It's easy being green! ...Isn't it?

Hello darling urban farm food lovers!

You know, there are a lot of reasons to be green. In a good way. It's more sustainable for the environment, healthier for the animals, better for our bodies - it just feels good.

...And who doesn't wanna feel good? We're all sensual hedonists when it gets down to it, aren't we?

And while recycling, eating local and hanging your laundry to dry on the line are much simpler than they were 10 years ago, in a oil-dependent culture it can sometimes get a little confusing.

That's one of the reasons I dig gardening in the city. Or outside the city. But generally I'm in the city. So let's go with that.

Urban farming has brought a lot to my life. There have been times when I've only had a small pot of basil on a windowsill, and times when my entire yard was a seething, oozing jungle of plump, juicy edible plant life - either way, I've found myself embedded in a culture and community of happy food enthusiasts. The sense of community I felt not only helped to localize my social circles, but it also fed me. Nourished me. Filled me right up. Figuratively and literally. When I'm growing vegetables, I eat well. Real well. 

Sourcing my seeds from a local seed sanctuary, growing the food right in my front yard, and walking them from garden to kitchen seriously cuts down on my oil foot-print. In this case, more like a toe-print. I know exactly who grew it. How it was grown. Whether there were any artificial fertilizers or chemicals involved in the process. If the person who harvested it was treated fairly. There were no transport refrigeration costs or soaking the vegetables in gas to ripen them. I learned what was in season in my region and what needs to be planted and when. Speaking of which, it's 5 weeks until last frost - are your hardies in the ground?

Growing my own food was deeply organic, in every sense of the word. 

It's pretty straightforward - seed, soil, sun, water, love and then eat. 

But not everyone gets to eat their own home-grown corn on the cob. Which means they need to procure them from someone. And until we re-master the barter system of actual fair trade economics, The 2013 Green Living Show will do just fine.

Watch for the BUFCO booth from April 12 - 14 at this year's event, located in the Direct Energy Centre. Join us at this eco-friendly exhibition to taste, tour, shop and discover! We'll be there talking about all things organic urban farming - will you??

What does living green look like to you?