Down On The Urban Farm

If you have recently recycled an old cellphone, perhaps you wondered - like I did - what cellphone heaven looks like.

This great article in Technology Review takes you behind the scenes at ReCellular, the nation's largest cell-phone recycling facility, to show you what happens to your old cellphone.

WOW!

There was a great article this week in the Wall Street Journal about Urban Farming in West Oakland, CA:

"..amidst the snaking freeways and dilapidated buildings, a bit of green is growing. Since 2001, more than 80 urban farms have been cultivated in the backyards and vacant lots of West Oakland. Produce from zucchini to watermelon is grown for consumption by local residents; goats and chickens are raised on some farms. Last year, more than 10,000 pounds of produce was harvested, according to Oakland's City Slicker Farms, which is at the epicenter of the neighborhood's urban-farm push."

Click Here to read the article.

Northeastern Indiana's large Amish community is starting to embrace wind and solar energy to power their homes' lights, refrigerators and other equipment.

Click Here to read the article.

At first I was a bit put off by this electricity-consuming gadget that makes compost, but then I learned that it uses only about fifty cents worth of energy a month, much less than a garbage truck would burn in diesel fuel to haul the same waste.

It will process up t 120 pounds of material per month. Items remain in the upper chamber, with "hot composting" conditions: mixing, air flow, heat, and moisture (see diagram). The energy released destroys odors, pathogens, and seed germination.

One batch of compost is sufficient for 10-40 sq ft (1-4 sq m) of a lawn or garden, applied once or twice per year. Or use one batch per mature fruit tree, once per year.

Read More

From GReen Daily, 10 Things You Didn't Know You Could Compost.

Follow this link to see a video produced by Fine Gardening magazine about making compost.

In general, No.

It is a common misconception that higher-octane (premium) fuels improve gas mileage. Octane rating has nothing to do with the energy-content of the fuel. A fuel's Octane Rating is simply the measure of the fuel's resistance to auto-ignite (ignite under pressure without spark), also called 'knock' or 'predetonation'.

In other words, premium-grade fuel is actually less volatile than regular.

Some automotive engines do in fact require premium. Engines with a compression ration of 10:1 require the higher octane fuel to prevent predetonation (due to the higher pressure levels in the cylinders).

If you are from Vancouver, BC, your reaction might be, "There's no farm in the Kitsilano neighborhood!"

Yes There Is!

Kitsilano Farms is an amalgamation of backyard gardens around the Kitsilano neighbourhood. The people who own these gardens have provided the space to grow produce that is taken to market or share with the community through their Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program.

Craig Heigway calls himself the Chief Pitchfork Operator (CPO) of Kitsilano Farms. Craig says:

As a boy, my summer weekends were spent behind the wheel of an old Massey Ferguson tractor, hauling the equipment that turns hay into bales. Luckily, I was under the age of 12, so not big enough to heft the bales onto the wagon --that was left to my older brother, Drew. There is a big gap in time between the farm of my childhood and Kitsilano Farms. Time that I rarely experienced farm life, but often longed for an opportunity to get back to the land. Now I have the opportunity to put my hands in the soil, plant the seeds, weed the gardens, tend to the crop; that is, be a farmer again.

And the best thing of all, I get to meet the people and see the smiles on their faces when I present them with the beautiful vegetables that I grew. That's why I started Kitsilano Farms.

Click Here to learn more about Kitsilano Farms.

I found this really great article on the Detroit Make It Here blog about people banding together to turn vacant lots into thriving farms that feed the surrounding neighborhood.

Traditional supermarkets have moved out of the inner cities and created a food desert. These farm communities increase access to healthier food and fresh produce to inner-city people … land around Detroit has an opportunity to be productive.

Click Here to read the article.

Have I blogged about Pluck and Feather? Pluck and Feather is an urban farm blog and is focused on raising chickens on her urban farm in Oakland California.

I had a chicken as a pet when I was a small child and I have always had a soft spot for them.

There is an interesting study from Cornell University:

Eating less, eating local and eating better could slash U.S. energy use, CU study finds

"We could reduce the fossil energy used in the U.S. food system by about 50 percent with relatively simple changes in how we produce, process, package, transport and consume our food," said David Pimentel, professor emeritus of ecology and agriculture in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell.

Click Here to read the article.

You know a movement is going mainstream when the topic starts showing up in unsual places - In this case Wired Magazine:

Once you realize how easy it is to make the concrete jungle bloom, it changes the way you see the world. Urban environments suddenly appear weirdly dead and wasteful. When I walk around New York City now, I see the usual empty lots and balconies and I think, Wait a minute. Why aren't we growing food here? And here? And here?

Click Here to read the article.

The Off-Grid blog has a great story about harvesting rainwater:

“We call it ‘the movement that’s taking the nation by storm,’” said Robyn Hadley, spokeswoman for the Austin, Texas-based American Rainwater Catchment Systems Association, whose membership has jumped by more than 40 percent this year.

Hui, 37, got her first 55-gallon plastic barrel for free five years ago. The barrel had been packed with maraschino cherries, so when rain first filled it the water smelled like candied fruit.

Now, she has a daisy chain of 25 linked barrels under her back deck with a combined capacity of nearly 1,250 gallons. She built the system herself, after searching the Internet for information and buying the necessary plumbing parts at a hardware store. The whole setup cost her $200.

Click Here to read the article.

Did you know that the City of Albuquerque maintains over 360 acres of farmlan within the city limits?

“Since the purchase of the Candelaria Farm Preserve in 1977, the City’s Open Space Division has proven to be one of the key local agencies involved in the protection of agricultural lands in Albuquerque,” says Mayor Martin Chavez. “Our achievements in farm preservation provide another example of why we have one of the most celebrated Open Space programs in the nation.”

WHAT: A Celebration of Open Space, urban agriculture, local food, and community with music, fun, workshops, and more!

WHEN: National Public Lands Day, September 27th, 2008, 2pm – 7pm

WHERE: Open Space Visitor Center, 6500 Coors Blvd NW. The Visitor Center is located east of Coors at the end of Bosque Meadows Rd, which is between Montano and Paseo del Norte.

COST: FREE

For more information about the event, call 452-5216, or see www.cabq.gov/openspace.

Email: kswanson@cabq.gov

I found this great story In Neighbors To Go about a new urban farm starting in Balch Springs,Texas.

"The farm has been stamped as Certified Naturally Grown by a non-profit alternative certification program tailored for small-scale, direct-market farmers using natural methods."

Click Here to read the entire article.

The newly formed Truckee Meadows Permaculture Guild hopes to be instrumental in helping area residents develop community gardens -- and an example of such vegetation is thriving in downtown Reno.

It's in the median on the south end of West Street, between First and Second streets.

"We put in plants based on permaculture principals and designed the garden based on permaculture principals," said Leslie Allen, cooperative extension horticulturist and permaculture guild member.

Click Here to read the article.

The newly formed Truckee Meadows Permaculture Guild hopes to be instrumental in helping area residents develop community gardens -- and an example of such vegetation is thriving in downtown Reno.

It's in the median on the south end of West Street, between First and Second streets.

"We put in plants based on permaculture principals and designed the garden based on permaculture principals," said Leslie Allen, cooperative extension horticulturist and permaculture guild member.

Click Here to read the article.

An interesting article about mushroom compost in the Daily Herald expounded upon the benefits of mushroom compost, but is failed to tell the whole story.

What is mushroom compost?

No, it's not compost made from mushrooms. It is the specially-prepared medium in which mushrooms - typically those white button mushrooms you see in the supermarket - are grown.

It starts with a mixture of straw, manure, gypsum, peat moss, and almost any organic material. The bacterial activity causes the material to heat up - just as with normal compost - to about 160 degrees, killing any weed seeds or pathogens that might have been present.

Now, unlike your home garden pile, they don't let the compost sit and age at this point. They take the compost, load it into planting beds and then they steam pasteurize at about 140F. This pasteurization is vital to mushroom growing process because it kills any surface disease-causing organisms and pests. The downside however is that it also kills off all those wonderful micro-organisms that are so important to your garden.

Mushroom compost is normally used to grow three crops of mushrooms and is then considered 'used up' by the mushroom-grower.

It is typically steam-pasteurized once again and then sold off to nurseries, landscape supply firms and general contractors

Mushroom Compost Is Not Like Regular Compost

Adding microbiology to your soil is one of the primary advantages to compost, and that microbiology is vital to the disease prevention and and supplying nutrients to your plants. Spent mushroom compost simply does not provide these benefits.

Even though the mushroom compost does not come with the biology present, it is still provides a good substrate and food source for that biology. One tactic is to let it sit and 'age' for a season before using it. Other ways are to mix in a batch of compost tea made from regular compost, or simply mixing the mushroom compost with regular soil.

Here are some additional links about mushroom compost:

http://extension.oregonstate.edu/news/story.php?S_No=28&storyType=garde

http://squtch.quiet-like-a-panther.org/story/mushroom_compost-34

http://www.taunton.com/finegardening/how-to/qa/mushroom-compost.aspx

A company in the UK sells reusable ice cubes. They are durable, nontoxic, and made out of rock. Just place then in the freezer for an hour or so before use.

via cnet

Modern appliances may allow you to lower your water heater's thermostat.

The instruction manual for my Maytag wash machne says:

beginner or an expert. This washer has a heating element that automatically heats the water to the best temperature on select cycles.

My dishwasher also has a flow-through eater that heats water upon demand to a temperature of up to 161F

These are the only two appliances in my house that use hot water. Our only other use of hot water is showering. If that's the case in your house too, then you should be able to lower the thermostat of your hot water heater to your normal shower temperature and suffer no ill effects - The dishwasher and clothes washer will take care of their own hot water needs.

URBANA, Ill. - Jim Payne is a one-man recycling program.

He walks the streets each morning, as he has for 25 years, sifting through your trash for the treasures within.

Like a brand-new vacuum cleaner, still in the box. Microwave ovens. Unopened boxes of laundry soap, A perfectly good computer printer/scanner. A six-pack of beer. And those are just the recent finds.

Payne is not homeless, or even poor. He owns a small manufacturing firm and lives with his wife, Mare, in a charming brick duplex with a yard bursting in colorful prairie plants.

Payne is waging a private crusade to stop the Earth or at least his corner of Champaign-Urbana from becoming the desolate, trash-strewn planet.

Read More...

Courtesy of ChicagoTribune.com

Greg Peterson Appears on ABC Channel 15's Smart Shopper.

Be sure to watch the video in the upper right corner:

A href="http://www.abc15.com/content/news/smartshopper/story.aspx?content_id=3450690e-6dc0-4fd5-93b8-41e2c82ae1ca">Click Here to read the article and watch the video

I read this article in the online edition of the Toronto Star today and it contained a couple of interesting quotes. The first was:

Farming in the city is a growth industry for jobs and serious quantities of just-picked produce

It is an indication that urban farming is moving into the mainstream.

I'm not sure I agree (In fact, I'm pretty sure I disagree) with the other interesting quote:

Urban agriculture should not be confused with gardening, says Field. The main difference is the scale – the plots are larger – and the food is sold, not shared among a community or taken home at the end of the day by one gardener.

This is the first time I've hear that particular distinction. Most urban farmers consume and/or share their crop rather than sell it, so I don't think the definition is valid.

Farm Fountain is a system for growing edible and ornamental fish and plants in a constructed, indoor ecosystem. Based on the concept of aquaponics, this hanging garden fountain uses a simple pond pump, along with gravity to flow the nutrients from fish waste through the plant roots. The plants and bacteria in the system serve to cleanse and purify the water for the fish.

This project is an experiment in local, sustainable agriculture and recycling. It utilizes 2-liter plastic soda bottles as planters and continuously recycles the water in the system to create a symbiotic relationship between edible plants, fish and humans.

Click Here to read more

Courtesy of

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• Farm Fountain

Wow. Can you imagine? Bringing together growers and consumers in Brooklyn since 1998.

Since 1998 our market has generated over $630,000 of income for local gardeners and vendors and regional family farmers.

Click Here to read the article.

If you have time to read just one story today, this is it:

A Growing Movement: Urban Farming In Chicago

It started with the vision of Will Allen, a former NBA player: a comprehensive, non-profit agricultural complex complete with greenhouses, composts, outdoor pens for livestock, and a small retail store. He also implemented an urban farming training program that teaches schools, government agencies, and community members how to operate and sustain farms themselves.

Click Here to read the article

Benjamin Jones, author of the EcoModder blog has created a new blog focused on home improvements for improving your home's energy consumption. Check It Out.

Eco Renovator

OK, I admit it: My childhood memories of eating home-grown Kale are not that pleasant. Perhaps it was the way my mother cooked it, I don't know.

I found an article on the Off-Grid Blog that causes me to have second thoughts though:

Click Here to read it

MINNEAPOLIS, Sep 12, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- freEner-g ("free energy") LLC, a residential solar leasing company, announced today they are seeking homeowners in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area for a new solar energy program. The new program is based on a leasing, installation and service package for a monthly fee and will allow residents to lease solar-generated electricity for the first time.

"Our goal is to make solar electricity available for all consumers who want to use renewable energy, but may not be comfortable with the upfront cost of solar," said Gerardo Ruiz, founder and CEO of freEner-g. "We are reaching out to Twin Cities' residents who are committed to a sustainable lifestyle. The homeowners in the freEner-g program will definitely be the pioneers for residential solar leasing in this country."

The new program from freEner-g requires no up-front installation costs for homeowners, who instead pay a deposit and monthly fee proportional to the number of solar panels they lease. The costs of installing solar energy capability for residential homes can be $50,000 or more, making it difficult to justify for many homeowners. The solar energy leasing program is a way for Twin Cities' residents to utilize solar energy for electricity without incurring large initial fees for materials and services.
freEner-g is encouraging interested Twin Cities' homeowners to complete a form expressing interest in solar energy at www.mysolarlease.com. Based on home site inspections, the company will select approximately 50 qualified homes for the pilot project. freEner-g plans to begin installing solar systems on approved homes in October of this year.

The freEner-g pilot program will last approximately fifteen months. Once 280 KW capacity of solar generation is installed, the pilot program will be completed. However, freEner-g will continue maintaining the installed systems and will begin delivering more solar home systems to a wider group of homeowners in Minnesota and elsewhere.

The above pilot project is made possible in part by a $1.48 million grant from Xcel Energy's Renewable Development Fund (RDF) that was recently awarded to freEner-g. In addition, freEner-g has entered into a long term partnership agreement with Abengoa Solar to ensure the long term viability and growth of the company in the residential and commercial solar PV markets.

About freEner-g

freEner-g is a Minnesota eco-venture with a triple bottom line of people, planet and profits. Its vision is tomake solar electricity financially accessible to all, manifest a downward trend in solar electricity costs, and help perpetuate a positive change in the environment. More information is available at www.mysolarlease.com

About Abengoa Solar

Abengoa Solar develops and applies technologies to generate clean energy from the sun. Abengoa is a technology company that applies innovative solutions to sustainable development in the infrastructures, environment and energy sectors. It is a publically listed companyand it currently has a presence in more than 70 countries in which it operates with its five business groups: Solar, Bio-Energy, Environmental Services, Information Technologies, and Industrial Construction and Engineering. More information is available at www.abengoa.com

Wal-Mart stores in Arizona now stock Grand Canyon sweet onions while aisles in New York display state-grown eggplant, as the world's largest retailer says it has become the nation's largest buyer of locally grown fruits and vegetables.

For Wal-Mart, which leverages bulk purchases to keep prices down, buying from local farms might not appear to fit the company's strategy. However, the Bentonville-based company has focused on buying fruits and vegetables from farms closest to its distribution centers, making shipping easier while cutting down on trucking in produce from outside of the area, said spokeswoman Deisha Galberth.

For example, the retail giant once bought peaches from only a few suppliers. Now, Wal-Mart buys 12 million pounds of peaches annually from farms in 18 different states, she said.

Because of that, the company estimates, it saves about 100,000 gallons of diesel fuel a year and cuts away 672,000 food miles.

Click Here to read the entire article

Do you remember last week when I wrote about Will Allen, the former NBA player who started a community urban farm in Chicago?

He will now have an extra $500,000 to help his efforts.

The MacArthur Foundation announced yesterday that they will honor his work with one of their 25 annual ‘genius’ grants–a five-year grant that the recipient can use as he or she chooses. Mr. Allen joins a group of artists, physicians and scientists recognized for their unique contributions to improve society. This may be the first time that an urban farmer has been given such a coveted award.

Click Here to read more.