Gardening to end world hunger

It’s spring and no matter what the weather's like, the natural world is waking up. For many of us that also means it’s time to plant.

If you live in an urban area it could be as simple as purchasing a little planter for the window sill. Others are busy outdoors with mulch and seeds, but not everyone has that much space. Whatever season, ambitious urban gardeners can create vertical and hydroponic gardens year round. 

Imagine the delight in eating your own organic salad grown indoors in a few months.

Hydroponic gardening is a very easy way to enjoy personally harvesting your meals. The hardest part is getting everything set up and that’s getting easier all the time. Research ‘Hydroponic Gardening’ online to find a vendor near you for the equipment necessary. It’s surprisingly inexpensive, especially if you find a second-hand setup.

There are other options for the square-foot-challenged gardener, such as planting a vertical garden. The idea of a vertical farm has existed at least since the Hanging Gardens of Babylon and today it’s being used to address hunger issues and improve air quality in enclosed spaces. New systems are being designed all the time. A couple of companies finding great success (and harvests) are aerofarming.com, which will show you how easy it is to create an indoor harvest and towergarden.com will help you turn a few square feet into a farm.

Vertical farming isn't only a personal food pleasure; it’s also part of the movement to end world hunger. Urban Farming.org has a pilot project that’s fighting hunger in Los Angeles. The Urban Farming™ mission is to support and encourage the establishment of gardens on unused land and space where an abundance of food will be created for people in need and to build sustainable communities around the globe.

Their first vertical garden public system is made up of panels that interconnect and have a fully automated irrigation system. The gardens stand about 6 feet high and are 20 to 30 feet wide. In the last year the harvest has set a great example for their movement to “Create an abundance of food for all in our generation.”

Whether you join an urban farming movement or simply want to see just how green your thumb might be, enjoy the spring by planting a garden.

Photo 1: Flickr Creative Commons courtesy of Newtown graffiti

Photo 2: Courtesy of Elaine Bryan, Vertical gardener