Food gardens for a changing world

Cover......Page 1
Food gardens for a changing world......Page 4
Copyright......Page 5
Contents......Page 6
Acknowledgments......Page 12
Introduction......Page 14
I.2. Key Ideas for Understanding Food Gardens in an Ecological Context......Page 16
I.3. Key Ideas for Understanding Food Gardens in a Social Context......Page 18
I.4. How this Book is Organized, and how to Use it......Page 20
 I.5. References......Page 21
PART I STARTING AT THE BEGINNING: GARDENS AND THE BIG PICTURE......Page 22
1 What can Food Gardens Contribute? Gardens and Wellbeing......Page 24
1.1 Diet and Nutrition......Page 26
1.1.1 Garden foods can provide compounds important for health......Page 28
1.1.2 Fresh fruits and vegetables can replace unhealthy foods......Page 29
1.1.3 Flavor from the garden......Page 35
1.2 Physical Activity......Page 36
1.3 Psychological and Social Benefits......Page 37
1.3.2 Positive effects of experiences in the garden......Page 38
1.4.1 Gardens supporting healthy environments......Page 39
1.5 Economic Benefits......Page 40
1.5.2 Savings through direct consumption......Page 41
1.5.3 Increased income or trade value......Page 42
1.6.1 Gardens reinforcing inequity......Page 43
1.7.1 Nutrition and physical activity......Page 44
 1.8. References......Page 45
Appendix 1A Nutrients and energy in garden foods......Page 53
References......Page 56
2.1 Change: Is it Variation or a Trend?......Page 58
2.2 Critical Resources are Becoming Scarcer......Page 61
2.3 Anthropogenic Climate Change is Happening......Page 62
2.3.1 Climate change and plants......Page 63
2.3.2 Trends in temperatures and precipitation......Page 64
2.4 Inequity......Page 66
2.5 Who we are: Demographic Trends, the US Example......Page 68
2.6 Summary Tables of Major Changes......Page 69
2.7.2 Climate......Page 73
 2.8. References......Page 74
3.1 From Vulnerability to Resilience......Page 80
3.1.1 Coping......Page 84
3.1.2 Adaptation and mitigation......Page 85
3.1.3 Vulnerability and resilience......Page 86
3.2.1 Formal science, local science, community science......Page 87
3.2.2 Observation......Page 89
3.2.3 Informal experiments......Page 91
3.3 Working Together......Page 92
3.4.2 Experiments......Page 94
3.4.3 Working together......Page 95
1 Formal garden experiments to test hypotheses......Page 99
2 The challenge of variation......Page 101
3 Data collection......Page 105
4 Data analysis and interpretation......Page 106
References......Page 111
 3.5. References......Page 96
PART II STARTING THE GARDEN......Page 112
4 Garden Placement......Page 114
4.1.1 Location and orientation......Page 115
4.1.2 Light......Page 119
4.1.3 Temperature......Page 122
4.1.4 Flow: Air circulation and drainage......Page 124
4.2 Historical and Social Contexts– Environmental Justice and Garden Placement......Page 125
4.2.1 Contamination......Page 126
4.2.2 Land access and tenure......Page 130
4.3 Resources......Page 132
4.3.2 Cold frames......Page 133
 4.4. References......Page 134
5.1 The vascular system in plants......Page 138
5.2 Plant growth and flowering......Page 140
5.3 Roots......Page 143
5.4 Photosynthesis and respiration......Page 145
5.5 Transpiration......Page 149
5.6 Plant responses to drought and heat......Page 150
5.8.1 Daylength requirements......Page 152
5.8.2 Temperature requirements......Page 153
5.9.1 Plants......Page 156
 5.10. References......Page 157
6.1 Seed quality, germination and dormancy......Page 162
6.1.1 Testing seed germination and vigor......Page 164
6.1.2 Seed dormancy......Page 166
6.2.1 Preparing the seeds......Page 167
6.2.3 Planning planting density and diversity......Page 168
6.2.4 Planting the seeds......Page 170
6.3.1 Watering......Page 171
6.5 Starting garden plants in nursery beds and containers......Page 172
6.6.2 The transplant......Page 176
6.6.3 Water......Page 178
6.7 Vegetative propagation......Page 179
6.8 Pruning......Page 181
 6.10. References......Page 183
PART III GARDEN MANAGEMENT......Page 186
7 Soil, nutrients, and organic matter......Page 188
7.1.1 The soil profile......Page 189
7.2.1 Soil texture......Page 190
7.2.2 Soil structure......Page 191
7.3 Soils and plant nutrition......Page 192
7.3.1 Soil pH and plant nutrition......Page 193
7.3.2 Nutrient cycles......Page 194
7.3.3 Soil testing......Page 197
7.4 Nutrient cycles and Anthropogenic climate change......Page 198
7.5.1 Soil organic matter and plant nutrition......Page 200
7.5.2 Gardens and organic matter in an urbanized world......Page 202
7.5.3 Turning lawns into food gardens to fight climate change......Page 204
7.6 Composting......Page 205
7.6.2 Landfills and large-scale composting operations......Page 206
7.7.1 General......Page 207
7.7.4 Composting, vermicomposting......Page 208
 7.8. References......Page 209
8.1 Food’s Water Footprint......Page 212
8.2.1 Basic water soil dynamics......Page 213
8.2.3 Water uptake and transport by plants......Page 215
8.3.1 Water management for water use efficiency......Page 217
8.3.2 Reducing excess evapotranspiration......Page 218
8.4 Soil Water and Garden Yield......Page 219
8.5 How much Water?......Page 221
8.6 When to Water?......Page 222
8.7.1 Piped water......Page 223
8.7.2 Rainfall......Page 224
8.7.3 Harvested rainwater......Page 226
8.8.1 Irrigation efficiency......Page 227
8.8.3 Subsurface irrigation......Page 228
8.8.4 Drip irrigation......Page 229
8.8.5 Salinity......Page 230
8.9.1 Sunken beds......Page 231
8.9.2 Raised beds......Page 232
8.10.2 Climate and weather......Page 233
8.10.4 Irrigation......Page 234
 8.11. References......Page 235
9 Managing Pests, Pathogens, and Beneficial Organisms......Page 238
9.1.1 The long-term strategy......Page 239
9.1.2 Short-term, curative responses......Page 240
9.1.3 Understanding causes vs. managing symptoms......Page 241
9.2.2 Nematodes......Page 242
Fungi......Page 243
 Viruses......Page 244
9.2.5 Other plants......Page 245
9.3 Environmental Management......Page 246
9.4 Crop Plant Choice for Management......Page 247
9.5 Biological Control......Page 249
9.5.1 Plant diversity to control garden organisms......Page 251
9.5.2 Using natural enemies to control pests......Page 252
9.5.3 Microorganism diversity to control pests and pathogens......Page 253
9.5.4 Genetically engineered transgenic crop varieties......Page 254
9.6 Physical Control......Page 256
9.7.1 Botanical and other naturally occurring chemicals......Page 258
9.7.2 Allelopathy......Page 259
9.8 Diagnosing and Managing Pest and Pathogen Problems......Page 260
9.8.1 Systemic vs. localized diseases......Page 262
9.8.2 Seedlings and recent transplants......Page 263
9.8.4 Wilting......Page 266
9.8.7 Fruit problems......Page 268
9.9.5 Chemical control......Page 277
 9.10. References......Page 278
10.1 A Long Tradition of Seed Saving......Page 284
10.2 Biological Diversity in the Garden......Page 286
10.3 Processes Shaping Garden Crop Genetic Diversity......Page 289
10.3.2 Gene flow......Page 292
10.3.3 Selection......Page 293
10.3.4 Genetic drift......Page 294
10.4 Seed Systems: Seeds, Plant Genes, and People......Page 295
10.4.1 Informal seed systems......Page 298
10.4.3 Regional, formal seed systems......Page 299
10.4.5 Conservation of crop diversity......Page 300
10.5 Getting Ready to Save Seeds: Sexual Reproduction in Flowering Plants......Page 303
10.6.1 Seed drying and storage......Page 305
10.6.2 Controlling pests in stored seeds......Page 309
10.7.3 Biology, genetics, and reproduction......Page 310
10.7.4 Seed saving and storage......Page 311
 10.8. References......Page 312
Index......Page 316
Back Cover......Page 328