YES!!! rumor has it that Cooperative Extension has developed a light-weight soil that would allow folks to grow produce on rooftops in cities - does anyone know anything about this?
Imagine the acreage for produce in New York City ... or even in downtown Ithaca! TC Local: how about THIS for a 25-50 year plan for community gardens downtown? - fostering sustainable community through collaborative initiatives in hospitality, education and the arts, in the 150 year-old democratic spirit of the Danish Folk School --- On Wed, 6/11/08, Jon Bosak <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > From: Jon Bosak <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: [SustainableTompkins] Fw: Banking on Gardening > To: "Sustainable Tompkins County listserv" > <[email protected]>, [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Date: Wednesday, June 11, 2008, 8:36 PM > Well, well. Here it comes. And not a moment too soon, > I'd say. > > Jon > > ================================================================== > > The New York Times > June 11, 2008 > Banking on Gardening > By MARIAN BURROS > > CASSANDRA FEELEY prefers organic ingredients, especially > for her > baby, but she finds it hard to manage on her husband’s > salary as > an Army sergeant. So this year she did something she has > wanted to > do for a long time: she planted vegetables in her yard to > save > money. > > "One organic cucumber is $3 and I can produce it for > pennies," she > said. > > For her first garden, Ms. Feeley has gone whole hog, > hand-tilling > a quarter acre in the backyard of her house near the Fort > Campbell > Army base in Kentucky. She has put in 15 tomato plants, > five rows > of corn, potatoes, cucumbers, squash, okra, peas, > watermelon, > green beans. An old barn on the property has been converted > to a > chicken coop, its residents arriving next month; the goats > will be > arriving next year. > > "I spent $100 on it and I know I will save at least > $75 a month on > food," she said. > > She is one of the growing number of Americans who, driven > by > higher grocery costs and a stumbling economy, have taken up > vegetable gardening for the first time. Others have > increased the > size of their existing gardens. > > Seed companies and garden shops say that not since the > rampant > inflation of the 1970s has there been such an uptick in > interest > in growing food at home. Space in community gardens across > the > country has been sold out for several months. In Austin, > Tex., > some of the gardens have a three-year waiting list. > > George C. Ball Jr., owner of the W. Atlee Burpee Company, > said > sales of vegetable and herb seeds and plants are up by 40 > percent > over last year, double the annual growth for the last five > years. "You don’t see this kind of thing but once in > a career," he > said. Mr. Ball offers half a dozen reasons for the > phenomenon, > some of which have been building for the last few years, > like > taste, health and food safety, plus concern, especially > among > young people, about global warming. > > But, Mr. Ball said, "The big one is the price > spike." The striking > rise in the cost of staples like bread and milk has been > accompanied by increases in the price of fruits and > vegetables. > > "Food prices have spiked because of fuel prices and > they redounded > to the benefit of the garden," Mr. Ball said. > "People are driving > less, taking fewer vacations, so there is more time to > garden." > > Each spring for the last five years, the Garden Writers > Association has had TechnoMetrica Market Intelligence, a > polling > firm, conduct a national consumer telephone survey asking > gardeners what makes up the greatest share of their garden > budgets. "The historic priorities are lawns, annuals, > perennials, > then vegetables, followed by trees and shrubs," said > Robert > LaGasse, executive director of the association. This year, > vegetables went from fourth place to second, which Mr. > LaGasse > called "an enormous attitude shift." > > People like Rita Gartin of Ames, Iowa, are part of that > shift. Last year she kept a small garden. This year it has > tripled > in size into a five-by-seven-foot plot because, Ms. Gartin > said, > "The cost of everything is going up and I was looking > to lose a > few pounds, too; so it’s a win-win situation all > around." > > Ms. Gartin, who fits gardening into her 12-hour workday as > an > interior designer and property manager, is not intimidated > by the > 20 kinds of vegetables she has planted: she was raised on a > farm > with a giant garden. A fence has been erected to keep the > deer and > people out, and it’s where the pole beans and snap peas > are > already climbing. > > She is ready to take a stab at canning, but reserves the > right to > freeze everything instead, she said. > > "I probably spent maybe $50 for everything and > that’s less than a > week’s cost of groceries or the price of a gym," she > said. > > Seed companies and garden centers say they didn’t see the > rush > coming. There wasn’t any buildup last year, said Barbara > Melera, > the co-owner of the D. Landreth Seed Company in New > Freedom, Pa., > who takes the pulse of gardeners at the 13 garden shows she > attends around the country each year. > > "We pack for all the shows and bring 16 different > beans, 10 > packets for each kind," Ms. Melera said. In earlier > years, by the > time the shows end in March, she said, "we are lucky > if we have > sold two of the 10 packets." > > "This year," she said, "we sold out the > first show and literally > sold hundreds. We never sell any corn; this year we sold > out of > corn by the end of the season. We saw the same thing in the > mail > order business." > > She said the greatest demand was for what she calls > "survival > vegetables": peas, beans, corn, beets, carrots, > broccoli, kale, > spinach and the lettuces. "It was so different from > what it has > been in prior years," she added. > > Randy Martell, one of the owners of the Garden Factory in > Rochester, says it isn’t just vegetables. "The > potted fruit trees > were sold out by the first week of May," he said. > "Blueberries, > raspberries and grapes are sold out. I think those sales > have > doubled. Overall sales are up about 30 percent." > > Dottie Wright, greenhouse manager at one of the Dammann’s > Lawn, > Garden and Landscaping Centers in Indianapolis, said she > talks to > people every day who are starting their first vegetable > garden. "If they don’t have a yard they try > containers for > tomatoes and herbs. We can’t keep the herbs in this > year." > > Thrilled as gardening experts are about this phenomenon, > they know > that many first timers don’t have any idea how much sweat > equity > is involved. > > "Many people I sold seeds to have never gardened > before," > Ms. Melera said, "and we have to find a way to educate > them so the > experience is successful. They have got to be taught." > > Mr. Ball of Burpee knows some of the new gardeners won’t > stick > with gardening beyond the first year. "Some people > can’t get with > the idea of digging a hole; getting buggy, sticky and > hot," he > said. "Gardening is an active hobby; it’s a > commitment." > > Doreen G. Howard, a former garden editor for Woman’s Day > and now a > writer for The American Gardener, is one of the committed. > She has > had a vegetable garden for most of the last 25 years. This > year > she has quadrupled the size of her vegetable plot in > Roscoe, Ill., > because of the economy and because she thinks the quality > of > store-bought produce has deteriorated. Once vegetables were > just 5 > percent of her garden; now they are 20 percent. > > "Food prices have gotten to the point where we are > seeing the > difference," she said. "It’s pushing our budget > and we are a > two-income family. It was never a concern before." Ms. > Howard said > her grocery bill for two went from $100 a week to $140 a > week this > year. > > She has chosen many vegetables that freeze well, investing > in a > secondhand freezer to store the bounty. She plans to dry > the herbs > that grow on the back porch next to boxes of mesclun, and > to make > pickles from the cucumbers and raisins from the grapes -- > her > newest addition. And she is looking forward to a cellar > full of > Peruvian blue potatoes. > > Some of Ms. Howard’s increased harvest will also go to > food > pantries through an organization called Plant a Row for the > Hungry, which encourages gardeners to plant extra > vegetables to > share with the poor. > > "I’m hoping to take $20 a week off my grocery > bill," she > said. This is in the low range, according to Mr. Ball, who > says a > $100 investment will produce $1,000 to $1,700 worth of > vegetables. > > Ms. Gartin, now in her second year, says gardening is worth > the > effort. > > "I got soft calluses from hoeing and digging," > she said, adding > cheerfully, "but my fingernails are still pretty -- > long and not > chipped. I probably spent 30 hours putting the garden in, > and when > I’d come into the house I’d be covered in sweat. But > now it’s > pretty easy because of all the rain we’ve had." > > And the vegetables, she said, are "awesome." > "It’s a totally > different flavor from what you buy in the store. It’s > exciting to > go out and pick the fruits of your labor." > > > _______________________________________________ > For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins > County area, please visit: > http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ > > RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: > [email protected] > http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins > free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org _______________________________________________ For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: [email protected] http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org
