My daughter bounded up the basement stairs today and jokingly asked, “Hey, Mom, are you growing marijuana down here?”

She had spotted my grow light and the tiny green sprouts popping out of the pots of dirt on the basement floor. “No,” I reassured her, “it’s the beginning of my vegetable garden.”

Yes, it’s the first day of spring in northern Illinois: The wind is blowing outside, a balmy 15 degrees, snow is on the ground, but it’s time to start your garden — with the help of a grow light. Most people in our area get their gardens going on Mother’s Day, which is the well-worn rule of thumb: Plant your garden around mid-May and you won’t lose everything to a late frost. But in the short growing season we have in northern Illinois, I’ve learned it’s best to get going early, especially with fruit-bearing plants such as tomatoes. If you start now, your plants will bear fruit earlier, which means you’ll be harvesting earlier — and enjoying the fruits of your harvest!

Grow lights help produce healthy, happy plants.

I became a grow-light aficionado last year when a neighbor gave me hers. (She spends every spring in Puerto Rico – lucky lady – so she had not been using her grow light, and I was fortunate enough to inherit it.) I’d never used one before but quickly learned the ins and outs by going online and doing my research. I discovered that grow lights are fun, easy to handle, take up little space and are relatively inexpensive.

Starting your garden on your windowsill is not nearly as efficient as a grow light. Seedlings require lots of bright light; when they don’t get enough light they get thin and leggy. In my experience, even the sunniest windowsill will not give your plants access to adequate sunlight. The best solution is to start your seedlings under fluorescent lights — in other words, a grow light! Don’t even consider using a regular incandescent bulb. These put out too much heat, and they can burn the tender leaves and stems of your seedlings.

Another advantage of using a grow light is that it helps take the bite out of our long winter and often very cold spring. If you’re itching to get out in your yard and bury your hands in the dirt, a grow light will help with those urges. Plus using a grow light requires you to pore over seed catalogs or go online and browse the seed websites — another distraction from the cold, snowy weather we suffer through in northern Illinois.

Even though you have to purchase a grow light, you end up saving money. You’ll be able to buy packets of seeds for $2.95 or less — and each packet contains dozens or even hundreds of seeds — instead of buying seedlings and small potted plants at gardening shops, Home Depot – or the pricey Chalet on the North Shore. Last year, I grew so many plants under my grow light that I ended up giving away many of my seedlings to friends!

The best grow lights are known as full-spectrum or wide-spectrum lights because they replicate 94 percent of the solar spectrum. One of the best grow lights I’ve seen is sold online by Burpee. It sells for $139.95 plus shipping. Burpee markets it as a table-top lamp, but plants can also be placed on the floor under this light. The height of the light is adjustable. To get them started, you should place the lamp about 2-4 inches over your plants. As they grow, you can raise the lamp.

Tomatoes are known as long-day plants, meaning they require at least 14 hours of light each day. If they don’t get enough light, your sprouts will become pale and leggy. But it is also important to remember that every plant needs at least a few hours of dark time each night so they can respirate. When it’s dark, plants exhale carbon-dioxide, and they can’t do this if your grow light is shining brightly 24 hours a day. If you fear you won’t remember to turn off your lights before you go to bed, you can also buy a timer, which can be set to turn off at 10 p.m. and blink on again at 6 a.m. This duration will mimic the hours of sunlight usually available in most spring growing conditions.

Place your grow light in a location that is not too close to a door (to avoid frequent drafts) or a heater. I like to buy seeds at a store such as Whole Foods that offers organic varieties, but I’ve also noticed that many stores are now getting wise to organic shoppers. This year I found a good variety of tomato seeds at Whole Foods in Evanston. I picked out Brandywine (a beautiful yellow and red variety), Roma and Cherry. I favor heirloom tomatoes, but I find that the hybrids do very well in northern Illinois and are often just as flavorful. One favorite is Early Girl, for obvious reasons: This variety will bear fruit earlier than any of her neighbors. Last year I planted lots of Speckled Romans, which are an elongated, orange- and red-spotted fruit. They were my biggest producer, but there was only one problem: My husband didn’t like them! I also think that because of their texture, the Speckled Romans should be used to make paste instead of eaten in salads.

It’s a good idea to do your planting under your grow light 6-8 weeks before you can actually transplant your seedlings into the ground outdoors. For northern Illinois, now is a good time to get your grow light garden going. When you are ready to plant, use any pots you have, plastic or earthenware. Sometimes I use milk cartons cut in half because they enable me to keep the seeds in neat rows and separated by variety. I also use the flowerpots I’ve saved from the previous fall. The potting soil you have on hand is usually suitable for growing your sprouts. Be sure to mark your seeds, so you know what you’ve got coming out of the ground. Don’t plant your seeds too deep in the soil; follow the instructions on the packet. Be sure your soil is moist but not soggy. Check your plants every day for growth.

Seeds will take 10-14 days to germinate depending on the variety. Around Mother’s Day, transplant your seedlings outside to your garden. Pat yourself on your back: Your sprouts have come from your own house and your own grow light. Happy grow lighting!

Last we heard, plenty of tickets are still available to the festival, which starts Friday, March 1 and continues through Sunday, March 3 in locations around Oak Park, River Forest and Forest Park. The second-year festival will extend beyond its suburban roots this year with the screening of “Soul Food Junkies,” taking place March 3 at Saint Martin’s Episcopal Church, 5700 W. Midway Park, in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood

Students at 60 Chicago Public Schools soon will be getting lessons in growing food from a Boulder, Colo.-based nonprofit called The Kitchen [Community] (TKC).

Mayor Rahm Emanuel is turning over to CPS and TKC $1 million in unspent federal and private NATO host committee funds to “support the development of Learning Gardens” at schools across the city. According to the mayor, students will receive “hands-on” nutrition and science education organized by The Kitchen [Community].

TKC’s Learning Gardens are modular raised-bed “packages” that sell for $10,495 to $15,495.

“Learning Gardens are easy, affordable and scalable, and we’re thrilled to be planting them here in Chicago,” said Chef and TKC co-founder Kimbal Musk, an entrepreneur and restaurateur who has founded and advised several companies and non-profits including The Kitchen and The Kitchen Community, according to TKC’s website.

Learning Gardens already have been installed at: Ruiz Elementary, Benito Juarez Community Academy High School, Jonathan Burr Elementary, Mildred I. Lavizzo Elementary, Carter G. Woodson South Elementary, Sir Miles Davis Magnet Elementary Academy, Dawes Elementary, Nathanael Greene Elementary, Carl von Linne Elementary, Southside Occupational, Paul Laurence Dunbar Career Academy High School, Neal F Simeon Career Academy High School, Oliver S. Westcott Elementary, and Robert L. Grimes Elementary School.

The ground breaking today was merely symbolic, but Chicago’s newest urban farm will be a reality in the next few months. That’s when Chicago FarmWorks begins producing food on a 2.6-acre site located along side the Metra/Union-Pacific railroad tracks in the East Garfield Park neighborhood.

Heartland Human Care Services, Inc. — a division of the anti-poverty organization Heartland Alliance — is one of several agencies behind Chicago FarmWorks. Heartland estimates that 24,000 pounds of produce will be grown in the first year. The farm also expects to create 90 transitional jobs in the first three years that will allow hard-to-employ people to get training and eventually full-time jobs.

“This is no ordinary farm,” said David Sinski, Heartland Human Care Services executive director. “This land will produce more than just fresh vegetables for Chicago families. It also will create jobs for those who are overcoming barriers to employment.” It will also give neighborhood children “a better understanding of agriculture and healthy eating.”

Chicago FarmWorks is being developed in partnership with Heartland Alliance, the City of Chicago, Wilbur Wright College, the Greater Chicago Food Depository, NeighborSpace and West Humboldt Park Development Council.
When Chicago FarmWorks becomes fully operational, it will provide produce directly to the Greater Chicago Food Depository at wholesale prices. The farm also will grow flowers in hoop houses for sale to floral retailers at wholesale rates to create a more financially sustainable project.

“We have worked with Greater Chicago Food Depository to identify the vegetables most needed for local food pantries,” said Dave Snyder, Chicago FarmWorks manager. During the winter, the farm will produce cabbage, carrots, radishes and onions. Seedlings are already growing in a green house space that Christy Webber Landscapes has donated. Sweet potatoes, beets, cucumbers, beans, spinach, summer squash and peppers are planned for spring.

“Urban farms benefit communities in a variety of ways,” said Ben Helphand, executive director of NeighborSpace. “The rows of food growing on what had been vacant lots provides a beautiful inspiration to the neighborhood. It also provides very real job training and fresh vegetables.”

Chicago FarmWorks hopes it can be catalyst to spur other economic development in the East Garfield Park neighborhood, where unemployment hovers around 35 percent.

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We’re at the Food+Justice=Democracy conference sponsored by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy in Minneapolis this week. Today started with an elder blessing by poet/activist/organizer Louis Alemayehu reading a beautiful poem reminding us that “The Holy Land is all the Earth.” The first panel of the day, “African American Ways of Knowing land” is going on now with presentations by Professor Rose Brewer of the University of Minnesota and Malik Yakini, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy Community Fellow.
We’ll be back with more posts later…

An Austin resident prepares to plant vegetable in her community garden plot. /Seeding Chicago

More than 350 people from all over Chicago have spent the last 12 months working to draft a healthy food plan for the city. The plan is intended to guide public and private efforts to build a healthier food culture in Chicago.

The Chicago Departments of Housing and Economic Development, Public Health, and Family and Support Services, in collaboration with the Mayor’s Office and diverse organizations and individuals across Chicago have supported the planning process. The Consortium to Lower Obesity in Chicago Children is helping facilitate the process.

Anyone interested in creating a healthier food environment in Chicago is invited to attend the Final Planning Workshop Thursday, July 19 from 1 to 4 p.m. at UBS Tower, One North Wacker Drive. This workshop is intended to present the draft food plan and discuss implementation strategies. RSVP to M Snodgrass or 312-573-7799.

In the meantime, if you’re really serious about eating healthy, here’s a plan of action you can implement NOW:
Buy fresh, local food.
Support local farmers’ markets. Find your nearest one here.
Eat produce that’s in season.
Cook at home more.
Plant a vegetable garden. Don’t have a patch of land? Grow vegetables in containers. Lettuce, fresh herbs and nutritionally rich kale, spinach and chard can be grown in pots.

The U. S. Department of Agriculture has compiled the first Regional Food Hub Resource Guide, which lists these innovative business models across the country—from Amissville, Va., to Salinas, Calif. The guide will interest those looking for businesses that connect producers with buyers.

“The Regional Food Hub Resource Guide is an important tool to help promote local and regional efforts to support small and medium-sized producers,” Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan says. “Food hubs play a critical role in developing stronger supply chains and addressing the infrastructure challenges while supporting food access, regional economic development and job creation.”

Food hubs allow farmers, especially smaller ones, to meet the growing consumer demand for fresh, local food. The resource guide lists four Chicago food hubs. Two are nonprofits, Fresh Moves Mobile Produce Market and Healthy Food Hub; two are privately held businesses, Goodness Greenness and Gourmet Gorilla.
Fresh Moves is a mobile produce market that delivers fresh fruits and vegetables to underserved areas of Chicago, mainly on the West Side. (See our earlier post on Fresh Moves)
Healthy Food Hub, through its biweekly market days, connects residents, mainly on the South Side, with fresh produce from regional and national farmers. (See our earlier post on the Healthy Food Hub.)
Goodness Greeness is the Midwest’s leading source for fresh, organic produce and the largest privately held organic distributor in the country, according to its website.
Gourmet Gorilla™ provides pre-schools, elementary and high school and other institutions, with breakfast, lunch and snacks delivered daily.

In 2011, USDA identified more than 170 food hubs operating around the country.