First Week

Participating in the Gardening Project has been very interesting. I have been running my own garden in my back yard for the past few years and thought I could be of use to the project. When I first got to the garden, I was surprised by the peculiar way we planned to grow our plants. We were to use Earth Boxes which are an innovative agricultural system in which "soil" (growth friendly medium), fertilizer and other components are placed in a box. This environment makes it suitable for plant growth without being planted in possibly contaminated soil. This system facilitates watering by including a reservoir of water at the base where it is wicked up into the medium allowing for the plants to receive the water and nutrients they need while preventing over-watering. We spent the first few days removing debris from the garden and removing weeds from the earth boxes. This new way of growing plants is very interesting and I'm anxious to see its productivity.