Living City

Living City A Garden start CSA and Year-Round Gardening Course Series We are a market garden and greenhouse, as well as a community education project.

Living City is a group of three seasoned gardeners working several sites in the Cully Neighborhood in NE Portland. We manage our greenhouse and gardens with an emphasis on biological controls and adhere to organic standards, although organic certification is not a goal. Rather, we prefer to develop direct relationships with the community members that purchase our plants and produce, thereby cuttin

g out the need for third-party certification. Living City strives to be a carbon neutral, community-minded business and thus is bicycle-based, sources locally from other small businesses whenever possible, and minimizes the use of packaging. We apply our concern for the environment to all of our business practices, including using materials that are reclaimed or sustainably produced. We are committed to providing clean, nutritious food and plants to our community with ecological and social integrity. We hope to contribute to the long-term resilience of our community by strengthening our local food system and helping people grow more food!For the 2011 season, Living City is introducing a unique garden start CSA in conjunction with courses on gardening, cooking, and preserving your harvest. We will help you get in touch with the flow of season, providing you with the plants, seeds, and know-how to harvest from your own garden all year long. In addition, you receive some materials for better garden management.

Let the urban forest build its soil.
12/18/2025

Let the urban forest build its soil.

Ferns, wildflowers and grasses thrive.  The rich duff is 50% air; it absorbs rain in the winter (no puddles) and holds moisture through the summer.  Why?  Because all the fallen leaves and other organic matter stay onsite and cycle back into the soil.  

yes, you can eat from your garden year round!
12/05/2025

yes, you can eat from your garden year round!

Tender, sweet chicories, and sparkling mustards for our fall and winter salads.  Delicate, gourmet salad greens like máche, miner’s lettuce and wild violets pop at the edges of every bed, and we’ll be tossing calendula petals, blue stars of borage, and purple mustard blossoms in the salads til...

Come fill your basket at Blueberry Learning Farm.
11/30/2025

Come fill your basket at Blueberry Learning Farm.

Work/learn party, tour.  Medicinal herb harvest and processing, garlic planting, tasting.  Harvest some treats to take home.   Greens, herbs, edible flowers.  Get inspired for your own garden.

Fall care for the urban farm....and forest.
11/26/2025

Fall care for the urban farm....and forest.

Thinking of planting trees or other perennials?  Now is the best time.  Transplant shock is lessened by cooler temperatures and moist soil.  Top growth is slow to nil, so plants will have all winter to grow new roots.  And you won’t have to water until late spring!  

At Blueberry Learning Farm, you really can eat from the garden year round.
11/14/2025

At Blueberry Learning Farm, you really can eat from the garden year round.

What’s a hardy kiwi?  Recently renamed “kiwi berry” in some marketing, it’s related to the larger fuzzy kiwis.  They’re about the size of a grape, with smooth skin, no peeling needed.  As the weather turns cold and wet, hardy kiwis are just starting.  They peak in November, and can h...

Eat from your garden year round......
09/29/2025

Eat from your garden year round......

Welcome the rain, and cooler, cleaner air. And, days are getting shorter. Time to protect your plants (and soil) so your winter crops will be delicious and nutritious til spring. Plus we can plant more salad greens and other overwintering crops- if we get right on it.

Growing our own seeds is part of growing next year's harvest...and beyond.
09/02/2025

Growing our own seeds is part of growing next year's harvest...and beyond.

Or, maybe you want to keep it simple.  Fortunately, many vegetables are much simpler than squashes.  Beans, tomatoes, lettuce….there are still a few things to know, but it’s not rocket science.  

Sweet summer treats! Come get them!
07/11/2025

Sweet summer treats! Come get them!

Our ultra-early apple and pear trees are ready to pick!  Come learn tips for telling when a fruit is ready, and special needs of the pear harvest.  Plus we’ll fill up the solar dryer so you get to see how it works.  Learn ideal slicing technique for drying.  And of course you can harvest fruit...

Another class to help us eat from our gardens year round!
07/08/2025

Another class to help us eat from our gardens year round!

And what are we planting?  Endive, escarole and radicchio.  These hardy chicories sweeten after frost and will give us delicious and beautiful salads through the winter.

Water wise vegetables? Yes.
05/28/2025

Water wise vegetables? Yes.

On March 23 it was 80 degrees.  Last week it was 60 and raining.   Today it's 88…what's next?  I’ll keep my raincoat and sun hat by the door.  Rollercoaster weather is the hallmark of climate change: extremes at both ends, with rapid change.

So much to do in the garden now! Weeding for sure. We could use some help.....
04/30/2025

So much to do in the garden now! Weeding for sure. We could use some help.....

 In the morning we’ll be identifying and removing weeds. Some from around precious native wildflowers - learn advanced plant identification! (and yes, we'll talk about which "weeds" are also edible and medicinal.) In the afternoon, a more formal class.  -weeding tools and techniques: less work...

We'd better learn to build soil, if we want to eat next year.
04/06/2025

We'd better learn to build soil, if we want to eat next year.

And your soil is the best investment in your garden. (After planting a tree.). These native glacier lilies wouldn’t thrive here if we had not been building deep, rich soil for years.  Like planting a tree, the best time to start building soil is ten years ago (or more).  The second best time is...

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Cully Neighborhood
Portland, OR
97218

Telephone

+15038499466

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