benefit th ...

http://www.good.is/posts/garden-on-the-go-japanese-train-station-rooft

GARDENS - Reclaim our urban gardens

We tend to think of cities as being all about buildings and hard surfaces. But they're actually full of green spaces. From parks to gardens to roadsides, urban areas host an infinite number of places where nature can thrive.Here in Bristol I love how people think of the whole city as a garden here. The city farm movement started here, and within a short radius you can find guerilla gardeners creating flower beds in neglected verges, foragers gat ...

http://www.good.is/posts/reclaim-our-urban-garden

GARDENS - Twitter-enabled vending machine gives out free seeds for tweets

To promote their fantastic garden grant program, Seeds of Change is bringing a seed vending machine and photo booth to several US cities, where visitors can tweet for seeds ...

http://www.treehugger.com/lawn-garden/twitter-enabled-vending-machine-

GARDENS - Aquaponics Kit Turns 10-Gallon Aquariums into Gardens

The next generation of home food production may include an aquaponics component, especially for those who want to (or need to, because of space issues) stack functions, which is a key piece of permaculture-based systems. Aquaponics, for those who aren’t hip to the concept, is “closed loop” system, which uses plants and fish together, with each one benefiting from the other. In an aquaponics system, the waste created by the fish is broken down by ...

http://ecopreneurist.com/2014/03/04/aquaponics-kit-turns-10-gallon-aqu

GARDENS - Student-designed kit turns 10 gallon aquariums into aquaponic gardens

There are a lot of people who keep fish as pets. What if they all started to grow their own food too ...

http://www.treehugger.com/sustainable-agriculture/student-designed-kit

GARDENS - Growing food without soil: feeding the world with aquaponics

Most people are prepared to admit that there are a lot of serious problems facing the world today.How we manage these issues, and the resulting effects on our planet, has a huge impact not only on the economy but also our own wellbeing. As a society, we are resource hungry. But a lot of people are just hungry.Aquaponics is a new way of growing food which lets us grow food in the desert and produce protein as well as plants. Intrigued? Read on.. ...

http://www.good.is/posts/growing-food-without-soil-feeding-the-world-w

GARDENS - Organic winemaker faces jail for refusing to apply pesticide

The French agriculture ministry has sentenced Emmanuel Giboulot six months in jail for not taking preventative measures against a bacterial vine disease ...

http://www.treehugger.com/sustainable-agriculture/organic-winemaker-fa

GARDENS - Bucketlight grows plants to liven up green-starved offices

This bucket-shaped pendant lamp intends to do double duty by adding light and plant life to drab office environments ...

http://www.treehugger.com/interior-design/office-lighting-grows-plants

GARDENS - DIY: Turn an old gas heater into hot succulent planter

Got a dead wall heater? This crafter shows how she turned hers into a fiesty planter for her succulents ...

http://www.treehugger.com/sustainable-product-design/old-gas-heater-up

GARDENS - Gardening provides high-to-moderate physical activity for children

Gardening, often considered to be an activity reserved for adults, is gaining ground with children as new programs are introduced that promote gardening's "green" attributes. Physical benefits of getting out in the garden have also been reported for adults and seniors—now, a study from researchers in South Korea finds that children, too, can reap the benefits of digging, raking, and weeding. Researchers Sin-Ae Park, Ho-Sang Lee, Kwan-Suk Lee, Ki- ...

http://medicalxpress.com/news/2014-01-gardening-high-to-moderate-physi

GARDENS - Three native aromatics indicated for use in Mediterranean extensive green roofs

Green roofs are being studied as a means to increase vegetation and preserve aesthetics in old Mediterranean cities. In order to preserve ancient cities' local character and biodiversity, researchers are looking to native plant species that can withstand the low water environments that are necessary in lightweight green roof design. Xerophytes—species of plants that have adapted to survive in environments with little water—fit well in green roof ...

http://phys.org/news/2014-01-native-aromatics-mediterranean-extensive-

GARDENS - Well-watered citrus tested in cold-acclimating temperatures

Commercial citrus growers are often challenged by environmental conditions in winter, including low seasonal rainfall that is typical in many citrus growing regions. Growers must rely on irrigation to sustain citrus crops through dry winters, so understanding how to determine citrus irrigation needs is critical for successful operations. Authors of a study published in HortScience noted that current methods used to determine moisture needs for ci ...

http://phys.org/news/2014-01-well-watered-citrus-cold-acclimating-temp

GARDENS - Why GMOs matter — especially for the developing world

From Ramez Naam: The folks at Grist have kindly allowed me to pen a guest post here with a few thoughts on Nathanael Johnson’s excellent series on genetically modified foods and in particular his most recent piece on what he learned from 6 months investigating the GMO debate: that none of it really matters ...

http://www.good.is/posts/why-gmos-matter-especially-for-the-developing

GARDENS - 'Use less peat' call to UK gardeners

Britain's gardeners are still using too much peat compost, despite more than 30 years of campaigns, according to the Royal Horticultural Society ...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-25760294#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source

GARDENS - Join Your Local CSA & Get Farm Fresh Food

"When you join a CSA [Community Supported Agriculture], there's always a bounty of fresh and local veggies awaiting your enjoyment. CSAs are a guaranteed way to bring more veggies into your family's diet, but they are much more than that. CSAs keep money in the local economy, help farmers share the gamble they take while working with Mother Nature, and are a way that you can enjoy the freshest, most seasonal produce around. ...

http://www.good.is/posts/join-a-csa-and-get-your-produce-straight-from