Sustainable Urban Gardens Being An Urban Gardener: Creating A City Vegetable Garden - Gardening Know How By Nikki Phipps (Author of The Bulb-o-licious Garden) Even if you’re an urban gardener with little space, you can still benefit from growing a city vegetable garden. A window, balcony, patio, deck or roof receiving six or more hours of sun is all you need, in addition to a few containers. City Vegetable Gardening Designs The urban gardener can enjoy a city vegetable garden in various ways. Growing vegetables is more versatile than one might think. City Vegetable Gardening in Containers Growing vegetables in containers is one of the easiest ways to create a city vegetable garden. Typically, smaller containers are used for more shallow-rooted crops like carrots, lettuce and radishes. In order to help improve drainage and airflow, it may be a good idea to raise your containers about an inch or two off the ground with blocks. Rooftop City Gardens Balcony or rooftop gardening is an excellent way for city dwellers to enjoy growing vegetables. Growing an Urban Vegetable Garden Vertically
6 Strategies for Urban Vegetable Gardening Room to grow: With a little planning, even the smallest of spaces can hold a veggie or herb garden. City living has its ecobenefits: easy travel by foot and public transit, smaller homes that use less energy, and less living space in which to accumulate needless junk. But growing your own vegetables in an urban environment can be tricky when you don’t have a backyard. Ready to start a plot of your own? 12 Savvy Small-Space Urban Gardening Designs & Ideas Think you gotta have a farm or even a large yard to grow enough fresh fruit, vegetables and herbs to feed your family all summer? You’d be surprised how much food you can get out of the smallest of spaces – even when you live in an urban high-rise. From innovative vertical gardening systems to hanging pots and easy-access planters, these 12 small-space gardening solutions make homegrown produce possible no matter how tiny your outdoor space may be. Small but Expandable Step Garden (images via: urban garden) How do you squeeze every possible square inch of usable growing space out of a tiny balcony or deck? Pop Bottle Drip System (images via: you grow girl) Unless you’re really conscientious, it’s way too easy to accidentally kill plants growing in small pots under the brutal heat of the summer sun, especially in urban environments where reflected heat can dry out soil fast. Square Foot Gardening (image via: serene journal) How much food can you grow in a square foot? Self-Watering Grow Box
40 Inspiring DIY Herb Gardens If you love to cook you most likely can’t live without fresh herbs. You can buy them when you need them but it would be much better if you will always have them in pots near by. This way it’s much easier to mix them in small doses and add in all meals you’re cooking. Of course to have them on your kitchen or right outside your kitchen door you need to organize a thoughtful herb garden that also looks great. We’ve gathered for you a bunch of cool ideas that might inspire you to do that. Enjoy! Herbs And Vegetables In Modern Planters Of Different Heights (via bhg) DIY Herbal Window Box (via bhg) DIY Colorful Vertical Garden On A Fence (via shelterness) DIY Recycled Seed Pots from Newspapers and Magazines (via shelterness) Container Herb Garden (via bhg) How to Turn Coffee Tins into a Hanging Herb Garden (via curbly) DIY Flower Pot Herb Tower (via curbly) Herb Garden With A Bentwood Trellis (via bhg) DIY Small Space Vertical Garden Of A Pallet (via shelterness)
Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program - Grants and Education VTV Blijdorp | Mulchen: Goed voor de bodem <- Terug Mulchen betekent dat je de bodem van je tuin bedekt met organisch materiaal. In de natuur gebeurt dat vanzelf. Daar zijn geen ijverige tuinders die uitgebloeide bloemen en dode takken verwijderen. Die vallen daar uiteindelijk vanzelf op de grond en worden dan door allerlei bodemdieren, bacteriën en schimmels afgebroken. Waarom zou je mulchen? Mulchen doe je met plantenrestenGrasmaaisel: Leg een laag van ca. 2 cm. grasmaaisel tussen stevige planten en struiken. Dode stengels: Verknip in de winter of het vroege voorjaar de afgestorven stengels van planten met een heggeschaar in kleine stukjes en laat ze op en rondom de plant vallen. Bladeren: Hark in het najaar de bladeren op het pad bij elkaar en gooi ze onder struiken die houden van een zure bodem (zoals rodondendron en azalea). Compost: Ook wel het zwarte goud genoemd. Houtsnippers: Met een laag van 5 cm ben je verzekerd van een onkruidvrij stuk voor zeker een jaar. Mulchen is een weldaad voor de tuin.
Nieuw in moestuinland : Bodem en bemesting | Moestuin Forum Dag mede(moes)tuin liefhebbers, Sinds vorige week heb ik, samen met 2 andere vrienden, een moestuin overgenomen. We zijn alle drie totaal beginners (zijn alle 3 net 30) op dit vlak en zijn daarom de laatste week druk doende informatie te verzamelen. Laat ik beginnen door te zeggen dat we sowieso geen gif willen gebruiken. Ik heb, zoals waarschijnlijk velen hier, de film Back to Eden gekeken en werd uiteraard van het houtsnipper verhaal wel enthousiast (van de bijbelcitaten iets minder) maar kwam ook op verschillende plekken alweer de kanttekeningen van deze methode tegen. Spitten is iets wat ik op zich graag doe omdat ik van fysieke arbeid houd (werk op kantoor dus aangename afwisseling) maar ook over het spitten las ik dat het je daarmee het bodemleven overhoop haalt en dat het eigenlijk niet verstandig is. De grond lijkt mij (leek zijnde) wel in goede staat. Kortom, wat is een goede natuurlijke manier van starten met een (nu met onkruid bezaaide) moestuin. MVG Marijn
Mulchen, een paar vraagjes. : Bodem en bemesting | Moestuin Forum Ik ben dit jaar begonnen met onrijpe compost als mulg. Ben er helemaal happy mee. Onrijp, omdat ik dan gewoon steeds in korte tijd wat toe kan voegen. Simpelweg omdat ik op een tuin zit, die nog nooit moestuin is geweest, en het is puur stofzand als je niks doet. Of stofzand, of een harde dichtgeslagen korst. Verse mest en uien schijnt niet goed te zijn, ivm uienvlieg aantrekken. Twintig cenimeter mulch... doet mijn oren flapperen... dat is een boel!! Uitgetrokken onkruid (mulch is echt onkruidvertragend) leg ik weer bovenop de mulchlaag, maar alleen bij de wat grotere planten, bij kleine plantjes is dat te rommelig, en zie je niet wat nou je getrokken onkruid is, en wat je zaailingen zijn. Als ik wil zaaien, duw ik de laag opzij, en zaai in een geultje, wat ik weer bedek met wat zandgrond. Groot onkruid gooi ik op de composthoop, dan laat ik het daar voorverteren. Ik rommel wat aan.
How to Grow Blueberries I grow a slew of both common and uncommon fruits, from apples to kiwis to pears to paw-paws. I love them all, but if pressed to recommend just one must-grow fruit, it would be blueberries. These native Americans have stolen my heart for many reasons. The fruit is abundant and seductively sweet, especially when allowed to fully ripen on the shrub—a luxury commercial growers cannot afford. The shrubs make beautiful specimens in the landscape, not surprising considering their lineage to the mountain laurel, rhododendron, and azalea. In spring, their branches are festooned with delicate, bell-shaped flowers. If great taste and beauty are not enough for you, blueberries are literally just what the doctor ordered. Varieties and Soil The first key to success is to pick the right variety for your climate and to give it company. A second key to success is soil.
Growing Tomatoes, How to Grow Tomatoes, Planting Tomatoes Back in the 80’s when I started growing tomatoes organically, the only way to get good tomatoes was to grow your own. Now you can get good tomatoes in season at farmers markets and high-end supermarkets, but they still don’t come close to tomatoes you can grow in your back yard, if you know how to grow tomatoes. The first time you tuck into a sun-warmed, vine-ripened tomato, you’ll be hooked. Tomatoes need a long growing season, 6-12 hours of sun a day, and summer heat to set and ripen fruit. Tomatoes perform better when you can mimic the conditions they evolved under. Tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum) evolved in the Orinoco basin. Grow tomatoes in the sunniest, warmest part of your garden. Tomato Cold Tolerance/Season Tomatoes are summer vegetables that die at the first touch of frost. In temperate gardens in the northern and southern hemispheres, seeds are started indoors 6-8 weeks before the last frost date for the area, and planted outside after all danger of frost has passed. Fertilizing
Container gardening vegetables indoor outdoor gardens Container gardening is an easy way to garden, especially when you lack yard space. Here are our recommendations on which vegetable varieties are container-friendly—and which container types are most suitable for each veggie. For supplies, you only need a good container, the right soil mix, and appropriate seed (or transplant) varieties. In addition to providing 5 hours or more of full sun, watering is critical. Beans, snap Container: 5-gallon window box Varieties: Bush 'Blue Lake', Bush 'Romano', 'Tender Crop' Broccoli Container: 1 plant/5 gallon pot, 3 plants/15-gallon tub Varieties: 'DeCicco', 'Green Comet' Carrots Container: 5-gallon window box at least 12 inches deep Varieties: 'Danvers Half Long', 'Short 'n Sweet', 'Tiny Sweet' Cucumbers Container: 1 plant/1-gallon pot Varieties: 'Patio Pik', 'Pot Luck', 'Spacemaster' Eggplant Container: 5-gallon pot Varieties: 'Black Beauty', 'Ichiban', 'Slim Jim' Lettuce Container: 5-gallon window box Varieties: 'Ruby', 'Salad Bowl'
Most Expensive Specialty Crops in the World - Insider Monkey Growing fruits and vegetables in the home garden is becoming an increasingly popular secondary income source for many people, but what are the most expensive specialty crops in the world and how much profit can they bring a small farmer? While grains and even pricey vegetables like asparagus or cherry tomatoes can boost your regular salary by investing little time and money, the reality is that the market is full of home-grown, organic crop suppliers. Specialty crops, on the other hand, can reap up to $60,000 per acre and require the same caretaking as common vegetables. In a previous article we talked about the 10 most common genetically modified foods and how they’re affecting human health. Due to this, the organic food market is growing significantly, but the biggest earnings remain on a different spectrum. 7. Estimated price per pound: $18 Lavender is a particularly profitable crop for small farmers, because it’s easy to tend and offers multiple sale outlets. 6. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1.
Top 10 Recommended Grasses Grow Posted By Andrew McIndoe @ 7:41 on August 17th 2015 Category: Blog, Ornamental grasses Our Top 10 Recommended Grasses Grow Love them or loathe them, grasses have become essential subjects in today’s planting palette, mainly because they mix well with perennials in prairie style schemes, adding light height and movement, especially later in the year. I have resisted writing about grasses to grow with perennials, maybe that’s a subject for another time. Instead I’ve chosen my top ten grasses that I reckon fit into any garden. Designers love them and plant them in great drifts, most have clearly never divided a miscanthus after a couple of years. Phalaris arundinacea ‘Feesey’ My first choice is the grass I knew as a kid as gardener’s garters. Stipa tenuissima I first came across this wispy, gossamer grass on a trip to France. Miscanthus ‘Morning Light’ Stipa gigantea Grow this one for its golden flower heads, at their best in late summer. Calamagrostis ‘Karl Foerster’ Pennisetum ‘Karley Rose’