GARDENING: Seeds and swaps in tough times

The Canadian Press

A flower garden may seem like a frivolous expense in these tough economic times, but experts say there are plenty of ways to cultivate a beautiful and varied collection of blooms when money is tight.

Options for gardening on the cheap range from the labour-intensive - growing flowers from seed - to the neighbourly, such as swapping plants with friends or asking a successful gardener down the street for cuttings, cup-of-sugar style.

Even flower lovers without green thumbs can find ways to save. Those who lack the time or expertise to do anything but stop by a greenhouse for annuals can cut costs by choosing low-maintenance varieties that spread out in the garden, requiring fewer plants to fill a space. Some annuals are cheaper when purchased as bulbs rather than plants.

Still, there is no way around it: Achieving significant savings can take time and effort.

"Growing things from seed is absolutely the cheapest way to go," said Ann Hancock, a horticulturalist at Michigan State University's DeLapa Perennial Garden in East Lansing, Mich. "You pay a premium for buying already-started plants from a greenhouse."

To novices, nurturing plants from seed may seem tricky and tedious. It can require close attention over several weeks, with no guarantee of success.

Hancock and other horticulturalists suggest some simple steps:

-Plant the seeds in sterile seed mix rather than potting soil, to avoid weeds and fungus that can weaken or even kill young plants. It's OK to plant the seeds densely. Start them about six weeks before you intend to plant them outside.

-Use clean containers with holes in the bottom for good drainage. Wash them in a solution of bleach and water for at least three minutes if they've been used before. There's no need to invest in new plastic pots - even paper cups will work.

-Keep the seed mix moist by checking it frequently and misting it with a sprayer, rather than pouring water on it.

-After planting the seeds, cover the container with plastic wrap to help prevent them from drying out.

-To ensure adequate light and minimize the risk of the seedlings drying out, put the containers under a fluorescent shop light or ultraviolet light rather than in direct sunlight. Hang the light about 7.5 centimetres above the containers.

-When the plants come up, remove the plastic wrap.

-When the plants become seedling size, transplant them to a tray with cells, using soilless mix and putting one plant in each cell.

-When the seedlings get three or four leaves, they're ready to go into the garden.

Plants that can be started indoors or seeded directly into the garden include zinnias, marigolds, snapdragons, sunflowers and nasturtiums.

Sunflowers in particular can be started from seed pretty easily, and there are many kinds to choose from, said Charlie Nardozzi, a National Gardening Association horticulturist based in Burlington, Vt.

"Some of the newer varieties are not as big as the old varieties, and they have multiple heads," Nardozzi said. "They produce from midsummer right to frost."

A bonus with sunflowers: birdseed.

Other good varieties to start indoors from seed include cosmos, petunias and cleome, also known as spider flower.

Plugging into a network of flower enthusiasts can be another way to save, said Ellen Hartranft, a horticulturist at Brookside Gardens, a public botanical park in Wheaton, Md.

Check your local botanical garden for plant society shows and sales, go to charity plant sales or take part in garden club plant exchanges.

"If you can't find a formal sale, just ask your friends and neighbours. If someone you know has a beautiful garden, they're often willing to share cuttings or divisions," Hartranft said. Spring is an ideal time to ask because that's when gardeners are often dividing perennials into multiple plants.

"It's a good way to get a more established plant even than you would if you purchased it at a nursery," she said. "A division of a sturdy, successful, hearty plant is more likely to succeed in your garden."

Day lilies, bee balm, black-eyed susan, phlox, live forever and hostas are among easy-to-divide, easy-to-care-for perennials.

For novices, buying plants from a greenhouse is often the safest option, Nardozzi said.

Greenhouse annuals that grow to cover a lot of ground include impatiens, petunias, cosmos, snapdragons and marigolds. Annuals and perennials that can be cheaper if purchased as bulbs include caladiums, begonias and dahlias.

And plant prices come down after peak growing season.

"They might be a little ragged-looking, but you can save 40 or 50 per cent," Nardozzi said. The plants can bounce right back with a little tender loving care, he added.

Gardeners in areas with poor soil can save by creating raised beds, building up the sides with cinderblocks, brick or other material and then putting fresh soil in, to lessen the chance the soil will flatten out or leach away and have to be replaced, Nardozzi said.

Those who decide to skip flowers this year would do well to put in a cover crop such as buckwheat or rye grass that can be cut or turned under, Nardozzi said. That will look nice, build up the soil's fertility for next year's garden and help control weeds.

Still, even in the Great Depression people had flower gardens, Hartranft noted.

"People can actually grow vegetables in their flower borders," she said. "The act of gardening relieves stress, and it's important to have beauty when you're surrounded by depressing news."

Added Michigan State's Hancock: "I would never advocate buying flowers if you have a house payment or an electricity bill to pay. But having said that, if you have your basics covered, you know, flowers are good for the soul."

Seeds and swaps can keep flower gardening affordable in tough times

The Canadian Press

HOME GARDENING: back to basics

by Jennifer Justus
mac 9 2009

Garden expert and designer Pamela Crawford might keep her home in Georgia, but she found inspiration for her recent gardening books in Nashville, Tenn.

"I was seeing a lot of people I hadn't seen in a long time," the Vanderbilt graduate says of a reunion she attended in 2007.

And many of them seemed to be killing plants.

While Crawford earned her undergraduate degree in anthropology, she later studied plants extensively, even writing her master's thesis on low-water, low-maintenance landscaping. At the reunion, her friends told her stories about their problems with plants and asked her advice. She had already written six books but saw a new need for guides that helped home gardeners get back to -- or learn -- the basics.

In 2008, she turned out "Easy Container Gardens" (Color Garden Publishing, $19.95). Early this year, she co-authored with Harvey Cotten and Barbara Pleasant "Easy Gardens for the South" (Color Garden Publishing, $29.95).

Crawford shared a few of her easy gardening tips that happen to be sustainable, too.

"For many years, gardening has been something that we used a lot of water and chemicals for," she says. "What I'm trying to do is think of gardening as giving back to the environment and orienting it to our lifestyle as well."

-- Choose the right plants based on the sun and shade in your space.

"It's the single most important issue in gardening," Crawford says.

Part of that choice involves understanding the environment in which plants will live. Crape myrtles, for example, need six hours of sun per day. Knowing that before purchasing -- and taking the time to observe the hours of sun and shade in the area where the crape myrtle will be planted -- can make a difference in the success of the garden.

-- Choose the right plants to conserve water.

Choice of plant also plays a factor in water usage. The right plant needs less water. Crawford worked with more than 300 county extension agents to find drought-resistant plants.

Crawford also recommends learning to save and use water from the roof of your home. Although collecting rainwater can seem intimidating, Crawford says it doesn't have to be -- nor does it have to be expensive. While larger tanks might strain some budgets, water can also be collected in barrels or containers as simple as a trash can

-- Rather than pesticides, choose plants that don't attract harmful bugs.

When Crawford started her trial gardens, she aimed to wean gardeners off of toxic chemicals in their yards.

After working with 2,500 landscape plants, only 200 remained alive, but that's a good thing.

"I thought, this is what I was looking for," she says. "Put them in the landscape and not do a whole lot to them."

Crawford lists many of these plants in her book on easy Southern gardening as "blue ribbon" options. And pesticides designed to kill bugs? "I simply don't use them," she says.

Besides, as Crawford notes, healthy plants living in a healthy environment are more apt to resist pests.

-- Keep up with new plants for improved choices.

"These plant breeders have been busy," Crawford says.

Working to find plants that last well in particular climates, Crawford says breeders have created new options for gardeners such as re-blooming daylilies and hydrangeas. In order to make the best choices, gardeners should stay abreast of new offerings.

"I really would love to drive through Southern cities and see these things blooming," she says. "We have a wonderful opportunity now to literally color the South."

Expert points home gardeners back to basics

Alexandria Town Talk

US Doa: Growing vegetables in the home garden

United States Department of Agriculture Home and Garden Bulletin Number 202 Prepared by Agricultural Research Service and Extension Service
by Robert Wester and August Kehr, Retired ARS Staff Scientists

This publication is intended for country-wide distribution. Any gardener using it also needs local information, especially on the earliest and latest safe planting dates for vegetables and any special garden practices and varieties that are best for his location. Gardeners may get local information and advice from their State Extension Office and county Extension agent

SELECTING A SITE

A back yard or some other plot near your home in full sunlight is the most convenient spot for a home vegetable garden. However, poor drainage, shallow soil, and shade from buildings or trees may mean the garden must be located in an area farther from the house.

In planning your garden, consider what and how much you will plant. It is better to have a small garden well maintained than a large one neglected and full of weeds. Diagram the garden rows on paper and note the length you wish to assign to each vegetable. Use a scale of a selected number of feet to an inch. Then you can decide how much seed and how many plants to buy.

Consider also the possibility of working your vegetables in plots in front of your shrubbery. Many vegetables are ornamental in appearance. Some vegetables can be grown in your flower beds; others can be grown entirely in containers.

The amount of sunlight your garden gets must also be considered. Leafy vegetables, for example, can be grown in partial shade but vegetables producing fruit must be grown in direct sunlight

continue with the rest
Growing Vegetables In The Home Garden (Part One)
Growing Vegetables in the Home Garden (Part Two) - Specific Vegetables

GARDENING WITH MALAYSIAKINI: Drilling for fertility

Drilling for fertility

Sat, 02/21/2009
The Jakarta Post

We hope many of The Jakarta Post readers paid serious attention to an article which appeared on this newspaper’s Environment Page in its Feb. 17 edition. The article was very useful to any of us who would like to directly participate in the betterment of our environment.

To drill holes in the ground is useful for the purpose of making the land more fertile, of creating water catchment areas and helping dispose of organic household waste. It is very cheap to do and practically everyone can do it, but the results in creating a better environment for Jakarta and elsewhere are incredible. All we need is a simple tool to drill holes.

As responsible citizens, let us involve ourselves in the struggle to fight global warming and help the government preserve underground water. The responsibility to protect the environment should be shared by all stakeholders on this planet.

By using the hydrological cycle technique, proposed by the Bogor Institute of Agriculture researcher Kamir Raziudin Brata, we can preserve water, retain soil humidity, prevent flooding, store carbon and safely dispose of household waste.

Annual flooding, water scarcity and daily garbage collection are the three major issues in the capital, and the Jakarta government has yet to find the best way to deal with them, although they have spent large amounts of taxpayers money funding related projects.

Jakarta residents and residents elsewhere have the opportunity to participate in doing something to ease the problems, because there is a simple technology that you can apply in your respective homes – no matter how big the land.

The technique involves the use of an earth auger to drill a biophore absorption hole – a hole with a diameter of 10 centimeters and depth of 100 centimeters, which may then be filled with organic waste. The tool costs about Rp 175,000 (US$15).

Although the technology can be applied to any open space across the country, it is best used in households in urban areas like Jakarta, because biophore holes do not use much land area – unlike the well reservoirs previously introduced by the Jakarta administration.

While Jakartans cannot expect recent flood mitigation projects to work immediately, because of the delay in the construction of the East Flood Canal, the participation of all Jakartans in creating biophore holes is highly recommended due to their significant impact on flooding.

The organic waste, which is used to fill the biophore holes, will dispose of some 50 percent of solid domestic waste from each household. Thus it will help the city administration deal with the problem of waste disposal, which currently depends on the landfill site in Bekasi in West Java.

It is time for all Jakarta residents to drill biophore holes in their homes and surrounding areas for their own good. We also call on the Jakarta administration, as well as the central government, to set a good example by creating as many biophore holes as possible in office yards, gardens, parks as a city campaign to address the three major problems.

Let’s just start drilling now to preserve our land’s fertility and to help the environment.

Drilling for fertility
Jakarta Post, Indonesia

GARDENING WITH MALAYSIAKINI: The novice vegetable gardener.

Vegetable gardening can be a relaxing escape from the pressures of a fast paced life, but for the beginner it might increase rather than reduce your stress. However, if done well, growing fresh vegetables, herbs or fruits can provide a great sense of joy and accomplishment. A vegetable garden can also reduce the family's food budget, and it can be a source of hard-to-find items such as Chinese cabbage, heirloom tomatoes or fresh herbs.

Because it was considered unsightly, the vegetable garden has traditionally been located in an area separate from other parts of the landscape. With proper planning, however, the garden can be both functional and attractive.

Today, landscape designers often incorporate ornamental plants such as flowering annuals into the vegetable garden and vice versa. This gardening philosophy, coupled with our favorable climate, can offer gardening opportunities nearly all year long.

If you are a beginning gardener, I suggest you start small. An area of 50 square feet is a good size to start with and you will be surprised how much you can grow in that area. The tendency for most beginning gardeners is to start too large and give up in frustration when the going gets tough.

Regardless of size, there are five factors to consider in selection a garden site:

Sunlight: The first is sunlight. The garden should receive at least 6 hours of direct sunlight each day. Therefore vegetables should be planted away from the shade of buildings, trees, and shrubs. Some leafy vegetables such as broccoli, collards, spinach, and lettuce tolerate shadier conditions more than other vegetables. However, if your garden does not receive a minimum of 6 hours of sunlight, you are fighting a losing battle with most vegetable crops.

Convenience to your home: The closer the vegetable garden and the easier it is to access, the more likely you will harvest in a timely manner. It is also more likely that you will keep up with jobs such as weeding, watering, insect and disease control, and succession planting.

Soil: You do not need to have the ideal type of soil to grow a good garden because you can alter the soil. However, if possible the soil should be fertile and easy to till, with just the right texture, a loose, well-drained loam with good organic matter content. Avoid any soil that remains soggy after a rain. Heavy clay and sandy soils can be improved by adding organic matter. Of course, gardening will be easier if you start with a naturally rich soil.

Water: Including rain and irrigation, the garden needs at least 1 inch of water per week. Therefore, it is essential to locate the garden near a spigot or some other water source. Drip irrigation is ideal because you wet only the soil around the roots of the desired plants without wetting the weeds or vegetable foliage. Make sure to run the drip system frequently during hot dry weather.

Good air drainage: The fifth and often neglected consideration is good air drainage. Avoid locating the garden in a low spot such as the base of a hill or the foot of a slope bordered by a solid fence. These areas are slow to warm in the spring, and frost forms more readily in them because cold air cannot drain away. Vegetable gardens located on high ground are more likely to escape light freezes, permitting an earlier start in the spring and a longer harvest in the fall. Also, avoid planting items too close, which can lead to poor air circulation and increased disease problems.

Novice vegetable gardeners need to consider five ... The Birmingham News

GARDENING WITH MALAYSIAKINI: Growing food a necessity

Growing food may become a necessity

By Michael Tidemann
February 21, 2009

Remember that garden that Grandma had in her backyard and the tasty beets, green beans and sweet corn that she had?

Were you maybe thinking of doing the same thing this spring?

You aren't alone.

As the recession hikes up prices on the grocery shelf, more and more people are looking at backyard gardens as a way to help recession-proof their monthly food bill.

Family gardens could in fact be changing from hobby to necessity.

In California, which by far grows more produce than any other state in the nation, federal water managers say they may have to cut off all water to some of California's largest farms as a result of the prolonged drought in the state.

In fact, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation officials said Friday that parched reservoirs and patchy snow and rainfall this year would likely force them to completely cut surface water deliveries, the first time that's been necessary in 15 years.

The cost in real dollars to producers could total $1 billion as well as 40,000 jobs in such labor-intensive areas as the Imperial Valley.

Earl and Virginia Erickson, who operate a truck farm along Highway 4 at the north edge of Wallingford, are regulars at the farmers market on the southwest corner of Central Avenue and 13th Street in Estherville in the Four Seasons Floral parking lot.

When asked whether higher prices on the grocery shelf could bring more traffic to the farmers market, Virginia said, "I think somewhat."

"Most importantly it's the flavor," Virginia said. "We try to go as organic as we possibly can."

Still, the Erickson's try to remain as competitive as possible.

"We compare to Fareway and that's how we set our prices," Virginia said.

While customers are willing to pay a premium for fresh produce at farmers markets, that doesn't mean they can't get an occasional deal. Virginia said if there's a bumper crop of cucumbers, for instance, customers might be able to pick them up for a dime apiece.

"It kind of goes on supply and demand," she said.

The Ericksons took the Master Gardener course through ISU Extension and Virginia highly recommends it. Master gardeners are available for consultation to the public in exchange for the training their received. "We're paying back for getting that training," Virginia said.

Virginia encourages anyone interested in starting a backyard garden plat to do so.

"It's a wonderful hobby," she said. "A lot of our customers are gardeners."

The farmers market in Estherville will open June 6 from 8-11 a.m.

Farm Service Agency Director Larry Niles in Estherville acknowledged there could be more visits to farmers markets if water shortages drive up the price of California-grown produce.

"It probably will help a little bit," Niles said.

On the other hand, he doesn't see a lot of corn and soybean growers switching over to tomatoes and pumpkins, something that's a lot more labor intensive.

"I don't see a great escape from our regular programs," Niles said.

Gardens could help cope with recession
Estherville Daily News, Iowa

GARDENING WITH MALAYSIAKINI: No backyard, No problem

You can reap the rewards of a vegetable garden
February 22, 2009


During World War II, Americans were encouraged to convert their back yards into Victory Gardens to contribute to the war effort. The gardens also saved families money. With the current economic downturn, starting a backyard vegetable garden is a great way to help reduce grocery bills during the summer months while keeping your family supplied with healthy foods. Even if you don't have a lot of space — maybe only a balcony — you can still produce plump red tomatoes, fresh lettuce, spicy peppers and more. Here are some tips for gardening in small spaces for big results:

Mix vegetables with your flowers

If you already have an established flowerbed but no more land available for a vegetable patch, work some of your vegetables in between perennials. Carrots and onions don't need a lot of root space, and their foliage above ground can bring variety to the look of your landscape. Just make sure your vegetables will have plenty of sunshine and are protected from hungry wildlife.

Start a container garden

Balconies and porches are perfect locations for container gardens. Start easy with lettuce seeds or onions set in a deep window box. Or use a larger pot for peppers or tomatoes.

Grow tall gardens

Cucumbers, squash and melon plants take up plenty of space when they're sprawling across your ground. But getting them off the ground is an ideal solution for maximizing your harvest in a minimum amount of area. Installing a trellis next to plants allows you to direct vine plants' growth upward while protecting fruit and vegetables from ground rot and pests. Using nylon netting or a porch railing around your container pots is a great and durable way to encourage climbing vines.

— ARA

Container gardening tips

Find containers that are large enough for the fullygrown plant to prevent root binding. Make sure containers have adequate drainage holes and are not plugged with soil or rocks. Avoid container materials that contain products toxic or harmful to plants. Don't use regular garden soil. Instead, use potting soil or a mix of garden soil with compost or perlite for enhanced drainage.

No Backyard? No Problem!
Steuben Courier, NY

GARDENING WITH MALAYSIAKINI: Gardens as good as the bush

Gardens as good as the bush

Nelson |
Friday, 20 February 2009

Love them or loathe them, there are advantages in having birds fluttering around Nelson home gardens, as Vanessa Phillips reports.

They can drive a gardener crazy with their relentless scratching for food in prized fruit and flower beds, but when it comes to the benefits of having them around, birds can be more than just sweet, singing, pretty faces.

Pollinators, pest eaters and nectar feeders, different birds have different functions, and in the Nelson region we're lucky to be able to attract a reasonable variety in our urban gardens because of nearby bush and forest.

If your garden doesn't seem to attract more than sparrows, there are things you can do to encourage a wider range of native and introduced varieties to stop by, spend time in your garden, and provide the benefits that come with having a more balanced ecosystem.

"To get the native and endemic birds, you need to plant things that will give them food and/or shelter," says Landcare Research Nelson scientist Peter Williams.

While results for Nelson are not yet available, analysis so far of last year's bird survey by Landcare Research, done in conjunction with other agencies, shows that nationally, house sparrows and silvereyes (also known as waxeyes) are still the two most predominant of our feathered friends in our gardens.

Starlings, blackbirds and chaffinches are also high on the list of birds seen in the country's gardens, while birds such as tui, fantails and thrushes were seen in lesser numbers.

Birds are classed in three categories - endemic, which are birds found nowhere else; native, which are birds found in New Zealand and other places in the world; and introduced birds, which are those that were brought to New Zealand from elsewhere.

Peter says that in the immediate Nelson area, bellbirds, kereru (wood pigeons) and tui are endemic birds that visit our gardens.

Fantails and silvereyes, which are also found in Australia, are two of the most common native birds.

On the list of exotic birds that flutter around our gardens are sparrows, blackbirds, thrushes and starlings, and occasionally, Nelson people will see birds such as greenfinches, goldfinches and yellowhammers, Peter says.

Christchurch-based Landcare Research senior scientist Colin Meurk says some birds, such as bellbirds and tui, are nectar feeders that target flowers producing large amounts of nectar, such as kowhai, New Zealand flax, pohutukawa, rata and bush fuschia, and exotic plants such as grevillia, members of the protea family, wattles, gums, camellias and red-hot pokers.

These are the types of flora to plant if you want to try to introduce more tui and bellbirds into your garden.

"They don't have to be natives [plants] but have to produce flowers with nectar," Peter says. "Flaxes are a great source for tui."

As well as being visually stimulating and a joy to listen to, these birds are also performing the important function of pollinating plants, by spreading the pollen among flowers.

Some birds, such as thrushes, blackbirds and starlings, are insect feeders, which provide benefits because they devour pest insects that gardeners might otherwise target with sprays, which can damage the ecosystem.

Such birds also take grass grubs and worms, although they probably don't seriously deplete worm populations, Colin says.

Peter says it's hard to know how much of a difference birds make in reducing the pest populations in urban gardens.

For example, sparrows love the small passion vine hoppers that are such a problem in gardens across the region at the moment, "but I don't think they make a tack of difference to how many there are around", he says.

One of the major benefits of welcoming birds into the garden is the uplifting feeling of hearing them sing and seeing their colours - "That flash of colour when you see them in the sun," Colin says. "This is important in terms of local, regional and national identity."

Birds have important cultural significance in stories and legends, and as a source of food and materials such as feathers for the early inhabitants of New Zealand, Colin says.

Of course, like many things, while there are benefits to having birds around, they can also cause frustrations.

Colin says silvereyes, which eat fruit and insects, are one of the more damaging native birds because they don't have a big bill, so they tend to peck holes in fruit and suck the juice out. With grape vines, they can peck holes in entire rows of grapes, he says.

Blackbirds, in particular, make a huge mess with mulch in gardens as they scratch around for food, as they would do in the wild.

However, there are things you can do to prevent this happening, such as erecting netting or mesh at problem times to keep these birds out; using coarse and heavy mulch, such as pebbles and crushed rock; and placing logs or bricks around newly planted seedlings.

Some gardeners have also had success by putting plenty of small stakes in around new vegetable plantings, saying it seems to deter the birds, because they're wary that the objects might be a trap. Hanging old compact discs in the garden is another common trick, as the shiny surface puts birds off.

Despite the fact that they can be testing at times, tolerating birds, which are just following their instincts in searching for food, is a small price to pay for the enjoyment of having wildlife around home gardens.

Peter warns that when choosing plants to attract birds, don't plant introduced invasive species that have small fruit the birds can eat, such as holly and rowan, as they'll spread them into the forests, where they become problem plants.

"Particularly blackbirds and waxeyes will eat them and spread them into the native vegetation," he says.

"Waxeyes will eat anything that's not tied down."

People plant fewer tall-growing trees in home gardens these days, and that also has an impact on birds, with fewer safe nesting sites for them, Colin says.

"Many of the smaller trees often don't have the same food sources that our native birds require."

One tree that is still commonly grown in home gardens, and which can grow tall and has benefits for the bird population, is kowhai, but more big trees are also needed, such as rimu, kahikatea, miro and totara, Colin says.

Peter adds that woody shrubs can also be beneficial as nesting sites.

Kereru mainly eat vegetation and fruit - and, like other birds, they have trees they particularly like.

"On the edges of Nelson, the thing that really attracts pigeons is tree lucerne," Peter says.

They come down (from the bush) from the early spring and eat that."

In the bush, or in urban environments, birds face their fair share of dangers from predators.

There's no doubt that cats are a real problem, because collectively they kill hundreds of thousands of birds each year. As Colin says, "the jury's still out" on just how bad cats are, and whether they could actually present some benefits for birdlife.

There are observations, he says, which suggest that household moggies may limit more serious predators such as rats, ferrets and stoats from killing birds, by either killing these predators themselves or deterring them.

"One does have to bear in mind that beneficial effect of limiting other, worse predators," Colin says.

In the future, bird populations in Nelson city gardens could also get a boost because of the Brook Waimarama Sanctuary, which is under development in the Brook Valley.

Peter says that if the Brook sanctuary eliminates predators and is as successful as Wellington's Karori bird sanctuary - which has seen kaka become common in parts of the capital city - it should have a huge positive impact on birdlife in Nelson's urban gardens.

Attracting the sticky beaks
How to encourage birds into the garden:

• To attract tui and bellbirds, plant nectar-producing flora such as native flax, kowhai and pohutukawa, and exotics such as camellias and red hot pokers.
• If you have room, plant large trees to give birds a nesting space, particularly natives such as totara and rimu. Also plant bushy shrubs and undergrowth to imitate the bush.
• Link native plantings to your neighbours' trees or to nearby street trees to encourage birds to flutter from there into your garden, as some will not fly large distances over open ground.
• Provide water, such as a birdbath or shallow bowl, in your garden for birds, somewhere where cats won't get them. Keep water sources, which birds use to drink and wash in, free of debris and top them up with fresh water frequently.
• Vary the type of trees and bushes you plant to attract a wider range of birds, from insect and seed eaters to nectar eaters. Try not to keep some areas of the garden too tidy, to encourage more insects that birds target.
• Planting trees that flower or fruit at different times will provide a year-round food supply for birds in your garden.
• Avoid insecticides and chemicals - they kill the insects that some birds eat.

Gardens as good as the bush
Nelson Mail, New Zealand

gardening: Eat Your Homegrown Veggies

by Beth D'Addono

You may be well-traveled, but do you really want your vegetables to be?

PATTI SAPONE/THE STAR-LEDGER

If you buy from a grocery store, chances are your produce has racked up nearly 1,500 miles between the farm where it was grown and your refrigerator.

But if you belong to a CSA, most of the produce you eat comes from much closer to home.

CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture, and the premise is simple: A group of consumers commit to pay a small farm in advance to purchase a season of sustainably grown fruit and vegetables. This gives the farmers seed money up front, ensuring them that their growing season will pay for itself, and hopefully earn a profit.

The idea is not new. CSAs first appeared in the U.S. in 1986, a concept borrowed from the biodynamic farming movement in Switzerland and Germany. And what started as two CSA farms is now estimated at more than 2,200.

For the consumer, the lure of clean, local food, often organically grown, is powerful. Today, the idea of eating local and seasonal food isn't just for the gastronomic elite. Once you have Wal-Mart promising to support local farms, you know the movement has reached a mainstream tipping point. And there's a benefit beyond CSA's promotion of eating more healthful fruits and vegetables.

The notion that your dollars are directly supporting small farms, and the network of families who are cultivating them, is green at its finest, a palpable connection to the earth that you just can't get walking down the produce aisle of the local supermarket chain.

For Joanne Shu of Hoboken, the buck stopped with her own dinner plate. Shu, who with her husband, Scott Hofsess, has two sons, Bram, 3, and Evan, 6 months, knew that eating local produce was a good thing. But with the kids in the picture, she decided that the only way to get them to develop good eating habits was to lead by example.

A neighbor recruited her into Purple Dragon, a Glen Ridge-based operation that is a bit of an anomaly in the CSA world. Unlike most CSAs, Purple Dragon, which currently has more than 1,000 New Jersey and New York members, deals with multiple small farms beyond the local region, as well as with wholesalers.

It's also year-round, yet doesn't require a year-round commitment. Members can opt in or out on a weekly or monthly basis. Founded in 1987 by Janit London, who was involved in food co-ops in California and Texas back in the '70s, Purple Dragon commands an exuberant and loyal following.

Shu pays $88 a month for two substantial deliveries of produce, coordinated at a central drop-off point -- in her case, the Community Church in Hoboken. She and neighbor Carter Craft share the responsibility of "hosting" each delivery, assuring it's picked up and parceled out.

"I think the biggest complaint I hear is that it's too much food," she said. "I really feel it's a good value, if you think about the price per pound. It's so expensive to buy organic at Whole Foods."

And while Bram still doesn't gobble his vegetables, he sees Mom and Dad doing just that, and he's a dynamo when it comes to eating fruit. "He helps when we split up the deliveries. It's fun, and it gets us talking about where food comes from, which is good."

Shu's neighbor Carter Craft has been with Purple Dragon for about three years. "I wanted clean food, healthier food," he said.

"I was tired of wax on my apples and chemically sprayed, unnatural-looking vegetables. The whole industrialization of agriculture looks good in print ads, but it's not good for your body."

Although he and his wife signed up before they had kids, when daughter Nella came along, their choice was underscored. "We're definitely more aware of antibiotics and pesticides than we were before. But we also find it a good value."

From a farmer's point of view, a CSA can be the difference between failure and success.

John Krueger of Starbrite Farms in Sussex County specializes in growing unusual and heirloom varieties of vegetables. He says that having CSA working capital at the beginning of the growing season is indispensable for getting started in farming.

For Smadar English, a farmer and CSA membership coordinator at Genesis Farm in Blairstown, the CSA is his whole business. English cultivates about 30 acres and has 300 members in towns like Montclair, Warren and Teaneck. Genesis offers more than 100 kinds of vegetables, fruits and herbs, along with products like freshly ground cornmeal, year-round.

Consumers can opt for a year-round half (biweekly) or full share (weekly), or just a seasonal share. "Some of our members have their own gardens in the summer," said English.

Costs range from $657 for every other week from May through Thanksgiving to $1,239 for weekly delivery. Year round costs are $933 and $1,794, respectively. Families can pay for their share in three increments to make it easier to budget.

Charlotte Lee of Westfield has been a supporter of Purple Dragon for 11 years, subscribing at a time when herawareness of organic foods and growing practices was deepening.

"I found that it really opened up my repertoire of vegetables," she said. "I'm Chinese -- we didn't eat collard greens or winter squash. Now, when those vegetables are in season, that's what we get. So I've learned to make soups, use squash instead of pumpkin in muffins -- a little spice and the kids don't know the difference. It's like somebody else is doing the shopping for you. It takes getting used to, but once you do, you're hooked."

However, if you don't have the time or inclination to cook, a CSA would be a waste of your money.

"You have to commit to cook," said English. "If you don't like to cook, you'll end up wasting food. And that's not good for anybody."

"We use probably 95 percent of what we get," said Craft. "A CSA is best for people who do their own cooking. For singles or apartment dwellers, they'll end up opening a drawer full of rotten vegetables."

Then there's the finicky-eater issue. If you turn your nose up at all but the most pedestrian vegetables, a CSA is not your cup of parsnips. Because when cabbage is in season, you get cabbage -- three weeks in a row. Or potatoes, or collards.

"I learned to like and cook vegetables I'd never heard of before," said Shu. "Okra? Okay, I'll give it a try. Last year we got an abundance of potatoes, which drove me crazy -- how many ways can you cook a potato? And something like collard greens -- I was using it in lasagna, soup, freezing it, all kinds of things. You get creative."

But if you're open to trying new flavors and game to experiment, a CSA can be really fun.

"It's a different way to eat, to think about food," said Shu. "Instead of getting a recipe and going shopping for an ingredient list, you get what's in season and develop your menu around that."

"I find that people's initial connection to a CSA is to the food, but it becomes so much bigger than that," said Genesis' English. "It becomes a vehicle to open your life up to the whole world of farming and the seasons of nature. And it extends to the people who grow the food.

"There's a sense of commitment on all levels. "You commit to the farmer, the farmer commits to taking care of the land and growing food in the most responsible way and building community through food," said English.

Knowing that Genesis treats its workers fairly, paying for health insurance and pension benefits, is another boon.

"It's not anonymous like at a big-box store where you don't have any idea where things come from," said English.

"With CSAs, everybody takes responsibility every step of the way to try and do the right thing. And the real bonus is that the product of all that effort tastes great."

Remember the scene from the movie Forrest Gump when Bubba tells Forrest about how many ways there are to cook shrimp?

"Shrimp with grits, fried shrimp, shrimp fricassee, boiled shrimp," and on he goes.

Toward the end of October, that's how I felt about my CSA, except it was cabbage, not shrimp, I was dealing with.

This was my first season as a member of a CSA, which stands for Community Supported Agriculture.

Belonging to a CSA provided my family with fresh vegetables, in a greater variety than we usually ate. And the quality was divine -- carrots more carroty, onions sweeter. I loved washing off real, honest-to-goodness earth from my veggies before I prepared them.

It was the same connection I felt when I picked a ripe tomato from our little garden, warmed by the sun, and ate it for lunch with fresh basil -- a treat I indulged in every day they were on the vine.

Supporting local farms and trying to feel a stronger connection to where food comes from was something I had been working on since reading Michael Pollan's book "The Omnivore's Dilemma."

His treatise on agribusiness and the way animals are raised for meat in America spurred me to serve only humanely raised meats at our dinner table. Joining a CSA was a natural part of the equation, a way to walk the walk.

Now, I'm hooked. I loved being surprised every other week when it was time to fill up my two shopping bags. From baby arugula to rainbow carrots (with the tops still on!) to purple potatoes and sugar-sweet watermelons.

Some squashes were new to me (How should I cook that?) and some vegetables were not my favorite (okra I probably could live without). But we ate 99 percent of what we paid for, wasting little. Since I work from home and love to cook, a CSA makes sense for us.

Now, besides looking forward to the first daffodils of the season, I'm anxious for the start of my CSA, eager to cook the earliest tender peas and baby spinach of spring.

Eat Your Homegrown Veggies
The Star-Ledger - NJ.com, NJ

GARDENING: Small farms growing rapidly in Clark County

Amateurs prosper as bigger operations fall by the wayside

Monday, February 16

Professional farmers, large and small, seem to get all the attention. But in Clark County, it's the amateurs who've really been delivering the goods.

Unsung, unorganized and unsupported by most federal subsidies, backyard fruit, vegetable and meat growers have been popping up in the county almost as fast as the biggest farms have been dying, new federal statistics show.

"This is something I'm doing because I love doing it," said Jacki Johnson, 64, of Ridgefield.

Johnson, newly retired and on the lookout for extra cash, said she earned $4,000 last year by selling plants at specialty shows and the Battle Ground Farmers Market for $5 to $15 apiece.

"I hope to make a little more this year," she said.

Johnson and her husband, Rick, own one of an estimated 1,943 farm operations in the county that brought in less than $25,000 annually in 2007, according to federal Census of Agriculture figures released this month.

That's up 36 percent from the number of small farms in 2002. All told, the little farms earned $5.7 million in 2007, up 33 percent from five years before.

Like many small business owners, Johnson discovered her market by accident. A longtime gardener, she started selling a few plants for a church fundraiser and for the Vanridge Garden Club.

People snapped them up and asked for more.

"It was a total and complete surprise," she said Monday.

Now, Johnson said, she works eight hours in the garden every summer weekday, then another eight hours at the Saturday market to sell her plants.

Big farms keep fading
Small-scale entrepreneurs such as Johnson have been succeeding in a time when, according to the same federal study, big farms are dying in Clark County faster than almost anywhere in the state.

Local dairy and produce farms with more than $100,000 in gross revenue continue to close amid competition from bigger operations and the rising value of developed land.

Between 2002 and 2007, 41 of the county's 94 big farms disappeared. So did $4 million of their $46 million in revenue.

Only three counties — Kitsap, Pend Oreille and San Juan — saw such a rapid drop in the number of big farms.

"Since '02, things have changed dramatically around here," said Brenda Millar-Stanton, a Felida produce farmer who also coordinates the Battle Ground market.

Millar-Stanton aspires to join a third group of farmers: those with small professional operations that bring in between $25,000 and $100,000.

That group grew 38 percent between 2002 and 2007, according to the federal study, but their sales grew by only 11 percent, to $5 million.

Like many farmers, Millar-Stanton says the five-year Census of Agriculture is cursed by inaccurate data.

Some farmers refuse to participate, she said, because they fear being reported for tax violations. Others might claim farming income that doesn't exist, fearing that they might lose tax benefits.

Still, Millar-Stanton said the story told by the federal numbers is probably true: These days, a substantial and growing amount of local agriculture comes from small amateur farmers.

Johnson, the backyard entrepreneur, said she's not an environmentalist or a social revolutionary like some full-time local farmers.

She just likes gardening.

"I'm not one of those people who are a — a green person," Johnson said. "I'm a normal person. I grow things pesticide-free because I want to walk into my garden and eat what I see."

Small farms growing rapidly in Clark County
The Columbian, WA

GARDENING WITH MALAYSIAKINI: Never too late to start

Never too soon to start a garden

By Rich Lewis, Sentinel Columnis

I got the urge two days before it hit the pussywillows.

I went on Monday to pick up some bird seed. But as I walked across the parking lot toward the store’s main entrance, the hint of warmth in the 50-degree air mysteriously rearranged my inner compass and I found myself aiming toward the garden shop instead.

“Nah,” my brain was saying. “We’re barely a week into February. Too soon.”

In fact, and confirming the truth of that observation, the outside gates to the garden center were still locked for the season. But the itch would not be denied completely. I left the store with 40 pounds of bird food — along with two trays of peat-moss pellets for starting vegetable seeds.

Then yesterday morning I was standing by the kitchen window when I caught a sparkle of silvery white among the bare branches outside. A last bit of crusty snow, I figured. But the more I looked, the more I realized: That’s not snow – the pussywillow buds are starting to open!

The early catkins will likely be undone by ice and snow before they can bloom, and those seed trays will just sit on a shelf unopened until April, but both the pussywillow and I had felt the first flush of spring fever. And though it’s still too soon to be throwing dirt around, it seems a lot of people are already thinking about starting or expanding a garden this year.

Just ask George Ball, the CEO of W. Atlee Burpee & Co., the largest seed seller in the United States, which is headquartered in Warminster, just outside Philadelphia. “Vegetables are going to take off this year,” Ball said in a recent interview with Sarah Jackson of the Everett (Wash.) Daily Herald. “Flowers are down and vegetables are up. The recession, whether it’s real or perceived, has really gripped people.”

Ah, the recession — rising unemployment, rising prices, hard times for all. Just the kind of thing to get people looking for cheaper ways to put food on the table.

Last week, the Financial Times wrote that U.S. seed companies are reporting “a dramatic surge in early sales of carrots, tomato and pepper plant seeds.” Ball said sales of vegetable seeds were up 20-30 percent this year, after a similar jump last year — compared to more typical increases of about 12 percent. “Not only has demand not returned to normal but it has wildly increased,” Ball chortled. “It is just like a bonanza.”

Richard Chamberlain, president of Rochester, N.Y.-based Harris Seeds, told the Times his company’s sales of seeds to gardeners are up 50 per cent this year. “You’ll be seeing people digging over their lawns and planting vegetables,” Chamberlain said.

So, “Grow, don’t mow!” will apparently become the new battle cry in America’s suburbs. Of course, the question is whether you really can save a meaningful amount of money by growing your own veggies.

Burpee recently completed a study claiming that a “well-planned” vegetable garden will result in a 25-1 cost-savings ratio for home gardeners. In other words, the company says an investment of $50 for seeds and fertilizer can produce $1,250 worth of groceries as purchased at a supermarket.

But that doesn’t tell the whole story. That “well-planned” part looks harmless but masks a world of effort and expenses. First, only some seeds can be planted directly in the ground. A lot of them have to be started indoors six to eight weeks beforehand. That’s why I bought those starter kits. So you need space, light — and a lot of careful tending — to get those seedlings up and running.

Then you have to remember that your garden is pouring out tomatoes, beans and zucchini at the same time as everyone else’s — in other words, when supply is greatest and prices the lowest. Fresh vegetables are most expensive in the winter — and if you want your homegrowns around then, to achieve that 25-1 payback, you’ll have to find ways to store, can or freeze them, all of which can be fairly costly enterprises. Yes, you need the $50 worth of seed and fertilizer, but you also will likely need a shed full of supporting tools and equipment. A roto-tiller isn’t absolutely necessary to break and fluff the ground , but you’re in for a lot of... umm... exercise without one.

Tillers cost at least $300, way more for a good one, and need repair and maintenance. Also figure on some rakes, shovels, pruners, hoes, stakes, gloves and so on. You’ll need good fences or wind up fattening all the bunnies, groundhogs and other critters in your neighborhood without a broccoli stalk left over for yourself.

Finally, your “savings” assume that your burgeoning backyard grocery isn’t wiped out by too much rain, too little rain, high winds, bugs, fungi, poor soil, acidic soil, alkaline soil — or random, inexplicable forces that mysteriously stunt or kill everything in sight. Two years ago, I got terrific eggplants; last year the blossoms came on and promptly fell off. Same plants, same ground, same everything — the eggplant gods just got grumpy.

So, yes, I cannot wait for spring. Gardening is great. I recommend it to everybody. But really, do it for the love, not the money.

Never too soon to start a garden
Carlisle Sentinel, PA

GARDENING WITH MALAYSIAKINI: garden starts with the soil

Restoring the garden starts with the soil

Jane Tunks
San Fransisco Chronicles

Garden soil may look like just a pile of dirt, but it's actually a mini-ecosystem with organic matter such as microscopic bacteria, worms, insects and other creepy-crawly critters - all of which work together to give a plant everything it needs to thrive. Just as a mother gives life to a baby, the earth gives life to plants

At least, that's what permaculture experts Fred Bove and Kevin Bayuk told me.

And I thought it was just dirt.

Though the hardy plants in The Chronicle's rooftop garden have survived the last year on not much more than water and sunlight, a few of them look as if they might be more at home in the seedy alleys surrounding the SoMa building.

Bayuk and Bove blamed much of the plants' predicament on the poor condition of the dirt. To create a healthy garden, the soil needs to be nursed back to health. "You don't feed the tree, you feed the soil, and then the soil feeds the tree," explained Bayuk.

My gardening angels explained that it was time to get our hands dirty. We needed to thoroughly examine the soil to fully assess its quality.

I put on my brand-new gardening gloves as we made a beeline for the most pathetic plant on the roof - a spindly Meyer lemon tree with leaves the color of yellow Chartreuse. The sad-looking tree had just a couple thimble-size green fruits hanging forlornly from its branches. They were so small, in fact, that I had misidentified it as a kaffir lime tree on the illustration of the garden that we ran in the newspaper earlier this month.

"Time for a worm-juice cocktail," said Bove. He wasn't referring to his plans to unwind after a day of pulling weeds, but to a nutrient-rich concoction made from worm bin exudate diluted with water that would feed the soil. But before cocktail time, there was other work to be done. The duo wanted to excavate the tree so we could thoroughly examine its condition.

It turned out that the top foot of the planter was made up of heavily compacted soil, which was further weakened by being drained of its nutrients as a result of extensive watering and not enough fertilizing. Although water gives life to a plant - like food and oxygen - it also allows the soil's nutrients to drain to the bottom of the container.

Just then, Executive Food and Wine Editor Michael Bauer appeared on the roof and exclaimed, "That tree loses its leaves every year, and I always think it's dead but then it blooms again."

"If Michael says it's losing leaves, the plant is crying for help," commented Bove.

Though the tree was alive and blossoming, even bearing some fruit, it wasn't photosynthesizing, which was probably why the leaves had turned such a putrid color. The depleted soil was preventing the tree from getting enough nitrogen to make chlorophyll for its leaves. Bove pruned the tree, removing some of the smallest, newly sprouted branches - "the little branches are hogging nutrients" - as Bayuk explained what we would have to do to recondition the soil.

Bayuk scattered a few tablespoons of mineral-rich rock flour, or rock dust, on the soil, followed by worm "juice" blended with water, a nutrient-rich potion that is also full of bacteria, which should jump-start life in the planter.

And then he put on a thick layer of used coffee grounds from a good neighbor - Blue Bottle's Mint Plaza cafe, which is across the street from The Chronicle.

Bove jokingly referred to the three-step treatment as the "citrus tree speedball." Once the soil returns to health, it should have all the ingredients it needs to keep the tree in bloom.

To cap it off, Bove suggested we plant a nitrogen-fixing legume around the Meyer lemon tree, such as peas or fava beans, which would also give us a bigger yield out of a smaller space.

And not only that, but it would make a tasty springtime repast.

"Peas would be great in a Meyer lemon vinaigrette," declared Bove.

Finally, he was speaking in terms I could understand - lunch.

Restoring the garden starts with the soil
San Francisco Chronicle, USA

RECESSION WITH MALAYSIAKINI: Community gardening

WALES:
Long waits for plot allotment
growing take off

by Ben Glaze

PEOPLE in Wales hoping to grow their own vegetables could have to wait until 2018 to secure an allotment, an investigation reveals today.

Nearly 3,000 green-fingered residents want a patch at 366 council-run sites across the nation as cash-strapped shoppers seek to provide their own food during the recession.

All plots operated by Welsh local authorities, totalling more than 7,000, are taken, with 86 residents in Monmouthshire facing between a three and nine-year wait to start growing their own turnips, carrots and potatoes.

Today’s figures were uncovered by Plaid Cymru Sustainability spokeswoman Leanne Wood, who tends an allotment in the Rhondda Valleys.

The South Wales Central AM said last night: “I’ve spoken to allotment holders and people on waiting lists for allotments all over Wales.

“Councils are supposed to provide enough allotment land, yet these figures show that there is growing demand which most councils are failing to satisfy.

“Local food growing has so many benefits: People get good exercise, good quality cheap food and it enables us to stay in close contact with nature, which has benefits in terms of mental health.

“The climate crisis adds further impetus to expand local food growing projects. Plaid has campaigned for more growing land for our communities for some time, and these figures show the need to continue that campaign.”

The flourishing popularity of farmers’ markets and organic produce across Wales has sparked interest in allotment owning and renting.

They cost about £25 a year to rent. But despite rising demand, just four of Wales’ 22 local authorities plan to increase allotment provision in their counties.

Ms Wood said: “Local food growing has a proud history in Wales, but at the moment it is disorganised and lacks a clear focus.

“I am calling for the Welsh Assembly Government to put together and fund a national strategy for local food. A good start would be a dedicated member of staff in each authority who could co-ordinate local food growing and organise community gardening projects.

“We could then promote allotment gardening and teach young people how to produce food and work with the land.”

Plaid-run Caerphilly council plans more allotments at Ystrad Mynach, and Cardiff, which has the biggest waiting list with more than 800 allotment enthusiasts queuing for two years for plots, included greater provision in its development plan, while Bridgend, Conwy, Newport and Pembrokeshire were considering allocating extra space.

The Vale of Glamorgan, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Torfaen, Powys, Flintshire and Neath Port Talbot councils ruled out creating more provision.

In Swansea, where 400 residents wanting one of the council’s 335 plots can wait for up to seven years, the council failed to disclose any plans it has to provide more.

Radio 2’s resident allotment expert Terry Walton, who has a regular slot on Jeremy Vine’s BBC Radio2 lunchtime phone-in and tends a patch in Rhondda, said: “We need people with placards to picket council offices demanding more allotments.

“Demand has completely outstripped what has been available for many years and most local authorities are sitting on their hands and doing nothing.

“Where there are these enormous waiting lists, people should pressurising councils into providing more.”

Mr Walton, who has had an allotment for 52 years, has noticed the changing demographics of allotment-tending over the past five decades.

“It’s more of a family affair now, it’s no longer the flat cap brigade aged over 65,” he said.

“A lot of younger people have got fed up with supermarket prices and want to grow organic produce, going back to the countryside idea.”

[Long waits for plots as allotment growing takes off
WalesOnline, United Kingdom]

GARDENING WITH MALAYSIAKINI: Hanoi, free from pesticide

Vietnam:
Hanoi develops
vegetable growing areas
free from pesticide



The municipal department of agriculture and rural development has proposed a project to develop 38 organic vegetable growing areas, covering 20-50 hectares each.

Under the project, farmers will receive financial assistance to develop infrastructure, organise training courses, transfer technology and carry out some demonstration models.

The municipal administration and local authorities will intensify State management of the production and consumption of organic vegetables. They will promote the dissemination of information and the diffusion of technology, while helping consumers identify and select organic produce. They also plan to develop cooperatives and production associations to facilitate the growth and distribution of organic vegetables.


Vietnam: Hanoi develops vegetable growing areas free from pesticide
FreshPlaza, Netherlands

GARDENING WITH MALAYSIAKINI: critical for nations survival

In assessing the possible impacts that the widespread financial and economic crises may have on the nation’s economy, Prime Minster Hon. Dr. Denzil Douglas has stressed the importance of subsistence farming to protect nationals in the case of a deepened recession in the larger economies.

Dr. Douglas told SKNVibes that small-scale gardening is one definite way of reducing the domestic reliance on high-priced food and that a movement toward large-scale farming can undoubtedly reduce the nation’s dependence on imports.

“There is no question about it that if we are able to grow most of what we are eating here then it could impact on the importation of food which continues to be a challenge to us and which of course will be exacerbated at this time of crisis when money is going to be short. We have a situation where one can be encouraged to grow what one is eating and as a result of that one does not have to go into the supermarkets to get such food supplies.

“If you are producing on a higher level,” he added, “you may be able to make a relationship with the small grocer. We would also have situations where we try to establish relationships with larger farmers and the hotels to ensure that there is a reliability of produce.”

“The Government, through the Ministry of Agriculture, in an effort to enhance this new thrust, will provide the necessary packing and sorting facility so that small farmers can take their produce there, prepare, package and appropriately store them and even have them for sale to those who may wish to consume.”

PM Douglas explained that the government initially launched its Food Security/Backyard Gardening programme in September 2008 during the Independence Agricultural Exhibition, as it was recognized that there was a growing need for the nation to produce enough food to satisfy the local market. He informed that with the aid of the Taiwanese Embassy, the Government would be able to move the agricultural drive to “a higher level”.

“The Taiwanese Embassy is just about to start a major commercial farm. I link that with food security and the backyard gardening because it is expected that farmers who potentially would have gained some experience from the backyard type of farming would now be able to simply demonstrate that skill by taking a small area in that agricultural zone to do their farming.

“The Embassy will prepare farmers with irrigation, equipment and even seedlings. And so we are asking small farmers who have an interest in that area to simply turn up there after going through the necessary checks and join the pool of small farmers who can really apply their experience and their own initiatives in the development of our food security plan.”

Douglas underscored that there are several public education programmes including a radio show from the Ministry of Agriculture which reminds the public of “what we are producing, what we can produce and how the Department of Agriculture can assist in this regard”.

The Prime Minister further stated that there has been a concerted effort to link the new agricultural thrust with fitness and healthy diets so that “we can have the best in terms of our own preparations for healthy living. Of course linking agriculture with health is one of the ways by which we are packaging the initiatives in agriculture with the public”.

By VonDez Phipps

GARDENING WITH MALAYSIAKINI: Whats wrong with bumi hijau.

It was an old program, this bumi hijau thing. I would like to share with malaysiakini what I think of this excellent program and why cant it really lift off.

2. This bumi hijau is as old as human civilisation itself. Ever since man got tired of hunting as a vocation, gardening become a new hobby. It would be difficult to visualise this new hobby in cold and temperate climates, but overhere where khatulistiwa cut accross our land, where there is rainfall all year round, gardening is very handy.

3. I guess one just throw seeds and something will grow out of them. Seeds will sprout..... Earlier on, lands are very much freeholds. The modern term for freeholds is a possession forever yours and you can sell it to whom you like. I am just guessing in the older days, where politics is a brutal game when one cant complain and go to court for a black eye, land is very much free as your eyes can see. Because society hangs on tribes, to continue being relevant, they probably stay put in a specific territory. Then gardening takes root.

4. I was reading somewhere the other day about a minister being sidelined for giving Tunku Abdul Rahman a hardtime with his political drive to have a fertiliser factory! They were agressive on agriculture even in the early life of Malaya.

5. Tun Razak went all out clearing lands for Felda scheme uprooting youths/young couples from their ancestorial lands. Of course the cultural shock out of this migration were tremendous, but the pioneers are much older and wiser now as the felda scheme is coming to the third generation.

6. Tun Hussein was the guy to really put colour onto "petty gardening"

7. Now is Abdullah Badawi. The whole revival of bumi hijau program is reactive in nature cushioning the effect of petrol price hike. Now that the price comes down to the lowest low, nobody seems to be taking bumi hijau program to centre stage. It is going to die naturally.

8. Then who are the lovers of bumi hijau. This cant be seen beyond hobby, interest and inclination. You simply have to love gardening to dirty your hands and look at the growth a millimeter a day. Of course one will save a little bit of money, but there are other benefits. One doesnt has to go to gym to perspire. The same amount of sense of internal satisfaction can be achieved, even though some would argue that golf or yoga can produce the same.

9. There is some kind of communal attachment to gardening. Folks will turn their heads and say something like "hi" or "how's terung?", or "banyaknye bayam....." as they walk pass your little garden.

10. It doesnt stop you [the gardener] from greeting them first. I mean your neighbours and bypassers. And of course you can always flash your trumph card "mari, ambil cili ni...." or "makan kacang bendi tak?". Yeah....., little greetings, as one would say to children "how's homework" or to keen golfers "any birdie today?"......

But how many like to dirty their hands?

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