Kickstarter Pick: 3rd Ward's Michael Zick Doherty Takes "Green Thumb" To The Next Level With Bitponics

As we've mentioned before, 3rd Ward's Michael Zick Doherty always seems to be working on innovative and inspiring projects. And today is no different. Teaming up with software engineer Amit Kumar, Doherty is currently raising funds on Kickstarter to support Bitponics, which they describe as "Your Personal Gardening Assistant." With just over a week left to go, they're raised over half of their $20,000 goal. Help them get there and you can score everything from a shout-out on the Bitponics website and a laser-etched Bitponics clay pot to a hydroponics workshop and your own Bitponics device.

We first caught wind of Bitponics when it won an Open Scholarship Scholarship last fall at the Open Hardware Summit, and that winning 26-second YouTube pitch has blossomed into an even more exciting and amazing project. In addition to automating and tracking any hydroponics system, Bitponics can help you cultivate anything that you'd like to see sprouting in your urban garden. "Once you tell it what you're trying to grow, it will use a database of knowledge built up by the community to create a 'growing plan' for you," the Bitponic Kickstarter page explains. "Bitponics will automate anything that can be controlled by a power outlet, like water pumps and lights." And for tasks that can't be automated? "We'll remind you by whatever means you choose: email, text, or in-app notifications."

The full Bitponics setup includes the sensor device, which collects readings like temperature, brightness and pH and lets you set up timers for lights and pumps, and an account on the Bitponics website, which helps you generate a growing plan, gives you recommendations if something in your system has gone awry, and lets you track all of your data and upload photos of your garden as it grows. The device will retail for $395, but you can get it for just a $250 Kickstarter pledge. You'll be able to store a year of growing data—or an unlimited amount for a higher-tiered membership. Anyone who just wants to give the website a whirl can store six months of growing data for free, and both the device and its Arduino-based firmware will be open source, making the possibilities endless.

Check out the Bitponics Kickstarter video and some photos below, then head to Kickstarter to learn more and pledge your support.

-- John Ruscher

Essential Event: Dr. Mitchell Joachim Envisions The Cities Of The Future This Thursday At 3rd Ward

 

Are we ready for the future? Something of a loaded question, but Dr. Mitchell Joachim will tackle it this Thursday in Envisioning Ecological Cities: The Sci-Fi Based Solution to Climate Change, a free lecture taking place right here at 3rd Ward from 7:30-9:30pm.

Mitchell is the co-founder of Terreform ONE, a nonprofit think tank dedicated to fostering ecological design and sustainability in cities around the world. From July 9 to August 3 the Brooklyn-based organization will be presenting ONE Lab Summer 2012: Future Cities, a four-week program that "will address the emerging discipline of global urbaneering by assembling a wide range of innovators from fields as diverse as architecture, material scence, urban design, biology, civil engineering and media art." ONE Lab will include a design studio, workshops and a Future Cities Seminar, which will feature speakers including vertical farming pioneer Dr. Dickson D. Despommier, architect and artist Vito Acconci and artist and engineer Natalie Jeremijenko.

Interested? Come check out Joachim's lecture on Thursday for a sneak peak of the issues and ideas that ONE Lab will address this summer. He'll talk about how urban design can work towards better and more effective solutions by anticipating and planning for the impact of innovative technologies.

Get ready by watching his appearance on The Colbert Report from back in 2009:

-- John Ruscher

Made By Hand Film Series Features 3rd Ward Teacher Megan Paska In 'The Beekeeper'

A still from The Beekeeper.

In November we heard that the Made by Hand documentary series was working on a short film about our very own Rooftop Beekeeping and Chickens in the City teacher Megan Paska, known far and wide for her many outstanding endeavors as the Brooklyn Homesteader. We've been eagerly awaiting the film ever since, and it's finally here—and predictably, it's amazing.

The Beekeeper, the third film in the Made by Hand series, focuses on Paska's working maintaining apiaries across Brooklyn. It features breathtaking shots of rooftop farms, the NYC skyline and her fascinating beekeeping work. Along with her inspiring narrative and music that strikes just the right vibe, this one's as pure and delightful as the Brooklyn honey that she harvests.

Watch it below, but be warned: once you do, it's going to be hard to resist signing up for an upcoming session of Paska's Beekeeping 101.

-- John Ruscher

Watch This Now // Our Top 5 Videos From TEDxBrooklyn

 

Just over a month ago the second annual TEDxBrooklyn took over Brooklyn Bowl to tackle the theme of "redefining better." If you missed it, or just want to relive your favorite moments, you can watch video of the entire program on the TEDxBrooklyn YouTube Channel.

Since it would take you a good chunk of your day to get through all 17 videos, we've handpicked five we found most enlightening, ranging from hacking ethics to urban agriculture, for your immediate viewing pleasure.

Get your brain movin' after the jump.

Chad Dickerson, CEO of Etsy, talks about the definition of a hacker:

Brian Meece, CEO of RocketHub, talks about the science of crowdfunding:

Paul Steely White, Executive Director of Transporation Alternatives, talks about transportation reform:

Julia Kaganskiy & Ciel Hunter talk about The Creators Project:

Viraj Puri, co-founder and CEO of Gotham Greens, talks about innovations in urban agriculture:

-- John Ruscher

ESSENTIAL EVENT // This Friday: Winter Solstice Feast Benefit

You like to eat and you enjoy helping local farms, right!? Good. So why not roll those two things into one tasty evening, as in: This Friday, December 16 at the Winter Solstice Feast to benefit Bushwick Farmers' Market and EcoStation: NY.

EcoStation: NY is a nifty organization working for "environmental and food justice." Its goal is to fight the vast food desert phenomenon by growing good stuff in the inner city--and then using farmers markets and food trucks to sell fresh fruits and veggies in other inner city neighborhoods.

The feast itself--located at Brooklyn Fire Proof's Nut Roaster Studio--will have eats from Roberta's, Northeast Kingdom, and Verde Coal Oven, among others; as well as a pig roast courtesy of The Hurricane Club's Lawrence Knapp. Sixpoint will be providing some brews. Live music happening courtesy of Reverend Billy & the Stop Shopping Gospel Choir and Handstand Andy & the Handsome Man Band. There'll be a silent auction in case (if you're anything like us) you still have holiday shopping to do.

Suggested donation is $20 per person, which we think sounds like a bargain for a seriously awesome event, though no one will be turned away for inability to pay. Hope to see you all there--you'll find us resembling Wile E. Coyote over by the pig roast.

--Layla Schlack

VOTE NOW // Urban Farmers Brooklyn Grange Up For International Accolade

Brooklyn Grange cofounders Ben Flanner, Gwen Schantz, and Anastasia ColeBrooklyn Grange is one of those "So simple why didn't we do it sooner?" ideas.  It's not just another rooftop farm--it's a massive, for-profit enterprise perched atop an old warehouse in Long Island City. Cofounders Anastasia Cole, Gwen Schantz, and Ben Flanner were all farming at Roberta's when they thought to themselves: "Urban farming is nice and all, but making a living off of it is even nicer."

"Most of these types of projects are nonprofit or community-based, and that's really great," Cole says, "but we wanted to come up with a sustainable model." So now they sell to local businesses who get fresher product without paying transportation costs.

Brooklyn Grange have now entered the BBC World Challenge, a global competition for innovative grassroots business and are now among 12 finalists. "We're the only finalists from North America," Schantz tells us. Both she and Cole say that the $20,000 prize would be nice but the prestige and publicity are priceless.

Which is why anytime between right now and midnight on Friday, November 11 you should head to that link up above and vote for Brooklyn Grange (titled "Vertigo Farming").

Farm to table dining at the Grange

What might you get out of it? Imagine if all of your honey, tomatoes, basil, and maybe even eggs came from that sustainable roof farm down the street. Brooklyn Grange winning the BBC contest could make that a reality.

Meanwhile, Schantz--who brings her eight-month-old son to the farm with her most days--says she feels a connection between the Grange and 3rd Ward: "It's this kind of focus on local economy and doing things with your hands." Our motto exactly.

--Layla Schlack

AUTUMNAL PRESERVATION SOCIETY // How To Can Your Own Fruits + Vegetables

All of a suddend, we've found ourselves teetering on fall's doorstep, which means...harvest time for farmers -- urban or otherwise. So what to do with all that homegrown, handpicked deliciousness? A.) Gorge yourself. Spend the next three days doing nothing but eating tomatoes, beets, cukes, etc. B.) Just gorge yourself a little bit and preserve the rest. This is easier than you think, folks. But you will need a solid day. Keep in mind, the method we're sharing with you is not intended for things with meat--that needs a deeper level of preservation. But to get you officially prepped for the coming season, we decided to bring you a quick and dirty preservation how-to:

• Assuming you've already stocked up on mason jars (and why wouldn't you have?) step 1 is to wash them. Wash them in very hot water and stash them somewhere they'll stay relatively warm.
• Fill the biggest pot you own with water high enough to be about one inch above jars standing upright. Set it to simmer.
• Prepare what your preserving: To make tomato sauce or any kind of jam, you're just going to mash up your tomatoes/fruits/berries and stew them. For tomato sauce, add your various and sundry herbs and seasoning. For jam, you can really just add sugar and lemon juice. If you like it a little more jelly-like, use pectin, too. 
  To make pickles, just make a brine that's 3/4 cup vinegar and about 4 tbsp. salt per cup of water. You're going to put whatever veggies you're pickling (Beets! Green beans! Brussels sprouts even! Cucumbers are actually the trickiest) into the jars, along with dill and garlic and any other spices you see fit.
• Pour your sauce/jam into jars, or pour your brine over pickling ingredients. Fill them up to 1/4-1/2 inch below the rim of the jar, making sure to give a little shake in the process. This will get rid of air pockets that could lead to grossness.
• Put lids on jars. Use tongs to gently place jars in the big pot of simmering water. Note: Fancy jar racks exist, so if you're fancy, pick one up when you get your jars and lids. If you're not (we're not!), tongs work fine.  
• Put lid on pot and raise stove heat so water comes to a boil. Let it boil for five minutes.
• Remove jars and let them sit for about a day. The lid shouldn't flex. For pickles, give them a few days to reach full pickledom. 

And wah-la: You've successfully canned your first harvest. 

--Layla Schlack

THIS SUNDAY // Hone Your Urban Farming Skills with 3rd Ward's Dekalb Market Workshops

The Dekalb Market is underway in Downtown Brooklyn, and in addition to our most excellent Shopbox, on Sunday, Sept. 11th, 5-8pm, 3rd Ward is bringing some of its Epicuriosity classes to accompany this farm-fresh party. Here are some highlights of what to expect:

Chickens in the City with Megan Paska: It is perfectly legal to raise your own hens in the city. You will learn how to warm your neighbors to the idea, choose a coop plan, select and order chicks, what to feed your birds, handle hens and much more. Megan Paska raises four egg-laying hens and maintains ten apiaries in Brooklyn, selling her Brooklyn Honey at local markets. She has been seen in Huffington Post, ABC's Nightline, National Geographic and New York magazine. Check out a video on Megan's backyard chicken coop after the jump.

Followed by:

Seed Saving with Zach Pickens: Saving seed from your own garden is a great way to save money and preserve rare plant varieties. We'll teach you the basics of saving seed from your own vegetable and herb plants, giving you a head-start on next year's growing season. Zach Pickens is the farm manager at Riverpark. He also composts, builds bikes from found parts, and makes a mean spicy garlic dill pickle.

We'll also be joined by the Brooklyn Grange, Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, CUNY City Tech, and more. Hope to see you there!

And now for that video:

 

DOWNTOWN FARMING // 3rd Ward at the Dekalb Weekend Market beginning July 23

3rd Ward's plot at the Dekalb Market.3rd Ward is beyond thrilled to be part of the Dekalb Weekend Market, a new urban farm and creative marketplace at Downtown Brooklyn's Fulton Mall.

We're one of several other groups, including Brooklyn Grange and the NYC College of Technology's Hospitality Management Department, curating urban agriculture plots at the market. We'll also be offering both free and paid urban agricultural workshops.

The workshops will be an all-star team of instructors featuring Zach Pickens, who writes for Young, Broke, and Hungry and Farming From Three to Twenty Feet Up, Michael Doherty, who has been working with the Window Farms Project, and Elise McMahon, a furniture maker and instructor here at 3rd Ward with lots of experience creating innovative compost bins, milking stanchions, chicken coops and other agricultural infrastructure.

"Topics will include everything from general education about seasonal and sustainable growing practices, to addressing the challenges of viably and responsibly producing produce in the city, to incorporating the latest DIY technologies such as sensors and circuit boards to manage a garden," 3rd Ward Education Director J. Perelmuter says.

And if that wasn't exciting enough, stay tuned for more info about 3rd Ward's own container storefront at the market...

Starting July 23 the Dekalb Weekend Market will be open every Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 7pm through December. Check out the market's Facebook page for all of the latest news.