This is interesting research about plant "foraging" but remember that plants have no brains or physiology that will allow them to stop drinking water.
"Self-watering" works for animal pets but it is a bogus term for plants. Those who use it, identify themselves as not understanding plant science and capillary action.
A University of Alberta research team has discovered that a plant's strategy to capture nutrients in the soil is the result of integration of different types of information.
U of A ecologist J.C. Cahill says the plant's strategy mirrors the daily risk-versus-reward dilemmas that animals experience in their quest for food.
Biologists established long ago that an animal uses information about both the location of a food supply and potential competitors to determine an optimal foraging strategy. Its subsequent behavioral response is based on whether the food supply is rich enough to accept the risks associated with engaging in competition with other animals.
Dunnock on feeder. (Credit: North News and Pictures / Copyright
Newcastle University)
Two of the most misinterpreted words I see in my research are "green" and "organic". Many appear to pursue them with messianic fervor rather than logic and reason.
Do wild garden birds know something that many of us are missing? Why are they no longer shopping at Whole Foods? Had you noticed?
The nutritional benefits of organic food have been called into question by new research which shows wild garden birds prefer conventional seed to that which has been organically- grown.
A three-year study by Newcastle University has found that wild birds are not swayed by the organic label, but instead prefer the more protein-rich, conventional food that will help them to survive the winter.
ScienceDaily (May 4, 2010) — DNA testing of garden ferns sold at plant nurseries in North Carolina, Texas, and California has found that plants marketed as American natives may actually be exotic species from other parts of the globe.
The following is an excerpt from "News By The Bay". It is the PTO newsletter of the Bay Haven School of Basics Plus in Sarasota, Florida.
Wouldn't you like to get information like this about what your kids are learning in a school that understands what a 21st century school "garden" is all about. It's part of their science lab. It isn't about shovels, hoes and dirt.
News from the Bay Haven Science Lab
From onion cells to anemometers Bay Haven’s Science Lab has been filled with activity over the past few weeks.
In the coming weeks all students will participate in planting an Earth
Box with their class. Earth Boxes are container gardens which were
invented in Bradenton, FL as a way to conserve water resources and grow
food efficiently in Florida’s climate.
We will grow organic greens and
vegetables provided by Jessica’s Stand Organic farm, operated by former
Bay Haven parent and organic farmer, Bill Pischer. Special thanks to
Heather Brown, T. Ramsey, Jana Hoefling, Ann Sundberg, and Holly Cita
for consulting with and coordinating this project. Thank you also to all
of the volunteers who will assist with the planting in the coming
weeks.
If you are a school principal, teacher or parent you should know about year-round sub-irrigated planter (SIP) gardens like the EarthBox. You can use SIPs outdoors during the summer and indoors year round to create school gardens at modest cost.
Don't let the dirt-huggers tell you that you need to rototill the lawn or break up paved surfaces to have a very productive school garden. Our greatest need in the city is to educate future scientists rather than dirt farmers.
Teachers who are trained in the use of SIPs can use these systems to do a much better job of teaching plant science and environmental topics. This is particularly true as related to the urban built environment where land is scarce and often contaminated.
I am happy to announce that we received a small grant from the Consortium to Lower Childhood Obesity (CLOCC) of $1,336 to implement a project- “Project G.R.O.W. (Gardening to Reduce Obesity and promote Wellness). We have targeted the 5th grade, who are receiving nutrition classes from Sts. Mary & Elizabeth Medical Center. Ms. Nunez and Diaz have agreed to implement the project. With the funds, we will purchase Earth Boxes, soil, plants, and special growing lights to start an indoor vegetable garden in the classroom. We will also have a culminating event where we will take the students and their parents to The Kids Table to cook a healthy meal using the vegetables they harvest. We are very excited about this project and hope to replicate it in other grades if it is successful.
Gloria Román, Ed.D.
Principal
Ana Roqué de Duprey Elementary
Plant science is a significant part of my daily blogging beat. Much of what I read in my routine research is rather appalling. What is particularly disturbing is that most of what I read is the output of Extension educators and garden writers who are supposedly well educated in plant science.
We clearly have too many writers who do not understand basic plant physiology and physics basics such as capillary action. No one who is well grounded in plant science should be comfortable calling a planter "self-watering". It is revealing when they do. If this is a commentary on the quality of teacher education, what does it say about the education of those who follow them?
Here is something we can all do to help improve the situation. Today is National Lab Day. Give a kid a soda bottle SIP. It's a good start on a path leading to better plant science in America. In the process you'll also teach them environmental awareness by demonstrating such a beneficial example of upcycling and recycling.
According to several educational research studies the United States is
falling behind other countries in math and science achievement by middle
school and high school students. Now, there's a push by several U.S.
federal government agencies -- including the US space agency NASA -- to
create programs that will encourage students to study for careers in
science and technology.
Sub-irrigated planters called SIPs teach the scientific method for growing all plants whether edible, decorative or for science experiments.
We clearly need more plant science taught in labs in schools and fewer school gardens in the dirt outside.
A far better solution than a dirt garden is the program we implemented at PS 102 across the street from where I live. I donated a light garden for year round plant science education and 15 bucket type SIPs for use outdoors in the garden adjacent to the school.
With the use of SIPs, there is no need for breaking paved surfaces or plowing land. All that is needed is space with adequate sunlight.
I also recommended that the school join The Growing Connection EarthBox program, which they did. The EarthBoxes were recently planted. PS 102 now has a comprehensive year-round plant science program.
With tools like these, they will start learning about plant science and the modern world around them at an early age. As most kids do, they will play in the dirt on their own time.
What is your kids school doing? Hopefully it is not wasting money breaking up concrete, asphalt or plowing the back forty to make a dirt garden when it isn't necessary.
What is a "hidden mysteries of plants - their roots!" to clay pot gardeners is an everyday sight to growers smart enough to grow plants in clear planters like these recycled pop/soda bottle planters.
As these photos demonstrate, plant roots do not have an aversion to light. It is an urban myth and a horticultural myth. Ah, sweet mystery of (plant) life.
There is no better way to learn and teach plant science and physiology than growing plants in clear sub-irrigated planters (SIPs) like these. You can clearly see the condition of the plants root system and the status of soil moisture. It is no mystery with these planters.
Opaque clay and plastic pots are plant killers in the hands of many neophyte gardeners because of the vitally important "hidden mysteries".
Following is the "hidden mysteries" excerpt from my email inbox.
Science teacher Ann Cruickshank, in Bradenton Florida, has discovered that sub-irrigated planters like the EarthBox help her teach “good science”. She uses them as a teaching aid not just outdoors but in her classroom.
Unlike in-ground gardening, the EarthBoxes are portable so that they can be growing plants the year round regardless of the season.
Louise R. Johnson Middle School, Bradenton, Florida
I am a 6th grade science teacher and have been using the Earthboxes with my students for a number of years. The students have loved growing and harvesting the vegetables. This year, however, I used the Earthbox curriculum to supplement my teaching and it was wonderful.
It is based on good science and is very teacher friendly. I would highly recommend it to other teachers.
