APRIL 2011 ISSUE: FOCUS ON URBAN AGRICULTURE

Enjoy the benefits of community gardening

Flowers, bushes, vegetables — the choices are nearly limitless. Are you ready for the spring growing season? Gardening with your neighbors can be a great way to meet new people. Being outdoors and getting involved in your community can also help reduce crime. If you would like to meet your neighbors at local gardening spots, the Green Impact Zone has you covered — they don’t call us Green for nothing!

There are several great spots in our community to give your green thumb a good workout:

• 49th and Olive — A brand new community garden was planted here last fall, and there was a great harvest of leafy vegetables! There is plenty of room for you to plant vegetables in the eight raised garden beds, and if things get cramped there’s lots of room to build more raised beds. Contact the Blue Hills Neighborhood Association at 816-333-7232 to learn more.
• 42nd and Forest — This large community garden has a play area for the little ones, as well as plenty of space to grow a food crop for your household. Call the Manheim garden coordinator at 816-854-0486 to find out how you can adopt a plot or learn about other ways to get growing in your neighborhood.
• 5142 Paseo — Head over to this plot for a great gardening experience. Meet Ericka Wright, who started the Troostwood garden in 1999. Ericka enjoys teaching young people about gardening principles. You can buy their fresh fruits and vegetables at the Troostwood Youth Garden Market on Friday nights, 5-8 p.m., and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• 37th and Woodland — Here you’ll find a recently constructed park and a community garden with plenty of room for gardeners is coming soon. Nearby, the Ivanhoe Neighborhood Council will offer classes on growing vegetables, testing your soil and how to sell your freshly grown produce. Contact Ivanhoe at 816-921-6611 to get involved in their programs.

If sharing in a community garden isn’t right for you, try starting your own little garden in the backyard or plant a small box outside your window. Or try a hanging tomato planter. Whatever you try, get a little dirt under your fingernails! Get your children involved, too – they will enjoy helping you out, and your whole family will love eating food you grew yourself. It’ll be fresher than anything at the grocery store.

No matter what your interests are in urban agriculture, the Green Impact Zone can help. Contact Anwar Jones at 816-936-8805 for more information. You can also stop by our offices at 4600 Paseo Blvd. We’d love to see you this season.

Why should you get involved in urban agriculture?

Did you know the average American eats only one to two servings of vegetables per day — about five times below the recommended amount? The unique phytochemicals in veggies help promote good health. To maintain proper health, men should eat up to nine servings per day, while women are encouraged to have at least seven.

• More servings, more benefits

Eating fresh fruits and vegetables every day is one of the most important things you can do for your health. Research continues to show that many essential nutrients in fresh produce may protect you from cancer, high blood pressure, heart disease and Type 2 diabetes. These nutrients can also give you more energy, help reduce weight gain and may even reduce the effects of aging.

The phytochemicals in fruits and vegetables have a profound effect on health maintenance and disease prevention. Yellow, orange, red, green and purple fruits and vegetables generally contain the most phytochemicals, so eat colorful foods to stay healthy.

Cooking can decrease the beneficial qualities found in produce. If you want to cook your veggies, lightly sauté or steam them — keep them crispy and crunchy. Once veggies lose their crunch, they have also lost a lot of their nutritional value.

• Growing inspires healthy eating

Gardening not only provides you with fresh fruits and vegetables, it also encourages you to eat them. Once you are blessed with a bushel basket of tomatoes, you will have a newfound interest in finding recipes for tomatoes. What's more, picking fresh produce from your garden is a great way to get children to eat fruits and vegetables. It IS fun for them to pick their own lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers — and then eat them.

When you grow your own food, you know it’s fresh. Fruits and vegetables sold in grocery stores often come from California, Florida, Mexico or even farther away. Produce is usually picked before it ripens and spends days or weeks in transit — meaning the vitamins and nutrients have started vanishing by the time you get it.

If you don’t want to grow your own fruits and vegetables, you can still eat healthier and save money by shopping at local farmers’ markets. When food is shipped across the country, the high cost of fuel is passed on to you in higher food prices. Locally grown food doesn’t have to be shipped long distances, saving you money. Using less gas also improves our air quality.

• Stronger communities

Many of our communities are plagued with vacant lots and unproductive land. Encouraging gardens can beautify our communities, and having vegetable and fruit gardens can provide residents with healthy food at low costs. Gardening with your neighbors helps build relationships, and by being outdoors and active in your community you can help discourage criminal behavior. Excess food from community gardens can be given away to residents and local charities.

Wondering how you can get involved? The Green Impact Zone can provide you with opportunities to volunteer in your communities. We can also connect you with classes and training to help you learn more about gardening.

Start your own container garden

What you'll need: a container at least 6" deep; seeds; planting soil; sunlight; water; and a little time and patience.

• Decide what to plant. Pick fruits and vegetables your family likes to eat so you can save money on groceries. Look on the back of seed packages for statements like high yield, very productive, etc., to get plenty of tasty food.
• Pick a container. Find a size that is wide enough to fit all the plants you want to grow, and remember to allow space for roots and sunlight. Make sure the container is deep enough for the roots. Deeper containers will need less watering because the water will evaporate more slowly. Be creative — you don't have to buy a new flower pot, although that's easiest. Look for old paint buckets, children's used toy containers, etc. If your container doesn't have them already, make sure you drill some holes for the water to drain.
• Soil is important. You can use regular dirt, but you may not get the best results. The soil in your yard may have problems that hurt your plants. The soil in a container garden doesn't have to be the best, but it should be good. Look for good deals on potting soil mixes at discount and closeout stores.
• Sun, Sun, Sun. Place your container where it will get at least eight hours of sun a day. Observe your location choices at different times throughout the day to make sure you will get enough light.
• Water. Watering can be tricky. Try watering spikes that can be used with empty pop bottles. Water in the morning when it's coolest. It's better to water heavily less frequently so that the dirt is fully moistened inside the container. Remember, the more shallow your container the sooner the water dries up and the more often you need to water.
• Have Fun. You'll make mistakes, you'll lose some plants, but you'll be growing great food and saving money while you're at it. Involve your children and make it a family event. Tell your neighbors about your garden — you may be able to grow different things and share with each other.

More gardening resources

For more information about urban agriculture, contact your local university extension center, community gardening agencies or other Green Impact Zone partners:

University of Missouri Extension
Jackson County–Kansas City Extension Center
2700 E. 18th Street, Suite 240, Kansas City, MO 64127
Phone: 816-482-5850

Lincoln University Cooperative Extension
Urban Impact Center of Kansas City
1028 Paseo Blvd., Kansas City MO 64106
Phone (816) 841-3958

Kansas City Community Gardens
6917 Kensington, Kansas City, MO 64132
Phone 816-931-3877

Green Impact Zone
4600 Paseo Blvd., Kansas City, MO 64130
Phone 816-936-8805

Bridging the Gap
435 Westport Rd. #23, Kansas City, MO 64111
Phone 816-561-1087

Green Impact Zone of Missouri | 4600 Paseo, Kansas City, MO 64110
Phone 816-936-8803 | Fax 816-421-7758 | www.greenimpactzone.org
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