The Seed Volume 33, Garden Tool Review!

Toolin' Around "Give a boy an apple and he will eat for a few minutes, teach him to garden and he will eat well his whole life! When we teach our kids about organic gardening we give them the tools to build a healthy future!" While it’s true that a determined gardener can do more with a rusty shovel then a lazy gardener can with a whole shed full of tools, it’s also true that when given the right tools for the job, determined gardeners are unstoppable. Coming across a tool that makes my work easier is like meeting a new friend, I’ll often find myself wondering how I ever got along without them. The blanket of snow adorning our fair cities gives northern gardeners time for reflection on the seasons’ success and lessons so...

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Compost, It's Hot!

These days it seems folks all around me are taking bold strides to “green up” their everyday lives.  Whether we’re motivated to reclaim our health from the abominable agriculture and healthcare industries, or take back our wealth from the robber barons of the big energy companies, all of us are awakening to the idea that it’s time we followed that sage bumper sticker advice and remember how to live simply so that we may simply live.  Composting is one of the simplest things that I’ve ever learned.  As a designer of Earth friendly landscapes and organic gardens, part of my job is to help folks implement changes right outside their doors that positively impact the entire global ecosystem.  I routinely testify that there...

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Growing Power In Minneapolis

In our fair cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, the gap between the haves and have-nots is so striking that it can literally be tasted. The difference in food selection and availability between low-income neighborhoods and wealthy neighborhoods is painfully obvious. In this world, far to few folks acknowledge that access to healthy foods is a basic human right. Now's the time for us to stand up together and work for a better future, where healthy food is available and accessible to everyone. Click below to read how Giving Tree Gardens has worked this growing season with an amazing array of folks from around the country to start growing community power, personal health, and food justice here at home! CLICK HERE to read The Seed #31, Food Justice!...

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Russ Henry and GIving Tree on the RADIO

WE'RE GONNA BE ON THE RADIO!KFAI Radio Without Boundaries is going to air a documentary featuring Giving Tree's Gardens at the Seward Co-op and Deli in MinneapolisThis Thursday the 24th of September during the 6pm news!CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE FULL 7 MINUTE DOCUMENTARY!...

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The Seed Volume 30 is online! Fermenting the Harvest!

Harvest time is here, and organic gardeners everywhere have an abundance of food on their hands and plates! Organic gardeners are health conscious folks, and there's no more healthy a way to preserve your bumper crops for winter storage then through the use of fermentation! Giving Tree Gardens would like to help empower folks everywhere to take their health into their own hands, click below to learn how to turn your fall harvest into a winter full of health with the power of kimchi fermentation!CLICK HERE to learn how to grow your own HEALTH SUSTAINING KIMCHI...

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Wild Night!

Russ Henry of Giving Tree Gardens made quite a splash on Wednesday night with his fall garden class at Mother Earth Gardens. Delighted class participants sampled 3 flavors of garden grown kim-chi and drank their hearts content of a delicious raspberry home-brewed beer all the while discussing the fine arts of composting, home food production and storage, as well as fall garden maintenance and planting ideas. The class was so much fun that one happy pupil went home and blogged all about it. So impressed were we with this posting, that we'd like to share it with our audience as well! Be sure not to miss the fun of our next class this Saturday!CLICK HERE TO READ ABOUT A WILD NIGHT OF FERMENTATION FERVOR Free Class:When: Saturday...

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Free Garden Classes!

Free Class 1:When: Wednesday September 9th @ 7:00pmWhere: Mother Earth Gardens 3738 42ND AVE S MINNEAPOLISWhat: Get Ready for Autumn in the Garden! The irrepressible Russ Henry will walk you through fall plantings, mums, cool weather annuals, fall maintenance, winter prep, brilliant fall color, and ideas for what to do with all your garden harvest.....End your garden season with a splash of color, and prepare your gardens for another year of organic abundance!Free Class 2:When: Saturday September 12th @ 1:00pmWhere: Seward Co-op 2823 East Franklin Ave SWhat: Take a tour of the Seward Co-op’s new landscape with Giving Tree Gardens owner Russ Henry. Learn how to grow beautiful, bountiful gardens at home. We’ll talk about food production,...

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Garden Newsletter #29

Garden projects can tie communities together and add value and beauty to neighborhoods, Giving Tree Gardens latest issue of The Seed highlights how one garden in the Seward neighborhood of Minneapolis is doing just that. Have a look at this latest multimedia volume of our newsletter to see beautiful images of these new growing gardens while you read about the community involved garden project and listen to a 7 minute audio documentary by the blogger Katey Sleeveless!CLICK HERE FOR THE COMPLETE VERSION OF THE SEED ...

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Giving Tree Gardens, Seward Co-op rain garden project featured in The Underbelly Of The Sun Blog!!

Russ Henry (aka Rooster) owner of Giving Tree Gardens toured the gardens at the Seward Co-op with Ms. Katey Sleeveless, musician and blogger at The Underbelly Of The Sun. The two talked all about Rooster's gardening inspiration, all his great plants, attracting birds, butterflies, and bees, and how community gardens can deter crime and supply a neighborhood with comradery as well as fresh organic produce. Click here to have a look!CLICK HERE TO READ THE UNDERBELLY OF THE SUN BLOG!...

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The Seed 28: Salad Bowl Garden

Early this spring while the snow was still melting, I noticed how badly the water pooled in a low spot in my lawn. A large puddle formed that thawed to a thick slushy consistency during the day and froze into a chunky icy mess each night. One night while walking to the garage, I slipped and had a close call with the ground, and it’s right about then that my determination grew some roots in my imagination. I decided that as soon as the thaw was over and the ground was workable, I’d set out to reshape the land in my backyard to accommodate and work with the available melt and rainwater.Folks all around are digging rain gardens these days. Not only can we use rain-gardens to filter the water run-off from our properties, but when we use native...

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The Seed 27: Container Gardening

Container Gardening "Are you doing any gardening this season?" This is often the first question out of my mouth when meeting someone new in the springtime. Far to often, I get a response that goes something like “I would but I live in an apartment”.   As an avid gardener who has himself lived in a few different apartment buildings, I’d like to once and for all dispel the myth that apartment dwelling folks can’t garden.  Container gardens have always been an excellent way to bring the spirit reviving power of plants to folks who live surrounded by concrete. This month’s volume of The Seed is dedicated to bringing the garden to the gardener, as we showcase, the Giving Tree Gardens approach to container gardening. Plant Profile:...

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