June in Chicago is the kickoff of the primary gardening season in Chicago. In this episode, we address some of the concerns of participants in the Chicago Grows Food constellation about fabric grow bag and container vegetable gardening.
Special thanks to Elizabeth Berkeley, executive director of Chicago Grows Food, Marjorie Kersten graduate student at UIC, and Taylor Swenski graduate student at DePaul University for assisting with the development of this episode.
This episode has content that responded to some of the questions participants in the Chicago Grows Food survey and focus groups had regarding in particular fabric grow bag gardening.
Participants wanted to know about reusing or revitalizing potting soil so here are a couple of videos that offer some ideas about how to do that, Epic Gardening and The Ripe Tomato Farm. Epic Gardening also briefly discusses the benefits of grow bag container gardening.
Additional topics included, Growing in the Garden on companion planting, as well as Next Level Gardening discussing the best flowers for companion planting.
Participants expressed interest in seasonality, so we chose from our USDA Zone 6 hardiness zone Growfully with Jenny planting suggestions for June.
Our research for the episode uncovered content from a local gardener in Chicago, B Betta Garden growing in 30+ containers, as well as June container vegetable gardening.
The second part of the episode is devoted to Food as Medicine content. From Oldways we have a webinar titled Putting Plant-Based Diets on the Menu in Health Care.
Medical News Today, offered a conversation asking Is Diabetes Reversible? Of course, we do not offer medical advice or diagnosis so please discuss this with your health care provider.
The Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder printed an article about food insecurity and the mental health outcomes of Black women. Given the food apartheid situation in predominately Black communities that limits the availability to access healthier food options, this should be a topic of concern. Is high cholesterol a concern for you? Then perhaps vegetarian or vegan diets may be helpful in lowering your levels.
Finally, check out this article about Dr. William Li the author of Eat to Beat Disease and Eat to Beat Your Diet, that is something else you may want to discuss with your healthcare provider.
The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed are the speaker’s own and do not represent the views, thoughts, and opinions of the University of Illinois at Chicago, the OCEAN-HP, or the CPHP. The material and information presented here are for general information purposes only. While the podcast is designed to promote the development of healthy communities through food literacy, we offer no health advice and encourage our listeners to seek guidance from their healthcare providers.