I’ve profiled Borough Market before, but my visit on this occasion had a strict purpose: a harvest festival! Well, more specifically, an apple festival with some traditional harvest festivities mixed in. There is an Apple Day there every year, but since it is celebrating 1000 years this year, Borough Market is rather pulling out the stops for all of its festivities. This … [Read more...]
The London Dispatches: A Gentleman Gardener’s Paradise
A couple of months ago I wrote about my visit to the Garden Museum and the phenomenon of British gentleman farmers and gardeners who transformed it from a utilitarian craft to an art form. Well it turns out that one of the best examples of this…was a Yank! I might be a city mouse but I headed to the country this month and got a chance to view one of the gardening gems of … [Read more...]
The London Dispatches: Beekeeping in the Park
My family owns 40 acres of land in Virginia, which my father gets to develop as his own sustainable wilderness. Though not a homesteader, he does have dreams of an ecologically friendly house there one day. In the meantime, he gardens, has planted an orchard, dug a pond…and has started keeping bees! I’ve only visited my family a handful of times since they moved to Virginia and … [Read more...]
The London Dispatches: Garden Museum
Summer time is garden time, and if there’s anything the British are famous for, it’s their gardens. For this latest installment, I decided to delve a bit further into this beloved pastime to try and see if anything can be done about my own black thumb (I have managed, in my time, to kill an astonishing number of plants. A source of great amusement to my family). Gatehouse of … [Read more...]
The London Dispatches: Stepney City Farm
Stepney has been around as a part of London for more than 1000 years. Throughout most of its existence it was in a fairly marshy area and mostly as a small rural hamlet surrounding St. Dunstan’s church, which has been on site since the 900s. (A quick historical fun fact in honor of the recent Independence Day holiday, the same foundry that cast the bells of the church, also … [Read more...]
The London Dispatches: A Community Garden in Dalston
Welcome back to East London! The last time I reported from this area, I was getting to know aquaponics in the form of a remarkable “farm in a shop.” This time I got to experience a garden space that’s living up to its design as a natural oasis in one of London’s busiest areas. The Dalston Curve Garden might be considered a return to roots. Until the 18th and early 19th … [Read more...]
The London Dispatches: Spitalfields City Farm
I’m about to break a rule and take sides: of all the urban farms I’ve visited in London so far, Spitalfields City Farm may be my favorite. The Spitalfields area of London has a long and varied history. Like so many areas it was once a former slum (that seems to be a pattern for a lot of these urban agriculture properties), but it might be more notorious than usual as all of … [Read more...]
The London Dispatches: Unexpected Aquaponics
By Cadence Woodland You may have heard or seen the term “aquaponics” more frequently lately on homesteading, urban agriculture, or small farming sites and forums. Though water based agricultural and multi-level systems have existed throughout human history, I’ve noticed an uptick in interest in it recently and have been curious to see it in action. As it happens, I … [Read more...]
The London Dispatches: Vauxhall City Farm
By Cadence Woodland Welcome to another urban farm and history lesson from the wilds south of the Thames! Vauxhall was once home to a hugely popular “pleasure garden,” a highly manicured area open for public entertainments like parties, art exhibitions, music, and once a place to see and be seen. Samuel Pepys wrote of his visits there in the 1660s, it was a major society hub … [Read more...]
The London Dispatches: Meeting Your Meat
By Cadence Woodland I’m an unrepentant omnivore. I try to have a mostly plant based diet, but I do eat meat. And yes, I enjoy a good steak or roast on occasion. But most of all I enjoy my family’s holiday tradition of a beef roast on Christmas Eve, so when it came time to shop for it I knew where to head. I’ve written about the wonders of Borough Market before, so suffice it … [Read more...]