The Unconventional Gardener Ideas, Tips & Guides

Header image: Window View of Astronaut Holding DoubleTree Cookie. Image credit: Hilton

Header image: ifarm.fi, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

In 1971, NASA astronaut Stuart Roosa, a former US Department of Agriculture Forest Services smoke jumper, carried tree seeds into lunar orbit during the Apollo 14 mission. The The US Department of Agriculture Forest Services grew those seeds into seedlings, and the distributed the resulting ‘Moon Trees’ to national monuments and dignitaries around the world, with a large number distributed as part of the United States Bicentennial events.  

STS-78 was the fifth Life and Microgravity Spacelab Mission (LMS) and involved space shuttle Columbia, five NASA astronauts and two international astronauts – Jean-Jacques Favier (CNES) and Robert Thirsk (CSA). 

Exciting news from NASA – the space agency has selected the first science experiments designed for astronauts to deploy on the surface of the Moon during Artemis III (currently planned for 2026) – and one of them will grow plants!

Header image: Lettuce in a grow room. Image credit: University of Western Australia (UWA).

Ryan and I are big fans of Who Gives a Crap, the certified B Corp that supplies our eco-friendly toilet roll. So I was thrilled this morning to discover that they’re setting their sights a lot higher, and developing a mission to send toilet paper to Uranus!*

Gardeners of the Galaxy friend Wieger Wamelink and his research team at Wageningen University & Research and the B.A.S.E. project investigate how we can create a circular and sustainable agricultural ecosystem for food production… on the Moon or Mars.

Hello, Gardeners of the Galaxy! It’s time for a new episode, and our Mission Specialist for this one is Patrick Grubbs, who recently completed a Professional Science Master’s degree in Controlled Environment Agriculture at the University of Arizona. Patrick is one of the people behind the Space Ecology Workshop, an annual virtual symposium on bioregenerative life support, space agriculture, closed ecological systems, and more. He also co-founded The Spring Institute for Forests on the Moon, an international non-profit research organization developing closed ecological life support technology and working to democratize space access in underrepresented countries. The Spring Institute is working on some really exciting astrobotany projects, and Patrick is here to tell us about… some of them!

Transforming your flat’s balcony into a lush, herb-filled oasis is easier than you might think, even if you’re a complete novice. With a bit of know-how and enthusiasm, you can enjoy the freshest flavours right at your fingertips. Let’s dive into how to get started on this rewarding journey.

Laurent Palka, Muséum national d’histoire naturelle (MNHN)

Header image: Details of a silicified fern fossil. Geoff Thompson/Queensland Museum

Simonetta Di Pippo, Bocconi University

Casey Bryce, University of Bristol

My garden is gone.

Jessica Atkins of Texas A&M University and Sara Oliveira Santos at Brown University have published preliminary results suggesting that commonly used gardening techniques could help grow chickpeas on the Moon.

Header image by Md Asif from Pixabay

Last week, I showed you the Turkish astrobotany investigations flying on the Axiom 3 Private Space Mission, which launched to the International Space Mission yesterday. The plant experiments are part of a larger research program for the mission, much of which focuses on human biology and medical research. 

In this episode, Emma the Space Gardener talks with Marshall Porterfield, Professor of Biological Engineering & Space Biophysics at Purdue University, who offers up some highlights from his long career in space science. During a stint as Division Director for Space Life and Physical Sciences at NASA headquarters in Washington DC. Marshall oversaw the Human Research, Physical Sciences, and Space Biology Programs including research and engineering assets at six NASA centres. He established the first open science, and advanced integrated omics research programs including NASA GeneLab and the NASA Twins Study.

Header image: An illustration of a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft approaching the International Space Station for docking. Image credit: NASA

Header image: the edge of the nearby, young, star-forming region NGC 3324 in the Carina Nebula. Captured in infrared light by NASA’s new James Webb Space Telescope, this image reveals for the first time previously invisible areas of star birth. Image credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, and STScI.

Alice Gorman, Flinders University

Header image: Space broccoli. Image credit: NASA/Don Pettit

Botany should feature more heavily in the school curriculum, and be a greater focus of educational policy, a new study in the Journal of Biological Education says.

A light-hearted weekend art project: making some of the pink fir apple potatoes I grew this year look like asteroids!

Did you know that the Gardeners of the Galaxy podcast has a Patreon? It’s one of the main ways that my rocket boosters can support the show financially, and give me more time to work on it.

Agro-tech manufacturer GreenOnyx has announced its flagship product, Wanna Greens®, the natural fresh Wolffia vegetables that surpass any traditional greens, made history as the first duckweed plant to rocket into space* on SpaceX to the International Space Station (ISS).

Header image: Nicotiana benthamiana seedlings growing in simulated lunar soil in a laboratory at the China Agricultural University in Beijing. Image credit: Yitong Xia via REUTERS. 

As NASA plans missions to the Moon and Mars, a key factor is figuring out how to feed crew members during their weeks, months, and even years in space.

According to the China Global Television Network, the vegetable cultivation experiment carried out by Chinese astronauts during the Shenzhou-16 mission to the Tiangong space station has yielded a good harvest, verifying the reliability of its plant growth technology in space.

Header image: An artist’s depiction of a fictional Mars colony, with solar arrays and underground greenhouses. Image credit: NASA

Header image: UK astronauts Rosemary Coogan, John McFall and Meganne Christian. Image credit: UK Space Agency

Header image: Orionid meter shower, by Jeff Sullivan, via Flickr

Header image: ESA’s Large Diameter Centrifuge (LDC) running at full speed. Image credit: ESA –A. Le Floc’h

Jose Yong, Northumbria University, Newcastle

In the summer of 1863, a world-famous English botanist was pondering why the shoots of climbing plants twirl around as they grow. In this episode, join Emma the Space Gardener as she explores the fascinating world of plant movement, and what that has to do with the first plants that ever flew on NASA’s space shuttle.