My favorite summer hobby is growing vegetables. This year I combined my concern over the climate catastrophe with this hobby to create something special, a carbon farming patch of land that is actively fighting global warming.
Carbon farming is a set of planting and seeding strategies that does a series of impressive things.
First, it regenerates soil that would otherwise be lost to erosion or degradation. Second, it sequesters greenhouse gases like carbon in the ground, which both reduces the warming while also fertilizing plants in a way that does not use the nasty chemicals created by Monsanto and other big agriculture industrial players.
Currently, we have to remove 200-250 billion tons of carbon from the air to stop climate change. The soil under all our feet has the capacity to absorb 320 billion tons of carbon.
How do you do this?
This year, I chopped up an extra-large plot to plant my crops in. First, I planted the usual array of peppers, tomatoes, zucchinis, butter crunch lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, and even a watermelon.
Next, I went down to Allen’s Seed in Exeter and bought several pounds of regular clover seed. After the vegetables were in the ground, I spread the clover seed on top of the open dirt using a fertilizer push cart. After a week of regular watering, the clover began to sprout and fill all those patches that were brown in with a vibrant green. Here’s what it looks like now.
Of course the obvious question must be “isn’t that going to choke out all the vegetable roots?”
Not at all!
Clover is an amazing little plant. Its roots are extremely shallow, meaning they stop about at the point in the soil where my vegetables start. And clover also absorbs nitrogen and carbon and deposits it into the soil. This in practice means it is putting all these materials directly on top of the roots of my vegetables, making it a self-fertilizing garden! What’s more, the level of clover coverage is so thick that it retains water within the soil so that, once you have grown it to a certain height, we are talking about watering on a weekly rather than daily basis!
So it you have both raised bed or traditional ground top plots this summer, seriously think about giving this a try. Climate change is going to impact us all and it is hard to stop that. But it is million of little things, like my tiny clover plants, that can and will make a difference.
Here’s a video from a conference at Tufts University featuring Ethan Roland that explains the potential this presents for large-scale organic farmers if they like to give it a try.
The following is sponsored content published in collaboration with the Rhode Island Retired Teachers Association.
Opposition to Invenergy‘s proposed $700 million fracked gas and diesel oil burning power plant, planned for Burrillville, dominated the 90th annual Ancients & Horribles Parade in neighboring Glocester on the 4th of July. First and second prize for best in show went to floats opposing the power plant.
Glocester, a small town nestled in the woods of northwest Rhode Island and mostly ignored by all political candidates, the General Assembly and the rest of the state’s population except maybe around the 4th of July for our irreverent Ancients and Horribles Parade. So much of what is good about Glocester shows itself every July 4th. The politicos come out in droves, people line the streets and the town’s people play the role of good hosts.
In addition to the parade, there is a quaint and very manageable fair for the townies. It is environmentally friendly, and a perfect place to take the young’ns. The neighboring Purple Cat Winery and Philanthropy Tea and Wine is a great visit where you can buy some unique gifts and keep the kids happy with ice cream. Of course the adults can relax in the rustic atmosphere and have a perfect glass of wine while experiencing all that is good about our small town.
This is also a wake up call to the Democratic leadership of the party – there is none! From Dem Chair Joseph McNamara to Senator Paul Fogarty, no one attempts to engage local democrats in conversation – why is that? I for one have no idea as no one will return my calls and emails to answer that question.
Youth Pride Inc. (YPI) applauds the new policies of the Providence School Board in its efforts to ensure best practices to providing services and support to transgender students that not only create a more safe and affirming learning environment, but also protects the rights of transgender students in the city’s schools. YPI is the only youth service organization in the state that is exclusively focused on the needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) youth. They serve not only as advocates for our LGBTQ youth, but also as a resource to any school in our state who wishes to engage YPI as partners in the process to supporting LGBTQ youth.
