Want Big Veggies? Pee in Your Fireplace Ashes

Just about anyone will tell you that pee and food don’t mix. The idea of someone urinating on your food before it makes its way onto your plate is probably enough to make you feel a little nauseous – but, surprise! Piss can make veggies grow bigger and tastier, especially when mixed with wood ash.

It’s common knowledge that urine is good for compost – some gardeners even install toilet seats above their compost piles to make it easier for women to contribute. Now, a study has confirmed that human urine mixed with wood ash can produce as many high-quality tomatoes as synthetic fertilizers without risks to human health.

From Science Daily:

In the study, Surendra Pradhan and colleagues point out that urine, a good source of nitrogen, has been successfully used to fertilize cucumber, corn, cabbage, and other crops. Only a few studies, however, have investigated the use of wood ash, which is rich in minerals and also reduces the acidity of certain soils. Scientists have not reported on the combinaton of urine and wood ash, they say.

The new study found that plants fertilized with urine produced four times more tomatoes than nonfertilized plants and as much as plants given synthetic fertilizer. Urine plus wood ash produced almost as great a yield, with the added benefit of reducing the acidity of acid soils. “The results suggest that urine with or without wood ash can be used as a substitute for mineral fertilizer to increase the yields of tomato without posing any microbial or chemical risks,” the report says.

So, basically, if you want big tomatoes, just pee in your fireplace ashes and then spread them on the soil. Cheap, easy, and your drunken party guests will be more than happy to assist. Gotta love it!

Link [Science Daily]
Photo credit: Flickr user Wonker

Urban Organic Gardener: Self-Watering Fire Escape Garden in NYC

You don’t have to have a lot of outdoor space or cash to start an organic garden – in fact, if you’ve got a fire escape and some plastic containers in your recycling bin, you can grow everything from fresh greens and tomatoes to a wide array of herbs. Just ask Mike Lieberman, who built self-watering containers out of recycled materials so he could grow some of his own food at his Manhattan apartment.

Lieberman proves that small space can still provide a big yield with simple materials like soda bottles and buckets. He grows kale, swiss chard, lettuce, cherry tomatoes, peppers, mint, oregano and tarragon, all on his fire escape.

A second small garden in his grandmother’s Brooklyn backyard fits an incredible variety of fresh herbs and veggies into 16 mostly recycled containers, from cauliflower to cucumbers. This garden is a great example of how easy it can be to grow your own food, even if all you have is a porch or a deck to work with.

“This is my first time growing and the goal is get more people to do the same. To show them that it’s simple, they have the space and there’s nothing to be scared of,” said Lieberman.

Check out his blog at UrbanOrganicGardener.com for lots of tips and photos!

Link [Urban Organic Gardener]

OrganicNation.tv Checks Out Rooftop Farming in Chicago

The team at OrganicNation.tv, who are taking a short break from traveling the nation to explore America’s sustainable food landscape, stopped by Chicago restaurant Uncommon Ground to check out the first certified organic rooftop farm in the nation.

Check it out as Dorothee Royal-Hedinger tours the roof, samples honey from the restaurant’s rooftop bee colony and learns more about the benefits of local produce and the challenges that rooftop farming can pose.

Organic Rooftop Farming in Chicago from OrganicNation on Vimeo.

Want to support OrganicNation.tv? Check out their Earthkeepers page at Changents.com, where you can become a fan, build buzz by sharing their story with friends, donate funds or respond to an action request.

Last chance to support OrganicNation.tv’s bid for the Nau Grant for Change! Voting closes on Monday, August 31st (that’s tomorrow!).

Link [OrganicNation.tv]

Book Review: Gaia’s Garden, Second Edition

Gaia’s Garden is practically considered a gardening bible by many gardening enthusiasts who seek to worth with Nature rather than against it, and the second edition will prove to be even more valuable.

Gaia’s Garden focuses on permaculture gardening, an approach to small-scale agriculture that mimics the relationships found in nature. The idea is that plants, animals and organisms work in harmony to create a self-sufficient environment in which the need for human ‘input’ is fairly low. That means no artificial fertilizers, pesticides, or tilling. No endless trips to the garden center for supplies. Whereas most backyards contain ‘fragments’ – a vegetable garden here, a flower bed there, a pile of wood in a back area for critters – permaculture gardening brings all of these elements together as a cohesive whole.

For those who think gardening involves, by default, a lot of back-breaking work and expensive equipment, this concept may sound unlikely to prove successful. But it works by balancing the needs and benefits of each element in the garden, much in the way a natural ecosystem balances itself.

For example, much of the information in the book revolves around ‘guilds’, groups of plants that provide food or other useful products for humans, create cover and food for wildlife, repel pests, conserve water and nourish the soil. One such example is ‘the three sisters’ – corn,beans and squash – which work together so that each plant, and the garden as a whole, is able to thrive.

In addition to the practical advice about plants with many uses, encouraging beneficial microorganisms, attracting helpful insects and animals and bringing the soil to life, the second edition of Gaia’s Garden features a new chapter on urban permaculture designed especially for people who have limited growing space – a huge help for gardening enthusiasts who live in suburban or urban areas. Other new features include new color photographs and illustrations, as well as new plant lists.

Gaia’s Garden is not the kind of book you’ll be passing around to others – you’ll want to keep it all to yourself, because you’ll be using it as a reference again and again.

Link [Gaia’s Garden]

Help Convince the Obamas to Turn the White House into an Organic Farm

A campaign called Eat the View is urging the Obamas to replant a large organic Victory Garden on the White House lawn. The food would go to the White House kitchen and to local food pantries, and serve as inspiration for all Americans to grow some of their own food. Check out this video, Garden of Eatin’, to learn more about the history of ‘America’s Garden’ and why we should revisit this idea.

So, how can you help? We’re glad you asked! Go to Eat the View and sign the White House Food Garden Petition, which states in part:

We, the undersigned, are petitioning President-elect Obama to plant a large organic food garden or Victory Garden on the First Lawn with the produce going to the White House kitchen and local food pantries. The White House is “America’s House” and should serve as a model at a time of economic and environmental crisis. President-elect Obama would not be breaking with tradition, but returning to it (the White House has had food gardens before) and leading by personal example on global challenges such as food security, climate change, and energy independence.

It’s time that we take back the land and use it more wisely – no more wasting space and water on useless lawns. The White House could set an example for the entire country and provide food for needy Washington DC communities. It just makes sense!

Link [Eat the View] via [Green Upgrader]

Seed Savers Exchange: Saving and Sharing Non-GMO Heirloom Seeds

Corporate giant Monsanto is quietly and stealthily acquiring variety after variety of vegetable, fruit and other crop seeds, effectively taking control of agriculture across the world. Chances are, if you buy fruits and vegetables from a grocery store, you’re eating Monsanto products on a daily basis. Monsanto acquired the world’s largest vegetable seed company, Seminis, back in 2005 and Seminis supplies the genetics for 55% of the lettuce, 75% of the tomatoes and 85% of the peppers on supermarket shelves. And, surprise, Seminis seeds are used by a large number of organic farmers as well.

What does this mean? Well, among a number of other consequences, Monsanto’s growth comes at the expense of agricultural diversity. And, as Monsanto’s RoundUp herbicide patent nears its expiration date, it will be increasingly turning toward biotechnology for profits.

Luckily, there are organizations like the Seed Savers Exchange to ensure that our entire food supply isn’t homogenized. Seed Savers Exchange saves and shares heirloom seeds to form a living legacy to be passed down through generations. Thanks to this non-profit organization’s work, thousands of varieties that might have otherwise disappeared are being preserved.

From the Seed Savers Exchange website:

Seed Savers Exchange exists to serve its members, and the public, through its charitable mission to (1) save the world’s diverse, but endangered, garden heritage for future generations; (2) build a network of people committed to collecting, conserving and sharing heirloom seeds and plants; and (3) educate people about the value of genetic and cultural diversity.

If you’re looking to start an organic garden, the Seed Savers Exchange is an excellent source of high-quality varieties of practically any fruit, vegetable or herb you can think of. Flower seeds are also available. You can purchase seeds on the website or join the Seed Savers Exchange as a member and get access to an additional 11,000 rare varieties of vegetables, fruit and grains.

Get more info about the Seed Savers Exchange and view the seeds available at the Seed Savers Exchange website.

Link [Seed Savers Exchange]

Conservation, Recycling, Local Food: How College Campuses Are Going Green

An EarthTalk reader wrote in to ask how college campuses are working to reduce their carbon footprints, and the editors of E/The Environmental Magazine had plenty of answers. Seems like college campuses are doing more every day to contribute, from taking small steps that add up to taking on large projects and initiatives.

From The Daily Green:

Foremost on the minds of green-leaning students today is global warming, and many are joining hands to persuade their schools to update policies and streamline operations so that their campuses can become part of the solution. Largely a result of student efforts, for example, nearly 500 U.S. colleges and universities have signed the American College and University Presidents (ACUP) Climate Commitment.

This agreement requires schools to put together a comprehensive plan to go “carbon neutral” in two years of signing. (Carbon neutral means contributing no net greenhouse gases to the atmosphere either by not generating them in the first place or by offsetting them somehow, such as through tree-planting or by buying “offsets” from companies that fund alternative energy projects.)

ACUP also commits schools to implementing two or more tangible (and easily implemented) policies right away, such as improving waste minimization and recycling programs, reducing energy usage, providing or encouraging public transportation to and from campus (and switching campus buses over to bio-diesel fuel), constructing bicycle lanes, and implementing green building guidelines for any new construction.

Schools that sign the agreement also pledge to integrate sustainability into their normal curricula. Student-run organic gardens like those of Yale University and Warren Wilson College provide another great way to green up campus food services, as do recycling programs and water conservation efforts.

For a roundup of additional green college initiatives, see the full post at The Daily Green.

Link [The Daily Green]
Photo credit: Warren Wilson College