Today’s post is by guest blogger David Ort of www.foodwithlegs.com.
In August, Canadians who want to eat locally no longer have to depend on just cabbages, potatoes, and squash for their vegetables. This is especially true for foodies like me who have devoted themselves to the satisfying and rewarding hobby of vegetable gardening.
Attached to my apartment in Toronto I have a large backyard which unfortunately (for gardening) is deeply-shaded by a giant sugar maple. Luckily however I’ve discovered that large amounts of space are definitely not a must-have for an urban garden. My gardening experiments have simply been pushed to the periphery: the back steps, in front of the carport, and my bedroom windowsill. I’m definitely able to make do.
Once I found my sunny spots, my obvious first question was: what to grow? Pumpkins, beets, potatoes, asparagus, beans, and tomatoes are great but they all take up space and require a whole summer of work and waiting (not to mention raccoon protection) for a single crop that might only produce for two or three weeks. While this has not deterred me from growing all of them at my cottage where space is not so tight and harvests can be staggered, here at home in the city I’ve decided to be more strategic.
I started with the garbage. Bear with me a moment. I pay attention to what vegetables I most frequently throw away -- not because I don't like them but because they don't store well and are only used in consistently small quantities. For me there have always been two big offenders: plastic containers of salad greens and fresh herbs. The herbs are annoying because recipes always seem to call for less than comes in one of those little plastic cases and so every thorough cleaning of the veggie drawer reveals another bunch of decomposing thyme or wilted mint. Luckily, both herbs and lettuce can be grown in small containers, they tolerate pruning for kitchen use and really store best still attached to their roots.
To my herbs and lettuce I’ve added a variety of vegetables that will produce all summer either naturally or with staggered plantings. Cherry tomatoes, Swiss chard, and summer squash (zucchini and his various yellow and oddly-shaped cousins) grown in large pots fit into the former category while radishes and spinach fit the latter.
After deciding what to grow, finding containers was my next practical consideration. I was lucky in that my apartment came with a supply of garden planters. For anyone starting from scratch, the big decision is usually between clay and plastic. Clay looks better and is more solid but it's big disadvantage is that it wicks water out of the soil and therefore requires more frequent watering -- at least under more normal summer conditions. The more adventurous and environmentally minded will see that large, empty, and well-cleaned cans (think coffee or tomatoes) make for great herb gardening containers. As you can see, I find that basil grows especially well in an old tomato can.
Finally, since container gardening limits my plant's access to minerals and water, I’ve taken an active role in supplying these necessary variables. I have found that blood and bone meal makes a good organic fertilizer.
If you’re feeling inspired, it’s definitely not too late to start gardening this summer. Garden centres have a variety of potted herbs and if sown now, radishes, lettuce, spinach, swiss chard, and kale will all produce a crop before the first frosts in October.
David is a reformed picky eater (now eating everything from bone marrow to service berry jam) who lives in Toronto. He shares his experiences with gardening, cooking, and eating at Toronto's restaurants on his blog at www.foodwithlegs.com
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