So, there's this new-ish thing I learned about: a self-watering garden pot. Now I'm sure there have been this type of thing available for quite some time. But these are a well-designed system, and I first heard of them in respect to a rural farming improvement project that caught my attention.
They're called Earth Pots and they have a water reservior in the bottom, a reversable cover to reduce pests and maintain maximum moisture and avoid over-heating in extremely hot areas. The idea is that people living in places with no real access to fertile soil can grow vegetables to feed their families in a pot! It takes little effort and minimizes destructive factors without pesticides in the air or water.
This seems like a great idea to me. The idea behind the rural farming part of it is to donate these pots to families in poor countries. It was on Rick Bayless' show on PBS. And, try though I might (because I'm a skeptic at heart) I haven't been able to find anything terrible about it....they seem to be made responsibly, and given away to people in need. If it's a good as it sounds, it sound good to me! Follow the link below to see a video about how it works. ~M.J. Spring
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Urban Gardening
So, I've been learning about P-Patches as a way to delve into slow food and un-learn some of the instant gratification practices I've picked up living in the City. Here's some of the data:
There are 7 to 10 tons of fresh organic produce grown in Pea-Patches in Seattle that are donated to local food banks.
For a plot of land 100 square feet, it costs $34 annually.
For a plot 400 square feet, $67 annually.
There are 23 acres, utilized by over 6,000 gardeners in the greater Seattle area.
At first, I was curious about the availability of these garden spaces in lower income areas where access to organic gardening and a means to provide fresh food sustainably. It turns out that, although garden plots are more numerous in higher income areas (due, in part, to greater access to open spaces) they are distributed throughout diverse areas of the Seattle area. Unfortunately, many of these P-Patches have waiting lists 50 names long. It can take up to two years to get a plot of land but, once you're in, you can upgrade each year and stay as long as you continue to pay the annual dues.
I struggle with m container garden on the little concrete patio outside my apartment. It's hard to grow vegetables that way, and with the weather uncertain it makes the variables vast and complicated. The Pea-Patch idea is encouraging, along with the hope of more spaces opening up in the near future. ~M.J. Spring
There are 7 to 10 tons of fresh organic produce grown in Pea-Patches in Seattle that are donated to local food banks.
For a plot of land 100 square feet, it costs $34 annually.
For a plot 400 square feet, $67 annually.
There are 23 acres, utilized by over 6,000 gardeners in the greater Seattle area.
At first, I was curious about the availability of these garden spaces in lower income areas where access to organic gardening and a means to provide fresh food sustainably. It turns out that, although garden plots are more numerous in higher income areas (due, in part, to greater access to open spaces) they are distributed throughout diverse areas of the Seattle area. Unfortunately, many of these P-Patches have waiting lists 50 names long. It can take up to two years to get a plot of land but, once you're in, you can upgrade each year and stay as long as you continue to pay the annual dues.
I struggle with m container garden on the little concrete patio outside my apartment. It's hard to grow vegetables that way, and with the weather uncertain it makes the variables vast and complicated. The Pea-Patch idea is encouraging, along with the hope of more spaces opening up in the near future. ~M.J. Spring
Genetically modified food
For a lot of farmers genetically modified foods crops have become more popular. But is it right or even necessary to even use them? The video above is regards a debate on rice farming in Asia. Whether the use of GMO’s or organic farming practices are better for the people or not. I think it’s great that we have the technology to create new modified crops that won’t need pesticides, but there are a lot of potential problems with these crops. A few problems are, the possibility of cross pollenation between the natural and modified crops, another is the fact that the people that develop these technologies put patents on the seeds and fertilizers making them very expensive for the farmers that would like to use them. And as you see in this video sometimes GMO’s don’t bring more profits to the farmers. I found the video really interesting what do you think?
Acequia Importance
This is the first part of a documentary I found on the importance of the Acequia for the people who use it. when reading the Piece by Pena in class I understood how Acequias work but I think that the video helps paint the picture of how detrimental it is for the farmers who use it. A lot of work goes into the maintaining of their water resources in this manner.Yes people can abuse the water but it seems that I doesn't happen that often due to water being so important for these people. one of the main problems is that the people are being pushed out of their areas due to the exploitations of the land and resources needed for this way of life. and example of this is the urbanization of land to bring about higher profits for the area. but these people don't see any of the profits. a major concern is the fact that in America it seems that this practice is dying out due to lack of participation through the generations. this is primarily a passed down process and with the pursue of the so called American dream Acequias are being literally left in the dust because no one wants to put the effort into it anymore and would rather pursue other careers
biodiversity agriculture
This video is has to do with how important it is to use the heirloom crops in our environment. People in certain parts of the world have become too dependent on crops from other areas such as corn and many others. The use of the native plants help the biodiversity of the land in which we live in. The people in this video are starting to do something about it. As we can see that it is much cheaper for the people, better for their diets and helps the people of Kenya to become less dependent on outsourced crops. It also talks briefly about the potential problem in 2050 with the carrying capacity of resources for human populations. I agree that it is important to know how to become self sufficient when it comes to nutrition even though it is very hard to do so in a metropolitan setting but with the help of people like this in the video it could be possible.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)