Growing Food Crops on Urban Soils.

Growing of local crops, especially in urban areas is on the increase and many gardens are or will be located on land that may be impacted by previous use. This presentation will highlight Kansas State University research data on growing food crops on urban gardens established on former brownfields. Challenges of converting brownfields to community gardening sites will be discussed using urban community garden sites located in Kansas City, KS, Indianapolis, IN, and Tacoma, WA as examples.  These sites had elevated levels of common urban soil contaminants such as lead (Pb), arsenic (As), and/or polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Suitable safety/corrective measures were suggested and implemented after thorough evaluation of soil properties. Measures focused on improving soil quality as well as reducing both direct (soil-human) and indirect (soil-plant-human) exposure of contaminants to the gardeners and their children were evaluated.  The goal of this research is to enhance the capabilities of garden/farming initiatives to produce crops locally without potentially adverse health effects to the grower or the end consumer; to increase confidence in urban food production quality.