Concrete becomes a laboratory for life. A seedling pushes through the crust of the earth. Tension of the city vanishes as the first pair of leaves catches the glow of the afternoon. The reality is, the soil doesn’t care if you wear a suit or a bathrobe while you plant the seeds for your dinner.
Roots expand inside the bucket of resin.
Walls of plastic hold the heat from the sun of the noon. Moisture stays near the bottom of the container. Gravity acts as the gardener. Look, I’ve been there, staring at a blank wall until the sight of a vine of the cucumber climbing a string of twine reminded me that progress moves at its own pace without asking for permission from a clock.
Air circulation prevents the growth of mold.
Use a fan of paper. Let the breeze from the window keep the air moving over the stems. Stalks grow thicker when the wind pushes against the bark. To be fair, a storm is just a workout for a plant that wants to stand tall against the weight of its own harvest.
Mycorrhizal fungi create a web under the surface of the peat moss.
These organisms exchange sugar for phosphorus with the roots of the plant. Success involves a partnership between the spores in the dirt and the light in the sky. Nutrients move through the stems like water through a pipe while you sleep on a mattress of cotton.
Behind the Scenes
Microbes in the soil produce a chemical called geosmin.
The human nose detects this scent at concentrations of five parts per trillion. This explains why the smell of a garden on a balcony after a rainstorm provides a sense of serenity. Data regarding the cooling of the city through the use of plants can be found at epa.gov and fao.org.
This might be surprising
Plants communicate through signals of chemistry in the air.
A bush of the tomato warns its neighbors when a caterpillar arrives by releasing molecules called volatiles into the atmosphere. The defense systems of the foliage activate before the insect even touches a leaf. But here’s where it gets weird, the plants actually recruit predators from the world of insects to eat the pests by sending out a distress signal that functions like a dinner bell.
Research on the communication of the flora can be found in studies from the Max Planck Institute. Additional information on the impact of bacteria in the soil on the mood of the human brain can be found at sciencedaily.com. Look up the case study on the “Hanging Gardens of Mumbai” for examples of food production in limited zones of the city.
