It’s that time of year again - time to prune the fruit trees! Although the ideal moment to prune your deciduous trees will vary depending on your climate, and your preferred pruning methods will be different from those of your neighbors, as with most gardening tasks, there are some basic principles that are good for all of us to keep in mind when we prune. I like to prune fruit trees just as their buds begin to swell. This time of year, I walk through the orchard looking for

Over the last couple of decades, a nostalgic nerve has been triggered by the rising popularity of “heirloom” fruits and vegetables and “heritage” meats in the gourmet food world. If you stroll through a local farmer’s market or peruse a fancy restaurant menu in any of the nation’s urban centers these days, you will likely find these foodie buzzwords posted prominently to woo discerning customers. My fear is that the idea of an “heirloom” tomato or “heritage” pig conjures a fi

At Grow Your Lunch, we care about food systems change. We envision food systems in which people buy from local food producers, and on-site edible gardens supply supplemental produce to cafes, cafeterias, restaurants and home kitchens. In order for this to work, however, those of us charged with making sure these gardens are successful have to learn an awful lot, specifically regarding food safety and Good Agricultural Practices (“GAPs”). In order to provide food that is safe,

Edible Gardening Handbook Release! We are thrilled to announce the release of Edible Gardening: 10 Essential Practices for Growing Your Own Food, by Grow Your Lunch founder, Benjamin "Farmer Ben" Eichorn! If you'd like a copy you can purchase the book here or download the free PDF here. You can also see each essential gardening practice outlined in a short video on the Grow Your Lunch Vimeo channel. Thanks again to all of you who have made this project possible during our Spr

It is promising to see the increasingly widespread public and private support of school gardens in the US. Acceptance of school gardens as relevant teaching tools for health and nutrition is on the rise – from The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to the USDA Food and Nutrition Services program and an ever-growing network of corporate and private sponsors, for-profit and nonprofit organizations. However, is teaching about health and nutrition all that school gardens