Urban Gardening
Overview
This resource seeks to equalize access to learning materials that address the subject of human impact on the environment. The design of this resource is structured in a manner that will allow it to be adapted and further destributed. This particular module examines urban gardening, specifically identifying the conditions and vegetation associated with urban gardens in the Southern part of the United States. Specific topics include: Urban Gardening, Identifying Vegetation, Planting, Soil, Sun Exposure, Watering, and Optimal Season Planting.
Getting Started
Module Learning Objectives
- The learner will be able to identify three types of trees that grow in an urban context within the South of the United States.
- The learner will be able to list the steps of planting trees and the skills necessary to help them grow.
- The learner will be able to distinguish between optimal and non-viable seasons for particular vegetation growth in an urban setting within the South of the United States.
- The learner will be able to articulate two ways that they can impact their local environment through climate awareness.
Needed Materials
The learner will need the following materials:
- Tablet, laptop, or other similar device
- Ability to open PDFs, PPTs, and YouTube videos (with audio)
- Writing utensil
- Small sapling
- Soil
- Shovel
- Watering can
- pH testing kit (optional)
- Sunlight meter (optional)
Estimated Completion Time
This module will take learners approximately 45 minutes to complete.
Glossary of Terms
- Acidic Soil: Soil that ranks below a 7 on a PH scale of 1 to 14. Usually referred to as “sour soil” by gardeners.
- Alkaline Soil: Soil that ranks above a 7 on a PH scale of 1 to 14. Usually referred to as “sweet soil” by gardeners.
- Apartment Gardening: The usage of space in an apartment to grow your own food, typically on a windowsill, hanging basket, or shelf.
- Balcony Gardening: A garden consisting of fruits and vegetables grown on balconies or roofs.
- Bare-Rooted: Dormant plants sold without a pot, typically only available during the winter season. Bare-rooted plants should be soaked before potting and never left out to dry. The most commonly found bare-rooted plants are fruit trees, strawberries, roses, raspberries, and asparagus.
- Beneficial Insect: Insects that provide beneficial services to your garden by pollinating or acting as a natural pesticide.
- Biodegradable: The ability of organic matter or material made with organic matter to naturally break down through bacteria or fungi.
- Bokashi Composting: A composting system where inoculated bran is used to ferment food waste into soil and nutrient-rich tea for plants.
- Bolting: When a plant goes to seed, usually indicating the end of new leaf growth. Growing vegetables quickly and efficiently will help reduce the chances of the plant bolting before they produce a sufficient amount of vegetables.
- Clay Soil: Soil is comprised of many grains in a powdered-like consistency that turns sticky when wet. Clay soil helps anchor plant roots in the soil, which is best for many plants that can’t get a firm grip with their roots alone.
- Community Garden: The shared area where community members can come together to grow and harvest plants.
- Compost: A mix of decayed organic matter used as a fertilizer for plants. Anything that grows naturally can be composted. Composting is great to reduce food waste while providing your plants with beneficial nutrients that help them grow.
- Compost Bin: A bin designated for garden and organic waste to form compost.
- Compost Tea: A nutrient-rich liquid formed from soaking compost in water and extracting the liquid.
- Compost Tumbler: A container that can be spun to mix composting ingredients. In the right temperature, season, and right balance between carbon and nitrogen, waste can take up to 3 weeks to fully turn into compost in a tumbler. If the weather is cold or wet, however, it could take much longer.
- Container Gardening: The usage of containers to grow plants instead of the ground. Container gardens are best for their mobility if you can’t start a garden in the ground. Many different plants can be grown in a container garden like blueberries, sunflowers, and winterberries.
- Crop Rotation: The action of growing a range of crops in a sequence on the same soil to prevent soil depletion.
- Cultivar: Types of plants that have been bred, or artificially modified, for certain qualities. There are many types of cultivars including apples, cucumber, onion, pears, olives, and more.
- Direct Seeding: The direct planting of pre-germinated seeds onto the soil surface. Root crops such as parsnips, carrots, and radishes should be directly sewn for better quality, however, most plants don’t need to be.
- Disease Resistance: The ability of a plant to mitigate the damage by a pathogen.
- Espalier: A plant, usually a fruit tree or shrub, that’s trained to grow on a support such as a trellis or a wall.
- Fertilizer: A natural or artificial substance used to increase plant growth and productivity. The fertilizer you use is dependent on the type of crop you’re growing and what nutrients it needs.
- Flower: The part of a plant that possesses the reproductive structures necessary to pollinate.
- Foliar Feed: A nutrient-containing material sprayed to a plant’s leaves. This can help nutrients stick to the leaves and then be absorbed by the leaves.
- Frugal Gardening: The concept of using innovative ways to spend less money when gardening. This can be done by using items that you already have, like containers, and DIY.
- Garden: A small plot of land where fruits, vegetables, herbs, or flowers are grown.
- Garden Bed: A type of gardening in which soil is enclosed between a confining structure.
- Garden Soil Preparation: The preparation of the soil before sowing the seeds. Done by loosening or tilling the soil.
- Gardener: Someone who cultivates and maintains a garden, either by employment or for leisure.
- Gardening: The action of planting, growing and tending to a garden.
- Grafting: A technique used to connect the tissue of two plants so they can grow together. This can be done by making cutting a hole in one plant and placing another into it. This can’t be done with every plant.
- Grass Clippings: The chopped grass left behind (or collected by grass catcher) by a mower.
- Green Manure: Crops that are turned into soil to supply it with nutrients and enhance its quality. Different kinds of legumes, grasses, and wheat can be used.
- Growing Medium: A substance that plant roots use to develop and collect water and minerals. Growing mediums have a few different requirements for best use including holding enough nutrients, providing air space for the roots, and being free of pests and weeds.
- Growing Season: The time of the year that best suits plant growth based on rainfall and temperature. Before growing plants, it’s important to know what season they grow in best, otherwise, your crops may not grow to their best ability.
- Heirloom Plants: Plants grown in remote areas or by ethnic groups. These plants were more common in earlier times and are now only used by ethnic groups.
- Heirloom Vegetables: An ancient cultivar that preexisted before modern farming.
- Herb Gardening: A garden devoted entirely to the cultivation of herbs.
- Homemade Organic Fertilizer: Fertilizer made from organic materials found near the home such as grass clippings, weeds, kitchen scraps, etc.
- Hybrid Plant: The outcome of cross-pollinating two distinct plant types and nurturing the seed produced by the mix. Commonly known hybrid plants include coconut, mandarin, coffee, and much more.
- Hydroponics: The method of growing plants without the use of soil in other mediums such as perlite, rock wool, expanded clay pebbles, or liquid with the required nutrients.
- Indoor Gardening: The practice of cultivating food in your own house.
- Integrated Pest Management (Ipm): A method for dealing with pest concerns while posing the least amount of risk to human health and the environment.
- Intercropping: A technique of cultivating multiple crops in close vicinity. Used for increased crop yields and more easily controlling weeds.
- Lawn Grass: Grass planted over land covered in soil for personal aesthetic and enjoyment.
- Leaf Mould: Produced once the gradual activity of fungus decomposes leaves into soil conditioner. Is most often used as potting mix, mulch, seed compost, and soil conditioner.
- Liquid Fertilizers: A liquid that contains the proper nutrients for plants to enhance growth. It also aids in preventing disease and insect infestations in plants.
- Microgreens: Young vegetable greens produced from vegetables or herbs. They can be harvested within 1 to 2 weeks. Common vegetables include kale, broccoli, and red cabbage.
- Mulch: Used to coat the soil’s surface to minimize frost during winter, maintain soil moisture, and control weeds.
- Native Plant: A plant that has formed naturally in a certain location, environment, or habitat.
- Nutrients: Minerals that give sustenance for development and survival. When a plant takes up water, it absorbs nutrients from the soil through its roots.
- Open-Pollination: When natural occurrences such as wind, insects, people, or birds pollinate flowers. Open-pollination can lead to more variety among plant populations, allowing plants to gradually adapt to local growth circumstances and environment every year.
- Organic Gardening: The action of growing plants without the use of pesticides and artificial fertilizers. Instead of using chemical fertilizer as conventional gardening does, organic gardening use manure and compost to nourish the soil.
- Organic Material: Everything that was once living and then buried in or on the ground. Adding organic material to your garden can help retain water in the soil, allowing you to water less frequently.
- Organic Matter: Substances derived from the remnants of living organisms.
- Organic Soil: A nutrient-rich soil created by the breakdown of plant and animal components. The extra nutrients can aid in reducing pests and disease from affecting your plant, reducing the requirement for pesticides or chemicals.
- Parent Plant: A plant that has pollinated and grew more plants with the same characteristics.
- Perennial Plant: A plant with a lifespan of over two years. Perennial plants usually require low maintenance and are great if you’re looking for long-lasting plants.
- pH: A metric for determining how acidic or basic water is. The soil’s pH is important in determining which fertilizers and nutrients the plant will absorb.
- Plant: A living organism with roots, leaves, and a stem that grows in the ground.
- Plant Growth: The development of a plant in volume and/or mass. Plants growth is best supported by nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium with the right amount of water and sunlight.
- Potting Soil: A mixture of ingredients used to grow plants in pots. Potting soil is different from a potting mix in that it has some dirt in it. It’s beneficial to plants in that it provides them oxygen and extra nutrients.
- Propagation: The procedure for developing new plants from the parent plant. It involves cutting a piece of a plant and potting it. The plant can be grown in either water or soil, but most plants grow best in soil.
- Root Crops: Crops that grow underground from their roots. This includes carrots, beets, parsnips, sweet potato, ginger, yams, and much more.
- Seaweed Extract: Used in fertilizers for extra nutrients for plant growth. Seaweed extract can be found as a liquid or even made at home by grinding dried seaweed and placing it around the plant.
- Seed: Mature ovules used for sowing to develop another plant.
- Seed Planting: When a plant reproduces by the germination of seeds.
- Seedling: A new plant that has been grown from seed rather than a clipping. The seedling is the shoot with a few leaves that have grown after planting a seed.
- Soil: Organic substance traced with minerals that act as a natural substrate for the development of plants.
- Soil Amendment: Any substance used to enhance the physical characteristics of soil. Compost and manure are most commonly used as soil amendment and provide beneficial nutrients.
- Soil Structure: The manner in how particular clay and sand particles are put together.
- Soil Test: The examination of soil to assess certain properties like pH level and nutrient level. Soil tests are important for many reasons including increasing crop yields and reducing contamination from excess fertilizer.
- Sprouts: The germination and development of a plant. Sprouts can be harvested within 3 to 5 days, don’t require any, and are grown in water.
- Transplanting: To import and grow a plant in a different location. Transplanting can be beneficial for quite a few reasons including when you want to start a new garden, when you’re not growing the best tasting fruits anymore, and when your plants stop producing.
- Urban Gardening: The practice of cultivating a variety of plants in an urban setting. They are most commonly grown in containers, so they can be moved and placed around your rooftop or balcony.
- Vegetable: A food-producing plant or component of a plant.
Learning Activities
Warm-up Activity
Before we dive into studying urban gardening, open your Climate Chronicle. This Chronicle will serve as sort of journal for you as you progress through these activities. You will periodically be asked to follow along in or answer prompts in your Chronicle, so keep it nearby.
Urban gardeninig is an important topic, becuase is helps create a more sustainable environment and can help in the fight against climate change.
Urban gardening is the practice of growing plant and tress in urban areas, like cities and towns. It's important because it can help reduc air pollution, provide fresh fruits and vegetables, and create a more pleasant and beautiful environment. Planting trees, in particular, can help reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the air and provide shade to cool urban settings.
Warm-up activity: Open your Climate Chronicle and find the Name That Tree activity. Think of a tree that you know, and draw a picture of it in your Chronicle. Write down any special characteristics that it has, such as its leaves, bark, or fruits. When you're done, turn to your neighbor and show them the picture. Have them guess your tree by your drawing and verbal description. Then switch, and you guess their tree. Repeat the process for a total of three rounds, or six trees.
What is Urban Gardening?
You may have heard about urban gardening in the Climate Change module. It's a strange term that may sound counter intuitive. Gardening- in the city? For most people, when they hear the word gardening, they picture rural, farm settings. But that's not the only place that gardening and argiculture can make a big impact.
Watch this brief video for a quick introduction to Urban Gardening
Trees Native to the Southern United States
In this module, the focus is on urban gardening. More specifically, concentrating on elements of successful urban gardens in the Southern part of the United States. Successful gardening begins with an understanding of the vegetation that is native and thrives in your area (again, the Southern region of the United States). This includes comprehension of the vegetation that has adapted well to the climate and soil conditions in the South.
At the link below, you will find interactive maps as well as a list of different types of trees commonly found in the various regions of the United States. Look specifically at the names of trees that are associated with the Southern part of the United States.
The Diversity of Trees in the US
Accompanying activity: In your Climate Chronicle, write down the name of 4 trees that you found connected to the South. Then head to The Arbor Day Foundation's What Tree is That? (Tree Identification Field Guide). See if you can locate your 4 trees using the online field guide map.
Steps for Successful Urban Planting: Identifing Vegetation
Understanding the steps of planting trees and the skills necessary to help them grow is also an important piece of the urban gardening. This includes understanding the soil quality, sunlight, drainage, and proper watering techniques to support the vegetation.
You've identified trees that are often seen in the Southern region of the United States. Now, it's important to explore how to support the successful planting and growth of that vegetation.
Accompanying activity: Follow along and respond to the prompts in your Climate Chronicle.
Steps for Successful Urban Planting: Soil
Quality soil is a vital piece of any successful urban garden. Having the right soil is necessary for ensuring the growth of your vegetation. The soil needs to have the right nutrients and texture to allow for proper growth. It's important to note the pH level of the soil, to determine if any amendment are necessary to create a healthy and growing environment for the vegetation.
Click here to read Five Tips for Choosing the Right Soil for Your Urban Garden
Steps for Successful Urban Planting: Sunlight
All vegetation needs a certain amount of sublight to photosynthesize and grow. The amount of sunlight required varies depending on the type of vegetation and the region in which it's planted. Too much or too little sun can put vegetation at risk and make the chance of survival less. It's important to align what is planted in an urban garden with the average sunlight conditions in that area. For instance, if you live in Alaska but plant vegetation that needs direct sun, it's unlikely to be successful.
Check out A Gardener's Guide to Sun Exposure in the South.
Accompanying activity: Find the Sunlight Matching Activity in your Climate Chronicle. Match each of the various degrees of sun exposure to its correct definition.
Steps for Successful Urban Planting: Water
A final element to consider when planting an urban garden is the amount of and access to water that your vegetation will need. Trees, in particular, need just the right amount of water to grow. Too much or too little can have serious negative effects on their overall health.
Watering techniques are also important to consider. Treeds need to be watered deeply, but infrequently. This means that watering a tree once a week, for a longer duration will ensure the water reaches deep enough to hit the roots. Other vegetation, like food, flowers, and herbs also have their own unique water requirements. It's important to make sure that the vegetation planted in a urban space will have access to the quantity of water that it needs to thrive.
Accompanying activity: Plant a Tree
Materials:
- Small sapling
- Soil
- Shovel
- Watering can
- pH testing kit (optional)
- Sunlight meter (optional)
Instructions:
- Identify a location in your yard, neighborhood, or town where you could plant a tree. Be sure you have permission.
- Research the types of trees that are likely to thrive in that region. Select the one that is best suited for the space you have available.
- When you're ready, use the shovel to dig a hole that is twice as wide as the sappling's root ball and deep enough so that the top of the root ball is level with the soil surface.
- Remove the tree sappling from its container and loosen the roots a bit.
- Place the tree sappling in the hole and backfill it with soil.
- Water the three thoroughly after planting.
- Check the pH level of the soil using the testing kit and determine if any amendments are necessary in order to create a healthy growing environment for the tree (optional).
- Use the sunlight meter to determine if the tree is receiving the appropriate amount of sunlight for its growth (optional).
- Ensure proper drainage by monitoring the amount of water the tree receives, and adjusting as necessary.
- Water the tree deeply (a long duration), but infrequently, once per week. This will ensure the water reaches the roots.
Bonus: Keep track of the tree's growth over time and share its progress in your Climate Chronicle.
Steps for Successful Urban Planting: Seasons
For all gardeners, not just those in an urban setting, is important to understand the best time of year to plant and grow specific vegetation. This is a critical concept, because it can make or break the success of your garden.
So what is an optimal season for vegetation growth? It depends on the vegetation. An optimal season is when the conditions are ideal for the plants to grow and thrive. Contributing factors include the temperature, amount and intensity of sunlight, and average rainfall conditions. Non-viable seasons, on the other hand, are times of the year where these basic living conditions are not ideal for a particular plant.
In the Southern part of the United States, the optimal season for planting trees and other vegetation tends to be the Spring and Fall. These seasons usually provide the right amount of sunlight and rainfall, along with moderate temperatures, which help the vegetation to grow strong and healthy. Winter is generally considered to be a non-viable season because of its cold temperatures. The summer also tends to be non-viable because it's often too hot and dry.
Accompanying activity: Remembering that planting in an optimal season is key for successful vegetation growth, in your Climate Chronicle, make a list of 4 types of trees, plants, food, herbs, or other vegetation that you might like to plant in an urban garden in your hometown. Then, head to the Planting Calendar. Search for your region and the 4 items you've decided to plant. Use the Planting Calendar to identify the best season for you to plant your urban garden.
Benefits of Urban Gardening
Still on the fence about starting an urban garden? It can be a big project to take on, but never fear- the benefits can far outweigh the costs. From suporting the environment, to fostering community, to growing the economy, the benefits of gardening in urban spaces are plentiful.
Check out the infographic below to learn more about just some of the benefits of urban gardening.
Assessment
Assessment
It's time to show what you learned and earn an Urban Gardener Badge!
Directions: Access the Urban Gardening Module Quiz and answer the six questions that follow. If you receive a passing score of 85% or higher, you'll receive the Urban Gardener Badge to add to your digital badge collection! Be sure to submit your name at the end of the quiz in order to receive credit.
References and Additional Resources
A Gardener's Guide to Sun Exposure
Mini Urban Farm: Urban Gardening Tips
The Arbor Day Foundation: What Tree is That?
The Diveristy of Trees in the US (Mapped)