In the next week or two, my room mate and I are going to join the urban farming craze and start a small garden on our roof. We’re definitely planning on creating some sort of herb garden, but I’m not sure what else — maybe tomatoes, maybe some other vegetables. I’ve never gardened before, so I have no idea what I’m doing. Any other urban (or non-urban? Not sure how well this gardening stuff translates) gardeners have advice on what we should grow or how not to kill all our plants?
I’m in New York City if anyone has climate-specific suggestions.
I had no idea it was a craze. This year I started a box garden just so I could grow my own lettuce and spinach. My dad has a huge garden though, and I would suggest only planting one or two tomato plants because they yield like CRAZY! I’ll also be planting some sugar snap peas at the end of next month.
Hi,
I’d start with herbs and some tomatoes. Make sure you get sturdy pots and good drainage materials to put in the bottom.
Also check out the sun situation on your roof and look for plants that will work. I had a patio garden that was full sun. Basil and tomatoes worked great.
Check out a local community garden or garden center. Those folks have a ton of information and can help you get setup.
Best of luck :)
C
I love my EarthBoxes – they’re 2.5 feet long and just over a foot wide, and they have these giagantic reservoirs that alleviate the need to water your containers every single day. They also have fabric covers that prevent weeds from getting in. I’m in my third growing season with them and have successfully grown tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant – all 100% organic, including the plants, fertilizer, and dirt. I highly recommend checking them out – they are the only way I’ve been able to grow veggies on my 3-foot deep balcony.
zucchini grow like crazy and are delicious! rosemary does really well outside, but if you are container gardening (which I assume you are as its on a roof), rosemary needs a lot, a lot of water. tomatoes are good to have on hand. rhubarb is practically a weed and can thrive pretty much anywhere. i’d recommend guerrilla gardening if you haven’t done much gardening before. its a nice little book (plus it has amazing cover art!)
What region are you located in? Can you tell us about the climate of your region? Region and climate make a big difference in what’s good to grow and when.
Have you been in touch with your local cooperative extension? They can probably help you with gardening resources.
Make sure you know how much space each plant needs and how much sunlight. Don’t plant something that needs shade in full sun, etc. Plants in pots and planters need to be watered more often than plants in the ground, because the soil loses moisture more quickly. I water mine at least twice a week, and if they were in the ground they would hardly ever need watering as long as it rained occasionally. Plants will be healthy in a pot or planter made with wood or terra cotta than one made of plastic. The plastic ones are way cheaper, but you can make your own inexpensive wooden box by buying cheap lumber and just hammering it into a box.
I’ve grown quite a lot of plants in containers on my porch in Brooklyn for the last couple years. Herbs like parsley, basil and cilantro work really well because they grow quickly and don’t take up a lot of space. Also, I’ve had a lot of success with beans, chili peppers and cherry tomatoes, but not so much with bell peppers or squash, or any kind of heirloom vegetable, unfortunately (it’s a shame since I love the unusual shapes and colors of heirlooms, but they’re much harder to grow). Also, last year I planted my beans and cilantro all at once, which was a mistake because they produced their crops in the space of a week or so and then there was none for the rest of the summer. Hope that helps
Do basil! It’s really easy- it just needs a minimum of attention and a fair amount of sun and it smells great and is so flavorful. Other herbs like chives are easy too.
I have had mixed success with container gardening in the city, but I think that the pots I planted things in were too small.
My tips for plants like tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, etc. are to make sure that you plant them in good-size pots.
For herbs, I have had better luck planting things in individual pots rather than in one large herb pot — something inevitably grows better/faster than something else, and overtakes it. With herbs, I’ve had better success planting them in terra cotta pots rather than plastic or glazed ceramic. I think this is because the pots are porous, and the moisture evaporates better. Depending on the herb and the weather, they generally like hot, dry climates — I’ve had potted herbs drown on me during thunderstorm season.
So, that’s the limited advice I can offer, but I do recommend having this book in your personal library:
The Urban Homestead by Kelly Coyne
I have a copy at home, and it’s got excellent, practical tips for all levels of urban gardening, from foraging to planting stuff in empty lots, to rooftop container gardening.
Consider the plea for info seconded! My sweetie is looking to grow something, probably herbs, on his deck thinger, and I’d be curious to see if there are any specifics people recommend. We’re in NYC, and his deck faces… north-ish, I think. I’m also hoping against hope that I’ll be able to plant at least a windowbox when I move in August.
1. Water carefully. It’s easy to overwater. Drainage is more difficult in pots too. Probably the most important things I’ve learned is that all pots must have drainage stones at the bottom and watering a little more often is better than watering more, less often. Don’t water at night after the sun is down. Higher chance of mold/etc that way. Don’t water in full sun either.
2. What region you are in is important. Full sun in the northeast is not the same as full sun in TX.
3. As already mentioned you are “container gardening” and there’s lots of books about it around. Some stuff will need transplanted at odd points. It’s possible to put a plant in too big of a pot. Things like peppers need HUGE pots.
4. You’ll definitely kill some stuff. I’ve just about given up on my plants on my apt patio cause the sun is really weird. Give yourself time to learn the way the sun moves/etc. Don’t go out and buy enough to fill your space in a short span. Work up to it.
Something like mixed lettuce is really simple to grow. If you have one of those 5 gallon containers, just drill holes in the bottom, fill it with soil and put in some lettuce seeds. You can eat some of them while they’re baby lettuces and let others grow to maturity. I’m not a huge fan of lettuce but home grown is delicious.
As far as tomatoes go I’m just starting to seed some so I’m not sure how well they grow in containers but I hear some people have great success with them.
You may even have luck with peppers. (Not big bell peppers but smaller ones like chiles.)
Herbs can be quite simple. Basil and mint grow like weeds. If you plant a sprouting clove of garlic, you can eat the shoots, they taste just like garlic and are quite delicious.
This book is really great for ideas of what to plant in a small area.
1. Don’t restrict yourself to vegetables. Strawberries and blueberries both do great in containers. You can buy potted dwarf citrus trees and overwinter them indoors. Add a few containers for flowers – both edible and non-edible. Don’t underestimate the joy of having a cheap, ready source of fresh flowers for vases.
2. Consider getting a worm bin at some point. You buy special worms (bred specifically for vermicomposting), put them in a box with bedding (like moist shredded newspaper,) and feed them your kitchen and garden scraps – pretty much any vegetable material except citrus rinds. You can even vermicompost your teabags and coffee & coffee filters. The resulting “castings” (worm poo) will do wonders for your plants.
3. Herbs are a great choice for a beginning gardener, since they grow like weeds. Fresh mint is incredibly handy to have for cooking and drinks. Basil grows very quickly, and fresh basil is highly preferable to dried basil. You can freeze fresh herbs in water (like in an ice cube tray or small plastic containers with lids.) When you want fresh basil in the winter, you simply thaw some of your basil ice cubes.
4. If your harvest is more than you can eat, consider donating the extra produce to a local food bank. Or learn about preserving the excess – canning, freezing, drying. (This is a good thing to know even if you don’t garden. I like to buy lots of fresh produce at the farmer’s market when it’s in season (and inexpensive) and preserve some of it for future use. I like having frozen pumpkin for baking in the summer and frozen berries for smoothies in the winter.)
I agree with the watering tips, watering in the morning or late afternoon is best so as not to burn the plants (the hot soil steams the water in the sunlight). It is also a good idea to figure out what plants like to live together so you can maximise your space. For example plant basil and tomatoes together, they both have similar growth requirements and basil both helps to keep unwanted pests away while also attracting wanted predators like butterflies and wasps.
Something I have also learnt is figuring out how to best prune my plants. Initially I wanted to be all hippy and just let the plants grow on their own, but you’re not going to get the best harvest that way. Using tomatoes and basil as example again, you’ll need to pinch off any flowers that appear on your basil plant and also any shoots that appear in between your main brainches of your tomato plant. Otherwise the plant puts more energy into maintaining these instead of growing the stuff you want!
I’d really recommend http://www.yougrowgirl.com (and the book of the same name), despite the cheesy name there is so much excellent advice for the new gardener!
As already mentioned, basil is dead easy to grow. I have mine on a south-facing window ledge and just water it lightly every few days and it flourishes like anything.
One thing: be careful about over-seeding pots of herbs. Most commercially sold herb pots are over-seeded, which can mean that the plants starve each other out in a pot that’s not big enough. It’s a good idea therefore to weed out several of the smaller plants in the pot as sold before you attempt to grow the rest; or you could replant them in multiple pots.
Usually, plants will come with very good basic advice for care and I’ve found that if you can manage to follow the advice, they usually do pretty well.
Well this is all fabby advice!
I’d say – plant lots of little cut-and-come-again salad plants. Lettuces are easy and also delicious. Basil is easy, coriander less so. Herbs don’t need loads of water (esp mediterranean herbs such as rosemary, basil, oregano, thyme etc). Mint grows very very well and likes plenty of water and shade.
Tomatoes are great, but will need lots of water and feeding – they’re very greedy. They also like a bigger pot.
Plant potatoes in a hessian sack – potatoes are great, as you can just use an old potato that has started to sprout. You can even cut it into bits, and plant them separately, as long as each piece has a sprout on it. If you keep filling up the bag as the potato grows, eventually you’ll have a really good crop.
Finally, if you want to feed them naturally – a wormery is a great idea. Also, if you’re not too squeamish (my partner freaks out about this a little, so I’ve been forbidden from doing it to our allotment, but trust me, it totally works), if you wear a mooncup/keeper, the blood is really really good fertiliser.
Oh, and you can use the old ‘no-dig’ method – probably best to google it, as I’m not sure how good this would be for rooftop gardens. It does work well, however, for patches of land which aren’t suitable for digging, such as a driveway etc.
And yes, as someone has mentioned – you will definitely kill things at some point. that’s ok, just try and look into what might have killed them – lack of drainage, too much shade, too much sun etc. Pay attention to what kind of plant likes what – for example, onions don’t like loads of water, tomatoes love it. Check on the type of soil you’re using – the answer is always in the soil. If it’s very sandy, add plenty of organic matter such as compost to help retain moisture and nutrients. If it’s very heavy and clay-y, think about adding sharp sand and compost to improve drainage.
I have contributed to the death of no less than four basil plants. Do not underestimate the gross incompetence of city kids when it comes to growing green things.
OK – the thing about basil is that it like a lot of sunshine, and it also likes to get quite dry (almost to the point of droopy leaves) before getting a good soak.
Just for a point of interest (only my interest, really), I’m growing a tomato plant on my windowsill at work. It has grown to over a metre tall, and has lovely big tomatoes just about to ripen – yum!
Mint is good, I think. You can put it in your tea or lemonade. I’d suggest staying away from rosemary for the time being – maybe it’s just my experience, but those things are over-sensitive and decide to up and die on you for the most minor of infractions.
No advice, but I envy your roof access. Wish I had some.
I too have killed basil. Like I don’t bother growing it. Rosemary too. BUT NOW I have a possible reason… I’ve only ever bought rosemary plants. Wonder if they were crowded and killed themselves off.
1. Be aware of microclimates – differences in temperature, sun, wind, etc. that can vary from spot to spot on your roof. Try to spend a day observing where the sun hits the most as it crosses the sky, and place plants accordingly. Then, whenever you see that a plant isn’t growing or thriving, move it around until you find a spot that it likes. I have a few nasturtium plants around my apartment; one of them quickly grew into a ten-foot-long monster, two others have just kind of stayed the same size for awhile and are on their way out, and another immediately shriveled up and died. They’re all only a few feet from each other.
2. I second Ghigau’s advice on flowers. They attract more bees and beneficial insects, which is crucial for pollinating fruit-bearing plants like strawberries and keeping your pest population under control. I’m growing bacopas, confederate star jasmine, and the aforementioned nasturtiums here in Southern California – see what common flowers there are in New York and get some of those in pots.
3. Maybe I’m the only person in the world who didn’t know this, but if you use a lot of a particular herb – basil, for instance – don’t just grow one plant. I just got three basil seedlings and I’m not even sure those will be enough to satisfy my insatiable appetite for pesto.
Oh! And I haven’t read it, so I can’t vouch for it, but there’s a book called You Grow Girl (based on yougrowgirl.com) that looks good. The author has a rooftop garden in Toronto, I think.
Good luck! Post pictures.
Once the weather cools off this fall, you might try kale or salad greens. They’re easy to grow, and you can get a relatively large yield in a small area. I’ve also heard folks having good luck with radishes and carrots in containers. You plant them in the same container early spring or mid-fall. Hot weather makes carrots woody and gross.
I’ve had some success with chiles in containers, but you don’t get quite as much yield as you would if you planted them in the ground.
I would definitely recommend vertical gardening. Pole beans are easy, and the Kentucky Wonder variety gives more than you could eat fresh on your own, provided you keep up with picking. You can plant six or so vines around one pole, or even more on a trellis.
Strawberries also do well in containers, but will suck the first year. Second year, you’ll have lots.
One note of caution: In the spring, house sparrows and starlings will pick your plants to death, so use netting or set out some sacrifice plants like marigolds.
Good luck!
If you grow mint, grow it in a separate pot from everything else, or it will take over. I’ve Herbs are even easier if you don’t try to start them from seeds… an older plant will be more likely to survive a pest attack or a weekend of forgotten water.
I have friends in Brooklyn who have had some luck with tomatoes on a deck. The cherry or grape varieties were easier for them to deal with in containers.
Check out the Greenmarket…many of the sellers there have seedlings, and will give you tons and tons of advice on the care and feeding of your plants. Plus organic, local, etc. etc.
My advice would definitely be “Hurry!”. A lot of the veggies should be in ground already, and you may have missed your chance with some of the berries. Strawberries for example start picking season in about a week and I think they are actually a little late this year.
Other herbs that are easy to grow and I don’t think anyone has mentioned is dill. But it loves to over run the neighbours so I would second the earlier suggestion to keep herbs to their own individual pots.
Bell peppers are notoriously hard to get good produce from but just try growing stuff that you like, if they sell it at your local nursery you can probably grow it providing that your pots are deep enough. It still may take you a couple seasons to get a particular type of plant growing just right.
Also take stock of you local food snitches. Obviously you are off that ground so it does help but do squirrels and chipmunks make it up on to your rooftop, what type of birds are in the area? You may have to set up frames and netting around their favourites so plan ahead. Trust me it always sucks when you set up the nets AFTER the squirrels have already made off with half your cucumbers.
Ah I know, we are going to start as soon as our roof is open — the landlord is currently re-flooring the whole thing, so we can’t put anything up there quite yet. We have our fingers crossed that it’ll be done this week and we can start planting this weekend.
I don’t know anything about gardening, but I have done a lot of garden cooking. It’s a good idea to develop a recipe file ahead of time, so you aren’t stuck with piles of eggplant or zucchini. You might even want to get the nonperishable ingredients–mustard, tomato paste, pasta, white-wine vinegar for cucumbers and tomatoes–to have on hand, and invest in a couple tupperware casseroles for easy storage. Lasagna can accomodate any vegetable, roasted eggplants and peppers are easy to fit into simple stuff like scrambles and rice bowls, and baked egg dishes are a good way to get rid of tomatoes and asparagus. Make a test batch of any relish or sauce that you don’t know you love; we still have jars of green tomato relish from a decade ago.
Hmmm… you’re a bit late in the year to grow from seed, and certain plants like courgette and squash are already in flower. Tomatoes are in flower but you should still be abe to buy the plants. Pepper and aubergine plants are available right now where i live; quite bushy and healthy.
Might be worth going for veggies that are harvested in winter, or for leafy things you can pick away at all year around. A tray filled with 3-4 varieties of lettuce, some chives and coriander, a little rosemary and lavendar will look lovely as well.
I definitely recommend herbs for year-round growth. Herbs are great; you can plant them between cracks in rock and brick if you stuff the crack with soil, or in pots, or wherever really. Some fruit trees and bushes can be kept small in pots and still produce a reasonable amount; apples, pears, olives, lemons, gooseberries and the like. I am trying to gros figs and avocados in pots right now but can’t say if it’ll be successful yet. A bit late for this year; but next Spring, invest in a really big, deep bucket- sort of dustbin sized. Or just a cheap dustbin. Layer in it – several inches soil, 1 potato. Several more inches soil. Once that potato sends a shoot up into the light add another potato and more soil until the first shoot is just about exposed Keep doing this until the pot is full; then in Winter empty the whole thing out and it will be packed solid with winter spuds! Easy way to grow them in bulk without taking up too much space.
An easy and cheap way to keep some bugs off of veg is to plant garlic in amongst your other plants – they don’t like it. Also, instead of spending money on slug and snail killer; sprinkle a protective ring of used coffee grounds around the base of young leafy plants, or around the perimetre of them if the plant is low to the ground. Don’t use salt; it will kill the snails, but too much can kill of your veggies!
For limited space I really recommend you look up companion planting. It is a way of using careful planting combinations to your advantage; an example that won’t help you but gives you an idea… planting corn and peas or beans. Plant some corn first. When it is a few inches high, plant beans or peas in the same area. The corn provides a sturdy support for the climbing peas to grow up and the peas release nutrients into the soil that benefit corn.
Also, learn how to make preserves. Chutneys, pickles and jams. A handy way to deal with a glut of veggies without letting them go to waste.
Oh! And if you are new to gardening; MINT!
Mint is really a weed. My gran used to have to wage war with hers every year to stop it taking over the garden, but in pots it grows lush and healthy even if you really neglect it. Potatoes are like that too; keep them isolated to one pot, or within a year or two every planter will bring up a new potato plant of 8 every year regardless of how thoroughly you harvest them!
One interesting thing; with garlic, a single clove with a small shoot will produce a full bulb if left in the ground long enough. Take out the bulb, save a clove, plonk it back in and whollah! Endless supply of garlic from a single clove.
Grape tomatoes are prolific producers and do well when planted in large pots (but they need more water than they would in the ground). I did one grape variety and one heirloom variety (mortgage lifters) this year.
Mint is SO easy to grow and the perfect garnish for cocktails; you can take a sprig here and there for simple syrup or garnishes, and the mint will bounce right back and fill in wherever you cut.
Basil is good because it has to be cut back a lot, too, and who doesn’t love fresh pesto?
Lavendar and rosemary need lots of sun and are lower maintenance than some other herbs because they need less water.
Happy planting!
For inspiration, read Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle if you haven’t already.
I can’t offer any area-specific tips on what to grow, but here are a few general tomato growing tips: 1. Before you transplant, add hair clippings and egg shells to the soil. These decay slowly and act as a slow-release fertilizer. Tomatoes love ‘em. 2. Always, always fertilize with a fertilizer meant for tomatoes. Most all-purpose fertilizers are nitrogen rich, which gives you wonderful foliage and hardly any fruit. 3. Don’t over-water, no matter how tempting. If I recall NYC in the summer, the days can get blistering hot. Water well twice a week in the early, early morning or at dusk. If you feel really compelled to water during the day, water the soil and media only – no water on the plants! 4. Mulch around your plants, even in pots. It prevents blight and helps the soil maintain moisture. 5. Tomato cages are incredibly annoying. I use stakes and tie the plant to the stakes with nylons, which doesn’t cut into the stem. 6. Don’t let anyone smoke around your tomatoes. They are very susceptible to tobacco mosaic disease. 6. It’s too late in the season to grow from seed, but you’re right on time to get some awesome sales on seedlings for transplant. Look for the healthiest plants, and consider adding a root-booster when you transplant.
And finally – I echo everyone’s statement on basil. But if you plan on eating it often buy two plants. I learned this the hard way when I decided to make pesto for a party after a week long Italian food splurge. It wasn’t pretty, what I did to that plant.
Has anyone suggested catnip yet? It’s fairly hardy, as long as you don’t have to fight off roaming cats. :D
Oh, and two last tips. I don’t know what kind of insect problem would be present on a rooftop garden, but I could see birds being an issue. A simple shiny whirligig placed in the pot will deter them. (Think tacky dollar store 4th of July stuff.) Diluted Murphy’s Oil soap sprayed on the plant will keep most bugs and other pests off. Happy Gardening!
That’s awesome!! You should definitely check out http://www.yougrowgirl.com/ It is an amazing resource that I’ve been using for my own urban gardening the past two years. Happy growing!
I absolutely positively second the earthboxes recommendation.
I also recommend the website yougrowgirl.com.
I am in zone 10 (10!!) in South Florida, so what worked for me may not work for you. be patient. Realize some stuff just doesn’t live long (some herbs like cilantro). I had great luck with certain tomatoes, green beans, fennel, lettuces, and some others.
For tomatoes, there’s a variant called “super bush” that require no caging or staking. They are SUPER EASY to grow and from my experience, they grow in direct sun, indirect sun, and very little sun. They do require a fair amount of water, but if it’s in a lot of sun, pack something like mulch around the base of them once they start growing and they won’t use quite so much water, as the mulch will help keep it from evaporating so quickly.
Congrats!
I haven’t done rooftop gardening (we’ll be handing out plot assignments in our brand new terrestrial community garden on Friday), but I’m really excited about the idea on a lot of levels. If you (or any of the other folks here) have updates to pass along, I’d be love to see them.
I’ve always found that lettuce is really easy to grow (and you can grow super tasty stuff that they don’t carry in stores), although I don’t know how it’ll handle the heat later in the summer. To be honest, starting with strong plants may be the only good advice I can give. That, and be patient– it took us a few years to figure stuff out when we started, and as mentioned above, crops like strawberries can be great fun, provided you don’t expect anything this year.
I don’t have much actual gardening advice (I’m new to it myself, though I haven’t yet killed my tomatoes, so that’s good), but if you have access to a car, I can recommend Liberty Sunset Garden Center in Red Hook. They have everything, including advice and a view of the Statue of Liberty. And they’re near the key lime pie place.
I’ve grown cherry tomatoes in a big pot before. The leaves dried out a bit, but it flowered well and produced a crazy amount of delicious tomatoes. I’m growing a lot of herbs in pots as well. I have basil, oregano, cilantro, dill, rosemary, and parsley. They’re all doing very well. I suggest getting chives, too. Chives go great with french fries. I’ve heard that strawberries can grow nicely in pots, so you might want to get a couple of those.
On growing things in NYC — you can get seedling and young plants at your local greenmarket. There’s always someone with a table of perky lil’ tomato plants and herbs off behind their lettuce somewhere. That’s where I got my grape tomato plant, basil and chives.
Ooh, and a question for someone who’s done this guerilla gardening thing a bit more than me: what attacks basil, and how to do I ward it off? I have a little tupperware cup of beer, flush to the surface of the ground, that draws off the slugs (soooo many slugs). What else might be attacking my baby basil? Whatever it is, it’s leaving the chives and the tomato plant alone.
I’m adding garlic as soon as the spare clove or three on my kitchen counter start to sprout :)
MissKate: What’s the problem with your basil? If the edges of the leaves are brown, it could just be that it’s still getting too cold at night for the plant to thrive. If this is the case, just pick off the brown leaves–they’re fine and can still be used for cooking. Hope this helps!
Tomato’s are determinant or indeterminate. Determinant varieties produce fruit all at one time, while indeterminate produce throughout the season.
Rooftop gardening is a fantastic way to grow some of the food that you eat. The amount of heat up there can be an issue and watering is crucial. I run a social network for growers and urban homesteaders – we have an easy and cheap way of making self-watering, or sub-irrigated growing containers (like the Earthbox, but 1/10 the cost).
http://homegrown.org/blog/2009/05/self-watering-containers-made-super-easy/
Happy growing!
I know the editor of the Civil Eats blog (referenced in the Times article) and, knowing her, I think she would be happy to answer questions as to local East Village resources for rooftop gardening, as well as answer questions about the planning and timing involved. There’s a wonderful local (EV) composting-organic dirt cooperative, that delivers bags of great dirt. I’d contact her through her blog. Maybe even site visits in the nabe could be arranged.
Radishes and peas are super fun and easy to grow. Peas are exciting too, because they like to climb things and look awesome. Plus they’re great for nibbling while you’re gardening. It might be a little late to plant ‘em this season, I usually plant a ton of seeds as soon as the ground defrosts. But you can keep in mind for next year. They’re pretty much the only thing I consistently remember to grow besides herbs and lettuce.
Read up on the growing seasons of what you want and days till picking. You’re too late for many things unless you want to grow them inside. My tomatoes are setting fruit, the berries are ripening, and one crop of peas have come and gone and the second is ending. If you hurry you can plant seedlings of cucumbers, pumpkins and other squashes like zucchini. Make sure you have enough room because all of them will grow very long and large. You will probably also hate zucchini by the end; it produces like crazy and you’ll be reduced to leaving baskets of them on your neighbors’ doorstep in order to get rid of them. And then your neighbors will hate them (and possibly you) because the zucchinis will *still* keep producing even after you never want to see another one again.
Look up what kinds of climates plants tolerate. I’d stay away from lettuce in NYC; it’s far too hot in the summer and lettuce will bolt (flower) in your weather, making the leaves bitter. Try spinach instead, it’s far more forgiving to heat and has a stronger constitution in general. Or kale or collard greens. Lettuce is a delicate plant in actuality.
Root veggies! Carrots and radishes can be planted and harvested until it gets too cold for them and they have a relatively short seed to table growing period. Plant in rows, thin after a few weeks, and pull when the shoulders are just about the break the soil. Cover planted seeds and seedlings with netting or a tarp because birds LOVE them. CDs strung up on line make good birdscarers, but eventually the birds catch on and ignore them. Good use for junk CDs.
If you’re going to go for a citrus (freezing will kill most and it destroys the fruit), and have a lot of patience, I’d suggest a kumquat in a large pot. They grow slowly, but are much hardier than even the Satsuma orange. They like a hot summer and will withstand freezing; the fruit will taste better if you bring them inside for the coldest weather though.
Read up on what kind of soil each plant likes. Some plants need sandy or clay-like soil and fertilizing the heck out of them won’t change that. Others thrive on benign neglect.
New York gets too cold for most winter veggies but if you don’t mind bringing the pots inside once it starts to freeze at night, you can continue with planting things like brussel spouts and kale and parsnips. Leeks love cold but you need to plant them in early spring for a fall harvest.
Oh, just to chip in about pest control – plant other things apart from veg (such as marigolds, which slugs dislike), nasturtiums (which double up as salad flowers) etc – this invotes a greater variety of insects, and they will naturally pick each other off. old tin cans sunk into the ground and half filled with beer are great slug traps, although as you’ll be using containers, perhaps copper tape wrapped around the pots would suit – gives off a little electrical charge which the slugs don’t like, so will turn around and go back down, rather than munching your veg.
Also, old bits of tin foil and CDs on string are good bird scarers, and they’re pretty.
tomatoes and peppers are both super easy on the East Coast (I just moved to Seattle and oh I miss them). Also try basil, thyme, oregano, rosemary, etc. There’s just nothing like making homemade past with roof-grown tomatoes and basil (grow some garlic if you really want to go all out)