Metropolitan Gardening

 I wandered into the garden because of the woman in the back waving. While walking towards her through the plots the smiling person in the pink blouse and wire framed glasses says "This street was the turf of a drug dealer and it was really nicer than the rest of this area of Harlem at that time."  She demurs nonchalantly like a seasoned  tour guide. I interrupt to ask for an interview - she won't let me take her picture, but she's intrigued. I exchange names with her. "I'm Kay." Kay goes on to explain that when the city caught the guy the street and the neighborhood began to fail again.

  A lec Baxt discusses soil amendments for growing vegetables in the rooftop environment. Particularly we explore his experimental use of "Bio-Char" which may be a ground breaking idea for mixing with roof light to potentially create a nutritious and fertile growing medium. Alec is the Founding Farmer of Farming up.org in Brooklyn, NYC There is another longer video of this interview forthcoming that delves deeper into the details of the subject.

T he joe gardener media offering is tended with the care of a Master Gardener. Joe Lamp'l is tireless and stunning in his presentation of the most notable horticulture. His team really is best of class and makes it all look so easy. It's an honor to have an interview with him. Joe was really a pleasure to communicate with. Metropolitan Gardening is happy to be able to share his story. “ MG: What gave you the idea to combine media and gardening? What's your special vision?  Joe Lamp'l and Crew Joe: I live a couple of lives; one has been as a gardener and always has been; it's a lifetime passion. The media aspect came into the picture in early 2000. I was tapped to host DIY Network's new series; Fresh from the Garden. At the time I knew nothing about media and had never been on television before. But apparently I had enough something to be the one they selected after an extensive national search. Go figure. Anyway, although not knowing anything about tel

T his year the weather has been tough in New York City. NYC has suffered tornados and drought as well as a poor financial forecast. Tom Twente's been gardening in the weather of NYC for years. Before the planned auction of 114 community gardens in 1999 for commercial development Tom was there planning a land trust for garden conservation. His work is devoted to community gardens and their sustainability. He's seen folks come and go and managed to quietly do the business of making sure these spaces survive beyond momentary personal visions, pop ideas and cold weather. Tom's recent work has been to establish facilities in  Bronx and Brooklyn gardens through a capitol parks project. He invited me to stop by while he was putting up some holiday decorations at his own local community garden in the heart of Park Slope Brooklyn. I found him on a ladder stringing up pine boughs. It was a chilly day and my hands were turning red when I brought out my pocket moleskin notebook and