CCEOLL01: mtleland

Discussion Forum on Systems Thinking

mtleland

It seems as though it would be common knowledge that everything is interconnected. I'm very interested in learning the life cycles of various plants, especially when flowers bloom, so I can have continuous color balance in my gardens. I know that different colors and different heights and textures would go well together, but I want to learn more about how plants relate to each other as far as helping each other flourish.

As I'm learning about soil, it all makes sense that there's the cycle of growth and decay that creates soil. If we put too much phosphorus or nitrogen fertilizer in the soil, and it runs off into the water supply, then we have algae bloom and the water is unhealthy to use for plants or animals. It was interesting to see in one of the videos that Miracle-Gro has a high phosphorus content. I was warned about using that a while ago, although I didn't know the reason why before. It's still a prominent commercial brand, just like Round-up and the other poisons that people spray on their lawns. It makes me mad to see people be so short-sighted that they prefer cancer to dandelions. Then I use my anger to fuel an energetic spate of weeding.

I want to learn more about the interconnectedness between flowers and vegetables, particularly which ones benefit each other by warding off pests. I've known that hot peppers and marigolds can deter bugs, but would like to know what others there are available.

As for the Habits of a Systems Thinking diagram -- I am curious to know what purpose it was created to serve. If the pictures were replaced by bullet points, it could be one of those bewildering job descriptions on a corporate or private college website. Like some of the material in the first module, its jargon and earnestness make it difficult for me to recognize as something applicable to my daily life. I understand a habit as being a repetitive action like drinking coffee or tea or taking the stairs instead of the elevator. However, "recognizing the impact of delays when exploring cause and effect relationships?" That sounds like something on a manufacturing employee evaluation form.

I'm not reallly sure I've answered the question correctly but yes, I definitely understand that everything is connected in a garden.

I just wanted to add that I could probably clear up any questions and confusion I have about the Systems Thinking material if I take more time to find its original source. The link was broken but I can do a search. I definitely have to explore this concept more, as much as some of the jargon irritates me, but really just wanted to get something down in the journal for now.

Upon further reflection, I'm reminded of the spiral patterns in nature (sunflowers, pinecones) and the universe (Milky Way), which follow the Fibonacci sequence of 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13 and so on. There's also Frank Lloyd Wright's naturalistic approach to architecture, which is that form and function must be intertwined.

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Hi Meredith,

My favorite example of interconnectivity is the human body. If you have a pain in your writs it may be stemming from your shoulder. Or if you want to stop having a mid-afternoon slump consume fewer simple carbs. We can impact our body's performance with food, the same way we can impact plant health with soils amendments or companion planting.

See you tomorrow!

Nikki

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So true! Good comment!

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I too would like to learn about "mixing" flowers and vegetables in the garden. I have typically steered away from vegetable gardening as I felt it required too much time and/or too much water/care. Is that a correct assumption? Maybe there are certain vegetables that would happily co-habitat with my peonies!

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One year the AAS annual Brick Garden grew together flowers and vegetables. They did quite well.

This year at home I have large containers among my perennials growing egg plant (one large pot), another large pot a patio tomato and basil together with a annual flower, another pot spaghetti squash, and 3 smaller pots of strawberries. That way i can keep them off the ground and away from rabbits and hoping squirrels will stay out of them.

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I agree that the systems thinking description is very business related. I go back and forth with my fiancé, who is an engineer in manufacturing, and I am adamant that manufacturing efficiency doesn't have it's place in gardening or nature. Relationship and interconnectedness of systems all seem to go back to the coordination in nature, to me. When I have to think of input and output, I just do some contemplating of how things are growing naturally and try to incorporate that in my garden.

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