Philadelphia International Flower Show

Phildelphia Water Department - Three examples of urban stormwater management: a sidewalk stormwater planter, porous pavers and a downspout planter in Philadelphia Water Department’s “Green City, Clean Waters”

To me the heart of the Flower Show has always been in the educational displays.

Through the Office of Watersheds, “Green City, Clean Waters” program is a huge step in the right direction.

I’m not sure why anyone thought that raised planter beds in parking lots were a good idea.

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Mounded high, water runs off the beds and adds more waste water to the paved surface. The raised beds dry out faster and make it tough for trees and plants to survive. Don’t even get me started about the cones of mulch piled around trees. Wouldn’t it make more sense to have the planters at or lower than the paved surface to accept some of the runoff and filter it through the soil.

Runoff from parking lots, yards, farm fields and streets picks up pollutants such as trash, leaky engine fluids, animal waste, excess lawn chemicals, etc. and washes them into the storm drains to creeks and streams.

So the Philadelphia Water Department’s “L'art de l'eau” (The Art of Water) was a welcomed surprise. Capturing some of that runoff using flow-through planters, porous pavers, and vegetated curb bump-outs, reduces the amount of pollution entering storm drains. If municipalities require sustainable practices in storm water management, they will contribute to clean and reliable water for fishing, swimming and drinking.


Philadelphia is making a difference.

Rain Garden - Part 2

(Picture Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research, New Zealand)
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Is it worth the effort to put in a rain garden?

According to Rutgers Research & Extension Fact Sheet, one rain garden in New Jersey receiving run off from 1,000 square feet could treat about 25,000 gallons of water per year. I think that alone makes rain gardens worth considering. If you multiply by any number of rain gardens, it adds up fast.

How difficult is it?

After checking for underground utilities (“PA One Call” dial 811) and figuring the size garden, the rest is manual labor. Detailed instructions are available from Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources/University of Wisconsin Extension.

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If you can convince a few friends to lend a hand, your only costs may be for mulch and plants (and perhaps a few cases of beer). Maintenance includes watering the first year, weeding and adding mulch when necessary. As the garden fills in, the need for weeding should be reduced. Pruning and trimming will take a little time in spring and fall. If all goes well, maintenance should take less time than mowing the area.

All proponents recommend using native plants. Most native plants grow well in the wet/dry conditions of the rain garden. Also an attractive mix of native plants is more likely to be pest and disease resistant. Natives can also provide habitats for beneficial insects, food for birds and butterflies and add biodiversity in the landscape. You can contact your local extension service for a list of natives for your area suited to rain gardens.

Recent rapid growth in the Lehigh Valley has caused basements and roads to flood. I can’t imagine how it is affecting our streams.

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Rain gardens are being installed as a solution around the world. Google "rain gardens parking lots” for an extensive list.

Whether or not you think a rain garden is for you, encourage municipalities to promote rain gardens in new construction to lessen the impact of urban development.

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Rain Garden

(Illustration USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service)

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Several weeks ago I attended a Master Gardener presentation on rain gardens. Rain Gardens seem like a good way to help control stormwater runoff. Stormwater runoff carries with it fertilizers, pesticides, bacteria from pet waste, eroded soil, road salt, grass clippings and litter. The runoff ends up in streams and lakes. A rain garden can be as simple or as complex as you have the energy and resources to invest.

If you want to read a scary story about pollution of the Chesapeake Bay read the US Geological Survey about pollution and what is being done about it.

One of the top three causes for pollution of the bay is water runoff from urban areas.

Rain Garden Network lists the benefits of a rain garden.

“Basically, rain gardens are an inexpensive, simple to implement and environmentally sound solution to urban stormwater runoff. A Rain Garden will:

Filter runoff pollution
Recharge local groundwater
Conserve water
Improve water quality
Protect rivers and streams
Remove standing water in your yard
Reduce mosquito breeding
Increase beneficial insects that eliminate pest insects
Reduce potential of home flooding
Create habitat for birds & butterflies
Survive drought seasons
Reduce garden maintenance
Enhance sidewalk appeal
Increase garden enjoyment”

I’ll continue with more information on rain gardens in my next post.

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Leaf Eater

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We’ve been busy the last two weeks – hording fallen leaves faster than a squirrel hordes nuts.

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We shredded and bagged fallen leaves with our trusty old Lawn Boy. Then we dumped the shreddings into the compost bin. We also piled leaves next to the bin. Next summer I’ll add a layer of leaves to the bin every now and then.

Our compost bin is full and I’m a happy gardener. Sometimes it doesn’t take much to make a gardener happy.

I have to admit I’m lazy when it comes to making compost. I don’t obsess over percentage of green versus brown or nitrogen/carbon ratios. My grandmother made compost before we knew about the carbon/nitrogen ratio.

I use garden waste, kitchen vegetable scraps, coffee grounds and leaves. I add a little water from time to time. I add a little soil sometimes to discourage gnats. I turn it once in a while.

I know the proper mix helps the pile break down faster but I’m not in a hurry. Fortunately, I can pick up finished compost at the city compost center.

Doug Green has some good information on cold composting. If you want to take it a step further, Doug’s hot composting explains how to heat up the pile for quicker compost.

Virginia Cooperative Extension and Purdue University Extension have more in-depth instructions.

Compost is great for the garden and improving the soil. It keeps yard waste out of the land fill. I also use it to make compost tea.

Is it worth the effort? I can only comment on my garden. Over the years my garden soil has become dark and loamy. Plants thrive. And, the price is right -- free.

It’s a deal that’s too good for me to pass up.

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Biochar

The other night I watched “Jean-Michel Cousteau: Ocean Adventures Return to the Amazon” on PBS. I was amazed to hear about “Terra Preta de Indio (Amazonian Dark Earths)” currently called biochar or agrichar.

According to Dr. Johannes Lehmann of Cornell University Assistant Professor, Soil Fertility Management, Department of Crop and Soil Sciences:

"Soils with biochar additions are typically more fertile, produce more and better crops for a longer period of time."

From Cornell ChronicleOnline by Susan Lang (Dr. Lehmann) “shows how reproducing the Amazon's black soil could increase fertility and reduce global warming."

If biochar is some sort of miracle soil amendment, why have I never even heard of it? Have you?

Originally, Terra Preto was made by pre-Columbian Indians in the Amazon River Basin. Most information points to a society that burned trees to make room for agriculture then added agricultural waste, human and animal waste, broken pots and refuse in a sort of an agricultural garbage dump.

As I understand it, biochar can reduce the need for fertilizers, reduce greenhouse gasses. “Char-amended soils have shown 50 - 80 percent reductions in nitrous oxide emissions, increase crop yield as well as supply a renewable energy source" (International Biochar Initiative [IBI]). According to IBI, “The bio-char process . . . produces a combination of both bio-energy and carbon-sequestering fertilizer from agricultural waste, which results in a net reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere.”

Today, biochar is manufactured by slow pyrolysis. According to Best Energies http://www.bestenergies.com/ in their work on clean energy production:

“Slow pyrolysis is a thermochemical decomposition of organic material at elevated temperatures in the absence of oxygen. The feed material is dried and fed into a stirred, heated kiln. As the material passes through the kiln, a combustible synthesis gas (syngas) is evolved and is continuously removed from the kiln. Approximately 35% by weight of the dry feed material is converted to a high-carbon char material that is collected on the discharge of the kiln.”

An easier to understand article was published September 1, 2007 Environmental Science & Technology published by the American Chemical Society:

"Pyrolysis, a technologically advanced form of smoldering, involves burning biomass under controlled, low-oxygen conditions. Small- and large-scale facilities work in various ways and yield a variety of energy products, including bio-oils and gases, with biochar as a byproduct." http://www.css.cornell.edu/faculty/lehmann/publ/Media/Renner%202007%20EST.pdf

OK, let’s just say heating in the absence of air.

There is definite interest in biochar research and production worldwide. The International Biochar Initiative (IBI) was formed in 2006. In 2007, IBI held a conference in Australia. It attracted science & business professionals from around the world. The 2008 conference will be held September 8-10, 2008 in the UK. http://www.biochar-international.org/

Democratic Senator Ken Salazar of Colorado introduced S.1884 – The Salazar Harvesting Energy Act of 2007. A Summary of Biochar Provisions in S.1884: Carbon-Negative Biomass Energy and Soil Quality Initiative for the 2007 Farm Bill is published here http://www.biochar-international.org/newinformationevents/newlegislation.html The bill will boost funding for biochar research.

There are many unanswered questions:

Who will conduct research into the possible negative environmental effects?

Who will regulate or measure manufacturing methods and quality (how)?

Will modern biochar be able to reproduce the sustainability of benefits to the soil that was established in pre-Columbian soils?

What system is best to mass produce biochar?

Will biochar contain enough inorganic ions, such as phosphorus and nitrogen, essential to plant growth?

What is the best raw material to use? How will it be collected?

Who will develop distribution machinery for farmers to use to spread biochar on crop fields? Will it be affordable?


There is a lot of work to be done but I suspect we’ll be hearing more about biochar in the future.

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Eco-gardening

(I apologize – the sidebar “About Me”, “Previous Posts” and “Archives” has moved to the bottom of this blog. I’ve been trying to figure out how to get it back to the top. I haven’t been able to get an answer from Blog Spot. If anyone out there has the answer, please let me know.)
Eco-gardening

Eco-gardening, sustainable landscape, xeriscape, organic gardening, native plants, bio-diversity – words that elicit strong opinions but are not easy to define. There is controversy at every turn. Experts don’t agree on what organic means. How much organic fertilizer is too much?

Brian Higgins review of Jeff Gillman’s recent book Truth about Organic Gardening http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/20/AR2008022000952.html

‘”…if you are simply replacing synthetic products with organic ones, you are missing the point. The aim is to reduce the need for fertilizers and, especially, pesticides. How do you do that?
You build the soil with correct amounts of compost and mulch, choose plants that do well and place them in their optimum locations. These are the true parts of organic gardening," says Gillman, a professor of horticultural science at the University of Minnesota.’

Here’s a British article on Eco-gardening:
http://property.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/property/article1289066.ecerticle1289066.ece The comments are especially enlightening and outline some of the problems and differences of opinion with sustainable landscaping. The controversies, large and small, are not exclusive to England.

As we all try to be eco-friendly, it’s not easy to follow the many differing viewpoints. And some experts are very opinionated.

Doug Green’s Gardening Blog February 24 “Gardening as a Religion” illustrates just how opinionated some gardeners can be http://blog.douggreensgarden.com/

‘“…I see this extreme attitude in individuals in a huge variety of gardening groups. From the native “plant nazi’s” (yes, that’s how they’re referred to in the trade) who reject any plant that isn’t “native”. (whatever that is)…’

Native plants are good, right? IPM Choosing Healthy Landscapes http://pubs.cas.psu.edu/FreePubs/pdfs/uj238.pdf has tips for choosing plants well adapted to your site.

“Sometimes, exotic plants are more resistant to pests than are their native relatives. For example, Cornus kousa, an exotic dogwood that was introduced from the Far East, is less susceptible to infestation by the dogwood borer than is Cornus florida, the flowering dogwood, one of our native species.”

I chose the Cornis florida for my garden because I think it’s prettier. Even if it may be shorter lived, the squirrels continue to plant replacements. That’s sustainable enough for me.

Marianne Ophardt Master Gardener, Central Washington Editor, Extension Area Educator, Washington State University recommends trying some unusual weeping trees. ‘. . . the discriminating gardener that “takes the road less traveled” should consider some less familiar, more unusual weeping specimens.’ Well, who wouldn’t want to be known as a “discriminating gardener”?

Rhododendron is an acid soil loving plant. Does it have a place in our limestone soil gardens? . Do we need to add Holly Tone or Mir-Acid? Is that sustainable? New construction changes the natural soil. Most experts seem to agree that soil testing is a good idea. (See September 29, 2007 post)

Bee Colony collapse, white nose syndrome in bats, fish abnormalities, frog and toad deaths, air pollution, water pollution, carbon footprint – we all want to do the right thing. The problem - what is the right thing to do?

Here’s my starter list:
- Don’t spray indiscriminately
- Don’t fertilize indiscriminately
- Read and follow all label directions

Most important
- Make compost
- Use mulch
- Do the research
- Be patient