Growing a City Garden OCC by Mel Robarg , fe gran Roce kSHarcourt“Growing a City Garden Ke wl J Ss = foe by Mel Robard illustrated by Frank Rocco fSHarcourt Orlando Boston Dallas Chicago San Diego Visit The Learning Site! www.harcourtschool.comCopyright © by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Requesis for permission to make copies of any part of the work should be addressed to School Permissions and Copyrights, Harcourt, Inc., 6277 Sea Harbor Drive, Orlando, Florida 32887- 6777. Fax: 407-345-2418. HARCOURT and the Harcourt Logo are trademarks of Harcourt, Inc., registered in the United States of America and/or other jurisdictions. Printed in Mexico ISBN 0-15-323229-3 Ordering Options ISBN 0-15-325513-7 (Grade 4 Below-Level Collection) ISBN 0-15-327270-8 (package of 5) 5678910 126 100908 07 06 05 04(Imagine a garden that is green and lush. It is dotted with brightly colored flowers that dazzle the eyes of people passing by. Yet this is no ordinary garden. It grows in a crowded downtown neighborhood, where no one would expect to find a garden. Brick apartment buildings rise all around it. Sounds of traffic fill the air. The sun shines through the haze of a hot summer morning in the city. 2ul( Now imagine people coming upon this garden for the first time. Perhaps a man was hurrying to work and skidded to a stop to admire it. Seeing him stare in amazement, others may also have skidded to a stop. Breathing deeply, they may have smelled the lavender and the other flowers.tl(People who have inhaled the fresh air of the country are reminded of a farm garden. They may notice the many kinds of vegetables and fruits that are growing. Others may notice the lavender color of blossoms and the golden haze of the sunshine on the garden.ti(Gardens with trees, flowers, vegetables, and fruits can be found in small, open spaces in most of America’s large cities. They are known as community gardens. There are forty-five community gardens in San Francisco and about seven hundred in New York City! About two million Americans now take part in a community garden program. The city government often allows people in a neighborhood to grow a garden in a vacant lot. Sometimes people can use a section of a neighborhood park.When people live in a big city, it is often hard for them to meet their neighbors. When people work in a community garden, they get to know their neighbors better. People often form new friendships. Adults learn new skills, and children learn about nature. They feel pride in the beauty of their gardens and the food that they grow. Community gardens can provide food for the gardeners and for those in need. 6u@\When not working in the garden, neighbors may look for other projects to do together. They may clean out their closets, have a garage sale, and donate the money to a local charity. They may play a neighborhood softball game and then have a picnic in the park. People with artistic skills may get together to create a mural on a nearby building. They may paint a mural of their garden!u@ Many people do not realize that vegetables and fruits can be grown in the city. Indeed, they can! One year, a garden in the Canadian city of Vancouver grew all of the following: beans, beets, broccoli, cabbage, celery, garlic, lettuce, onions, peas, peppers, potatoes, spinach, squash, and tomatoes. u@ Suppose your community decides to grow a garden. There are several important things to consider before getting started. The first thing is which available lot will be good for growing plants. 8u@ All plants depend on sunlight. The buildings around a lot can affect the amount of sunlight reaching the garden. Tall buildings can block the sunlight for several hours a day. For this reason, not every lot will be a good choice for a community garden. gOnce you have found a sunny lot, you must consider what the soil is like. The ground in the lot may be too rocky or sandy for planting. Many cities will deliver more soil to the lot, free of charge.u@After the soil is ready, the next step is to choose plants for the garden. To do this, you must consider the local climate. Certain plants that grow well in one part of the country will not survive in another. Some plants cannot live through a winter frost. Others suffer in the summer heat. Some plants need a lot of rain, while too much rain kills others. Many books can tell you which plants grow best in your area of the country.iF Tae Lh H (= ie N es aN Vig \ YO. a \ u(You may also want to ask other gardeners in your area what their favorite plants are. Once you’ve decided on the plants you want to grow, you can buy your seeds.u@You can plant the seeds in the ground or start them in cans or flowerpots filled with soil. You'll have to water the seeds every day. If you plant your seeds in pots, make sure the water can drain out of the bottom of the pot. Soon the seeds will sprout and grow into seedlings, or young plants. If you grow the seedlings in cans or flowerpots, you must plant them in the garden when they start to outgrow their containers. 12u(When you plant seeds or seedlings in the garden, be sure to give them enough room to grow. Leave enough space between them so that their leaves will just touch when the plants are fully grown. (Weeds grow in every garden. They take up valuable space and use food that your plants need. You will have to spend a few minutes a day weeding your garden. In that short time, you will have inhaled your fresh air for the day!u(You can do several things to protect your seedlings as they grow. To protect your plants from cold winter weather, you might build a small “greenhouse.” To do this, cover the plants with clear plastic and tie the corners to sticks that are stuck in the ground. This should keep the plants from freezing. You can also use clear plastic to protect the plants from a cold wind. Be sure to remove the plastic when the weather gets warmer.1@ When the weather is hot, make sure your seedlings get plenty of water. They will not grow very well if they are hot and thirsty! u@ Your plants need to be protected from animals, too. It is a good idea to put up a fence around the garden. You can also cover your seedlings with wire mesh to protect them from hungry birds. You might even try using a scarecrow! 15u( The vegetables and fruits you grow will end up on your dinner table. Your own tomatoes will taste better than any from the supermarket. Your salad greens will be fresher than those in any salad you’ve ever eaten. Imagine how proud your family will feel when guests praise the foods you serve. “We grew them ourselves,” you'll say, “in our city garden!”“Think and Respond l@ What must you do before planting a garden? %Q What problem does a greenhouse solve? 1@€@ What is the main idea of this story? 1@@ How do you think the author feels about communities? l@ Compare a city garden to a country garden. %@ What information did you learn from this story that you might use some day ? 1g oi Green Thumb Work in a small group to plan 3 y aschool garden. Choose plants that will grow in ‘ your climate. Explain your plant choices. ( School-Home Connection Shore this story with ®e5 a family member. Then discuss where you would plant a community garden in your neighborhood.