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Institute compost powers conversion of USDA’s new organic People’s Garden along National Mall
Despite grumbling in the background by Chemical Ag defenders, Vilsack gives small demonstration plot big symbolic importance.By Greg Bowman |
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About the time that Chemical Ag spokespeople were chiding Michelle Obama for promoting home-grown organic food with her White House garden, compost from the Rodale Institute farm was landing on a new organic garden right in front of U.S. Department of Agriculture headquarters. Since he jackhammered an asphalt walkway just off the National Mall in Washington, D.C., in front the USDA’s Whitten building, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack has taken a personal interest in developing the new People’s Garden. Delivering the compost was Jeff Moyer, farm director for Rodale Institute, Kutztown, PA. “Compost is a big part of what makes organic farming work so well,” he said. “We’re happy to donate a truckload of high-quality compost to biologically jump-start this welcome change in the USDA’s front lawn. The Secretary wanted the garden to be certified organic, so all the inputs—including compost—need to conform to the National Organic Program standards.” Moyer chairs the USDA’s National Organic Standards Board, which provides input from the organic sector to the department’s organic program.
Despite some reported resistance from within the USDA to give organics such a high profile, Rodale Institute is confident that Secretary Vilsack is making a wise choice in demonstrating new options for American agriculture. Organic farming is an integrated systems-approach to sustainable agriculture that Moyer and thousands of other farmers have been improving for decades. The Institute is the birthplace of the organic movement in America, and its researchers have documented that organic farming techniques offer the best solution to global warming and famine. “Our 60 years of research show that organic farming is the single most significant and immediate step we can take to curtail the potentially devastating effects of global warming,” said Institute CEO Dr. Timothy LaSalle. “Organic farming delivers other environmental services, improves human health and builds biodiversity above and below the soil line to produce more nutrition per acre. Building soil organic matter saves soil, improves water quality and is the building block for greater nutritional density.”
Barbara Robinson, acting director of the National Organic Program, and others ready with garden tools when the compost arrived remarked at how many earthworms they saw. “The micro-organisms they couldn’t see are just as important in starting to restore the packed subsoil,” explained Jake Blehm, the Institute’s director of operations, who helped with the delivery. “Compost is a package of biological benefits with stable nutrients, active soil microbes and rich humic compounds that will really bring this soil around.” Board members of the Organic Trade Association (OTA) stopped by during the historic delivery, and even took turns shoveling the rich organic matter. “The OTA is thrilled to see the wonderful visibility of the People’s Garden on the National Mall,” said Christine Bushway, the association’s executive director. “This will be an icon of what the USDA represents for millions of visitors to our nation’s capital. Children and families can see what growing produce looks like, and the project will encourage them to go forward with their own organic gardens.” By starting out with certified-organic growing media, the central island of large containers can show off organic crops yet this growing season. The garden beds will start their three-year transition period with a cover-crop of field peas, a legume crop, to build soil and naturally fix nitrogen with the help of beneficial soil bacteria. Other elements include pollinator crops and a “Three Sisters” traditional complementary mix of corn, climbing beans and winter squash. Vilsack has kept ultimate responsibility for the project in his office, giving the small space a big symbolic role in showing how organic agriculture can benefit the nation. Produce will be donated locally. Maintaining the garden will be USDA staff members who volunteer, backed up by the department’s commercial landscape maintenance firm.
He has given the garden great symbolic meaning, saying that converting the asphalt to open soil will reduce heat generated by the pavement, improve water infiltration to benefit the Chesapeake Bay and sequester greenhouses gasses through natural biological processes. “This small garden demonstrates how gardens absorb carbon dioxide and how communities nationwide can raise awareness about global warming.” This second federal garden gives organics a higher profile that seems to trouble some business and government officials who are not accustomed to sharing the official agricultural spotlight. “It’s time to shift the dollars we invest in agriculture from subsidizing commodities to incentivizing carbon-sequestering farming that includes using more cover crops, complex crop rotations and compost,” said LaSalle. “Organic agriculture is here to stay, and organic practices can work for any farmer or rancher who wants to invest in soil health and a systems approach to managing land, crops and livestock.” Greg Bowman is communications manager at the Rodale Institute. Background:
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A Move in the Right Direction
Having a background in Urban Planning, I am one who is all for sustainability. I shop at the organic market every Sunday and it is good to see organic farming being embraced by the higher ups.
The higher visibility that these gardens will provide will assist in attempting at getting this mainstream. So few people I talk to actually know anything related to organics. They are so caught up with the status quo, that they can't see things for what they really are.This brings the visibility that this market requires.
Organic food is getting more
Organic food is getting more and more popular, and more expensive. Its good to see a nice legal niche opening up for farmers that have been taking their lumps for quite sometime now. Unfortunately, the recent past had farmers barely getting by b/c of the Food chains driving down market prices. With this newer organic niche opening up, (and becoming quite popular), they will hopefully have the ability to compensate for some of the tougher times they experienced.
Johnny B
CEO, Halo Electronic Cigarette Co.
Oh yeah! This is great. I
Oh yeah! This is great. I bet their organic garden was nicer than mine. It really is wonderful to see the decision makers in our country embrace a more earth-friendly stance. Maybe its not all about money?
everything is going organic.
everything is going organic. This is such a good thing. I was in the eastern part of north carolina last week and there are tons of organic farms. I think most farms will be organic in the next 10 years. The food is definitely better.
Go for it!
Actions speak loudly and carry great symbolic value. Hooray for the USDA! (When was the last time anyone said that?!)
Regarding your TN property, I'm originally from TN and I agree the consciousness isn't like the NW but maybe you can take a "if you build it they will come" approach. Bring your compost and veggies and good spirit and folks will appreciate it.
By the by, I'm headed for north AR and if I can make it there, your TN jump will be like falling off a log! Good luck!
Change is upon us....hang on out there!
I have the most interesting vantage point in this change process that our country is going through with the understanding of soil development, growing food, and the economics of transitioning from chemicals to regenerative farming. I manage a small but growing, sustainable vegetable farming operation in the NW, where the demand for clean compost, naturally grown vegetables and plant starts is so high that any fool making every mistake in the book and with all the weather bad luck imaginable, can make a living wage doing this, and practically from the jumpstart! On rented land, I sequester truckloads of barnyard litter and combine with unsprayed grass clippings, local rotted hay, municipal leaves, and whatever else I can find, to build and manage compost windrows for my growing needs....I also distribute clean compost that has been derived from sawdust-based barnyard litter, for a local commercial compost company, grow and market for a local CSA seeking to expand, sell my naturally-grown vegetables directly to consumers off my pick-up, and grow for and deliver to wholesale customers.
I live in two worlds though, because by contrast, I also own property in South Middle Tennessee, which I would love to live on and start working now, but cannot, because the social consciousness and economic conditions are such that I would not be able to survive without carrying to that environment, a pre-existing self-supporting income. The history lack of jobs and economic infrastructure there combined with the weak awareness of the value and need for soil building, sustainable food growing, and eating copious quantities of vegetables every day, slows down change compared to many places in the country (like the NW and Emmaus, PA). The difference in consciousness when I come and go there is striking.
What I intend to do is wait until 2012 to move there (which is my SS Retirement income start date provided those boys in D.C. don't screw up) and spend the rest of my life (hopefully with the help of a non-profit grant: anyone know of any likely funders?) to build a network of Victory Gardens and citizen training opportunities which will result in significant amounts of local, sustainably grown fresh foods, impact on the emerging childhood obesity crisis, fill the gaping hole in elder nutrition programming, build a more connected sense of community, and contribute to the creation of a viable, new employment option for willing Americans.
Many parts of the country dominated by big agricultural practices and philosophy will take time to warm up to alternative economic systems and practices such as more local food production, sustainable growing techniques, and new economic structures for entrepreneurs like me. Time and many demonstrations like the one Rodale is collaborating with the USDA to create, are what is needed. More power to us all! Pick up a shovel, start building your own open-pollinated seed bank, plant a leguminous cover crop on every inch of available soil you can talk someone into letting you work with, and practice patience....it is coming!
Meanwhile, the enlightened self-interest piece for me is this: I save tons of money providing for my fresh! food needs which makes all the difference in the world with managing my major medical issues, I stay in shape without paying a gym to waste mindless, disconnected hours, I get my Vitamin D the old-fashioned way, I create the kinds of friendships that are good for us all, I get paid to help others by doing what I have always loved to do best, and I have survived the biggest career transition after the last lay-off of my lifetime!
You've got your work cut out for you . . .
USDA may be talking about organics on one level, but meanwhile, through the back door, in comes this:
http://www.opednews.com/articles/A-solemn-walk-through-HR-8-by-Linn-Cohe...
compost for future agriculture bill
Hello there, what a delight to see how you guys ar rodale keep going strong in the right path to this nation sustainability... I luv it... anyway i wanted to ring to your attention that I had an organic recycling facility in Rio Rico Arizona, thanks to a ADEQ (arizona dept of environmental quality) mainly diverting organic materials from the almost full (also full of county money) and in that area
not even the school districts wanted to use organic materials in their atlethic fields,, they are so use to chemicals, a very few people are really aware of the benefits when you applied to soil, saving water (really important in the desert) and fertilizers not to mention the improved softness of the field (reduced athlets knee injuries), anyway we got closed down becouse some stuborn president of the school board did not like the looks of it every day he pass though the road and saw it... Another important matter that i propose to the local NRCD (naturaal ressource conservation dept of the USDA was to consider putting compost in their water and fertilizer incentives to growers,, they coould put compost as part of their programs so growers can buy compost from local recyclers and applied to theirs soils as part of the natural conservation of resources like very im[portant liquid WATER and improving Soils... let me know if this is a good idea.. thanks Crecencio Elenes
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