Hydroponics Movement

Hydroponics agriculture is one of the research projects being conducted in California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.

Pros:

"Supporters point to the environmental cost of trucking produce from farms to cities, the loss of wilderness for farmland to feed a growing world population, and the risk of bacteria along extensive, insecure food chains as reasons for establishing urban hydroponic farms."

Cons:

"However, the expense of setting up the high-tech farms on pricey city land and providing enough year-round heat and light could present some insurmountable obstacles."

Read the full article at City Farmer News

Urban Flooding

Urban Flooding is a hazard to many parts of the country causing harm to both the environment and humans. As more and more parts of our plant is being urbanized, these urban areas are paved in concrete in place of plantlife. Instead of lush natural landscapes that soak and thrive in soft rainwater with organic minerals, the excess run off becomes a detriment unable to get past the compacted manmade soils of asphalt and cement that have encrusted the earth. The run off becomes repelled from our earth instead of absorbed in a natural ecosystem, causing dangerous floods. In addition, the layer of urban runoff carries air and ground pollutants on a path of least resistance into natural areas. On an extremely rainy day, groundwater sewage lines become clogged by the trash that the run off carries into the pipes. With more urban green space, this problem can be greatly alleviated Just by simply incorporation green space into preexisting areas like sidewalks, pathways, and parking lots.

For more, see this article: http://www.garden.org/urbangardening/index.php?page=october_flooding

Reduce Clean Water Consumption

Another way to be more sustainable in the garden is to set up a rainwater collection system.

How it helps you:

-Reduces your water bill

-Your garden thrives better on natural water

-Plants like water that is free of chemicals

How it helps the environment:

-Less demand for clean, reprocessed water

-Less energy used at the water and sewage treatment plant

Tips on how to build your own rain barrel:

Video

Photo guide

Refuse, Reuse, Repurpose

Old headboards can be used as treillises for vines and other creeping plants. Worn tires can be used to hold soil and dirt. Everyday waste items perform perfectly effective as gardening tools, elongating the lifespan of these materials.

These 3 Rs are less known, but are important principles to live by nonetheless. Whether in the home or garden, this ideology it will save time & money. Bonnie Alter of Treehugger writes,

"Recycling was born of necessity. With the changing world that we live in, it looks like it is going to become a necessity again."

AeroGrow AeroGarden

AeroGrow is a company that manufacture a a full line of indoor garden kits. These kits consist of a biodome. The kit also inludes seeds for an gourmet herb garden, salad garden, spring bouquet garden, and what have you. Though it is organic based, the kits do not use any natural sunlight and soil. Instead, the seeds grow in water using aeroponic technology. The claim is made that the plants grow five times faster in the biodome than plants grown in soil, probably due to the nutrient pellets and lightbulbs that emit light at the sunlight spectrum. It's NASA-tested as well, but will you be willing to shell out $150 for this?

AeroGarden also makes the following claims:

The original indoor garden

Everything you need to grow now

Easy, foolproof and 100% guaranteed

No dirt, no mess, no green thumb required

Click here for someone's detailed log of their experience with the AeroGarden