Inside Urban Green

Up on the Roof » Farming Hong Kong's Urban Island

For just $15 per month, Lam rents out toolbox-sized planter boxes to businessmen, elderly couples and families alike, and even runs horticulture classes. He uses imported soil from Germany to fill his planters and lets the humid, subtropical climate do the rest.

I can't tell if these planters are sub-irrigated but the plants look like it. The garden is obviously healthy, lush and suggestive of sub-irrigation. In any case, Mr. Lam obviously knows how to grow and evidently has a head for business as well.

I spent 10 days in Hong Kong back in 1986 and did not want to leave. I called it New York east...way east and would go back there in a heartbeat. It is a beautiful city with great energy. Once I get new knees, I may go there next year and do some consulting. That would be a lot of fun.

The ideological obstructionism that permeates the NYC urban horticulture scene is intellectually stifling. Neo-Luddism is alive and well here. It is reactionary energy that this country does not need. We obviously need to be exploring new and creative ideas to solve 21st century problems.

via edition.cnn.com

Hong Kong (CNN) -- On the roof of a 21-story office building in Hong Kong's eastern district sits a grassy patch of hope that agriculture can thrive even in one of the world's most congested spaces.

The rooftop is managed by local entrepreneur Osbert Lam, who spends his afternoons amid the rows of planter boxes teaming with long beans, tomatoes and herbs that occupy his urban farm.

EarthBoxes » Farming Concrete for Social Good in New Jersey

Staff photo by Britney Lillya - Jeff Miller, left, and Janisa Holmes plant peppers in EarthBoxes as part of the WorkPlus Program at Westside Court in Salem City.

Portable micro gardens like the sub-irrigated EarthBox provide an ideal way to bring urban food production to the people who most need it.

Why are we not doing more of this in New York City?

Funding dirt farming projects exclusively is a foolish political mistake. Unfortunately, the majority of politicians know little about more modern methods of urban food production. They intuitively believe urban farming in the dirt is a good thing when it is not.

Dirt farming in the city is less productive, runs the risk of contaminated soil and leads young people to very low paying jobs that cannot provide a livable wage in the high cost city. Learning about modern sub-irrigated food production systems however is a good start on a path to learning about science and technology and career paths that can lead to liveable wages.

via www.nj.com

SALEM, NJ — Members of the Salem Housing Authority’s WorkPlus program were out planting and preparing box gardens on a small site in West Side Court here last week — just one of a number of initiatives under WorkPlus to help low-income and rehabilitated residents develop workforce skills.

Gotham Greens » Lettuce, Lettuce! Lettuce come and get it!

Using hydroponics and climate control technology, the farm is serving up hundreds of pounds of super local lettuce to the city's markets on the same day it's harvested.

It's just great to see this become a reality. I wish them much good fortune. Lettuce see more of this...and tomatoes too!

via www.fastcompany.com

The borough of Brooklyn knows from rooftop farms. Ever since the urban farming craze hit, small and large farms have been popping up on warehouse roofs to serve bearded young people who, not used to making sacrifices, want to live in the city and also eat farm-fresh vegetables. But Gotham Greens, a farm two years in the making that sold its first lettuce a few weeks ago, is a rooftop farm of a different breed. It could, in fact, be the rooftop farm of the future.

Chongqing, China » City Rooftop Farming Gaining Popularity

My opinion is that these rooftop gardens are not sub-irrigated, but that is just a guess. What is more certain is that before too long a Chinese entrepreneur is going to realize the benefits and market potential for sub-irrigated portable micro gardens and exploit them both in China and the U.S. 

If that happens it will be one more example of a lost job creation opportunity in the U.S. In this case we can thank our low-tech urban agriculture and horticulture movement that is clearly driven by ideology rather than science and technology.

via www.youtube.com

Discover Magazine Discovers a 21st Century Urban "Farm" in a Chicago Building

Lettuce grown outdoors at The Plant will be sold locally this fall. Courtesy Rachel Swenie

John Edel and his aquaponics (fish and vegetables) and hydroponics urban food production project The Plant in Chicago received some more richly deserved publicity, this time from Discover Magazine.

If you are not familiar with LED horticultural lighting and the magenta color, the lights are customized to beam red and blue light that optimizes plant growth. These lights are not meant to please the human eye. The plants are the kings and queens of this show.

via discovermagazine.com

In Chicago’s meatpacking district, developer John Edel hopes to reinvent the urban food supply with a $4 million, four-story indoor produce and fish farm called The Plant. Edel and his colleagues have already planted 3,000 square feet of hydroponically grown lettuce and other greens and installed 1,400 tilapia in tanks.

The fish farm and gardens are connected by a 9,000-gallon water circulation system: Wastewater from the tilapia tanks, rich in nitrogen-based nutrients, flows into the hydroponic beds, where it irrigates and fertilizes the lettuce. The crop roots then filter that water before it returns to the fish. Edel and student collaborators at the Illinois Institute of Technology are also building a custom-designed digester that will turn the project’s leftover vegetable and fish waste into fertilizer and biogas to power a heating, cooling, and 280-kilowatt electrical system. The Plant will offer its first bounty for sale this fall, supplying greens, mushrooms, and tilapia to farmers’ markets and local restaurants.

Google Docs » A Personal Urban Food Production System

Thanks to the GrowBarrel folks in Minneapolis this DIY information is now online as a Google Doc.

You do not need power tools and PVC to make these sub-irrigated planters (SIPs)

Do your friends a favor and pass the word.

Systems like the Valcent VertiCrop are the servers and mainframes of urban food production. Just as in the digital world, we also need distributed food production power brought to the people on a personal level.

Sub-irrigated (sub-aerated) planters (SIPs) like this one are the PCs and laptops of personal urban food production. You might also think of them as the iPads and iPhones of food.

There is no need to plug them into tillable earth. They are portable. All that is needed is a small space with sufficient sunlight, be it on a rooftop, balcony, driveway, paved patio or even a fire escape. They will produce more food per square foot than in-ground gardening while conserving water and valuable time. This is safe food production with no exposure to contaminated city soil.

Minneapolis » A Community Grows in GrowBarrel Sub-irrigated Portable Micro Gardens

She is creating the soil wicks around the recycled plastic jugs that form the water and oxygen reservoir system. It doesn't get any simpler than this. PVC and power tools not necessary. All you need is a water tight container and a place in the sun. It could even be a raised bed made water tight with sheet plastic.

Alex Hemke and Jennifer Nicklay fill a homemade GrowBarrel with soil Saturday at Van Cleve Park. The barrels are a sustainable alternative to a traditional garden.- photo Joseph Michaud-Scorza

A neighborhood community group in Minneapolis is “rolling out” barrels of fresh vegetables in portable micro garden planters they named GrowBarrels.

This is an inspiring story of community involvement in building sub-irrigated (aka “self-watering”) planters (SIPs) from recycled plastic barrels. The interior “plumbing” is also made from recycled plastics following this basic method.

The Southeast Como Improvement Association has discovered the best of all worlds. There is no waiting list in this community garden, there can be an unlimited number of growers and it does not require valuable city land.

Neighbors meet in workshops to build the portable micro gardens but the gardens go home with each of them. Home is clearly the best place to grow some fresh food. Every family member, young and old, can participate.

We could make a very significant contribution to the supply of local fresh food in cities if groups of people in all cities got together to do what these folks are doing in Minneapolis. This could be done block by block. All it will take is some leadership and education about building SIPs.

Look at these photo sets. They tell the story in great detail.

via www.mndaily.com

Rainwater Harvesting » What Kind of Roof is Safest for Potable Water?

Photo from a Yahoo Group on rainwater harvesting

Here's more on science Sunday. Many of you have probably been patiently waiting for the results of this study. Read on and also visit the Yahoo group linked above to meet more rainy day harvesters.

via www.sciencedaily.com

ScienceDaily (June 15, 2011) — For the past few years, one of the most common questions facing the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) hasn't been over contentious water rights or proposed water projects; it's been from homeowners wanting to know what type of roofing material is most suitable for collecting rainwater for indoor domestic use. Read more...

In Case You're Not Sure » What Makes a Plant a Plant?

On this science Sunday, you may have been asking yourself that imponderable question "What is a plant?" ScienceDaily helps answer the question before you put that "thing" in a pot and start watering it. Read on...

via www.sciencedaily.com

ScienceDaily (June 16, 2011) — Although scientists have been able to sequence the genomes of many organisms, they still lack a context for associating the proteins encoded in genes with specific biological processes. To better understand the genetics underlying plant physiology and ecology -- especially in regard to photosynthesis -- a team of researchers including Carnegie's Arthur Grossman identified a list of proteins encoded in the genomes of plants and green algae, but not in the genomes of organisms that don't generate energy through photosynthesis. Read more...

Phytoremediation » 86 Plants to Clean Your Indoor Air?

Osmunda japonica Flickr photo By Polylepis

This is the story that will not die (read ScienceDaily story below). The only things that will likely die are these supposedly "indoor plants" that will supposedly make the air in your home squeaky clean.

First, see if you can find the following plants in your favorite houseplant emporium. Good luck! They are neither easy to find or easy to grow indoors

If you get lucky you will likely be told to make sure your plant pot has a drain hole and be sure you stick your finger into the soil before you water. That advice is the beginning of the end of most houseplants in the care of most who are not dedicated green-thumbed houseplant freaks.

You will find lots of photos and advice about growing and maintaining plants using sub-irrigation methods on this blog. Sub-irrigation works and is used by most professional and experienced interior plant maintainers. It is also likely that the plant you buy was grown in a greenhouse using sub-irrigation.

Sub-irrigation is far superior to traditional drench and drain that I call “poke, pour and pray”. You can easily prove all this to yourself. It is not rocket science.

Do plants growing indoors maintained by any method really clean indoor air? Who knows? Personally, I am skeptical but am a firm believer that HEALTHY plants in your environment will improve your well being in many ways, none of them measurable. 

Phytoremediation potential was assessed by exposing the plants to gaseous formaldehyde in airtight chambers constructed of inert materials and measuring the rate of removal. Osmunda japonica (Japanese royal fern), Selaginella tamariscina (Spikemoss), Davallia mariesii (Hare's-foot fern), Polypodium formosanum, Psidium guajava (Guava), Lavandula (Sweet Lavender), Pteris dispar, Pteris multifida (Spider fern), and Pelargonium (Geranium) were the most effective species tested. Ferns had the highest formaldehyde removal efficiency of the five classes of plants tested, with Osmunda japonica determined to be most effective of all 86 species, coming in at 50 times more effective than the least (D. deremensis) efficient species.

via www.sciencedaily.com

ScienceDaily (June 24, 2011) — Formaldehyde is a major contaminant of indoor air, originating from particle board, carpet, window coverings, paper products, tobacco smoke, and other sources. Indoor volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as formaldehyde can contribute to allergies, asthma, headaches, and a condition known as ''sick building syndrome." The concern is widespread; a 2002 report from the World Health Organization estimated that undesirable indoor volatiles represent a serious health problem that is responsible for more than 1.6 million deaths per year and 2.7% of the global burden of disease.