Featured
Farm
Sugar Editorial Picks
Would You Take a Farm Vacation?
If you're looking to get away from it all, Feather Down Farm Days offers family getaways on beautiful US working farms, and its sister sites offer the same opportunities in Europe. So far, there are only three farms on the US list, including two in New York and one in Illinois, but I have a feeling that number will rise in the near future. I love the idea of getting away from civilization and spending a few days in the great outdoors, living in one of these cool tents, gardening, and gathering eggs.
10 Great Urban Farms Across the United States
Who says that farming has to happen exclusively in rural areas? These 10 farms prove that you can grow veggies in any city in the country. Better yet, many of these farms also run substantial education programs, providing city kids with great information about where their food comes from.
Do You Have a Gorgeous View?
I wish this were the view from my front porch! It's actually the view from a farm stay at a cabin I visited in New Zealand a few years ago.
I also love the view from my home's deck, but I've lived in a few other places where the view was less than desirable.
Nice and New: Simrin Farmyard Placemats
You may not enjoy the scent of cow manure or the sound of a rooster's crow at the break of dawn, but you can still bring a little farm life into your home without counting Babe as one of your dependents. Velocity has introduced Simrin Farmyard Placemats ($36) into its collection of fashionable table linens, and I think they're just the thing to give us all a taste of the old days, short of rearing animals ourselves. The placemats are made from 100 percent cotton, and can be easily machine washed and dried.
In the News: Farms Sprout in Suburbia
The Wall Street Journal's "Green Acres II: When Neighbors Become Farmers" reports that a growing number of Americans are "turning grass into edible greens and maybe even greenbacks," by growing food in their front and backyards. Since 2006, in Boulder, CO, school-bus driver Kipp Nash has "uprooted his backyard and the front or backyards of eight of his Boulder neighbors," and spent his afternoons "planting, watering, and tending" these minifarms, growing vegetables like tomatoes, bok choy, garlic, and beets. Although not everyone in the neighborhood finds this suburban farming aesthetically pleasing, particularly not during the Winter months, the locally-grown food market has grown, leaving yard farmers with an opportunity to sell to nearby restaurants and other neighbors.
Midday Muse: A Home at the Top of the World
I snapped this picture of a small mountain farm last September when I was visiting my brother in the Western fjords of Norway. It is so remote and beautiful. Sometimes I dream about living in a place this far up and away from the bustling urban world.
Cool Idea: NYC's Floating Farm
Since more than half of the world's population now lives in cities, it makes sense that we try to grow more of that food within the cities themselves.
Enter the Science Barge. The barge uses a system of recirculating greenhouse hydroponics to grow tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, and peppers.
Other Search Results
Good, Better, Best: Farm Tables
Nothing says "family" to me as much as family dinners do. I love gathering family and friends around the table to share a good meal. That's why I'm also partial to big farm tables.
Cool Idea: Portugal's Wave Farm
A lot of countries are figuring out ways to green their power production through solar, biofuel, and wind power. In fact, Sweden has pledged that they will be oil-free by 2020!
I love that Portugal has taken another renewable energy route by creating the world's first commercial wave factory, which I read about over at Inhabitat.
Before and After: A Traditional Swedish Clock Gets an Update
Su Casa member dezignerwannabe recently decided to update her traditional Swedish Mora clock. In case you didn't know, these Scandinavian floor clocks were created near the town of Mora, Sweden, around 1750, after bad farming seasons forced the Mora farmers to find another way to earn income. Many of the clocks were decorated with painted faces, but now, hardly any of the original artwork remains on the clocks, and most have been painted over with inferior, rosemaling-type designs.
More on CasaSugar
Fall Award Season
Top Brands
Juan Antonio Lopez
Et Vous
Infinite