City Dwellers Suburbs

Solutions for City Dwellers, Suburbanites

For big results, think small. High rise living, cluster-zoned developments and an increasing scarcity of affordable land are giving rise to a new class of farmer…The Urban Gardener. Using space saving strategies, city dwellers and suburbanites are growing an impressive variety of vegetables. One of my sisters lives in a suburban development and has transformed her backyard into one of these gardens.

With the help of intensive culture (very close planting) the yield per square foot can be multiplied. Intercropping and succession planting can also bring impressive results in crop size. Where soil is poor or space extremely limited you can get excellent results by raising vegetables in containers.

Lack of sunlight, as well as a shortage of space, often limit’s the kinds of plants an urban gardener can grow. Crops that are raised for their fruits such as tomatoes and cucumbers need at least six hours of sunlight a day. Root crops such as beets and turnips can get along with less. Lettuce and other leaf crops can be grown with as little as four hours a day of direct light. Best choices for the mini garden are plants that give high yield and take little space: leaf and salad drops, plus those that can be trained to grow vertically.

There are many variations to container gardening. Utilizing laundry hampers, five gallon plastic buckets, window boxes, roof tops, hydroponic systems, balconies, patios and decks. For those with flower beds, you can easily transform this space to grow healthy vegetables and herbs.

When choosing containers make sure they are at least 16” high and 12” wide with strong durable overall construction. If you are using for example five gallon plastic buckets you will need to make sure to drill some holes in the bottom of the bucket to provide drainage. These work great for growing a wide variety of vegetables; tomatoes, carrots, lettuce, spinach, peas, beans, broccoli, cabbage, peppers to name a few.

You should not limit your growing to only outdoors. Many vegetables and herbs can be container-raised indoors. Leaf crops can be grown indoors even in winter with the aid of fluorescent lights. Fruit crops, such as tomatoes, can be grown indoors but need warm temperatures and a least six hours of summer sunlight. Most root crops are best grown outdoors.

Raised beds and planters give excellent drainage and they warm up several weeks ahead of regular garden plots in the spring. For best results, raised beds should be at least 12 inches high. If you keep the soil level a few inches below the top of the beds they can be covered with glass or plastic to serve as cold frames. This works very effectively for not only starting your plants in the spring but for continued growing of cold weather crops in the winter.

Weather you choose to use raised beds, stepped boxes, box planters, laundry hampers, plastic buckets, hydroponics, or your flower beds around your home, anyone can grow healthy, safe food for you and your family.