The Urban Heat Island Effect and Urban Community Garden

As the popularity of organically and locally grown produce, there is increasing interest in urban community gardens. A number of community gardens in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania have encountered problems with some produce that naturally mature, and should be ready for harvest, during the hottest part of the summer. There is a suggestion that the problems may be the result of the urban heat island effect. This study is looking at the historical weather data from stations in Philadelphia to determine if there is any correlation between the crop failure and any heat island effects. The second part of this research is to experiment with short term tomato varieties to see if the varieties can be successful by maturing to harvest before the hottest period of the summer has arrived.