Ginkgo Organic Gardens

07/06/2024

We are having a great morning at the garden today! And we are have a cook out afterward so come join us!!

07/03/2024

We especially need to be in nature on holiday weeks! Start your holiday right by spending your evening at Ginkgo tonight from 6:30-8:30pm

Don't forget that you're part of nature too ✨

07/02/2024

When we lose track of our radish plants and they get too hot, they flower and go to seed. The radish goes away! But we do not need to waste anything, the seed pods are a yummy crispy vegetable with the same flavor- enjoy!

DON'T harvest your radishes. Leave them in the ground and let them go to seed. You'll end up with hundreds of these delicious "radish pods". We'll show you how to do it and all the amazing ways you can use them... (in comments)

07/02/2024

07/01/2024

Warning! Please don’t buy your plants from just anywhere- the “pollinator” garden you purchase might be deadly! That’s why we love to connect with and trade plants with other organic neighborhood gardens. Keep it old school!

A new study coauthored by Xerces staff found harmful levels of pesticides in milkw**d plants purchased from retail nurseries across the United States. Pesticides were found in all plants tested, raising alarms for monarch conservation efforts. Researchers gathered 235 milkw**d leaf samples from retail nurseries across 15 states and tested them for pesticides. A total of 61 different pesticides were found, with an average of 12 per plant and as many as 28 per plant.

Here are the top 5 takeaways from this study:

1. Retail milkw**d can be contaminated with harmful pesticides.
In this study, milkw**ds were collected from stores in the United States and screened for pesticides. Multiple pesticides were detected in every milkw**d plant sampled. On average, 12 pesticides were found per plant.

2. Be wary of unregulated claims and labels.
Plants with labels suggesting they were friendly to pollinators or other wildlife did not have fewer pesticides in or on the leaves of the milkw**d plants. In some cases, plants with such labels were more likely to have pesticide residues.

3. Pesticides on retail milkw**d can harm monarchs.
Endangered monarch butterflies depend on the milkw**d plant — it’s the place where they lay eggs and the only food for their caterpillars. 38% of milkw**d samples tested contained a pesticide at a known harmful concentration for monarchs, with the most common offender being fungicides.

4. It’s important to keep gardening for pollinators.
While this study is discouraging, monarchs and other pollinators still need milkw**d in the short and long term. Fortunately, the limited residues found on some plants indicated that it is possible to grow milkw**d in a pollinator-friendly manner.

5. You can do something to reduce pesticides and their effects.
Let your supplier know you want pollinator-safe plants. If you don’t know how your new plants were grown, take steps to protect pollinators from pesticide exposure: assume the soil is contaminated and discard before planting, cover plants the first year with netting, water heavily, and avoid pesticide use.

This study was coauthored by colleagues at University of Nevada, Reno and University of Tennessee, Knoxville

https://xerces.org/press/harmful-pesticides-found-in-milkw**ds-from-retail-nurseries

06/28/2024

Happy Pride! Here is a great article from Lincoln Park Zoo about the fluid gender spectrum of plants, and about our favorite tree- the ginkgo!
What other plants have this ability to change gender expression?
We have seen this change in one of our heirloom corn varieties!

The ability to change s*x is part of nature. You may already know that some animal species are able to do so, but did you know that there are dioecious trees that can, too?

Striped maples, gingko and papaya trees all have the natural ability to change their s*x. Learn more in 'Bis*xual Botany': https://www.lpzoo.org/bis*xual-botany/

06/26/2024

Ginkgo Organic Gardens Weds night Volunteering at 6:30pm-
Looking forward to gardening tonight! Come count the fireflies with us!

Fireflies face a variety of threats, but we are learning that there are ways that we can help them, including turning your outdoor lights off at night, especially during the summer firefly season.

Learn more about fireflies and how to help them ➡ https://bit.ly/4336fXu.

06/20/2024

❤️💚🖤💕 this special Juneteenth post from our friends at UrbUrban Growers Collective Donate to and visit them today or as soon as you can!!

06/19/2024

Happy Juneteenth! Sharing this post from The Heirloom Gardener - John Forti which reminds us of the importance of cultural survival. Learning ancestral knowledge and reclaiming history helps us build community and heal divisions. Here at Ginkgo we do this by learning, teaching and sharing as we steward our land and grow healthy vegetables.

https://www.bbg.org/article/black_herbalists_harriet_tubman_emma_dupree

As we celebrate Juneteenth this year, I hope you will pause to learn about three Black herbalists whose work has been foundational to present-day understanding.
As a garden historian, I find that the successful survival of ancestors (indigenous, enslaved, and immigrant) in back gardens, kitchens and regional landscapes; offer a far more engaging, useful and inclusive history than the study of wars and conquests. When we take time to explore the lives of marginalized people (like the history of gardens that were almost exclusively in the domain of women who were scarcely mentioned), we often unearth helpful seeds and clues to lifeways that nourished mind, body, spirit, and planet.
Like Heirloom seeds, our history is our shared cultural inheritance. Nurturing these seeds and stories, cultivates much needed common ground...and with the smallest of seeds you can hold in the palm of your hand, we can all participate in healing a nation, and an ailing planet. https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbg.org%2Farticle%2Fblack_herbalists_harriet_tubman_emma_dupree%3Ffbclid%3DIwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR27rKsF2CyPS5gnXhVzaF2iVUjZj1IT3Fhrb5l5lIhN57RF1qX5k5Lo8sA_aem_ZmFrZWR1bW15MTZieXRlcw&h=AT0QNUHulYtyWUD7GvNYcVZI3u1VTJSAmCESsU65D9zLQxUaGycHyTKysTVyrpKAMzj0hUCcgpMLZkCk5F4G0aqI5DpguNExWgPrbN6Vj8_sHWhKCW7EkXAwnsKuyU3qXg&__tn__=%2CmH-R-R&c[0]=AT3gxttpgu1w3zNNvQIaKcm1aZcJozDDM1U5TANoeWQNWVls_LqYR5aEK2TV9fk-KHBy3isYaKulen4XmtrPhPqubHoMDP4Tybx8FRjAVXvrSiQCia6mx7GCV1jmWPU1vIIeE5HYUSDGNyA4BrbQccxpt0vmE1nIXtbRyh9hUYcNZPcSXfM7PW4lslNgH75LCM2FdzIsitUz6b1ZdG7PlpHKZZDifR03fu-A

06/18/2024

Happy pollinator week! We have are so fortunate to have lots of bees, wasps, butterflies and moths visit our lovely wildflowers and vegetable plants. There are also caterpillars for our resident birds. Come see them!

Happy everyone! 🎉🐝🦋🦇 This week marks our 18th consecutive year of bringing greater awareness to the critically important issue of pollinator conservation since we founded the initiative in 2007. Visit our Pollinator Week pages on our website for amazing resources and to learn more: pollinator.org/pollinator-week

We have so many exciting giveaways, announcements, and all things pollinators coming your way this week! Check our instagram instagram.com/pollinatorpartnership to stay up to date!

One of the most anticipated events will be the Pollinator Power Party co-hosted with the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). The virtual party will include talks by international experts on the status of pollinators, the solar industry, and taking a deep dive into the minds of bees. Tune in today at 10 AM Pacific, 1 PM Eastern and join the party at the link in our bio.

06/15/2024

Ginkgo is open today! Help us take care of our plants!

06/15/2024

Openlands has some awesome ways to celebrate Juneteenth- both today and on the 19th itself. Get outside this summer!

06/13/2024

We are longtime fans of The Plant! Definitely catch one of these upcoming tours!!

We're offering two tours of The Plant this month!

The first tour will take place during the Chicago Vinyl Connection event on Sun., June 23 at 2pm, with the subsequent tour happening on Sun., June 30 at 2pm. The tour on Sun., June 30 will coincide with Whiner Beer Company's block party -- more info on that soon!

Tours of The Plant offer a behind-the-scenes look at Bubbly Dynamics’ innovative sustainability efforts and provide a glimpse into how our tenant businesses collaborate to transform 'waste' into resourceful food products. Space is limited, so we strongly encourage early ticket purchases. Additionally, residents of the 60609 ZIP code can enjoy these tours for free! For more information and to purchase tickets, click the link below.

https://bubbly-dynamics-llc.square.site/shop/20

06/12/2024

We know it's hot out! Come to Ginkgo tonight at 6:30 and help count our fireflies- instant coolness!

06/12/2024

Check out this fun lunchtime webinar tomorrow!
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAqc-6uqzoiH9MhLJkrY_MdvmmC4svXI6Bf #/registration

06/12/2024

Bumping this week's Chicago Community Gardeners Association - CCGA plant distribution!

06/05/2024

Love this! Our mission is to teach gardening and grow vegetables for a food pantry. We will never divide our space into individual private plots.

06/05/2024

Nope! We don’t have cicadas! But we will have a fun evening in the garden- starting tonight and all summer long, Wednesday Garden Nights from 6:30pm till dark!

05/28/2024

Send a message to learn more

05/28/2024

Thanks to all our volunteers! We are all making a difference- together! So glad to meet all the new friends who joined us this Saturday. Looking forward to seeing you again next weekend!

For better or worse, your garden makes an impact on the planet 🌎✨ plant native, improve your soil, encourage wildlife, kill your lawn

05/12/2024

Honoring all mothers and nurturers today- and especially those who care for our farms and our Earth! Happy Mothers Day to all!

05/12/2024

We had such a great day planting these flowers and veggie seedlings thanks to the volunteers at Chicago Community Gardeners Association - CCGA

CCGA Resources Committee had their Big Spring Distribution yesterday, and it was Big. 5000 plants were seeded and grown by Resources and 103 community gardeners came. Thanks to all the wonderful volunteers and participant gardens for a great event.

05/11/2024

Uplifting our friends in First Nations Garden- they are asking for donations and community support after their garden was invaded and desecrated this week. Please share donations and supplies, and come tomorrow to help rebuild.

Chicago Community Gardeners Association - CCGA
PO Box Collective
Neighbor-Space

05/11/2024

Ginkgo Volunteer Day tomorrow- Saturday 10am to 12:30pm
Please help us plant these lovely tomato plants gifted to us by the amazing neighborhood Chicago Tomato Man !

05/07/2024

We encourage everyone to get rid of grass! Allow flowers to grow- even the tiny flowers and sprawling plants that you might have thought were w**ds. We promise you will water and mow less, and enjoy more birds and butterflies in return!

It's time to be stewards of the earth. Let's change those lawns into pollinator paradises thriving with native plants, buzzing bees, fluttering butterflies, and the singing of birds.

Happy Monday, Thoughtful Gardeners!

05/07/2024

Exciting plant distribution!

05/04/2024

Thank you to all the students that came out to volunteer with us on this lovely Saturday! And thanks to our neighbor Jim for the photo!

05/03/2024

We keep getting asked what is the name of this cute w**d. It's plentiful and edible too. Come to Ginkgo Organic Gardens tomorrow at 10 and pick your own fairy bouquet!

Your one stop guide to identify purple dead nettle, and then figure out what to make with this healthy edible food.

01/17/2024

All of this awful cold and ice reminds us that sometimes beautiful things are created by ice. (But we rarely have apples staying on the tree this long!)

01/11/2024

So happy I got to see these collards thriving in the mild December weather! It's really true that a cold snap makes them sweeter. But we think they will not survive the Polar Vortex that is coming soon.