Urban agriculture quiz 1

Food Insecurity

13% Worldwide, 7% Canada

Global food supply chains

Cheap, abundant, energy dense. Disadvantage to local farmers. Does not benefit local economy.

Urban agriculture

Growing of plants and the raising of animals in and around urban centres. Interacts with the urban ecosystem.

Urban ag V Rural ag

Urban agriculture is integrated into the urban economic and ecological system. It interacts with the urban ecosystem.

Who is involved in urban agriculture

Homeowners, communities and schools, government programs, small businesses.

Where urban agriculture is practiced

Within the city itself or in suburbs, outskirts urban centers, rural towns.

Scale of urban agriculture

Involves individuals, families, cooperatives, commercial opportunities. People involved determine size of operation like size of land, resources, and degree of intensification.

What grows in urban agriculture

Different types of plants, animals, and non food products like medicinal herbs, flowers, ornamentals.

Underlying principles of urban agriculture

Integrated food and agriculture system, economic and environmental sustainability.

How urban agriculture contributes to food security directly

Access to more food calories, access to nutritionally important foods, access to culturally important foods.

How urban agriculture contributes to food security indirectly

Source of income, releases income for other uses.

Urban agricultures impact on improving health outcomes

Access to nutritious whole foods, increased awareness and involvement with food choices, physical and mental health benefits.

How urban agriculture contributes to communities

Overcome social boundaries, increases sense of social responsibility, community building, educating the next generation on how to produce their own food.

Information needed about seeds

Species, type, variety, how long to harvest, how it will grow, produce type, produce use.

Greenhouse soil mix

40% topsoil, 40% sand, 20% peat

Peat

Partially decayed vegetation, mainly sphagnum mosses

Dolomitic limestone

Limestone with calcium magnesium carbonate and calcium carbonate. Counter the acidity of the peat and provides nutrients.

RESiLIENCE

Calcium silicate additive. Non-essential for growth, but improves growth of most plants.

Perlite

Form of naturally occurring siliceous rock. Expands to the form used in potting mixes when heated, light, helps with drainage, inert.

Decoding fertilizer

Nitrogen-Phosphorus-Potassium. The number in each spot reflects the % of each nutrient.

Inorganic fertilizers

Can be formulated to be slow-release or readily available for plant uptake.

Nitrogen nutrients

Haber-Bosch process fixes atmospheric N using high heat and pressure.

Phosphorous

Mined from rock phosphate mineral deposits globally.

Potassium

Mined from potash deposits.

Organic fertilizers

Most release nutrients slowly over time. Includes plant or animal based fertilizer like compost, manure, algae. There is a process to become certified.

20-20-20 fertilizer

All purpose, inorganic. Provides both macro and micro nutrients as specified on the label, dissolves in water, apply on a scheduled basis (~2 weeks)

13-12-12

Inorganic, nutrients released slowly, provides macronutrients and some micro nutrients, long lasting (3-4 months.)

6-4-6

Composted turkey manure, granular form, slow release, best incorporated at planting, top dress

2-14-0

Grinded down animal bones, organic, provides some macronutrients and unspecified amounts of other nutrients, similar to slow release, relatively long-lasting, applied as needed.

12-0-0

Dehydrated and animal blood, organic, provides some macronutrients and unspecified amounts of other nutrients, similar to slow release, relatively long-lasting, applied as needed.

Open-pollinated seed variety

Most common, used in both self and cross pollinating species, pollination control → isolation, saved seeds can act like OG variety.

F1 or Hybrid variety

Produced from crossing inbred parents, plant will be vigorous (hybrid vigour), saved seeds will not behave like OG variety.

Heirloom/Heritage variety

Older and traditional variety that has been grown for many years, open-pollinated, proven performance, not as improved as new varieties, may be more genetically variable.

Variety blend

Mix of different varieties, often has heirloom/heritage mixed in, ideal for seed savers to select from.

Self-saved seeds

Can be adapted to your conditions, preservation of genetic resources, know how plants are pollinated, harvest after seeds mature, only keep healthy plant seeds, must be stored properly.

Vegetative plant parts that are not seeds

Tubers, bulbs, crowns, cuttings, divisions.