Valerie Imbruce, Ph.D., Professor and Director of Environmental Studies at Bennington College in Vermont who was a doctoral student at the Botanical Garden, researches the production and distribution of ethnic fruits and vegetables for New York City markets. She will be holding an informal conversation about ethnic fruits and vegetables in Chinatown and urban food systems during Café Scientifique on September 12 as part of The Edible Garden.

Cities, home to half of the world’s growing population, are poised to redefine how we produce and supply our food. Cities are where people are demanding more farmers markets and community supported agriculture groups and where there is a local agriculture craze. Food is a social movement with a particularly urban flavor.

Living in southern Vermont for the past year after being in New York for nearly a decade, I learned that in New York City it is easier to purchase a diet of regionally produced foods than in the food-producing regions themselves because of the structure of our food supply chains.

Since World War II the number of farms in the United States had been declining, but between 2002 and 2007, the last year for which data were available, there was a 4 percent increase. According to the U.S. Census of Agriculture, these new farms are half the size of the average U.S. farm, have younger operators, and have sales of which one product accounts for no more than 50% of the farm income. These are the types of farms, small and diversified run by a new generation of farmers, which farmers markets, community supported agriculture, and chef-farm partnerships have been the primary supporters of.

But direct marketing arrangements are not enough to support a sustained increase in farm numbers: The volume of food sold directly from farm to consumer is a drop in the bucket compared with the volume of food that is sold through wholesale distribution. Why should New York, the second largest apple producing state in the nation, export its apples and then turn around and import apples from Chile and New Zealand for New Yorkers to eat? Why should the United States export more than 4,000 tons of yogurt and then import just over the same volume? It’s because fundamental aspects of the “mainstream” food system make it difficult for regional farmers to access their regional urban markets. We need to get commodity agriculture and supermarkets on board to change this, and we need city government to create policies to ensure access to urban markets by regional farmers. read more »

Sonia Uyterhoeven is Gardener for Public Education. Join her each weekend for home gardening demonstrations on a variety of topics in the Home Gardening Center.

While many types of gardens are put to bed in the fall, with a little planning the vegetable garden can still grow strong. In the Louise Loeb Vegetable Garden in the Home Gardening Center I practice succession planting and generally have three major planting times during the growing season: late March or early April for early spring crops such as peas; after the last frost date of May 15 (for NYC) for warm season crops; and August to September for cool season crops.

One of the easiest vegetable crops to grow in the fall is lettuce. In the spring my harvest is plentiful, and I grow enough lettuce to feed the local family of rabbits and myself. Most lettuces start to suffer in the heat of summer and many bolt or perform poorly unless they are grown in part shade. The end of August gives you another opportunity to grow your own greens.

Asian greens such as mizuna (Brassica rapa var. nipposinica), tat soi (Brassica rapa var. rosularis), and mustard greens (Brassica juncea) are a good option for a late harvest. They come up quickly and can be harvested before they reach maturity.

Loose-leaf lettuces (Lactuca sativa) and mesclun mixes also fare well at this time of year. Not only do they offer a fast and easy late harvest, they also provide some beautiful color in the late-season garden. ‘Forellenschluss’ is a loose-leafed heirloom romaine lettuce that has wonderful red speckles on a green background. ‘Red Ridinghood’ is a Boston-type lettuce that withstands light frosts. Its green leaves are dipped with red. read more »