Nottingham University Outreach - Dr Jed Long

Jed is a BBSRC funded postdoctoral research associate (PDRA) based in the Centre for Biomolecular Sciences on the main campus of the University of Nottingham. He is studying the molecular basis of Paget's disease of bone with Prof Mark Searle (School of Chemistry) and Dr Rob Layfield (School of Biomedical Sciences). His main research techniques are in the overexpression and purification of proteins for analysis by NMR and related biophysical techniques.

His interest in the Organoponico stems from his mocking scepticism about ideas like moon planting and other such wacky ideas that seem to have no scientific grounding. Having mocked he decided to join Organoponico as an outreach project from the University of Nottingham to bring some scientific rigour to the Hub.

Unfortunately Jed has been banned from using his preferred methods of agrochemicals and resistant crops, instead he has to get everything from a "natural" source. So he is currently trying to find a natural source of N-(phosphonomethyl) glycine) or another inhibitor fo 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase.

It is his belief that growing all comes down to soil condition, nutrition and water, as such he will be making measurements to get some hard scientific facts on the soil condition and will be adjusting it accordingly. He will be using initially a simple kit such as those available to the general public, before moving onto some more specialised measurements which would only normally be available at a commercial soil testing company.

His knowledge of gardening is limited to concrete and a strimmer. With this in mind he is currently learning plant recognition and researching the science behind composting and plant propagation, trying to separate fact from fiction.

His current aims are:

To setup composting facilitied on the site.

To start growing mushrooms.