Happy 6

(cont'd from this post)

My yard is a happy place for me, definitely. Especially now, the "merry month of May."

There may even be a science-based element in it, per the article referenced here.

A re-post from 2018:

Dirt helps

"Most avid gardeners will tell you that their landscape is their “happy place” and the actual physical act of gardening is a stress reducer and mood lifter." And now there is science to back up that claim.

"There’s a natural antidepressant in soil . . . Mycobacterium vaccae is the substance under study and has indeed been found to mirror the effect on neurons that drugs like Prozac provide. . .The bacterium is found in soil and may stimulate serotonin production, which makes you relaxed and happier."

It "appears to be a natural antidepressant in soil and has no adverse health effects. These antidepressant microbes in soil may be as easy to use as just playing in the dirt."

photo: telegraph

Straw bale 2

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

Plants won't grow in an ordinary pile of straw. But if you follow Joel's instructions to condition a straw bale, the straw breaks down and degrades into a fertile growing medium. I did that in my own yard because of my inferior soil, and it worked.

If you live in the northern hemisphere, it's spring so you could try this soon. Set up your bales, then water and condition them with fertilizer for twelve days according to the directions in his book or on his website here or here. After that, you're ready to plant.

 Here's what it looks like to plant veggies or flowers in conditioned straw bales:

Straw bale

This man quietly started a gardening innovation that began in his own region but is spreading globally. The method enables wannabe gardeners for success where appropriate soil is lacking  because it's not a garden that you grow in the ground, nor do you have to find appropriate soil to put into a container. 

You can grow produce in a straw bale or facsimile, provided you follow the easy steps and create a growing medium in it. The bale works on a parking lot or patio, on a driveway or rooftop. 

 He modified the steps to work in conditions of flooding and drought for farmers in Asia.

 

(cont'd tomorrow)

Food secure 2

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

Urban agriculture is a thing. Some believe that it could ease that food-insecurity (defined in yesterday's post) where a household is less likely to have abundance of good quality food.

One organization trying to do just that is Revolutionary Earth Farm. Recruiting homeowners, they transform backyards into food-producing gardens. Recruiting volunteers, they work those gardens and distribute the harvest to needy households.

U.S. industry is hugely successful at producing and distributing food. According to the USDA, about 89% of Americans have plenty of good quality food whether they live near a farm or not.

On the other hand, there are wasted resources in the system. San Francisco is an example: "Feeding the cities of the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area with a total population of some 7 million involves importing 2.5 to 3 million tons of food per day over an average distance of 500 to 1,000 miles." More food could be grown closer to the people who eat it.

Turning backyards from grass deserts into gardens makes sense to me.

photo

Dirt helps

"Most avid gardeners will tell you that their landscape is their “happy place” and the actual physical act of gardening is a stress reducer and mood lifter." And now there is science to back up that claim.

"There’s a natural antidepressant in soil . . . Mycobacterium vaccae is the substance under study and has indeed been found to mirror the effect on neurons that drugs like Prozac provide. . .The bacterium is found in soil and may stimulate serotonin production, which makes you relaxed and happier."

It "appears to be a natural antidepressant in soil and has no adverse health effects. These antidepressant microbes in soil may be as easy to use as just playing in the dirt."

photo: telegraph

(from Gardening Know How)

Garden city

It's hard to believe that just 50 years ago Singapore was poor, dirty, crime-infested and crowded when it gained independence from Malaysia. Hard to imagine - because now it's green, organized, prosperous, beautiful, and safe.  

Lee Kwan Yew was its visionary prime minister for 31 years, and shaped Singapore (city & nation only about half the size of NYC) into the success it is today (read a short history here).

"The goal of the master plan is to maintain a ratio of at least one acre of green space for each acre of developed land. Strong progress toward this goal is reflected in the myriad of parks and parkways, walkways and bike paths, and large tracts of land still forested despite the rapid development of the city."

When we visited in 2006, there were lush greens and flowers hanging from every highway overpass. They have plans for yet more gardens  .  .  "a city in a garden." 

Agrihood

Maybe this story is another example of "experiential marketing." But instead of ride-sharing, it's real estate business. Some developers are creating neighborhoods with a farm-like experience. It's called an "agrihood."

With a farm or at least a big garden being central to the community, a "locavore" can get very local food indeed.  Another part of the appeal is the opportunity for neighborliness that some have tried to find by moving to a city neighborhood.

"American builders have a long history of bulldozing farms to make way for housing developments." Now they're building farms to attract homeowners. Depending on how it's organized, residents may want to work in the fields, or buy a bushel of farm products every month, or just buy their farm's berries and vegetables at the local stand. 

"Trees" #2

(cont'd)

Those big man-made "trees" in Singapore are made to be a useful part of the park ecology. They have solar panels to generate power, they catch rain water and moderate the tropical heat.

The huge "trunks" are made of concrete and steel, while the "branches" are big wire rods. That walkway is seven stories above ground.

At night there's a light and sound show. They expect the finished project is to be a national landmark and attraction magnet for tourism.

"Trees" #1

When we visited Singapore in 2006, we found the city/nation/island to be beautiful, clean, orderly. Possibly we could now add the words innovative and fanciful to the description.

Two months ago the big landscaping and parks project, Gardens by the Bay, opened to the public. It includes 18 man-made "trees" up to 150 feet tall. The "trunks" of these trees have solar technology and vertical gardens. Paths have been built between them.

theguardian.com

(cont'd)

CA Drought

“We’re not just talking about an individual losing business here. We’re talking about a community of people, the 80 families we support.” These 80 full-time employees work on a cherry farm in California's Central Valley, a cherry farm that is in deep trouble.

California's drought is now the worst they've ever seen. That cherry farm used to hire 400-800 pickers at harvest time, but last year could only hire 25. "No water, no fruit, no pickers," says the farmer. 

Some think that the state is returning to a desert climate like what it used to be. Underground aquifers are being drained and they will be gone for good if they are emptied. 

“Water is politics,” said David Feldman, a social ecology professor and chairman of the Department of Planning, Policy and Design at UC Irvine. . . the way it’s managed is determined by power."

The Valley produces one-third of America's vegetables and two-thirds of its nuts and fruits.

Composted straw

That "straw bale garden" idea is working.  I did try it, as planned, and it is producing good results.  The poor quality of soil in my back yard is no longer an issue because the plants are grown in composted straw, an excellent growing medium according to the author of the book.

This picture will show how fertile composted straw can be:

This is one little hill of zucchini growing in the straw bale you see peeking out from under the plant.  We'll soon have salad zucchini for lunch.  If you're a gardener, check out that link above.

Straw bales - NY

I didn't hear about it until last August. The NY Times heard of it  way back a year ago, and I didn't even know they were interested in gardening.

Straw bale gardening was national news a year ago apparently.  It's used where there is no soil, like in the city surrounded by blacktop and concrete.  It's used where the soil is no good, even polluted. Check the stories of people who became a little fanatical.

To quote, "straw is a hot commodity in Manhattan."

Straw bale garden

An entrepreneur kind of guy, Joel Karsten has done a number of things - like teaching community courses and starting a couple of businesses.  But in Minnesota, U.S.A., he's known now for inventing a new kind of gardening.

His concept is at www.strawbalegardens.com where you can find out how to completely eliminate the soil aspect of gardening.  My backyard seems to have poor soil and I am so going to try the new method this summer.