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Subject: Market Farming
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- 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 12:17:37 -0500
Alex--I couldn't agree more about USDA, Extension, and--please don't forget
these folks-- FMHA loan people. But I have to set the record straight--I am
not now, nor have I ever been, one of them. Instead, I have been a private
grower, teacher, and consultant (and simultaneously, a single mother). I
have been fortunate enough to be in a couple of situations where I was
literally paid to farm and teach simultaneously, by institutions that got
their funding from sources other than farming. So it's no surprise that I
know the difference between funded and unfunded work.
And Alison: I would be so happy to write a letter in support and I know so
many people, some of them with PhD's, who would also chime in. I have gotten
funding from SARE before--to do a study on various organic nutrient
solutions for bagged greenhouse pepper culture--and I think one reason I got
it was that a couple of other greenhouse produce people gave me letters
saying that soil-borne diseases of solanaceous crops were a major problem.
So let me know if you decide to go forward with this.
Miranda Smith
> ----------
> From: Alex McGregor
> Reply To: market farming
> Sent: Thursday, February 1, 2001 11:50 AM
> To: market farming
> Subject: Re: Nitrate Acc (was greenhouse ques)
>
> Miranda,
>
> Very glad to see you know the difference between farming and university
> ed/research.
> You must have done both. I get a big laugh (in private, of course) from
> Extension, USDA
> and University Ag people who tell us about how we should use their
> systems, since they
> can grow more per acre. Most have no idea of what Return On Investment
> means. And
> don't understand when I ask why I should spend thousands of dollars to get
> a few dollars
> more income. Not to mention the environmental and soil degradation.
>
> And, Alison- I wonder if supporting letters from all of us who want the
> results of your
> research would help when you apply. I would be willing and maybe others
> out there would
> be. It could show a need for some answers. The tough part may be that US
> Ag still does
> not care about quality- beyond cosmetics and size. We may have to wait
> for them to
> catch up. Too bad we have such a hard time getting funding for things
> that really
> matter to us and consumers.
>
> By the way, I've said many times that farmers are way ahead of scientists
> and are the
> true researchers. And this coming from a formally trained scientist-
> YIKES!
>
> Alex McGregor
> Walden Farm
>
> Miranda Smith wrote:
>
> > 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.
>
>
> ---
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-
Nitrate Acc (was greenhouse ques),
Wiediger, Alison, 02/01/2001
- <Possible follow-up(s)>
- RE: Nitrate Acc (was greenhouse ques), Miranda Smith, 02/01/2001
- Re: Nitrate Acc (was greenhouse ques), Alex McGregor, 02/01/2001
- RE: Nitrate Acc (was greenhouse ques), Miranda Smith, 02/01/2001
- RE: Nitrate Acc (was greenhouse ques), David Inglis, 02/01/2001
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