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#1 2004-05-19 21:31:46
- Palomar
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Re: Marsian Horticulture
*Is it likely desert cactus and plants would grow more easily on Mars? I saw some material on xeriscaping; it's rather "big" in my area.
Just curious.
--Cindy
We all know [i]those[/i] Venusians: Doing their hair in shock waves, smoking electrical coronas, wearing Van Allen belts and resting their tiny elbows on a Geiger counter...
--John Sladek (The New Apocrypha)
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#2 2004-05-19 22:02:30
- Trebuchet
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Re: Marsian Horticulture
More easily than what? You're going to have to go to an awful lot of trouble to grow any plants...
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#3 2004-05-20 05:17:24
- Palomar
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Re: Marsian Horticulture
*Yeah, I know (one tends to get those sorts of impressions after a few years of continual Mars-related interaction). But thanks for your input anyway.
--Cindy 
We all know [i]those[/i] Venusians: Doing their hair in shock waves, smoking electrical coronas, wearing Van Allen belts and resting their tiny elbows on a Geiger counter...
--John Sladek (The New Apocrypha)
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#4 2004-05-20 05:23:26
- Palomar
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Re: Marsian Horticulture
*Robert seems to know quite a bit about agricultural/horticultural issues; maybe he'll chime in. I didn't want to place this in the "Food!" thread (well...I guess some cacti can be consumed if processed, but...). Anyway, not knowing much about horticulture myself, I thought perhaps cacti would be "easy starters" on the road to growing plants on Mars.
--Cindy
We all know [i]those[/i] Venusians: Doing their hair in shock waves, smoking electrical coronas, wearing Van Allen belts and resting their tiny elbows on a Geiger counter...
--John Sladek (The New Apocrypha)
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#5 2004-05-20 11:19:07
- SBird
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Re: Marsian Horticulture
Cacti are good in that they're not too picky about low water availability. However, it was my impression that they need a lot of light. Martian solar intensity is a lot lower than here, that might pose a problem for cacti.
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#6 2018-10-27 14:40:46
Re: Marsian Horticulture
If we talk space horticulture, I recommend Dwarf Plum Tree developed by NASA as a source of food.
I'm Jayson from the Philippines. Graduate of Master of Science in Botany at the University of the Philippines Los Baños, Laguna. I am specializing in Plant Physiology, and have a minor degree in Agronomy. My research interests are Phytoremediation, Plant-Microbe Interaction, Plant Nutrition, and Plant Stress Physiology.
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#7 2018-10-27 15:30:48
- SpaceNut
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Re: Marsian Horticulture
Trees are a great food source and for materials and as you have suggest would be in dwarf formn for a mars initail greenhouse as space within them will be limited.
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#8 2018-10-27 23:48:51
Re: Marsian Horticulture
Not really. 
That fruit-bearing tree could not be considered as the main food source, but a supplemental food source to obtain antioxidant properties for your bodies.
I'm Jayson from the Philippines. Graduate of Master of Science in Botany at the University of the Philippines Los Baños, Laguna. I am specializing in Plant Physiology, and have a minor degree in Agronomy. My research interests are Phytoremediation, Plant-Microbe Interaction, Plant Nutrition, and Plant Stress Physiology.
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#9 2018-10-28 09:29:34
- SpaceNut
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Re: Marsian Horticulture
Which is how they (dwarf trees and plants) are on earth and I would not expect any real change to that of Mars.
https://bigpictureeducation.com/dwarf-breeds-plants
Since the protection systems are akin to being inside The 16 Best Healthy, Edible Plants to Grow Indoors for nutrition and health.
1. Avocados
2. Carrots
3. Garlic Greens
4. Lemons
5. Mandarin Oranges
6. Microgreens
7. Mushrooms
8. Salad Greens
9. Scallions
10. Tomatoes
11. Basil
12. Chives
13. Cilantro
14. Ginger
15. Mint
16. Rosemary
Many of these can be planted in hanging planters to make the most use of the volume within the protected area.
https://www.organicauthority.com/live-g … es-that-is
Here are some specific dwarf varieties to look for at your nursery:
Apple: Cortland, Empire, Fuiji, and Honeycrisp
Pear: Asian, Ayres, and Bartlett
Peach: Belle of Georgia, Bonanza, and Elberta
Citrus fruit: Meyer lemon, Valencia and blood oranges
Cherry: Bing, Black Tartarian, and Danube
Plum: Alderman, Burbank, and Damson
Apricot: Autumn Royal and Early Golden
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#10 2018-10-28 09:38:55
Re: Marsian Horticulture
I recommend to use as crop candidates for establishing Martian agriculture based on the study from China.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/a … 6508000593
They choose 14 crops including 4 food crops (wheat, rice, soybean and peanut) and 7 vegetables (Chinese cabbage, lettuce, radish, carrot, tomato, squash and pepper). Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), rice (Oryza sativa L.), soybean (Glycine max L.) and peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) are main food crops in China. Chinese cabbage (Brassica campestris L. ssp. chinensis var. communis), lettuce (Lactuca sativa L. var. longifolia Lam.), radish (Raphanus sativus L.), carrot (Daucus carota L. var. sativa DC.), tomato (Lycopersicon escalentum L.), squash (Cucurbita moschata Duch.) and pepper (Capsicum frutescens L. var. longum Bailey) are 7 vegetables preferred by Chinese. Furthermore, coriander (Coriandum sativum L.), welsh onion (Allium fistulosum L. var. giganteum Makino) and garlic (Allium sativum L.) were selected as condiments to improve the taste of space crew.
The researchers will do a further study about the agronomic characteristics of the chosen crops.
I'm Jayson from the Philippines. Graduate of Master of Science in Botany at the University of the Philippines Los Baños, Laguna. I am specializing in Plant Physiology, and have a minor degree in Agronomy. My research interests are Phytoremediation, Plant-Microbe Interaction, Plant Nutrition, and Plant Stress Physiology.
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#11 2021-04-22 16:59:13
- SpaceNut
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Re: Marsian Horticulture
bump
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