Growing food in an urban setting?

obewanz

you can also grow all kinds of kitchen herbs (they work great in the window) basil, parsley, oregano, thyme, mint etc..they are easy growers and dont need a LOT of attention.  Tomatoes indoors is be hard but very doable ..i would stick to plum or cherry tomatoes other larger varities plants will simply grow too large..tomatoes though are used to a certain vibration (from the buzzing bees some poeple have great luck indoors others not so much) tomato plant you will have to self pollinate when it flowers., garlic and onions  can be grown in 5 gallon pots easily

this is a great tomato resource http://www.tomatodirt.com/grow-indoor-tomatoes.html maybe Marjorie can do a web video about her thoughts..

Heather

Fred Tice

Sweet potatoes are easy to grow from a single organic potato purchased from a store, put in tooth picks and support in water like an avocado pit. Slips will continue to sprout from the top and should be snipped with scissors when they get 12 inches long and put in to a jar of water to develop roots. After you have a few slips with roots plant in a 5 gallon or greater bucket and keep in a warm are near a sunny window and watch them grow up any structure. The greens are great in salad or cooked like spinach so you can put the cuttings to good use when they reach the ceiling. Keep the mother plant going and you will have an unlimited supply of starts. I recommend the really cool exotic purple sweet potatoes you can get from Japan and Hawaii. Good luck to you. Cheers!

 

Fred from Worcestershire, England.

MikeF

Do you have the ability to mount a window box outside your windows?  Do you have a porch that get some sun?  How about a fire-escape?  If you have any of those, you can do traditional outdoor container-gardening.  If you want tomatoes, I'd recommend smaller plants with smaller fruits, dwarf or bush varieties with cherry or small tomatoes.   Herbs (some) are easy and grow in small containers.

 

I don't know anything about your building.  But SOME urban landlords will allow their tenants to have a roof-top garden.  It might be worth asking.  :-)    Being eco-conscious is currently trendy, so having a green-roof is a potential up-sell for the building.

 

If you are strictly indoors, then herbs and greens will work well with window-sun.

 

If you want full sun fruiting plants such as peppers and tomatoes, then you will need more light.  LED grow lights are cheap.

 

If you like gadgets, I have friends who live in apartments and love their AeroGarden.  But I prefer organic and sustainable.  ;-)

 

M

 

 

 

 

 

 

fibrefarmer

I got a book out from the library ages ago called Permaculture in Pots.  I wish that book had been available when I lived in an apartment.  That would have been great.

Things I learned living in a city.

• Land is more available than you realize.  Allotments, friends with backyard space.  Libraries lending seeds (you grow, save the seeds, give back some to the library and repeat next year - also free classes for growing stuff) and they sometimes lend land to grow on.
• Growing things in pots on a balcony is a great place to start.  Observing what you grow will teach you more than any book, video or website.  Of course books, videos and websites help too.  Tomatoes would be a great plant to start with as they love the heat of the city.
• almost anything can become a pot for growing something in.  An old tin can with a hole in the bottom.  I even grew lemon trees in wine bottles but they were a bit difficult to transplant when they got rootbound.

My thoughts, start growing.  Grow anything.  If you have a tomato in the fridge, save the seeds from it and then grow them.

Grammyprepper

Herbs and lettuces do well on windowsills. If, as mentioned above, you have any type of outdoor access, you could grow just about anything you want depending on your gardening zone. What's most important is that you just start growing! Good luck!