home gardens

Gardening media star P. Allen Smith talks about his farm

Operating from Moss Mountain Farm in Arkansas, P. Allen Smith is a familiar name to gardeners and adherents of the food movement, says the UC Food Observer in a Q&A with Smith, who is an author and head of a media company. Smith, whose company produces television gardening shows for PBS, says, "I come from a long line of small, independent farmers."

You say potato, I say eggplant

A year after "Ketchup 'n' Fries" aka TomTato - a plant that produces tomatoes and potatoes - became available to gardeners in the United States and Europe, the same seed and plant company in England is offering "Egg and Chips," "after a favorite English dish of fried eggs and French fries. Although in this case, the eggs are eggplants," says Modern Farmer. "The chips part is dead on, since the plant produces potatoes as well."

In some cities, raiding your neighbor’s garden is encouraged

Whether Austin, Texas, or Iowa City, Iowa, there are times when it's okay to take a tomato from your neighbor's garden, says Civil Eats, describing "a new spin on the community garden."

“Farming at the White House”

Arlo Crawford writes in The Atlantic about his father's role in getting the kitchen garden going at the White House. Jim Crawford, a truck farmer in Pennsylvania, "was asked to provide seedlings from our greenhouse, help adjust the soil quality, offer some tips about pest control, and generally advise," he writes in a story that describes the turn of seasons and a garden-level view of food politicking.