Blog Post #1: Observation

The study area I have chosen is Duggan Community Garden located in Edmonton, AB. Visited in the summer season on July 15, 2020. I was at the site from 12:12pm to 1:03pm. It was 14°C, windy, cloudy and sunny on and off.

Physical description of the area:

The garden is 51.7m² in perimeter and 114m² in area. It is flat, with 15 garden beds, each bed containing different species from the others. Some garden beds were monoculture, but most of them were polyculture. The garden is surrounded by a compost area, grassland with a variety of ornamental trees, a community playground, and street roads. The 5 most common species planted in the garden are the beans (Phaseolus vulgaris), tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum), pumpkins (Cucurbita moschata) carrots (Daucus carota), and lettuce (lactuca sativa). Below are the figures that demonstrates more details of the garden area.

Figure1 : Overview of the study area, which is flat (Duggan Community Garden) with a variety of plant species.

Figure2: Fresh green beans’ leaves with different colour consistency, some are turning yellowish, others becoming dry.

Figure3&4: Pumpkin plants flowering, on the right. However, as can be seen on the left some are starting to change colour, drying.

Figure5: Most grown tomatoes in pots, they are also flowering and bearing fruits.

Figure6: A Bee flying near the flowers.

As seen on the figures above some species have started flowering, especially the tomatoes and the pumpkins. With pumpkins showing relatively large flowers, with different consistency. Some are starting to develop, but others have matured. Unlike the pumpkins, the tomatoes have very small flowers.

The leaves of the plants are all green; however, there is uniformity especially in the beans and pumpkins’ leaves. In one particular garden bed the leaves were green, while in the other the leaves were turning yellowish. This made me ask a lot of questions. To what extent are the beans leaves’ colour affected by the abiotic factors in the surrounding environment? Could it be the different kinds of soil or compost used, could it be the days those beans were planted? These are questions I am looking forward to explore. Some leaves also had holes in them, could it be an indication of insect predators in the area? Could it be a result of the rain and hail that recently fell in this area? To what extent are the abiotic factors in the surrounding environment leading to leaves damage?

I also noticed a cluster of bugs in the area, as well as a few bees. I saw about 3 bees, and they would stick on the flowers for about 10 seconds, then fly away. They were more attracted to fly near the colourful flowers (see figure 6).

Finally, this garden had a number of evidences for human activity in the garden that would have an influence on the growth of plants in the garden. Some indication include the posters in the garden, the compost area, garden beds, and tomato pots.

Questions for a research project

1. To what extent do the abiotic factors in the surrounding environment affect the change in colour of the beans leaves? and to what extent are the abiotic factors in the surrounding environment leading to leaves damage?
2. How is the plant growth such as tomatoes affected by the pot?
3. What are the main benefits of practicing monoculture and polyculture to the environment?