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19 April 2011
Future Farm Is Now
Did you ever wonder how they grow their food on a space ship like the Mother Plane? It would have to be indoors, in an enclosed room, with artificial light of some sort and some kind of soil or other growing medium. What would it really look like and be like? With radiation on the wind and in the rain shouldn't all agriculture be taken indoors and out of harm's way?
Future farm: A sunless, rainless room indoors
DEN BOSCH, Netherlands — Farming is moving indoors, where the sun never shines, where rainfall is irrelevant and where the climate is always right.
AP
The perfect crop field could be inside a windowless building with meticulously controlled light, temperature, humidity, air quality and nutrition. It could be in a New York high-rise, a Siberian bunker or a sprawling complex in the Saudi desert.
Advocates say this, or something like it, may be an answer to the world’s food problems.
“In order to keep a planet that’s worth living on, we have to change our methods,” says Gertjan Meeuws, of PlantLab, a private research company.
The world already is having trouble feeding itself. Half the people on Earth live in cities, and nearly half of those — about 3 billion — are hungry or malnourished. Food prices, currently soaring, are buffeted by droughts, floods and the cost of energy required to plant, fertilize, harvest and transport it.
And prices will only get more unstable. Climate change makes long-term crop planning uncertain. Farmers in many parts of the world already are draining available water resources to the last drop. And the world is getting more crowded: by mid-century, the global population will grow from 6.8 billion to 9 billion, the U.N. predicts.
To feed so many people may require expanding farmland at the expense of forests and wilderness, or finding ways to radically increase crop yields.
Meeuws and three other Dutch bioengineers have taken the concept of a greenhouse a step further, growing vegetables, herbs and house plants in enclosed and regulated environments where even natural light is excluded.
In their research station, strawberries, yellow peppers, basil and banana plants take on an eerie pink glow under red and blue bulbs of Light-Emitting Diodes, or LEDs. Water trickles into the pans when needed and all excess is recycled, and the temperature is kept constant. Lights go on and off, simulating day and night, but according to the rhythm of the plant — which may be better at shorter cycles than 24 hours — rather than the rotation of the Earth.
In a larger “climate chamber” a few miles away, a nursery is nurturing cuttings of fittonia, a colorful house plant, in two layers of 70 square meters (750 sq. feet) each. Blasts of mist keep the room humid, and the temperature is similar to the plants’ native South America. After the cuttings take root — the most sensitive stage in the growing process — they are wheeled into a greenhouse and the chamber is again used for rooting. The process cuts the required time to grow a mature plant to six weeks from 12 or more.
The Dutch researchers say they plan to build a commercial-sized building in the Netherlands of 1,300 square meters (14,000 sq. feet), with four separate levels of vegetation by the end of this year. After that, they envision growing vegetables next to shopping malls, supermarkets or other food retailers.
Meeuws says a building of 100 sq. meters (1,075 sq. feet) and 14 layers of plants could provide a daily diet of 200 grams (7 ounces) of fresh fruit and vegetables to the entire population of Den Bosch, about 140,000 people. Their idea is not to grow foods that require much space, like corn or potatoes. “We are looking at the top of the pyramid where we have high value and low volume,” he said.
Sunlight is not only unnecessary but can be harmful, says Meeuws. Plants need only specific wavelengths of light to grow, but in nature they must adapt to the full range of light as a matter of survival. When light and other natural elements are manipulated, the plants become more efficient, using less energy to grow.
“Nature is good, but too much nature is killing,” said Meeuws, standing in a steaming cubicle amid racks of what he called “happy plants.”
For more than a decade the four researchers have been tinkering with combinations of light, soil and temperature on a variety of plants, and now say their growth rate is three times faster than under greenhouse conditions. They use no pesticides, and about 90% less water than outdoors agriculture. While LED bulbs are expensive, the cost is steadily dropping.
Olaf van Kooten, a professor of horticulture at Wageningen University who has observed the project but has no stake in it, says a kilogram (2.2 pounds) of tomatoes grown in Israeli fields needs 60 liters (16 gallons) of water, while those grown in a Dutch greenhouse require one-quarter of that. “With this system it is possible in principle to produce a kilo of tomatoes with a little over one liter of water,” he said.
The notion of multistory greenhouses has been around for a while. Dickson Despommier, a retired Columbia University professor of environmental health and author of the 2010 book “The Vertical Farm,” began working on indoor farming as a classroom project in 1999, and the idea has spread to several startup projects across the U.S.
“Over the last five year urban farming has really gained traction,” Despommier said in a telephone interview.
Despommier argues that city farming means producing food near the consumer, eliminating the need to transport it long distances at great costs of fuel and spoilage and with little dependency on the immediate climate.
The science behind LED lighting in agriculture “is quite rigorous and well known,” he said, and the costs are dropping dramatically. The next development, organic light-emitting diodes or OLEDs, which can be packed onto thin film and wrapped around a plant, will be even more efficiently tuned to its needs.
One of the more dramatic applications of plant-growing chambers under LED lights was by NASA, which installed them in the space Shuttle and the space station Mir in the 1990s as part of its experiment with microgravity.
“This system is a first clear step that has to grow,” Van Kooten says, but more research is needed and people need to get used to the idea of sunless, landless agriculture.
“But it’s clear to me a system like this is necessary.”
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
18 April 2011
Container gardening pros and cons
Container gardening pros and cons
Saturday, April 16, 2011
By Tiffany Bentley
The Express-Times
Container gardening can be a rewarding experience for apartment dwellers, aspiring gardeners and green thumbs who want garden-fresh produce but are limited by land size.
"You can grow several varieties of herbs in the same pot, keep (them) by the back door and pinch off what you need," says Laura Kolba, the primary container gardener at Mackey's Orchard, Route 519 in Belvidere.
But container gardening requires more care than just sticking a plant in a pot and watching it grow.
Pot Material
Beverly Hoyer has been inside Buzas' Greenhouse on Newburg Road in Easton since her parents started it in 1961. She says choosing a pot to plant needs to be a calculated decision.
"Sometimes they'll see a pot they really like but it's not the right shape or not enough soil volume," Hoyer says.
She recommends vegetables be grown in plastic containers because they are better at retaining water. Herbs such as rosemary and thyme do well in clay pots because of breathability and the material's ability to release extra water.
Size matters
Know the root span and the plant's projected size at maturity before choosing a container.
"People want to put tomatoes in small containers," Hoyer says, when they should be in a 5- to 7-gallon pot.
Hang 'em up
For decorative hanging baskets and containers -- pair wisely. It is necessary to know how far the foliage and roots will spread.
Hoyer says crawlers like sweet potato vines will choke out all other plants in a container. Mint is known to take over wherever it is planted.
"The biggest mistake is people buy plants at different rates of growth. You want to buy plants that grow at a similar rate," Kolba says. Fast-growing plants may take over slower variations.
Dirt riches
Soil and drainage are critical to prevent rot and to keep plants hydrated. Hoyer says a coarse soil works for drainage.
"You cannot use garden soil unless you amend it," Hoyer says. "It gets like concrete in a pot." She says a potting soil that drains well is best. Hoyer says if you use the right potting soil, there also shouldn't be any worry of weeds. In the long run, shoveling dirt from the ground may cost you more in failed plants.
Location, location
Some flowers or plants prefer shade to sun, or vice versa. If using the plants for decorative purposes in a specific area, know the sun level of the spot before buying plants.
"Vegetables and herbs need sun," Hoyer says. "Inside is tough. I wouldn't recommend it. They also need a lot of air." Hoyer recommends putting pots on a patio.
Vegetables such as peppers, tomatoes and lettuces will do well in containers, but some will not. "Cucumbers need cool roots. They don't like to be hot," Hoyer says. She recommends those types of plants for the ground.
Water and fertilizer
Watering is crucial. Hoyer says daily watering is required, especially as plants get larger. Hotter summers require watering twice a day.
Kolba has worked at Mackey's Orchard in Belvidere for 15 years and helped to start the greenhouse six years ago. She says watering is the pitfall of container gardening.
"If you ever let a container plant dry out completely, it will never come back," she says. This is especially important for containers on wood or concrete surfaces, Kolba says.
Hoyer recommends granular and slow-release fertilizers for container gardens and reminds customers that vegetables need more than herbs.
Timing is everything
Container gardens are held to the same planting rules as ground gardens.
"You don't gain a whole lot of time," Hoyer says of planting early. Tomatoes and peppers will sit with a greater chance of rot, especially without proper drainage.
Hoyer's daughter Julia, who helps to plant ready-made container gardens for sale at Buzas', says the best guide is to monitor "whenever the nights consistently stay above 50 degrees," despite the May 15 benchmark some gardeners use.
There is help
"A lot of it is trial and error if you are just starting," Hoyer says.
^ Contact community colleges for gardening classes.
^ Find tips and resources through county Cooperative Extension offices.
^ Visit local greenhouses. Let them know where you are planning to plant, what container you're using, what colors you are looking for in terms of decoration or what vegetables you would like for your favorite recipes. When those people come in and don't know where to start, Hoyer says, "we take them by the hand."
^ "Tips For Container Gardening" by the Editors and Contributors of Fine Gardening (Taunton Press, $19.95).
Reporter Tiffany Bentley can be reached at 610-258-7171 or tbentley@express-times.com.
Original Scientist: Critical Report On Fukushima Nuclear Disaster
Original Scientist: Critical Report On Fukushima Nuclear Disaster: "Here is the best report on the Japan nuclear disaster that I have seen to date. It is comprehensive and sobering in its conclusions. It is ..."
14 April 2011
Why You Should Care About the Japan Nuclear Meltdown and What to Do About It (video)
Dr. Blaylock: Japanese Radiation Could Pose Risk to US
Tuesday, 15 Mar 2011 12:24 AM
If a radiation cloud from Japan’s damaged nuclear reactors eventually reaches the western United States, it could pose a threat to American crops and the people who eat them, nationally known neurosurgeon Russell Blaylock, M.D., tells Newsmax.
Dr. Blaylock also says the radiation could pose a cancer risk, and explains steps to take to protect against the damaging effects of radiation exposure.
Blaylock is a health practitioner, lecturer, and editor of Newsmax.com’s “Blaylock Wellness Report.” His books include “Nuclear Sunrise,” which examines the threat nuclear radiation poses.
Story continues below video.
In an exclusive interview with Newsmax.TV, Dr. Blaylock was asked about the risks faced by people in Japan close to the damaged reactors.
“Of course people near the site face the greatest danger,” he responds.
“Anything over 150 rads [a measurement of radiation] is going to produce radiation sickness. And they’re getting close to that level, from what I understand.
“The safety level is set at 5 rads per year. They’re getting this dose within a short period of time.
“At about 100 to 400 rads you drastically increase death risk. Once you get above 600 rads, about 95 percent of people are going to die within two weeks. This is what they’re worried about.”
Radioactive elements Strontium 90 and Cesium 137, which can be released by a damaged reactor, “have a half-life of 30 years, so we’re talking about very long contamination, a hundred years or more,” he adds.
Prevailing winds in the area of the stricken Japanese reactors have been heading east into the Pacific, toward the Western Hemisphere. Dr. Blaylock was asked about the threat to Americans if radiation from the reactors eventually does reach Hawaii or the West Coast of America.
“Most of the health risks are not going to be due to acute radiation poisoning,” he tells Newsmax. “It’s going to be a risk of increased cancer.
“When we look at Chernobyl, most of West Germany was heavily contaminated. Norway, Sweden. Hungary was terribly contaminated. The radiation was taken up into the plants. The food was radioactive. They took the milk and turned it into cheese. The cheese was radioactive.
“That’s the big danger, the crops in this country being contaminated, the milk in particular, with Strontium 90. That radiation is incorporated into the bones and stays for a lifetime.”
If radiation does arrive in the United States, people would need “to change their diet. They need to stop eating Western farm products,” Dr. Blaylock says.
They might also need to take several supplements that can protect against the effects of radiation, he suggests.
“Taking these supplements not only protects you against radiation but a lot of other diseases including cancer, brain degeneration.”
Among the supplements he cited, Iodine can protect the thyroid gland if taken before the exposure to radiation.
Gingko biloba can be protective even after exposure to radiation. Beta-glucan protects the bone marrow. Curcumin also can offer protection after exposure, particularly against breast cancer. He also suggests garlic extract, ginger, melatonin and magnesium.
Dr. Blaylock’s e-book “Nuclear Sunrise” focuses mainly on the threat of radiation from nuclear terrorism, but it examines in detail the effects of radiation and steps to take to protect against radiation damage. It can be found at the website www.blaylockwellnesscenter.com.
© Newsmax. All rights reserved.
Dr. Blaylock also says the radiation could pose a cancer risk, and explains steps to take to protect against the damaging effects of radiation exposure.
Blaylock is a health practitioner, lecturer, and editor of Newsmax.com’s “Blaylock Wellness Report.” His books include “Nuclear Sunrise,” which examines the threat nuclear radiation poses.
Story continues below video.
In an exclusive interview with Newsmax.TV, Dr. Blaylock was asked about the risks faced by people in Japan close to the damaged reactors.
“Of course people near the site face the greatest danger,” he responds.
“Anything over 150 rads [a measurement of radiation] is going to produce radiation sickness. And they’re getting close to that level, from what I understand.
“The safety level is set at 5 rads per year. They’re getting this dose within a short period of time.
“At about 100 to 400 rads you drastically increase death risk. Once you get above 600 rads, about 95 percent of people are going to die within two weeks. This is what they’re worried about.”
Radioactive elements Strontium 90 and Cesium 137, which can be released by a damaged reactor, “have a half-life of 30 years, so we’re talking about very long contamination, a hundred years or more,” he adds.
Prevailing winds in the area of the stricken Japanese reactors have been heading east into the Pacific, toward the Western Hemisphere. Dr. Blaylock was asked about the threat to Americans if radiation from the reactors eventually does reach Hawaii or the West Coast of America.
“Most of the health risks are not going to be due to acute radiation poisoning,” he tells Newsmax. “It’s going to be a risk of increased cancer.
“When we look at Chernobyl, most of West Germany was heavily contaminated. Norway, Sweden. Hungary was terribly contaminated. The radiation was taken up into the plants. The food was radioactive. They took the milk and turned it into cheese. The cheese was radioactive.
“That’s the big danger, the crops in this country being contaminated, the milk in particular, with Strontium 90. That radiation is incorporated into the bones and stays for a lifetime.”
If radiation does arrive in the United States, people would need “to change their diet. They need to stop eating Western farm products,” Dr. Blaylock says.
They might also need to take several supplements that can protect against the effects of radiation, he suggests.
“Taking these supplements not only protects you against radiation but a lot of other diseases including cancer, brain degeneration.”
Among the supplements he cited, Iodine can protect the thyroid gland if taken before the exposure to radiation.
Gingko biloba can be protective even after exposure to radiation. Beta-glucan protects the bone marrow. Curcumin also can offer protection after exposure, particularly against breast cancer. He also suggests garlic extract, ginger, melatonin and magnesium.
Dr. Blaylock’s e-book “Nuclear Sunrise” focuses mainly on the threat of radiation from nuclear terrorism, but it examines in detail the effects of radiation and steps to take to protect against radiation damage. It can be found at the website www.blaylockwellnesscenter.com.
© Newsmax. All rights reserved.
Read more on Newsmax.com: Dr. Blaylock: Japanese Radiation Could Pose Risk to US
Important: Do You Support Pres. Obama's Re-Election? Vote Here Now!
13 April 2011
How the Japan Quake Changed the World
Protect Yourself and Loved Ones – Not a Drill.
(San Francisco) – What we know:
- The daily outflow of deadly radiation from Japan’s Four Chernobyl’d Reactors increased Ten Times on March 31.
- The Japanese Government in conjunction with GE and the American CIA cut off information the next day.
- Information has resumed and is “controlled”.
- The March 31st Radioactive Plume is expected in the States, the EU and Asia on April 11th and 12th. The Southern Hemisphere will get all this spread out over the next year.
- The Plume contains Radioactive Iodine, Strontium, Plutonium, Cesium and other highly lethal radioactive substances.
- Take all the precautions you can:
The radioactive smoke rises from destroyed Fukushima reactors TEEOCO-AP-295
A. Stay indoors as much as you can, and especially when it rains.
B.Get into the habit of checking your shoes and those of guests at the front door. Store umbrellas away from clothes
C. Drink spring water from deep underground old sources. Try to make it local.
D. Do not bathe or wash clothes/dishes in radioactively contaminated water. That is a bit of a problem. You can stock up on baby wipes.
That should help some. In the Northeast US Poland Springs is good if a bit acid, so counteract with bicarb once a day – a tsp. in a glass of water.
E. Food: This is a puzzle.
Buy New Zealand beef from US Wellness Meats. In about a year’s time that will no longer be a good source, as the radiation will eventually cross the equator. Broad leafy greens are known to absorb radiation from rainwater.
There was an idea that thicker skinned veggies would be the best but as it turns out, foods rich in minerals will pick up all the nasties as easily for they are heavy metals. Beware of coconuts, and avocados, both rich in potassium, and therefore good at picking up metals .
All dairy products are no good. They have Strontium 90, which at the behest of the dairy industry, was made illegal to report the last time this happened. Take it on faith because the probe that will pick it up is attached to a isotope radiation detector that costs $10,000, and up, and there is a waiting list!
However you might want to get one of the 400 dollar detectors and you can use it to measure Gamma rays on your food in the market while you are shopping. Gammas are easier to detect. That way you can buy more intelligently. There are waiting lists for those, too.
Proceed as if everything changed on March 11, 2011. It did.
Four Ways to Be Food Independent (videos)
Image via Wikipedia4 Best Methods for Off-the-Grid Food Production
Activist Post
For most of us producing all of our own food is just a fantasy. It evokes visions of multiple acres of fertile land, long work days, and expensive machinery. However, none of these are necessary to achieve self-sufficient food production.
There are many gardening techniques that can produce an abundance of food for you and your family without requiring a lot of space, money or equipment. What each of these methods will require is your time, but not the dawn-to-dusk work hours associated with farming.
Rather, you will need time to study and practice these methods and other food preparation skills such as learning to mill your own wheat or corn flour to make breads, tortillas, pastas from scratch, or learning to can, pickle, or preserve food in all its forms.
Your diet should also be considered when planning for the best self-sufficient food production method. Do you need meat and dairy products? How much grains do you require? Yes, in order fully produce all of your food off-the-grid, you may have to make changes to your current diet if your resources are limited. Some may view these as dietary sacrifices, yet the folks that can claim a high level of food self-reliance will all claim their diet is far healthier than the average American.
With dedication and proper planning, everyone has the ability to survive the looming food crisis by producing their own food. None of the following methods should necessarily be considered by itself. Each offers unique techniques that can be mixed and matched for the best results. Their optimal application depends on calculations of your property size, climate zone, or your budget and time constraints.
Here are the 4 best food production methods for self-reliance:
1. Permaculture Gardening: Permaculture is where you design an entire edible habitat based on the natural capital of your setting. Then, place plants to methodically balance the soil, water, and pests. For instance, a nitrogen fixing plant may be planted next to a nitrogen hungry plant, which may sit next to an ornamental that deters predators, and so on. Permaculture gardening re-creates nature by using a large variety of plants while incorporating as many different animals as feasible like chickens, goats, ducks, and bees. You may also see features like vertical gardening and aquaculture ponds in permaculture designs depending on the space available. Utilizing this method is not expensive, but requires a lot of know-how and trial and error. Permaculture gardening can produce massive abundance. See the amazing video below for a real-world example of going off-the-grid in suburbia:
2. Aquaponics: Aquaponics is a interdependent hybrid system of aquaculture and hydroponic gardening. Vegetables and herbs grow in soil-less containers that are fed with waste water from the aquaculture pools. The plants feast on the bacteria from fish waste and return the water to the fish in a purified state. These systems can be as big or as small as you wish and can potentially produce large amounts of fish and vegetables. When done properly, very little if any additional fertilizer or chemicals are needed, just fish food. Aquaponics can also be applied indoors, either in a greenhouse setting or with grow lights. The video below is a good description of the benefits of Aquaponics.
3. Greenhouses: If you live in a region of the world with harsh winters, then a greenhouse will be essential for food self-sufficiency. Obviously, a greenhouse alone is not a strategy for full food production unless it is a large facility. Typically it can be viewed as a compliment to other gardening methods. In fact, the Dervaes family in the first video above uses a greenhouse to clone and start seedlings even though they live in Southern California. There are great designs and greenhouse starter kits available online. Below is a brief video on the benefits of greenhouse gardening:
4. Indoor Grow Rooms: Indoor growing is typically done with grow lights and hydroponics. Some people have sun-rooms in their homes which can basically act as a fancier greenhouse. However, for this section we'll focus on indoor hydroponics. This method of growing is certainly not the cheapest way to produce food, yet it is a steadfast method especially where weather and other elements can hinder food self-sufficiency. Indoor hydroponics requires grow lights such as LEDs, CFLs, or HPSs, along with tubing, drainage, fertilizer and ventilation. However, even a small space can produce fantastic yields for leafy vegetables, herbs, tomatoes, sprouts, and much more. To make this method fully off the grid find the most energy efficient grow lights possible and think about getting a solar generator to offset the electric costs. Below is a video about indoor plant lighting:
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