Business Partner Innovator Award
On May 13th, we were awarded by the Massachusetts Assisted Living Facilities Association (Mass-ALFA) as this year’s Business Partner Innovator for our eldercare gardening program at Cadbury Commons at Cambridge. We’re very excited to have been honored!
Urban Ag Ambassador Program Begins!
Somerville, MA – March 18th, 2013:Thanks to the new Urban Ag Ambassador Program (UAAP), Somerville residents will be greeting spring armed with urban farming knowledge to transform their neighborhoods into self-sustaining food systems.
The City of Somerville and Green City Growers (GCG), a local urban farming business, have teamed up to offer select applicants a four-week intensive training in urban agriculture. In return, the trainees will be expected to share their newfound skills by volunteering 30 hours in the Somerville community.
The UAAP was publicized to Somerville residents through The City of Somerville’s website and Green City Growers’ network. Organizers who reviewed the applications were impressed by both the number and quality of the UAAP applicants. Ultimately, the fifteen slots were reserved for those who would be true “ambassadors” […]
Do you live in Somerville? The City of Somerville and Green City Growers are co-sponsoring an intensive Urban Agriculture Ambassador Program which would train 15 Somerville residents free of charge in growing techniques for growing food in your backyard and in the community. It will be March 16th-April 6th on Saturdays from 10-4. Please email urbanagambassadors@gmail.com to ask for the application, due February 15th. Check out the Somerville Urban Agriculture Blog for more information about the program.
We’re Hiring!
Interested in joining the Green City Growers team? Check out our available opportunities on the Job Opportunities page of our website.
Jessie Honored with “30 Under 30″ Award
Owner Jessie Banhazl is one of Zagat’s top “30 Under 30″
Boston is a city for innovators, and thanks to steadfast leadership from owner and co-founder Jessie Banhazl, Green City Growers is at the lead of the pack. Most recently, Jessie has been recognized as one of Zagat’s “30 Under 30: Boston’s Hottest Up-and-Comers.” This list highlights Boston food scene superstars, from presidents to managers to pop-up food truck chefs. Jessie, 28, co-created Green City Growers four years ago from the confines of her parents’ Wayland home. Since then, the company has grown beyond those initial walls to supply hundreds of clients in the Greater Boston Area with their own urban vegetable gardens.
Green City Growers is on the forefront of the Boston local food movement. Bostonians, as well as people all over, are […]
Adrienne’s Internship Experience
Hi! My name is Adrienne and I’m the horticulture intern at Green City Growers this fall. Most of the work I do involves tending gardens- both our own Research and Development garden at our office in Somerville, and those that we’ve installed and routinely maintain for our clients all over Boston, the metro area, and the surrounding suburbs.
My job is really awesome, and I learn so many new things every day. I really like the garden maintenance “route” that I get to do on Thursdays, which involves three different garden sites/programs. I meet the farmer at the GCG office- either Tany or Allison, both wonderful farmers with lots of experience and enthusiasm- and we load up supplies. Then we head out to our sites, where we spend time harvesting, weeding, planting or seeding new […]
Somerville Encourages Urban Ag
Our city is on the forefront of urban agriculture. This past fall, the Somerville officials passed regulations and an ordinance allowing residents to keep chickens, bees, and personal commercial farms right in their own back yard. In most cities, zoning laws hinder homesteading activities such as these due to conflicts with health, safety, and noise regulations. But with proper government, selling your own vegetables and keeping your own hens can be a safe, rewarding path towards self-sufficiency. For example, if you are selling vegetables grown on your property in Somerville, you are required to run an annual soil health test. Hens are fine, but because of the noise issue roosters are not allowed to be kept on Somerville lots.
A crowded city might seem like the last place to put up […]
‘Tis the Season for Soup!
Root Veggie Soup Recipe
Every time I step into my friend Chiara’s home, the aroma of some expertly, authentically cooked Italian meal graciously greets me at the door. I pester her mother to reveal her secrets, and the following recipe is the first successful response I received. And of course, I’m going to share it with the whole Internet. Proportions are vague, but it’s hard to go wrong using seasonal veggies.
INGREDIENTS
3 lbs of mixed root vegetables, in equal parts: turnips, parsnips, celery roots, rutabaga, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, carrots (important for sweetness)
Olive oil – enough to coat vegetables
Herbs of your choice (rosemary, thyme, basil are good to start with)
6 cloves of garlic
1 big shallot
Salt and pepper to taste
Vegetable stock
[…]
Concluding a great summer
In honor of our last week here at Green City Growers, Dana and I have decided to make one final blog about some of the great and valuable things we have learned here.
1. How local food connects to sustainability
2. You can add coffee grounds and lye to soil to affect the PH level
3. How great it can be to have easy access to tons of fresh produce right outside your office
4. How participating in a local food movement builds community
5. The importance of professionalism in the business world
6. That we will never know as much about gardening as the GCG hort team
7. There are farms on rooftops all around the city
8. You can use paper towels as coffee filters when […]
Seed Packet Tips
Cool Weather Crops!
If you attended the El Mundo Latin Food Festival (or any other GCG events lately) then the the chances are you received a seed packet for either Kale or Cilantro! If you have any confusion about the planting of these crops then please look below and hopefully questions can be answered!
Planting Kale:
> Plant these seeds 3 months before the fall frost, or earlier if you are ready!
> Create a row (or spots) with your finger in the soil 1/4 to 1/2 an inch deep (about fingernail depth).
> Plant the seeds 6-12 for every foot, about one every inch or so
> If you are planting more than one row, be sure they are about two 1.5 feet apart.
> Cover with […]
