Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

market-farming - RE: Nitrate Acc (was greenhouse ques)

market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Market Farming

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: Miranda Smith <Miranda.Smith AT creativehomeowner.com>
  • To: 'market farming' <market-farming AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: RE: Nitrate Acc (was greenhouse ques)
  • Date: Thu, 1 Feb 2001 11:26:25 -0500


Maybe you could ask the SARE representative (the person to whom Alex
referred you) about working with someone at a different University. If you
could, I'm sure that people on this list, including me, know people who
would be happy to work with you.

Yes, it wasn't inexpensive to use lights, nor was it sustainable. I could do
it because I was in a teaching situation where I had to have them anyway. So
I figured--as long as I've got them, why not grow some nice greens. . . It
makes a lot of difference to be running an educational facility rather than
a farm.

I'm also interested to know if the time of seeding and early growth makes
any difference. --Light levels in most places don't get really really low
until late October. And--does the soil temperature make a difference? It
seems to me that it should, but I don't know. As far as I do know, no one
knows for certain:

A) if nitrite levels are excessive in greens grown in low-light conditions,
and

B) if they are, why does this happen?

Could the types of microbes that are active affect it? My bet is that this
is probably as important as the types of nitrogen and humus that are in the
soil.

But, sad to say, all of that is speculation.

I really hope you get a grant.

Miranda Smith

> ----------
> From: Wiediger, Alison
> Reply To: market farming
> Sent: Thursday, February 1, 2001 10:30 AM
> To: market farming
> Subject: Nitrate Acc (was greenhouse ques)
>
> We had our extension as co-operator. He's one of the few who are actually
> interested in what we are doing. We wrote to a professor at our local
> landgrant, and got no interest at all. Organic, you got to be kidding -
> that's not possible!
>
> > . Plants from the organic soils had the highest
> > levels. But then, there seemed to be no follow-up work. --Very
> > frustrating!
> >
> This is why we wanted to run it for more than a snapshot, and more than 1
> year

>
> > It would be interesting to see if the percent of stable vs effective
> > compost
> > in your soil would make a difference. Also, I am interested in whether
> you
> > can change this effect with lights. I am not growing now, but in the
> last
> > few years, did produce winter greens under mercury halide bulbs.
> Goodness
> > only knows if the expense was worth it. But that's why this research is
> so
> > important.
> >
> I suspect extra lighting would work - BUT it would not be profitable,
> much
> less sustainable. 'Course, if the nitrate levels are high enough to be
> unhealthful, that's not sustainable either. The basis of profitability in
> our model is low capital cost, very low continuing cost, almost no
> non-renewable energy cost, and a locally grown, fresh crop.
>
> Alison
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ---
> You are currently subscribed to market-farming as:
> mirandas AT chp-publisher.com
> To unsubscribe send a blank email to
> leave-market-farming AT franklin.oit.unc.edu
> Get the list FAQ at:
> http://www.ibiblio.org/ecolandtech/documents/market-farming.faq
>
>




Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page