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====Options for Soil:====  
====Options for Soil:====  
*remediating soil, using mushrooms or vegetation to turn brown soils into productive restored soils.  
*remediating soil, using mushrooms or vegetation to turn brown soils into productive restored soils.  
*creating soil, by composting food scraps, adding peat moss, and aged saw dust.   
*creating soil, by composting food scraps, adding peat moss, and aged saw dust.  You can add this soil to containers or to raised beds.
*hydroponics, going without soil and placing plant roots instead in a water with added nutrients needed for growth.  This can be a bit trickier since soil contains a variety of properties still not completely understood by science and thus not easily repeated in nutrient mixes.<ref> Fern Marshall Bradley, Barbara W. Ellis. Rodale's All-New Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening: The Indispensable Resource for Every Gardener.  Rodale, 1993. Pg 704. </ref>  
*hydroponics, going without soil and placing plant roots instead in a water with added nutrients needed for growth.  This can be a bit trickier since soil contains a variety of properties still not completely understood by science and thus not easily repeated in nutrient mixes.<ref> Fern Marshall Bradley, Barbara W. Ellis. Rodale's All-New Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening: The Indispensable Resource for Every Gardener.  Rodale, 1993. Pg 704. </ref>


====Response to Soil Contaminants:====
====Response to Soil Contaminants:====

Revision as of 00:23, 30 September 2010

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Intro

The benefits of urban gardening include adding: educational, food providing, therapeutic, and community strengthening green spaces. Urban gardens differ from their rural counterparts by usually benefiting from : a frost free season as well as an extended growing season for one month due to the urban island heating effect, a reduced number of predatory wildlife (like deer, coyotes, and moles), as well as increased incentive for creativity within the smaller space. However at the same time urban gardens have different obstacles than their rural counterparts. Some of these obstacles include: confined spaces, bocked sunlight, poor soil, unreliable water access, soil and air pollution, as well as theft, vandalism, and politics to further complicate things. [1] In response to the problems faced with blocked sunlight,confined spaces, and poor soil Sembradores Urbanos has contructed a Hydroponic Vertical Garden. This is one project in a series of urban gardening projects at Sembradores Urbanos.


Background

Vertical gardening helps you make the best of the light you have and optimize on the vertical space available in condensed areas. Traditionally vertical gardening includes trellising, terracing, or tumbling. [2]


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Hydroponic Garden.jpg

Lighting

Lighting is either:

  • Full sun = 6 to 8 hours of sun per day. In warm climates some plants only need 6 hours, while in cold climates they need 8hrs.
  • Partial sun = direct sun for a shorter period or dappled sun through the leaves of an overhanging tree.
  • Full shade = sunless conditions

Plant preferences for lighting:

  • Tomatos and cucumbers want full sun
  • Beans and peas can do with any where from full sun to partial sun
  • Root vegetables like radishes and potatoes can do with partial sun
  • Leafy greens like spinach and chard can deal with very little sun
  • Onions like full light for mature bulbs, but scallions (or baby onions) can be grown in less light. [3]

Designing with Light in Mind

  • Know how much sunlight your garden gets and what areas receive more.

This means being patient and watching, take one day to record how the sunlight shifts over your garden. Draw a simple sketch of your garden and break up your garden into a graph, with separate sections. Write down how many hours and minutes of direct sunlight each section receives. At what time does your garden receive the light? You can get as specific as you want, but at least find out if your garden gets more sunlight in the morning or in the afternoon and roughly where. This will help you organize your plants in those areas with the needed sunlight availability. [4]

Location of Garden

The best location for a garden is on the south or west side of a house or building, where the sun is more prevalent. If some part of your garden space is too shady you can place your compost pile or chicken and duck pen there.


Urban Soil

Urban soils are often either paved over and not available or they are heavily contaminated. They are often compacted, clayey, and contain a high metal content.

Common Soil Contaminants

(high levels of...):

  • lead
  • cadmium
  • mercury

Options for Soil:

  • remediating soil, using mushrooms or vegetation to turn brown soils into productive restored soils.
  • creating soil, by composting food scraps, adding peat moss, and aged saw dust. You can add this soil to containers or to raised beds.
  • hydroponics, going without soil and placing plant roots instead in a water with added nutrients needed for growth. This can be a bit trickier since soil contains a variety of properties still not completely understood by science and thus not easily repeated in nutrient mixes.[5]

Response to Soil Contaminants:

  • Reduce the amount of lead that plants absorb by adding mulch and organic mater.
  • Grow food plants away from the road to prevent plants from taking up lead.
  • Keep pH higher then 6.7 to prevent plants from absorbing lead. [6]


Hydroponics

System Design

Hydroponic Garden3.jpg


References

  1. Fern Marshall Bradley, Barbara W. Ellis. Rodale's All-New Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening: The Indispensable Resource for Every Gardener. Rodale, 1993. Pg 704.
  2. Ruppenthal, R. J.Fresh Food from Small Spaces: The Square-Inch Gardener's Guide to Year-Round Growing, Fermenting, and Sprouting. Chelsea Green Publishing, 2008.
  3. Ruppenthal, R. J.Fresh Food from Small Spaces: The Square-Inch Gardener's Guide to Year-Round Growing, Fermenting, and Sprouting. Chelsea Green Publishing, 2008.
  4. Ruppenthal, R. J.Fresh Food from Small Spaces: The Square-Inch Gardener's Guide to Year-Round Growing, Fermenting, and Sprouting. Chelsea Green Publishing, 2008.
  5. Fern Marshall Bradley, Barbara W. Ellis. Rodale's All-New Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening: The Indispensable Resource for Every Gardener. Rodale, 1993. Pg 704.
  6. Fern Marshall Bradley, Barbara W. Ellis. Rodale's All-New Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening: The Indispensable Resource for Every Gardener. Rodale, 1993. Pg 704.
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