Across the United States, urban gardens are giving city dwellers a chance to grow their own vegetables in bucolic urban oases. These citified farm spaces provide the perfect warm weather hobby for the apartment and condo set, especially the ones who love having steady access to fresh vegetables.
If you’ve ever looked out on these gardening spaces with envy but didn’t think you had the agricultural acumen for producing crops in the city, guess again. Creating an urban garden that won’t die is a snap when you follow these three simple steps.
Start Out Slow
As you’ve probably guessed, there’s a lot more to gardening than simply planting seeds and checking in on them once in awhile. That said, some vegetables and flowers require a lot less care and maintenance than others.
Backyard crops like corn, carrots and oregano are hearty, low maintenance plants that thrive in almost any environment. Beginning gardeners will especially want to steer clear of delicate, temperamental plants like tomatoes. While there’s no question that these plants can be urban friendly, only an experienced gardener will be able to navigate their many quirks.
Talk to a few other gardeners before you get started and find out what kind of plant life does best in garden you’re planting in.
Don’t Overcrowd the Space
Attempting to grow too many plants in too small a space is a common, novice gardening mistake. Almost every plant you’ll be able to grow in the city is going to need a little room to grow, so don’t get greedy.
Some plants definitely require more space than others, but leaving 2-4 inches between your individual plants should give your crops ample room for growth. Remember that at the end of the day, you’ll be better off harvesting a small number of quality vegetables over a volume of undernourished runts.
Watering & Weeding
No matter how low maintenance your crops are, they’re still going to need regular watering and weeding.
In most cases, this means a daily commitment to pour a can or two of water over the entire length of your plot and keeping the area free of weeds. If your urban garden is too far away from your primary residence, you might find that this is a bit difficult, so plan ahead.
Speaking of planning ahead, be sure to you get one of your neighbors to water your garden if you’re away on vacation or weekend getaway. At the same time, don’t worry too much if you miss a single day’s watering. If you’ve selected the right crops, they should be able to withstand a little difficulty and neglect.
Watering and weeding take time, but in order to do them correctly, you need to be certain to purchase quality gardening decor and tools from reliable sites like Gardenfun.com.
Finally
Urban gardening doesn’t have to be complicated in order to be successful. Gardeners who pick the right plants; provide basic care; and give the crops plenty of room will be handsomely rewarded during harvest time.