Urban gardens in Syracuse have received much attention in the past year, mostly of the good variety (lots of volunteers, lots of effort, and particularly the development of new community gardens all over the city - for the latest directory visit
www.syracusegrows.org). While the community gardening movement is still growing, the next area for development on the horizon is hopefully the backyard market garden. We need to grow our own food, but also help provide food for others, and right livelihood in the process.
The attention of the challenging variety that has been cast towards urban gardening in the recent past, both here in Syracuse and nationwide, is not a secret. Fortunately, the obstacles being faced are generally not those of lack of support, but of practical matters that we have the tools to overcome. One of the primary of these challenges is that of lead contamination in soil; and a new poster (illustrated by Michael Scott and James Owen of the Plain Dealer) with simplified guidelines gives everyone the immediate tools they need to overcome this issue in an affordable and grassroots manner.
