• Aerate: to circulate air, or move air. Also to add air to soil
  • Annual: a plant that blooms for the entire growing season and then dies at the end
  • Carbon: a chemical element important for plant matter
  • Compost: a mixture of various decaying organic substances
  • Condensation: when gas or vapor changes to a liquid
  • Conservation: to use an item wisely, such as water
  • Consumption: to use items
  • Drought: a period of dry weather, when there is no rain
  • Drought Resistant: a plant that can survive a period of drought
  • Evaporation: when water changes to a gas or vapor
  • Fertilizer: a substance used to enrich soil
  • Germinate: when a seed or bulb puts forth shoots
  • Groundwater: water that is stored under the ground
  • Groundwater Discharge: groundwater that travels through the earth to a larger body of water (e.g. ocean)
  • Harvest: to gather ripened (ready to eat) crops
  • Infiltration: the process of surface water seeping into the ground and becoming groundwater
  • Manure: animal waste
  • Microorganisms: an organism too small to be seen by the naked eye
  • Nitrogen: a gas element used in fertilizers
  • Organic: food grown without synthetic pesticides or chemical fertilizers
  • Organisms: a form of life, such as an animal, plant, or fungus
  • Pathogens: an agent that can cause disease, such as a virus
  • Perennial: a plant that lives for more than two years and goes through blooming and dormant stages
  • Pollution: the introduction of harmful products into the environment
  • Precipitate: to condense from a vapor and fall as rain or snow
  • Produce: agricultural products, i.e. vegetables and fruits
  • Rain Barrel: a large barrel used to catch and store rainwater
  • Recycle: to re-use an item
  • Renewable Resource: a resource we can continually use
  • Resource: a source of supply
  • Shoots: new growth from a plant
  • Soil Amendment: a substance added to soil to encourage plant growth
  • Surface Runoff: water that overflows from streams onto land or larger body of water
  • Surface Water: water that is above ground
  • Transpiration: part of the photosynthesis process in which water that is absorbed by the roots moves through a plant and is released through its leaves