MAX FACTS GROWING TIPS, NEWS AND TRIVIA
Tax Breaks for Urban Growers
In a bid to reduce urban blight and give more people access to fresh produce, Los
Angeles County officials want to give tax breaks to property owners who turn
vacant lots into community gardens. The county’s Board of Supervisors recently
took first steps towards implementing a state law that allows local governments
to create urban agriculture incentive zones and lower taxes on plots of 3 acres
or less if the owners agree to dedicate them to growing food for at least five
years. The LA County assessor’s office has determined that 56,950 parcels
throughout the county could be eligible, including 7,991 in unincorporated
areas. For properties in cities, the local city council would also need to vote to
adopt the program.
(Source: latimes.com)
Can Eating Too Many Bananas Kill You?
Bananas are one of the world’s most popular fruits, so why do some people think they could be fatal? One wellknown figure who has spread this idea around is Karl Pilkington, a friend of comedian Ricky Gervais, who once
said that eating more than six is bad due to the fruit’s high potassium levels. Potassium is crucial for survival and
can be found “within every single cell of the body,” says Catherine Collins, a dietitian at St. George’s Hospital in
London. If potassium levels are too low or too high, it can result in an irregular heartbeat, stomach pain, nausea
and diarrhea. Potassium chloride is even one of the chemicals used in lethal injections in the US. But for a healthy
person, “you would probably need to eat around 400 bananas a day to build up the kind of potassium levels that
would cause your heart to stop beating,” says Catherine.
(Source: bbc.com)
Highway Billboard Grows Organic Lettuce
A highway billboard in Lima, Peru, is bringing urban agriculture to the next level. In the
Bujama region, thousands of lettuce heads are sprouting next to a major highway thanks
to a very unusual source: a billboard. FCB Mayo Peru and the University of Engineering
and Technology have come up with the Air Orchard billboard, which can generate pollutionfree produce. The concept is simple: sitting behind the billboard’s panel are 10 large
dehumidifiers that draw in water from the air and turn it into potable water. This water
then drips down a series of PVC tubes that are coated in nutrients. The tubes are white to
reflect the sun’s rays and boost photosynthesis. In addition to growing lettuce, the billboard
produces 96 L of drinking water per day to provide for the surrounding community.
(Source: ecowatch.com)
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Maximum Yield USA | December 2015