A Cornell University study published in a special issue of Developmental Psychology (Vol. 49:3) reveals that “children are natural scientists” who can “gather and assess evidence from the world around them.”

The study, lead by Tamar Kushnir, the Evalyn Edwards Milman Assistant Professor of Child Development and the director of the Cornell College of Human Ecology’s Early Childhood Cognition Laboratory, shows that preschooler’s can “infer what a person might know from watching what they do…and they can then use this [information] to choose whom to learn from.”

Researchers found that three to four-year olds’ understanding of cause and effect is influenced by information from other people, and that they can discern good sources of information from bad.  Three to four-year olds, the study finds, are not entirely credulous.

Want to teach and cultivate the next generation of “natural scientists?” Cornell Garden-Based Learning offers a variety of multi-disciplinary activities which target knowledge and skill-building in the garden.  Seed to Salad emphasizes decision-making and a multi-disciplinary approach while youth grow salad gardens. Dig Art! Cultivating Creativity in the Garden integrates gardening with the arts and ecological literacy.  Vegetable Varieties for Gardeners (VVfG) and Vegetable Varieties Investigation (VVi) utilizes a citizen science approach to teach middle and high school aged youth about preserving biodiversity and connecting with the community.  

We are thrilled to announce that 16 NYS counties will be planting a total of 19 Vegetable Variety Trial demonstration gardens this year!

Gardens will include vegetable varieties, herbs, flowers and components of ecological gardening (cover crops, companion planting, and mulching). This year we are also adding some perennial herbs, fruits and flowers to the garden, a compost bin and – in keeping with the 2013 Horticulture theme – multiple types of plants for attracting beneficial insects. As always with VVT, we encourage everybody to rate varieties by using the website  http://vegvariety.cce.cornell.edu.

Get involved with this project in your county! Participating CCE county offices include: Broome, Cayuga, Chautauqua, Cortland, Herkimer, Madison, Oneida, Onondaga, Orange, Oswego, Saratoga, Schuyler, Seneca, St. Lawrence, Suffolk, and Wayne. 

Monday night Ben Falk, author of the forthcoming book The Resilient Farm and Homestead (Chelsea Green Pub., May 2013), presented an engaging & thoughtful overview of the 10 years of research the Whole System Design (WSD) team has established at a Vermont homestead/farm. WSD’s research includes earthworks, water systems, rice paddies, livestock, site design and management, fuelwood production, human health, soil enhancement strategies, perennial food and medicine crop and more. Almost 100 eager permacultalurists, climate watchers, gardeners, and interested folks generally seeking responsible land use and stewardship filled the room at the public library in Tompkins County (the event c0-hosted by Cornell Garden-based Learning, Finger Lakes Permaculture Institute, Ithaca Children’s Garden and Gardens 4 Humanity)

Since Hurricane Sandy hit New York City in October 2012,  “resilience” has become a commonly used term to describe how we need to prepare for “climate wierdness,” as Falk refers to it. “Resilience” seems to have taken place of “sustainability”. While the media has been using the word to report that NYC will need to build a resilient grid-energy system to prepare for future power outages or build a wall around Manhattan so the city can handle high winds and oceans rising, these approaches are completely contradictory to the resilient methods Falk describes.

Sustainability enables us to stay on the current course, while resiliency requires us to adapt to the change, not fight it. To design & prepare. And to act. Record breaking storms, “weird” weather patterns, an increasingly global marketplace (i.e. that which is dependent on imports and fossil fuels, i.e. that which is not dependent on the local economy, i.e. that which is not independent, sustainable or resilient) are some of the reasons that many folks are starting to try to move beyond sustainable. Being resilient means that we will be prepared when crises hit again and be able to recover from them. Possibly even benefit from them!

During Tropical Storm Irene (August 2011), the Mad River in Vermont was raging high, destroying thousands of homes and complete towns in its path. Millions of tons of soil washed quickly away. Yet The Whole Systems Research Farm actually benefited from the tropical storm. Ben showed a short video of the Mad River from August 29, 2011 – dark brown in color and tearing up the edges of the stream bed. Alongside he showed a video from the same day of a small flow of completely clear water as it made its way through 10 acres of swales, patties, and ponds, where it then remained for several days after the rain had stopped and it could be absorbed into the watershed. The slow progression of the water through the WSD farm actually fertigated the thousands of plants species growing on the land rather than washing away.

Walking the audience through over 200 stunning images from the WSD Farm, Ben proposed dozens of inspiring and crucial points with regards to designing and maintaining resilient landscapes and systems.  Any gardeners, farmer, landscape designer, teacher or really any person who drinks or eats might want to consider these points.  Here’s a synopsis from one attendee who shared the notes he took at the event:

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Key word = “RESILIENCE” (more than “sustainability,” etc.)

Decrease Inputs, Increase Yields

How can we turn the most major disaster (global uncertainty) into the most major solution(s)?!

The natural ecosystems of the Northeast US are exceedingly resilient (for example,  roads are reclaimed into forest very quickly), so we have the opportunity here to be a successful model of creating resilient human systems

Catch water so it doesn’t waste soil and fertility – any running water that looks dirty is taking soil/fertility AWAY, and putting it into lakes and oceans

Slow it Spread it Sink it (water)

Although the long-term civilization failures of annual crop production are well understood, there are still many examples of annual crop production systems succeeding.  see the book: Farmers of 40 Centuries

Resilience = Diversity x Redundancy x Connectivity x Manageability

“Fertigate” = Fertilize and Irrigate (accomplish these things with the very same feature)

DIG SWALES EVERYWHERE, especially where grade is enough to carry water (most locations) and soil is anything less than very rich.

In digging swales:  Send water toward the ridges (away from the valleys).  Around here, it’s not crucial to be precise with the leveling process

Take advantage of bare soil (like where a swale has been dug) to seed/establish exactly what you want to establish.

Become a WATER farmer, even before becoming a SOIL farmer (even before becoming a plant/animal farmer)

A couple essential perennial food-producing plants:  Seaberry, plum, hazel

Water-based starch ecosystems (Rice and Taro) are inherently more calorie-productive per acre than terrestrial starches (wheat, etc)

What else can we grow in patty systems?!  Such systems accrue fertility very effectively.

Use available fossil fuels now to establish resilient systems that will last for generations/centuries (and will thereafter be independent of fossil fuel inputs)!  for example, mini-excavator to create patty and swale networks …

Power of Duck – describes one system (ducks+rice) that has been successful for centuries due to the wise interaction of its many components …

A Leech Field is a very fertile location – take advantage!  Very high nitrogen, although squash seems to balance the nitrogen to still produce fruit well.

Use foliar feeding (diluted fish emulsion, compost tea, urine, etc – applied early or late in the day) to help establish trees quickly above browsing height.

Rotationally intensive planting for livestock => extreme/fast increases in fertility

One example of seeding mix:  Lots of Clover varieties; Vetch; Turnip; Radish; plus a “carrier” of Greensand, Aragonite, Bonechar, and Sulfur …. because if you’re seeding, you may as well take advantage of an opportunity to put some minerals where you want them)

Get as many species as possible into one area, and let them interact – there will be beneficial outcomes that were not predictable (“emergent properties”)

Focus on being HEALTHY not just FED

Black locust is likely the fastest-growing fuel wood, so plant and coppice/pollard it.  10-20 cords of wood in only 10 yrs of growth (didn’t catch how many plants that was)
- also good sheep food and living fence

Focus on growing foods that are either staples or nutrient-dense/health-inducing

In our climate, we use MANY MORE calories every year to keep our dwellings heated than we do calories to stay fed.

A quality airtight wood cook stove (like “Waterford Stanley” model) can bring great efficiency to the home – many functions performed by one element
______

THINGS I WILL DO AS SOON AS POSSIBLE:
- Dig Swales.  Swale everything everywhere!
- Prevent water from running downhill anywhere it does so
- Determine good places to scatter abundance of seeds (of any useful plants available)
- Plant tons of black locust for fuel wood
- Plant tons of Seaberry plants for delicious fruit, nitrogen-fixing, and deer-proof edibles
- Plant Elder and Kiwi because their late bloom will be resilient in the face of unpredictable spring frosts
- Plant things like Hazel with blooms that are frost-hardy
- Create and use foliar feeds
- Consider using ducks somewhere in my systems
- Focus on nutrient-dense, health-promoting tonic foods

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Request for Proposals to Create County-based Ecologically-Designed Demonstration Gardens

Cornell Garden-based Learning (CGBL) is requesting mini-proposals from county-based Cornell Cooperative Extension programs to establish demonstration gardens in their county utilizing innovative methods of ecological design that may include but is not limited to permaculture, beneficial insects, soil building techniques or rain gardens.

Availability: Grants will only be awarded to CCE county-based programs in or partnering with community horticulture or youth development.

Funding: Applicants must be a CCE county-based office/program and can be (but is not required to be) submitted in collaboration with another county garden project/organization. CGBL will support six gardens, two at $400, and four at $250. Funding may be used for any and all necessary supplies including: plant materials, garden supplies, fencing, raised beds materials and signage. Funding may be used for, but is not limited to, expanding a 2013 Vegetable Variety for Gardeners (VVfG) Trial Garden project.  

How will funds be distributed? County programs will purchase supplies, and provide CGBL receipts for reimbursement. Note: Receipts must be submitted with proper paperwork within one year from the date the grant is awarded.

Application deadline and more details >> Be sure to download the FULL PDF here: Small is Beautiful_Final

Question – Contact Liz Falk  erf59@cornell.edu

For the second year, we will be planting the Vegetable Variety Demo Garden (VVdG) again here on the Cornell campus and would like to collaborate with CCE offices New York statewide to install a VVdG in your county.

Some of the same elements from 2012 will be repeated including vegetable varieties and components of ecological gardening (cover crops, companion planting, and mulching). This year we will also be adding perennial plants to the garden, a compost bin and – in keeping with the 2013 Horticulture theme – multiple types of plants for attracting beneficial insects. As always with VVT, we will encourage others to rate varieties by using the website at http://vegvariety.cce.cornell.edu.

To Participate: Read more about the trial and how to take part on our web site here: http://blogs.cornell.edu/garden/vegetablevarietytrial/

The Cornell Farmworker Program (CFP) is dedicated to improving the living and working conditions of farmworkers and their families. We also seek recognition for farmworkers’ contributions to society and their acceptance and full participation in local communities. The 2013 Summer Internship program is accepting applications now until Feb 4. Check out the image or the CFP site for more details.

CGBL September Newsletter –

In 2012, Cornell Garden-based Learning revived a Cooperative Extension tradition of focusing on a yearly theme to promote educational resources statewide. With the theme of “Soil & Compost”… See entire newsletter

Groups of visitors flocked to the Cornell University greenhouses last week to catch a glimpse of the nearly five foot tall Corpse Flower, officially called the Amorphophallus titanum, in hopes of catching it in bloom.  After several days of anticipation, Cornell’s Corpse Flower bloomed Sunday, March 18th.

This plant, native to Sumatra, Indonesia, is one of 140 recorded Corpse Flowers to bloom in cultivation in history.  The plant’s central stalk had been growing steadily at a few inches per day since the beginning of March.  The flower ultimately bloomed, revealing a deep red leaf at its base and a smell akin to that of rotting meat, from which the Corpse Flower gets its name.  In the wild, this potent smell attracts pollinators.

Inspired by the Corpse Flower’s magnificence? It’s likely the perfect time to get outside and start your own garden. Many people suggest to plant peas on St. Patrick’s Day, so there’s time like the present! Check out the CGBL How-To page to help you get started: http://blogs.cornell.edu/horticulture/

Over 75 attendees discussed climate change at a Dec 5th event titled “Climate Change and New York Ecosystems: Where Do We Go From Here?”

The event was sponsored by NYSERDA and the Cornell Climate Change Program Work Team (PWT).

Part of the event was the release of new factsheets published by the Cornell Climate Change program work team:

Farm Energy, Carbon, and Greenhouse Gases

New York’s Changing Climate

The Earth’s Changing Climate

Farming Success in an Uncertain Climate

More fact sheets will be produced in 2012 and posted at the Cornell Climate Change website. You can get more details of the conference, including links to powerpoints and presentations, by visiting the feed at the Department of Horticulture blog. (If you aren’t subscribed, you should be!) Another great resource to learn more is a series of factsheets from the Union of Concerned Scientists on their Climate Choices website.

Some of the key characteristics of our changing climate are:

- An increase in average temperature of 1.5 to 3°F by the 2020s; 3 to 5.5°F by the 2050s; and 4 to 9°F by 2080,

- An increase in average annual precipitation of up to 5% by 2020; 10% by the 2050s; and 15% by the 2080s.

- Decreased snow cover, by as much as 25 to 50% by the end of the next century

- Changing precipitation patterns, with increased precipitation in the winter, and decreased precipitation in late summer or fall.

There are, of course, both positive and negative consequences to these shifts. Farmers and gardeners may enjoy an increased range of plants they can grow, yet will have to buffer their plantings against extreme drought and flooding events. There will likely be an increase in forest disease outbreaks because long periods of freeze buffer temperate climates against such problems, and yet some suggest that warmer temperatures will allow trees to sequester more carbon.

One thing to keep in mind is that while we know the climate is changing, no one can pinpoint exactly how it will change. Efforts to monitor ongoing changes and attempt to better predict the future are greatly assisted by a myriad of citizen science projects, including Project Budbreak (temporarily on pause) and a number of projects facilitated by the Lab or Ornithology, including a new one (launching soon) called YardMap, which seeks to, “build online communities to investigate the impacts of bird-friendly and carbon-neutral practices in backyards, community gardens, and parks”

Finally, consider adding info to our project, Vegetable Varieties for Gardeners. We take information from this list to create the Selected List of Vegetable Varieties for Gardeners in New York State – now updated for 2012. You can download this and other resources at our gardening resources page.

Happy Holidays from the Garden-Based Learning team.

The rare nine-spotted ladybug has been found in New York State after 29 years without making an appearance. This is New York’s official state bug, valued for its value as a predator in gardens and farm fields.