How do I plant a vegetable garden in the urban areas of New York City?
Thursday, December 17th, 2009 at
9:34 am
What is the correct procedure for it? In other words, what do I have to do to make it a successful growing garden with lush vegetables?
Filed under: Vegetable Gardening
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Most people don’t have property,but most people have patios.Invest in some very large pots,2or 3 bags of stone for the bottom of the pots for drainage,a bag of sand for an inch of layering on top of the stone,top soil,4-5 bags,1/2 to put on top of the sand and 1/2 to mix with a complete soil mix,then straight complete soil mix as the last layer.Plenty of sun,plants that have already been started,and ware deeply,not frequently.Try not to add pesticides,or else you may as well buy them at the grocers.
Why not plant a raised bed? There are directions available on various websites.
I am not sure if your area has one but in city’s around New York a lot of times they have a gated area that you can rent out for a small price and they give you a small little plot to grow things in and everything you need is usually there for you to share. I am not sure how you could go about finding one, but theres probably a listing in your local news paper. You could make a post on Craigs List asking if anyone know of any..
Or if you have a little stoop that the public can’t really get to you can plant individual things in big pots… tomatoes always work good for things like that. Other that that I am not all that sure.
We need more info. Do you have ground to cultivate or is this a roof top or container garden? If ground, then you need to improve the soil…removing debris first, digging the soil as deep as you can…….12 inches or more. Incorporate organic matter such as compost. Probably should have a soil test done to determine what else needs to be added ……what minerals/fertilizers and such. Testing for contaminants is very costly. If weeds were growing there before, then you know it isn’t too contaminated to support plant growth, then you have to worry about other toxic material.
If roof top or container, you must be assured the structure can hold up the added weight of the soil and water. Assume nothing. Containers must be at least 12 inches deep with drainage holes in the bottom. Set the containers on something so the water can drain out and away from the pots.
The soil will have to come from bags….remember weight? There are many different types, brands, etc. Each gardener has their own favorite. You’ll also need fertilizer since the soil may have little or no actual nutritive value plus the nutrients tend to drain out with the irrigation water.
Speaking of water, another big weight factor. Daily watering will probably be necessary……more often in excessive heat. Wind will also dry out the plants and soil. Oh yeah, full sun please. Veggies don’t grow in shade.
If you can get the plants prestarted, wonderful, otherwise you have the added time factor of seed germination. With a long season, no big deal, but many of us want those veggies as early as possible.
Gardening in NYC is very popular. Here’s but one link: http://www.newvillage.net/Journal/Issue1/1resgardening.html
The location: NYC. The premises: 2 room apartment – 4th floor-no elevator- 3rd Avenue and 27th Street. The plant: Italian tomato seeds. The procedure: buy a large plastic 5 gallon empty paint can. place pieces of styrofoam on bottom of can (enough to come up to one inch). Fill the rest of the can with good potting soil, Pack tight. Leave one inch on top of can. Push one wooden stick down middle of soil all the way to bottom. And it should rise above the can apx 2 feet. Plant tomato seed 3 inches down. Punch 2 small holes in bottom of can. (for drainage). Place full can on window sill. choose sill that gets the most sun light. Water every other day. When plant starts growing, water every day. 6 weeks later – big beautiful tomatoes. Good Luck.