Chapter 4 The Horticulture Industry 117
Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
17. How are farmers markets and CSA plans alike and different?
18. Describe how farms can use community supported agriculture plans to help their
businesses be successful.
19. What are three biological and environmental impacts of plants used in the green industry?
20. What is the outlook for jobs in the horticulture industry for the next decade? What
learning opportunities exist for continuing education in the horticulture fi eld?
Thinking Critically
1. You purchased avocadoes on Monday to make guacamole. The avocadoes are very fi rm,
and the produce clerk told you they should be fi ne until Friday, when you plan to make
the guacamole. You place them on your counter with all of the produce that does not go
in the refrigerator. On Wednesday, you check your avocadoes. They are very soft and the
skin is beginning to darken. What could have affected their shelf life?
2. You live on the coast and have had native turfgrass growing on your property.
However, you would like to grow a new variety of grass that is softer and better suited
for walking on barefoot. The old grass is removed and the new grass, which is sod,
is planted in its place. You have been watering regularly, but you notice the grass is
looking stressed. When you call the garden center where you purchased the grass, you
tell them how much and how often you have been watering. They agree that you have
been watering properly. When they ask you where you live, you tell them you live
on the beach. They say there is nothing they can do to help. What do you think your
location has to do with the suffering of the turfgrass that you purchased and are trying
to establish?
STEM and Academic Activities
1. Science. Identify an insect in your classroom, garden, greenhouse, or at your home.
Determine what the insect is. Will it cause problems or is it benefi cial to plants? If it is a
pest, fi nd a biological predator that can be used to control it. Compare their life cycles.
Why is one the predator or control agent? How did this situation evolve in nature?
2. Technology. Find a local garden (this could be at school, on a farm, or in a local
neighborhood). Measure the garden site and determine the number of square feet
it contains. Record the information and do calculations in a spreadsheet program.
Choose a cover crop that could be grown on this site that would help to amend the soil
(possibilities are clover, alfalfa, and wheat). Determine how many pounds of seed will be
needed for this garden site. Additionally, determine how much this would cost, not only
for the seed but for the labor involved.
3. Engineering. An urban restaurant wants to plant a garden on the roof of the building.
These building structures are called green roofs. When the restaurant owner contacts the
company to modify the building to house the green roof, the owner is told that she must
fi rst contact an engineer. What are three things an engineer would have to evaluate about
the building before a green roof or rooftop garden could be planted?