MVG logo on field
 
Montgomery Victory Gardens Weekly Update - April 1, 2010

In this update:

* Dynamic New Planting Chart - and an Update on Late Blight
* More on Seed Starting
* Obama Recess Appoints Siddiqui
* Black Farmers Are Still Waiting for Settlement
* Yet Another High School Starting Veggie Gardens
* McDonald's Scraps Global Composting Program
* The Indestructible MVG Lawn Sign!

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!

Seed StartingLike 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 black farmer rallydue $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.

black farmerMany 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 Arkansas studentsorganizers 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!

Lawn sign in snowWhile 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