Comments on: Advice on Urban Farming

By: Tula

Tula — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 16:04:30 +0000

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)

By: Shazbat

Shazbat — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 17:06:20 +0000

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.

By: Smilecat

Smilecat — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 10:39:23 +0000

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.

By: kate lee

kate lee — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 19:29:50 +0000

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.

By: B. Dagger Lee

B. Dagger Lee — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 15:47:18 +0000

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.

By: Cornelia HOMEGROWN

Cornelia HOMEGROWN — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 14:24:37 +0000

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!

By: mcdivarose

mcdivarose — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 11:42:20 +0000

Tomato’s are determinant or indeterminate. Determinant varieties produce fruit all at one time, while indeterminate produce throughout the season.

By: SippingJuleps

SippingJuleps — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 05:29:31 +0000

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!

By: misskate7511

misskate7511 — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 04:58:01 +0000

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 :)

By: ThickRedGlasses

ThickRedGlasses — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 03:03:30 +0000

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.