August 23, 2007

Organic Farming Can Feed the World

Organic farming can yield up to three times as much food on individual farms in developing countries, as low-intensive methods on the same land–according to new findings which refute the long-standing claim that organic farming methods cannot produce enough food to feed the global population.

Researchers from the University of Michigan found that in developed countries, yields were almost equal on organic and conventional farms. In developing countries, food production could double or triple using organic methods, said Ivette Perfecto, professor at U-M's School of Natural Resources and Environment, and one the study's principal investigators. Catherine Badgley, research scientist in the Museum of Paleontology, is a co-author of the paper along with several current and former graduate and undergraduate students from U-M.

"My hope is that we can finally put a nail in the coffin of the idea that you can't produce enough food through organic agriculture," Perfecto said.

In addition to equal or greater yields, the authors found that those yields could be accomplished using existing quantities of organic fertilizers, without putting more farmland into production.

The idea to undertake an exhaustive review of existing data about yields and nitrogen availability was fueled in a roundabout way, when Perfecto and Badgley were teaching a class about the global food system and visiting farms in Southern Michigan.

"We were struck by how much food the organic farmers would produce," Perfecto said. The researchers set about compiling data from published literature to investigate the two chief objections to organic farming: low yields and lack of organically acceptable nitrogen sources.

Their findings refute those key arguments, Perfecto said, and confirm that organic farming is less environmentally harmful yet can potentially produce more than enough food. This is especially good news for developing countries, where it's sometimes impossible to deliver food from outside, so farmers must supply their own. Yields in developing countries could increase dramatically by switching to organic farming, Perfecto said.

While that seems counterintuitive, it makes sense because in developing countries, many farmers still do not have the access to the expensive fertilizers and pesticides that farmers use in developed countries to produce those high yields, she said.

After comparing yields of organic and non-organic farms, the researchers looked at nitrogen availability. To do so, they multiplied the current farm land area by the average amount of nitrogen available for production crops if so-called "green manures" were planted between growing seasons. Green manures are cover crops which are plowed into the soil to provide natural soil amendments. They found that planting green manures between growing seasons provided enough nitrogen to replace synthetic fertilizers.

Organic farming is important because conventional agriculture–which involves high-yielding plants, mechanized tillage, synthetic fertilizers and biocides–is so detrimental to the environment, Perfecto said. For instance, fertilizer runoff from conventional agriculture is the chief culprit in creating dead zones–low oxygen areas where marine life cannot survive. Proponents of organic farming argue that conventional farming also causes soil erosion, greenhouse gas emission, increased pest resistance and loss of biodiversity.

For their analysis, researchers defined the term organic as: practices referred to as sustainable or ecological; that utilize non-synthetic nutrient cycling processes; that exclude or rarely use synthetic pesticides; and sustain or regenerate the soil quality.

Perfecto said the idea that people would go hungry if farming went organic is "ridiculous."

"Corporate interest in agriculture and the way agriculture research has been conducted in land grant institutions, with a lot of influence by the chemical companies and pesticide companies as well as fertilizer companies–all have been playing an important role in convincing the public that you need to have these inputs to produce food," she said.

Contact: Laura Bailey
Phone: (734) 647-1848

University of Michigan News Service, 412 Maynard, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, newsrel@umich.edu

Posted by Ron Wolford at 11:25 PM | Permalink |

August 23, 2007

Brooklyn Botanic Garden Seeks Community Garden Pics

Brooklyn Botanic Garden is producing a book on community gardening, and we need your help! We are seeking interesting, beautiful photos documenting all aspects of community gardening from North American gardens of all sizes and interests. We can pay a small licensing fee for any photos that we select for publication (plus give you copies of the book when it is printed!).

Photos should be high resolution (at least 1200 pixels wide, or color slides). They can illustrate garden projects, the relationship between the garden and its neighbors, or just beautiful moments throughout the season. If people are included in the shot, we will need a simple photo release (so we'll need to know how to reach anyone depicted).

If you have photos that you think we might be interested in, please contact
me at elizabethpeters@bbg.org.

Elizabeth Peters
Director of Publications
Brooklyn Botanic Garden
http://bbg.org

Posted by Ron Wolford at 1:22 PM | Permalink |

August 20, 2007

New Perennial Garden Design Website

Posted by Ron Wolford at 6:06 PM | Permalink |

August 6, 2007

Melons: The Sweet Taste of Summer

Think back to summertime when you were a kid. What taste of summer comes to mind? If watermelon is at the top of the list, wait no longer. Watermelons are ripe and ready at your local farmer's market. Not only are watermelons ready for picking, but so are muskmelons, also known as cantaloupe.

"It's often difficult to tell when melons are perfectly ripe," says Jennifer Nance, University of Illinois Extension educator. "Most melons such as muskmelons are ready when they easily separate from the vine. The rind will also change from green to tan or yellow between the netting. But, be careful not to pick too early. Once picked, muskmelons soften but do not sweeten any further."

Avoid melons with rinds that are still green. Unlike muskmelons, honeydew and Crenshaw melons must be cut from the vine after they turn completely yellow.

Watermelons have a few tell-tell signs to help determine their ripeness. Unfortunately, the common "thumping" of the melon isn't always a good indicator. Nance says a combination of these signs indicates ripeness:

• curly tendrils on the stem near the point of attachment are brown and dry
• surface color of the fruit is dull
• the skin becomes resistant to penetration by the thumbnail and is rough to the touch
• the bottom of the melon (where it lies on the soil) turns from light green to a yellowish color. A watermelon isn't quite ripe if the underside is white or pale green
• Store un-cut melons at room temperature. Before cutting, wash the surface with cool, running water. Once cut, melons are highly perishable and must be stored in the refrigerator.

Try this recipe for a tasty summer dessert.

Melon Berry Salad

1 cantaloupe
2 apples
1 cup blueberries
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Non-fat whipped topping (optional)

Wash cantaloupe, apples, and blueberries under cool, running water. Cut cantaloupe and apples into small pieces. Combine cantaloupe, apples, and blueberries in a large bowl. In a small dish, combine the honey and lemon juice. Pour honey mixture over fruit and toss gently. Cover and refrigerate for one hour before serving. Serve with whipped topping. Refrigerate unused portion.

Source: Jennifer Nance, R.D., Unit Educator, Family Nutrition Program, jnance@uiuc.edu

Posted by Ron Wolford at 1:25 AM | Permalink |

August 5, 2007

Enter the Grow-Off-Show-Off Garden Contest