Urban Gardening
Posted by foofie81 on Apr 17, 2008 · Member since Jul 2007 · 577 posts
Who has done it and what were your experiences? One of my friends wants to start his own garden in/around campus and I volunteered to help him out. It's not anything we want to get involved in with the school because of all the paperwork that would be involved. We just want to find a plot of land and grow some veggies! There are a couple of barely used parks around we are thinking about using as well. A few questions are, What are the best veggies to grow? What kind of prep work did you have to do?
My city has a lot of community garden spots--they are so nice, you pay $20 and you get a small plot of land that is fenced and they provide straw and manure and stuff like that for you. The best things to plant are usually tomatoes, string beans and the like. It is really nice to go out there on the weekend and be with other "urban gardners", you can really meet some nice people! Prep work is usually pretty simple--break in the soil with a garden hoe, water it, place your manure etc. and then plant away! It's best to check on your things at least once a week--more if you have needy plants!
Good luck and have fun :)
hmmm. it would depend on what kind of area you find the land in.
are you planning on fencing it in? you have to watch out for dogs, that could pee/ poop in there, rabbits and critters eating your seedlings.
look at the type of soil. it cant be too rocky, too clay-y. you can have it tested too, but if you amend a fairly good soil w/ some compost, you probably will be okay. just rake it in. you might want to build up the soil a little higher too, so that you have better drainage. you also want to make sure any kind of grass fertilizer/ chemicals will drain into your plot.
containers could be a possiblity. use large ones and fill them so they are heavy and no one will steal them.
check out what kind/ how much of sun each day that your area gets. this will help determine what you could plant.
you can take all this info to a local garden center and they should be able to offer you some suggestions.
herbs grow well, lettuce, tomato, beans and peas, peppers, carrots, basically all kinds of salad fixin's. sunflowers (for seeds).
check out the other thread on gardening here...theres a bunch of info there.