Urban Gardening
The article in today’s PI about urban gardening [PI] talks about something I’ve been thinking about a lot myself, recently. (The PI is reading my mind.) I live in an apartment with a fairly large balcony that gets afternoon sunlight, so I’ve been experimenting with a balcony container garden because I got tired of waiting for a P-Patch. Right now I’ve got a bunch of flowers, edible and not so edible, tomatoes, herbs, and an adorable columnar apple tree. It’s all fertilized by the leavings of the worms that survived the winter in the worm box I built in November [mb]. We’ll see how it goes, of course, but all of the new things–I’ve had the herbs and apple tree since last year–have been planted for about a month and are growing and flowering like gangbusters. Because it’s all in containers there’s little danger of weeds, so the time investment is small, and I’m learning a lot. I went to the University District farmer’s market to buy the plants, and the vendors were enthusiastic and helpful and incredibly knowledgeable.
The success is starting to go to my head, and I’ve been eying the large shaded dirt patch in front of my apartment building a lot recently. But it looks like I’m not the only one–people all over town are trying to reclaim nooks and crannies of dirt to grow food. People with backyards and no time to mow are handing the space off to neighbors who want to grow produce. It all seems like a good way to foster community relations, and relieve a tiny bit of anxiety about food shortages. Maybe we should all start farming in the city while it’s still fun, not a necessity.
A few city officials are looking to inventory public land to find spots in parks and other places that could be taken over to grow food. Some architects are looking at planning buildings with gardens on top, buildings that collect and recycle rainwater, and possible all of the above for buildings made of recycled shipping containers. The City Council passed a local-food resolution, to research incentives for developers that include space for food gardens. It all seems like the right direction, at any rate, although the housing situation in this town still gives me the vapors.
Would you do it, Metroblogging readers? Is farming with your neighbors a worthwhile proposition? What would you grow?
Related posts:
I would totally garden with my neighbors- if I knew them, and they were amenable to me sharing their backyard. I used to do this with my parents back when I lived in the same town as them- I’d take over a patch of their garden, and swing by a few days a week to check on it. It was a good way to get fresh tomatoes, and my parents pretty much loved having me over. On the other hand, there was this whole debacle, too- I was trying to grow organic, and my dad didn’t quite understand the concept, so he dumped a ton of Miracle-Gro on my herbs and veggies mid-summer…
I do have a small balcony, and have some little containers of flowers out there right now, but I’d love to get further into container gardening. I just don’t quite know how to do it- I’m not used to the idea of having to plant things in small spaces, really. Want to come over and show me? This worm box thing seems like an excellent plan :)
My mother, who is a gardening nerd in Florida, sent me an earth box last fall, and it’s what I have my tomatoes in. It seems to be working out really well.
I’d be happy to help, although I’m still just a beginner. The farmer’s market people and the fine folks at Tilth have been indispensable. I thought all of my worms had died, so I’m still recovering from my surprise at both having them and also having the fruits of their labor.
I have a balcony, so I’ve been growing lettuce and kale. The last apartment I had faced South and had the best direct sunlight. I grew tomatoes, green beans, basil, bell peppers, Thai red chili peppers, flowers, and herbs. It was fantastic. I’ve been wanting to ask my apartment manager if I could have a few pots on the rooftop deck, but he’s so anal about everything (example: no food, drinks, smoking, or pets on the deck upstairs) that I don’t think he would go for it.
I’ve been patio gardening in Seattle for the last 3 years… This year I have less light and a covered balcony so I downsized to just a big box of herbs, some overflow herbs, peas, and chard and kale now (to be tomatos later in the season).
For those who don’t already have their pots purchased, I have to recommend these puppies: they work wonders on an under-watered OR overwatered deck area, and the depth is great for bigger plants.
To make watering easier, I tried for a rain barrel on my roof, but the manager wouldn’t go for that. Guess it’s probably not worth asking if I can keep a chicken out on the deck…
Yes Seattle do it! Take any little corner that you can and sprinkle some seeds there or plant a tomato or pepper plant. Then stand back and watch the magic of leaves unfolding, and flowers opening…. and know that you helped move that along. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you could walk along the street with your gathering basket picking a tomato here, and a squash there, and snipping off some lettuce leaves and some herbs, putting it all together for a fresh wholesome meal. Fresh is the best tasting food there is.