Starting Your Spring Garden Series- Week 2: Urban Gardening
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Welcome to the second post in our Starting Your Spring Garden Series- Week 2: Urban Gardening
Again we have some great info from Lori Coats from My Raggety Herbs!
Indoor and potted plants are probably one of the easier methods to get started with. They are also great if you don't have a green thumb at all. 🙂 You can find a few nice starter kits on Amazon. If you are eyeing one of the Miracle-Grow AeroGarden models, Walmart has had them on sale.
Lowe's also has some great sales going on this week, which you can find out more about on the Consumer Queen Hot Deals Group! Just look for the video. If you're ready to garden scroll down for some helpful hints!
Urban Kitchen Gardening – A Functional, Artistic Expression
by Lori Coats from My Raggety Herbs
If you live in an urban area with little or no land selecting a garden site can be a bit more challenging but is certainly not impossible. The ideal garden area gets full or nearly full sunlight has deep, well-drained, fertile soil and a good water source. To accommodate these needs you can utilize raised beds, containers and even go vertical! If you are willing to be creative and select the right crops, almost any site can become a highly productive garden.
- One of the first things that you will need to determine is what type of plants you would like to grow.
- Make a list of the vegetables, herbs and edible flowers that are of interest to you. It’s important to select the right variety of each plant. If you plant the wrong variety for your area you may not get a satisfactory yield no matter how much care you give your plants. Thoughtful planning on the front end lessens your actual gardening work and also increases the return on your labor.
- If you decide to build raised beds careful consideration should go into how you construct them. All raised beds are not equal. They can be expensive but don’t have to be. If you have a DIY spirit and access to some quality re-purposed materials you can create some fantastic beds! Remember, the depth and width of the beds will determine how much soil you must fill them with and that can get expensive so only make them as large as they need to be. You also want to be able to reach the produce in the center of the bed so don’t make them so wide that you can’t manage the plants in the middle.
- When using containers, try to pick ones that are appropriate for what you’re planting in them and that are deep enough to support a healthy root system. Plastic pots are less expensive but can become brittle when exposed to the elements. Plastic also provides little insulation to changing temperatures. Concrete and ceramic pots are costly but are definitely worth it if you plan to use them year-round. Whiskey barrels and other large containers are perfect for controlling invasive herbs like mint.
Urban kitchen gardens are some of my favorites! The creativity and artistic expression found in many patio and small backyard gardens is inspirational and I am always amazed at how much produce can be grown in small spaces. If you’re not gardening now, why not try it? It feels good to grow you own food!
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