Hydroponics and new, high-tech urban agricultural techniques are now growing fresh food in the middle of Manhattan and other large metropolitan centers globally. People are catching onto the taste and business opportunities of urban agriculture: find it growing in Middle Eastern cities such as Cairo, Egypt too!

Urban farming in midwestern American cities like Chicago has had its limitations due to adverse winter weather conditions at least 9 months a year. New indoor farming techniques use vertical farming, special indoor LED lighting and hydroponic systems that pump soybean and kelp-infused water through a temperature and humidity-controlled system, nearly 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

This unique hydroponic farming system is at Bedford Park, about 15 miles (25 km) southwest of Chicago. The Bedford Park project, being carried out by a company known as Farmed Here is housed in a 90,000 square foot warehouse. The project produces a number of green vegetables and herbs; including basil, baby greens, broccoli, and kale.

Farmed Here is just one of more than 821 agricultural projects found under the Chicago Urban Center Agriculture Mapping Project  that includes anything from small private urban projects to multi-acre urban agricultural farms.

Farmed Here’s CEO Nate Laurel, a venture capital investor in his own right, put $13 million into the project that has a combined investment of more than $50 million USD. He says that this investment is worthwhile, considering the demand for fresh vegetable produce in the Chicago metro area alone.

“The greens market for Chicago alone is $400 million dollars,” he says. “Given the market is so big, it’s so top of mind for people to know where their food came from and how it was grown”, he adds.

Urban faming projects have also gone big-time by a rival company, Brooklyn based Gotham Greens, which opened a 75,000 sq. ft. rooftop farm in Chicago’s Pullman Park quarter in November 2015. In contrast to the LED lighting used by Farmed Here, the Gotham Greens project also uses natural sunlight, that is absorbed through a translucent roof. This idea is more in line with the traditional greenhouse lighting idea.

Dallas, Texas is also getting into the urban farming business: it has opened the office for Flux Farm, Inc., a company (founded and co-owned by Green Prophet’s Karin Kloosterman) to bring space-age artificial intelligence to predict and optimize the growth of plants in controlled environment growing. This company aims to connect urban farms everywhere for data, community and eventually selling produce grown. The company is piloting its technology at an urban indoor hydroponics park in Massachusetts.

The idea of urban farming has also been promoted by Michelle Obama, wife of US President Barack Obama, and who also hails from Chicago. The First Lady launched an urban gardening project in a section of the White House grounds in the Spring of 2012. Her urban gardening project has given her the title of First Lady of Urban Gardens.

More articles on urban agriculture projects:

Grow fresh food in the middle of Manhattan? Meet Henry
Brooklyn’s Gotham Greens builds world’s largest rooftop urban farm
Egypt’s urban agriculture movement is growing!

Photo of Farmed Here urban agriculture project by Fast CoExist; Photo of Michelle Obama in urban garden by NPR.Org

The post Chicago’s urban farming produces fresh veggies all year, 24/7 appeared first on Green Prophet.

What do you do if you live in a cramped, workaholic country like Japan and still want to grow veggies in your precious, quality leisure time? This desire to be a weekend urban farmer is relevant for other locations too. Hydroponic farming projects are fast becoming popular everywhere, including Egypt and other parts of the Middle East.

Japan, in particular, has an acute land availability problem for people who cannot afford traditional weekend countryside retreats for gardening due to being confined to high-rise urban environments.

To help make gardening a reality for more city dwellers, a Japanese company Tanabatake Sukusuku now offers rental hydroponic growing containers on a monthly basis.

Opened in 2014 by Kajima Tatemono Sogo Kanri Co., a Tokyo based building and maintenance company, individuals and families can rent small hydroponic growing containers or “beds” and choose from 51 kinds of vegetable seeds; or bring their own.

“A cityscape becomes dark when the number of vacant buildings increases. Lights for gardening can illuminate the city, and I hope the greenery of the vegetables is like a downtown oasis and refreshes passers-by,” says Tsuneaki Ihana, who works in the company’s technical information section.

The rental space idea appears to be gaining popularity as more people are becoming involved. Staff advisors are on hand to assist with various aspects of hydroponic gardening, including humidity and temperature control and measuring the correct amount of fertilizer required.

American companies like flux are building the “brains” for hydroponic gardens and farms, to make it easy and hassle-free, and tell Green Prophet that multi-billion companies from Japan have contacted them to see how urban farming can go wide in Japan: Hydroponics can green city rooftops and grow high quality food for the discerning Japanese, but it’s also is a great hobby for Japan’s growing senior population. The government wants them engaged but they can’t bend over to tend to regular soil gardens. Hydroponic gardens can be raised on tables or built on walls on solve this problem.

One part-time gardener in Japan growing food this way said that it would be much harder to look after such a project if done from home and enjoys the flexibility community-style farming allows: “Here, I can casually enjoy farming when I have time,” she says.

Read more on urban and hydroponic agriculture:
Gaza produce on the menu at swanky American event in Jerusalem
Saving our food and planet requires bubbles
Khalifa hydroponic farms paying off

Photo of hydroponic lettuce farms by Pengertian Hodroponik

The post Japan rents out hydroponic gardens to busy city workers appeared first on Green Prophet.

Thanks to Green Prophet contributors who give us recipes on local vegetables like peppers, as well as flavor enhancers like garlic (locally grown and not imported from China of course), readers of our website have benefited  from advice on how to boost one’s immune system, as well as adding a natural boost to low sexual libidos.

Home grown garlic is as near as your local shuk

Natural food users are aware  of a number of herbs and vegetables to give a natural boost to human immune systems that are often weakened by taking too many antibiotics. Here are just some of them, with explanations on how these natural vegetables and herbs benefit our bodies and help increase our natural immunity to disease:

1. Astralagus – an herb long used in traditional  Chinese medicine that aids in digestion and acts as a stimulant to the immune system as well as being a diuretic.

The herb is used in people with poor appetite, diarrhea or loose stool, blood in the stool and uterine bleeding. It also contains polysacchrides, saponins and flavonoids. Chinese medicine practitioners also use the plant to treat symptoms  of HIV/AIDS; especially fatigue, weight loss, night sweats and insomnia.

If you have an auto-immune disease, are a child, are nursing, pregnant or are a transplant recipient, it is advised not to take Astralagus known in Chinese as HUang Qi, Radix Astragali, or 黄芪.

Astragalus propinquus is a flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is one of the 50 fundamental herbs used in traditional Chinese medicine.

2. Red Bell Peppers:  These sweet tasting vegetables come in different colors, ranging from light green to red. They contain a carotenoid called lycopene that protects our bodies against various cancers.

Bell peppers contain a number of vitamins, including vitamins A, C, B (1,3,5, and 6) as well as vitamins E and K .  They also contain good quantities of other carotenoid antioxidants, including alpha and beta carotene. Buy organic ones because the non-organic can be high in pesticides.

Try this recipe if you are stuck at home, muhamarra:

Muhamarra: the addictive red pepper and walnut spread from Syria

3. Cat’s Claw: A woody plant with hook like thorns  found in South American rainforests that has long been used by natives there to treat health problems including arthritis, stomach ulcers, inflammation, dysentery, and fevers.

It also contains antioxidants and oxindole alkaloids enhancing the immune system’s capacity to engulf and destroy pathogens.

4. Echinacea: A member of the daisy family, echinacea is a popular herb that has been identified to boost immunity and ward off infections.  It  has also been found to prevent and treat upper respiratory tract infections as well as the common cold.

5. Ganoderma– This hard,  bitter mushroom is also known as reishi. Ganoderma is  used to promote health and longevity in traditional Chinese medicine.

Proponents claim that ganoderma can relieve fatigue, keep cholesterol in check, curb high blood pressure, tame inflammation, build stamina, and support the immune system.

6. Garlic – This spice has had a long history of medicinal value. In a recent study conducted by Dr. Ellen Tattelman, an assistant professor at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, New York, it was found that garlic  has cardiovascular, anti-microbial and antineoplastic properties.

Garlic is used almost daily as a spice in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisine.

7. Ginger – This herb has been shown to reduce inflammation, cardiovascular conditions, blood clots and cholesterol. It is often used in Chinese medicine and is commonly used to treat various types of stomach problems, including motion sickness, morning sickness, colic, upset stomach, gas, diarrhea, nausea caused by cancer treatment, nausea and vomiting after surgery, as well as loss of appetite.

8. Ginseng – Another common herb in Chinese medicine.  The most commonly studied variety is Panax ginseng and  is used for improving thinking, concentration, memory and work efficiency, physical stamina, and athletic endurance.

It is also used in treating chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), for boosting the immune system, and for fighting particular infections in a lung disease called cystic fibrosis. Its main active component, ginsenosides, has been proven to have anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties.

9. Gingko Biloba– Ginkgo has been used in traditional medicine to treat blood disorders and enhance memory. Scientific studies throughout the years have found evidence that supports these claims.

Gingko has also been found top help treat dementia (including Alzheimer’s disease) and poor circulation in the legs. It also may be good for improving memory in older adults. Laboratory studies have shown that ginkgo improves blood circulation by dilating blood vessels and reducing the stickiness of blood platelets. Gingko trees are very long living; often living up to 1,000 years.

10. Turmeric– This spice contains curcumin, which has notable antioxidant properties. It also has antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and stomach soothing benefits.

It reduces inflammation by stimulating the adrenal glands to increase the hormone that lessens inflammation. Recent studies indicate that this very old remedy may also be beneficial in treating cancer by neutralizing oxygen free radical cells.

The good news about these beneficial vegetables and herbs is that they are available either naturally in our region or in whole food and health products stores and holistic medicine pharmacies.  Using these products is an excellent way to commemorate Earth Day. And sadly, to help keep your immune system strong to beat viruses, some which may be deadly, like corona virus or COVID-19.

More on beneficial herbs and veggies for health and well being:

The post Boost Your Natural Immune System With Medicinal Plants and Herbs appeared first on Green Prophet.

Women should be banned from touching cucumbers, carrots, bananas, and zucchinis, says a European Muslim cleric, simply because they resemble the male penis and could prompt women to think of sex.

The Sheikh whose name has not been revealed, according to Bikya Masr, has suggested that women who need to cook with these ingredients should have the men in the family cut them up into small pieces. This shape-shift will reportedly banish all sexual thoughts from women’s minds.

Asked how they should avoid wanton thoughts while shopping for groceries, the cleric retorted that this is between “them and God.” Does this mean that men should stay away from pomegranates and peaches?

:: Bikya Masr

image via morguefile

The post Women are Aroused by Cucumbers and Carrots According to an Islamic Cleric appeared first on Green Prophet.

What do tomatoes, potatoes, peppers and eggplant have in common with tobacco? They are all part of the Nightshade family. Many salads call for their use, including the Middle Eastern eggplant dish Baba Ghanoush, however, despite their various healthy attributes, these vegetables need to be consumed carefully since they can have a negative impact.

As a general rule this group is not unhealthy for everyone. Nevertheless, it is important to be aware of their possible effect. As with most foods, when consumed in moderate amounts these vegetables are healthy, but produce glycoalkaloids that can be toxic in large amounts.

The leaves, stems and flowers of these vegetables should be avoided, and it is equally important to eat them only when they are fully ripe. The spots of green on their skin indicate a higher concentration of alkaloids, except in the case of the tomatillo. This is a nightshade which has no relation to the tomato, and that remains green even when.

Who would have thought such an innocent looking plant could have such a powerful impact?

A medicine and a poison
One of the other members of this family is the plant belladonna. This has long been known to be highly toxic, in fact lethal as a result of the high levels of various alkaloids it contains. Despite its poisonous effect, in small doses it can be used as a pain killer and can relieve certain gastrointestinal conditions.

Health impacts
Large amounts of these vegetables can cause problems for certain people. One such effect can be digestive distress, meaning that those with sensitive digestive tracts would do well to avoid large quantities of nightshades.

There are also those who believe that there is a connection between nightshades and arthritis, where the nightshades draw calcium from the bones and place them in the soft tissues of the body. Research in this area is not conclusive, however many people suffering from arthritis find partial relief when they withdraw nightshades from their diets.

It is important to realise that just because a plant can have a negative impact does not mean that it is completely unhealthy. Eating unripe tomatoes can cause problems, but tomatoes can also be used in sunscreen to protect your health.

First image via thebittenword.com, Second image via cupcakes2

More ingredients to be wary of:
Chemicals Colouring Our Food – A Rainbow to Avoid
Is Margarine Your Best Choice?
The Toxic Touch of Beauty Products – 7 Chemicals to Avoid

The post Nightshades: Vegetables To Be Careful With appeared first on Green Prophet.

For whatever reason, I can’t seem to see the physical differences between basil, thyme, coriander or mint. The taste, on the other hand, is something I definitely do appreciate. Coriander stands out not just for its taste, but also for its various health benefits. Coriander can be used in several forms: dried or fresh, with just the leaves, or with the seeds as well. A common herb in the Middle East and parts of Asia, it is a great addition to cooking since it contains antioxidants that can delay food from spoiling if not prevent it completely. Coriander should be used with care, though, since some people can be allergic to it.

The health benefits of coriander are actually surprising, so it is great to discover that it is so easy to use in the kitchen. One of the most refreshing and quickest dishes is a coriander-tomato salad. There are many ways to use tomatoes, but this is one of the tastiest salads.

It takes only a few minutes to prepare and adding more salads to your diet is always a great idea.

Ingredients:
500g Baby tomato

several sprigs of coriander

3 cloves of garlic

half a lemon squeezed

a dash of oil

salt and pepper to taste

Method:

1. Wash and cut the baby tomatoes in half
2. Take the leaves of the coriander off the stalk and chop them fine
3. Finely chop the garlic as well and add to the mixture
4. Squeeze the lemon and then add oil
5. Add salt and pepper last, they enhance the flavour but shouldn’t overpower

Although it sounds like a lot, this will actually make up a relatively small bowl of salad, so once you have tried it out, be prepared to make at least double this recipe for a meal with 6 or more people.

As you are preparing it, you can add more or less of the coriander and garlic as you choose. The coriander is meant to enhance the flavour of the tomato with the garlic providing a nice bite. If you love spicy food, you might want to up the dosage of garlic.

Either way, once you have tried out the basic recipe, this salad will be a welcome addition to your table, especially since it is so quick to prepare. It is perfect for summer, being light and refreshing as well as a welcome change from regular green salad.

Above image via Joi

Read more on summer specials:
Recipe: A Low Sugar, Smooth Ice Cream Fit for Summer Days

Enjoy a Summer Feast in the Middle East with 7 Creative Recipe Ideas

The post Fresh Tomato-Coriander Salad to Spice up Your Summer appeared first on Green Prophet.

The residents/gardeners (aged 75 to 100) spend every Tuesday afternoon growing vegetables in their organic garden.  They take great pride in their vegetables, and according to one resident they grew cucumbers as long as an arm.  Another said that the eggplants made a salad that fed more than 100 people.

The garden keeps both the residents and the environment healthy.  The residents get to exercise, keep active, and enjoy healthy organic produce.  The environment is polluted with fewer pesticides, and fewer fossil fuels are required to transport food to the community since the residents enjoy the fruits (and vegetables) of their labor.

Avi Amenou leads the gardening activity every Tuesday afternoon and has assisted in specially designing the greenhouse to make it old-age-friendly.  The greenhouse is completely wheelchair accessible and the vegetable beds are higher than normal so the residents can work without bending over.  The weekly activity includes gardening and a discussion of agricultural theories, biology, and water conservation.

Neveh Amit is quickly becoming one of the greenest retirement communities in Jerusalem.  The center’s green-ness is exemplified in: the low-flow water pressurizers installed in all the faucets and shower heads, the fact that the building is heated entirely by biodiesel, the automated electricity system that turns off appliances and lights when not in use, widespread recycling, and composting.

Sara Ophir, a five-year resident and gardener, said that “everyone can do a little bit in their own house or apartment, but when you have a big building like here, with about 150 residents, when you have the ability to conserve electricity and water, it’s a big thing.  Otherwise, would you go to everyone on your street and say, ‘Hey, everybody, save electricity, save water?’  It would take a lot of doing.  I think it’s wonderful that they’re making the building green.  They’re economizing carbon dioxide emissions by using less electricity and good fuel and economizing on water.”

:: JPost

Read more about gardening::

On Peacocks, Eggplants, and Urban Sustainability in a Tel Aviv University Community Garden

Green Prophets Start at Home: The Garden

Edible Weeds in Your Middle East Garden

The post Organic Garden at Neveh Amit Retirement Home Keeps Centenarians and the Environment Healthy appeared first on Green Prophet.

According to the Jordan Times, the government began the market program last Ramadan. In exchange for a free stall, water and electricity, farmers agree to mark their produce down 30 percent. The program cost 6 million Jordanian dinars last year.

We reported earlier this year on a failed Israeli plan to tax vegetables and fruit, which drew this reader reply:

“I find this article astonishing. That any government would decide to tax the healthiest, least-processed foods available is very worrisome.”

Thumbs up to Jordan for going in the opposite direction by subsidizing the freshest food available and supporting local farmers. A similar program in other parts of the region could help farmers like the Eco-Baladi growers of Wadi Fuqin in the West Bank. Ramadan Mubarak.

:: Photo from Jordan Times

The post Jordan Bankrolls Cheap Vegetables for Ramadan appeared first on Green Prophet.

Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu gave up an idea to close a 1.8 billion shekel ($450 million) budget gap by taxing fresh fruits and vegetables at 16.5 percent. The tax proposal was shot down by a combination of interests representing the poor, the farming sector and good nutrition.

According to Ynet, 62% of adult Israelis are overweight or obese, and the tax would further encourage the poor to buy unhealthy manufactured products rather than fresh produce.

Haaretz reported that without the produce tax, Israeli bead counters will have to look to income taxes to possibly make up the shortfall.

Another Haaretz analysis of the proposed solution – lowering the income tax on Israel’s wealthiest while raising it on the middle class – is here.

The Ynet article, published when the produce tax was first proposed in May, looked into other options to levy on food and spoke to the chairman of the Israeli Ambulatory Pediatrics Association:

“Most western countries are discussing taxing high-sugar, high-calories products in a bid to lower their consumption. In Israel, in a questionable, destructive decision, the government is interested in taxing the healthy foods, whose consumption is vital for children’s health,’ said Prof. Mati Berkovitch, the associations’ chairman.”

(Above: Apples at the Carmel Market in Tel Aviv. Photo by Daniella Cheslow)

The post Israel Scraps Tax on Fresh Produce appeared first on Green Prophet.

Earth’s Promise founder Isaac Hametz started the garden about a year ago as a way to help newly arrived immigrants adapt to life in Beer Sheva.

The immigrants, who come from a farming background, tend 50 plots planted with vegetables from Israel and other plants from Ethiopia.

While they plant, their children play in the garden (photo below, by Daniella Cheslow). It’s one of the few green spaces around the Kalisher absorption center.

Eco-Thiopia is on June 25 at 6:00 pm behind the Kalisher absorption center at the end of Wingate road. For more information, go to the Earth’s Promise Web site.

The post Eco-Thiopia Festival at "Earth's Promise" in Israel Helps New Immigrants Plant Sustainable Roots appeared first on Green Prophet.