Gardening in the City
Posted on May 24th, 2007 By laura at 12:39 pm (All, Pots and Pans, Tractors)
I’ve been thinking about something Celeste said about how most people live in the city and don’t have access to a space in which to garden and provide some of their own food which made me think of Lacy and her guerrilla gardening. She and her neighbor took over a 12 X 12 spot in a HUGE median strip where they grew lettuces and broccoli amongst the perennials and annuals that helped to satisfy local code. Now, imagine if they had filled that entire median with greens. It might be enough for the neighborhood. The neighborhood would be eating fresher (therefore more nutritious) food and a lot of natural resources would be saved by avoiding centralized planting and transporting of the food. If all the medians in that particular town were used for food production who knows how many people could be fed or how many natural resources could be saved?
Now, I know, that area actually looks fairly suburban and suburbanites tend to at least have backyards, so how about a truly downtown-big-city example? How about Hong Kong?
Currently in Hong Kong there are many promoters of “urban gardening.” Arthur van Langenberg (pictured above) wrote a book called Urban Gardening ([possibly] where the term was coined). Everything you see in that picture has been grown on top of a concrete slab that has been filled in with soil. van Langenberg is even able to grow his own fruit trees in large troughs. The idea of urban gardening has caught on so well in a city filled with people who remember what it was like to have a backyard that architects are starting to incorporate places for plants into their blueprints. They are finding that when people plant their balconies chock full it is actually cooling the inside of their homes which means fewer resources used to keep their homes cool in Hong Kong’s tropical climate which equals an economic savings on top of the lower impact on the environment.
So, I really do think that if enough people started growing their own food, even in the city, trading surplus with neighbors and visiting farmers markets it could be a huge step to decentralizing our food system. And hey, if you need patriotism as an excuse, think how much harder it would be for the terrorists to contaminate our entire food system if it’s not all in one place.
A few examples of big city farmers markets:
Philadelphia
Metro New York.
Chicago
Los Angeles
Detroit
scott said,
May 24, 2007 at 3:22 pm
In geek terms, I’m not so sure centralization is all that good. It seems like a good idea until a group of telco/power company/etc. yahoos cut your data center’s power line. I’m all for de-centralization when possible. Computer users were liberated from centralized computer systems when the PC entered the market. I wonder if these backyard farmers also find liberation in having grown their own lettuce topped with their own tomatoes. It’s more expensive and time consuming to garden than purchase a salad from Meijer; however, there’s more satisfaction, more at stake. More joy?
Hell, even Kiley left our homestead with a little dirt beneath her finger nails (she wanted to prove to David that she did tend to some earth). Certainly most folks can plant a little something for their July 4th celebration.
Celeste said,
May 24, 2007 at 5:22 pm
I live in Utica, NY which has a large parkway running through it - a major thoroughfare with a wide ribbon of grass running down the middle. I love the idea of that full of gardens supplying fruits and vegetables. If you haven’t read Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma yet, make sure to put it onto your summer must-read list. And, check out fallenfruit (dot)org. I just discovered it through Pollan’s book and I’m planning on posting about it soon.
Celeste
laura said,
May 24, 2007 at 6:23 pm
Thanks Celeste. I actually heard Michael Pollan interviewed on NPR but had forgotten about it. It’s definitely on the summer reading list now.
Vishwanath said,
May 24, 2007 at 11:07 pm
In Bangalore India we are looking at terraces - otherwise dead sterile zones absorbing the sun’s heat- as a place to grow vegetables. I also look at using grey water for doing that - water from the washing machine and bath water for example. It’s been doing well and i have even plnted paddy this season.
laura said,
May 26, 2007 at 12:31 pm
Thanks for commenting Vishwanath. I would be interested in seeing photos of your paddy if you have them posted somewhere.
Kiley said,
May 27, 2007 at 12:48 pm
My porch has officially become a mess of tomato plant pots - since the ground won’t be ours anymore as of August 1st. I plan on staking them to the railing.
And my fingernails are a little dirty from it. Ahh, dirt. Just don’t ask me to camp.
Rebecca said,
May 29, 2007 at 11:17 am
Laura - I planted my vegetable garden this weekend and I’m so happy I did. I kept it small and close to the house - something easy to water, easy to weed. I surrounded it with annuals and even put in some sunflower seeds. If I can manage this, Kevin says he’ll plow under the ground outside it’s borders for expansion. Keep your fingers crossed that it doesn’t get overrun by creeping charlie or crabgrass, those are my biggest offenders.
laura said,
May 29, 2007 at 12:55 pm
Ugh, crabgrass! Having it close to the house will help. Cottage gardens are based on being edible and close to the kitchen. I’ve been starting to think about working more edibles into my foundation plantings myself… herbs and such. Things like thyme and oregano spread and might help keep weeds down like other ground covers do.
Rebecca said,
May 29, 2007 at 1:53 pm
I’m hoping that just having it close by will help motivate me to clean, weed and cultivate it more…we’ll see.
I think I’m going to do herbs in a planter on my deck. That worked out well for me last year. Some basil, cilantro and dill - the three I use most often. Do you think oregano can beat out creeping charlie? I’d do anything to get rid of it.
laura said,
May 29, 2007 at 2:29 pm
Maybe if you kept it pulled out until the oregano got established. You’d still have some though. I think that the only thing that would completely eliminate it would decimate your entire yard and maybe your family.
Rebecca said,
May 29, 2007 at 4:47 pm
You’re probably right about that…charlie is a fierce competitor.