Search

latest articles

Flooding Poses Threat to Urban Gardens

Urban Farming
|

While trees have a greater tolerance to flooding, other garden plants may not do so well if under water for prolonged amounts of time. As hurricane season gears up, urban gardeners need to protect their vegetables and flowers from heavy rains. Flooding can devastate urban areas and cause a lot of damage to gardens and the […]

Rucola and Basilico

Urban Farming
|

This is high season for rucola (arugula) and we’re harvesting every few days.

Pick Your Own

Urban Farming
|

Photo by Judith Hausman Raspberries are the “queen of berries” in my opinion, and I get mine from Amawalk Farm in New York. I’ve always loved the view from the berry patch at The Hickories. The gentle hills fold down from the ridge (just over the Connecticut line from me in Ridgefield) and over the […]

Plant Roots Used to Treat Wastewater

Urban Farming
|

Courtesy Penn State University/ Amitabh Avasthi Penn State horticulturist Robert Cameron created a biofilter that uses plant roots to clean wastewater. Plant roots enmeshed in layers of discarded materials inside upright pipes can purify dirty water from a washing machine, making it fit for growing vegetables and flushing toilets, according to Penn State University horticulturists. […]

Smokey’s Great Adventure

Urban Farming
|

Photo by Audrey Pavia Smokey chewing on something appropriate. I had rabbits as a kid growing up in the surburbs of L.A., but they always lived outside. No one ever heard of an indoor rabbit back then. But by the time I got back to bunny ownership, keeping indoor rabbits had become the norm. And […]

USDA Surveys Honey Bees

Urban Farming
|

Courtesy Stock.XCHNG The USDA Honey bee survey is expected to provide information on Honey bee pests and diseases that could be contributing to colony collapse disorder. The USDA is conducting a 13-state survey of Honey bee pests and diseases to help USDA scientists determine the prevalence of parasites and disease-causing microorganisms that may be contributing […]

Ciao, Mario … Thanks for the Wine Bottles

Urban Farming
|

Photo by Rick Gush I’m looking for wine bottles with rounded bottoms, like this one, for an upcoming project. I’ve got a new art project, and I need a bunch of old wine bottles. I’m looking for the kind that has a rounded bottom. These were most commonly used in the old days to make […]

Wooden Spoons

Urban Farming
|

Photo by Judith Hausman My preferred kitchen tools: wooden spoons. I suppose every trade has its tools and every person in the trade has a favorite tool. For essential versatility and usefulness, one of my own favorites is metal tongs with flat edges, perfect to turn over searing meats, lift poultry or nudge poaching fruit. […]

Kansas City Farming for Cash

Urban Farming
|

Courtesy Stock.XCHNG Residents in Kansas City, Mo., who want to sell produce from their home gardens may do so thanks to a new city-farming ordinance. Last summer, if a gardener in Kansas City, Mo., wanted to put up a sign and sell a few excess tomatoes in her front yard, she’d be breaking the law. […]

The Dangers of Urban Farming

Urban Farming
|

Photo by Audrey Pavia Randy with Rio, who haunts his dreams. My husband Randy grew up in the mean streets of New York City, in a tough Italian-American neighborhood. While kids living in rural communities were raising lambs for 4-H, Randy was fighting off muggers, crazy people and bullies. He learned to survive with his […]

Urban Growing in a Sock?

Urban Farming
|

Courtesy Purdue University The compost sock technology being studied by reasearchers at  Ohio State University Extension could extend the growing season for urban gardeners. At the beginning of June, Ohio State University Extension horticulturists at OSU South Centers in Piketon, Ohio, were picking their high-tunnel strawberries, about a month ahead of the area’s field-grown strawberries. […]

Garden Glove Obsession

Urban Farming
|

I have a thing for gloves. Although my wife wouldn’t agree (because she’s always looking at the various scrapes, thorns and wounds on my hands), I do really enjoy wearing gloves, and I have a long history of owning lots of pairs of garden and work gloves.

Get Hobby Farms content
delivered straight to your inbox!

Copyright © 2026 EG Media Investments LLC. All rights reserved.