Growing Power
Community gardens are a growing trend in the inner cities of America. Growing Power, starting in Milwaukee, WI, is a fully sustainable garden that provides healthy, organically grown produce. It started when Will Allen combined his farming roots and education background in 1993. He went back to farming after being a pro basketball player and a career in marketing. Looking for a place to sell his produce, he found a vacant garden center on Milwaukee's north side. It turned out that it was still zoned for agriculture. He started to grow food on the three acre site in an area where little fresh food could be found.
Soon kids from this low income area started asking advice about growing their own vegetables. The Youth Corps was born. Since 1995, Growing Power has been a non-profit center for urban agriculture training and a source of food security. Today there are over 70 branch projects from Growing Power in Milwaukee, America and internationally.
The actual system is a closed sustainable system beginning with composting that uses "the right kind of worms". The produce is grown in a fresh water hydroponic system that pumps water from fresh water fish tanks through the garden and back to the fish tanks. The produce is then harvested and sold to the local community.
The water from the fish tanks drains via gravity into a filter bed of gravel and beneficial bacteria that turn the fish waste ammonia into nitrogen aka plant fertilizer. This is pumped into the growing beds which drain back into the fish tanks. The only cost is for a simple pump and heater. The fish, Tilapia and Yellow Perch are usually sold to local markets or restaurants. The produce includes micro-greens, lettuces, kale, eggplant, tomatoes, broccoli, green beans and much more.
ttp://www.growingpower.org/about/leadership/will-allen/
FD
Soon kids from this low income area started asking advice about growing their own vegetables. The Youth Corps was born. Since 1995, Growing Power has been a non-profit center for urban agriculture training and a source of food security. Today there are over 70 branch projects from Growing Power in Milwaukee, America and internationally.
The actual system is a closed sustainable system beginning with composting that uses "the right kind of worms". The produce is grown in a fresh water hydroponic system that pumps water from fresh water fish tanks through the garden and back to the fish tanks. The produce is then harvested and sold to the local community.
The water from the fish tanks drains via gravity into a filter bed of gravel and beneficial bacteria that turn the fish waste ammonia into nitrogen aka plant fertilizer. This is pumped into the growing beds which drain back into the fish tanks. The only cost is for a simple pump and heater. The fish, Tilapia and Yellow Perch are usually sold to local markets or restaurants. The produce includes micro-greens, lettuces, kale, eggplant, tomatoes, broccoli, green beans and much more.
ttp://www.growingpower.org/about/leadership/will-allen/
FD
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