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==Urban Soil==
==Urban Soil==
Urban soils are often either paved over and not available or they are heavily contaminated.<br />
Options for getting access to soil includes:
*remediating soil, using mushrooms or vegetation to turn brown soils into productive restored soils.
*creating soil, by composting food scraps.
*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===
===Hydroponics===


==References==
==References==
<references/>
<references/>

Revision as of 17:06, 29 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]

System Design

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Lighting

Lighting is either:

  • Full sun = 6 to 8 hours of sun per day
  • 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]

Urban Soil

Urban soils are often either paved over and not available or they are heavily contaminated.
Options for getting access to soil includes:

  • remediating soil, using mushrooms or vegetation to turn brown soils into productive restored soils.
  • creating soil, by composting food scraps.
  • 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]

Hydroponics

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.
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