For our research methods course, we are tasked to design some sort of research project to span the semester. AS I have no interest in being in front of a laptop longer than I have to be, I wanted to get sweaty, dirty and have a physical product to show for my work, and not just more of the same academic work. I usually work in my backyard when it is light out, so as I was staring at my failed attempt of a garden (pictured above) that served as a distraction to my work last semester, what if I do some research and application of how to sustainably urban farm in the desert, all in the comfort of my own home? Sweet, right? Here is a quick list of some of what I want to explore for this project:
1. Best vegetable species for desert climate
2. Water distribution techniques
3. Compost quality testing (Current compost situation pictured)
4. Compost distribution techniques
5. Rain water harvesting
6. Independent water allocation (not just me standing with a hose)
7. Sunlight exposure
8. Temperature reaction (it is going to start to get hot!)
9. Weed infiltration & species identification
10. Integrated pest management
11. Local compost co-ops/collectives
12. Local urban farming initiatives
13. Maximizing food yield
14. AZ Local Farmers Techniques
15. Healthy habits to maintaining all of this
So here is the start of this blog per suggestion of my classmates, documenting the struggles and successes of learning and applying urban farming techniques. Besides learning some research methods and how to farm, my main goal with this is to have fun, which I feel can be all to absent from the first year of doctoral work. I hope to also intersperse other posts not about the research project itself, but about the experience of learning, teaching and applying sustainability principles, which has yet to be boring.
Way to go Andrew!
ReplyDeleteI'm so stoked to see how this goes as I plan on learning from your experience. One of my goals for the summer is to plant some edible landscapes around our house here in PA and learn more about permaculture in the process.
Although our environments are different, I bet we still have many of the same challenges to overcome, just in varying degrees! For example, we've been composting for 2 years now, but have not become particularly good at it. I wonder if I can post photos of my stuff here for the sake of comparison and (hopefully) demonstrated progress?
This is good. I am lucky that my uncle is still very into his garden. He had a stroke 2 years ago now, but still gets out there. Therer is such joy on his face from planting to seeing the veggies arrive for harvest throughout the summer. This spring, I will do my best to out there and keep it up for him.
ReplyDeleteI know one of the reason's he grins so big is because he can't get out there and weed. He can watch the younger ones do it now. We tried to grow some things 2 years ago without much weeding and the plants produced almost nothing.
I'll share some of my experiences of a haphazard farmer. Not sure if that's a sustainable way of doing it, but with my upcoming schedule of travel, I'll only be around every other weekend in April and May.
It's 85 degrees here today btw in SC, and normally in the high 60s and low 70s. This has been a hot winter. I'm not sure how the heck to get plants in the ground on time when the weather is so warm.
Excellent, Andrew. I look forward to seeing how it goes.
ReplyDeleteJeremy
Nice - I'm going to be watching your compost....
ReplyDeleteFriends keep bringing up grapefruit from PHX. Once established do they do OK - or do they always need watering?