Therefore, I am proposing to start a corGROWna garden. The food produced from it will help feed you and your family if money becomes difficult to come by and at least have a supply of healthy and fresh produce instead of the canned goods you may have stockpiled. However, as we learned in class, biological diversity is important to the health and wellness of an ecosystem. It is also applicable when starting an at-home garden. Even a garden that you grow on your windowsill or backyard is still a small scale ecosystem and therefore you should consider all the aspects of biodiversity while building the garden. The most obvious one is species diversity. When you plant a garden, you should consider planting a few of each plant. Many people start with tomatoes and some herbs, however, try to aim for a few of each variety. Therefore the garden will be both rich and even; if one tomato plant dies then there will still be other tomato plants and if all the tomato plants fail then there will be a different fruit that you can still enjoy. Genetic diversity is difficult for a gardener to control for and often is based on luck. However, fruit forms when plants are pollinated which can be promoted by including some flowers in your garden. Such as in our garden we will be including marigolds to attract bees for pollination but also deter harmful pests such as the horrible Japanese beetles (invasive species). Lastly, it is important to think about functional diversity in a home garden. You may be tempted to spray pesticides or weed killer in the garden, please don’t, as it also kills the good bacteria in the soil that contribute to the ecological cycles. The best thing to do is plant natural pest deterrents, and simply go out once a day to pluck weeds and keep an eye out for insects.
Overall, the goal is to utilize naturally occurring ecosystems to help promote your garden instead of fighting against nature.
The images included are the plans for my family’s garden this year if you would like to take inspiration from it.
Citation:
Images were taken by self, credit to Jordan Wilson for assisting with garden plans
I like how you emphasized how individuals can make a difference while they are at home. In addition, this is an excellent way to supplement canned food with fresh produce. This may also help reduce trips to the grocery store, which promotes self-isolation.
ReplyDeleteThis is a cool topic to consider! I like the idea of starting a home garden and I think it is very important that you mentioned species diversity. While the ecosystems we could be growing are small, diversity is still important.
ReplyDeleteI really like this topic! Social distancing can be hard but growing a garden is a great way to be productive and get outside and interact without or environment, creating little ecosystems in the process.
ReplyDeleteThis was a really interesting topic since we re going through it right now. I also liked how you said we could make a difference while being at home. It was really interesting how you talked about keeping biodiversity in mind with your at home garden.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this topic not only as it interesting but also because of its relevance. The virus has impacted biodiversity in a huge way so we should take advantage.
ReplyDeleteThis is an awesome topic. There are so many things we can't control in the times we're going through right now and not only is this something we can control, it is something positive to do to pass the time and allows us to put our knowledge of ecosystems and biodiversity to use while having countless benefits.
ReplyDeleteThis topic has never crossed my mind before. No one in the media has talked about the potential effects that temporarily growing food has on the current economy.
ReplyDeleteThis was a perfect topic for this blog assignment. My dad has actually started a garden in our backyard. It also relates really well to the topic of biodiveristy.
ReplyDeleteI really like this idea and I also like how you're investing your time into something very interesting and thoughtful thing!
ReplyDeletewhat a neat idea! this is a very good way for people all over to stay outside, acitive and connected! this could go viral and inspire people all over the world!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the thought and research put into this! This is such a relevant topic and a great thing for a blog. I found it interesting how you related it back to class and tied everything together. Also, I appreciate you posting your personal plans. Very cool!
ReplyDeleteThis is a very cool topic in light of all the sad news we have all been seeing about coronavirus. Thanks for sharing what you will be doing with this new information. You tied it back to class very well and explained it all perfectly.
ReplyDeleteThought this was an interesting blog for suggesting turning a home garden into something more useful during these social distancing times. Really liked how you brought up the positives that come from diversifying the vegetables and fruit to grow in the garden and then relating it back to class.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great idea. Not only does it give people a creative project for these unfortunate times, but it also provides a great source of food. I like how you explained that even small gardens are examples of ecosystems and how you suggested to plant several of each plant to promote species richness.
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