I am taking a Master Propagator class. We are learning about seed germination, leaf and stem cuttings. What we grow will get sold at the Master Gardener Spring Plant Sale. This is Katherine.

Back at home I started a coldframe, planted potatoes, and setup my own seed germination area.

Conventional systems of food production and urban landscape are making floods worse! Here's why:

Conventional farming relies on tilling and synthetic fertilizers which can destroy the organic materials that build soil structure.  Without good structure, soil loses much of its ability to infiltrate rainwater.

In most urban areas, the prevaling landscape includes mostly chemically maintained turfgrass. With a density approaching concrete, turfgrass is really just a green impervious surface.

All this according to Ray Archuleta, cover crop evangelist and keynote speaker at the Hamilton County Soil and Water Conservation District Annual Meeting.  Are seeds the fertilizer, herbicide, and plow of the future?

In late February, temperatures in Central Indiana warmed to 50 degrees and melted the remains of a heavier than average season’s worth of snow. Then, on the morning of February 28,  we experienced a few hours of extremely heavy rain and hail. 

The impacts on our community were considerable: Roads closed, stream banks eroded, property damaged, basements flooded, schools canceled, and the reservoir turned brown.

Why did Geist Get Hit so Hard?
Suburban areas are particularly susceptible to heavy rains because of impervious surfaces such as roofs, streets, and driveways. Our stormdrains are designed to shed water but can become overwhelmed when the heavy stuff hits. We also have a lot of clay soil. Saturated clay soils, impervious surfaces, and a heavy rain are not a great combination.

Want to see more carnage? Check out my homework assignment from watershed leadership academy.

Getting many yields from one element in a system.

For example, a tree provides shade, food, recreation, shelters wildlife, producees mulch and building materials, is a wind break, fertilizes the soil, prevents erosion, fuels a fire, and raises the water table. (source)