Read at :
http://www.psfk.com/2010/04/pics-a-living-wall-in-london.html
On a recent trip to London, we came across this impressive living wall at the Anthropologie store on Regent street. The 200 square meter wall uses 14 different plant types, and spans all three floors of the shop. It’s also sustainable, using rainwater collected from the roof.
Read at :
http://www.cityfarmer.info/2010/10/14/dickson-despommier-speaks-about-the-vertical-farm/
Linked by Michael Levenston
The Vertical Farm, Despommier’s new book
“The time is at hand for us to learn how to safely grow our food inside environmentally controlled multistory buildings within urban centers. If we do not, then in just another 50 years, the next 3 billion people will surely go hungry, and the world will become a much more unpleasant place in which to live.” – The Vertical Farm.
The Problem
By the year 2050, nearly 80% of the earth’s population will reside in urban centers. Applying the most conservative estimates to current demographic trends, the human population will increase by about 3 billion people during the interim. An estimated 109 hectares of new land (about 20% more land than is represented by the country of Brazil) will be needed to grow enough food to feed them, if traditional farming practices continue as they are practiced today. At present, throughout the world, over 80% of the land that is suitable for raising crops is in use (sources: FAO and NASA). Historically, some 15% of that has been laid waste by poor management practices. What can be done to avoid this impending disaster?
A Potential Solution: Farm Vertically Continue reading “Learn how to safely grow food inside environmentally controlled multistory buildings within urban centers (City Farmer News / Vertical Farm)”
Read at :
http://www.cityfarmer.info/2010/09/21/a-crop-sprouts-without-soil-or-sunshine/
Linked by Michael Levenston
It can produce about 20 pounds of produce per harvest
By Todd Woody
New York Times
September 20, 2010
Excerpt:
On the rooftop garden at St. Philip’s Academy, a private school in Newark, New Jersey, students tend plots of everything from broccoli and beets to sweet corn and spaghetti squash.
But since August they have also been helping to farm arugula, chervil, fun jen and komatsuna in a machine installed in a fourth-floor science classroom that grows crops without soil or sunshine.
Made by an Ithaca, N.Y., company called AeroFarms, the aeroponic growing system is owned by EcoVeggies, a startup formed by former three Wall Street technology workers who aim to transform Newark’s abandoned and vacant buildings into so-called vertical farms. Continue reading “EcoVeggies and AeroFarms: sustainable agriculture movement (Agriculture 2.0), combining technology and organic farming in urban areas lacking access to fresh food (City Farmer News The New York Times)”
Once more I am tempted to applaud loudly for the UN’s ‘massive feeding drive for children in drought-stricken Niger‘. Who wouldn’t be happy learning that the UN uses massive donor contributions for a child feeding programme?
‘If we are to prevent the loss of a whole generation of children to malnutrition and food insecurity‘, it is indeed crucial that we come forward with the assistance needed, not only to keep these children alive, but also to take the necessary measures to avoid such a catastrophe in the future.
The severe food shortages in Niger (and other West African nations?) are the result of prolonged drought, causing crop failure and livestock deaths. It would be totally inhuman if we don’t provide for the needs of these malnourished children and, at least, for keeping them alive.
The key question is: ‘Do these children need to get a monthly ration to stay alive … full stop, or do we have to take measures to offer them (and their family) some food security, knowing that severe droughts are recurrent, occurring at regular intervals?
Putting this question is giving the answer: NO, keeping them alive is not sufficient!
We have to protect their families for the direct effects of the droughts. How? Don’t tell me that you never heard of methods to grow vegetables and fruits in the most adverse climatic conditions with a minimum of irrigation water!
The best practices? The lessons learned? What’s the use of them if we ignore them?
Open your loudspeaker at the highest volume for the Chinese proverb: ‘Don’t give that man a fish. Teach him how to fish‘.
That’s the No. 1 hit in our ‘Global Drought and Desertification Song List’ !
Read at : The Daily Green
Read at : Low-tech Magazine
Vertical farming has become a popular idea, but what is mostly forgotten is that the energy required for the operation and construction of vertical farms largely negates the ecological advantages. This also applies to small-scale systems, like those of Philips (a concept) or Inka Biospheric Solutions (a product).
A while ago two New York ladies made headlines with their “Window farms“, described as a kind of low-tech indoor vertical farming system (illustration on the right). Upon a closer look, however, I found the method to be rather high-tech and cumbersome, in spite of the use of plastic bottles. A window farm is based on hydroponics, it makes use of lamps, pumps and electricity, it still requires you to buy quite a lot of new stuff, and the whole thing would surely come crashing down if I were to install it.
The Belgian professor Willem Van Cotthem seems to have designed a do-it-yourself vertical kitchen garden system that truly deserves the low-tech label. On his blog, “Container gardening”, he explains how to transform normal plastic bottles into efficient containers (and a container rack) for growing all kinds of plants, even young trees (to be transplanted when reaching sufficient height). The beauty is that the water supply can be automated without the use of electricity, and that his way of installing a vertical garden looks much simpler and sturdier.
(continued)
——————————————
MY COMMENTS (Willem Van Cotthem)
See also: http://containergardening.wordpress.com
The publication of this article by Kris DE DECKER in LOW-TECH MAGAZINE created a lively discussion since March 2010.
Readers were interested in tutorials for creating a vertical, urban indoor garden.
Others found it problematic to use plastic containers due to their chemical composition. This is a universal question coming back several times at different fora. Here is my reply published by LOW-TECH MAGAZINE on March 17, 2010 :
“As a biologist, I agree fully with experts alerting us for the threats of certain components in certain plastics. But I don’t agree with the overall doom scenario written by some journalists. Moreover, I don’t believe that “dangerous” plastics will disappear within the next decades. They will slowly be replaced by “less dangerous”, e.g. biodegradable ones. In the meanwhile, we are recycling some in the developed countries and the bulk of plastics is simply going to waste dumps where we cover it all up with a good top layer of soil.
However, in the developing countries most plastic objects are finally littered. Pots, bags and bottles are literally covering the streets or hanging in the trees as plastic flowers. That dirt causes more diseases than the plastics themselves, e.g. by being the preferred niches for a panoply of germs on the spots where the kids are playing in the dirt. “Recycling” plastic bags, pots and bottles by using them as containers for production of vitamin rich vegetables or seedlings of fruit trees is less dangerous than leaving them flying around in the environment. I agree with Levi that wealthy people, who can afford buying earthenware or glassware for gardening, shouldn’t use the plastic trash. But for the poor people and school children in developing countries, gardening in plastic bottles is not only a contribution to food security, but also to public health. And it helps to keep the environment a bit cleaner and greener, particularly in the drylands.”
Kris DE DECKER, the author of the article, agreed with my views and added some magnificent comments on health risks due to plastics and differences in attitude between the developed and the developing world. He concluded his contribution with: “Also don’t forget that a large part of the rich world is depleting its underground fossil water reserves at an alarming pace, the USA being a good example. The poor drylands that Van Cotthem originally designed his method for, might not be that far away:
http://www.eoearth.org/article/Aquifer_depletion
The latest comment, posted by “plastic soil?”, contained a number of questions concerning the soil conditioning compound TerraCottem, developed at my laboratory in 1983-1992. I had the honour of submitting the following reply for moderation by the author:
“You are absolutely right: the TerraCottem soil conditioning compound my team and I developed at the University of Ghent is certainly not “low-tech”. We never claimed that. On the contrary, this mixture of water absorbent polymers, mineral fertilizers, organic substances, root growth activators and carrier material, e.g. volcanic rock (all together more than 20 different substances) is indeed a high-tech compound, intended to solve different dryland problems in one go: drought, soil poverty, lack of organic matter, poor root development, low yield, soil compaction etc. Our main objective was to create a useful “method” (a tool) to combat drought and desertification by mixing a small quantity of a granular compound per square meter in dryland soils to improve their water retention capacity, their organic content, the microbiological activity and the biomass production capacity, using only a minimum of irrigation water or rain. TerraCottem soil conditioner is produced by a spin-off company of the Ghent University since 1990. It is applied in more than 50 different countries with approval of the national safety administrations and services. It is absolutely non-toxic (since the nineties I have eaten a lot of it to show its non-toxicity) and has nothing to do with plastics. All soils treated with it on the different continents are nowadays significantly better (more productive) than the ones before treatment. In order to avoid assumptions one can always ask the producing company to answer a number of additional questions.
Anyway, TerraCottem has nothing to do with vertical farming.”
Please follow this discussion on:
Read at : Low-tech Magazine
http://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2010/03/make-your-own-lowtech-vertical-farm.html#more
The ingenious low-cost vertical farms of Willem Van Cotthem are within reach of everybody.
Vertical farming has become a popular idea, but what is mostly forgotten is that the energy required for the operation and construction of vertical farms largely negates the ecological advantages. This also applies to small-scale systems, like those of Philips (a concept) or Inka Biospheric Solutions (a product).
A while ago two New York ladies made headlines with their “Window farms“, described as a kind of low-tech indoor vertical farming system (illustration above). Upon a closer look, however, I found the method to be rather high-tech and cumbersome, in spite of the use of plastic bottles. A window farm is based on hydroponics, it makes use of lamps, pumps and electricity, it still requires you to buy quite a lot of new stuff, and the whole thing would surely come crashing down if I were to install it.
The Belgian professor Willem Van Cotthem seems to have designed a do-it-yourself vertical kitchen garden system that truly deserves the low-tech label. On his blog, “Container Gardening“, he explains how to transform normal plastic bottles into efficient containers (and a container rack) for growing all kinds of plants, even young trees (to be transplanted when reaching sufficient height). The beauty is that the water supply can be automated without the use of electricity, and that his way of installing a vertical garden looks much simpler and sturdier.
(continued)
Read at : Google Alert – desertification
http://envrionment.blogspot.com/2008/12/vertical-farming-solar-greenhouse.html
(continued)
Advantages
Weather related crop failures cannot occur. Continuous production of food occurs without regard to seasons. Minimal land use can reduce or prevent further deforestation, desertification, and other consequences of agricultural encroachment on natural biomes. Transportation energy use and pollution are reduced, because the food is produced near the place it is used. Producing food indoors reduces or eliminates conventional plowing, planting, and harvesting by farm machinery, though automation might be used. The controlled growing environment and recycling reduces the need for pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers. Continue reading “Vertical farming, Solar greenhouse (technical) / Greenhouse,Aeroponics / Hydroponics,Composting,Grow light,Phytoremediation,Skyscraper (Environment)”
I received an interesting email message from
Dr. Robert J. Holmer
Periurban Vegetable Project (PUVeP)
Xavier University – Research & Social Outreach
Manresa Farm, Fr. W. F. Masterson SJ Ave
9000 Cagayan de Oro City
PHILIPPINES
telling me : “I just came across your great blog on Desertification which I started to read with great interest and joy since you share the same ideas about food security as me. Your comment on allotment gardening reflects exactly my sentiments. ………………………….. and possibly we can convince more people on the benefits of these programs, including container gardening.
The pictures I added are from two school gardens where we are establishing so-called container gardens to maximize space and to encourage pupils to replicate this at home. We also provided rainwater catchment since even in the tropics freshwater is becoming scarce (and the technology – as simple as it may be – was basically not known).
In addition, one of our former staff members just started his Ph.D. thesis on ‘bio-char’ which you also mentioned on your blog. I added his thesis proposal for your reference.
Attached also a little brochure we just came out with as well as the link to our 103 “Philippine Allotment Garden Manual“, which may give some useful ideas to people in other countries (puvep.xu.edu.ph/publications/AG%20Booklet_final.pdf)”.
ag_brochure
final-phd-propoe280a6l-h-factura
During the last 20 years, we have booked a lot of successes with involving girls and boys in food production in arid and semi-arid regions. No one denies that children are very keen on participating in gardening activities. Many initiatives are focusing on “Kids Gardening“.
Have a look at some of the many examples :
http://www.kidsgardening.com/
http://www.wabisabibaby.com/blog/index.php/2008/10/family-gardening/
http://www.copper-tree.ca/garden/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/gardening_with_children/
http://www.gardening-with-kids.com/
Today I was reading a publication, confirming how interesting it is to involve kids in food production :
By CRIS ZUNIGA, ABS-CBN Dagupan
The project aims to encourage instill to pupils, at their young age, the value of nutrition, good health, as well as productivity and love for work. It further aims to establish schools as small-scale food production sites which would help ease shortage of food, So added. Students would be taught how to plant “pinakbet vegetables” such as string beans, squash, okra, tomato and bitter gourd, together with high-value crops like yellow corn. Seeds and fertilizers would be given free. Aside from enjoying the fruits of their labor, students and schools with winning gardens would reportedly be awarded a new school building.
The creation of family “kitchen” gardens and school gardens can indeed play a very important role “as small-scale food production sites which would help ease shortage of food“. Striking examples of the positive contribution of such small gardens can be seen in the refugee camps of the Saharawis people in the Sahara desert (Tindouf region, S.W. Algeria). One can find a number of pictures of these gardens on this very blog.
Combating desertification, preventing food insecurity and even hunger or famine, even alleviating poverty by installing small-scale kitchen gardens for families and schools should be considered by any international organization concerned, by any governmental and non-governmental organization.
It does not suffice to “speak” about best practices and success stories, we should apply them at the largest scale possible. Probably one has to adapt these best practices and success stories to the local conditions? Probably one has to combine these with traditional methods and technologies? Why not? But it should be done, and as soon as possible.
We can even make all the kids of this world in crisis happier by offering them a chance to contribute to finding a nice solution for food shortages and poverty. Let’s give them this chance by helping them to their own family garden, even in the cities (see possibilities to start with allotment gardens, vertical gardens, indoor container gardening,). Why would people start guerilla gardening, if there weren’t reasons enough to produce food on every available “square foot”?
Message from Jazmine Hogan-Donaldson :
Many thanks for your Desertification blog. Last year I volunteered in Burkina Faso for Helen Keller International. I’m always looking for news about Burkina and came across your blog from a Google search. I saw the following article in today’s Los Angeles Times and thought you might find it of some interest:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-garden14-2008aug14,0,872568.story
Best regards,
Jazmine
——————————–
By Cara Mia DiMassa, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
August 14, 2008
————————————————-
Very interesting article in the LA Times, showing how important container gardening on city walls can be in these times of food crisis, particularly for people living in difficult circumstances.
Combating hunger, offering ways of improving public health, alleviating poverty, combating urban desertification with vertical gardening in containers, it is simple and efficient.
Some people find solutions in “guerilla gardening”, a descriptive term with rather negative connotations, although it carries a lot of positive elements in its objectives.
Growing vegetables in containers on a grid against a wall opens new doors : food production in our cities, embellishment of our neighborhood, creation of a team spirit, …
This Los Angeles example should be followed and multiplied in many other towns and cities. Why shouldn’t it be adopted by the “Green Movement”, the “Ecologists”, the supporters of “Biological Gardening”, etc.
I feel like a fan for this idea. Thanks, Jazmine, for informing me !
Willem
——————————-
Unusual container gardening : Young walnut tree growing in a PET bottle of which the lower part is used as a water tank, the inversed upper part as a substrate (with potting soil). This is a water saving device (less evaporation and top of soil can be covered with a mulch layer, e.g. sand or little stones). The same “bottle gardening” is used for vegetable production (see bottles in the background standing against the black wall of my birds cage). More info on bottle gardening against a vertical wall can be found on my second blog :
http://containergardening.wordpress.com
————
Read at : Google Alert – gardening
http://www.pr.com/press-release/76702
Setting up a website was the last thing Janet Combs, a former Child Support Investigator, ever thought of doing. She laughs, “I wasn’t all that computer savvy, but I do love sharing my love for gardening. I figured, why share it with just a few folks here and there when I could share it with the world.”
www.VerticalGardeningSecrets.com
launched this week to help gardeners of all ages realize the benefits of gardening – even if they don’t have one inch of greenspace. Janet offers folks a report on Container Gardening Secrets, as well as a subscription to “Janet’s Garden” Newsletter.
Gardening addicts can visit
www.VerticalGardeningSecrets.com/freereport.html
to receive all of the above at no cost. Continue reading “Vertical Gardening Secrets (Google / Janet Combs)”
DESERTIFICATION 
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