No matter how small your urban outdoor space is, it can offer a lot of unused space above your head. Skypots let you use that space to its full potential by offering a variety of simple white spheres with white bases and transparent tops that can be attached to the ceiling of a balcony and adjusted to an appropriate height. Just hang them and plant them to start your own farm in the sky.

+ Skypot

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Post tags: eco design, green design, sky farm, sky pots, skypot, skypots, sustainable design, Urban Farming, urban gardening

Hoping to get your own urban farm started this year but unsure where to begin? Urban Patches is a website that can help! With interviews from current, economically successful urban farmers, best practices, and guides, Urban Patches hopes to make urban farming a new way of life for city dwellers. With unemployment high and many people looking for fresh, local food, Urban Patches offers a great way to connect with and learn from successful city farmers while getting your own backyard garden going.

+ Urban Patches

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Post tags: city farmer website, eco design, Gardening, green design, growing vegetables in the city, sustainable design, Urban Farming, urban gardening, urban green space, urban patches, website for city farmers

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Post tags: Art, east london, eco design, England, environmental art, green design, guerrilla gardening, Steve Wheen, sustainable design, The Pothole Gardener, Urban design, urban gardening

Students at Green Mountain College (GMC) recently took on a mission to develop a shed for urban farmers that would suit the needs of the gardeners of the future. The OVaL Shed — otherwise known as the Occupy Vacant Lots — is their final design, and it features a butterfly roof, rainwater collection, recycled materials, and a customizable plan. The project was designed by 20 students as part of GMC’s Renewable Energy and Ecodesign (REED) certificate program, and it now sits at its final resting place on the GMC campus where it will nurture plants for the Champlain Valley Native Plant Restoration Nursery operated by the Nature Conservancy.

Read the rest of Occupy Vacant Lots Project Constructs a Pre-Fab Shed for Urban Gardeners

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Post tags: agriculture, city farm, city garden, farming, Gardening, green mountain college, occupy, occupy vacant lots, oval shed, REED program, urban farm, Urban Farming, urban farming shed, urban farming tools, urban garden, urban gardening, urban gardening shed, urban shed, vacant lot farms, vacant lots

A group of consultants in Paris has hatched a plan to turn the Eiffel Tower into a giant tree by covering it with 600,000 plants. Their dream is to literally plant the 324 meter tall aesthetic symbol of Paris with 12 tons of rubber tubing, and gradually add bags planted with greenery all over it to turn it into a growing tree. The group says the project would cost 72 million Euros (that’s around 97 million US dollars) and would remove 87.8 tons of carbon dioxide from the air in the city of lights.

Read the rest of Ginger Group Unveils Plan to Transform the Eiffel Tower Into a Gigantic Tree

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Post tags: eco france, eco paris, Eiffel Tower, eiffel tower garden, eiffel tower makeover, eiffel tower plants, eiffel tower tree, eiffel tower visit, french sustainability, ginger group, green initiatives, green paris, Paris, parisian sustainability, sustainability in france, sustainability in paris, urban gardening, urban gardens, urban green

Pet-Tree is a vertical eco gardening system made from recycled PET containers. The design consists of structural plastic pieces and PET pots that are combined to form a tree-like shape. The system also has a built in water circulation system, and it harvests rainwater while feeding plants through drip irrigation. The project allows space-starved urban gardeners to grow a wide range of plants, and it’s a great option for organic growers. Designed by Dr.Hakan Gürsu from Designnobis, the Pet-Tree has been honored with a Green Dot Award and an International Design Award.

+ Designobis

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Post tags: container garden, Gardening, green design, green dot, Green Dot Award, green gardening, pet plant pots, pet-tree, rainwater recycling, Recycled Materials, recycled PET, sustainable design, urban gardening

A new report from researchers at the University of Minnesota says that the world’s food demand will double by 2050, however thankfully there is a gaping hole in their research – the team neglected to consider advancements in urban farming, which could provide agricultural solutions for Earth’s growing human population (as it is already doing in places like Havana, Cuba). The University of Minnesota researchers estimate that an area the size of the United States would need to be cleared by developing nations in order to make enough to feed their growing communities, and that clearing that area will significantly increase carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere leading to increased climate change. Or, we could build farms on empty urban lots, on city rooftops and in community spaces and feed ourselves on the open land we already have by using new technologies being developed in empty storefronts in London and high-tech laboratories nestled into Subway sandwich shops in Japan.

Read the rest of Food Demand to Double by 2050, Urban Agriculture to Become Increasingly Important

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Post tags: agricultural advancements, agricultural demand, agricultural technology, earth population, food demand, food growth, food needs, food technology, human population, urban agriculture, urban farm, urban food solution, urban food source, urban gardening

Translating Yona Friedman’s ideas of participation, Lucie Dadakova designed these ‘Multilevel Vertical Urban Allotments’ as her final year project for an Interior Design degree course. Dadakova focused on garden allotments due to both their individual and communal nature. She notes, “Each plot bears the signature of its owner, and the shared enterprise of improvising a small-scale landscape is a source of endless originality.” Allotments offer a great alternative for those living in flats without gardens, particularly within urban areas. Dadakova’s project aims to bring an innovative solution by making use of derelict and underused buildings in cities.

+ Lucie Dadakova

The article above was submitted to us by an Inhabitat reader. Want to see your story on Inhabitat? Send us a tip by following this link. Remember to follow our instructions carefully to boost your chances of being chosen for publishing!

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Post tags: garden allotments, interior design, landscape architecture london, landscape design, lucie Dadakova, Multilevel Vertical Urban Allotments, urban gardening, Yona Friedman

Read the rest of City Farm: South Providence’s Urban Agriculture Transformation

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Post tags: "energy efficiency", a better world by design, A Better World by Design conference, agriculture, city farm, community, Community Land Trust, compost, composting, conference, crop production, crops, CSA, eco farm, education, educational, energy efficient, farmer, farmer's market, farmers, Farmers Markets, farming, food, food system, food systems, foreclosure, garden, green conference, green design, green space, greenhouse, land trust, plants, plots, Produce, self sufficiency, social design, solar panel, solar panels, Southside Community Land Trust, student conference, Sustainability, urban, urban agriculture, urban farm, Urban Farming, urban gardening, urban landscape

Urban farming projects are popping everywhere! A derelict shop in Dalston, London, is yet another site set on urban rejuvenation with its innovative FARM: project. The project, which has transformed an entire four story space, is now home to an urban food ‘hub’ complete with a cafe, arts venue, mini ‘aquaponic’ fish farm, indoor allotments and rooftop chicken coops. Launched in 2010, FARM: is bringing the rural to the urban, with the intention of growing as much food as possible in every corner of the building.

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Post tags: city farming, converted urban farm, derelict converted farm, farm shop dalston, Farm shop london, urban farming london, urban gardening

Matchcarden is a beautifully illustrated mini paper house containing its own little garden. It comes complete with everything a gardener needs, so simply sow the seeds, add a little water and see your greenery sprout! You can even cut out and customize your building with rooftops, chimneys and street lamps.

+ Matchcarden

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Post tags: another studio, city street garden, eco design, Gardening, green design, green products, match carden, matchcarden, paper garden, sustainable design, urban gardening

Rain barrels are a great way to reduce water use — but they’re not really convenient for those of us in smaller rental properties that have a shared rooftop or balcony which we call “outside.” Young designer Bas van der Veer kept this lack of space in mind when he created the Raindrop Mini – a streamlined rainwater collection system that plugs right into your storm drain, providing an easy way to utilize rain water in urban areas.

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Post tags: Bas Van der veer, green design, rain barrel, rain water, Raindrop Mini, urban gardening, water conservation, watering can

The Liz Christy Community Garden (Image © Jessica Reeder via Flickr)

With the ever-increasing interest in local food and urban agriculture, it’s easy to understand the growing popularity of community gardens. A new survey from GrowNYC shows that New York City’s community gardens are helping to create more sustainable neighborhoods. Of the gardens surveyed, a whopping 80 percent produce food for their community, 65 percent compost, and 43 partner with at least one school!

Read the rest of Survey Shows Majority of NYC Community Gardens Grow Food, Compost

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Post tags: community garden survey, community gardens nyc, composting, composting gardens, food producing community gardens, green new york city, grownyc, grownyc community garden survey, local food, local food nyc, new york city community gardens, rainwater harvesting, sustainable gardening, sustainable living, urban agriculture nyc, urban gardening

As east coast gardeners wrap up for the season, The Windowfarms Project has just unveiled two new home-sized hydroponic garden kits just in time for the holidays. The system allows anyone with a window and moderate sunlight to grow almost any edible plant under the sun, despite below-zero temperatures outside. Originally a web-based social collaboration experiment, The Windowfarms Project has brought together over 15,000 citizen scientists interested in designing for a better good.

Read the rest of Windowfarms: Grow an Edible Hanging Indoor Garden this Winter!

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Post tags: diy hanging garden, green design, indoor garden, Recycled Materials, sustainable design, the windowfarms project, urban gardening, windowfarms

Detroit was one of the places hit hardest by the economic crisis, and as such it’s dotted with an abundance of empty lots sitting completely unused. The fallow spaces have become a constant reminder to a city — whose population has been reduced by half in the past six decades — of the lack of jobs and productivity. However, there are a number of enterprising individuals who have taken it upon themselves to do something about this problem by turning the deserted lots into farms for food. A recent study by a team of researchers at Michigan State University found that by using the parcels of land owned by the city as farmland, Detroit residents have the potential to harvest a total of 75% of needed vegetables and 40% of needed fruit within their city limits.

Read the rest of Turning Downtrodden Detroit Into a Farm Town Could Revitalize It

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Post tags: city farm, create a city farm, detroit, detroit community garden, detroit empty lots, how to plant in a city, rethink detroit, urban garden detroit, urban gardening, what to do with empy lots

Read the rest of Enchanting Vertical Garden is Really a Flora Filled Bar in Disguise

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Post tags: "green wall", Aoyama, bar, cafe, Chelsea Flower show, 石原和幸, Design, eco design, Florist, garden, Gardening World Cup, green design, hair salon, ikebana, Ishihara Kazuyuki, Kaza Hana, urban gardening, vertical garden, Yoshida Miho

Read the rest of Clip-On Plant Room Adds Green Space to Apartment Buildings

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Post tags: "sustainable architecture", apartment addition, eco design, garden, Gardening, green architecture, green design, green roof, plant room, Prefab, prefab addition, prefabricated construction, solar hot water, Sustainable Building, the plant room, urban gardening

Click here to view the embedded video.

Urban farming is on the rise across the globe; people all over are bringing their food source closer to their doorstep by farming in abandoned lots and on empty rooftops. Ian Marvy, the Executive Director of Added Value, sees urban farming as more than a local food source. He sees the cultivation of plants on urban land as a way to foster sustainable development for cities across the globe. Added Value has two farms in New York City and through their youth programs they are bringing up a new generation of conscious, thoughtful, sustainably oriented citizens.

Read the rest of VIDEO: Added Value Empowers New York’s Youth With Urban Farming

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Post tags: added value, American Express Members Project, at risk youth, Brooklyn, new york city, New York., red hook community farm, urban farm in brooklyn, urban farm in new york city, Urban Farming, urban gardening

The typical seed bomb explodes in slow motion — the ball of compost, mud, and seeds dissolves as the plants sprout and colonize the bomb site. These flower grenades from suckUK explode very literally. The outer shell of unfired clay shatters upon impact, leaving a fodder of soil and flower seeds! Now guerilla gardening comes with the delicious crunch of destruction.

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Post tags: flower grenades, green design, guerilla gardening, seed bombs, Showhome, snowhome, suck uk, sustainable design, thao minh nguyen, Tony Minh Nguyen, UK, Urban design, urban gardening

Wondering how to express your budding love for a fellow dirt aficionado? Try a soil and nutrient packed Luvmud by architecture and strategic consulting firm, super-interesting! A heart-shaped seed bomb packed with soil, worm castings, cow manure, clay, coconut coir and herb or vegetable seeds, they’re the perfect way to say, “I love you and the earth.” In celebration of Valentine’s Day, super-interesting! will be giving away their Luvmuds at Spring Art + Design, located at 156a Front Street in DUMBO, Brooklyn starting Friday at noon. Unlike your undying love for your sweetie, there is a limited amount of free Luvmuds, so be sure to pick one up early!

+ Luvmud

+ super-interesting!

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Post tags: eco friendly valentine's day, green valentine gifts, green valentines day, seed bomb, urban gardening, urban greening, valentine's day