gardening

Earlier this year, Growing Hope announced the "Sprout Grants" program, which awards funds to organizations that promote self-reliance, self-determination, and food sovereignty through neighborhood gardening. This past September, seven Ypsilanti-area organizations received the inaugural grants, and among them was the Cross Street Village senior living facility. Cross Street community organizer Gwendolyn Copeland talks to Rylee Barnsdale about how they received the grant and their plans for the money.

Many area residents don't know that the tangle of shrubs, saplings, and wildflowers on the south side of Prospect Park in Ypsilanti once was the location of a showcase, crescent-shaped pond called Luna Lake. Decades later, it was home to a native plant garden. The garden suffered neglect, especially during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, but area residents and neighborhood association leaders are hoping a public workday in October will provide needed rehabilitation. Rylee Barnsdale discussed the event and its goals with organizer, Rachel Blistein.

More businesses in Ypsilanti are working to become more sustainable in their practices. A Prospect Park business called "We Adore Flowers" is among them. It focuses on organically grown, local blooms and have gone to great lengths to institute sustainable practices in creating their fragrant offerings. Rylee Barnsdale talked all about the "We Adore Flowers" establishment with its founder/owner, Ginny Blades.

Gardening season is getting underway, and there will be plenty of work to do. Have you ever gone to tend to the garden or lawn and realized you don’t have the right tool? Frustrating, isn’t it? Well, Growing Hope in Ypsilanti is creating a tool-lending library, so you don’t have to run out and buy them. Growing Hope’s Christopher Hallett joined Rylee Barnsdale with a look at the new program aimed at boosting gardening and agriculture in Ypsilanti.

There is a long and storied history of African American farmers in Washtenaw County. Its impacts are often overlooked and underappreciated. Bringing the stories to light is the mission of the Ypsi Farmers and Gardeners Oral History Project. The project is headed by University of Michigan-Dearborn Assistant Professor of Human Services Dr. Finn Bell. He not only joined WEMU's David Fair to discuss the project but brought Patricia Wells with him. She is a master gardener with a rich history of her own. This is the first in a series of Black History Month editions of "Washtenaw United" for 2024.

The Growing Hope Urban Farm in Ypsilanti turns 20 next month. And as part of its 20th year, it's making some changes. It's growing hands-on workshops, like mushroom foraging and beekeeping and expanding its reach, so people in the community can invest in portions of the produce fields. And it's fine-tuning its farmer's market with additional focus on the online market. Growing Hope's new executive director, Julius Buzzard, talks all about Growing Hope's 20th year celebration activities with WEMU's Cathy Shafran and Concentrate Media's Rylee Barnsdale.

Food prices are kicking a lot of people right where it hurts…the wallet. Supply issues during the pandemic and inflation are sending prices soaring. As a result, more people are beginning, or returning to, home gardens. Stacy Mates is seed company manager for the Green Things Farm Collective in Ann Arbor. She shares her expertise in a conversation with WEMU's David Fair.

Project Grow in Washtenaw County is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2022, and we’ll look back on five decades of community gardening and advocacy for sustainable gardens in Ann Arbor and beyond. WEMU's David Fair is joined by Project Grow managing director Kirk Jones to discuss the lessons learned in the first 50 years and what the immediate and longer-term future holds.

Gardening season is in full swing, and folks are ready to buy the essentials, such as natural fertilizers. Yet, buyers should beware. A national study…

This week, "On The Ground Ypsi" is about several local gardening operations that encourage Ypsilanti residents to build resiliency in themselves and their…