Community Gardens and Soil Types

I had no idea that there was a community garden located just down the street from campus, but I was pleased to see it. The garden was established through the Macon Roots program. You can visit their website here:

http://www.maconroots.org

They are a non-profit organization striving to promote sustainable food in Macon. The celebrate the use of local food, and help to provide locally grown products to the people of Macon.


One reason why community gardens are so important is because they help provide healthy food options to people who may not have access to it otherwise. In urban areas people tend to rely more on take-out menus and processed food from the microwave because they do not have the space or knowledge to grow their own products or the time to create home-made meals every day. Community gardens help provide people with the tools they need to lead healthier lives, even just by taking small steps.


However, there are also downsides to community gardens that are located in urban areas, such as Macon. Many of these gardens are located in areas that either are or have been subjected to various pollutants and chemicals from the surrounding areas. This can cause contamination in the soil where the fruits and vegetables are being grown. It is important for these areas to be checked for safety and to be monitored closely, because even the slightest contamination can ruin the entire garden and make the products unsafe for consumption.

As part of this lab we also studied dirt, clay, and soil and were asked to research the 12 soil orders. The different types of soil are located all over the world and each possesses unique qualities. While you or I may not be able to tell them apart, environmental biologists have tests that allow them to distinguish between them. The 12 types are:
Gelisols, Histosols, Spodosols, Andisols, Oxisols, Vertisols, Aridisols, Ultisols, Mollisols, Alfisols, Inceptisols, and Entisols.


Of these 12, the one that is found in Georgia is Ultisols.

Tomato Baby

One of our assignments for the semester has been to raise or own "baby", in the form of either a tomato or a sunflower. I chose to attempt a tomato, and I was surprised with how well my baby flourished. Unfortunately, I don't have a working camera to document my the plant's growth, but it has gotten quite tall, to the point that it is unable to stand up without being propped against something. It appears to be suffering lately, with the lack of sunlight available and my occasional forgetfulness in watering it. Hopefully I can actually get a tomato out of it, but we'll see how it goes from here!