Inside Urban Green

Welcome to Leadville, USA

This is from a collection of photos from a site survey being conducted in my Brooklyn neighborhood of Bay Ridge. Note the peeling paint just above the tomato plants. Is it lead based paint?

Note that this is a re-post in recognition that this is National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week. If not for my dysfunctional knees I would have extended this survey even further. Toxic metals contaminated soil is a very serious but under reported health issue. It is a particular threat to children. There will be more posts on the subject this week.

Leadville is a fictional neighborhood that could be in any city in the USA. The name is fictional but the photos are real. They are from an ongoing site survey of people’s efforts to grow edible plants in their urban yards. These are front yards in a city where toxic metals soil contamination is far more widespread than the public realizes.

Currently the walking tour site survey is ongoing in the middle class neighborhood of Bay Ridge Brooklyn where I live. I will survey other Brooklyn neighborhoods in the future. 

The survey, triggered by my long-standing interest in the challenges of urban food growing, started in the summer of 2008. I focus on personal efforts to grow food in the city rather than on community or public gardening. Personal food gardening is where the public health hazard resides due to insufficient consumer education about the problem of toxic metals soil contamination.

The photos demonstrate the often-feeble efforts that residents make to grow some edible plants in the concrete jungle of the built environment. The soil in most cases could hardly be termed tillable, arable or productive. Look closely. The soil is neither pretty nor very inviting for “dirty hands” devotees.

What you see in the photos is only the tip of the iceberg. The photos are all of front yard growing. The majority of edible plants of course are growing in backyards hidden from view.

An EarthBox SIP Garden Blog

If you are new to the concept of portable micro gardens using sub-irrigated planters (SIPs) it is helpful to see what others have done.

Note that the planters are in a backgard on top of gravel. They could be on concrete in any city in the USA.

Lisa-Marie is blogging about the progress of her EarthBox SIP garden. She comments about both the successes and minor setbacks she has encountered. Take a look.

via blog.lisa-marie.net

Fresh Produce From an EarthBox SIP Garden

This impressive array of fresh vegetables is from a garden using EarthBox type sub-irrigation planters (SIPs). Photos of the garden are on Facebook.

Two things struck me when looking at the photos. One is that even using SIPs, there is a variation in the quality of the plants I see in my research. Some people simply do a better job of growing regardless of the method. My guess is that it involves time spent, attention given and regional climate differences.

The second observation is that the majority of SIP garden photos I see are of gardens in suburban and rural areas. That is just the opposite of what I would expect considering the benefits of SIPs in cities where tillable land is scarce, expensive and often contaminated.

My belief is that people with backyards are much more used to growing food than city dwellers. Many of these more experienced gardeners have quickly understood the benefits of SIPs and have adopted them.

I also observe the lack of education about SIPs here in NYC and other US cities I have studied. Education is clearly the missing ingredient holding back the use of modern methods such as SIPs.

I am currently doing a walking tour site survey of my neighborhood and photographing people’s efforts to grow some edible plants. It is a very sad story. Stay tuned.

via www.facebook.com

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.

Ohio State U Professor »The Dirt on Contaminated Dirt

Quote: "Any gardener worth their salt will tell you that soil composition is crucial to the success of the garden, but in urban environments soil contamination must be considered part of the composition."

Judging by their silence about this ever more widespread public health threat, we obviously don't have enough gardening leaders worth their salt here in NYC.

I suspect this is true in many other cities across the U.S. where urban dirt gardening boosters with mostly anecdotal experience make most of the noise.

Urban Gardening Rule No.1: Have your soil tested for toxic metals contamination before planting any edible plants. If toxic metals contamination is discovered, consult with a qualified professional with scientific training on the subject. Do not take the advice of fellow amateur gardeners. This subject abounds with urban legends.

It is also a good idea to consult with your pediatrician. Young children are the most susceptible to lead poisoning. A blood test may be recommended.

via greenlimbs.com

Some Tomato Advice From USDA eXtension Bloggers

eXtension: "The single best control for cracking is a constant and regular water supply."

Greenscaper: The single best way to supply water in a constant and regular way is by sub-irrigation.

The built in water and oxygen reservoir in sub-irrigated planters (SIPs) provides both water and oxygen to the plants on a consistent basis. This type of capillary (aka wick) watering eliminates wet and dry cycles that trigger tomato skin cracks.

Q. What causes a tomato to crack, and can I do anything to prevent it? 

A. Cracking is a physiological disorder caused by soil moisture fluctuations. When the tomato reaches the mature green stage and the water supply to the plant is reduced or cut off, the tomato will begin to ripen. At this time, a cellophane-like "wrapper" around the outer surface of the tomato becomes thicker and more rigid to protect the tomato during and after harvest. If the water supply is restored after ripening begins, the plant will resume translocation of nutrients and moisture into the fruit. This will cause the fruit to enlarge, which in turn splits the wrapper around the fruit and results in cracking.

A Misguided Vegetable Gardening Guide From the Extension Program

This following is just one example of a gardening guide with not one word about the possibility of urban soil contamination, the need for a toxic metal soil test or the safe and productive option of growing in portable micro gardens (aka sub-irrigated planters - SIPs).

It is a publication of the U. of Illinois extension program. There are hundreds of outdated vegetable gardening guides like this on the web. It is particularly deplorable when public funds are used to publish incomplete information like this.

via web.extension.illinois.edu

Cucumber Trellis » Need One? Store Bought or DIY?

 

 

Do you need a trellis for your cucumber vines? Should it be store bought or can you make one yourself?

Incidentally, it's best to sub-irrigate your raised beds whether you use a trellis or not. You will produce more and better cukes along with whatever else you are growing while saving water and time.

Share your experience and opinion with a comment below.

via www.gardeners.com

Trellis Keeps Cucumbers Straight and Blemish-Free

The Mighty 'Mato » Marriage of Hydroponics and Heirloom Tomatoes

Following is an excerpt from the widely read Acres of Buzz newsletter edited and published by Chris Beytes. A video also follows after the jump.

The particularly exciting news in this edition is about new grafted heirloom tomato plants named Mighty 'Mato.

The plants are heirloom tomatoes grafted onto rootstock that is typically used for hydroponic growing. The yields are projected to be four to five times greater. Does this sound like a natural for sub-irrigated planter systems (SIPs)? Hang on and stay tuned!

Chris: I wish we had more time to look at the various intros on the seed side, to give us an idea what we’ll see up the road. Alas, we just had too much else to see. Such as Plug Connection’s new Mighty ‘Mato grafted tomato, part of a new line called Super Naturals. Grafting is done with commercial varieties intended for hydroponic production, but this is the first time I’ve seen them offered for the home garden. The idea of grafting is to put a touchy variety, such as an heirloom, on a tough, vigorous, disease-resistant native rootstock. Juan St. Amant says grafting can increase the yield of an heirloom by four to five times! They’re starting with one variety, to see how it goes. They’re also looking at grafted peppers and eggplants. Hey, and we have video of it, too!

University of Minnesota » Lead in the Home Garden and Urban Soil Environment

Knowing what I know about the benefits of growing in portable micro gardens (aka sub-irrigated planters - SIPs) there is no way I would grow food in urban soil. In my view, it makes no sense to take the risk of toxic metal contamination or to give up the productivity and environmental benefits of SIPs.

I do recognize however that there are those who hold a spiritual belief about growing food in "Mother Earth". For those holding this belief, the following is a very informative and comprehensive article about lead contamination from the University of Minnesota.