My group is fascinated with companion planting. Companion planting is the idea that two plants may grow better together, than if they were planted desperately. The is some hard science to the theory, such as the trapping of certain molecules like nitrogen, which better fertilizes some plants. Our group plans to conduct an experiment in relation to companion planting.
Lettuce, which is said to grow well with radishes, will be planted in close proximity to its companion plant.
Another head of lettuce will be isolated from the radishes, but still grown in the same conditions as the former lettuce. Using if not daily, then weekly observations, our group will check for a number of criteria that could determine the effectiveness of companion planting.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Monday, September 21, 2009
Stop Motion Plant Project
For our plant, Lia and I want to photograph the growth of spearmint. Spearmint grows fast so it will be easy to document. We want to grow it outside in one of our house's gardens. The important thing to do will be to take each picture at the same time of day, so that the lighting remains consistent.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Annotated Bibliography
Companion Planting. Golden Harvest Organics. 15 September 2009.
http://www.ghorganics.com/page2.html#SAGE:
A great website with an alphabetical index of plants that can repel pests and work well with other plants.
Dave's Garden. 15 September 2009.
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/zipbyzip.php?zip=92117
This site has a long list of plants that reportedly grow well in San Diego. The list went on for several pages and gave both common and scientific names for the plants.
Rio Rancho Nursery. 15 September 2009.
http://www.rioranchonursery.com/plants-calendar.html
Here I found great tips for what to do with your plants in each month. Every month has a couple listed tasks, from maintenance to replanting.
http://www.ghorganics.com/page2.html#SAGE:
A great website with an alphabetical index of plants that can repel pests and work well with other plants.
Dave's Garden. 15 September 2009.
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/zipbyzip.php?zip=92117
This site has a long list of plants that reportedly grow well in San Diego. The list went on for several pages and gave both common and scientific names for the plants.
Rio Rancho Nursery. 15 September 2009.
http://www.rioranchonursery.com/plants-calendar.html
Here I found great tips for what to do with your plants in each month. Every month has a couple listed tasks, from maintenance to replanting.
Senior Project Blog
Land and Development really peaks my interest. I like the idea that it incorporates population issues with the environment. I think it would be interesting to study and figure out how to use our resources most effectively for the world's population. I would like to focus on deforestation as well, and how it affects the species of animals that are removed from their natural habitats.
Water really interests me too. I find it fascinating that we only use 1% of the water available to us. I always hear about people trying to conserve water, and worrying about it running out. There has to be ways to better access the other 99% percent, and ways to make that 99% beneficial to us in other ways than just the obvious. I mean obviously water is used for cleaning, drinking ect. But what if water was used to power cars entirely? What if water became a source of energy? How quickly could the population burn through water?
Water really interests me too. I find it fascinating that we only use 1% of the water available to us. I always hear about people trying to conserve water, and worrying about it running out. There has to be ways to better access the other 99% percent, and ways to make that 99% beneficial to us in other ways than just the obvious. I mean obviously water is used for cleaning, drinking ect. But what if water was used to power cars entirely? What if water became a source of energy? How quickly could the population burn through water?
Friday, September 4, 2009
Initial Plant Research
Spearmint
I would like to grow and harvest my own spearmint. This type of mint would be nice to put in water, tea, or use as a fragrance.
Sunflowers
My favorite flowers are sunflowers. Growing up my mom grew giant ones in our backyard, and I’ve always enjoyed their unique look.
Lamb’s Ears
I love the way the leaves feel of this plant. Their very soft, and I remember someone telling me that lamb’s ears were used as Native American Band-Aids.
Mint grows in bushes.
When I researched mint (also known as Mentha Spicata) Spearmint grows well in hot weather, in contrast to its cousin peppermint, which grows better in the Winter. Mint just needs lots of water to grow. Spearmint can be grown from seeds, but my sources recommended growing from cuttings. Before planting spearmint, one should consider that spearmint grows rapidly, so an isolated area might be more appropriate. The seeds sprout in 10-15 days, and can grow into full plants within 2 months. It might be a bit long, but I think it would still work for our semester. It was recommended by my sources to give spearmint about 3 feet of space to grow. It is most beneficial to plant spearmint in a mild ph level of soil, somewhere between 6.5 and 7. It normally will grow to be about a foot to a foot and a half tall. I also learned that all mint types attract other organisms. It is common for birds, butterflies, and bees to be attracted to its fragrance. Many of my sources recommended planting mint in a pot, so that it doesn’t take over the area it is planted in. Mint will be easy to grow, because it can handle both shade and sun. The usual pests that are attracted to mint are whiteflies, spider mites, and aphids. Spearmint however is good at repelling ants, which would be helpful to our ant problem in the garden.
As the name suggests, sunflowers are flowers. They are durable plants that favor hot weather, but are able to withstand small frosts, so I’m sure they can handle the climate of NTC. Sunflowers are normally grown from seeds. They take about a week to germinate, up to 10 days. Something interesting about sunflowers is that they always bloom in the direction of the sun; this would be important to keep in mind when planting them so that other plants wouldn’t block out the light. Sunflowers reach maturity in about 70 days, which is I think is do-able for this semester. There are a couple negatives to growing sunflowers. One other thing to keep in mind when planting sunflowers is that they require a lot of space between each other. My sources recommended one foot apart for miniature sunflowers, and two feet for the intermediate. I think it’s a little too ambitious to think I would be able to grow giant sunflowers given the amount of time we have. Sunflowers can grow in soils of ph levels varying from 5-8. Just like spearmint, sunflowers need lots of water. They grow often in fields, so an irrigation system should work fine. An important fact to know about sunflowers is that they attract a lot of different creatures. The websites I looked at mentioned that birds are prone to digging around in the ground for the seeds, as well as other insects and rodents.
Sources:
http://gardening.about.com/od/herbsspecificplants1/p/Growing_Mint.htm
http://www.planetnatural.com/site/xdpy/kb/growing-mint.html
http://myfolia.com/plants/412-spearmint-mentha-spicata
Sources:
http://www.gardenersnet.com/vegetable/sunflowr.htm
http://www.gardenersnet.com/vegetable/sunflowr.htm
I would like to grow and harvest my own spearmint. This type of mint would be nice to put in water, tea, or use as a fragrance.
Sunflowers
My favorite flowers are sunflowers. Growing up my mom grew giant ones in our backyard, and I’ve always enjoyed their unique look.
Lamb’s Ears
I love the way the leaves feel of this plant. Their very soft, and I remember someone telling me that lamb’s ears were used as Native American Band-Aids.
Mint grows in bushes.
When I researched mint (also known as Mentha Spicata) Spearmint grows well in hot weather, in contrast to its cousin peppermint, which grows better in the Winter. Mint just needs lots of water to grow. Spearmint can be grown from seeds, but my sources recommended growing from cuttings. Before planting spearmint, one should consider that spearmint grows rapidly, so an isolated area might be more appropriate. The seeds sprout in 10-15 days, and can grow into full plants within 2 months. It might be a bit long, but I think it would still work for our semester. It was recommended by my sources to give spearmint about 3 feet of space to grow. It is most beneficial to plant spearmint in a mild ph level of soil, somewhere between 6.5 and 7. It normally will grow to be about a foot to a foot and a half tall. I also learned that all mint types attract other organisms. It is common for birds, butterflies, and bees to be attracted to its fragrance. Many of my sources recommended planting mint in a pot, so that it doesn’t take over the area it is planted in. Mint will be easy to grow, because it can handle both shade and sun. The usual pests that are attracted to mint are whiteflies, spider mites, and aphids. Spearmint however is good at repelling ants, which would be helpful to our ant problem in the garden.
As the name suggests, sunflowers are flowers. They are durable plants that favor hot weather, but are able to withstand small frosts, so I’m sure they can handle the climate of NTC. Sunflowers are normally grown from seeds. They take about a week to germinate, up to 10 days. Something interesting about sunflowers is that they always bloom in the direction of the sun; this would be important to keep in mind when planting them so that other plants wouldn’t block out the light. Sunflowers reach maturity in about 70 days, which is I think is do-able for this semester. There are a couple negatives to growing sunflowers. One other thing to keep in mind when planting sunflowers is that they require a lot of space between each other. My sources recommended one foot apart for miniature sunflowers, and two feet for the intermediate. I think it’s a little too ambitious to think I would be able to grow giant sunflowers given the amount of time we have. Sunflowers can grow in soils of ph levels varying from 5-8. Just like spearmint, sunflowers need lots of water. They grow often in fields, so an irrigation system should work fine. An important fact to know about sunflowers is that they attract a lot of different creatures. The websites I looked at mentioned that birds are prone to digging around in the ground for the seeds, as well as other insects and rodents.
Sources:
http://gardening.about.com/od/
http://www.planetnatural.com/
http://myfolia.com/plants/412-
Sources:
http://www.gardenersnet.com/
http://www.gardenersnet.com/
Curiosity in the Natural World
What is one thing in the natural world you are curious about?
I am curious about how to garden. I would love to be confident in my skills to grow my own flowers/plants. I'm not huge on organic food. I think it costs more and tastes worst, so I'm not particularly interested in growing vegetables. If I had a garden, I would want it to be for aesthetics. I guess I would think of it as a large scale art project. While the idea of sitting out in the sun with bugs crawling on me and dirt on my clothes isn't very appealing, the end product of different flowers that I selected and helped mature is appealing.
I am curious about how to garden. I would love to be confident in my skills to grow my own flowers/plants. I'm not huge on organic food. I think it costs more and tastes worst, so I'm not particularly interested in growing vegetables. If I had a garden, I would want it to be for aesthetics. I guess I would think of it as a large scale art project. While the idea of sitting out in the sun with bugs crawling on me and dirt on my clothes isn't very appealing, the end product of different flowers that I selected and helped mature is appealing.
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