Module 2 Review Questions

Transcription

1 Module 2 Review Questions These reviews are required if you want to earn a certificate and will help you prepare for the quiz. Please look over the answer key to make sure you answered the questions correctly. However, your answers do not need to be submitted for credit. You might want to read over the review questions before embarking on a lesson to help you hone in on the key points. Planning Your Dream Garden: Design, Pathways, Mulching, Polycultures, and Maximized Yields 1. List four possible materials for your pathways. 2. Don t forget to design a way for vehicles to deliver amendments! What should you keep in mind when designing vehicle access to the garden? 3. Which style of garden bed is preferred for areas with compacted soil and poor drainage? Why? 4. What are the benefts of mulch? 5. What pests are drawn to mulch? What are some plants that are best left unmulched? 6. What might happen if mulch touches the base of plants? How can this be avoided? 7. What are some things to consider when mulching with leaves? 8. What s the problem with planting monocultures (growing a feld of only one crop)? What are the benefts of growing many diferent species together?

2 9. Defne polyculture. What s so wise about those three sisters? 10. List three ways to maximize space in a small garden. 11. List at least fve herbs that can be harvested more than once throughout the growing season. 12. What does it mean to self-sow? List at least fve herbs that may self-sow, depending on your climate. 13. Some plants spread assertively through their roots. Give some examples of plants that spread by runners. What can you do to rein them in? Growing Healthy Soil (Which, in Turn, Grows Healthy Plants) 1. What are the two basic rules of growing healthy soil? 2. What are some forms of organic matter (or rich, brown goodness)? 3. What are the four basic components of soil?

3 4. Defne tilth. Why is good tilth important? 5. What does soil ph indicate, and why is this important? 6. On the ph scale, which numbers indicate that the ph is neutral, acidic, or alkaline? In what range of soil ph do most garden plants thrive? 7. What s so great about organic matter? How do we add organic matter to the garden? Building Soil Fertility: Plant Nutrition and Garden Amendments 1. Why get a soil test? What does a soil test tell you? 2. What are the three primary garden nutrients? Why do we need to continually add these nutrients to the soil? How do we do this? 3. What are signs of nitrogen defciency? What kinds of plants are most prone to nitrogen defciency? List a few sources of nitrogen. 4. What are some signs of phosphorus defciency? How soon will a phosphorus defciency show up in your garden? 5. Why is potassium important? How does potassium defciency afect your plants? List a couple of sources of potassium.

4 6. What should you do if your soil is very acidic? 7. What are some benefts of mulching? 8. What are three things you can do to keep nutrients in your soil? 9. What is leaf mold, and why is it benefcial? 10. Extol the virtues of pine bark fnes. What nutrient will you need to add if you re using a lot of pine bark fnes? 11. List three ways you can apply fertilizer to your plants. 12. What is foliar feeding? How can it be benefcial to plants? What are the drawbacks of foliar feeding? 13. List three herbs that are high in minerals and whose foliage can be used to fertilize the rest of the garden. 14. List three ways to introduce herbal fertilizers into your garden.

5 Botanical Garden Allies: Nitrogen Fixers, Cover Crops, and Dynamic Accumulators 1. What do nitrogen-fxing plants do? (What s their superpower?) 2. Describe the relationship between nitrogen-fxing plants and soil bacteria. 3. Which plant family is widely known for its nitrogen-fxing members? 4. Why do we inoculate nitrogen-fxing plants? 5. What are the benefts of planting cover crops? 6. List two ways that nitrogen-fxing shrubs and trees enrich the soil around them. 7. How does red clover (Trifolium pratense, Fabaceae) beneft the garden? What are its medicinal benefts? 8. What two major medicines are derived from oats (Avena sativa, Poaceae)? Describe the benefts of each. 9. How does alfalfa (Medicago sativa, Fabaceae) beneft the garden? What are its medicinal benefts?

6 10. What are some of the medicinal benefts of fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum, Fabaceae)? 11. Describe the medicinal qualities of licorice (Glycyrrhiza uralensis and G. glabra, Fabaceae). 12. What are the medicinal benefts of astragalus (Astragalus propinquus, Fabaceae)? 13. What are the medicinal qualities of mimosa (Albizia julibrissin, Fabaceae)? What do you need to research before planting this tree in your garden? 14. What is an actinorhizal plant? List a few examples. 15. What is a dynamic accumulator? Give at least three examples. Step-by-Step Guide to Creating a New Garden Bed with Tilling 1. What should you know about your land when planning a new garden? 2. Describe an area that would beneft from initial tilling before creating your garden beds. 3. Lasagna gardening is a form of no-till gardening that builds soil on top of existing soil. What are some instances that call for lasagna gardening?

7 4. What should you do if your soil is relatively devoid of nutrients? 5. What are some possible amendments for well-drained, sandy soils? 6. What are some possible amendments for compacted soils? 7. When would it be useful to add sand to clay soils? 8. After the initial application of fertilizer, how can you continue to feed your soil? 9. What s the advantage of mulching your new beds? In what situation would you avoid mulching? 10. After your garden s initial tilling, will you need to till in subsequent years? 11. What are some advantages to not tilling? 12. Besides tilling, what are some other ways to loosen the soil?

8 Container Gardening Part 1: Vessels, Soils, and Herbs 1. List at least fve reasons to grow herbs in containers. 2. What amendments can you use to increase drainage for plants preferring well-drained soil? 3. What are some considerations when growing arid-climate plants in a climate with high rainfall and humidity? 4. If you live in an area that has cold winters, what can you do with your cold-sensitive herbs over the winter? Will any sheltered location sufce? 5. What are some downsides of container gardening with terra-cotta? 6. How does growing in containers afect the soil diferently than growing in the ground? How can you compensate for this? Container Gardening Part 2: Wetland Medicinals 1. What kinds of vessels are recommended for growing wetland medicinals? 2. What kind of soil should you use for these plants? 3. Describe a good habitat for growing calamus. How is calamus used medicinally?

9 4. Describe a good habitat for growing skullcap. How is skullcap used medicinally? 5. Describe a good habitat for growing gotu kola. How is gotu kola used medicinally? 6. Describe a good habitat for growing stinging nettles. What should you do to keep this herb from spreading throughout the garden?