At some point, almost every renter with a balcony has that moment – standing outside, looking at the empty space, thinking: I could actually grow something here. The problem isn't space, usually. It's permanence. Landlords don't love raised beds bolted to the deck or trellis hardware sunk into the siding, and honestly they're not wrong. Any of that comes back out of your deposit.

Renter-friendly gardening has come a long way, though. There's a whole world of apartment gardening setups now – portable, self-contained, move-out-ready. Some of them are genuinely clever. The ideas below leave no trace. They work in tight spaces. And when the lease ends, they go with you.

Here are 5 great ideas you may not have thought of.

1. Vertical Pallet Herb Station

First thing: make sure it's stamped "HT" on the side. That means heat-treated, not chemically treated – you don't want the other kind anywhere near food. A heat-treated pallet stood upright against a fence or wall, with landscape fabric stapled across the back of each opening to hold soil, becomes a pretty decent leaning herb garden.

Basil, thyme, oregano, mint – one herb per slot. The top levels dry out fastest, so water those first and let it work its way down. When you need to move it, you just pick it up.

Pallets are usually free if you ask at garden centers or hardware stores – sometimes stacked outside and available for free if you ask. The HT stamp is easy to spot once you know to look for it.

2. Self-Watering 5 Gallon Earthbox

Standard nursery pots dry out brutally fast on a hot balcony in summer – sometimes within a day. A DIY "Earthbox"-style self-watering container fixes that. You stack two five-gallon buckets, cut a hole in the upper bucket's bottom, and add a short section of PVC pipe or a plastic cup as a soil wicking chamber. The lower bucket holds a reservoir of water; the upper bucket holds the potting mix and plant. Roots wick moisture up from below, which means the soil stays consistently damp without daily attention.

Tomatoes, peppers, and lettuce do particularly well in these. The whole setup costs a few dollars in parts and is easy to break down for moving day. Pick up a reliable thermometer like this one from Amazon to keep an eye on surface temps if your balcony gets intense afternoon sun – containers on hot concrete can overheat roots quickly.

3. Grow Bag Potato Patch

Traditional potato towers involve soil piled in fixed structures – not an option for renters. Potato grow bags are a different story entirely. Fill one partway with potting soil and compost, tuck in a few seed potatoes, roll the sides down low. As the plants grow, you unroll the sides and keep adding soil – same hilling principle as in-ground growing, just in a bag. A 10-gallon bag does surprisingly well for fingerlings or small reds.

End of season: dump the soil into a compost pile or back into a raised bed if you have one, fold the bags flat, stack them in a closet. They weigh basically nothing compared to any rigid container and hold up for several seasons if you rinse them out. Here's a 4-pack on Amazon.

4. Tiered Utility Cart Greenhouse

The three-tier metal rolling cart – just like this one from IKEA – is essentially the perfect renter's grow station. Pull it next to a sunny window or stick a compact grow light like this from Amazon above it, and it becomes a mobile seed-starting station or a year-round home for succulents. Casters are the whole point – roll it toward the light in the morning, back against the wall at night. A small clip-on fan helps with airflow and stops seedlings from going leggy. Come spring, the whole thing wheels straight out onto the balcony – no repotting, no disruption. Come moving day, it goes into the elevator. Nothing to disassemble, nothing that touched a wall.

5. Trellis in a Tub Privacy Screen

Exposed balcony, ugly view, nosy neighbors – a freestanding living wall handles all three. The setup: a big, heavy planter tub like this one from Amazon with a trellis panel anchored inside using poured concrete or tightly packed gravel for ballast. Jasmine, sweet peas, scarlet runner beans – fast climbers at the base, and they fill in faster than most people expect. Within a season you've got a dense green screen that's completely freestanding. No wall attachments, no drilling, nothing permanent. Two or three of these lined up along a railing create real privacy. When you move, drain the ballast or tip the tub into a wheelbarrow, and the whole thing relocates with you. Use a water conditioner like this from Amazon if you're topping off from a tap – chlorine isn't great for the soil biology in small containers.

Renting doesn't have to mean waiting for a yard someday. These setups work now – balcony, patio, rooftop, windowsill, wherever you can imagine. None of them touch a wall. None of them cost you at move-out. Pick one, get it going this season, and add from there.

A drip irrigation system is a great way to water raised beds. A drip system for raised beds gets water to the plant’s roots while keeping it off the leaves. An added bonus is you can grow more plants with less water.

Benefits of Drip Irrigation for Raised Beds

Drip irrigation involves a slow application of water to a plant's root area through individual water release mechanisms called emitters. This allows for a very focused application of water. No water is splashed on the foliage and, since the water is delivered under the soil, little is lost to evaporation. And watering so deeply encourages the roots to grow down. In addition, weeds growing between plants are deprived of water and die.

Choosing a Drip Irrigation System for Raised Beds

All drip irrigation systems have five different components:

• A water filter
• A pressure reducer
• A pressure gauge
• A header pipe
• Drip lines

The two primary types are a rigid drip system and a flexible T-tape system. The former is more expensive but lasts longer, while flexible drip tape, also called T-tape, is cheaper, but it’s only good for a season or two.

If you are just getting started with drip irrigation, consider buying a complete system from a supply company. They will sell you one based on how many containers you want to irrigate. As an alternative, retrofit your current raised beds with drip irrigation, using elbows and pipe and putting the drip lines at ground level.

Keep your maximum water pressure in mind. An irrigation drip system can not deliver more water than the supply and pressure permit. Also, be sure to design the system with your plants in mind.

How to Install Drip Irrigation in Raised Beds

Raised beds can also be retrofitted to use drip irrigation. It is just a matter of using elbows and various lengths of pipe to allow the drip lines to be at ground level between the beds.

Winterizing a Raised Bed Drip Irrigation System

If your winters get cold, you’ll need to winterize your irrigation system. If the temperatures are very cold, the water in the components of the system will freeze. Water expands and can split the tubes.

Drain the water out of the system through the mainline ends and the ends of the T-Tape. Then replace the line ends to keep dirt from getting in. Store the filter indoors. Flush the system when you start up again in the spring.

Creating raised garden beds with a trellis is a popular project with gardeners this year. Among the many benefits of having raised bed in the garden, maximizing space is frequently a priority. Having less garden space makes it important to make full use of what we have. A trellis in or part of a raised bed allows you to grow vertically as well as horizontally, effectively doubling your growing area. A trellis in a raised bed can be situated off to the side or centered. It may be made from a multitude of materials and can be small or large depending on space. You can even create planter boxes with a built-in trellis if space is at a premium.

Benefits of a Raised Garden Bed With Trellis

The benefits of raised beds are numerous. They’re more accessible, they warm soil earlier resulting in earlier harvests, they prevent soil compaction, have better drainage, fewer weeds, and provide more growing space per square foot than an average veggie garden, especially if you use a trellis.

So, how does a trellis help expand growing space in a raised bed? By encouraging plants to grow vertically. This lets you grow vining crops like peas, beans, squash, melons, cucumbers and indeterminate types of tomatoes, all of which would otherwise take up precious growing space in the bed.

The sky’s the limit when it comes to choosing a material for your trellis. It may be as free standing as using a tomato cage or some stakes and twine or more expensive using galvanized fencing, rebar, wood, chicken wire, or plastics like PVC piping.

Raised Bed Trellis Ideas

Before you jump into building a trellis for your raised bed, you need to make some decisions. First, what are you going to trellis? How heavy will this crop become? How much do you want to spend on materials? Where do you want to put this trellis? Do you want your structure long standing or just temporary? If you want it at one end, choose to build it on the north end to avoid shading nearby plants.

A trellis may be a frame-like structure sunk into the soil or a latticework cage supported by plastic or metal hoops. Frame trellises are good for sprawling crops like cucumbers while other vertical growers like beans, peas, and smaller squash varieties can clamber up a chain link fence abutting the raised bed.

Purchased or DIY tomato towers are terrific for climbing crops or use chicken wire, plastic mesh or string to create a latticework upon which the fruit can clamber. If you don't care if the structure is permanent, net mesh or string is easiest to disassemble at the end of the season by just snipping a few select strings.

Tips For Raised Bed Trellises

Remember you will always want to stabilize your trellis from winds and the weight of your produce. This may mean pounding metal or wood stakes deeply into the ground. Ideally, you will need a 6-foot (1.8 m) stake to support a 5-foot (1.5 m) trellis. If anything, overestimate the weight to determine the support your trellis will need. It isn’t pretty in the middle of the growing season when your gargantuan tomato takes the trellis down.

Use metal stakes or rebar for crops that are heavy or produce thick vines. You should have 5-6 feet (1.5-1.8 m) between each stake or at least 3 (.9 m) between wider trellises. Divide the width of the trellis by half and place a stake in the center.

If you have existing or will be making smaller planter boxes, all you may need is an abutting support like a fence or balcony railing and sturdy twine, but keep in mind this would be for lighter-weight vines and fruit. Another way to use planter boxes is to abut them against the house, garage, or outbuilding and then build a trellis up the structure using wire, wood or twine to allow crops like beans or snap peas to climb up.

Your trellis may resemble a couple of ladders or a rounded structure made of PVC piping. A great metal mesh to use is called “remesh.” It is a more affordable option compared to a slightly more expensive hog or cattle panel trellis, but still sturdy. It is made of steel and not galvanized however, so it will eventually get that rustic, rusty look, which I think actually plays beautifully into the feel of a garden.

You can use all kinds of materials to create an effective raised bed in the garden, but many people prefer wood. Wood is easy to use and is a natural option appropriate for organic gardening. However, it breaks down readily and may need replacing every few years.

Other options include synthetic lumber, metal, rocks, and concrete blocks. When choosing a material, consider factors like cost, ease of use, durability, and any chemicals that might leach into the soil. If you choose to go with wood, you still have many options and things to consider.

Does Bed Type Matter When Choosing the Best Wood for Raised Garden Beds?

Pine is the most readily available, inexpensive, and easy-to-work-with lumber for making raised beds. The only real downside is that it decays readily and needs to be replaced regularly. If you’re willing to replace it as needed, pine is appropriate for use with any type of raised bed.

Most types of wood are fine for anything you grow in a bed. You might want to take extra precautions when choosing raised bed materials for a vegetable or other edibles, simply because any chemicals might leach into the soil and get into the plants. To give you an idea of the issue, the USDA’s organic certification guidelines do not allow pressure-treated wood to come into contact with plants grown for food.

What Is the Best Wood for Raised Bed Gardening by Region?

Pine is an adequate wood to use anywhere, but consider using sturdier woods in hot, humid, or rainy regions. Pine will deteriorate more rapidly in these environments. Other types of wood will also decay eventually, but usually much more slowly.

You can try hardwoods, like oak, but they might not last much longer than pine and are more expensive. Redwood, cedar, and cypress offer natural resistance to pests and rot. However, they can be expensive and difficult to find.

Also, consider where the wood is coming from when choosing a material for raised beds. For example, West Coast cedar is a sturdy option, but if you live in the eastern U.S., it can be expensive. It’s also not the most sustainable option.

Which Types of Wood Should Not Be Used

The best material for raised garden beds is affordable, easy to work with, and sustainable. However, you should avoid treated wood. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) banned lumber treated with chromated copper arsenate in 2003. You are unlikely to come across any scrap wood now that is old enough to have been treated with this harmful substance.

Modern treated wood is safer but still not allowed for use in organic food production. The best wood for making raised garden beds is not treated with these substances, but whether you want to use them in your own garden is a personal choice. Current treatments are safer but can still leach into the soil and be taken up by plants. One option when using treated wood is to place plastic lining in the bed to prevent contact between the wood and the soil.

Scavenging for scrap wood is a great way to save money, but avoid railroad ties and old telephone poles. These were treated with older, more toxic chemicals, including creosote.

What Is the Best Lumber for Raised Garden Beds That Will Last?

Cedar, redwood, black locust, and cypress are the longest-lasting woods that resist rot and pests. Cedar raised beds have the most resistance, but they all offer superior lifespans compared to pine and most hardwoods.

How to Protect Woods to Make Them Last Longer

The best wood sealer for raised garden beds is an oil-based stain. Another option is to wrap the lumber with heavy-duty garden plastic or line the bed with plastic. If you line the bed, be sure you make drainage holes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Raised garden beds are incredibly popular for a variety of reasons. Often the only question is what type of material to use for your raised beds. There are numerous options available from treated wood metal to plastic to cinder block, and the list goes on. Each option has its share of up and downsides.

One obvious material choice is metal, and it's gaining a lot of popularity, particularly with our staff here. What are the pros and cons of metal raised beds? For instance, are galvanized raised beds a better option than other types of metal? How about using old metal that may leach into the soil?

Here's everything I’ve unearthed about the various types of metal planter boxes or beds and their pros and cons.

Benefits of Raised Garden Beds

As I age, yes, it’s happening, I realize how important accessibility is becoming... especially in my garden. Raised garden beds help me access my plots with less difficulty, making everything from planting to watering to harvesting easier on my body.

Accessibility isn’t the only benefit of raised beds, however. Raised beds also warm faster than in-ground garden beds, meaning you can plant and harvest earlier. You can easily control the type of soil without digging up half the yard, which means you get the correct pH and nutrients for your crops right there at your fingertips.

Different Types of Metal Garden Beds

As mentioned, raised garden beds can be made out of all sorts of materials, each with their own pros and cons. Metal happens to be a long-lasting material that has definitive aesthetic appeal in the garden.

I live in the city, but literally a 5-minute drive out the landscape is rural - dotted with farmhouses, barns, cattle, and fields of hay and other crops. I mention this because long before they became popular, I was familiar with one of the classic metal raised beds - the cattle trough or stock tank.

Out in these rural areas, the cattle trough is used to feed and water livestock, but made its way into urban areas as a sleek raised garden bed option. Today I see them everywhere filled with flowers or used as mini veggie garden plots.

On the downside, metal beds can be heavy and in some climates get too warm for heat-sensitive plants. Low-quality metal beds may have rough or sharp edges, which can be dangerous, or leach zinc and cadmium into the surrounding soil over time.

That's why our expert staff recommends safe and sustainable metal raised garden beds from Vego. Their high-quality modular beds are made with 100% non-toxic materials that are food safe and rust-resistant. They also have reinforced safety edges that prevent injuries while gardening.

Vego's metal beds come in a variety of fun colors that will fit any landscape aesthetic. Plus, the paint they use is the only non-toxic USDA approved paint on the market.

Metal Raised Garden Bed Ideas

There are multiple reasons for choosing a metal garden bed. They last for a long time. Research indicates that they can last for 20 years - many times longer than their wooden counterparts. They're easy to maneuver into an area and set up is a breeze. They are less likely to foster pests and are low maintenance.

They are incredibly tidy and aesthetically pleasing and available in an array of shapes from oblongs to squares. Many have legs or tall sides to give them extra height, or come in a fun array of colors beyond shiny steel.

Frequently Asked Questions

There are many materials that can be used to create raised beds, but a cedar raised garden bed has several benefits over other materials. For one thing, cedar raised beds are made of a natural material that helps them blend into the landscape versus cinder blocks or bricks. You can purchase a ready-made bed or if you’re a little bit handy, create a DIY raised garden bed using cedar. If you’re interested in raised beds, keep reading to find out why a cedar-raised bed garden might be the right choice for you.

Is Cedar Good for Raised Beds?

There are many materials that can be used to create a raised bed, and these can often be reclaimed or repurposed raised garden beds , but a cedar raised bed raises the aesthetic bar a bit over pallets, cinder blocks or straw bales.

Not only is cedar an aesthetically pleasing choice for a raised bed, but it contains natural oils and tannins that make it naturally rot-resistant. This means that the bed will last longer than other types of wood, unless it is pressure treated.

How Long Will Cedar Last?

So exactly how long will cedar last as a raised bed? This depends on whether the wood has been treated or untreated. Untreated cedar can last for well over 10 years, while other untreated woods will degrade within three-five years.

By way of comparison, pressure-treated wood can last 10-40 years, depending upon the type of wood. However, chemicals are often used in the treatment process, which means there’s a possibility those chemicals can leach into the soil.

Best Types of Cedar for Raised Beds

While cedar does naturally provide rot resistance, not every part of the tree offers the same amount of protection. Make sure you are using the best parts of the cedar before you start your raised bed project. The heartwood offers the most rot resistance as compared to the sapwood.

That said, if you reckon your raised garden bed ideas will be well suited to cedar, you might be surprised to discover you have a choice. There are two main options when deciding which type of cedar to source for your DIY cedar raised garden bed – Eastern red cedar or West Coast cedar:

• Eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana) is highly rot-resistant, but the wood is quite dense and thus difficult to work with. This type of cedar is also grown commercially and can be difficult and expensive to source.
• West Coast cedar (Thuja plicata) is much easier to find and work with. That said, it is prone to splitting if you attempt to use wood screws without pre-drilling.

The other downside to using West Coast cedar is the lack of sustainability it offers. Also, since it is sourced on the west coast, if you want to use it on the east coast, the cost skyrockets due to shipping prices. It is also less rot-resistant than Eastern red.

Building Cedar Raised Beds – Getting Started

Cedar can be expensive. To save money, look for a lumber yard that has discounted decking lumber. This will be cedar that may have holes or is cracked, but is still adequate for your raised bed and can save you tons of money. Try these tips, too:

1. Once your cedar is cut and ready for assembly, don’t forget to pre-drill holes (pilot holes) before screwing the pieces together. If you forget, the lumber may split.
2. Use metal brackets to join the pieces together. If you intend to place a cap, use a 4x4 instead of 2x2 for the corner supports.
3. Line the site of the bed with a weed barrier fabric before assembling the raised cedar bed on top.
4. You should also line the floor of the bed with cardboard, then fill in with a raised bedding medium.

Is Cedar Right For Your Raised Bed Project?

As we have explained, cedar is one of the most aesthetically pleasing woods to use for DIY raised bed projects. Its naturally occurring oils and tannins are great for ensuring a level of longevity. That said, there is still the risk of weathering if exposed to extreme temperatures – so depending on where you live, this could be an issue.

You also have to factor in the amount of space you have in your garden. Depending on the scope of your raised bed, cedar may be a step too far. For situations where cedar cannot be easily accommodated, you might prefer to try a bespoke metal raised bed option. You can purchase modular raised bed kits from Vego Garden that are sustainable, flexible, stand the test of time, and conveniently fit the shape and size of your garden.

Wondering about urban edible gardening or which edible plants are best for urban gardeners? Multitasking has a bad rap, but in some cases it can work out well. What gardener wouldn’t want to make their yard beautiful and, at the same time, grow delicious, healthy food?

Edible landscaping is a thing, growing crops in a home garden. Space can sometimes be a problem, but that’s a challenge that can be solved with container gardening and vertical design.

Which Fruit and Vegetables Are Good for Urban Gardens?

Not every crop is perfect for small, residential spaces. But that’s not a surprise, since every garden has its own, limitations. You always have to select plants based on the size, sun exposure, soil type and weather. When you are selecting crops for urban gardens, you’ll have to take all of those issues into account. The plants have to be suited to the site.

Take a close look and determine how much sun your site gets - whether there is bright sun, low light or shade - and how long your growing season will be.

Finally, since these crops should also serve to make your yard pretty, select edible plants with ornamental value, like fruit trees, herbs, and edible flowers.

Eight Edible Plants for Urban Gardens of Any Size and Shape

Which edible plants to choose for your urban garden? Keep in mind the factors we mentioned above. Only select vegetable plants and fruiting shrubs that will mature during the growing season in your region, and if you select perennials, be certain that they will be happy in your hardiness zone.

To benefit the most from your edible crops, it’s also a good idea to plant prolific crops, plants that offer many veggies and crops over a long harvest season. A good design will pair companion plants that look great together and benefit each other in some way.

Vegetable For Urban Raised Beds

1. Swiss Chard

Beta vulgaris var. Cicla
USDA zones 3-10

Swiss chard care is easy! The beautiful ruffled leaves grow from a crown and come in deep, lovely colors with contrasting ribs and veins. And it tastes just as lovely. Plant in early spring or late summer in full sun. You can harvest it leaf by leaf all season long, making it one of the best plants for urban gardens. Easy to grow, easy to eat!

2. Beans

Phaseolus vulgaris, Phaseolus coccineus
USDA zones 3-10 or 11

Green beans are incredibly productive and grow well in a raised bed. They require little maintenance and also can replace nitrogen in the soil. If you only have a small space, choose bush beans that stay under 3 feet tall. If your space is narrow but tall enough, try growing pole beans vertically. They can grow to between 8 and 12 feet high, but stay relatively slender.

Beans are the crop that just keeps on giving, as new pods develop. They require well-draining loam and a full sun location. Some species start producing after 60 days, but some cultivars (Lazy Housewife) can be eaten young as snap beans.

Looking for plants to grow beneath the beans? Nasturtium, summer savory, and rosemary work well since they keep down beetles that can damage beans.

3. Cherry Tomatoes

Solanum lycopersicum
USDA zones 3-11

Growing cherry tomatoes in containers is perfect for when space is limited. Cherry tomatoes can grow in pots on the patio or in window boxes, and they can be moved around during the day to keep them in the sun. Pick an indeterminate variety if you have room for a tall vine (use a tomato cage!) since these vegetables ripen fruit all summer long. They are one of the best edible plants for vertical gardens. Determinants are more compact when space is limited but fruit earlier than regular tomatoes. Use a large pot to allow for their roots.

4. Beets

Beta vulgaris
USDA zones 2-11

Beet roots are a deep, gorgeous red unless they are the golden variety, fast-growing and delicious. But the reason they work so well for an urban garden is that they offer not just the beet root but also beet greens that can be harvested and cooked every single time you thin the plants, as well as at the same time you harvest the root. Container grown beets can be cropped in spring, then again in summer or fall, to be harvested some 8 weeks later. They like full or partial sun and acidic soil. For small containers, try Mini Ball beet variety.

Looking for a companion plant for your beets? Look no further than garlic. It coexists happily with beets and its strong “fragrance” will deter beet pests like aphids and armyworms.

Fruiting Shrubs & Trees for Containers.

5. Blueberries

Vaccinium spp.
USDA zones 3-10

Who doesn’t love blueberries, whether in oatmeal or to toss into muffins? It is very easy to grow blueberries in pots - easier in some ways, since they require well-draining acidic soil and not every garden offers that. They also require full sun. Know before you grow: blueberries may take several years to establish, but once they start fruiting, they will be a reliable part of your urban crop. Pick one of the new hybrids called “half-high”, like North Country or Top Hat, which are perfect for container growing.

6. Meyer Lemons

Citrus × lemon 'Meyer'
USDA zones 8-11

This compact hybrid is a mix between a lemon tree and a mandarin orange. The Meyer lemon tree thrives in containers where it typically stays under 7 feet (2 m) tall. It is perfect for a sunny patio in warm climates, since it is low maintenance yet offers year round fruit, once it establishes. In cooler climates, Meyer lemon container trees can be moved in and out.

The plant does need a sunny location and well-draining soil, but won’t need to be watered as often as the juicy fruit might make you think. Wait until the top 2 inches (5 cm) of soil are bone dry. Look for blossoms in spring and fall once the tree starts blooming.

Herbs & Edible Flowers for Urban Gardens

7. Nasturtiums

Tropaeolum spp.
USDA 8-11

Growing nasturtiums rewards you with bright, tough, flowering plants that can be perennials or self-seeding annuals. You can find bush or vining varieties, then use the pretty orange flowers in salads. Plant them in well-draining soil in a sunny location and they will basically take care of themselves. If you like the taste of watercress, plant the Peach Melba cultivar. The yellow flowers with wine-colored spots taste like watercress and are perfect for containers.

8. Rosemary

Salvia rosmarinus
USDA zones 8-19

Potted rosemary is a great plant for an urban garden since it produces lovely indigo flowers, has a delightful aroma, and can be used all year long in whatever quantities your cooking requires. Very drought tolerant, this perennial herb can grow to 6 feet tall in the wild, holding onto its deep green, aromatic needles all year long.

Frequently Asked Questions

Community gardens are more popular than ever. The main goal of a community garden is to provide healthy food for community members but that’s only one of the many health benefits of community gardens.

It turns out that community garden health benefits extend beyond the physical. The social benefits of community gardens as well as the mental health benefits might even outweigh its physical benefits. Keep reading to learn about the physical and mental benefits of community gardens.

Physical Health Benefits of Community Garden

For the first time ever, the American Cancer Society funded a controlled trial of community gardening, and their findings were enlightening. They found that those who gardened actually ate more fiber and were more physically active – two ways to improve physical health. In turn, this had a number of noteworthy effects. These folks' stress and anxiety levels decreased markedly demonstrating improvement in both physical and mental health. 

Better Nutrition

It comes as no surprise that involvement in a community garden would improve the participants' overall nutrition intake. According to the USDA, fruits and vegetables should make up one-third of our diets.

Fruits and vegetables are excellent sources of vitamins, minerals and fiber. In addition, they help to maintain a healthy gut and reduce digestive issues. Garden crops are also naturally low in fat and calories, and often the most colorful varieties contain antioxidants that fight free radicals and, consequently, cancer cells.

Greater Nutritional Knowledge

Many community gardens run programs focused on healthy cooking using ingredients grown directly on-site. In this way and through social interaction, members of the community begin to garner knowledge about the healthy foods they should eat vs. those that have little to no nutritional basis.

Increased Physical Activity

Along with being a great way to exercise, urban gardens motivate people to continue their physical activity longer because the garden turns into a social enterprise with a group goal of producing available, affordable, and healthful produce. Folks work harder and longer when they have a common goal in mind, and regular chats with neighbors make the activities even more fruitful.

Improved Cholesterol & Blood Pressure

Gardening is a moderate to heavy physical activity that’s been linked to a reduction in cholesterol and blood pressure.

Vegetables and fruit are low in both sodium and cholesterol. Community or urban gardens are often located in areas of “food desert,” neighborhoods where there is difficult or no access to supermarkets or farmers markets. Residents in these areas tend to eat more fast food or other processed foods available at the gas station or corner store. Making fresh produce more accessible helps participants reduce cholesterol levels.

The same can be said for reducing blood pressure. The physical activity associated with gardening, as well as the social aspects of communicating with people in similar situations can lower blood pressure. Eating healthful food is also a major factor in lowering blood pressure and is one of the biggest benefits to members of a community garden.

Mental Health Benefits of Community Gardens

When we feel good physically, we often feel good mentally. Community gardening tends to foster both physical and mental health.

Stress Relief

Focusing one's attention on the task at hand in the garden can help reduce intrusive negative thoughts and feelings. Gardening is also shown to reduce cortisol levels, a chemical the body produces in response to stress.

Social Connection

Community gardens do more than just feed people. They often assume the same role as a community center, public park, or even a church. They provide a comfortable environment in which members can learn new skills and make friends.

Every community garden is different but many are made up of citizens whose primary language isn’t English. A community garden is often a place where newcomers can find employment, learn how to apply for various social programs, learn English, and grow foods familiar to them in their native countries. They often find support from other folks who share the same background.

Improved Outlook & Life Satisfaction

Improvements in health through a more wholesome diet and physical activity can upgrade community gardeners’ overall outlook on life. Beneficial relationships with not only other community members but often with municipal resources that benefit youth, seniors, and the general community also foster a feeling of satisfaction. Urban gardens have been associated with a reduction in crime as well as benefits to the environment, both of which promote and support an improved lifestyle within the neighborhood.

The benefits of community gardens are hard to overstate. These green spaces, often in the midst of an urban landscape, are a boon to individuals and the community as a whole. One of the most surprising benefits is a significant and measurable reduction in crime.

The Importance of Urban Gardening

An urban garden is a space that community members use to grow plants, often food. Community and urban garden benefits are numerous. These spaces are important for several reasons:

• They bring community members together, promoting social interactions and ties.
• They provide nutrition in areas of food insecurity.
• Urban gardens beautify and renovate otherwise abandoned, overgrown, or even dangerous spaces.
• They improve the local ecosystem and environment, even encouraging wildlife.
• Community gardens are educational spaces, for both children and adults.
• They give community members a sense of pride in the spaces they share.
• Gardening and green spaces improve mental health.
• Working in a community garden increases physical activity.
• Both physical activity and the access to fresh produce improve physical health in community members.
• Urban gardens and green spaces lower crime rates in the surrounding area.
• Community gardens often inspire contributors to advocate for even more improvements in their neighborhoods.

How Community Gardening Lowers Crime Rates

Numerous studies have shown that creating more green space, including community gardens in urban areas, reduces crime. Specifically, they reduce violent crimes and gun violence. The reasons are not always clear, but include creating a sense of community, improving the health of individuals, and renovating abandoned areas.

Urban Gardening Reduces Vacant Lots

Most community gardens crop up in areas previously abandoned, reducing the number of untended, vacant lots in a city. Vacant lots are more than just an eyesore -- they also tend to increase crime. By renovating these spaces, urban gardeners help reduce violence and crime rates.

Vacant land in cities accounts for about 15% of space. These overgrown spaces harbor crime by becoming dumping grounds, areas to use and sell drugs, and escape routes for criminals fleeing the police.

A study in Philadelphia put the renovation of abandoned spaces to the test. Researchers found that creating park spaces or even just cleaning up vacant lots reduced crime in the area by 10%. Crime dropped even further in neighborhoods with residents living below the poverty level. Gun violence dropped by 30%.

Community Gardening Engages Residents

Any effort to clean up vacant lots has a positive impact on crime and safety. However, another study found that results were even better when residents were enlisted to help do the maintenance.

A study in Youngstown, Ohio, found that violent crimes dropped by about one per square mile when professionals performed vacant lot maintenance. When residents contributed to the work, violent crimes dropped by more than two per square mile.

Green Spaces Improve Social Ties

Reducing abandoned spaces is important, but there are other reasons that gardens and other green spaces reduce crime. An important one is that these spaces promote interactions between community members.

Young people have places to play and adults can interact and boost social ties with each other and to the community as a whole. The spaces bring people together into a more cohesive community that they can be proud of.

Urban Gardens Improve Health

Individual impacts of urban gardens include improvements in the physical and mental health of those who participate. Feeling better physically and enjoying relief from stress, anxiety, and depression can reduce violent acts.

While researchers are still determining exactly why community gardens reduce violence and crime, the fact remains that they do. In addition to all the other benefits of urban gardens, this is reason enough to consider starting one or getting involved.

Friends of our at Gardening Know How have seen the healing effects of community gardens first-hand. Check out our Community Gardening for Everyone interview series to hear about Richey Elementary School, where being asked to work in the garden he vandalized changed one young man's life forever.

Community gardens take on many forms and serve as social, societal, learning and recreational spaces where participants can grow food and other plants. Usually, a plot of land is donated or rented and developed to serve the residents of the area. A community garden layout should present functionality, appearance, and maintenance aspects in a holistic connection with the participants. The design of such a space should first start with an understanding of its purpose, and a conversation with members of the neighborhood.

Community Garden Plans

Community garden design ideas may be initiated for a variety of purposes. They may serve as spaces for people with little to no gardening space at home. A community garden can be a place to grow vegetables for a local food pantry or a community that’s situated in a food desert. It can be a locale for recreation and exercise, a source of much needed food, a haven for pollinators or simply a site that needs beautifying.

The purpose will be discussed with the stakeholders in the project before development. Their input will reflect their wishes and desires for the community. Community garden designs are often led by landscape designers, horticulturists, educators, social groups, garden clubs or other organizations. They may take shape as a result of group discussions, available skills, and materials.

Types of Community Gardens

The types of community garden plans are diverse. Here are 5 common kinds of community gardens.

• Neighborhood gardens, where a parcel of land is divided into individual plots for neighbors to produce their own food, flowers, and herbs. Community garden plot ideas in neighborhoods can range from vacant lots to parks, yards and inner city spaces.
• Residential gardens, which are common in assisted living facilities, retirement communities, or other housing units.
• Institutional gardens that are overseen by churches, government-run groups, universities, hospitals, veterans’ centers and other organizations.
• Demonstration gardens where local residents can learn about garden related techniques and ideas that are often specific to their geographical region.
• School gardens, which are teaching sites run by teaching staff and community and student volunteers.

Community Garden Design Ideas

One way to organize a community garden is in plots. Most often equipped with raised garden beds, the garden is divided into spaces set aside for each participant. Here they can grow their own produce, flowers, and other plants. A nominal plot rental fee goes toward water, soil, compost and fertilizer.

Another way to organize the site is as a cooperative garden. Here, participants work as a group to develop the land and grow plants. These are often designated as “sharing gardens” where volunteers do the gardening work and share in the harvest.

Youth gardens are typically organized in a manner that is useful as an outdoor laboratory. Students are guided in the planting, nurturing and harvesting, while learning about the cycles of gardening, pollination, soil maintenance and gardening ethics. Court-ordered community service is often accomplished by youths through work in a community garden.

Entrepreneurial gardens teach participants how to garden for a profit and the details involved in selling the goods grown. Some 4-H gardens are structured for the purpose of teaching the entire process, from seed to market.

Therapeutic gardens, such as those in residential housing situations will be set up according to residents’ needs. They may focus on serving the elderly, blind, or those with physical or mental challenges. These often provide sensory stimulation and an experience of nature that people might not otherwise have. Such spaces need stable paths, frequent seating, raised beds and other amenities.

Finally, many community gardens are springing up that provide free produce to communities with few resources. These often have educational components and are managed by volunteers, with the goal of feeding as many people as possible, sometimes through food banks or food pantries.

Starting a Community Garden

One of the first steps in beginning such an endeavor is to structure a support team. This may be a president and coordinating staff, a board, or simply an informal group of participants who will debate and vote on items. These people will identify resources, apply for grants, scout for donors and volunteers, and ultimately decide on the way the garden will be structured.

These founding groups are also tasked with getting word out about the space through flyers, word of mouth, community presentations and other forms of advertising. Dividing the group into sub-committees allows it to function efficiently, each committee focusing on some aspect of the overall plan. Committees might include those that handle site location, ensuring a water supply, acquiring materials through donations, performing outreach, coordinating volunteers and fundraising.

Once these basics have been set into motion, the garden’s design will follow the needs and conditions of the project, with a focus on the targeted purpose for the garden.

Community gardening involves taking a shared space and involving members of a neighborhood, school, or city to join in creating and maintaining a garden. The social and community benefits of community gardening have become well-known and have inspired numerous projects. Learn more about the benefits and how to get started on a garden for your community.

What Are the Social Benefits of Gardening?

Studies of children who participate in school gardens show that they are more accepting of people different from them, have better interpersonal skills, and are better at working cooperatively than their peers.

These social benefits of community gardens extend to any individual who gets involved, both children and adults. These shared spaces bring people together to increase understanding and decrease loneliness.

People who garden also experience benefits to mental health: reduced stress, improved confidence and self-esteem, and a sense of purpose. Of course, gardening is also good for physical health. It is an active hobby that gets the heart rate elevated, builds muscle, and benefits overall well-being.

How Do Community Gardens Benefit Communities?

Gardening can be great for the individual, but communities also benefit. Studies have found numerous ways in which neighborhoods are better for having shared gardens:

• Community gardens increase social capital, or connectedness in a community. High social capital is associated with greater social mobility between income levels and socioeconomic status. In other words, people in these communities have greater opportunities.
• Gardens often connect residents with their local governments and community organizations.
• Community gardens make neighborhoods more sustainable and they improve and beautify the local environment.
• Many studies have found that community gardens reduce crime and help revitalize neighborhoods.
• Growing and sharing food in neighborhood gardens can improve diet and health in the area while also improving food security.

How to Get Started

The individual and social benefits of urban gardening cannot be overstated. It’s worth participating in a community garden or gathering a group of neighbors to start your own. Here are some tips:

Start with a clear goal.

To be successful in creating a garden, it helps to clarify what you hope to achieve. Will this be a flower garden to make the space more beautiful and attract pollinators? Or is it a more ambitious vegetable garden that will help feed residents? Consider your community and its needs and resources to make this decision.

Gather resources.

Before you touch the soil at all, you need to have adequate resources. Determine who will help plan and participate in gardening activities. Look for people with the skills you need, such as master gardeners, carpenters, and community leaders. Think about how you will fund the garden and where you’ll get supplies.

Build partnerships.

Partnerships with local groups can be a great way to make a garden a success. For instance, you may need to partner with local government to identify a space you can use. Businesses can provide funding or supplies. Local churches, schools, and service groups can provide participants.

Choose your site carefully.

With everything else in place, you’re ready to choose a spot. Work with local government agencies to find a site that is the right size, has decent soil, has adequate sunlight, and is convenient for community members.

Create a management plan.

Building the garden is only the first step. You might have a good team of community members eager to get started, but how will you keep the garden going? Make a plan for who will lead the garden. Assign roles and schedules. Devise a set of rules with consequences for participants.

Include education.

A community garden should be a place of learning. Everyone should be welcome, including new gardeners. Invite master gardeners to come instruct the newcomers. Request presentations from your local extension office.

A community garden is a worthwhile project, but it is also a lot of work. To reap all the benefits of a local garden, be prepared to take on a big task. And, in the spirit of the project, accept help from others as you plan and take the next steps.

Want to Learn More?

Do you have a community garden that could use a boost? Check out our sponsorship page!

Do you want to hear from past winners? Check out our speaker series Community Gardening for Everyone!

Community gardening is becoming a familiar sight. Some of the benefits of community gardening are aesthetic -- utilizing an otherwise unused and unkempt space and beautifying it. Some are social endeavors that bring a community together with a common goal.

And many community gardens are established in low-income neighborhoods on vacant land spaces where food deserts exist. The benefits of community gardens in low-income neighborhoods can be economic, as well as bringing much-needed fresh food to local residents. Read on to learn more about economic community garden benefits and why you may want to become involved.

About Community Gardens

Nearly 13% of U.S. residents are food insecure. Often food security affects people who are low-income, which means they not only do not have enough resources to purchase food, but places that sell fresh food may be miles away and difficult to get to (food deserts). Often the only options for food in these areas are nutritionally deficient, empty calories from a local gas station or fast food restaurant, leading to unhealthy eating habits and inevitable future health complications.

Food inequity isn’t a new problem. Among the first community gardens were those established in Detroit as a response to the 1893 economic recession. Known as “Pingree’s Potato Patches,” named after the city's mayor, interest waned as soon as the economy picked up and workers were back at jobs earning wages.

There have been other incarnations of community gardening. Victory Gardens of WWI and WWII, as well as grassroots organizations of the 70s were known for communal growing. More recently, community gardening has enjoyed a resurgence as social movements aim to remedy food insecurity.

Benefits of Community Gardens to Residents

The most obvious way that community gardens benefit a community is to bring food to an area and will foster the overall health of its citizens. Also termed urban agriculture in more populated areas, community gardening not only promotes healthful eating, but contributes to the economic development and environmental sustainability of that community.

Many people the US are apartment dwellers who have no access to gardening spaces, like yards or acreage. Participants in community gardens save money by growing and sharing their own food. They have access to a wider variety of foods, they learn how to grow and care for crops sustainably, build social and community bonds across ethnicities, and gain physical and mental health.

How do Community Gardens Benefit Communities?

While there are many benefits of urban gardening to individuals and families within the community, there are also economic benefits that spill over into the rest of the municipality.

The improvement of a vacant lot at little to no cost to the city is of enormous benefit to the city as a whole. The eradication of “eyesore” lots can remove or mitigate litter, loitering, and drug activity, making the area safer, in turn reducing law enforcement costs while providing food and education. The collaboration of various groups to create a safe, productive community garden also brings people together who might not otherwise have a common goal.

Reducing the Carbon Footprint

In the United States, our food travels an average of 1300 miles from production to table. The amount of fossil fuel energy used to produce a single calorie of food bought at the local grocers is huge. Producing food locally at the community garden reduces greenhouse gas emissions used to transport produce.

The lengthy transportation of commercially produced food means that produce is often a week or two from harvest to grocer, meaning that almost 50% is lost to spoilage. The rapid transfer from a local harvest-to-dinner table reduces spoilage, saving money while healthy produce is consumed at its peak.

Urban community gardens reduce waste by encouraging composting, which in turn reduces the cost of municipal waste management. These gardens also help to improve air and water quality for the surrounding area; a long term win/win for the people of the city.

A Multitude of Benefits

Community gardens have been shown to increase property values which in turn increases the city’s tax revenue. Also, many gardens offer a peaceful ambience which often attracts small businesses which, in turn, increases revenue for the area and provides employment opportunities. In addition, community gardens are great venues for volunteerism.

Community gardens are frequently used to provide programming for addiction recovery where life lessons learned in this environment are often the key to successful integration as members of society. Young people who have been court ordered to community service have been known to have life-changing experiences working in these natural spaces.

Other groups such as recent immigrants use the garden as a way to meet others, gain support, learn English, experience different foods and make contacts. Still other groups like church members and students benefit from programs at community gardens.

What was once an abandoned lot can now become a community within a community -- an area for the common good where differences are cast aside.

Want to learn more about community gardens that are making a difference? Check out our Community Gardening for Everyone sponsorship page.

Most growers are familiar with the concept of community gardens. Community gardens help those without viable space to raise plants and reap the rewards of a growing season. Unfortunately, traditional community gardens may be greatly limited by availability.

Some smaller cities and towns may not even have the funding necessary to develop such a valuable community resource. For this reason, community sharing gardens have gained popularity. Learning more about sharing garden ideas and creating these spaces successfully can play a major role in their formation.

What is a Sharing Garden?

Determining what is a sharing garden and what it is not varies from one situation to another. Generally, community sharing gardens are those that provide fresh produce for anyone in need. Rather than maintaining individual plots, members of the garden volunteer their time to tend one large growing area.

This strategy makes the garden easier to manage, more productive, and minimizes the need for extensive maintenance. Foods produced from the garden are shared among members and/or others outside of the organization. Donated produce is frequently given to local food banks and other groups that help with food distribution among non-growers.

Other sharing garden ideas relate directly to the sharing of land. These types of community sharing gardens connect people with access to growing space for those wishing to garden or grow food. Through mutual agreement and cooperation, crops are produced and shared among the participants. Info on garden sharing can be found in a variety of ways, including newly introduced growing websites and apps.

Community Sharing Garden Benefits

Community gardens that share foster a real win-win scenario for all parties involved. Growers who are passionate about working the soil can feel confident knowing that their skills have made a difference, as their produce nourishes those living in their own neighborhoods.

With properly established guidelines and boundaries, these types of gardens can create strong feelings of connectedness and respect among all participants. Through collaboration and hard work, sharing a garden with others leaves one feeling content and fulfilled.

Indoor agriculture is a growing trend and while much of the buzz is about big, commercial operations, ordinary gardeners can take inspiration from it. Growing food inside conserves resources, allows for year-round growth, and ensures you know how and where your food is grown.

Growing an Indoor Farm

There are many great reasons to consider veggie farming indoors:

• Grow your own food and know where it comes from and that it is organic.
• You can grow food year-round, regardless of climate and weather.
• Growing your own food minimizes carbon emissions from food transport.
• Indoor farming is an option if your garden space is limited.

There are potential issues too. Do you have enough space? Can you afford the equipment and tools needed to get started? Will you make your own system or buy a kit? Think about all the potential benefits and challenges before diving into an indoor farm.

Indoor Farming Ideas

There are many ways to do indoor farming as long as plants get the basics: light, water, and nutrients. Here are some ideas to think about for your indoor veggie growing:

• Vertical farm - Try vertical farming inside to make the most of limited spaces. The concept is simply that you stack beds vertically to make a tower. You can grow a lot of food in a small space this way.
• Hydroponics - A cleaner way to grow food indoors is to skip the soil. A hydroponic system uses water with nutrients added to grow plants.
• Aeroponics - The system of aeroponics growing uses no medium, although it is similar to hydroponics. The roots are in the air, and you simply mist them with water and nutrients.
• Greenhouse - Outside the home, but still an indoor space, a greenhouse can be a good way to grow food year-round. You need space for it, but it will allow you to control the environment without putting the garden inside the house.

Indoor Agriculture Tips

Whichever type of growing you choose, the plants all need the same basics:

• Use appropriate grow lights and know how much light per day the plants need.
• Whether you use soil or another medium, use fertilizers to make sure plants get enough nutrients.
• If you’re new to indoor or veggie gardening, start with plants that are easier to grow. Try lettuce, herbs, and tomatoes.
• Consider using an indoor growing kit. These come with everything you need and in a variety of sizes. You can get a small kitchen countertop system that grows a few lettuce plants or a large grow kit to feed the whole family.

Starting a vertical farm at home can provide your family with fresh veggies year-round and with a little ingenuity, you could even turn vertical farming at home into a profitable business. Exactly what are vertical farms? It is basically indoor farming using a system of racks, towers, or shelves to stack plants vertically.

Vertical Farming How To

The beauty of vertical gardening at home is it takes up very little space. A closet, a corner of the kitchen, or an unfinished basement might be the perfect spot for starting a vertical farm. You will need the ability to control temperature and humidity as well as provide artificial light, water, and fertilizer.

Before starting a vertical farm, you will need to acquire some equipment. A wire-rack shelving unit with grow lights is one possibility. Tower gardens, built from PVC pipe, are another popular choice. If you have a sunny kitchen, mounting a hydroponic jar garden on a south-facing wall could provide your family with a steady supply of lettuce, herbs, and greens.

The type of equipment selected for vertical gardening at home can also dictate whether you plant in soil, a soilless medium, or use a hydroponic system. Any of these methods can produce healthy, fresh vegetables. Soilless mediums and hydroponics are usually freer from soil-borne parasites and diseases, but pests and pathogens can be introduced into these systems and quickly overtake the plants.

Vertical Farming Ideas

What can you grow in a vertical farm? Basically, any vegetable you can grow in your garden can be used for vertical gardening at home. Fast maturing, leafy greens are good crops to try when starting a vertical farm. These include:

• Lettuce
• Spinach
• Kale
• Bok Choy
• Chard
• Collard greens
• Microgreens
• Herbs (parsley, basil, cilantro)

As you gain experience, experiment with vertically farmed tomatoes, peppers, or woody herbs like rosemary. These vegetables take longer to go from seed to harvest but often warrant a higher price at market.

If your goal is to sell vertical garden produce for a profit, consider these additional vertical farming how-to tips:

• Profit potential – Choose a crop based on its marketability in your area. Does the upscale restaurant down the block need a steady supply of microgreens or is your plan to grow fresh strawberries year-round for the local grocery store?
• Fast turn vs. slow turn crops – Microgreens can take less than a month to mature, while crops like tomatoes and peppers can take two to three months to put out their first fruit. How soon you are looking to get a return on your investment of time and money can influence your choice of crops.
• Start slow – The type of equipment used in vertical farming can vary according to the crop. Before investing your entire savings in a snap pea set-up, for instance, trial this crop for operational costs, yields, and selling price.
• Diversify – Don't put all your eggs in one basket or fill your vertical farm with only one type of crop. Growing a variety of vegetables or herbs can provide a steadier cash flow and protect against total loss if one crop fails.

One of the drawbacks to growing produce indoors is the clutter created by the array of flowerpots and planters. What if you could find ways to grow food indoors and still keep the aesthetics of your home décor? You can do just that with these creative edible garden ideas which allow you to grow indoor fruit, vegetables, and herbs while keeping your home looking neat and tidy.

Indoor Edible Gardening

The key to attractive indoor edible gardening is to blend those pots and planters in with your current décor and use those edible plants as accent points. For instance, instead of hanging a potted philodendron, plant a “globe” of lettuce using a wire basket. Here are a few more innovative ways to grow indoor fruit, vegetables, and herbs:

• Hydroponic jars – Recycle spaghetti sauce jars into hydroponic growing containers for herbs and lettuce. Place the jars on a narrow shelf or mounting board in a well-lit area of the kitchen to accentuate the modern or futuristic kitchen.
• Basket display – For more traditional ways to grow food indoors, use clay pots or upcycled glassware as soil-holding planters for herbs, leafy greens, and strawberries. Create write-on labels with chalkboard paint and display the containers in a decorative basket to recreate an old-fashioned country kitchen atmosphere.
• Hanging basket – Remember those macramé planters from the 70s? Ditch the inedible foliage and flowers for lettuce, tomatoes, or cucumbers. Then hang your retro-style planter near a sunny window for a new take on indoor edible gardening.
• Wall shelf – Go crazy with wall shelving units to hold a mixed or matched set of decorative pottery planters. From vintage to modern, these 3-D wall hangings can match any decorating style and are perfect for growing produce indoors. 
• Italian teacup garden – Hit the thrift shop for incomplete sets of teacups and a teapot. After drilling a small drainage hole in the bottom of each piece, use the decorative teacup planters for Italian herbs like basil, parsley, and oregano. Reserve the teapot for a dwarf tomato. Display your teacup garden on an Italian villa console table.
• Tiered planter – From a tabletop design to a floor model, tiered planters can hold a variety of indoor fruits, vegetables, and herbs. Add a trellis to the top planter for vining plants like pole beans or grapes. This space-saving design can sit in a sunny corner and be hand painted to match any décor.
• Decorative tins – Not sure what to do with all those metal popcorn, candy, cookie, and nut tins? Put them to good use as plant holders for lightweight pots of your favorite herbs or garden veggies. Simply hot glue one or more magnets on the back and stick the tins to any metal surface. An office filing cabinet can be the perfect place for growing produce indoors.
• Decorative tree – Many types of fruit trees have lovely foliage and a pleasing shape, making them attractive accent pieces for entrances, landings, and hallways. Choose a dwarf variety which doesn't require a chill period. Many citrus trees, such as Meyer lemons, are self-pollinating.

Many types of herbs, vegetables, and fruits can be grown indoors in sunny spots or under artificial lights. With a little imagination, anyone can create edible garden ideas that smoothly blend their indoor gardening goals with the style of their home.

It is not uncommon to find flocks of urban chickens nowadays. This is a simple way to interpret backyard farming ideas. However, you don't have to raise farm animals to try urban backyard farming. Even condo-dwellers can integrate the concept with raised food beds and container crops. Small spaces or large, backyard farming in the city is not only possible but it’s impossibly chic. 

What is a Backyard Farm?

Would you like to take control of what you put on your plate? Sick of processed foods, high veggie and fruit costs, or chemicals and dyes in your food? Urban backyard farming may be your answer. What is a backyard farm? It encompasses sustainable ideas, combines a variety of your favorite foods, and enhances the space. Your farm can provide you with organic meals and enough produce to share with family and friends.

By starting slow and planning carefully, you can develop a garden that provides you with much of your food. Over time you can add elements as space, time, and expenses allow. A kitchen window herb garden is a simple way to start urban farming. Growing upside down tomatoes in summer or a tabletop planter of greens are also easy, inexpensive ways to start backyard farming crops.

Backyard farms provide exercise, stress relief, healthier food, save money, enhance the garden, and in some regions produce food year-round. You don't have to devote all your yard to food production, and you don't have to sacrifice that landscaped look. By tucking in edible plants that are beautiful and still grow food, you can have a finished look to your garden, and even indoors.

Starting Backyard Farming in the City

Unless you have done this before, the first rule is to start simple. Choose backyard farming crops that you enjoy eating. If there are existing plants, consider replacing them with those that produce food.

An ornamental maple is a thing of beauty during several seasons, but a fruit tree will provide your family food for a lifetime. Make sure you have a wide variety of herbs, fruits, and vegetables. Utilize space by vertical gardening and make sure you start a compost pile, so you have plenty of ready "black gold" on hand.

Once you have mastered a plan to integrate food into your space, you can branch out into other backyard farming ideas.

Other Facets of Backyard Farms

If you have the space, adding chickens is a great way to provide a constant supply of organic eggs. Feed them your kitchen scraps combined with chicken chow for balanced nutrition. Chickens will reduce pests in the garden and produce rich manure for your plants.

You might also consider bee keeping, which can provide your own honey and plenty of pollinators to make your fruits and veggies grow. Encourage beneficial insects with insect houses and by using natural methods of pest and weed control.

Don't just focus on annual, seeded crops. Commit to perennials like asparagus, strawberries, and artichokes. There are no hard and fast rules for backyard farms, which is great. You can tailor the space to suit you and your family's needs.

As you’re aware, hydroponic growing is done mostly indoors without soil. Perhaps you’ve never practiced growing in water or have only dabbled in this method of growing. Maybe you’re an expert. In any situation, you may be curious to know which indoor hydroponic vegetables are easiest to grow.

Hydroponics at Home

Commercial growers have long used this manner of growing for a wide range of crops. Most suggest that you limit your beginning efforts to just a few of the easy crops until you’re familiar with the process. Using hydroponics at home is growing in popularity.

Other than indoor hydroponic vegetable crops, you can also grow herbs and ornamentals inside in water. Hydroponic growing is done in special containers, with nutrients added at the appropriate time. Vigorous crops are produced in this manner, but not every crop grows well. Below we’ll list which crops grow most vigorously using this method.

Hydroponic crops can grow from seeds, cuttings, or be started with a small plant. Reportedly, most crops grow faster when grown hydroponically than when growing in soil.

Best Crops for Hydroponics

Both warm season and cool season crops can grow hydroponically. Added warmth and light are often needed for warm season crops.

Here are the most commonly grown hydroponic veggies:

• Lettuces
• Tomatoes
• Radishes
• Spinaches
• Kales

Herbs are listed as one of the top five best crops to grow with hydroponics. Try the following:

• Sage
• Salvia
• Basil
• Rosemary
• Mints

Grow lights are a consistent means of getting the necessary light and usually more reliable than using a window. However, a southern window that provides the necessary six hours of sunlight is less expensive. You can grow this way in a well-lighted greenhouse too, as well as growing any time of year.

Various substrates are used when growing in this manner. Substrates, instead of soil, hold your plants upright. These may be pumice, vermiculite, coconut fiber, pea gravel, sand, sawdust, and a few others.

After gardeners have ceased picking summer crops, many are left to question what should be planted next to meet the full potential of their growing space. Exploring fall gardening ideas for small spaces is an excellent way to maximize the growing season and beautify your surroundings.

Growing Crops in Small Spaces

Gardening in small spaces can be challenging, regardless of one’s level of expertise. From potted plants to window boxes, reaping the rewards of these unique gardens often requires trial and error in order to produce abundant vegetable harvests.

Ideal crops for small gardens will vary depending on how they will be planted. While those growing in the ground will be able to sow vegetables with larger root systems, gardeners who choose to use containers may have more success with plants better suited to these growing techniques.

Container gardens can also offer greater appeal in terms of adding visual interest, dimension, and color to otherwise dull spaces. Learning about growing crops in small spaces can help you utilize the limited space available.

Begin exploring fall gardening ideas in the summer. At this time, many fall harvested crops can either be directly sown or transplanted. Gardeners can identify the planting time in their region by referencing the “days to maturity” listed on each seed packet.

Fall Crops for Small Gardens

Among the most popular fall plants for growing crops in small spaces are leafy greens. Plants such as kale, lettuce, and spinach are ideal due to their tolerance to cold and ability to produce a continued harvest late into fall.

Root vegetables, like carrots, can also be grown in containers. While these crops are not as abundant, most do grow well in plantings where the soil is light and well-draining. Fall grown crops such as these benefit greatly from the cool temperatures this season brings.

Choosing crops for small gardens can also include an array of herbs. Herbs are extremely versatile in terms of their adaptability. While growing plants like basil and mint outdoors is common, these same plants can also be moved indoors into a sunny windowsill with the arrival of cooler fall weather. This will allow small space gardening to continue indoors, even under more limited conditions.

With careful planning, even those with small growing spaces can continue to produce their own crops throughout the fall and into early winter.

Growing an indoor garden is an excellent way to have fresh homegrown veggies year-round. Without Mother Nature to supply water, wind, and light waves though, it can be easy to have issues with growing veggies inside the house. To keep your indoor vegetable garden on track, let's review the main reasons for indoor vegetable problems and the solutions.

Common Problems with Indoor Edibles

• Insufficient light: While leafy greens, herbs, and some root vegetables may grow and produce well enough in a sunny southern window, lack of sunlight is one of the indoor vegetable problems many gardeners experience. Solution: Supplement natural sunlight with artificial light for a minimum exposure of 10 to 12 hours per day.
• Ambient temperature: Most houses are maintained at a fairly consistent temperature, yet fruiting and vining summer vegetables produce the most fruit when exposed to temperatures around 80 degrees F. (27 C.) during the day and 65 degrees F. (18 C.) at night. Solution: To overcome temperature issues with growing veggies inside the house, try growing tomatoes, peppers, watermelon, and cucumbers in a separate temperature-controlled room or in a mini greenhouse.
• Lack of humidity: This is one of the most common indoor edible problems due to the drying effect from air conditioners and furnaces. Low humidity slows plant growth and makes it harder for your veggies to uptake water from the soil. Solution: Mist the leaves daily with a sprayer or run a humidifier.
• Pollination: Failure to produce fruit is one of the major indoor vegetable problems which gardeners experience. Without insects to transport pollen to different flowers or wind to distribute pollen to self-fertilizing plants, fruiting plants will produce few, if any, vegetables. Solution: Use a fan or gently shake self-pollinating plants to help distribute pollen. Hand pollinate flowers for species which normally rely on insect pollinators.
• Diseases and pests: Like outdoor plants, bacteria, fungi, viruses, and pests can create problems with indoor edibles. Aphids and whiteflies can be particularly troublesome when gardening indoors. Solution: Inspect plants regularly and treat immediately to avoid heavy infestation or spread of disease.
• Over or underwatering: Too little or too much water is another of the indoor vegetable problems to consider. This stresses plants, reduces leaf formation, and causes fruit to drop. Solution: Make sure pots have adequate drainage, let the top layer of soil dry to the touch before watering, or use an app to remind you when to water.
• Incorrect use of fertilizer: Too much, too little, or simply the wrong type of fertilizer are common problems with indoor edibles and can impede growth and fruit production. Solution: Research what type of fertilizer is recommended for each species of plants. Feed plants only as needed and follow manufacturer’s instructions when mixing fertilizer.
• Overcrowding: Another one of the often-overlooked issues with growing veggies inside the home is the loss of living space. Cramming plants all over the house can put your beloved veggies in contact with pets, children, or an overzealous cleaning lady. Overturned pots and broken plants result in delayed harvests. Solution: Use a spare room, section of the basement, or an attic for your indoor garden.

The creation of green spaces has become increasingly popular in large cities. While large parks serve as a place for nature lovers to relax and unwind, other planting sites have also been developed solely to foster and promote the presence of native wildlife. The preservation of woodlands, wetland habitats, and pollinator gardens are just a few examples of projects that have been implemented.

Though not yet as popular, the creation of urban meadowlands has also gained traction among homeowners and city councils. Read on for tips on growing urban meadows.

What is an Urban Meadow?

Urban meadowscaping can vary greatly. In general, a meadow in the city is done in large areas which have traditionally been kept as turf. Common areas to find these meadowlands include between highways and around parking lots.

To begin the conversion of a space to a meadow, various types of native grasses and wildflowers are used. These native species are attractive to pollinators and support a more natural and easy-to-care for ecosystem.

Although creating a meadow in the city is most effective over large areas, home gardeners who wish to grow an urban meadow also have several options.

Grow an Urban Meadow

Urban meadowscaping can be accomplished in different ways, from small to large. Small scale plantings are most applicable for city dwellers. This can be done within singular flower beds or throughout entire lawns.

To grow an urban meadow, first select the planting site. Planting locations should drain well and receive full sun for most of the day.

Next, you’ll need to choose plants. Before planting anything, consider the area’s soil type. While some grasses and flowers require consistent fertilization, others may grow better in places where soil is less than ideal.

Many popular plants for urban meadowscaping are annuals, but it's great to also include several perennial types. Diversifying the meadow planting will help to promote the overall health of the space, as well as provide seasonal interest. Adding plants of differing heights, textures, and bloom season will help extend the appeal of the planting space.

In urban meadow gardening, many growers choose to forgo regular maintenance tasks such as irrigation and fertilization. Rather than deadheading spent blooms, allow the plants to form seeds. This will attract birds and other small animals.

These are just some examples of how low maintenance techniques can assist in a more natural establishment of the small meadow ecosystem.

During this challenging and stressful time of the Covid pandemic, many are turning to the benefits of gardening, and with good reason. Of course, not everyone has access to a garden plot or other area suitable for a garden, and that’s where community gardens come in. However, community gardening during Covid is a bit different than before since we need to practice social distancing in a community garden.

So how do socially distant community gardens look today and what are the Covid community garden guidelines?

Community Gardening During Covid

A community garden has many benefits, not the least of which is providing food, but it also gets us outside in fresh air while getting light exercise and social interaction. Unfortunately, during this pandemic, it is recommended that we practice social distancing, including in a community garden.

While Covid community garden guidelines have broadened, those that are not in an ‘at risk’ category and are not ill can still enjoy their time in the community garden as long as they follow the rules.

Socially Distant Community Gardens

Covid community garden guidelines will vary depending on your location. That said, there are some rules that are applicable wherever you are.

Generally, anyone that is over 65 and/or with an underlying health condition should take the season off, as should anyone who is ill or has come into contact with Covid-19. Most community gardens will allow you to take the season off without losing your space, but check to make sure.

Socially distant community gardens require some planning. Many community gardens have reduced the number of gardeners who can be in the space at the same time. There may be a schedule put into place to allocate time to individuals. Also, avoid bringing children or the entire family to your allocated plot.

The general public is asked not to enter the garden at any time and signs should be posted at entries to advise the public. The 6 feet (2 m.) rule should be enforced by marking off intervals in high-traffic areas of the garden such as at water sources, compost areas, gates, etc. Depending upon your location, a mask may be required.

Additional Covid Community Garden Guidelines

Many changes should be made to the garden to ensure not only social distancing but sanitary conditions. Sheds should be locked, and gardeners should bring their own tools each time they come to limit cross-contamination. If you do not have your own tools, make arrangements to borrow tools from the shed and then take them home each time you leave. Any shared tools or equipment should be disinfected before and after use.

A handwashing station should be implemented. Hands should be washed when entering the garden and again when leaving. A disinfectant should be provided that can be stored safely outdoors.

Other ways to practice social distancing in a community garden are to cancel workdays and to reduce the number of people who harvest for the local food pantry. Those few who are harvesting for the pantry should practice safe food handling practices.

The rules will be different in socially distant community gardens. The community garden should have clear signage and plenty of it advising members of the rules and expectations. An amendment to the community garden rules should be created and signed off by all participating gardeners.

In the end, a community garden is about building a healthy community, and now more than ever everyone should practice excellent hygiene, observe the 6 foot (2 m.) rule, and stay home if ill or at risk.

Urban dwellings such as condos and apartments often lack privacy. Plants can create secluded areas, but space can be an issue since many plants grow as wide as they are tall. This is when urban vine growing comes into play. True, some vines can be huge, and these vines don’t belong in the city garden, but there are plenty of vines for small spaces, even vines that can be grown in containers. Read on to learn how to grow vines with no space.

About Urban Vine Growing

When it comes to growing vines with no space, it pays to do some research. Not only are some types of vines vigorous growers (which is good if you wish to cover an area ASAP), but they can get out of hand in terms of size.

Size isn’t the only issue when choosing vines for small spaces. Some vines, such as Virginia creeper and creeping fig, use small suction cups and aerial roots to cling to whatever they are clambering up. This isn’t great news in the long run, as these clinging vines can damage soft brick, mortar, and wood siding.

The one thing that is absolutely necessary when growing vines in the city is some form of support. This may be a trellis or DIY support or fence. Even vines in containers will need some type of support.

When growing vines in the city, or really anywhere, consider what you are growing the vine for. Often, privacy is the answer but take it a bit further. If you want privacy, then consider utilizing evergreen vines, such as evergreen clematis.

Also, consider whether you want the vine to bloom, fruit, and/or have fall color as well as what type of light will be available. Lastly, consider the growth rate of the vine. For instance, silver lace vine can grow up to 25 feet (8 m.) in a year, while a climbing hydrangea takes its sweet time and may take years before it gives any coverage.

Choosing Vines for Small Spaces

Wisteria is a classically romantic, vigorous, deciduous vine, but it does need sturdy support and isn’t the best choice when growing vines with no space. Instead, look for smaller, daintier types of vines such as the Tasmanian blueberry vine or the Chilean bellflower.

The Tasmanian blueberry vine (Billardiera longiflora), also called climbing blueberry, only gets to about 4 feet (1 m.) in height and, as the name suggests, produces edible fruit. Chilean bellflower (Lapageria rosea) has huge, tropical, bell-shaped blooms on a vine that grows to about 10 feet (3 m.).

Smaller landscapes or lanai owners may be looking to grow vines in containers. Clematis is an example of a vine that does well in containers, as are the following:

• Black-eyed Susan vine
• Butterfly pea
• Canary creeper
• Climbing hydrangea
• Climbing rose
• Climbing snapdragon
• Cup and saucer vine
• Dutchmen’s pipe
• Honeysuckle
• Boston ivy
• Jasmine
• Mandevilla
• Moonflower
• Morning glory
• Passion vine
• Snail vine
• Sweet pea
• Trumpet vine

A balcony vertical garden is a great way to make good use of limited space, but before you choose plants to grow vertically on a balcony consider your growing conditions. Is your balcony exposed to morning light or intense afternoon light, or will plants be in the shade? Will they be protected from rain?

Once you’ve determined your growing conditions, you can get busy planning your apartment balcony garden. Read on for a few vertical balcony garden ideas to get you started and remember, you’re limited only by your imagination!

Vertical Balcony Garden Ideas

A stepladder is ideal for a small apartment balcony garden. Hang small plants from the rungs or attach narrow planters to the steps. You can also build your own ladder or “staircase” from redwood or cedar, then arrange rectangular planters on the steps. Let ivy or other trailing plants climb or cascade around the ladder.

Prop a wooden trellis against the wall or railing then hang plants from the trellis. You can also build your own trellis or use cedar or redwood lattice. Suggestions include hanging plants in buckets or whimsical painted food and paint cans. (Be sure to drill a drainage hole in the bottom)

Upcycle an old, unused pallet that would otherwise be hauled off to the dump. These can be painted or left natural for an interesting vertical garden and you can fill this with all manner of plants.

Chicken wire turns recycled objects into rustic (and inexpensive) vertical planters. For instance, use chicken wire to cover an old pallet, window frame, or picture frame. Hang small terracotta or plastic pots from the wires.

A plastic shoe organizer makes a cute vertical planter for baby’s tears, dwarf ferns, or other miniature plants. Just attach the organizer on 2x2’s to protect the wall. Fill the pockets with high quality, lightweight potting mix.

A helpful watering tip for apartment balcony gardens, place troughs or buckets under vertical planters to catch excess water or let water drip into rectangular plastic planters filled with blooming plants or colorful foliage.

Does your neighborhood look a bit humdrum? Does it lack color and vibrancy? Or perhaps there are areas that need updating, like near the entrance to the neighborhood? Planting a perennial garden for neighbors near the entrance is one way to make the neighborhood more welcoming. 

Planting a Friendly Neighbor Perennial Garden

Another way to rejuvenate the looks of your city block or suburban housing development involves landscaping with neighbors. With this type of project, you can plant perennials in the neighborhood to not only add sparkle but also create a sense of unity. In a day and age when neighbors rarely know each other, this type of project can bring neighbors together.

Engaging in a community-wide “perennial garden for neighbors” project, can also improve property values and attract homebuyers to the area. Here are a few examples that illustrate why planting perennials in the neighborhood is beneficial:

• Updated landscaping improves the market value of residential properties – as much as 12%.
• Weed-free, mulched, perennial flowerbeds project the image of a well-cared for community. Potential home buyers want assurance their investment won't be in an area where house values are declining.
• Widespread use of flowering perennials in the neighborhood reflects a safe and prosperous community. It shows residents are comfortable outside their houses. Plus, it indicates they have an income level that provides the spare time to work in the garden or the means to hire help.
• Blooming perennials breathe life into the neighborhood. They not only brighten up the area with vibrant color, they also attract beneficial pollinators and colorful birds.
• Perennial flowers are less expensive and time consuming than planting annuals. They return each year, only require periodic weeding and mulching, and once established many species are drought resistant.

Additionally, coordinating a neighborhood perennial garden can help define the borders of a sub-division. It can create a uniform appearance for condominiums, duplexes, triplexes, and townhouses. Perennial gardens also reflect a sense of community pride in neighborhood parks or recreation areas.

Choosing Plants for Landscaping with Neighbors

Whether you're choosing flowering plants for the neighborhood entrance or establishing perennial beds throughout the community, selecting the right plants for the available growing conditions promotes successful and long-lasting results. Consider these plants for your specific needs:

Sun-Loving Plants

• Aster
• Black-Eyed Susan
• Coneflower
• Chrysanthemum
• Creeping Thyme
• False Indigo
• Salvia
• Spiderwort
• Gaillardia
• Daylilies
• Sedum
• Beebalm
• Blazing Star
• Bellflower
• Asiatic lily
• Yarrow
• Lavender

Shade-Loving Plants

• Astilbe
• Coral bells
• Ferns
• Hosta
• Turtlehead

Blooming Perennial Shrubs

• Rhododendron
• Lilac
• Butterfly Bush
• Hydrangea

Finally, when creating a friendly neighbor perennial garden, try incorporating the following ideas for additional benefits:

• Benches – gives neighbors a place to sit and chat or observe wildlife.
• Bird baths – attracts a wider array of bird species.
• Fencing – discourages foot traffic in unwanted areas.
• Rocks – lends a natural feel to flowerbeds and provides shelter for beneficial wildlife.
• Statues – reflects community or homeowner values.
• Water features – provides white noise and has a calming effect.

Lastly, before starting a neighborhood perennial garden, it's wise to contact your homeowner's association or community planning commission for permission, rules, and possible financial assistance.

If you’re a gardener, you are no doubt familiar with microclimates. It may have struck you how differently things grow at your friend’s home across town and how she may have rain one day while your landscape remains bone dry.

All of these differences are the result of numerous factors that affect a property. In urban settings, microclimate swings can be severe as a result of increased temperatures which create high wind microclimates around buildings. 

About Urban Microclimate Wind

Interestingly, urban microclimate wind speeds are usually less than surrounding rural areas. That said, because of the topography of a high-rise downtown corridor, microclimate wind speeds can also exceed those found in rural areas.

Tall buildings disturb airflow. They may deflect or slow high winds, which is why urban areas are generally less windy then rural regions. The thing is, this doesn’t account for pronounced gusts. An urban skyline creates surface roughness that often results in strong currents of wind that are funneled between buildings.

Winds drag on tall buildings and, in turn, create turbulence that changes both the speed and direction of wind. Unstable pressure builds between the side of the building that faces the prevailing wind and the side that is sheltered from the wind. The result is severe swirls of wind.

When buildings are set close together, winds soar over them but when buildings are set farther apart, there isn’t anything stopping them, which can result in sudden high urban wind speeds, creating mini tornadoes of litter and knocking people over.

The wind microclimate around buildings is the result of the layout of the buildings. High wind microclimates are created when buildings are built on a grid which creates wind tunnels where winds can pick up speed. A perfect example is Chicago, aka the Windy City, which is notorious for its sudden urban microclimate wind speeds that are the result of its grid system of buildings.

How does this affect urban gardeners? These microclimates from wind can adversely affect plants grown in these areas. Gardens located on balconies, rooftops, and even narrow side streets and alleyways need to be carefully considered prior to planting. Depending on the specific microclimate, you may need to use wind tolerant plants or those that can specifically handle heat or cold temps brought about by wind conditions.

If you are an avid gardener and lover of all things green, urban agriculture might be for you. What is urban agriculture? It is a mindset that doesn't limit where you can garden. The benefits of urban agriculture extend from the backyard all the way to the roofs of skyscrapers. It is a method of efficient city farming that produces food locally, minimizing transport and bringing communities together during the process.

What is Urban Agriculture?

Think food only grows in the country? What about agriculture in the city? Such an activity relies on using available space and resources as well as utilizing local citizens to maintain the garden. It can be a small or large space and be as simple as a vacant field with corn to a more complex, highly involved series of gardens like a pea patch. The key to efficient city farming is planning and getting others involved.

A quick web search for urban farming facts brings up several different definitions by different groups. However, there are some basic notions that all organizations agree upon.

• First, the purpose of the urban farm is to produce food, often for commercial purposes.
• Second, the garden or farm will utilize techniques to maximize production even in small spaces while using resources efficiently.
• The last common thread is the creative use of a variety of spaces. Roof top gardens, vacant lots, and even donated spaces on school or hospital grounds make wonderful urban farms.

Benefits of Urban Agriculture

Agriculture in the city provides an opportunity to make money off the surplus that you grow, or you can be a good Samaritan and give it away to a local food bank, school, or other charity of need.

It is a flexible way of gardening that relies upon opportunity and may play an important part in the development of an area while also bringing social, economic, and ecological benefits. Here are some other important facts about urban farming benefits:

• Provides an opportunity for commerce
• Improves city spaces
• Utilizes urban waste such as wastewater and food waste
• Reduces the cost of transporting food
• Can provide jobs
• Improve air quality
• Serve as a teaching garden

Tips on Starting an Urban Farm

Obviously, the first requirement is space. If you can't access a vacant lot due to zoning restrictions or ownership claims, think outside the box. Contact your local school district and see if they would be interested in donating some land for the project, which could also be used to teach children how to grow plants and provide other educational benefits.

Call your local utilities and see if they have fallow land that they would allow you to lease. Once you have the site, consider what to plant and the layout of the farm. It must be easy to access, have a site for water storage, and have good soil and drainage.

As with any garden, the rest is mostly hard work and tending plants, but in the end, both you and your community will reap the many benefits.

Living in a small apartment in the city doesn’t mean you have to live without plants. Create an urban jungle apartment space to enjoy the benefits of soothing nature right in your home. And this isn’t limited to apartments, of course. Creating an urban jungle is something you can do in any setting.

How to Grow an Urban Jungle

Growing an urban jungle is essentially just picking the right plants for indoor containers and providing the best conditions so they can grow and thrive. Here are some indoor jungle ideas and tips to get your creativity flowing:

• Use what you already have to arrange plants. Bookshelves and windowsills, for instance, are great staging points for jungle plants.
• Use hooks in the ceiling for hanging plants and to create more vertical plant space.
• Create different layers and textures. Put trailing plants up high, tall plants and small trees on the floor, and more compact plants at all levels from the ground up to the shelves.
• Don’t neglect the bathroom. A few tropical plants in the bathroom will benefit from the humidity and give it a spa feeling.
• Get the conditions right. Make sure you understand what your plants need, in terms of humidity, watering, temperature, and fertilizer, so you can help them thrive.
• Choose low-maintenance plants if you don’t have a lot of time. The jungle will quickly wither if you use plants that need a lot of care, but you aren’t prepared to put in the time.

Ideas for Urban Jungle Plants

Any plant that grows well indoors and in a container will do, but some plants are more jungle-like than others:

• Fiddle-Leaf Fig – The fiddle-leaf fig plant screams tropical oasis, with large leaves and sprawling, vine-like growth.
• Peace Lily – For beginners, peace lily is a tough plant to kill. It needs regular watering but will bounce right back if you neglect it for a while. It has large, tropical leaves and pretty, white leaf bracts and can grow quite large.
• Philodendron – This is another great choice for newbies or for a low-maintenance garden. The pretty foliage trails, so philodendron is good for hanging planters or for high shelves.
• Sansevieria – For striking, tall foliage, try this one. Snake plants have long, spiky, upright leaves and are easy to grow.
• Pothos – Pothos has beautiful foliage, and comes in a variety of colors and patterns. It doesn’t need a lot of light, so you can brighten up darker corners with it.
• Succulents – A cactus or other succulent is not exactly a jungle plant, but it will provide more visual interest. And, these plants are very low-maintenance. 

Window boxes are an excellent planting option for gardeners who are looking to add visual appeal to their homes, or for those who lack adequate growing space, such as urbanites and those living in apartments. Just as planting a garden, the decision regarding what to grow in window boxes will depend on the growing conditions where the box is located-- sometimes a rooftop is your only option for an urban window box, for instance.

Considering environmental factors such as water needs and amount of sunlight will be key in growing successful window boxes. Read on for window box designs for full sun locations.

About Full Sun Window Boxes

The light requirements of plants are one of the most important aspects to consider when choosing plants for your containers. While some boxes will receive mostly shade, due to their location, others may be positioned in full sun. Choosing plants adapted to hot, direct sunlight will help these full sun window boxes to thrive.

Sun-loving window box plants can consist of those that are edible or those which are ornamental. When planning a window box in full sun, growers will need to be especially attentive to the irrigation needs of their plants. Window box designs for full sun containers may dry quickly. Ultimately, this can cause the demise of your planting.

Sun-Loving Window Box Plants

Vegetable, herb, and flower gardens can all be planted in a location that receives full sun. Edible plants such as peppers, tomatoes, and basil will all thrive in these hot window boxes. When choosing these plants, always opt for smaller varieties or those termed as dwarf. By doing so, gardeners will be better able to control the size of their plants as they grow. With careful planning, gardeners can arrange several different types of plants within the same box.

Ornamental flower window boxes are also an excellent option. In terms of plants, growers can select a wide variety of plants like bedding annuals or vines. The combination of plants like petunias, dwarf zinnias, and black-eyed Susan vines can create a stunning floral display that can last all season long.

With careful planning and attention to the needs of plants, growers who choose to use window boxes can create stunning curb appeal. By implementing several types of edible or ornamental plants, homeowners without yards can certainly create a garden that causes the passersby to stop and stare.

A relatively new phenomenon, agrihoods are residential areas that incorporate agriculture in some way, be it with garden plots, farm stands, or an entire working farm. However it’s laid out, it’s an inventive way to create a living space that’s at one with things that grow. Keep reading to learn more about what makes an agrihood along with agrihood benefits to the community.

What is an Agrihood?

“Agrihood” is a portmanteau of the words “agriculture” and “neighborhood.” But it’s not just a neighborhood near farmland. An agrihood is a residential neighborhood specially designed to integrate gardening or farming in some way. Just like some residential communities have communal tennis courts or gyms, an agrihood might include a series of raised beds or even an entire working farm complete with animals and long rows of vegetables. Often, the focus is placed on growing edible crops that are available to the residents of the agrihood, sometimes in a central farm stand and sometimes with communal meals (these setups often include a central kitchen and dining area). However a particular agrihood is set up, the main goals are usually sustainable, healthy eating, and a sense of community and belonging.

What’s it Like Living in an Agrihood?

Agrihoods center around working farms or gardens, and that means a certain amount of labor is involved. How much of that labor is done by the residents, however, can really vary. Some agrihoods require a certain number of volunteer hours, while some are completely taken care of by professionals. Some are very communal, while some are very hands off. Many, of course, are open to different levels of involvement, so you don’t have to do more than you’re comfortable with. Often, they’re family oriented, offering both kids and parents a chance to become directly involved in producing and harvesting their own food. If you’re looking to live in an agrihood, get a sense of what’s required of you first. It may be more than you’re willing to take on or the most rewarding decision you ever make.

Vertical gardening has become a popular idea. This may be due to the decline of single-family housing, a desire to do something different, or an attempt at whimsy and the unexpected.

Vertical gardening maximizes space and utilizes areas that are not traditional planting spaces, increasing the growing square footage. Planting on walls is only one way to garden upward, but it's a good use of an already existing structure and there are tons of ways to make it really pop. We have some great ideas on how to create outdoor wall gardens and give the eyes plenty of beautiful dimensions upon which to rest.

Using Walls in the Garden

Garden walls may be adapted to be more than just a barrier but to also accent the garden and soften or enhance these privacy structures. Garden wall plants create a conduit between the manmade structure and the garden that they protect. They may also form a symbiotic relationship with the wall as it supports them and provides them with a foothold.

Planting on walls is also the equivalent of a gardener's "tag." It allows you to express your uniqueness and the way you view life.

The first thing to consider is the type of wall or structure you have in the landscape. Is it sturdy? Does it have anything from which to hang plants? Can you drill into it or attach support assists, containers, hooks, and other items in any other way? You can overlook this if you have a temporary or moveable support against the wall.

Often, the simplest idea to utilize a wall is to plant at its base. Garden wall plants that climb can clamber effortlessly over the wall, dazzling the eye and adding a counterpoint to brick and mortar. You may have to use some string or other support at the onset to help the plant up.

While considering plant strategies and effects, your zone, site conditions, and the amount of maintenance you wish to do are all additional things to evaluate.

Next, decide if you want evergreen or deciduous, climbing or hanging, flowering or foliage, and add these decisions to your theme. If you opt for climbing plants, make sure you have enough height for the maximum size the plant will become at maturity.

Additionally, if you will need to prune the plant, the height of the wall may be an issue unless you want to get up on a ladder annually.

Hanging plants may be in baskets, planter boxes affixed to the wall, in pots that are tucked into cracks and niches, or artfully and discretely planted on the top of the wall. Hooks that fit over the top of the wall can hold a container disguised by the plants and some moss tucked in around them to hide the supports.

When growing plants on walls, avoid climbing plants that affix themselves to the wall with sticky pads. These scar masonry and can rip up mortar if damaged or if they need to be pulled away.

Types of Plants for Walls

Using walls in the garden as planting areas expands your options in the home landscape. This type of gardening should be easy to maintain, have low maintenance, and still provide a screen or add lushness to a manmade structure. Some useful vine-type plants might be:

• Clematis
• Dutchman's pipe
• Honeysuckle
• Wisteria
• Climbing rose
• Grape
• Climbing jasmine
• Akebia
• Virginia creeper

For plants to place into the chinks and holes in older walls, try:

• Creeping jenny
• Campanula
• Fairy foxglove
• Rock cress
• Ajuga
• Japanese painted fern
• Self-heal
• Sedum
• Sea thrift
• Yellow corydalis

If you choose to mount a container of some sort, you might use:

• Succulents
• Ferns
• Annual flowers
• Herbs
• Lettuce and other smaller non-root vegetables
• Small ornamental grasses
• Small perennials

The sky is the limit, or rather the wall is, so try some unique combinations and cover that wall with simple but elegant beauty.

Trees can be a fantastic garden element. They’re eye-catching and they create a real sense of texture and level. If you have a very small space to work with though, especially in an urban garden, your choice of trees is somewhat limited. It may be limited, but it’s not impossible. Keep reading to learn more about picking trees for small spaces and the best trees for urban gardens.

Picking Trees for Small Spaces

Here are some good small urban garden trees: Juneberry– A little large at 25 to 30 feet (8-9 m.), juneberry trees are full of color. Its leaves start out silver and turn bright red in the fall and its white spring flowers give way to attractive, purple berries in the summer. Japanese Maple– An extremely popular and diverse choice for small spaces, many varieties of Japanese maple top out at under 10 feet (3 m.) tall. Most have striking red or pink leaves all summer long and all have dazzling foliage in the fall. Eastern Redbud– Dwarf varieties of eastern redbud reach just 15 feet (5 m.) in height. In the summer its leaves are dark red to purple and in the fall, they change to bright yellow. Crabapple– Always popular among trees for small spaces, crabapples usually don’t reach more than 15 feet (5 m.) in height. A wide number of varieties exist and most produce beautiful flowers in shades of white, pink, or red. While the fruits aren’t tasty on their own, they’re popular in jellies and jams. Amur Maple– Topping out at 20 feet (6 m.) tall, this Asian maple turns brilliant shades of red in the fall. Japanese Tree Lilac– Reaching 25 feet (8 m.) tall and 15 feet (5 m.) wide, Japanese tree lilac is a little on the big side. It makes up for this, however, by producing clusters of beautiful, fragrant, white flowers. Fig– Topping out at around 10 feet (3 m.) tall, fig trees have big, attractive leaves and delicious fruit that ripens in the fall. Accustomed to hot temperatures, figs can be grown in containers and moved indoors to overwinter if need be. Rose of Sharon– Usually reaching 10 to 15 feet (3-5 m.) in height, rose of Sharon can easily be pruned to make it look more tree-like. A type of hibiscus, it produces plenty of flowers in shades of red, blue, purple, or white depending on the variety, in late summer and autumn.

A hell strip is that forlorn strip between the sidewalk and the street. Usually, the narrow area consists of a few trees and poorly kept grass at best and is all too frequently nothing but a weed patch. Although the area is owned by the municipality, care is usually left up to the homeowner. Hell strip planting is a challenging task because the soil is usually badly compacted, stripped of nutrients, and negatively affected by road salt and grime. Additionally, reflected heat from asphalt and concrete keep the hell strip hot as you-know-what during the summer months. In spite of all this negativity, don’t be discouraged. With a little advance planning and a careful choice of hell strip perennial plants, you can turn the hell strip into an urban oasis. Read on for examples of suitable perennials for hell strips.

Tips on Hell Strip Landscaping

Check ordinances and be sure your city allows hell strip planting. Although many cities have certain restrictions and guidelines, most are happy to see the area beautified and cared for. However, they will probably tell you that it’s your responsibility if the plant is damaged by snowplows, foot traffic, or road construction. When selecting perennials for hell strips, it’s best to choose plants that are 36 inches (91 cm.) tall or less if there’s any chance that the plants will block the vision of drivers – particularly your driveway – or your neighbor’s. Natural mulch, such as bark chips, keeps plant roots cool and moist, and also adds an element of beauty. However, mulch frequently gets washed into the storm drains. Gravel works well if your hell strip perennial plants are sturdy succulents, but again, the problem is keeping the gravel within the hell strip. You may need to surround plantings with edging to keep mulch in place. Low growing grasses work well in hell strips, especially those that are native to your area. They are attractive, sturdy, and drought tolerant. Keep pedestrians in mind. Usually, it’s best to avoid bristly or prickly plants.

Perennials for Hell Strips

Here is a sampling of the best perennial hell strip plant choices: Coreopsis, zones 3-9 Blue oat grass, zones 4-9 Siberian iris, zones 3-9 Blue fescue, zones 4-8 Yucca, zones 4-11 Liatris, zones 3-9 Phlox, zones 4-8 Sweet woodruff, zones 4-8 Penstemon, zones 3-9 Columbine, zones 3-9 Creeping juniper, zones 3-9 Ajuga, zones 3-9 Veronica – zones 3-8 Creeping thyme, zones 4-9 (Some varieties tolerate zone 2) Sedum, zones 4-9 (most) Peonies, zones 3-8

Living in a city can put a real damper on gardening dreams. No matter how skilled a gardener you are, you can’t make land appear where there isn’t any. If you get creative, though, you can get pretty darn close. There’s one excellent growing location that’s usually native only to cities: fire escapes. Keep reading to learn some fire escape garden tips and fire escape garden ideas.

Gardening on a Fire Escape

There’s one big question that needs to be addressed first: Is fire escape gardening legal? That really depends upon your city, though the answer may very well be no. Many gardeners who show off their fire escape gardens online acknowledge that they’re not following the letter of the law, but they always make sure to leave a path wide enough for people to pass in the event of a fire. Contact your city to find out about local codes and laws BEFORE you do any gardening on a fire escape, and no matter what you do, make sure your fire escape is still useable.

Best Plants to Grow on a Fire Escape

What are the best plants to grow on a fire escape? One important key to remember when gardening on a fire escape is size. You don’t want to overcrowd the space, so small plants are best. If you want to grow vegetables, cut and come again crops like lettuce and kale are good choices for utilizing the same space for a long time. Hanging baskets on the outside of the railing will help to keep the path down below clear. If you’re putting pots on your fire escape, make sure to put saucers under them. Even though water runoff isn’t going to ruin any furniture outside, it’s a good idea to keep it from dripping down the wall or onto the street below. If you’re worried about your neighbors reporting you, it’s best to make your garden as little of a nuisance as possible.

You love to putter about in your garden learning how to make plants grow. It’s even more fun when you are part of a group of passionate gardeners who unite to trade information, swap stories, and give each other a hand. Why not think about starting a garden club? If your idea of a garden club involves neatly dressed ladies in fancy hats drinking tea, you’ve been watching too much television. Modern garden clubs unite men and women of all ages who share a common love of flowers, shrubs, and vegetable plants. If the idea sounds intriguing, consider starting a garden club. Now, you may ask, how do I start a garden club? Read on for all the tips you need to get going. How Do I Start a Garden Club? The most important part about a garden club is getting people to join, and that is where you should put considerable effort. Start with like-minded friends. If none of your gang enjoys digging in dark soil, that’s okay. You can start a neighborhood garden club.

What is a Neighborhood Garden Club?

What is a neighborhood garden club? It’s a group of people in your own area of town interested in meeting up around garden activities. Neighborhood clubs are easiest since everybody lives close to one another and may share similar regional concerns. Advertise your idea by telling neighbors, co-workers, and church groups. Post signs at the local library, nurseries, neighborhood cafes, and community center. Ask the local paper to run a notice for you. Make it clear in fliers and notices that people of all experience levels are welcome to join.

Garden Club Information

After you have your member drive launched, start thinking about other tasks necessary for starting a garden club. You’ll need a good way to communicate with fellow members and get garden club information spread to everyone. Why not utilize technology and sign everyone up for a Facebook group? You’ll also need to plan and organize meetings. Talk to other members about what they think would be useful and helpful. Get a consensus on how often and what days to meet. Consider round-table discussions about a popular topic. Or schedule fun hands-on sessions building tomato cages or demonstrating propagating plants by cuttings. You can organize plant or seed swaps, work together to plant a community garden, or care for a public green space. The best garden clubs take advantage of everyone’s knowledge. One way to do this is to ask each member in turn to design and lead a meeting.

We may all have dreams of big, expansive gardens, but the reality is that most of us simply don’t have the space. There’s nothing wrong with that-- with a little creativity even the smallest of spaces can give you plenty of produce, flowers, or even a relaxing outdoor green room all your own. Keep reading to learn more about plants for small spaces and how to make a garden with little space.

Raised Gardens in Small Spaces

One of the most popular small space gardening ideas is the raised bed. Raised beds are great if your soil is poor or even nonexistent. You can build the borders of your raised bed out of wood, bricks, or cinder blocks and fill it in with good garden soil and compost. If you’re using a raised bed, space is at a premium. A good way to make sure you’re getting the most out of it is to use a method called square foot gardening. You can even lay out a grid on the bed itself. Depending on a plant’s size, you should be able to fit 1, 4, 9, or 16 of them in a single square foot.

• Big plants, like tomatoes and cabbages, need a square foot to themselves.
• Lettuce, Swiss chard, and most flowers can fit four to a square.
• Beets and spinach can fit nine to a square.
• Very narrow plants, like carrots and radishes, can usually fit 16.

When growing in a raised bed, keep the sun in mind. Plant your tallest crops on the north side of the bed and your shortest on the south side. You can save even more space by placing a trellis on the north side and growing vining plants like cucumbers, peas, and squash vertically.

Creating a Small Garden Space with Containers

If your space is too small for a raised bed, you can also make gardens in small spaces using containers. You can choose a nice container garden to suit whatever space you have available. If you have a small patio that you’d like to green up, arrange containers around the outside. You can add a lot of depth to a small space by painting the boundary fence green or placing a mirror against it. Plant things that have interesting foliage and bark and a long flowering period, so they beautify the space year-round. Plant a single large item, like a flowering bush or dwarf tree, to create a sense of varying levels and different views from different angles.

Community gardens are fantastic resources. They provide green spaces in urban environments, give gardeners without land of their own a place to work, and foster a real sense of community. If you don’t have one in your neighborhood, you may want to consider starting one of your own. You need to keep in mind, of course, that community gardens take a decent amount of money to get off the ground, and you’ll probably need financial help in the beginning. Keep reading to learn more about grant funding for community gardens and community garden fundraising ideas.

Getting Community Garden Grants

Getting a community garden started can get costly. Depending on the size of your garden, its location, and whether or not it already contains a water source, you could be looking at anything from $3,000 to $30,000 just to get the ball rolling. Before you start despairing, you should look into grants. Check with your local government to see if your space may qualify. There are countless private grants that you can apply for as well, many of which are listed here. Remember, when you’re writing community garden grant proposals, it’s not necessary to focus exclusively on the garden aspect of your space. You can also highlight the revitalization of a space, nutrition, improving quality of life, education, or any of the other benefits of community gardens.

How to Fund a Community Garden

Grants are definitely helpful, but they’re not the only source of funding. Some community garden fundraising ideas focus more on getting the community involved. You can hold a bake sale or a car wash, sell seeds and tee shirts, or even host a community carnival or fair. All of these have the double benefit of raising money, and raising awareness and goodwill within the neighborhood. If you can raise money while promoting your garden and getting people interested, you’re definitely getting off on the right foot.

Volunteering is an important part of community interaction and necessary for many projects and programs. It is always best to choose a volunteer program that speaks to you and about which you have passion. Volunteering for community gardens is often the perfect match for plant enthusiasts. Some municipalities have special programs run by the Parks Department or community college. Starting a community garden often begins with finding out if any of these resources are available to help.

Finding Community Garden Volunteers

In order to start a public garden space, you need to know how to organize volunteers. Volunteers in community gardens should work to their skill and physical levels, but there is something almost anyone can do. Planning is crucial to recruiting and organizing volunteers efficiently. If you have no plan, work will go slowly, volunteers may get frustrated and quit, and resources will not get used effectively. So start by thinking about the project's goals and the types of assistance needed. Then get going on finding and managing the perfect volunteers for the garden. Once you have a site, all the permits necessary and building materials ready to go, you need hands and bodies to make the garden structure. Community garden volunteers may find you if you advertise in a local paper, put up signs or they simply hear about the project through local garden clubs, civic groups or other means. My local pea patch program advertised for volunteers in Craigslist. It was an effective and efficient way to get the word out and once work began, passersby and motorists also began to inquire about helping out on the project. Other sources to find people who are interested in volunteering for community gardens might be churches, schools and local businesses. Once you have some potential volunteers, you should organize a meeting between them, your planning committee, sponsors and resources such as garden clubs.

How to Organize Volunteers

One of the biggest stumbling blocks with a volunteer force is adjusting to people's personal schedules. It can often be difficult to get a large enough contingent for a big part of the project due to work responsibilities, family duties and their own home management. The first thing to do at an initial meeting is to get a minimum commitment from volunteers. It will do you no good to have plenty of help the first few days of development only to find the luster is off the pearl by mid project and you no longer have enough hands. Community garden volunteers have to have their own lives but without some commitment and consistency planned, portions of the project will be delayed or even left unfinished. Holding meetings and keeping involved through email and phone calls to update volunteer schedules and cover work needs will help keep people involved and compelled to attend work parties. During the first planning meeting with volunteers, it is important to go through each individual’s skill sets, wants and needs. This will give you a basis upon which to create a schedule of both volunteers and parts of the project to tackle each time you meet. You may also wish to consider having volunteers sign a waiver. Building, digging out rocks, erecting sheds and other potential development for the garden can be taxing, physical work which may not be appropriate for some participants. You will need to know their physical abilities as well as skill set to accurately place each individual where they are most valuable. Keep in mind community garden volunteers may not be gardeners or even familiar with the rigors that may be involved. Volunteers in community gardens need to be aware of the demands and accepting of the potential risks. Once you have assessed each participant’s ability to contribute, you can then assign appropriate tasks. Starting a community garden is a labor of love but with a little planning and the excellent assistance of professional resources, sponsors and devoted volunteers, the dream is possible.

Now that your garden club or community garden is up and running with an enthusiastic group of avid gardeners, what’s next? If you’re stumped when it comes to ideas for garden club projects, or you need community garden ideas that keep members engaged, read on for a few suggestions to pique your creativity.

Ideas for Community Garden Projects

Here are some popular garden club project ideas to help spark your creativity. Community wildlife certification – This is a major project done in partnership with the National Wildlife Federation’s (NWF) Community Wildlife Habitat Program, which encourages citizens to create wildlife friendly communities. The National Wildlife Federation’s website provides suggestions for homes, schools, and communities to create NWF certified wildlife habitats. Historic preservation – If you have historic sites in your community, beautifying the area is one of the most rewarding garden club project ideas and a great way to showcase spectacular heirloom roses or perennials. Contact your local historical society or cemetery district to inquire how your organization can help. Garden tour – An annual or semi-annual garden tour is a fantastic way to showcase the beautiful gardens in your area. Ask garden club members to serve as greeters or tour guides to keep the flow of traffic moving smoothly. You can also create self-tour handouts to pinpoint specific plants or highlight a garden’s unique history. Charge a reasonable fee to turn this into a major fundraising project for your organization. Host a flower show – According to the National Garden Club, a flower show is both social and educational and, most importantly, spreads the word about the endless pleasure of gardening. A flower show is also a perfect way to raise funds while connecting with potential new members.

Garden Club Ideas for Schools

Need some ideas for school garden projects? Here’s some to help get you started. Host a mini-garden show – Encourage school kids to participate in your organization’s flower show or help them create their own smaller version. What better way to show off a handcrafted birdhouse or those avocado seed projects? Arbor Day celebration – Honor Arbor Day by planting a bush or tree at a location such as a park, school, or nursing home. The Arbor Day Foundation offers a number of suggestions; for example, you can make the day extra special by creating a skit, story, concert, or short theatrical presentation. Your organization can also sponsor a craft show, host a block party, schedule a class, visit the oldest or largest tree in your community, or organize a hike. Protect a pollinator – This program offers children an opportunity to learn about the critical role that bees and other pollinators play in food production and a healthy environment. If your school is willing, a small wildlife garden or meadow is extremely rewarding. Otherwise, help kids create pollinator-friendly container gardens using plants such as:

• Bee balm
• Alyssum
• Salvia
• Lavender

Plant a hummingbird garden – It doesn’t require a lot of space or money to create a garden that attracts flocks of hummingbirds. Help kids select plants that hummingbirds love, especially those with tube-shaped blooms so the hummers’ long tongues can reach the sweet nectar. Be sure the garden includes sunny spots for basking as well as shade for resting and cooling. Although the birds are highly attracted to red, they’ll visit nearly any nectar-rich plant. Remember, no pesticides!

If you live in an apartment with no yard to speak of, the prospect of gardening might seem unattainable. You can have flowers and fresh vegetables all summer long, however, with urban window box gardens. As long as your window receives light, you can tend your own mini garden in the privacy of your own apartment. What do you do with it when winter comes though? How do you keep it from looking drab? Keep reading to learn more about window flower boxes in winter.

Creating Winter Window Boxes

The first thing to remember when creating winter window boxes is that some plants will keep producing and even perform better after a frost. Swiss chard, kale, parsley, and mint will all thrive through a frosty autumn. You can plant them in late summer when hotter weather plants start dying. Alternatively, if you plant everything in grow bags, you can start them indoors earlier and switch them out to your urban window box gardens when the temperatures start to drop.

Window Flower Boxes in Winter

If you want plants that will truly last the winter, try growing winter-blooming plants. There are actually many to choose from like hellebore, winter jasmine, and daphne to name a few. Likewise, you can plant miniature evergreens in grow bags, switching them outside when everything else has died. If you don’t want to plant anything, of course, or if you don’t have grow bags, you can always decorate your winter flower boxes to look like they’re full of life and be very festive about it. Cut some evergreen shoots and holly boughs with berries on them. Tuck the ends into the soil-- this should help to keep them looking fresh for a month or two. If they start to fade, simply switch them out for new branches. The snowfall won't hurt them, and they might even look better for it.

Growing produce in your own backyard or a community garden can be an amazing experience that allows you to not only choose the produce you consume but have control of the process from seed to harvest. Issues affecting urban gardens aren’t usually at the front of your mind when you decide it’s time to open up the soil in your yard or rent a garden plot, but there’s a lot more to consider than just where to buy your seeds.

Problems with Urban Gardens

Most urban garden problems aren’t readily apparent when you first dig the soil, but they are very real. Here are some of the most common things to consider before you plant:

Permits. Depending on where your garden is located, you may need a permit for tearing up the grass, building a fence, or keeping urban livestock like chickens, bees, and goats. Check with your local municipality before putting in the garden of your dreams to avoid finding out the hard way that it’s not allowed. A lot of urban gardening problems can be prevented by procuring the right permits the first time.

The human element. We all want to assume that our neighbors are both helpful and supportive of our garden efforts, but that’s not always the truth. It’s a good idea to talk to neighbors before starting a front yard garden and to erect a fence where there’s a lot of foot traffic. Produce theft is a real thing and happens to disappointed urban gardeners everywhere.

Sun protection. Urban community gardens are especially susceptible to problems with sunscald and radiant heat because many are constructed in areas littered with plenty of concrete, pavement, and large structures. When these surfaces warm up through the day, they can literally hold onto the heat for hours and cook your plants well beyond nightfall.

Contaminated soils. Even if the soil in your urban garden is healthy and rich, it may be hiding secret contamination from the past. Lead contamination is by far the biggest risk, and although most vegetable plants won’t uptake lead into their systems, it can be a problem if you don’t wash produce thoroughly or a child eats the soil in the garden. Having a soil test for heavy metals is good practice before you get to gardening.

Ozone. Burning gasoline and other fossil fuels can result in ozone pollution near the ground. Although there’s little you can do to protect plants from this hazard, knowing ozone is a problem can help direct your gardening efforts. Ozone-resistant garden plants are being developed, but aren’t available to the public yet. Until then, you may want to move gardens to areas further away from roads and sources of pollution.

Learn How One Garden Is Embracing Its Urban Environment

Water supply. Rainwater gardening is romantic and earthy, but not every area has rainwater that’s safe to use for gardening. Pollutants can concentrate in the rainwater in urban areas, injuring plants and causing potential harm to gardeners. Municipal water may also be suspect, depending on native minerals and additives, like fluoride, which can hurt sensitive plants. Accessing useable water can be a trick in some areas, especially where drought and water rationing are common. Plan ahead for water long before you start to plant.

If you garden in an urban area, space isn’t the only thing getting in your way. Limited windows and shadows cast by tall buildings can seriously cut down on the kind of light that is essential for so many things to grow. While you may not be able to grow everything you dream of, there are plenty of plants that will grow with only a couple of hours of light a day. Keep reading to learn more about plants for low light gardens.

Urban Shade Garden

Urban gardening in low light isn’t difficult with the right plants. Herbs are perfect for city gardens in shade, particularly indoors. They are one of the easiest things to grow in low light, and they also grow very well in containers. As a bonus, they’re just the kind of plant you want to keep close by: cooking is a joy when you can snip fresh herbs right in your kitchen. Hard-leafed herbs, like lavender and rosemary, really need a lot of light to grow. Soft-leafed herbs, however, thrive with just a few hours of light per day. These include:

• Chives
• Oregano
• Parsley
• Tarragon
• Cilantro
• Lemon balm
• Mint

Mint, in particular, will grow very well even in low light and should be kept in a separate pot from your other herbs, so it doesn’t muscle them out.

More Plants for Low Light Gardens

If you have very little light, you’re going to have a hard time growing flowers. A few exceptions, though, include:

• Impatiens
• Begonias
• Astilbe

As far as vegetables go, basically any leafy green can be grown in low light. Stick to varieties with many branched leaves, however, opting for loose-leaf lettuce over head lettuce. Radishes work well too, though it’s there that low light root vegetables stop. Other varieties will yield strange, leggy, sickly-looking roots.

Urban gardening is a great way to bring life and color to your city landscape. If you live in a city that experiences cold winters, however, there will come a time in autumn when that life and color will begin to fade. Urban gardening is often synonymous with small space gardening, and urban gardening in the winter is no exception. Keep reading for more information on how to overwinter an urban garden.

Winter Care for City Gardens

Winter plant treatment all depends upon the type of plants you’re growing. If it’s annuals you’ve got, they’re going to reach the end of their life cycle with the cold no matter what you do. Once they’ve died, chop them up and place them in a compost bin if you have one. If your space is too small for compost, you can still benefit from their nutrients by chopping them up and laying them back on top of the soil: over winter they’ll decompose and enrich the soil for the spring. Of course, if any plants are diseased, don’t do this! Dispose of them far away from your garden and definitely don’t compost them. Protect your soil from erosion by covering your containers or raised beds with hearty layers of mulch and compost. This will also provide more soil enrichment as the compost and mulch break down.

How to Overwinter an Urban Garden

If you’re growing perennials or warm weather plants, of course, urban gardening in the winter becomes a different story. If you live in the city, you may not have the space to bring a whole slew of plants indoors; and the good news is, you don’t really need to. Plants can go into shock and die from the sudden change of environment, and all but the truly warm weather ones will actually fare better outside with the proper treatment. If your plants are reasonably hardy and well-established, mulch them heavily, wrap their containers (if they’re in containers) in bubble wrap, and cover the whole thing with burlap or blankets. Move them, if you can, out of any areas that receive direct wind. Let the snow cover them-- this will actually help a lot in insulation. If your plants are less established or less cold hardy, consider building a plexiglass cold frame, if you have the space. It need only be big enough to fit your plants and provide air circulation, and can be built to fit your space. It can also be dismantled and stored in flat pieces in the summer to maximize on space.

As our nation becomes increasingly urban, city dwellers no longer have spacious yards to turn into areas of natural beauty. Many homeowners dream of creating ornamental urban gardens to fill the gap, but are not sure about urban garden design. However, the basic concepts are easy and you can choose among many ornamental plants for urban gardens.

Urban Landscaping Ideas

Creating ornamental urban gardens is a matter of integrating hardware and hardscaping with plants. You’ll want to select urban ornamental plants and trees that tolerate city pollution but do not require an enormous amount of space. While in the past urban garden design included complex plant arrangements, modern city gardens are simpler. Gardeners create a focal feature in the yard around which to place plantings. Focus is created by using placement, contrast, and surprise. The backyard focus can be a tree or dramatic plant – consider a weeping cherry or laceleaf Japanese maple – but it might also be an element of hardscaping such as an outdoor fireplace or a fountain. Water elements add serenity to any garden.

Urban Garden Design

When you are tackling urban garden design, think containers. Consider including a series of large containers in natural materials, like stone. You can select orderly plants or cascading plants to put in the containers, depending on your urban landscaping ideas. Urban life, with neighbors so close, often dictates that a gardener consider privacy when mapping out their urban garden design. Solid walls or wooden fences do the trick, but plants can also be used to create privacy screens and hedges. Read on for more information about these urban ornamental plants and trees.

Urban Ornamental Plants and Trees

Small trees or large shrubs can create an effective visual barrier between you and the neighboring yard while beautifying your own. Select those that grow well in your hardiness zone but will not rapidly outgrow the space available. You might try hornbeam, lime tree, or holly. Once these urban-tolerant plants are in place, use soft outdoor lighting to call attention to them at night. Mix attractive edibles with ornamental flowers in your plantings. Some vegetables are lovely to behold as they are growing and blend readily into the garden. Think cherry tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, and leafy greens that can be tucked in almost anywhere. Many flowers, like nasturtiums and pansies, are also edible. For small spaces, plant vertically. Run vines up the walls of your home or your property-line walls or plant flowers in pallets positioned against fences. Using these ideas you can begin to design and create your own ornamental urban garden. As long as the result pleases you, your garden is a success.

City gardens need not be limited to growing just a few plants on the windowsill. Whether it’s an apartment balcony garden or a rooftop garden, you can still enjoy growing all your favorite plants and veggies. 

In this Beginner’s Guide to Urban Gardening, you will find the basics of city gardening for beginners and tips for handling any issues you may come across along the way. Read on to learn how to grow urban vegetable gardens and more.

City Gardening for Beginners

• Gardening Laws and Ordinances
• The Urban Garden
• Vacant Lot Gardening
• Allotment Gardening
• Urban Gardening in Apartments
• Rooftop Gardening for City Dwellers
• Backyard Suburban Gardens
• Portable Garden Ideas
• Earthbox Gardening
• What is Micro Gardening

Getting Started With Urban Gardens

• Urban Gardening Supplies to Get Started
• How to Start a Community Garden
• Apartment Gardening for Beginners
• Creating a City Garden
• Creating a Rooftop Garden
• How to Garden in the City
• Creating an Ornamental Urban Garden
• Creating an Urban Patio Garden
• Raised Beds for Urban Settings
• Creating Hugelkultur Beds

Dealing with Problems

• Common Urban Garden Problems
• Protecting Plants from Strangers
• Pigeon Pest Control
• Birds in Hanging Baskets
• Urban Gardening in Low Light
• City Gardening and Rats
• City Gardening and Pollution
• Urban Gardening in Bad/Contaminated Soil

Urban Gardening Plants

• Bush Vegetables for Urban Gardens
• Growing Vegetables in a Bucket
• How to Grow Vegetables on a Deck
• Growing Vegetables in a Hanging Basket
• Upside Down Gardening
• Vertical Vegetable Gardening
• Plants for Patios
• Wind Resistant Plants
• Hydroponic Herb Gardening
• Using Grow Tents for Plants
• Mini Greenhouse Info
• Using Grow Tents for Plants
• Plants for Noise Reduction
• Dwarf Fruit Trees in Containers
• How to Grow Container Trees
• Urban Fruit Tree Info
• Growing Shrubs in Containers

Advanced Guide to City Gardening

• Overwintering Balcony Gardens
• How to Overwinter an Urban Garden
• Biointensive Balcony Gardening
• Urban Garden Furniture
• Balcony Vegetable Gardening
• Potted Veggie Gardens
• Urban Patio Garden
• Rock Gardening in City
• Indoor Organic Gardening
• Hydroponic Gardening Indoors

The rising growth of organic food combined with a struggling economy and a “back to basics” mind set has led to a rapid increase in the number of vegetable gardens planted in urban areas. Whether it’s the neighborhood pea patch, a renter’s deck, or your own backyard, gardening has plenty of benefits. There is one special caveat. Urban agriculture runs a higher risk of soil contamination. This article discusses urban gardening in bad soil and managing contaminated soil in city gardens. Read on to learn more about urban soil contamination.

Urban Soil Contamination

So why might urban gardening occur in bad soil? Urban gardens are often located in areas that were formerly industrial or heavily trafficked roads. There may have been a gas station, factory, or past chemical spill in your little Eden – with any number of chemicals left lingering in your garden plot. A lack of knowledge about how the property was used in the past makes the potential for a contaminated garden more of a reality. Many older neighborhoods have century old homes that are layered in lead-based paint, which leached into the surrounding soil. Older timber plot dividers that seemed like a good idea might be pressure treated with chemicals. These are just two examples of urban soil characteristics that may be lingering in your backyard.

Minimizing and Managing Contaminated Soil in City Gardens

So what can you do if you suspect you are urban gardening in bad or contaminated soil? Managing contaminated soil in city gardens means investigating the site history and testing the soil.

• Talk to the neighbors if they are long-term residents.
• Look into historical land use through Sanborn Maps, which includes building information as far back as 1867 for over 12,000 towns and cities.
• You may also want to contact the EPA, the local historical society, or even the library for information on your site.

You will also want to conduct a soil test. This is a simple procedure whereby you gather soil samples and mail them back to the test provider for analysis. You should collect soil samples from various places on the lot since contaminant levels can vary from area to area. Once you get the results back, consult screening levels set by the United States Environmental Agency. Keep in mind that soil testing labs usually only test for urban soil characteristics such as lead and other common contaminants. This is why investigating the site history is so important.

Contaminated Soil Treatment

Even if you do not know what is in your soil, there are some precautionary steps you can take to minimize contact with any contaminants that may be present.

• First of all, always wear gloves and wash your hands after working in the garden.
• Don’t track dirt in from the garden plot. Wash all produce thoroughly prior to eating or storing. Peel root crops and remove the outer leaves of greens.
• If you live near a road or railway, situate your plot away from them and build a hedge or fence to minimize windblown contamination.
• Cover your existing soil with mulch to reduce dust and soil splash, reduce weeds, improve soil structure, and retain soil temp and moisture. Be sure to use topsoil or clean fill from certified soil sources recommended by the local extension office or nursery.
• Use raised beds made from concrete blocks, bricks, or rot resistant woods such as cedar and redwood. Raised beds are by far the safest option if you have contaminated soil, however, they aren’t fool proof. The surrounding contaminated soil can be kicked up by people or wind and inhaled or even ingested accidentally, especially if you have children. Depending on the depth of the raised bed, roots may extend into the contaminated soil below, so use a water permeable fabric or geotextile on the bottom of the bed before filling it with clean, uncontaminated soil.

A hugelkultur system is an excellent way to harvest and recycle any woody materials and organic debris around the garden. This method allows you to clean up piles in the yard while building soil fertility, improving drainage, and enhancing moisture retention. Hugelkultur garden beds also tend to be warmer than even raised beds for early crop starting.

What is a hugelkultur bed? It is a traditional Eastern European gardening method that starts out with a pile of logs and branches covered with soil and organic matter. The name hugelkultur literally means “mound culture”.

What is Hugelkulture Bed?

Layered garden beds are nothing new. Lasagna or sheet gardening flips sod and layers it with newspaper, cardboard, straw, or other carbon materials, then soil. The resulting layers compost quickly and add tilth and nutrients to the soil.

Hugelkultur garden beds have much the same purpose. Instead of sod, however, they rely upon a base of logs and branches. These are covered with other organic materials and then topped with soil.

The logs and branches become spongy as they decompose and soak up massive quantities of water. During times of need, such as drought, moisture from the decaying wood is slowly released into the surrounding soil. After a year or so, you may hardly need to water a hugelkultur bed at all.

Layering other organic materials such as kitchen scraps, manure, newspaper, straw, leaves or mulch enhances the nutrient composition of the bed. In side-by-side tests, hugelkultur beds have produced more and larger vegetable plants than traditional raised beds, due to their water-storing ability, rich nutrients, and warmer soil.

Choosing Wood for Hugelkultur

Not all wood is suitable for hugelkultur. Some trees, such as cedar, old growth redwood, black walnut and cherry, can be slow to decay or toxic to plants. If in doubt, research the trees in your area to determine whether they are allelopathic, slow to break down or otherwise unsuitable.

Good choices include alder, cottonwood, maple, oak, apple, poplar and birch.

More decomposed wood is generally better, as it breaks down more quickly and begins releasing nutrients sooner. Fresh wood can be used, but it requires more nitrogen to decompose and may slow plant growth in the early stages.

How to Build a Hugelkultur Bed

The first step is to cut out a trench about 1 foot (31 cm.) deep. The size is not critical, but keep in mind the amount of material needed to build a mound at least 3 feet (1 m.) high. Steeper beds are recommended, as they provide more planting surface area, reduce compaction over time, and make harvesting easier.

Some gardeners dig deeper trenches, which allows part of a taller mound to sit below ground level.

Place logs and branches in the trench in a pile about 1 foot (31 cm.) high. Thoroughly moisten the wood. Then add flipped turf, seaweed, grass clippings, manure, straw, leaves, or mulch over the logs, piling this material 4 to 6 inches (10–15 cm.) deep.

As you build the mound, layer in soil and other organic matter if available. Keep piling until you have a steep mound to the desired size.

Top the mound with compost or soil, packing it into any large cracks as you work. If using sod, flip it over so the grass faces down. Be sure all woody material is fully covered, as exposed wood can wick moisture away from the mound. Water the bed thoroughly when finished.

Mulching the bed can help reduce evaporation and keep weeds down.

Placement and Orientation

When choosing a location, consider sunlight. Running beds north to south maximises sun exposure, while east to west provides more shade. Because hugelkultur beds are multi-dimensional, they create a variety of growing conditions.

Sun-loving, drought-tolerant plants can be grown at the top of the mound, while moisture-loving or shade-tolerant plants may perform better lower down.

What to Expect

In urban settings, hugelkultur beds can function as productive berms, adding vertical interest to the landscape.

You can plant directly into a new bed or sow a cover crop, such as red clover, to enhance nitrogen and tilth. In the first year, some irrigation may be necessary while the wood begins to decompose. Over time, however, watering needs are greatly reduced.

Hugelkultur beds are an investment in long-term soil health. As the wood continues to break down in the second and third years, the bed becomes increasingly fertile, moisture-retentive, and productive.

As more former or wanna-be gardeners move to the big cities, community gardens grow in popularity. The idea is simple: a neighborhood group cleans up an empty lot in its midst and makes it into a garden that members of the community can share. But once you’ve located that empty lot and obtained authority to use it, how do you begin to assemble all the tools for urban gardens necessary for starting a community garden? Read on to learn about how to identify the requisite supplies for urban gardening.

Starting a Community Garden

The great thing about a community garden is that no one person has all the responsibility. Every member of the group that planned the garden contributes their skills to get it started. If you are in charge of identifying the urban gardening supplies you will need, take into account the size and overall design of the garden. Obviously, you’ll need more tools for urban gardens that are large than or those that are small. The first thing to consider is soil since nothing grows without soil. Evaluate the condition of the soil at your proposed garden site. Often the soil of abandoned property is compacted to the point where you’ll need to include on your list of urban gardening supplies the following:

• Rototillers
• Shovels
• Spades

In addition, the soil might be of poor quality. If so, add topsoil to your list, or at least include organic compost and soil additives. If the soil in your new site is known to contain toxins, your supplies for urban gardens must include the materials to build raised garden beds or large containers.

Community Garden Supply List

Include hand tools for urban gardens to your community garden supply list. In addition to the supplies mentioned above, add the following:

• Trowels
• Gardening gloves
• Composting bins
• Plant markers
• Seeds

You’ll also need irrigation equipment, whether that is watering cans or a drip irrigation system. Don’t forget fertilizers and mulch. However many items you come up with in your community garden supply list, you are sure to be forgetting something. It’s a good idea to invite others to review what you have identified as urban garden supplies, and to add to the list as needed.

In a burgeoning world of people with ever-decreasing space, micro container gardening has found a rapidly growing niche. Good things come in small packages as the saying goes, and urban micro gardening is no exception. So what is micro gardening and what are some useful micro gardening tips to get you started? Read on to learn more.

What is Micro Gardening?

Indoor or urban micro container gardening is the practice of cultivating vegetables, herbs, roots and tubers in small spaces. These gardening spaces might be balconies, small yards, patios, or rooftops which make use of containers – anything from plastic-lined wooden crates, old car tires, plastic buckets, trash cans, and wooden pallets to purchased “nourishmats” and polypropylene bags. Small scale hydroponic systems are another option as well as aeroponics, growing plants in hanging containers with little to no soil, or aquaponics, which is growing plants (or fish) directly in water. What are the benefits of urban micro container gardens? They combine a technique of horticultural production with environmentally friendly technology suited for city dwellers. These include rainwater harvesting and household waste management.

Micro Container Gardening Tips

Micro gardening can work for just about anyone with a small space and be as simple and inexpensive or more complex and costly as you wish. Research by the U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization shows that a well-tended 11-square foot micro garden can produce as much as 200 tomatoes a year, 36 heads of lettuce every 60 days, 10 cabbages every 90 days and a whopping 100 onions every 120 days! More costly irrigation drip systems can be installed amongst a micro garden, or rainwater can be channeled through a system of gutters and pipes into a cistern or directly off the eaves of the roof. The internet is rife with both DIY micro garden plans as well as a host of products available for purchase that can help get your own micro garden going. Remember, your tiny Eden doesn’t have to cost a lot. Think outside the box and look for salvageable items that can be repurposed. Many industrial districts have free pallets, yours for the asking. These make wonderful “walls” of herbs that double as miniature edible gardens as well as colorful, sweet smelling partitions or privacy screens on a tiny balcony. Many different types of vegetable can be grown in an urban micro garden, although some vegetables are admittedly a bit large for very small spaces. Maybe it’s out of the realm of possibility to grow say, broccoli, which has a wide, bushy habit, but you can certainly grow many dwarf size veggies. Some of these include:

• Dwarf bok choy
• Romeo baby carrots
• Fino Verde basil
• Jing Bell peppers
• Fairy Tale eggplant
• Red Robin tomatoes
• Rocky cucumbers

Also, look into the extensive selection of microgreens such as baby spinach, chard and lettuces that are perfect in an outdoor or indoor micro garden. Think about growing up to maximize space too. For instance, many squash plants can be trained to grow up rather than out. Use trellises, lines, tepees made from bamboo or even rebar or PVC pipe, old gates…whatever you can think of that will act as a support and can be anchored sturdily. Even corn can be grown in a micro garden setting. Yes, corn will grow in a container. Ours is doing fantastically well!

Urban gardening provides healthy local produce, provides temporary respite from the hustle and bustle of the city, and offers a way for urban dwellers to experience the joy of growing food for themselves and others. However, urban garden pollution is a serious problem that many enthusiastic gardeners don’t take into consideration. Before you plan your urban garden, take time to think about the many pollution effects in city gardens.

How to Fix Pollution in a City Garden

Smog and ozone damage to plants is common in urban areas. In fact, the haze or smog often seen in many cities is normally contributed to ground-level ozone, especially in summer, and is made up of various pollutants. It is also responsible for coughing and stinging eyes, among other things, which many urbanites suffer from. As to gardening in areas with smog, it's not so much about what's in the air affecting our plants, but what's in the ground where they grow.

While we usually think of air pollution when we think about city gardening pollution, the real city pollution problem for gardens is in the soil, which is often toxic from years of industrial activities, poor land use, and vehicle exhaust. Professional soil remediation is extremely expensive and there are no easy fixes, but there are things urban gardeners can do to improve the situation.

Choose your garden site carefully before you begin and consider the ways the land has been used in the past. For example, the ground may look pristine and ready to plant, but the soil may contain toxic substances such as:

• pesticide and herbicide residue
• lead-based paint chips and asbestos
• oil and other petroleum products

If you can’t track down the former use of the land, check with the county or city planning department or ask your local environmental protection agency to perform a soil test.

If possible, locate your garden away from busy streets and railroad rights-of-way. Otherwise, surround your garden with a hedge or fence to protect your garden from windblown debris. Dig in plenty of organic matter before you begin, as it will enrich the soil, improve soil texture, and help to replace some of the lost nutrients.

Learn How One Garden Is Combatting Urban Pollution

If the soil is bad, you may need to bring in clean topsoil. Use only certified safe topsoil provided by a reputable dealer. If you determine that the soil is not suitable for gardening, a raised bed filled with topsoil may be a viable solution. A container garden is another option.