We need more plants, how do we do it?

[belovelife]

Have you ever thought of planting parks with fruit and nut trees. This would have diversity, and provide food. In big cities with homless people, the food would be gathered before it went bad. And the only drawback would be watering them. Although we water trees that donot produce food already. I know in Eugene, Or there is a park with trees, and all the houses that surround the park have either apple or pear trees. But I only remmeber on fruit tree in the actual park.

[Turtle]

Originally Posted by belovelife

Have you ever thought of planting parks with fruit and nut trees. This would have diversity, and provide food. In big cities with homless people, the food would be gathered before it went bad. And the only drawback would be watering them. Although we water trees that donot produce food already. I know in Eugene, Or there is a park with trees, and all the houses that surround the park have either apple or pear trees. But I only remmeber on fruit tree in the actual park.

I wouldn't be surprised if some of those Eugene parks were once orchards, but you would have to check local historical sources for specifics. The Willamette Valley after all was a main destination for pioneers heading West on the Oregon Trail. Eugene Oregon History

The gathering of the fruit is a good idea, and referred to as "gleening". Some communities organize volunteers to identify fruit trees in peoples' yards and in the parks, and then to go out & pick it when it's ripe for their own use as well as distribution to food charities. Here is a US Government page on the topic: >> Food Recovery and Gleaning Initiative/Contents page

An advantage to planting "native" plants is that they don't require watering once established as they are already acclimated to the local conditions.

[belovelife]

I know in SoCal, even though it is a dessert, peach trees grow well w/o watering (although they produce more fruit w/watering). Our native foods include (but not limited to)
nopales, and its correlating fruit (pricly pear) and the entire palnt is edible.
Then we have yucca where the root and the flowers are edible, and the leaves have many uses.
Then there is fennel but it only grows by rivers.
Then there is a multitude of grains and berries that grow here indigenously, but I can't remember the names. But almost all these are suited for dessert areas, save the fennel.

[Ganoderma]

great points!

turtle, my mention of Ivy was intended for indoor use, i totally agree how bad it can be. actually all the plants i mentioned were aimed at around the house ornamental.

and really good points on native species...ideally thats the way to go, but not always the easiest (and people do like easy)

here is a picture of one of many large douglas fir trees at my grandmothers house in BC canada. the ivy there are about 9" in diameter and go 100+ feet up. its also about 60 years old (the ivy, not the doug. firs). i used to climb up it as a kid. about 30 trees in total like this, but over the years they have been getting people to kill it.

[Turtle]

Originally Posted by Ganoderma

great points!

turtle, my mention of Ivy was intended for indoor use, i totally agree how bad it can be. actually all the plants i mentioned were aimed at around the house ornamental.

and really good points on native species...ideally thats the way to go, but not always the easiest (and people do like easy)

here is a picture of one of many large douglas fir trees at my grandmothers house in BC canada. the ivy there are about 9" in diameter and go 100+ feet up. its also about 60 years old (the ivy, not the doug. firs). i used to climb up it as a kid. about 30 trees in total like this, but over the years they have been getting people to kill it.

Yes; kill the ivy!! Kill it all!!! No really; do kill it as it's shortening the life of those trees and limiting the normal creatures & plants that inhabit Doug Firs & their environs. Over in the Horticultural thread I start a discussion of my own learning & battle with this destructive & invasive plant. I skip on & off of the ivy , but it starts with this post. First step though is to saw through those vines at belly level which will kill everything above the cut. It will take months to show signs of dying, but it receives no nourishment or water from the clinging root-like structures that hold it to the tree. While that's dying, dig up all the roots and dispose of them at a wood recyclers.

If I were not so averse to acquiring material goods, including plants, I might have an inclination to start raising native plants en masse for some manner of distribution. I at one time was caring for over 150 bonsai, many of which I collected in the wild, but it was too much work & I either set them free in the forest or gave them over to adoptive families. Damned if I don't & damned if I do.

[Michaelangelica]

Originally Posted by Ganoderma

that is easier said than done man.....i have tried at my school many times.....and "these kids today" (grandma quote) just don't find dirt and plants as interesting as they used to.
winter vacation again here, maybe its time to try another plant project with one of the classes

I have done some courses with young kids. They seem to divide into two groups the engineers and the plant people.
With the engineers you give them a hose lots of water, tools and set them lose to make the Aswan Dam in the middle of your garden. The other kids like plants with stories or that you can eat or do something with. That might involve tricking another kid into eating a"mild" chilli. ("Bi-Bell" chillies are hot at one end only)

I was lucky having a good teacher who knew all the kids so could handle discipline; that left me to play with the kids. I don't think it would have worked near as well without that.
It is not what you teach but how you teach that is important.

There are plants that smell of chocolate chewing gum, lemons, nutmeg etc. Even medicinal plants like Aloe vera can be given an interesting spin. I usually invent something about red Indians cowboys and curing arrow and gunshot wounds.

Miracle fruit is amazing for everyone if you can get it to grow.

Eventually my kid's Mums'/Parents', who came to collect them (in the 4WD) bought a large piece of plastic, wrapped their child and took them home to hose them down.
The more chaos the better, I thought. When all else fails you hit petty cash for ice-blocks
The end always justifies the means
I am told by Mums I meet occasionally that I have corrupted a few kids, who have their own patch of dirt at home, so that makes me feel good. The parents seem pleased, and often amazed, too.

The group of amazed Japanese school headmasters who happened to visit the school, and had the embarrassed Oz headmaster explain to them that this was "gardening", probably still dine out on the strange people from down under.

i suspect with older kids a bit of rebellion, clandestine gorilla gardening and bucking authority MAY be away of going.
I may get a chance to try out that theory soon, and mean to check out how to make 'plant seed bombs' on the net.

[Ganoderma]

that is great michael, really good!

i am growing pumpkins now as there are no pumpkins here and it will add some fun for halloween..maybe give them to the teens so they can go have some pumpkins with their fireworks......i hear ya on the rebellion. but often times it can work as an advantage, cause when ya play into their ego, they think they are cool doing something, and they get more interested, sometimes.

"engineers and the plant people"

i like that. but there seems to be a third group the ones that just sit there and absolutely will not look touch or even talk about it lol.....thumb with their cellphones and wait til they can leave and play computer...hehe.

reminds me of a time we took about 5 students to the river, 3 of their parents got so pissed off at us because its too dangerous. not form drowning or snakes or anything, but because there are too many ghost that live by the river.....sometimes i just dont know what to say, but its a strong belief system here that more often than not seems to specifically gear away from nature


edit about the planting trees in your yard. for anyone with a septic field in their yard, think about the roots! i planted some maples trees in my parents house (mothers day gift when i was a teen). about 8 years later they had to dig up the whole damn yard and take the roots out of the hols in the tanks, which seeped into the yard (sorry mom)...there was many thousands of $. so think about what you plant where if you have that lol.

[maikeru]

Mmm, we need more plants, but how do we do it?

Better use of space, resources, water, management, and concepts of what's acceptable (or edible) and what's not. I cover this in a garden setting in my latest blog post:

Gardening like the Wild - Science Forums

Where I am trying to create what's known as a "forest garden":

Forest gardening - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

One of the goals is to get more edible, useful greenery in the same space as a traditional garden. A similar "forest" or agroforestry concept can be applied to other areas or spaces, IMO, and it can be done with other things like herb, flower, or native plant gardens. Another thing that I am trying to do with certain plants is to create or force them to stack--that is, to take up vertical space or make better use of 3D space rather than letting them be simply 2D or horizontal. I think plants which are very flat or low-growing may not make efficient use of space in most gardens. They're not that much different from lawn grass. In nature, many such plants actually inhabit the forest floor, small nooks and crannies, shady areas, or climb or grow on top of other plants, which justifies their mode of existence. Plants which I think work well are vines, peas and beans, strawberries, etc. I've run across some specialty pots for growing strawberries that use many small pots or openings at different levels or other interesting ideas such as from this hydroponics grower:

TenGreenThumbs Blog Archive Strawberry Tree
TenGreenThumbs Blog Archive Vertical Container Gardening

Also, if you're doing something like a garden pond or water garden, please keep in mind that little green things, like algae, pond scum, and duckweed, do their share to keeping water clean and purifying the air, so long as they don't become invasive or out of control with respect to other plants in the garden.

Edited: Want to recommend that if you like English ivy, like I do, keep them inside and in pots. Can be a very invasive plant, but it won't get outside if it spends its life in a house or a windowsill. In fact, do this with any plant you suspect may outgrow, outcompete, or spread wildly and prolifically out of place. Don't let little things like English ivies run wild in the wild.

[vanamoinen1]

To Ganoderma: nice list of windowsill plants, which I'll add to:

Orchids, esp. Phalaenopsis and Paphiopedilums--these things are like cactuses, frankly--the more you ignore them, the better they grow. The Phals. are fine in relatively low light situations like in offices etc. As to the Paphs, there are species/hybrids for almost every lighting situation. Water them when you remember to and they produce blooms that last for months. Cattleya- and Oncidium-alliance plants are also great picks, although they're so common, I don't focus on them (I like unusual plants as a rule).

If you have a cool greenroom or conservatory/greenhouse, Camellias make GREAT plants that can be brought into the while they're in full bloom so that you can enjoy them--back to the greenhouse or outdoor patio when they've finished.

Brugmansias are also a good pick where you have lots of light--a single blossom fills the room with a very sweet fragrance. Out in Calif, they're grown as outdoor plants and easily become medium-sized trees, but I grow mine in large pots and trim them to keep them about 8' tall.

Pitcher plants to control gnats--fungus gnats are a pain.

Hope that gives you some ideas.

[lemit]

I just discovered this thread. Ganoderma, I assume you're still wanting suggestions for indoor plants, not the kind of plants I grow on my farm?

I'd recommend Norfolk Island pines, miniature roses, and the kind of mix you can get at any grocery store. Also, I'd recommend cherry tomatoes and a miniature herb garden of, say, chives, parsley, and sweet basil.

And don't be afraid of annuals. If you have an outside window box, petunias provide the best bang for the buck, I think. Of course, I grew up in the equivalent of the Nineteenth Century, so my frame of reference is kind of narrow.

I did spend a few summers in the Willamette Valley. My impression of it was that pretty much anything would grow there. We mere mortals maybe shouldn't take advise from that area, any more than from the Gobi desert (or parts of eastern Oregon).

For that matter, a Canadian apartment dweller maybe shouldn't take advise from a Colorado suburbanite who has a farm in Missouri.

Even if I did grow up with a Nineteenth Century orientation, I also grew up in an inquisitive, competitive family, so I tried to grow lots of things. I'd encourage you to do the same thing. Learn from your failures, not from us. Your own discovery, your own invention will be much better than what you can learn by reading what we write.

--lemit