Inside Urban Green

Arizona Master Gardeners: Sustainable Gardening Focus Of Annual Conference

I have over 1,200 RSS subscriptions in my Google Reader and readily concede that it is way over populated. Even without an RSS reader however, I could stay productive with the short list of search strings on my Google News page. 

One of the most active strings is "urban agriculture" OR "urban farming". These search words describe a current media buzz. Of all the topics I research this is the one that most reveals the low quality of our horticultural education system.

The news articles reveal that we have politicians all over the country who are following political pressure from dirt farming and gardening activists who obviously know little about modern urban food production techniques. Thanks to our antiquated education, all they know are traditional methods of plowing and tilling. The politicians unfortunately know even less. It is a classic case of the blind leading the blind.

I’ll get to the point of this post. One of the vaunted and highly publicized educational assets of the USDA Extension Program is the so-called Master Gardener program. The reach of USDA propaganda is highly leveraged through this army of unpaid gardeners.

However, the quality of the education they deliver is highly questionable. This article demonstrates it. It is about the Annual Arizona Highlands Garden Conference coming up in August. It is a meeting of Arizona Master Gardeners at a casino/golf course resort.

The article states that the primary focus of the conference is quote, “Reaping the rewards of enriching our soil and using our water wisely”. That certainly makes sense since Arizona is a desert state. Knowing this, read the extensive article that details the speakers and subjects. There is not one word about highly productive, water-saving sub-irrigated planter systems (SIPs).

Further there is a link to the local Master Gardener program website. As usual, I did some basic site searching and found thin gruel on the subject of sub-irrigation or the inappropriate but commonly used term “self-watering”. A further search for educational information about the popular EarthBox turned up even less.

The USDA Extension and Master Gardener programs are clearly living in some prior century. Who knows which one. Oh well, it’s only taxpayer money we’re wasting. We can print some more. We can't print water though.

via www.azdailysun.com

Reaping the rewards of enriching our soil and using our water wisely along will be the focus of the 11th Annual Arizona Highlands Garden Conference, Aug. 27-28, at the Mazatzal Casino in Payson. The conference, titled "Sustainable Gardening for Homes and Communities," will feature outstanding speakers, tours and workshops.

Sub-irrigateed Planters (SIPs): A Backyard Tomato Garden Or Business

Here is a look at our tomatoes in EarthBoxes this spring, well, almost summer

via www.facebook.com

It would be interesting to know the fresh vegetable production (and street value) of this back yard garden, excuse me farm. What we see here could well be a family small business selling both vegetables and ready-to-grow sub-irrigated planter (SIP) gardens. Read about someone already doing it. 

Think about all the unemployed teenagers and college students we have in America who could produce some significant fresh food and income over a summer if they knew how. 

The key is education about modern methods of urban food production that does not require tilling scarce and often-contaminated land. Currently this information is not available and that is a national disgrace. Third world countries get better information (micro gardening for example) from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) than we do.

The USDA is not funded or mandated to teach you as an urban or suburban citizen how to grow your own food using the most modern productive methods. It is funded by tax dollars and supported by lobbyists whose sole interest is in promoting corporate agriculture. That does not include you.

Instead of modern up to date consumer information, the USDA through its Extension and Master Gardener programs spreads outdated information about dirt and drain hole gardening. Sadly, urban foodie and dirt hugger bloggers and writers drink their cool-aid and spit it out all over the Internet. The blind end up leading the blind.

Almost every day I see photos like this one about job training. Well intentioned perhaps but dumb and dumber. Working in a MacDonald's or Starbuck's is probably a better job than this. The expression "dirt cheap" isn't just about the dirt; it's also about dirt-cheap jobs that lead nowhere. 

Self-watering? Cattle Yes, Plants No!

The photo is from an article written by a Master Gardener intern. It's about making "self-watering" planters from discarded molasses supplement tubs used by cattle ranchers.

This is a quote from the article. "Self-watering" is not a 100-percent accurate statement because the gardener does the watering.

No it's not 100-percent accurate, it's 100-percent inaccurate! The tubs are self-watering for the cattle with brains but not for plants without them.

It's not a small point. Over decades of experience with so-called "self-watering" planters in the consumer market, my observation is that the single most significant cause of misuse is the belief that plants can take as much water as they need and stop when they are no longer "thirsty".

Smart Home: Prepping EarthBoxes for 2010 Growing Season

Master Gardeners have been busy at work getting EarthBoxes ready for the 2010 growing season at the Smart Home on the grounds of the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.

This is one of the finest modern-age urban gardening projects in the U.S. We owe a big thank you to the The Growing Connection (a UN FAO organization) donor of the planters.

See slideshow via www.flickr.com Photos are from between March 15 & 22, 2010

Modern Age Urban Gardening: These Kids, Parents And Teachers Get It!

Thanks to Extension Program Educator Ron Wolford and a group of Chicago Master Gardeners, kids from the Bret Harte School learned that there is more to urban food production than pulling a hoe or stepping on a spade.