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Farmers: ‘Be patient,’ don’t plant yet
MACHIAS, Maine — Got spring fever? With plenty of sun on the way and temperatures near 50 predicted for this weekend, farmers are warning backyard gardeners to rein in their enthusiasm and hold off before planting seeds.
“Wait,” advised Lois Labbe of Snakeroot Farm in Pittsfield.
“Be patient,” said Katie Clarke of Clarke’s Garden Patch in Greenbush.
“We have developed a rule of thumb that we don’t plant the gardens until the skiers begin to look sad,” added Tom Roberts, also of Snakeroot Farm.
Link:www.bangordailynews.com/detail/138381.html
Greenhouse Growing For Tomato Plants
There are a couple of ways for approaching tomato growing in a greenhouse, you can either dig and prepare the soil of the greenhouse ready to accept the tomato plants or you can grow the plants in a container such as a plant pot (12″ diameter) or growbag.
Realistically most growbags that are available which can be 35 or 40 litres in size are only enough to support two plants. There are ways in which you can push this out to 3 plants but for the cost of a growbag its probably as well just to stick to 2 plants, particularly if you take good care of them and produce lots of fruit.
If you go for pots then you should steralise them before use, to do this you can use a dilute solution of a suitable disinfectant, something like Jeyes fluid is perfect for this task.
While we are on this subject, you really should wipe down the inside of your greenhouse with disinfectant as well to ensure any residual contaminants that could also cause disease are removed from the glass.
One of the reasons I am suggesting using large pots or growbags for growing tomato plants is because the soil in the greenhouse is going to need to be dug out and replaced every 2 or 3 years anyway to ensure that you get rid of any build up of disease and also because the soil will be pretty much spent in terms of nutrients.
Space is limited in a greenhouse so the best option for plant varieties is to use the indeterminate variety of tomato plant i.e. a vine plant. You can prune the plant to the required size, leaving about 4 to 6 trusses on the main stem, which is about 6′ to 7′ in height, greenhouse size allowing. This will give you lots of fruit over an extended period. You will have to pinch out the main stem when you have enough trusses to stop further growth.
As an aside, using the bush variety is less convenient for greenhouses because they, as the name suggests, form a determinant size of bush without pruning which is probably a little too large in diameter for the average greenhouse. The fruit also has a tendency to all come at once.
Link:http://easygreenhouseplans.com/greenhouse-growing-for-tomato-plants.html
More Michigan farmers dig organic methods
After using conventional farming techniques for years, Jim Koan of Almar Orchards in Flushing wanted to try growing his apples and animals in a more natural way.
He eliminated synthetic sprays and drugs and began incorporating natural methods to control pests, fertilize plants and treat sick animals. "Everything we use is made by God," he said.
Koan is among the increasing number of Michigan growers who have switched from conventional to organic farming in the past decade for environmental, health and marketing reasons.
There were 309 certified organic farms in Michigan in 2008, more than double the number in 2000, when there were 143, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Michigan ranked 11th in the country in 2008, with 461 certified organic and exempt organic farms, according to the USDA. Exempt organic farms are those with less than $5,000 in sales annually; those farms are allowed to market their goods as organic without being certified.
In 2008, Michigan had 68 farms in the process of transitioning 5,387 more acres of cropland to organic production, according to the Michigan 2008 Organic Production Survey, which was released Wednesday by the National Agricultural Statistics Service.
Wayne Kiel of Blueberry Heritage Farms in Holland began changing over his farm to organic three years ago. He has 160 acres; 20 of them are already organic and another 20 are in transition.
Kiel's family has been growing blueberries using conventional farming methods for years. But, when the nonsmoker was diagnosed with lung cancer, he figured synthetic chemicals sprayed on the plants may be the culprit.
"We all want to make money, but it's not all about that," said Kiel, whose transition to organics has been profitable. "It's about having healthy food."
Link:www.detnews.com/article/20100304/BIZ/3040354/1001#ixzz0hCxjvY2X
Brazil, U.S. sign agreement to combat climate change
Brazil's Foreign Minister Celso Amorim and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton signed on Wednesday in Brasilia a memorandum of understanding on cooperation regarding climate change.
Its purpose is "to strengthen and coordinate the efforts of the parties to address climate change effectively in the context of sustainable economic growth, reducing greenhouse gas emissions," says the document.
The agreement also establishes a new Policy Dialogue on Climate Change between the two governments to discuss various aspects related to the topic.
Among them are the work to implement the United Nations Convention on Climate Change, and ways to build on the Copenhagen Accord "as quickly as possible."
The agreement includes strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, uniting efforts for the development and dissemination of clean energy, adaptation mechanisms and scientific research.
Link:http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90852/6908618.html
New EU organic-food logo will confuse consumers, claims FPC
FPC criticised the compulsory 9mm-high logo, a diamond formation of EU stars fronted by a shooting star on a green background.
The logo goes on all pre-packed organic food from member states from 1 July. It aims to improve consumer protection and promote organic growing and farming.
"Our initial view is this provides no benefits," said the FPC. "We believe it will lead to more confusion among consumers on organic standards.
"There are a lot of organic standards out there and research suggests people are already confused. We also worry the logo will need more effort, resources and promotional activity to ensure consumers recognise the relevance,"
EU ministers agreed in 2007 on new rules for organic labelling on where food was farmed. The logo can only be used if at least 95% of ingredients are organic.
At the time agriculture commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel said people would recognize organic food more easily and enjoy assurances on what they were buying.
Spring in the air: Home & Garden show inspires
Landscapers showed off the latest spring trends, interior designers displayed what's hot in the kitchen, and utility companies lit up customers' faces with free gifts.
It was all in a day's activity at the Carolina Home & Garden Show, which wrapped up Sunday at the Crown Expo Center.
This year's three-day event attracted more than 3,000 visitors, passing last year's attendance, said Natalie Woodbury, executive director of the Home Builders Association of Fayetteville.
Woodbury said 90 vendors were at the show.
"The biggest thing people want is remodels and granite countertops," said Evelyn Brewington of Carpet One Floor & Home. The company is a fixture at the annual trade show.
Link:www.fayobserver.com/Articles/2010/03/01/979837
Iowa 9th in organic farming
Iowa could be getting a bad reputation for its organic growing practices, some state officials said.
Though a large portion of Iowa’s organic products are sold to wholesale markets — typically out-of-state — more Iowans are growing and purchasing locally.
Iowa ranks ninth in the nation for number of organic farms but sells under 4 percent of those goods directly to retailers, according to a recent yearlong survey conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
But the majority of the state’s organic products are soybean and corn, which are often sold to processors, distributors, or other wholesale markets, said Maury Wills, the organic program administrator at the Iowa Department of Agriculture.
There’s still a calling for locally grown organic food as well as a strong local network in which to sell it, he noted.
Tammy Stotts, marketing specialist for the Iowa Department of Agriculture, said the demand is rising.
“The market for organic is excellent, and it continues to increase,” she said.
Link:www.dailyiowan.com/2010/03/01/Metro/15911.html
Stranger Creek danger rising near Linwood
A little more than a decade ago, Linwood resident Bill Jones could look out to his back yard and see an 80-foot storage shed just along Stranger Creek.
Now when he gazes to the back of his property, he has to make sure what’s left of the shed hasn’t fallen into the creek and floated on to the nearby Kansas River.
“Every time there is a heavy rain, we get a really high water and the creek floods; it just washes the bank out,” Jones said. “The banks are nothing but sand so when it comes down heavy it just washes it out.”
For more than 20 years, Stranger Creek has been wreaking havoc near the small Leavenworth County town. As water in the creek works its way from the north part of the county to the Kansas River, it has begun carving a new path that has put private and public property at risk.
Link:www2.ljworld.com/news/2010/mar/01/stranger-danger-rising-near-linwood/
NASA to Earth: Global Warming is for Real, Folks!
According to NASA’s study of global temperature data, the past decade was the warmest on record and 2009 is tied for second place as the warmest year since modern global record keeping began 130 years ago. Yes, the U.S is having an especially nasty winter this year but there is a whole big planet out there and lots of other stuff is going on.
Climate Change: Follow the Money.
Not that money is equivalent to truth, but sometimes it can be an indication of motives. It’s no accident that oil money is behind organizations like the Southeastern Legal Foundation, which is challenging the U.S. EPA on greenhouse gas emissions, to say nothing of Exxon’s history of involvement in climate denialism. Contrast that to the U.S. Department of Defense, which just issued a Quadrennial Defense Review assessing threats to national security that basically put the entire U.S. military on global warming alert. So, follow the money: some companies are betting against global warming (and therefore against our national security if you believe the DoD), but a growing list of other companies are putting their money behind NASA and the DoD by supporting climate legislation and engaging in national sustainability initiatives.
Link:http://cleantechnica.com/2010/02/24/nasa-to-earth-global-warming-is-for-real-folks/
Antarctic melting due to global warming; sea levels may rise
The ice shelves in the southern part of the Antarctic Peninsula appear to be disappearing because of climate change, according to a new report from the U.S. Geological Survey and the British Antarctic Survey.
"The loss of ice shelves is evidence of the effects of global warming," says USGS scientist and lead author Jane Ferrigno.
Melting of the West Antarctic part alone of the Antarctic ice sheet would cause a worldwide sea-level rise of approximately 18 feet. According to the report, "the resulting rise in sea level could severely impact the densely populated coastal regions on Earth."
In the worst-case scenario, the potential sea-level rise if the entire Antarctic ice sheet melts is estimated to be 213 to 240 feet.
"The changes exhibited in the region are widely regarded as among the most profound and unambiguous examples of the effects of global warming yet seen on the planet," the authors write in the report.
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