Everything You Wanted To Know About Gardening

Flowers on display at City Grange on the north side of Chicago.
Flowers and plants on display at City Grange on the north side of Chicago. Jenny Friedland / WBEZ
Flowers on display at City Grange on the north side of Chicago.
Flowers and plants on display at City Grange on the north side of Chicago. Jenny Friedland / WBEZ

Everything You Wanted To Know About Gardening

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With 1,500 community gardens and a quarter million home gardens, Chicago led the nation in urban food production during World War II. On today’s show, we find out how gardening has since evolved in the Windy City as we broadcast from City Grange, “a social enterprise reimagining the traditional garden center concept to promote social justice, the good food movement and the environment.” 

Joining us is LaManda Joy, the owner and president of City Grange, who tells us how things have been going at City Grange since its opening in April. We also check in with Ed and Dale Hubbard from Nature’s Little Recyclers, an urban farm development company that uses worms to turn waste into compost, along with Amy Hermalik of the University of Chicago’s Institute for Justice Clinic, who helps us understand the rules and regulations for composting in Chicago. And as the weather heats up, LaManda and Joan Murray from City Grange answer listeners’ gardening questions, so they can get started on or improve their planting projects. Worldview‘s food, food health and culture contributor Monica Eng is with us throughout.