Initial Plant Write Up

I want to grow carrots. They grow best in cooler conditions and can easily survive a light frosting. A good soil temperature of around 65 degrees Fahrenheit needs to be maintained or else they could have a weird shape, color, or taste. Having a pH around 6.5 is ideal. Carrots also don't require much nitrogen in the fertilizer, as having too much nitrogen will cause the carrots to grow multiple roots. Using compost is a great way to loosen the soil, which will make it easier for the carrots to grow. Keep in mind not to use too much compost, as it will cause your carrots to fork. Try and have soil that is free of chunks and stones to make sure your carrot looks good. The first weeks of carrot growth are critical in shaping the carrot and having rocky soil can cause an ugly carrot and interfere with proper carrot growth. To ensure that your carrots avoid frost damage, plant them about 3/8 inches down spacing the rows about 15 inches apart. Carrots should not be transplanted since the roots are likely to for when replanted. It is recommended to cover the seeds with a thin layer of organic mulch and then add up to 3 or 4 inches after the seedlings emerge. The best way to prevent flying insects from attacking carrots is to get a row cover and if necessary only use natural or organic pesticides.

Source: http://www.carrotgardeningtips.com/carrotresources.html

Starting Research

Sources:
1. Bourne Jr. Joel K. "The End Of Poverty," The Global Food Crisis, June 2009, National Geographic Society, 20 Jan 2010, http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2009/06/cheap-food/bourne-text
2. Pollan, Michael, "An Open Letter to the Next Farmer in Chief," The Food Issue, 9 October 2008, The New York Times, 12 Jan 2010, http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/12/magazine/12policy-t.html
3. Nichols, John. "The World Food Crisis," 24 April 2008, The Nation, 21 Jan 2010, http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080512/nichols

Because the governments have began to subsidize cash crops, wheat, soybeans, corn, and rice, that is all farmers will grow. It has caused many regions to become monocultures where they only grow one crop. The lack of crop diversidy has made it almost impossible to grow healthy crops without the help of chemical fertilizers and pestisides. Farmers have also turned to raising livestock in feedlots where they pump the animals full of so many antibiotics that new drug resistant bacterial strains have been created. The way that farmers grow and produce these cash crops use a tremendous ammount of fissil fuesl and water, both of which are unrenewable resources.
Another startling fact is that 40% of all world grain output is fed to animals which another 11% for cars and trucks. That leaves only 49% of the worlds grain supply for human consumption. And who knows how much of that 49% goes to processed junk food. It may not seem like a big deal but consider the fact that most places around the world now only grain because it yields the most money.
Right now most countries import and export a lof of food. But what happens when they have major food shortages? They are going to start keeping all the food for themselves. Eventually there could be wars over food. I'm sure our country couldn't survive on just wheat and feedlot beef.
We need to adopt new farming habits and techniques that involve getting away from monocultures. We need to grow a huge variety of fruits and vegetables.
In poverty struck food deprived places in INdia and Africa they have begun to give the tools neccissary to grow grain. Lets teach them how to grow other crops as well.

Commander in Chief

The other day we had a Socratic seminar on a paper, written by Michael Pollen, called Farmer in Chief. It was a letter to the president, or at the time, to the President-Elect. The main focus of the article was to address how the government needs to focus on getting food in America under control. It touches in on a lot of different issues from how easy it would be to attack the American people trough the mass production of all staple foods and how the way we farm and produce food is slowly killing the environment. It also gives suggestions on ways to fix the problem by using the sun to grow our plants rather than chemical fertilizers and to create more farms and then keep the produce closer to where it was grown.
During the Socratic seminar we focused a lot on junk food and how it negatively affects the people in America. We talked a lot about how junk food will cause a lot of health issues for younger kids like type 2 diabetes and heart disease. For the most part the class threw out ideas on how to help prevent these problems and get junk food regulated. The first idea thrown out was to ban junk food all together, which sparked somewhat of a controversy in the class. it came down to how the government would have to specify what junk food is, so they could ban it, and in doing that most food in America would become banned. We also decided that if we banned junk food the world economy would fail because it rakes in so much money for many different countries.
All in all, the Socratic seminar stayed on the subject of junk food and all of the health problems it brings. The main discussion focused more on why junk food is bad and why we should get rid of it rather than fixing the food system in America.

Farmers in my Family

There have been farmers on my mom's side of the family for a few generations.
My grandma raises cows.
My great uncle has a farm and usually grows wheat and corn and green beans, and then winter wheat in the colder months.
My great grandfather grew the same as my uncle but also had oil wells and had two racing horses which he raced at the Kentucky Derby.

All of these farms are located in Ponca City Oklahoma

What is one thing in the natural world I am curious about?

I am really interested in the ocean. I like to sit on the OB cliffs and stare out at the water and just wonder about the seemingly never ending body of water in front of me. Its crazy to think that at one point in time the water I am looking at or swimming in could have been off the coast of Japan or chillin' in the Arctic Circle. There are so many crazy animals and organisms living in the ocean as well. Squids that glow in the dark and fish that fish for other fish. The ocean just blows my mind and I wanna learn so much more about it.



I think another thing I am interested is the study of botany. I don't that much about it but I think I would like to learn more.