Inside Urban Green

MIT OpenCourseWare » An Idea to Modernize Consumer Horticulture Education

The consumer horticulture and agriculture education system in the U.S. is grossly out of date. This is particularly true as it relates to our ever growing urban society. The system is out of touch with the realities of urban life and is stuck in an outdated paradigm of drain hole pots and often-contaminated city dirt.

The bedrock of the system is the USDA, the Extension program and its partnership with the land grant universities. There are more than 100 of them. It is highly unlikely that there will be the political will to reform this broken system any time soon since there are powerful forces dedicated to keeping the status quo.

We all know the story of David and Goliath. Watch this video and you will see the germ of an idea of how David can defeat Goliath again. Stay tuned for more posts about the "David idea."

via www.youtube.com

Here is the official video for the MIT OpenCourseWare 1800 event: Unlocking Knowledge, Empowering Minds: A Milestone Celebration. The event celebrates the publishing of the 1800th course on MIT OpenCourseWare

Sub-irrigated Ancient Royal Garden?

Artist's rendering of Ramat Rahel site. (Credit: Image courtesy of American Friends of Tel Aviv University)

Aha, rainwater harvesting and underground channels, tunnels and gutters.

Could they have been sub-irrigating their plants? It looks like a very strong possibility.

One of the unique features of Ramat Rahel's garden is its advanced irrigation system. The scope of the garden is even more impressive, says Dr. Gadot, because there was no permanent water source at the site. Rainwater was efficiently collected and distributed throughout the garden with aesthetic water installations that included pools, underground channels, tunnels, and gutters.

via www.sciencedaily.com

Researchers have long been fascinated by the secrets of Ramat Rahel, located on a hilltop above modern-day Jerusalem. The site of the only known palace dating back to the kingdom of Biblical Judah, digs have also revealed a luxurious ancient garden. Since excavators discovered the garden with its advanced irrigation system, they could only imagine what the original garden might have looked like in full bloom -- until now. Read more...

Grow Food Vertically in a Utility Bucket Sub-irrigated Planter (SIP) Sack Garden Hybrid

Here is yet another creative idea about sub-irrigated planters (SIPs) from YouTube. In this case, the grower is using SIPs made from recycled utility buckets. The clever modification is the addition of holes drilled in the sides to make a vertical garden a la African sack gardens.

Note also that he uses a fabric wick rather than a wicking container. It is not well known that many commercial SIP type planters use nylon or polyester fabric wicking. This is particularly true of those made in Europe.

Although not shown in the video the designer of the planter suggests stacking them 2 or 3 high. These are very exciting ideas well worth further exploration and testing. Imagine coupling this vertical garden idea with Larry Hall's rain gutter SIP system. Perhaps we can get Larry to test one or two of these planters.

via www.youtube.com

Now that you have the basics of this system by watching the first two videos I share with you my "ultimate container". I don't know of a better container to produce more food in less space than this ultimate container. Due to many reasons including the variations of plants, the density of planting and the ability to stack these containers make them the ultimate container for container gardening. Imagine being able to grow forty plants in a one foot area!

Herb Planters or Propagators » Your Choice, Free or Pay

Someone in the U.K. didn't get the memo about making free sub-irrigated planters and propagators (SIPs) from recycled soda bottles.

You can have the convenience of buying these for 6.95 pounds ($11.00 U.S.) plus shipping and tax, or you can make the ones below at no cost other than a small amount of your time.

Of course you will also be helping the environment by keeping these bottles out of our landfills.

You can see Flickr photos on how to make them here. One of these days I will make a YouTube video about these simple SIPs. Promise!

2-liter soda bottle SIPs with 16 oz deli container tops

2-liter soda bottle SIPs with soda bottle and deli container tops.

via www.thebalconygardener.com

The Capsule pot is a mini and stylish propagator designed to be easy to use to grow your first herbs.The capsule pot is self watering, just add water and it gets soaked up into the soil. Add the herb seeds (included) and watch your beautiful herbs grow.

The black inner container can be split apart to reveal the soil plug which can then be transplanted along with your growing herbs. With a cute capsule design the capsule pots look great on the window sill and on a working desktop. A great present for anyone who wants to start indoor gardening and growing their own herbs at home.

• The size is nice and compact at only 10cm high!
• Available in basil or parsley.

Earthbox Junior and Senior » Is Less More?

In case you missed the Associated Press story making the rounds (linked below), EarthBox has announced a smaller version called EarthBox "Junior". Not quite goose bump news but it does add some flexiblty to their product line.

The rather tacky photo from the article includes the EarthBox "grandpa" rather than "senior" in the background. It is one of the original EarthBoxes before the present version. Whose idea was that I wonder.

I would probably have announced this planter as a window box SIP rather than a "Junior." Rowhouse gardeners in the city, in particular, need a good quality window box SIP and this might be it. Sooner or later someone is going to fill this enormous need with the right product at the right price.

Most of the window boxes I see here in Brooklyn are plant killers, particularly during summer heat. They are simply too small and have insufficient capacity for adding a DIY sub-irrigation capability. This window box test on my fire escape proved the point.

In my view, the world needs an iSIP rather than a Junior. Where is Steve Jobs when you need him? Come back Steve!

An estimated 17 percent of gardeners – or about 20 million households – do their growing in containers, often in restricted spaces, said Bruce Butterfield, market research director for the National Gardening Association.

Jr. is about 35% the size of Sr - 4466 cu. in. v.s. 1584 cu. in.

Like the EarthBox original, the compact “Junior” has a water reservoir that wicks moisture to plant roots, reducing the need for daily watering while boosting yields. Junior measures just 23 by 7¼ by 9½ inches, compared to the original’s 29 by 14 by 11 inches.

 via news.cincinnati.com

A Different P.O.V. About Peat

Thanks to a peat poke from long-time interior plantscaper Clem Cirelli, here's a different point of view about a "peat moss shortage" .

via www.sungro.com

The Leader in Sustainable Peat Resources

Sun Gro is North America's largest producer of horticultural-grade peat and the largest distributor of peat moss and peat and bark-based growing mixes. Additionally, we are the leader in ensuring the sustainability of this important resource.

We endorse the Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss Association’s definition of sustainable peatland management as the "balanced stewardship of the environmental, social and economic values of Canada's renewable peatland resource."

There are more than 270 million acres of peatlands in Canada. Of that, only .016 percent is harvested to help beautify our environment and grow literally millions of plants. In addition, new peat develops 60 times faster than what is harvested and managed wisely, peat is the ultimate renewable resource! Read more...

Milwaukee » Growing Power Revealed

This is a series of four videos that provide a valuable insight into the methods used by Will Allen's Growing Power in Milwaukee. This award winning urban agriculture project is a leader in the use of aquaponics and compost.

To the best of my knowledge they are not doing any growing in sub-irrigated planters (SIPs). If they were, it would be an ideal place to conduct valuable testing of compost use in SIPs.

We desperately need applied research regarding SIPs that we are not getting from the USDA Extension Program. Growing Power could be a major help in this effort.

A Shortage for Peat's Sake!

Evidently greenhouse growers are experiencing a shortage of peat moss. Being knee deep in medical issues (bad pun), I've had no time to check on the availability of peat moss here in Brooklyn. I'm wondering if the shortage is being felt at the consumer level.

The most common media for growing in sub-irrigated planters (SIPs) is composed of bark, peat and perlite (no topsoil). Even though SIP productivity is greater, there are those who resist using them for growing vegetables because of media cost.

One way of reducing the media cost (and use of peat moss) is to incorporate aged compost. The trick is to use it but retain media capillarity (good wicking action). I have no doubt the we can dramatically reduce the cost of soil media for sub-irrigated growing but it will require applied research that does not exist at this time.

The USDA Extension Program should be providing this information. It is a sad fact, however, that the extension program is still erroneously calling it "self-watering" and is doing nothing to further the use of SIPs. This is clearly a misuse of tax dollars and we should be doing something about it.

via www.greenhousemanagementonline.com

While media may be an old topic, there are new aspects to consider for this season and beyond.

The buzz in the industry centers around the peat moss shortage hitting the market.

“Any time you have a shortage, it will affect what’s going on and even costs,” says Rick Vetanovetz, manager of technical services in the Eastern region for Sun Gro Horticulture. “I’m speaking for a lot of different manufacturers, but when you have a poor harvest in one area, you have to rely on another area for supply of that material, and when you do that, it disrupts a lot of things.” Read more...

Micro-CT Reveals the Underground World of Plants

Plant and computer scientists can now study the underground world of plants with more accuracy and clarity. The revolutionary technique will improve our chances of breeding better crop varieties and increasing yields. (Credit: © NatUlrich / Fotolia)

Even without X-ray Micro Computed Tomography (Micro-CT) you can study plant roots by growing some plants in recycled soda bottle sub-irrigated planters (SIPs).

One of the dumbest things we do is to grow indoor houseplants in opaque containers like ever popular clay pots. Coupled with drench and drain watering they help to kill more plants than we can possibly count. The commercial greenhouse growers of houseplants love it.

Regardless of proven fact, our USDA Extension Program still preaches the drain hole mantra ad nauseum. When will these horticultural dinosaurs evolve or join the rest of the extinct dinosaurs?

Even if they do become extinct, are we educating enough young bioscientists and biotechnologists to take their place and help save the world from starvation? It is still an open question. Read the following. There is hope.

via www.sciencedaily.com

Plant and computer scientists can now study the underground world of plants with more accuracy and clarity. The revolutionary technique will improve our chances of breeding better crop varieties and increasing yields.

Developed at The University of Nottingham by a team of experts from the Schools of Biosciences and Computer Science, the new approach is based on the same X-ray technology used in hospital CT scans and incorporates new image analysis software which, for the first time, can automatically distinguish plant roots from the other materials found in soil. Read more...

Human-made Photosynthesis Could Revolutionize Food and Energy Production

Improving natural photosynthesis to make new fuels and boost crop production is the focus of new research. It could see us one step closer to bottling the sun's energy or turbocharging plants to produce bumper crops. (Credit: © Lizard / Fotolia)

Let's hear a cheer for the power of photosynthesis. Biotech and bioscience  may yet save us all in spite of what the naysayers rant. For sure we're not going to be saved by hoes, rakes and shovels.

via www.sciencedaily.com

Improving natural photosynthesis to make new fuels and boost crop production is the focus of Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) funded research presented at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Annual Meeting February 17. It could see us one step closer to bottling the sun's energy or turbocharging plants to produce bumper crops. Read more...