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Even if you’re short on space, or gardening in urban areas, you can still grow some of your own food and enjoy a year-round garden.  Container gardening can be very productive as long as you maximize your containers potential.  As long as you have one large pot, (we suggest 18″ or larger in diameter) you can grow “10 different crops in a single...

Around the world, urban farming is becoming an important part of the city landscape.  The new reality in which we live in, is that more than half of the worlds population is now urbanized.  That number is expected to rise to nearly 70% by the middle of this century.  “Today, urban farming is the buzzword for urban planners, whether it is in the industrialized...

Gardening in small space can be just as rewarding and fun as growing in a large garden area.  These days, urban gardeners are growing more of their own food in sometimes less than 100 square feet.  Balconies, patios, even indoor windowsills are a great place to grow vegetables and herbs.  Almost anything can be grown in a container, and if you’re wanting...

Old dressers are easy to come by and for balcony gardeners or anyone who’s wanting to grow more food in less space by creating a vertical garden, this project might just be for you!  “Making a container garden from up-cycled dresser drawers is pretty simple. You’ll want to start with a plan. Things you’ll want to consider… Where will the...

Not everyone who grows their own food has acres of land or even a large suburban backyard. Many home gardeners everywhere are learning how to grow their favorite fruits, veggies and herbs vertically to save space. This is important for high-rise dwellers, balcony or rooftop gardeners and even renters who are unable to use what little space they may have in their yard. Here’s...

Original article can be found at: “WideOpenCountry.com” If you’re craving your own fresh winter vegetables but don’t have the space for a garden, you’re in luck. Here are a few ways you can create your own vertical garden. You don’t need a lot of space for many winter plants. Though some plants, like broccoli and cauliflower, take a larger...

This post was found from SeedsNow.com BLOG If you want to have vegetables to eat this fall, then you need to start planting in summertime. This might be your first time growing a fall garden, & these vegetables are a great place to start because they can all be grown in containers! 1. Radishes– The trick with growing perfect radishes, lays in the soil. Literally. Keep the moisture level...

You’ve seen hanging baskets of flowers, but have you seen a hanging basket of lettuce before? Cut small slits in the basket and place your lettuce through them. Fill with good potting soil and you’ve got an awesome basket of lettuce to hang on your patio.   Lettuce is super easy to grow from seed.  Lettuce seeds germinate in less than a week and mature sometimes as little as 20 days. Sources...

Hard to believe it’s already August. The summer is flying by. Despite being the summer, it’s time to start thinking about your fall garden. This past past, I planted some seeds in my new garden that’s alongside my building. How to decide what to plant To figure out what I should plant, I used my Veggie Virgin Formula. It’s a simple 4-step process that will show you what you can start from seeds right now. What I got planted Since the summers are traditionally hot here in LA, my choices are still limited. I went...

Deciding what to grow is an important decision. It’s also the question that I get asked most often when people are starting their urban gardens. To that question, I often respond with a series of questions that you need to ask yourself. Here they are: What’s the location that I am growing in? How much sunlight does my space get? What am I growing in? Once you answer those three questions, your choices will automatically be narrowed down. If you only get three hours of sunlight, your chances of growing cucumbers are small. Then...

What can I grow? That’s the most common question that I get asked. First, you’ll have to decide on the location of your urban garden. Then you’ll have to determine how much sunlight your garden space gets. There are four main categories of sunlight: Full sun. 6+ hours of direct sunlight. Partial sun. 4-5 hours of direct sunlight. Partial shade. 2-4 hours of direct sunlight. Shade Less than 1 hour of direct sunlight. Since we are living in urban environments, we have other structures that we are dealing...

When you live in an apartment your space is limited. That’s especially true when it comes to your garden. We barely have room for furniture. Forget about tomatoes. This is why it’s important to consider all options when deciding where to start your apartment vegetable garden. Since a lot of apartment dwellers are renters as well, we need to take into consideration the costs involved and what our landlord will allow. It ain’t no thang though because here are seven (7) spaces where you can start your apartment garden: Fire...

I’m going to be moving in the next couple of weeks. Why does it matter and what’s it have to do with urban gardening? Even though I’m moving into the apartment next door to mine, I am losing the balcony and the balcony garden. Why should you care? It matters because I will be growing in an all new location and using new methods including growing indoors using natural and grow lights and growing hydroponically. So be sure to hit me up with your indoor and hydroponic questions. Losing my balcony, but gaining more garden...

A rain barrel is something that would be great to have to be able to collect rainwater, but the reality is that it won’t work for those of us apartment gardening. One reason is that since we are dealing with small spaces, so every little inch counts. Something as large as a rain barrel really isn’t practical. That doesn’t mean that we can’t...

Damned. Hard to believe that it’s been well over a month since I took my break. Much to your delight, I am back though and back to posting. I appreciate all the comments and feedback that were left during that time to let me know what you are liking and not liking. It will all certainly be taken into consideration. When I was gone, nobody really took care of the garden. Anita was with me for...

My bad for missing last week. Some personal things going on, but all good. It’s been a while since I gave an update on my balcony garden so wanted show you what I got going on and no matter where you live or how much space you (don’t) have, you can grow some of your own food. I live in Los Angeles and my balcony is 13 x 4 and east facing. This means that...

It’s almost July. Crazy ain’t it?!?! Around the country most of you should be at least a month deep into your growing seasons. You should have already thinned out some seedlings after their true leaves shown and done succession plantings. You’ve already shared your spring garden ideas with me and last month you told me how your May gardening was...

So last week I mentioned that a building inspector from the Los Angeles Housing Department (LAHD) came to inspect our building and said that the balcony garden was against code. He was vague and didn’t cite a code at the time, but said fire code. The local fire department didn’t seem to think so though. A week later, there was a memo from LAHD posted...

When I had my fire escape garden in NYC, I knew that it was technically against the fire code (but J-walking is illegal too and no one ever gets busted). Now that I’ve been in LA for over a year, I’ve been told that a balcony garden is against the fire code too. Last week a building inspector came by and said that it was a fire code to have anything on...