Organic Methods of Spraying Fruit Trees and Perennial Plants

This month Produce Denver went around to our clients and sprayed Horticultural oils on fruit trees and perennial plants. We use Neem oil with a emulsifier such as Doctor Bronners soap and a product called Bonide All Seasons. This works to control the dormant eggs of aphids,spider mites,rust mites, and scale insects. Aphids winter as eggs on Herbaceous perennial plants that die down over Winter. Make sure to spray kale and chard that will come back in the Spring. Cabbage aphids Winter on existing plants such as kale. You should also remove old debris and trim old asparagus plants.

Happy Gardening!

Spring is around the corner, and Produce Denver is in high gear! I like many other people are starting to get the gardening itch. While it is not good to uncover the perennial garden, I have been doing a couple of Spring cleanup duties. First, Produce Denver is changing our website to update information. We're working on a project called the Urban Farmers Collaborative.

The Denver Urban Farmers Collaborative (UFC) envisions the establishment and success

of urban farming micro-enterprises, utilizing vacant land within the city and county of Denver to

produce food. The UFC is a partnership of organizations committed to urban agricultural

production as a method of ensuring that city residents have access to fresh organic food. The

UFC provides employment for farmers and a site for teaching individuals, particularly young

people, about farming and living sustainably. The Urban Farmers Collaborative engages with

community members and organizations in converting unused land to farms because we

recognize that local assets (people, land, knowledge, and community) are the primary building

blocks of sustainable community development.

Through urban agriculture, the Urban Farmers Collaborative:

• Stimulates the local economy by creating jobs to produce and distribute food locally

• Increases access to healthy, affordable food in urban communities

• Engages communities in living and eating more sustainably

• Supports healthier individuals and communities

• Reconnects urban dwellers with the land, facilitating a firmer understanding of the natural world and food production

• Decreases the ecological footprint of our current food system

Partners

Granata Farms, a small for-profit venture farming in backyards and vacant lots, is

advancing a model of urban agriculture that demonstrates the viability of small organic

urban farming operations in an urban setting, connecting eaters directly to the people

who grow their food through a community supported agriculture (CSA) program.

GreenLeaf (www.GreenLeafDenver.blogspot.com), a Denver-based non-profit creating

social change through urban agriculture. GreenLeaf is engaging urban youth in

transforming vacant city land into farms, paying them a fair wage to grow vegetables for

their communities and engaging youth in building just food systems in Denver.

Produce Denver (www.producedenver.com), a socially conscious for-profit landscaping

company whose goal is to achieve economic sustainability farming front yards and

creating edible landscaping, while producing food for the Denver community.

Denver Urban Gardens (www.dug.org), supports residents to “grow community - one

urban garden at a time". As a non-profit organization, DUG offers neighborhoods

essential resources for community gardens and on-going technical expertise:

securing sustainable land for gardens; designing and building gardens; supporting

garden organization, leadership, outreach and maintenance; and utilizing gardens as

extraordinary places for learning and healthy living. DUG's network includes over 90

community gardens and land partnerships across diverse neighborhoods in metro

Denver. Denver Urban Gardens (DUG) is a non-farmer partner of the UFC that is a part

of our collaborative in order to provide technical assistance to the UFC partners and

educational resources to the surrounding communities.

The Denver Housing Authority is a quasi-municipal corporation that provides affordable housing to more than 25,700 very low, low, and middle income individuals. DHA’s mission is to serve the residents of Denver by developing, owning, and operating safe, decent and affordable housing in a manner that promotes thriving communities.

DHA’s investment in the Urban Farmers Collaborative (UFC) is part of a larger community revitalization project in the heart of Denver’s historic Curtis Park neighborhood. DHA has dedicated one city block (2.4 acres) to create a pilot demonstration “Sustainability Park” that will feature programs, technology and design elements that advance DHA’s vision for healthy communities and sustainable development. Plans include a security fence with “green screen” garden walls, recycled rubbers sidewalks, and high-efficiency LED street lights. A kiosk for Denver’s award-winning bike share program ensures accessibility to this one-of-a-kind project. The UFC will use 21,000 square feet to introduce organic farming techniques, distribute fresh local produce, educate residents on urban farming practices and create green jobs for neighborhood youth and residents. Our belief is that the UFC project will become a national model for addressing food access and food justice issues.

For more information, visit www.denverhousing.org.

The Sustainability Park is located downtown Denver and will be a functioning urban farm! The infrustructure for the farm is underway and should be funtional in the Spring. Produce Denver is focusing its efforts on the site as a edible nursery.

This year is going to be exciting! Our garden maintenance program, where we grow food for families and restaurants, is starting very soon. This week we are amending the beds and aerating the soil.We are very excited to include a new customer, Queen Anne's B&B. We are going to productively landscape the grounds with edible which will supply their kitchen.

Keep checking our post for more information!