Categories
Homesteading

Fun with Leaves

Maple leaves
Photo by Cherie Langlois
Fall, with its maple trees ablaze, is the perfect time to do crafts with leaves.

On a visit last week to our town library, I parked next to a line of ornamental maple trees ablaze with brilliant, sun-struck foliage. Beneath them, a riot of scarlet, crimson and orange leaves covered the ground, free for the taking. (Or so I assumed.) So I  grabbed a shopping bag from the car and stuffed it full, a little guiltily—as if I were pilfering rubies instead of dead leaves.

Back home, I swept our porch, sort-of-artfully arranged our own stubborn green pumpkins and the two beautiful orange Cinderella pumpkins bought from a local farmer, then gleefully scattered my leafy treasure around. Inside, I strewed them as autumn decorations here and there, and pressed some between two paper towels in a big telephone book for a future card-making project.

Doing all of this reminded me of how much my daughter and I enjoyed leaf crafts when she was young, so I thought this week I’d share two simple ones so you and your kids can have some leafy fun, too, if you haven’t already. Both are adapted from a nature crafts book called Snips and Snails and Walnut Whales: Nature Crafts for Children by Phyllis Fiarotta (Workman Publishing Company, 1975).  (Used with permission of Workman Publishing Co., Inc., New York.)

Make Leaf Rubbings

  1. Gather a variety of leaves with different shapes. (They can be any color).
  2. Place the leaf on a covered work surface, with the more heavily veined side facing up.
  3. Place a sheet of paper over the leaf.
  4. While holding the paper in place, use crayons, colored pencils or pastels to firmly rub and color the paper until the leaf and its intricate veins appear.
  5. Try making a collage picture of different leaves in various colors, or cut leaves out, punch a hole in the stem part, and use ribbon or yarn to hang them.

Print with a Leaf

  1. Gather a variety of leaves with different shapes. (They can be any color.)
  2. Cut a piece of cardboard slightly larger than each leaf.
  3. Spread some white glue on the top, smooth side of the leaf, and glue the leaf onto the cardboard. (The veined underside should face up). Let dry.
  4. With a paintbrush, paint a thin coat of poster paint on the entire leaf.
  5. Place the painted side of the leaf down on a sheet of paper and press firmly. Lift up the cardboard carefully and admire your “inked” leaf design. Repeating this without adding more paint will make a lighter design.
  6. Try making leaf-printed cards from cardstock paper or blank store-bought cards.

Enjoy!

~ Cherie

« More Country Discovery »

Categories
Urban Farming

Gardens Transform Urban Living

This statement by Eve Mosher, a New York-based artist, referring to urban agriculture was the unifying theme of a panelist discussion at The New School’s Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Gallery in New York last week. As a part of “Living Concrete/Carrot City,” a Ryerson University and New School collaborative series of discussions and exhibitions aimed at exploring the interaction between design, food systems and community, four sustainable pioneers shared their diverse experiences in activating seeds of creative urban agriculture. The panelists included:

  • Laura Delind, anthropologist and co-founder of the Lansing Urban Farm Project
  • Eve Mosher and Tattfoo Tan, two New York-based artists
  • Domenic Vitello, a professor of urban planning at the University of Pennsylvania

Using urban agriculture as a platform for community interaction, Mosher conducted a citywide project, leaving tags in various public locations that invited passersby to insert what they hoped to see on that land instead of a cement sidewalk or a gas station. She found a majority of the participants desired more green space. This desire is translating into action from urbanites throughout the U.S. As the mediator of this discussion, Jean Gardner, an author and professor at The New School, puts it: “We are thinking by doing.”

Panelist DeLind started a community garden in Urbandale, Mich., a town where 25 percent of inhabitants live at or below the poverty line and 25 percent of the land has been abandoned. The community garden offers residents both inexpensive local produce (a sliding-scale pricing system gives discounts to residents of the town and volunteers) and a platform for social interaction. Now, neighbors who didn’t know one another before the garden participate in throwing a neighborhood Halloween party as a way to show their appreciation for the garden’s effect on the community. Children in the community see the garden as a place to discover and explore.

Vitello stresses the important role that urban agriculture plays in providing communities with food security; a greener, more beautified environment; and community bonds and enrichment. He talks specifically of Camden, N.J., a town often listed as the poorest U.S. city. Places like The Camden Men’s Garden, a club for older male residents, offers an environment where they interact as they fish in the nearby creek and garden on their land.

When asked about whether the skills learned in a garden could influence the economic futures of the children participating in these programs, the panel answered with an indisputable yes.

DeLind recalls the enterprising nature sparked in some of the young participants of her project. Nine-year-old Nancy has become the resident entomologist, and a little boy started a service to help older patrons of the community garden’s farm stand carry groceries back to their vehicles.

Urban agriculture artists like Tan have also been sharing their experiences with school children. He volunteers his time teaching children the lessons he’s learned through the New York City Parks Department.

“Children are a blank canvas. It’s hard to change the social conscience of adults, but you’ll find that children will influence their parents—not the other way around,” Tan says.

His GREENade program, developing biodegradable grenades filled with wildflower seeds, aims to add patches of green in unused lots and unkempt land. At the schools that he visits, he shares a Sustainable Organic Stewardship (S.O.S.) pledge with students that they can volunteer to swear to. The S.O.S. pledge states those who swear to it will consume local, organic produce; reduce, reuse and recycle; compost; conserve energy; and walk, bike or take public transportation. By teaching young children these virtues at the start of their lives, Tan hopes to instill behaviors that will occur more naturally to them in the future.

These stories and others are part of a strong new wave of a national movement 25 years in the making, says DeLind. The recession and the gradual break down of the American community has left citizens hungry for solutions and interactions that improve quality of life and plant seeds for a healthier, greener, and happier tomorrow. As demonstrated through the panel, urban agriculture is becoming a welcomed answer to these calls for change.

Categories
Equipment

Stop, Look and Listen

Why are we always in such a hurry? This past weekend, I was determined to clean out the raspberry patch. That meant clipping and clearing 60 feet of fall bearing plants and going through 60 feet of black raspberries and removing old canes. I had made good progress on the “fall bearing,” which I was cutting off at ground level with a blade attachment on the end of my Stihl weed trimmer.

Everything was going well until the engine stopped. I started it … and it stopped again … and again. The symptoms pointed to the fuel-line plug, so I grabbed a pair of needle-nose pliers and pulled the fuel line, flushed out the tank and refilled it after replacing the fuel line.

Unfortunately, the engine started … and ran, and a few minutes later I was back at work. I say unfortunately because it was a beautiful, late-fall day. One of those gems with a light breeze and a 55- to 60-degree-F temperature. I should have stopped and looked. I should have stopped and listened to the geese flying overhead. I should have, but I didn’t. Did it really matter if all those canes came down so quickly? Would it have mattered if they had stood another hour while I enjoyed the good things that living in the country offer?

I hope you stop, look and listen. Life is too short, and the beautiful days of autumn are too precious to spend them rushing from one job to another. The next time my mower, weed trimmer or ATV stops for some reason, I’m going to take a minute or two, perhaps even an hour or more and just enjoy. The work will wait.

<< More Shop Talk >>

Categories
News

Farm Dog Disease on the Rise

Farm dogs
Photo by Isabelle Francais/ BowTie, Inc.
Pet owners should watch for signs of leptospirosis in their farm dogs.

A potentially dangerous bacterial disease that can be fatal in farm dogs and other animals is on the rise, warns Dr. Melanie Butera, DVM, of Elm Ridge Animal Hospital in Canal Fulton, Ohio. She says she has seen an increase in the number of dogs at her practice that have contracted leptospirosis.

Leptospirosis, a contagious bacterial infection, is contracted when animals or humans come in contact with the urine of wildlife.

“In 25 years of being a vet, I had never seen a true case of it until three years ago,” Dr. Butera says. “Then this year, I have seen 13 cases in my practice.”

If left untreated, the disease can be deadly. At least half of the dogs treated at Elm Ridge Animal Hospital have died because of the disease.

Dr. Butera says she has spoken with a veterinarian from a neighboring county who also mentioned a spike in leptospirosis cases. Leptospirosis outbreaks have been documented throughout the Midwest, including in Detroit, Mich., and Kansas City, Mo.

Leptospirosis has tended to be most prevalent in outdoor and sporting dogs, but Dr. Butera says many of her recent cases have been inside dogs. While any animal or person can contract the disease, she says cats appear to be resistant to it.

Animals that come in contact with urine of wildlife, such as rats, groundhogs and squirrels, can become infected. Dogs that spend a lot of time in the yard, in ponds and creeks, and even mud puddles are susceptible.

“The bacteria need [the environment] to be wet,” Dr. Butera says. Even dew on the grass can harbor the bacteria.
 
Symptoms of leptospirosis can vary and are hard to identify, she says. They include vomiting, fever, fatigue, increase in thirst, loss of appetite and a hunched back.

“It’s treatable,” she says. “The sooner we start treating them the better.”

Depending on the strain of leptospirosis, Dr. Butera says the disease can cause liver failure, blood clotting disorders and kidney problems.

While a vaccine available to combat the disease only protects against four strains, she says it’s useful. The vaccine was once part of the routine vaccinations for dogs, but because of a high number of reactions to the vaccine, vets stopped giving the immunization. However, Dr. Butera says the vaccine can be safe and is available.

She warns pet owners to take action if their animal is exhibiting any of the signs associated with leptospirosis.

“It’s hard to diagnose, and the tests for it are not perfect and expensive, but if it is not treated it can be fatal,” she says.

A standard dose of penicillin and a second antibiotic will treat leptospirosis. It can take several months to fight the infection.

“Some dogs don’t have any clinical signs and recover without anyone even knowing they have had it,” she says. “Others don’t respond well (to treatment), and it takes a prolonged period of time to treat.”

Categories
Urban Farming

NASDAQ Tracks Green Markets

NASDAQ

Courtesy The Nasdaq OMX Group, Inc.

The Green Economy Index updates investors about companies engaged in sustainability sectors.

The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc., the world’s largest stock exchange company, now offers a comprehensive family of indexes designed to track the green economy. Leading the launch in September was the all-inclusive NASDAQ OMX Green Economy Index (Nasdaq:QGREEN), designed to serve investors who wish to benchmark an investment portfolio based on the segment of the economy that supports clean, renewable and sustainable economic development. NASDAQ OMX plans expand the Green Economy Index family with additional indexes.

Combining the economic factors that power renewable and clean growth, the Green Economy Index covers the green economic landscape with constituents selected across all industry sectors participating in the green solution. The Green Economy Index acts as a benchmark for the performance of stocks in the following sectors: advanced materials, biofuels, energy efficiency, financial, green building, healthy living, natural resources, pollution mitigation, recycling, renewable energy generation, transportation and water.

“The NASDAQ OMX Green Economy Index provides a global investment benchmark for institutional and retail investors,” said John Jacobs, executive vice president of the NASDAQ OMX Global Index Group. “Amid the transition from a fossil-based economy to the sustainable nature of the green economy, NASDAQ OMX continues to play a leading role in benchmarking the companies and sectors that are engaged in developing environmentally enhancing goods and services.”

The Green Economy Index comprises more than 350 securities from 13 distinct sectors from more than 460 companies. Following the initial launch, indexes tracking each sector and region of the Green Economy Index were released. Companies for the entire Green Economy Index family are selected by Rona Fried, PhD of SustainableBusiness.com, LLC.

“Through the NASDAQ OMX Green Economy Index, investors will be able to get exposure to all the companies worldwide that stand to benefit from a societal transition toward a green economy. The Index covers the broadest array of companies from natural resources to healthy living, from energy efficiency to renewable energy, from green building to efficient transportation, and from green IT to advanced materials,” says Fried, whose company jointly developed the Green Economy Index family with NASDAQ OMX.

Four versions of the NASDAQ OMX Green Economy Index began calculating on Sept. 22, 2010, at a base value of $1,000. The versions are a Price Return (Nasdaq:QGREEN), Total Return (Nasdaq:QGREENX), a Capped Price Return (Nasdaq:QGREENCP4), and a Capped Total Return (Nasdaq:QGREENCP4X).

Visit the NASDAQ OMX website for more information about the Green Economy Index family and the Green Economy Sector indexes.

Categories
Animals

Biscuit and Bijou

Baby goats
Courtesy Sue Weaver
My baby goats look even cuter now that they are dry.

Meet my newest sons, Biscuit and Bijou. Aren’t you surprised they were born in October? So was Mom.

See, one night in early June, my daughter Jadzia came in heat (dairy goats don’t usually do that when it’s super-hot outside). She smelled so nice that I shinnied over the barrier between my run and the dairy goat barn and I bred Jadzia. When Mom found me in the morning, she was not amused. She put a strand of electric wire along the barrier (ouch!) so it wouldn’t happen again. And she marked her calendar, just in case.

A month or so ago, slim, svelte Jadzia started getting fat. Mom sighed and carried the birthing kit to the barn. 

Wednesday afternoon, Jadzia went into labor. She pushed and pushed, she didn’t take rest breaks like most does do. Finally, a kid started coming out, but he seemed to be stuck. Mom gently pulled as Jadzia pushed, then out he came. Mom stripped the goo from his nose and toweled him off. Then she placed him in front of Jadzia’s nose. Jadzia sniffed, tentatively licked, and then she began licking her baby in earnest. But Mom saw two more hooves at Jadzia’s vulva. Here came the second kid back feet first but so quickly that Mom didn’t have time to help. She named the boys Biscuit and Bijou.

Jadzia is a perfect mom and my new sons are extra cute. And because I’m their dad and their granddad, Biscuit and Bijou are their own half-uncles!

« More Mondays with Martok »

Categories
News

U.N. Sets Biodiversity Goals

Agricultural biodiversity
The U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity set goals to preserve diversity of all kinds, including agricultural diversity.

Biodiversity rests in the minds of small-scale farmers as they face everyday challenges to produce healthy food in a sustainable way. And yet the Earth’s biodiversity—which is the key to its ability to renew soil fertility, purify water, recycle nutrients and pollinate plants—is diminishing at an alarming rate.

Current trends indicate that 34,000 plant and 5,200 animal species face extinction. Many crop varieties are disappearing because of commercial agriculture’s preference for monoculture crops and up to 30 percent farm animal breeds are currently at high risk. According to the Global Biodiversity Outlook report issued in May 2010, farm and other species worldwide are disappearing at up to 1,000 times their expected natural rate.

Responding to the alarm, the United Nations Convention on Biodiversity met for two weeks at the end of October in Nagoya, Japan, to develop a plan for stopping biodiversity loss.

Representatives from countries around the world put their heads together to develop a 10-year strategic plan to guide governments in preserving biodiversity. The convention drafted the Aichi Target, which includes 20 headline targets that address underlying causes of biodiversity loss, reducing pressures on biodiversity and a strategy to obtain needed funds. It also has provisions to protect and enhance the benefits derived by biodiversity.

“History will recall that it was here in Nagoya that a new era of living in harmony was born and new global alliance to protect life on Earth was established,” says Ahmed Djoghlaf, the biodiversity convention’s executive secretary.

The Convention on Biological Diversity, along with the Convention on Climate Change, was born at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (Earth Summit) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992. It is the first global agreement to support the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, and 192 countries and the European Union participate.

The convention has three main goals:

  • conserving biodiversity
  • using components of biodiversity sustainably
  • sharing the benefits arising from commercial and other utilization of genetic resources in a fair and equitable way

The convention recognizes the conservation of biodiversity as a common concern worldwide. Its scope includes all ecosystems, species and genetic resources, including biotechnology. It calls for economic development rooted in sustainable practices. Each participating country is legally obligated to uphold the convention and must submit a report detailing how its mission and goals are being carried out.

What Can Farmers Do?
While the convention is doing important work by recommending, planning and educating, the ultimate decision to promote biodiversity has to be made by individual farmers. Be encouraged. Every time you raise heritage-breed animals, plant heirloom seeds and compost your waste, you are doing your part to preserve the rich diversity of planet Earth.

Categories
Urban Farming

Aeroponics Shapes Future of Urban Ag

AeroFarms arugula

Courtesy AeroFarms

Aerofarms uses aeroponic technology to commercially grow leafy greens, such as arugula.

Commercial farming has met its urban match. AeroFarms, a company in Ithaca, N.Y., provides aeroponic technology and business expertise to help grow and sell leafy greens in urban buildings on a commercial level. The aeroponic system is a type of hydroponic technology that sprays a mist directly onto the roots with the nutrients, hydration and oxygen the plants need, allowing the plants to be grown in buildings without soil or sunlight throughout the year.

Ed Harwood, CEO of AeroFarms, became familiar with aeroponics while researching cutting-edge technologies in agriculture for the Cornell University Cooperative Extension. He discovered aeroponics is the most efficient means of growing leafy greens.

“Leafy greens are the best things for us to eat in our diet. But they have a very short shelf life out of all of the veggies,” Harwood explains. “By growing them locally, the shelf life is longer and better. And without sunlight and soil, there’s little chance for contamination or disease.”

In 2002, Harwood successfully created an aeroponic prototype system to grow leafy greens. He scaled the prototype into a commercial growing system, where he grew and sold greens commercially for several years under the name GreatVeggies.

Harwood says customers’ responses to the fresher taste, the longer shelf life and the innovative mixes of the greens were extremely positive. He heard stories of people requesting the greens at restaurants with no dressing and students asking for more “green candy.”

Aeroponic technology

Courtesy AeroFarms

The aeroponic growing systems uses artificial light, cloth fabric as a growing medium and nutrient spray inserted into a soil chamber in order to grow leafy greens in any area, including abandoned warehouses.

In 2009, Harwood switched his focus to developing and selling the growing systems to farmers and entrepreneurs. Harwood renamed the company Aero Farm Systems LLC with support from 21Ventures, a technology venture capital fund, to commercialize the aeroponic technology.

AeroFarms is now a full-service provider of aeroponic growing systems that helps entrepreneurs learn to use the growing system and profit from it.

“You really have to hold your customer’s hand through this process,” Harwood says. “I view it as a partnership—it’s a strong, shared learning experience between the farmer and us. They learn from my successes, and I learn from theirs.”

AeroFarms’ first paying customer was a group of Wall Street investors who wanted to start an urban farm as part of an effort to revitalize Newark, N.J. AeroFarms installed the aeroponic farm system at St. Phillips Academy, a school that provides private education for disadvantaged youth. The growing system allows the kids to grow leafy-green vegetables, which are used in the school kitchen to prepare healthy and nutritious organic meals for the kids.

The Technology

The AeroFarms growing system uses a cloth conveyor instead of soil as the growing medium. Because one piece of cloth can last up to five years, the cloth is cost-effective and environmentally friendly. Nutrients are applied directly to the plants’ roots, which requires less water compared to soil-based methods. LED lighting provides the plants with the most ideal amount and variety of lighting.

AeroFarms growing system is designed for old or vacant warehouse-type buildings, and therefore doesn’t waste land space. The AeroFarms growing system is modular and vertically stackable, which can turn 10,000 square feet of facility floor space into nearly 30,000 square feet of growing space.

Harwood hopes this technology will eventually become mainstream.

“We need to think about the next generation in terms of better health and better food,” he says. “I want more people participating in growing good food. I want this technology to be in reach of people to set up businesses and provide better foods for people.”

Visit the AeroFarms website to learn how to set up your own commercial growing system.