Thursday, February 19, 2009

This Was Easier Than I Thought


As I got ready for work this morning, Doug alerted me to the frenzy of activity in the green pot on my desk. I opened up the curtains to let light in on these crazy sprouts and within the hour there was noticable growth and even a couple sprouts standing straight up. I think I counted 13 sprouts in all from the original 20 seeds I attempted to germinate. 65% isn't bad. I hope I can keep those numbers up so that I can have oodles of peas.

I was bragging about my baby sprouts at work, when a very good question arose in the breakroom. I live in a neighborhood that 8 months ago was under three and a half feet of the dirtiest river in Iowa. I am concerned with the toxins and agro-chemicals that may remain in the soil and wether this could possibly effect the food I grow. Am I doomed to grow my dream garden in pots? Perhaps I can build a garden box for outside to escape this fate. In the meantime, I am beginning the quest for the answers to these questions. If you have the answers, links or resources -- speak up! 

 

1 Comments:

Blogger raj said...

I would think that as long as the fluvial action of the river during the flood just reached entrainment velocity, and hydraulic action did not remove great amounts of loam, you might be better off than before the flood, as loam may have been deposited, rather than removed. but you would really need to consult a Hjulstrom curve graph for that area.

On the other hand, optimizing synergistic backwards overflow would be a pertinent concern to take note of.

In either case, doing a raised bed with clean soil might help alleviate any chemical worries. You might also be able to take a sample down to the Johnson County Something Office down there south o' town to get it checked out. I also just found this stupid awesome site: http://www.backyardabundance.org/help.aspx

February 20, 2009 at 9:57 AM  

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