Grow, baby, grow

I asked my boyfriend for a veggie garden! I hope I get it!  He is basically the most talented guy when it comes to plants & animals.  Plants thrive and animals come directly to him, it is a skill I do not have.

So, before I get my veggie garden, we decided to do an experiment to see if I would kill the whole thing, and now I am the proud owner of a tomato plant named Fred.

We live in a relatively urban setting – and we rent, so we can’t really plant anything too permanent.  Instead, we have everything in pots – roomy enough for them to grow and be happy, but also mobile.

This got me thinking about how other “green thumbs” can grow things in their communities.

And I came across some interesting and useful resources:

SharingBackyards.com is a website that hooks people up who want a garden and have no yard & those who have a yard with room to spare for some plants.  Not only does it allow homegrown veggies and plants to be in abundance, but it also encourages a sense of community.

American Community Gardening Association is a nonprofit group that encourages communities to use a spare piece of land for natural growing.  This is a fantastic resource to find community gardens in your area or learn how to start one near your home.  It takes a village to grow a garden!

Lastly, if you don’t go to any other link I have ever mentioned – go to this one.  I was watching this fantastic movie called Fresh.  It features a gentleman by the name Will Allen who established an urban garden in the middle of Milwaukee.  His idea is the most inspiring I have ever seen – and besides actully growing produce on a plot of cement, he takes the opportunity to teach this to the community.  Addicting, truly.  Check out his Growing Power.

Growing things is the greatest feeling to me in the world - you nuture the earth, you nurture an organism, and you nuture your soul by giving back.  Man, it feels good.