I appreciate your thoughtful comments, perspective and advice that I consider doing a documentary on climate change and how it is affecting New Jersey agriculture.

While agriculture is affected and often controlled by the various affects (good and bad) of climate, at About Harvest we have not broadened our scope to address climatology. On the whole we have found the subjects of “food” and “agriculture” to be sufficiently wide-ranging enough to keep us very busy! However, you may be interested to know we recently interviewed an eminent soil scientist who was good enough to discuss with us his important and exciting new research around grains. This new research brings both major advancement and new hope in addressing some of the issues our global, food-growing community is facing now, for generations to come.

We will be posting the grains story within the week and hope that just like this podcast on Honeybees you will find it and our future podcasts equally interesting.

~ Nancy

I wonder if you have considered producing a documentary about the challenges posed to New Jersey agriculture because of climate change. As crops wither in an early, record-breaking heatwave, it seems to me that the danger to our source of food from extreme heat, drought, and severe flooding should be a topic of vital interest to farmers.

And even more immediate threat to our plants and trees than climate change caused by rising levels of CO2 is the damage being done by rising levels of tropospheric ozone. Ozone renders the stomata of leaves and needles unable to photosynthesize and produce chlorophyll. Long-term, cumulative exposure is killing trees at a rapidly accelerating rate, putting crops of fruits and nuts in jeopardy. This season and last it is possible to detect foliage stippling, singeing on annual plants, aquatic plants, and ornamentals growing in pots. So it’s not a lack of water!

If you would like to discuss this with me please feel free to write back. I have been taking photographs and posting links to scientific research on this topic at my blog.

Thank you,

Gail Zawacki
Oldwick, NJ

Glad to know you found this interesting too, and thanks for you comments. I can refer any technical questions about the system to the company that designed and implemented the project.

For more information please contact:

Inka Biospheric Systems
San Francisco, CA
http://www.inka.fm

Thanks again for your interest.

~ Nancy

Are fertilizers added to the water on a regular basis? And if so, since the children are growing vegetables in the vertical gardens, does fertilization affect the organic designation of the products?

Also, what type of soil composition is being employed? What level of sterility is being used in the soil to prevent weeds and harmful plant fungi without destroying the symbiotic relationship between beneficial bacteria that creates usable nitrogen in the soil?