Infrastructurist
Philadelphia's Greensgrow Farm, Cont'd
One of the dangers of growing plants in an urban environment is that you never really know what was there before -- and you don't want your food growing in chemically-infested soil. At Greensgrow, where the land was polluted with arsenic, lead, and zinc, the farmers have combated that problem with two approaches: either bringing in soil from elsewhere and growing plants in raised beds, or drip-feeding plants hydroponically (shown here).
This brings up one of the curiosities of the urban farm movement: Often, these green spaces are in places that shouldn't really be being used for plants. But urban farming is about more than growing. It's about creating a community within the city where people get a break from the sometimes monotony of the urban environment and begin learning how to use their hands to work a different type of job. It's a fascinating opportunity.
Image: Hydroponic Farming at Greensgrow Farm, from Flickr User eli.pousson
Philadelphia's Greensgrow Farm, Cont'd
One of the dangers of growing plants in an urban environment is that you never really know what was there before -- and you don't want your food growing in chemically-infested soil. At Greensgrow, where the land was polluted with arsenic, lead, and zinc, the farmers have combated that problem with two approaches: either bringing in soil from elsewhere and growing plants in raised beds, or drip-feeding plants hydroponically (shown here).
This brings up one of the curiosities of the urban farm movement: Often, these green spaces are in places that shouldn't really be being used for plants. But urban farming is about more than growing. It's about creating a community within the city where people get a break from the sometimes monotony of the urban environment and begin learning how to use their hands to work a different type of job. It's a fascinating opportunity.
Image: Hydroponic Farming at Greensgrow Farm, from Flickr User eli.pousson