Tips for Starting Your Own Urban Garden
Into the human being’s inner realm
There flow the riches of the senses;
The spirit of the world discovers a mirror’d image in the human eye
It’s power out of this must shape anew.
- Rudolf Steiner-
There have been a few moments in recent weeks where it truly felt as if Spring would never arrive. The garlic and tulips, persistent as they’ve been in surfacing to greet the changing of seasons are bursting out of the ground. Spring is upon us! In reading the Biodynamic Farming lectures of Rudolf Steiner, we find that the changing of seasons is no small affair for us in the garden. The warmth of the sun gives every gardener the promise of a fresh start for the upcoming growing season.
I hope that some of these resources help you to get started on your own garden, even if it’s just on your terrace. The reward will come in the way of your first batch of home-made salsa that you grew from scratch!
Balcony Gardening
Many of H&H readers living in urban areas do not have access to much (if any) land to start their own vegetable garden. Good news! you can begin planting your very own food on your balcony or fire-escape (if planting on your fire-escape, please let common sense be your guide and do not block vital passageways).
As I teach and promote biodynamic and organic agriculture methods, when making your seed, plant, soil and material selections please use only organic and non-toxic materials. If you have questions about particular materials you can leave them as comments to this blog.
Getting Started-
What’s my micro-climate?
Spend a few days evaluating your balcony at different times throughout the day. You need to know how much direct sunlight your plants will recieve to determine which crops will succeed in your new balcony garden.
If you don’t get enough natural sunlight you can consider planting herbs and plants that don’t require as much light. If your balcony space is really lacking in sunlight then you might consider one of the indoor options for your veggie-fix.
Once you have figured out what will grow best in your space you can get started!
For a complete guide to starting your balcony garden click here.
Succession Planting
Now that you’ve got the basics figured out for starting your balcony garden, let’s look at the best way to get the most veggies out of your small space.
Succession Planting refers to several planting methods that increase the availability of crops during the growing season by making the most efficient use of space and timing.
For a simple guide to Succession planting click here.
By using these simple methods you will be cranking out food into late Fall!
Wolly Pockets
Woolly Pockets are flexible, breathable, and modular gardening containers. They`come in two styles: those designed to be placed on horizontal surfaces, and those designed to be hung on walls for vertical gardening. You can use Woolly Pockets both indoors and out; they have built-in moisture barriers to help protect furniture, and they’re equally at home outside in the elements.
They’re perfect for creating urban gardens where you have space to garden but no land to garden in. Woolly Pockets are lightweight and can be folded flat, which makes them very easy to use, move, and store just about anywhere.
Shoe Pockets
If you like the method of a hanging garden, but want to do it yourself, check out this step-by-step set of instructions from instructables.com
You’ll need the following materials:
- Hanging pocket shoe organiser /store. (make sure it’s heavy-duty so it lasts)
- Pole and attachments ( curtain pole or pipe fittings, screws).
- Strong metal saucepan or utensil hanging hooks
- Compost of a good quality moisture holding type.
- Selection of plants or seeds… e.g. mixed leaf salad, herbs,sorrel, peas, mini tomatoes.
- Piece of wood 2″x2″ as long as the width of the pocket store to keep the base of pockets away from the wall.
- Trough planter to catch drips.
Window Farms
“A Windowfarm is a vertical hydroponic farming system for year-round indoor growing inside windows. It is not really a “growing machine,” as it still requires the conscious intervention of a farmer– you. However, a Windowfarm is a platform that makes it easier for you to get started growing hydroponically even in limited space and during fall, winter, and spring months.
How does it work?
A pump on a timer periodically circulates the liquid nutrients through each column of plants in a closed loop. Water is moved from the bottom reservoir bottle to the top plant bottle via an air-lift system powered by a 4W aquarium air pump. Water trickles down from bottle to bottle, through the plants’ hairy root networks, and unabsorbed nutrient solution is collected again as it trickles into the bottom reservoir bottle.
A nutrient solution, which varies by kit, is used to ‘feed’ the plants.” (from windowfarms.org)
Window Farms are great for the urban garden enthusiast that has limited access to outdoor space.
While this is not the ideal way for everyone to grow food (it requires power, and is burning fossil fuels in the process of powering the pump) it is a unique and interesting option for anyone living in a small urban space.
If you are interested in cultivating your green thumb beyond the confines of your balcony, fire-escape or courtyard, a community garden could be a great option for you.
Another option for hands on gardening experience is to volunteer with the organization that I founded, Rock ‘n Renew. Rock n’ Renew manages the educational programs at a 1.1 acre site in NYC’s Lower East Side, and we are currently building an ecology center in Bayonne, N.J. We have a reforestation program on the Big Island of Hawai’i and have just begun work on an exciting community garden in Venice Beach, C.A. If you’d like to volunteer at one of our sites you can contact us through www.rocknrenew.com.
For a list of community gardens in the U.S. go here
Jonny Dubowsky is the founder and Director of Rock ‘n Renew. Rock ‘n Renew is a non-profit focused on delivering the most effective environmental education possible to students of all ages through partnerships with today’s most popular musicians. Rock ‘n Renew utilizes the power of endorsement and interaction with today’s most important musical artists. A process that delivers mind opening relevance to this critical subject for students who are often physically and culturally removed from the need to protect and restore the environment. Rock ‘n Renew raises money to support both its scholastic programs and three ecology action sites. The ecology action sites exemplify Rock ‘n Renew’s core mission, while serving as destination learning centers and replicable models for the local action projects that students are encouraged to pursue.
