GMO Primer Part 1 – What is GMO?

Posted by DavidMartin in Build, Food, Fresh, GMO | 0 comments

Mar 27, 12

GE gives desireable and marketable traits to common veggies.

It’s easy to get buried in the wash of information available on GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms). The stuff is everywhere; Dave provided an excellent piece in November of last year in “The GMO Seed – the root of the evil” in which he explores the consequences of distributing a genetically modified seed that kills everything that eats it, is genetically altered to be resistant to pesticides (manufactured and sold by the same company BTW), and the cross contamination of non-genetically engineered crops through natural pollination. While the information is out there, it’s hard to figure out where to begin. Today we’ll start with the basics and go from there.

What exactly is a GMO or Genetic Engineering? Genetic modification is the technologies and practices used to alter the genetic makeup of an organism. This is generally done by introducing DNA from another species (plant, animal, bacteria, etc.) into the organism.

This is not the same as cross breeding two similar animals, or selectively breeding plants by the most desired traits, but a completely artificial alteration of the genome. Other terms commonly used are “Genetically Engineered” or “Transgenic”. The idea is to incorporate a quality not normally expressed in the recipient. One example is inserting genes from cold water fish like a  flounder into strawberries to make them less susceptible to cold.

Genetic engineering is also used on mammals. GE salmon are given an additional growth hormone that causes them to grow faster. Similar practices are used extensively in medical and biotechnology research, altering bacteria to create specific microorganisms such as growth hormones or proteins, insulin being an example. The first successful attempts at genetic engineering go back to the early 1970s, and have been  increasing on massive scales ever since. We will likely see more and more research in the areas of food and medicine, but if that’s a good thing or not is questionable.

Dig up your own research, evaluate objectively, and make your own decisions.

Next time, we will start looking at arguments for and against genetic engineering in the agricultural system.

[div class="note" class2="typo-icon"]  David Martin is a passionate advocate for sustainable living and holistic nutritional health. He has spent a good part of the last 10 years improving his diet, reducing his carbon footprint, and learning as much as he can about restoring the balance of humans and nature. By day he works the system to beat it, by night he plans his ideal self-sufficient future. When  not slaving away in the office, you can find him tending to plants, camping under the stars, or practicing his latest discovery: Tai Chi.
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Challenges of winter sustainability

Posted by dtpennington in Blog, Build, Food, Fresh, Grow | 1 comment

Feb 06, 12

Our preserve shelf. Half empty.

Some preserves go faster than others. The pickles seem never ending – we’re now giving them away as gifts. The applesauce and tomatoes are almost gone, we still have a large stock of fruit preserves and jams. We have been getting better at using dried beans and lentils in soups and stews (a beans go a long, long way in terms of calories).

I never really made it a goal to be 100% self reliant on the food that we grew here in our own gardens – I still enjoy supporting other food vendors in the community. But after such a successful summer I have come to miss having so much wealth outside my back door. This year I have several goals, but when it comes to growing food.

I am going to grow 100 pounds of potatoes. Probably using this model:

Potato growing box (click image for full directions)

Planting a winter crop on unused beds – if only so it doesn’t look so desolate. Winter crops also work well at preventing valuable soils from running off and keep nutrients active in the crop. At the beginning of spring, the winter crop is tilled back under the soil and the spring seedlings are planted.

Plant foods that have a longer shelf-life. Namely: gourds, squashes, pumpkins, onions, roots. Thicker skins mean they can stay on the shelf much longer.

Plant garlic, and onions. And other things that need a winter underground to be awesome. We always seem to need garlic at our house. While we’re at it: other herbs. We have been saving empty shaker jars that were previously home to store bought herbs. Last summer I dried and crushed basil leaves (one of the better-producing plants).

At this point, we’re still at least two months out from our final frost in Denver. Still a little early to start seeds indoors, but there is plenty to do.

What are you doing to maintain a green and sustainable lifestyle during the winter months? I want to hear ideas and suggestions!

BTW – Not Quite Hippie is experimenting with Pinterest. What would you like to see me do with it? 

Has Denver gone Chicken? Guest post from another hippie!

Posted by dtpennington in Blog, Build, Food, Grow | 0 comments

Today’s post is from Brian Zimmer who keeps a blog along with his significant other at 1/2 Hippie (No relation to us here at Not Quite Hippie). With the recent approval of food-producing-animals here in Denver, I figured it would be a good idea to get a few thoughts on raising chickens from another first timer. I would love to try my hand at chickens someday soon, and I’m sure many of you will to. I’ll let Brian tell you all about it: 

Hello Friends,

(Not a picture of Brian)

This is Brian from Halfhippie.com. I heard from David that the Denver has recently passed an ordinance allowing chickens in (sub)urban areas. Well done y’all! Here, in the mountains of North Carolina, we are still allowed to marry our 1st cousins (To be fair, Charles Darwin married his first cousin) but we can’t have chickens within town limits. Luckily, I live outside of town. If you are considering trying your hand at a backyard flock or just want to house one or two to keep you  in eggs, the following may help you avoid some of the pitfalls my brawksticks and I have stumbled into.

Where to get chickens?

Lots of people talk about getting day-old chicks off the interweb. I’ve stayed away from this for three reasons: 1.) They have a minimum order (usually around 12) and I have only ever needed a half dozen or so chickens at any one time. 2.) Mortality rates are ~10-15% and no animal should be “shipped”.  3.) Day old chicks take 4-6 months to start laying. I raised chickens from chicks once and in month 5, my chickens were taken out by a raccoon with explosives and we had to start all over again (This is not hyperbole… there was a hole blown out the side of my chicken-wired run).

The daily "awwww"

I prefer to buy my chickens at ‘pullet’ age (not a chick but less than a year). I got my most recent batch of australorps from this kid, Tommy, who runs a racket at the local farmer’s market. He charges cute girls a full $3.00 less per chicken. I’m getting Meg, my girlfriend, to do the buying should we need more next year. You can expect to pay $5-10 / per chicken. Craigslist usually has several chicks/chickens for sale, just remember, if you want full-sized eggs, you don’t want bantams and be sure to verify with the seller the age of the bird(s).

Housing

I’ve made several different coops for my chickens. If you have a yard, but not enough to pen, or free-range, I’d recommend using a mobile coop or “chicken-tractor”. These enclosures can be moved daily to fresh grass, or they can be left in place with hay being changed out every 3-5 days (Lots of great compost!) In the winter, I just pull the tractor up to the sunny / downwind side of my house so they get the ambient heat that freely flows out the sides of my ancient farmhouse. If you are in an area that commonly freezes, electrical water heaters are fantastic. They save a lot of hassle and don’t need to be changed daily. You will need one nesting box for every 6-8 chickens built into your coop – somewhere dark and off the ground.

The 1/2 Hippie Chicken Tractor

Fencing

Building a fence that chickens will not escape has been quite a challenge. Some people have had success with the electrified “feather-nets”, but for my flock of a dozen layers, the cost was prohibitive, especially when you consider having to replace batteries. I’ve finally built a fence that the chickens cannot escape (except for Renegade, who escapes about once a month). I used 6’ metal t-bar stakes with the flange that sticks in the ground. Anything weaker gets bent over by raging hordes of chickens as they chase tomato bits. The chicken wire I run around is a 2” mesh that is 4’ tall. I use 4” metal staples to keep the wire pressed to the ground. Finally I run several rows of fishing line across the top. That way, when the chickens do try to flutter out, they aim for the top of the chicken wire, but get hindered by the essentially invisible fishing line. It confuses the heck out of em and they eventually give up. You will be amazed at the way predators can get into your coop area, so go for bomb-proof and always close your chickens in the coop at night, even in the city…

Breakfast!

As you raise your chickens you will discover the joys of predation, egg-eating, and broody hens that will sit on empty nests, but there is far too much to write about in a single post. I wish you luck and many eggs and would be glad to answer any direct questions you have. I post regularly about chicken life on halfhippie.com and invite you to check it out if you have the chance.

Thanks Brian!

Have an idea for a guest post? Want to contribute your own adventure in urban gardening or homesteading? Then drop a line to dave at not quite hippie dot com. 

Denver Seeds – an idea we should all get behind.

Posted by dtpennington in Blog, Build, Grow, Life | 0 comments

With Denver Seeds, Ugly tomatoes for all!

When Michael Hancock was running for mayor, one of his key campaign points for his first 100 days in office was Denver Seeds – an initiative to create a network of urban farms which would provide local food for Denver residents.

Frankly, this is nothing but a good thing.

This past week a roundtable discussion was had with a variety of city officials, horticulturalists, and urban farmers to discuss what would become of Denver Seeds. While nothing specific has been laid in stone, a lot of good vibes seemed to have come off this meeting.

Beign a backyard farmer, I was really excited to read this story about the City of Denver actually meeting to come up with ideas for the Denver Seeds program.

Of course, being something of a backyard farmer (or gardener, if you want to get specific about the acreage I have to use) I am really excited about this idea. While there are numerous nay-sayers (there always are in the public forum) who claim that the program would not be an economic generator, it wouldn’t work, or that it’s not the direction the city needs to go in; I think the exact opposite would occur.

While I wasn’t at the roundtable meeting, fellow blogger Sundari of Eat Where U Live was asked to participate. Judging by her response, I think some really great things could come of Denver Seeds.

Hypothetically, and fantastically, here are some:

It will create jobs. Good ones. After all, someone has to keep up with all of the planting, watering, weeding, paking, distributing, selling, and composting of the product. Someone has to make sure the soil is always good, the water supply is steady, and that all of the tools and machinery are in good working order. Furthermore, I anticpate these are not duties which would be parsed out to migrant farmers, but to local citizens who live not too far from the home.

It would create better food. The “urban” element to these proposed farms would definitely influence how things are grown. In my own garden, I keep everything organic as possible. Not because I want to be elitist, but because I have dogs I don’t want getting sick with rouge pesticides. The same would go for these fields. When people live near the food they eat, they have a vested interest in how that food is grown. Any pesticide which is laid down would eventually wind up in just about everything: the parks, the water, the air.

It would change how we think about food. I love talking about ugly tomatoes. They may look odd, but damn are they delicious. Having truely organic and sustainable farms would generate food that we probably wouldn’t find in the Safeway. If more people saw the growing process, they’d have more respect for the food. Prices may go up, but we’d be more willing to pay them because we’d have a better understanding of what it took to get that produce.

Our dirt would be awesome, and I think that’s good for property values. With the documentary “Dirt!” fresh on my mind, I can attest that the more responsible growing which is done in the dirt around our city, the richer that soil will be. Dirt is awesome. It filters our groundwater, grows our trees, sustains everything about the life we know. Why not treat it right?

Communities will be stronger.  The garden in my backyard is reason enough to have visitors at the house. Most just marvel at what is growing. Others yank a weed or two. Some go home with fresh produce picked not 10 minutes before. With a farm-oriented society, the culture grows and is richer. Having locally produced food means we need a place to sell it. Farmer’s markets are great when you can face the person who actually grew the product (opposed to whoever shipped it in from California). The farmer’s markets we have already are ripe with community and socialization. Imagine the energy they would have if the produce was extremely close to home.

We’d be fed. Me, you, the shelters of the homeless and the platters of the fine-diners. In the end, we all deserve to eat stuff that’s great. Food that doesn’t have hundreds of miles of highway on it. Food that came from the block. Food that tastes of your neighborhood.

Denver Seeds is an idea that needs to come to fruition. I am prepared to do just about anything to see it so.

What do you think? Would you be willing to put extra hours in to your week in order to help cultivate food for your community?

Garden of the Week #2 | Sustainability Park

Posted by dtpennington in Blog, Build, Grow, Renew | 0 comments

25th & Arapahoe, Denver

I can’t help it.  Whenever I see a raised garden bed I have to stop and see what is growing in it.  The above picture is the southeast corner of a mostly-vacant city block between 25th and 26th and Lawrence and Arapahoe streets in the Curtis Park neighborhood of Denver.  With a few dozen beds and a temporary storage building it seems as if something more profound is happening here.

After some research, I came across this document (PDF).  The Denver Housing Authority (DHA) is looking to turn this block into a state-of-the-art sustainible community with everything from electric car charging stations, bcycle stations, solar power, and a variety of other experiments in the future of Denver urban design.  I, for one, am rather excited to see how this turns out.  Sustainability Park (Block H) is a part of the GreenLeaf Denver project, which aims to engage Denver youth’s through urban agriculture and sustainable practices.  More information on their goals and what they aim to do is available on their blog.

Some concepts for Block H

Project: Potting Bench

Posted by dtpennington in Blog, Build, Reuse | 0 comments

The coworking space where I keep my offices have done a bit of rennovation recently.  Out by the dumpster, ready to be trashed, was a door frame and the wooden frame of. . .something.  Lumber isn’t cheap, and I knew that a vast majority of our landfills are leftover refuse or demolition from construction jobs.

The raw materials, re appropriated lumber

I came back around with my truck and brought the pieces home and spent an afternoon meticulously deconstructing them.  Lots of nails, screws, things that had been rusted out.  Asides from the holes and a split or two, the wood was in pretty good shape.  I knew there was a reason I bought a truck!

The original idea

I had come across a great plan for a potting bench from Ana White (link) and decided to give a shot at it.  With only the final image of what I wanted it to look like in my mind, I started measuring and cutting, putting pieces together.  Like with the garden boxes, I knew what I wanted this thing to look like in the end, but wasn’t exactly adhering to any plan.

A few hours later, I had this:

Completed potting bench

While it may not be as pretty as the original plan, it is completely functional.  It looks rather bulky due to the fact that every single piece of lumber involved is a two by four. My goal, however, was to only use something that was going to be thrown away anyhow. Mission accomplished!