landscapes-urban-farming / Green Building & Sustainable Home Renovation Information & Advice

Shaded vegetable garden success
Food production

Growing vegetables in the shade

If you're like me and you love to grow your own food but have limited access to all day sun, do not fret - a bountiful harvest is still well within your reach. Just like the gardeners that grow them, many vegetables will actually appreciate a little respite from the sun during the hottest months of the growing season. ...

Urban farming
Landscaping

Urban Farming turns beautiful gardens into a grocery store!

How to grow vegetables & fruits in a garden Plants survived long before humans were around to water them, so we aren't talking about reinventing the wheel here, but rather a sensible choice of plants and basic water management. Native species of plants in a given region have adapted to their own climate and can usu...

Edible Perennials
Landscaping

A guide to growing edible perennials.

When beginning to think about permanent edible landscape design and forest gardening, taking in the general concepts of Permaculture can help tremendously.  An edible forest can feature a number of natural layers. Fruit and nut bearing trees can create a canopy, dwarf trees shrubs and vines can create a natural under l...

Dog strangling vine invasive species
Landscaping

Avoiding invasive species when landscaping

Invasive plants are defined as plants from other continents, countries or even other regions of Canada. Humans have been introducing foreign plants to new lands since the 17th century, for horticultural, agricultural or medicinal purposes. Due to a lack of natural competitors they can often propagate swiftly and comple...

Urban Farm Unit - Aquaponics, Hydroponics, Pisciculture and Urban Farming
Food production

Growing food in urban cores with the Urban Farm Unit

So, urban agriculture. It's important, right? That’s certainly the conclusion I've come to when pondering the future of food production, our future on this planet, and sustainability in general. As a proponent of urban agriculture it's also clear to me that both space and soil toxicity are challenges that beg to be ove...

Indoor hydroponic vegetable garden
Food production

Growing food indoors

Introducing BioCity's indoor vertical veggie garden. This beautiful installation made with reclaimed wine bottles allows you to grow arugula, chard, strawberries, cherry tomatoes and more all year round in your very own home. Thanks to the craftsmanship and innovation of the folks at Montreal based company BioCity, gro...

The Elegant Farm hydroponic bottle garden
Landscaping

Hydroponic bottle gardener launches kickstarter campaign

More and more people are informing themselves on various forms of urban farming to counteract the heavy ecological footprint of industrial agriculture. However, there are very few options for the increasing number of people wishing to get involved but who don't necessarily have the time, the means, or the expertise for...

7 Principles of a super abundant, solar, year round greenhouse
Greenhouses and Sunrooms / Solariums

7 key principles for an abundant greenhouse

As a native Californian transplanted into a much cooler climate (Western Quebec), I find myself mourning the loss of fresh local seasonal fruits and veggies all year long, which I understand is a first world problem on a few different levels. All that to say, that I often get to dreaming about and researching what's po...

Reduced carbon concrete Patio blocks and CMU
Concrete and masonry

Reducing emissions with CO² cured-concrete

A new cement block manufacturing process developed by an American company named Solidia Technologies® produces 40% fewer emissions during manufacturing than conventional concrete, resulting in a dramatically lower environmental footprint. Solidia’s concrete is formulated with less lime and is cured at lower temperature...

“The perfect lawn” comes with a very heavy environmental cost!
Landscaping

Which are the best bee-friendly & Eco-friendly alternatives to grass lawns in backyards?

Alternatives to grass lawns - ground covers!  North American backyards have one main point in common – Kentucky blue grass. But here we’re talking about ground covers and alternatives to this grass, not a bunch of fiddle and banjo players jamming in your backyard.  The traditional green grass we use to cover our front ...

Greenhouse Construction for Cold Climates
Greenhouses and Sunrooms / Solariums

How to build a greenhouse in a cold climate

Growing Fruits and vegetables all year round in Canada or the colder parts of North America would be wonderful but, sadly, our climate limits us to a few growing months in the summer. And even that would be in the balmier areas of our country; at high altitudes and further north it is difficult to grow any edibles with...