Live in the city and have an itch to grow something, but no yard available? No need to fret. City gardens now-a-days can consist of anything from a plot or small garden plan in a community garden to as little as three pots on the patio.
Community gardens allow city dwellers to get involved in agriculture and enjoy the fun and health benefits of fresh veggies. They can get their hands dirty in a fun-filled project and reap not only the fresh veggies, but also the excitement of planting the seeds and nurturing the plants as they grow.
For those who have a small amount of yard space around a town or patio home, you can still plant a garden. Before you head down to the local nursery to buy plants or seeds though, there are some things you need to consider first about selecting the site for your new inhabitants:
Sun - veggies are sun-worshippers. They love, possibly even demand, six or more hours of sunshine on a daily basis. Without sunshine, plants will stress, and the plant fruit will not ripen. Unless you are willing to stick with a diet made up strictly of veggies such as broccoli, kale and other greens, either provide the sun or write off the tomatoes and strawberries.
Water - not only are veggies demanding in their need of sun, they have the same attitude towards water. Regular watering is needed to keep the plants healthy and also help with fruit production. In the case of tomatoes, the fruit will not fill out without water and if the plants go without water for awhile, when you do water them, the fruits will crack open. Be good to your plants and quench their thirst. They will return the favor in a good harvest.
Soil - good soil is essential for good crops. Soil is where all landscaping and garden plants derive the nutrition necessary to produce the harvest you seek. Not only is the quality of the harvest affected by the soil your plants are in, the taste of the veggies will be affected as well. It has been proven that the same type of wine grape grown in different soils have different tastes and the chili peppers grown in one locale are sometimes hotter than those grown in another.
So now that you see you can provide the big three for a garden (sun, water and nutritious soil), let talk space. It stands to reason if your space is limited, you won’t be able to supply your own personal farmer market; however, you can pick out a few of your favorites (tomatoes, green beans, peppers, etc) and enjoy them fresh from the plant.
When selecting the seeds or plants for your garden, look for such words as patio or dwarf in the description. These plants have been bred to be small, but the fruits they produce are normally standard size (unless otherwise stated). This will help you with better landscaping and garden design ideas for the space you have available and possibly provide room to tuck in a few additional selections. If you desire to grow a few vine producers (i.e. cucumbers), train them to supports or trellises. This way, they will take up less room and still reward you with the harvest you seek.
No matter how good the soil is your plants grow in, they can use a light mid-season snack. Be sure not to overdo the nitrogen though. Too much will produce a bounty of new leaves, but the fruit production will be inhibited.
As your plants begin to put on fruit, be sure to harvest regularly. Plants such as squash, eggplants and beans will stop producing if the fruit is left on the plant too long. If the fruit goes to seed, the plant senses the growing season is over and will close down the production shop and begin to decline.
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