Dynamic New Planting Chart - and an Update on Late Blight
The resource links we put up previously for the Master
Gardeners' Grow It Eat It program have been wildly popular, so we are delighted
to bring your a new one: the Spring
Planting Guide for Vegetables - A Dynamic Chart for Maryland Gardens. This
colorful new chart actually lets you type in the last frost date for your area,
and then shows you the proper planting schedule for 46 different types of
vegetables. (Although please note that the pre-set last frost date of May 15 is
the correct one for most people reading this update.)
To check out this cool new Grow It Eat It planting chart, click here.
Regarding the late blight, I am one of many gardeners
who got wiped out by it last year, so I was encouraged to see this update from
MD State Master Gardener Coordinator Jon Traunfeld:
"We had a perfect storm last spring
when truckloads of infected tomato plants were shipped from the south... and
this coincided with cool, wet weather- perfect for the growth and spread of
this devastating disease.[Editor's note: I got hammered even though my tomato
plants were all home started or purchased at local farmers markets!]
It appears that
the major strains of Phytophthora infestans (late blight) that were identified
during the major outbreak of 2009 were US-8 and US-22. Both of these are the A2
mating type. When A1 and A2 mating types are present in the same field, sexual
reproduction leads to the formation of oospores that can overwinter in soil.
The thinking now is that there is a relatively low prevalence of A1 strains in
the U.S. relative to the other strains. So unless, we had a repeat of last
year's perfect storm, it's very unlikely that we will see much late blight in
2010."
Thanks Jon - and I can't believe I have to wait another five weeks to
plant my tomatoes!
More on Seed Starting
Many of you have already have sprouts coming up, while
many others have just planted their seeds or plan to do so very shortly. So
here's one last nudge!
Like any guide, this one from the Gardener's Supply
Company has a point of two you might disagree with (don't start seeds in
soil??), but that's always an opportunity to learn, and overall it's a
particularly useful resource with all sorts of information on timing your
planting, caring for seedlings and troubleshooting - for when those little
buggers just aren't thriving the way you'd hoped they would.
To read "Seed Starting Made Easy: A Comprehensive Guide," click here.
Obama Recess Appoints Siddiqui
Some of you may be aware that President Obama recently
made a number of "recess" appointments of nominees who have been blocked
or otherwise stalled by Congress. While a high profile labor lawyer captured
most of the newsprint on the appointments, when you read down to the bottom you
will find the name of Islam A. Siddiqui, who will now become the U.S.'s Chief
Agricultural Negotiator
For those of you who missed this struggle from previous
updates, over80 organic and sustainable
food and agriculture organizations (including MVG) have been working to stop
the appointment of Mr. Siddiqui, a former pesticide lobbyist who is currently a
Vice-President of Croplife America, an association of chemical pesticide and
biotechnology interests including Monsanto,
DuPont and Syngenta. Ironically, it was an arm of CropLife America that
attacked First Lady Michelle Obama for growing an organic garden on the White
House grounds.
Mr. Siddiqui now joins Michael Taylor, the former Vice President
for Public Policy for agribusiness giant Monsanto (and approver of bovine
growth hormone), who Mr. Obama tapped to be his FDA Deputy Commissioner for
Food Safety.
"Dr. Siddiqui's appointment is a step backward," said
Tierra Curry, a scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity. "His
appointment ensures the perpetuation of pesticide- and fossil-fuel-intensive
policies, which undermine global food security and imperil public health and
wildlife." Or as the New York Times put it last fall, Mr. Siddiqui's
experience "doesn't seem to square with the Obama administration's
professed interest in more sustainable, less chemically dependent approaches to
agriculture."
Yet for the time being, it appears, that is what we will
get: First Lady Barack Obama planting organic vegetables for cameras in the
front yard, while President Obama is inside appointing agribusiness executives
to top posts. I wish I could say it were otherwise.
For the Center for Biological Diversity's press release on the nomination, click here.
Black Farmers Are Still Waiting for Settlement
As we learn (or relearn) the ways of agriculture and
growing our own food in this country, it is important to realize that racism and
discrimination have played a role in U.S. agricultural policy just as they have
in other areas of American public policy and life.
And discrimination has once again reared its ugly head,
as black farmers that were 
due $1.25 billion promised by Congress by the end of March watched Congress leave on recess without appropriating the money.
The settlement follows on the original class action lawsuit filed by black farmers who,
frustrated by decades of having their requests for low-interest loans either
denied outright or delayed so long they missed the planting season, sued the
U.S. Department of Agriculture. A first
payment of $900 million had already been made, but this second $1.25 billion is
intended for those who didn't file their claims in time for the first settlement.
Many of the farmers involved in the suit have died or
lost their farms already, and this latest delay is yet another cruel blow to
the black farmers. John Boyd, President
of the National Black Farmers Association, says he knows Congress has been busy
with health care - but black farmers are running out of time. "Right now,
it's planting time," said Mr. Boyd, "and we thought we would have the
funds in time for this season." Or so they were promised by Congress and
the USDA.
The settlement is being watched carefully by Hispanic
and Native American farmer organizations, both of whom have filed
discrimination suits against the USDA - claims that have not yet been settled,
but which are not being denied.
Yet Another High School Starting Veggie Gardens
As we work on changing the anti-food garden position of
the Montgomery County Public Schools Administration, here is another example of
school officials who have seen the light, from our friend Tom Alexander at The Growing Edge.
"Students and scientists have broken ground on a
new school garden that 
organizers hope will help teens get healthier - and get
along better. The Mabelvale Magnet Middle School in southwest Little Rock is
the pilot school for a more than $2 million study on how gardening affects
adolescents' health and behavior."
For more about the school garden initiative in Little Rock, read here.
For some of the existing studies documenting the beneficial effects of school gardens on academic performance, health and behavior, click here.
McDonald's Scraps Global Composting Program
McDonald's plan to keep food waste -- more than 1.5 billion tons a month -- out of landfills
would have been the largest composting program in the world, with bright green
composting bins at all the 31,000-plus restaurants around the world.
But the mega corporation announced this morning that it
would discontinue plans for a worldwide composting initiative after it was
discovered that no item on the McDonald's menu would decompose. Scientists at
the University of California-Berkeley confirmed that none of the items on the McDonald's
menu would compost for at least the next 500 years.
Psych! I'm sorry but I couldn't resist the temptation,
when posting an update on April 1, to include this hysterical tidbit. The
posting on Grist is an April Fools' joke, of course, but a pretty funny one nonetheless.
Click here to read "McDonald's Scraps Composting Program."
The Indestructible MVG Lawn Sign!
It's hard to imagine as the thermometer creeps close to
80 degrees, that only a few weeks ago we were waiting for the snow to melt.
Well as it started to, the first thing that popped up in my yard was not a bulb
or a new blade of grass, but my Montgomery Victory Gardens lawn sign!
While the manufacturer assured us that the signs are
recyclable, they are clearly tough little customers that can survive some bad weather
and go right on colorfully proclaiming your victory garden to passers by. These lawn signs are for sale whenever we are
tabling, but now, for a contribution of only $30, we will send you one free as
our gift to you! Don't delay - click here to make your 100% tax deductible contribution of $30 (or more), and be the first on your block to have a Montgomery Victory Gardens lawn sign!
That's it for this week, friends! Don't forget to send us your feedback, as well as ideas for stories or local food events we can promote, by emailing us at info@montgomeryvictorygardens.org.
Yours for sustainable local eating in 2010,Gordon Clark,
Project Director
Montgomery Victory Gardens 
