Replies

1. Dahon and REI Novara Folding Bicycles Recalled Due to Fall Hazard

NEWS from CPSC
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
Office of Information and Public Affairs
Washington, DC 20207

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 12, 2009
Release #09-214

Firm’s Recall Hotline: (800) 442-3511
CPSC Recall Hotline: (800) 638-2772
CPSC Media Contact: (301) 504-7908

Dahon and REI Novara Folding Bicycles Recalled Due to Fall Hazard

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Product: 2008 model year Dahon and REI Novara Folding Bicycles

Units: About 11,500

Importers: Dahon California Inc., of Duarte, Calif. and Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI), of Kent, Wash.

Hazard: The hinge on the handlepost can crack, posing a fall hazard.

Incidents/Injuries: There have been 25 reports of the handlepost hinge on these bicycles cracking, including one minor injury involving scrapes and bruises.

Description: This recall involves model year 2008 Dahon and REI Novara folding bicycles. The models included in the recall are as follows:

Dahon Ciao P8, Curve D3, Curve SL, Glide P8, Jetstream P8, Mu P8,
Mu P24, MU SL, Mu XL Sport, Vitesse D7 HG, Speed D7,
Speed P8, Speed TR, Speed Pro TT, Mariner D7
REI Novara Buzz FlyBy and FlyBy Shuttle

The words “Dahon” or “Novara” and the model name are printed on the bicycle. Hinges with an “R” embossed on the face of the upper handlepost hinge and/or a “Radius Handlepost” sticker on the handlepost are not included in the recall.

Sold by: Authorized Dahon California dealers and REI stores nationwide from March 2008 through April 2009 for between $430 and $1,300.

Manufactured in: Taiwan and China

Remedy: Consumers should immediately stop riding these bicycles and contact any Dahon California dealer or REI store for a free inspection and repair.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Dahon California at (800) 442-3511 between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. PT Monday through Friday or visit the firm’s Web site at www.dahon.com

To see this recall on CPSC’s web site, including pictures of the recall product, please go to: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml09/09214.html

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2. Lumetique Recalls Botanika Candles Due to Fire Hazard

NEWS from CPSC
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
Office of Information and Public Affairs
Washington, DC 20207

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 12, 2009
Release #09-215

Firm’s Recall Hotline: (888) 872-0228
CPSC Recall Hotline: (800) 638-2772
CPSC Media Contact: (301) 504-7908

Lumetique Recalls Botanika Candles Due to Fire Hazard

Name of Product: DayNa Decker 16 ounce Botanika Candles

Units: About 7,000

Manufacturer: Southern California Candle Co. Inc., of Los Angeles, Calif.

Distributor: Lumetique Inc., of Los Angeles, Calif.

Hazard: The glass can break during use, posing a fire hazard.

Incidents/Injuries: The firm has received ten reports of the glass breaking during use, two of which resulted in fires causing property damage to household items and carpet. One consumer reported a cut on her foot when the glass broke and another consumer reported a wax burn from blowing out the candle.

Description: The recalled candles were sold under the DayNa Decker “Botanika” brand in 16 ounce green glass vessels, 4 inches wide by 5 inches high. Botanika candles in the smaller 3 ounce and 6 ounce sizes are not included in the recall. The words “DayNa Decker” and “Bacara,” “Bardou,” “Clementine,” “Indigo,” “Leila,” “Manzanita,” “Sierra,” “Violetta,” “Yasmin” or “Zelia” appear on the bottom of the glass vessel.

Sold by: Resorts, spas, gift shops and specialty stores nationwide from March 2008 through April 2009 for about $76.

Manufactured in: United States

Remedy: Consumers should immediately stop using the candle and contact Lumetique to receive a full credit toward the purchase of DayNa Decker brand products.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Lumetique toll-free at (888) 872-0228 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. PT Monday through Friday or visit the firm’s Web site at www.daynadecker.com

To see this recall on CPSC’s web site, including pictures of the recall product, please go to: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml09/09215.html

http://www.utahpreppers.com/2009/05/survival-seeds-in-a-can-9-years-later/

Survival Seeds in a Can-9 Years Later

12 May 2009 / Gardening, TEOTWAWKI Survival
“Vintage” 2000 Nitro Pak Survival Garden Seed Can

“Vintage” 2000 Nitro Pak Survival Garden Seed Can

I, like some of you, have in the past purchased canned or packed “survival seeds” that are advertised as if they can be saved and planted when disaster hits. Mine came from Nitro Pak Preparedness Center and were packed for 2000 (yep, that’s 9 years ago). We didn’t get into the Y2K scare, so it’s really just coincidence that that is the year they were packed for, but I’m guessing I’m not the only one that has a can or two of these seeds sitting on the food room shelf waiting to plant them until I ”need” them. They are non-hybrid seeds, meaning they produce seed that will grow the same plant it came from when it is planted, so you are supposed to be able to harvest your seeds and grow more food next year with it.

I decided this year to plant as many non-hybrids or heirloom varieties as I can in my garden, so in addition to purchasing more heirloom seeds, I pulled out these cans and opened them up. Inside was an oxygen pack, the seed packs, and a 2 page front/back printed set of instructions for gathering seed that left me slightly confused (this is easy to do).

Some of the varieties like beans and corn are annuals. These will produce seed this fall. Some like carrots, spinach, and beets are Biennial and will not produce seeds until NEXT growing season. So I have to wait until next year to get seeds off some of these plants. That means that if it were a survival situation, I could only eat some of the beets this year, then I’d have to leave some to go to seed next year (in some cases the biennials need special care to overwinter). Then I’d be able to plant more the following year. Are you seeing where this might be a problem if you’re starving?

In thinking I needed a little more information in my non-hybrid garden adventure, I searched out a book to help me and ended up with Seed to Seed by Suzanne Ashworth Survival Seeds in a Can 9 Years Later. It has specific directions on planting, growing, pollinating, and harvesting seed from about any vegetable you could want to grow. It even has pictures–I love pictures–they teach me faster than words do. This should help me out far more than the insert in the seed can–glad I didn’t have to rely on the scant information in the can to grow the plants and harvest the seeds correctly.

Rutgers Tomatoes grown from Survival Seed canI didn’t know what to expect from the 9 year old seeds, so I’ve planted some in Jiffy pots along with my seeds packed for this year, and here’s what’s happened so far. (My kids helped plant the seeds, so that may give a small margin of error to my findings.)
The tomato seeds are Rutgers tomatoes and came up very well. They actually had better germination rates than the new seeds I purchased this year. I had 100% germination on these, and the plants are all healthy.
Onions on the left, Peppers on the right

Onions on the left, Peppers on the right

The peppers are bell peppers and the onions are White Lisbon Bunching onions. These pictures were taken 22 days after planting. I had exactly Zero pepper plants sprout (while the new pepper varieties all had 100% germination) and 4 of 56 onion seeds sprout. The onion sprouts are very weak compared to the onion sprouts from this year’s seed and I don’t think I will even be transplanting them into the garden.
I’ve direct seeded the spinach, lettuce, and carrot seeds into the garden this week, and will be seeding the beans in the next few weeks, so I’ll report on those when and if they sprout :)
Peas from 2001 seed

Peas from 2001 seed

I did not plant the pea seeds from the can as I wanted all one variety of peas to make maintaining seed purity easier on me and I had more of another variety, but I did plant peas that were packed for 2001 and have been kept in the food room in a plastic grocery sack (no special, oxygen free environment for these seeds). The picture was taken a couple of weeks ago. I laid the seed in the rows pretty thick, so cannot calculate germination percent, but can say that I have quite a few peas coming up from those old seeds.
So if you have an old can of survival seeds in your preps, you might consider replacing them unless you can live on peas and tomatoes. And going along with Wade’s Skills as a Prep post, if you have purchased non hybrid seeds to grow as a “survival garden”, you may want to plant them now and learn how to save your seed before you need to. If you mess it up now, you can buy more seeds, but if you mess it up when that’s all you have it will be more than just an inconvenience.

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Weekly Harvest Newsletter

Sustainable Agriculture News Briefs - May 13, 2009

Weekly sustainable agriculture news and resources gleaned from the Internet by NCAT staff for the ATTRA - National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service Web site. The Weekly Harvest Newsletter is also available online (http://attra.ncat.org/newsletter/archives.html#wh).

Share The Harvest: Please forward this newsletter to friends and colleagues who might be interested in the latest sustainable agriculture news, funding opportunities, and events.

News & Resources
* ATTRA Site Provides Organic EQIP Information
* Researchers To Study Health of Organic Cows
* Online Resource Center to Help With Value-Added Producer Grants
* Congress Exploring Farm-to-School Programs
* NCAT Releases Two Livestock Project Reports
* Higher Education Adapting to Growth in Sustainable Agriculture

Funding Opportunities
* Value-Added Producer Grant
* North Central SARE Native American Sustainable Agriculture Grant
* EQIP Organic Initiative

Coming Events
* Introduction to Small Acreage Sustainable Farming
* Seeds for Success Grazing Conference
* PASA’s Summer Farm Start

News & Resources

ATTRA Site Provides Organic EQIP Information
http://attra.ncat.org/eqip/
A new page on the ATTRA website provides information on accessing funds in the Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP) Organic Initiative for Conversion or Expansion. Last week USDA-NRCS announced $50 million targeted specifically for organic production. Applications for the Organic EQIP are being accepted until May 29, 2009. This site provides information about the program, important contacts, and other helpful documents.

Researchers To Study Health of Organic Cows
http://www.extension.org/pages/Universities_Study_Health_of_Organic,_Conventional_Dairy_Cows_with_$1_Million_Grant
Three universities have launched a four-year study with nearly $1 million in funding that will examine the impact that organic and conventional management practices have on the health of cows at 300 dairy farms in New York, Oregon and Wisconsin. Researchers from Oregon State University, Cornell University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison aim to find correlations between management practices, incidences of diseases and the amount of milk produced. ‘There’s not much data about the health of cows on organic dairy farms in the United States,’ said dairy specialist Mike Gamroth of Oregon State University. ‘So this study will answer a lot of questions.’
Related ATTRA Publication: Dairy Resource List: Organic and Pasture-Based
http://attra.org/attra-pub/dairy_resources.html

Online Resource Center to Help With Value-Added Producer Grants
http://www.iowaagconnection.com/story-state.php?Id=443&yr=2009
The Agricultural Marketing Resource Center (AgMRC) is assisting producer groups in gathering information for use in applying for the USDA Rural Business and Cooperative Service (RBCS) value-added producer grants, announced in the Federal Register last week. AgMRC is a virtual library of agricultural value-added opportunities, business development and consulting resources for producers, located at http://www.agmrc.org. Producers can investigate specific commodity information on many different niche opportunities and can locate specific laws, consultants and individual contacts within their individual state to assist them in the grant application process.

Congress Exploring Farm-to-School Programs
http://www.iowaagconnection.com/story-state.php?Id=436&yr=2009
U.S. Senators Tom Harkin of Iowa and Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, the chairman and ranking member of the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, respectively, announced a Committee field hearing entitled, ‘Benefits of Farm-to-School Projects, Healthy Eating and Physical Activity for School Children.’ The Committee will meet in open session May 15 from 1 to 3 p.m., at the Roybal Campus of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, GA. The hearing is one of a series leading to the committee’s writing of legislation to extend and update federal childhood nutrition programs later this year.
Related ATTRA Publication: Bringing Local Food to Local Institutions
http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/farmtoschool.html

NCAT Releases Two Livestock Project Reports
NCAT has released reports on two recently completed livestock projects. ‘Building a Montana Organic Livestock Industry’ was a study of the cost of production of and marketing possibilities for certified organic and grass-finished beef. The report is based on data from Montana certified organic and grass-finished beef producers who are members of the Montana Organic Producers Cooperative. The second report, ‘Natural Livestock Feasibility Study: Eastern Sierra, California’, was a study for the development of a regional alternative livestock market in the eastern Sierras of California. The study includes a survey of livestock producers and livestock product retailers. Also included is discussion of mobile and stationary meat processing development. For more information on these projects, or to obtain a copy of the reports, contact Jeff Schahczenski at jeffs@ncat.org or call the ATTRA line at 1-800-346-9140.

Higher Education Adapting to Growth in Sustainable Agriculture
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/04/23/agriculture
In recent years, a number of majors, minors and concentrations with names like sustainable food systems, organic agriculture, and agroecology have cropped up in colleges of agriculture nationwide. Inside Higher Ed reports on the growing number of related higher education programs and highlights some of the existing sustainable agriculture programs.

More Breaking News (http://attra.ncat.org/news/)

Funding Opportunities

Value-Added Producer Grant
http://www07.grants.gov/search/search.do;jsessionid=YL9zKLfCgnhkJJlPkQFwYrsjY8X8PzQ39jC2phhfjx5nmjnGfM4c!-1908586553?oppId=47277&flag2006=false&mode=VIEW
The primary objective of this grant program is to help eligible independent producers of agricultural commodities, agricultural producer groups, farmer and rancher cooperatives, and majority-controlled producer-based business ventures. The grants are meant to help create marketing opportunities and develop business plans for viable marketing opportunities. These grants will facilitate greater participation in new and emerging markets for value-added products.
Proposals are due July 6, 2009.

North Central SARE Native American Sustianable Agriculture Grant
http://www.sare.org/ncrsare/cfp.htm
The Native American Sustainable Agricultural Grant Program is initially funded as a one-time North Central Region-Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (NCR-SARE) grant program. The purpose of this grant program is to fund project(s) that can help NCR-SARE reach and work with Native Americans to improve agricultural sustainability in the North Central Region.
Proposals are due September 30, 2009.

EQIP Organic Initiative
http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/eqip/
USDA has announced $50 million for a new initiative to meet the Obama Administration’s promise to encourage more organic agriculture production. Funding for the initiative is being made available as part of the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). Organic producers may also apply for assistance under general EQIP. Under the Organic Initiative, required minimum core conservation practices will be determined by specific resource concerns. The practices are: Conservation Crop Rotation; Cover Crop; Nutrient Management; Pest Management; Prescribed Grazing; and Forage Harvest Management. States must consider using any appropriate practice that meets the resource concern on a particular operation. Applications received from organic producers or producers in transition to organic farming will be accepted under this initiative between May 11 and May 29. The 2009 Organic Initiative will be administered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service. Interested producers should visit their nearest USDA Service Center to determine eligibility.
Proposals are due May 29, 2009.

More Funding Opportunities (http://attra.ncat.org/funding/)

Coming Events

Introduction to Small Acreage Sustainable Farming
http://www.tilth.org/events/introduction-to-small-acreage-sustainable-farming-1
May 20-24, 2009
Rice, Washington
Attendees will gain experience in gardening, composting, building a raised bed, and transplanting garden starts. Students will learn about small livestock care, how to milk goats, make four types of cheese and more.

Seeds for Success Grazing Conference
http://www.eosc.edu/academic/ag_div/farm/cattle_grazing_conference.html
May 22-23, 2009
Wilburton, Oklahoma
Livestock industry legends Bud Williams, Greg Judy, and Donnell Brown will share their knowledge and experience at the “Seeds for Success” grazing conference at Eastern Oklahoma State College.

PASA’s Summer Farm Start
http://www.pasafarming.org/resources/featured-pasa-events/summer-start
May 22, 2009
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
PA Preferred Best Chef James Woltman of Stock’s on Second in Harrisburg will prepare a fantastic menu of the finest regional farm fresh foods available. Join us for this festive evening to benefit the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture, and stroll the grounds of the Milestone Inn along the Susquehanna River while the food is prepared right before your eyes!

More Events (http://attra.ncat.org/calendar/)

New & Updated Publications

Completing Your Application for Organic Certification
http://attra.ncat.org/calendar/new_pubs.php/2009/04/29/completing_your_application_for_organic_

Agriculture, Climate Change and Carbon Sequestration
http://attra.ncat.org/calendar/new_pubs.php/2009/01/27/agriculture_climate_change_and_carbon_se

Equipo para Producción Aviar Alternativa
http://attra.ncat.org/calendar/new_pubs.php/2009/01/09/equipo_para_produccion_aviar_alternativa

Question of the Week

What information can you give me on drying vegetables, specifically tomatoes?
http://attra.ncat.org/calendar/question.php/2009/05/11/what_information_can_you_give_me_on_dryi

Website of the Week

Climate and Farming.org
http://attra.ncat.org/wow/

Ask a Sustainable Agriculture Expert

Submit questions to our professional staff online
http://attra.ncat.org/ask.php

ATTRA Spanish Newsletter

Subscribe to Cosecha Mensual (http://attra.ncat.org/espanol/boletin.php)
(Monthly Harvest), ATTRA’s Spanish-language e-newsletter

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Comments? Questions? Go to http://www.attra.ncat.org/management/contact.html.

Weekly Harvest and ATTRAnews Archives Available Online
(http://attra.ncat.org/newsletter/archives.html)
Digital versions of recent Weekly Harvest and ATTRAnews newsletters are available online. ATTRAnews is the newsletter of ATTRA - National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service.
(http://attra.ncat.org/)

ATTRA - National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service is managed by the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) and is funded under a grant from the United States Department of Agriculture’s Rural Business-Cooperative Service (http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/rbs/index.html). Visit the NCAT Web site (http://www.ncat.org/sarc_current.php) for more information on our sustainable agriculture projects.

Architectural design competition submissions highlight urban agriculture

How far we have come - urban farming entering the mainstream design and planning
world! These urban agriculture submissions would have been unheard of just a few
years ago! (Mike)

Form Shift: an architectural ideas design competition

The Architectural Institute of British Columbia and the City of Vancouver - a jointly-sponsored
open ideas competition.
Over the past 20 years, the approach to community planning, zoning, density, transportation
and housing in Vancouver has yielded substantial improvements. Continued improvement,
however, requires ongoing innovation and creativity. Good intentions need to be
reflected in tangible urban design.

City Farmer worm composting tips

We talk ‘worms’ every day of the week at City Farmer at the Vancouver Compost Demonstration
Garden - “Where can I buys worms?” “How can I get rid of fruit flies?” “Where can
I get a worm bin?” “How much food waste can I add to my worm bin?” and so on.
Lauren answers some of those question in the above six minute video, shot in high
definition at the Garden. All the basics are outlined, so if you’ve ever considered
composting with worms, watch this video.

Building a Food Garden at Portland’s City Hall

City Hall hopes new garden puts food on the table
Food grown in Southwest Fourth Avenue plot will be donated to feed hungry
BY JIM REDDEN
The Portland Tribune
May 5, 2009
Portland Mayor Sam Adams and Commissioner Nick Fish inaugurated a new food garden
on the east side of City Hall at a Tuesday morning ceremony attended by gardeners
and representatives of food banks.

1990 Backyard Compost Video from Metro Vancouver

City Farmer has been promoting home composting at the Vancouver Compost Demonstration
Garden for almost 20 years. This video was created in 1990 by Marianne Pengelly
for the GVRD (our regional government) and shows how we spoke about composting then.

Our City Farmer staff at the time included Gill Elcock, Lorenzo Mele and Susan Ray.

RUAF Update 11 - Resource Centres on Urban Agriculture and Food Security

1. THE RUAF-CITIES FARMING FOR THE FUTURE PROGRAMME
The RUAF Cities Farming for the Future programme ended in 2008 with very positive
results. Activities of RUAF continued in most of the cities in the follow up programme
From Seed to Table (see below). The final report, has been finalised and a summary
can be found at www.ruaf.org soon.

Some of the overall results of the activities that have been implemented over the
past period include:

- Twenty universities and other educational centres that were involved in RUAF-CFF
have taken initiatives to include urban agriculture in their regular programme and
are developing curricula and training modules, using the RUAF training materials
as a starting point. In addition capacity has been built in urban agriculture of
in total 206 trainers from 17 countries of which about one third are women.

(1945) - Radio clip talks about the Victory Gardens at the General Engineering plant,
Scarborough, Ontario.

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All stories here:
City Farmer News [http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102576366714&s=1304&e=001-znEU1edQMBamX1XI5Xj-Vy47D2NscS13JeJZgwqKWo1b-9iFZ2jC9wYSYGox7XII6MAnUojRjH2ceMB4sW6YDdbUt75IY0_aKAr_-0jUQTEr40F3yXlfw==]

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Michael Levenston
City Farmer - Canada’s Office of Urban Agriculture

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