Green Scene: City Gardening

Spring is in the air, which means growing and gardening season can’t be far away. And with the economy in the tank, this year is a good time to start growing some of your own food if you don’t already. Think about it. A packet of tomato seeds costs about $2, and can produce pounds of tomatoes. Even if you buy some seedlings (small plants that a nursery has grown from seed), you’re going to be saving money. Here are some things to think about if you interested in growing an urban eden.

First of all, you need to know what plant hardiness zone Philadelphia is in. If you look on the back of any seed packet, you’ll see a tricked-out colorful map of the United States. Each color represents a different temperature zone. We are in zone 6, which means you have to follow all growing guidelines on the packet for our zone. Another key fact to know is that any plants that should be planted “after danger of frost,” means you should plant them after May 15.

February is the time to plan. Sit down and envision what you’d like to grow and where. What do you want to feast on all summer? Tomatoes? Basil? Peppers? The choice is yours. Now, survey your space. If you are lucky enough to have a yard, then think about tearing up some of that grass and make a vegetable patch. Keep in mind that plants need about six to eight hours of direct sun to grow well. If you don’t have a yard, get creative. Look at your windows. Do you have any that get a lot of sunlight? If so, you might consider investing in some window boxes. Or, if you have a small concrete patio, start loading up on containers. Many vegetables can be grown in a variety of containers tall and small. If you have no space at all, consider joining a community garden. To find out where your closest community garden is, check out the Neighborhood Gardens Association’s website. There’s info on gardens across the city and about how to start your own community garden if there isn’t one nearby.

Now, start thinking about how involved you want to get with your garden. Do you want to start your seeds yourself? Or, would you rather buy plants from a local nursery? If you are interested in starting your own seeds, you need to start gathering some seed starting equipment, including a heating mat, a grow light, starter pots, and potting mix. Then, start Googling your heart out to find info about starting seeds. There’s way too much to know about it to go into in this tiny posting. Our recommendation is that if you’re new to gardening, start with some seedlings this year and see if you like it enough to invest in seed starting equipment. Or, buy seedlings for things like tomatoes and peppers and grow easier things like lettuce, chard, and spinach from seed when Spring officially arrives. One of my favorite books about growing is Month-by-Month Gardening in Pennsylvania by Liz Ball. It’s a great resource of what to plant and when to do it.

If you are thinking you want to go the easier route of buying seedlings, you can sit back and relax for a little bit, peruse some nursery and seed catalogues and dream about eating your homegrown produce. We’ll be following up this story in a few weeks with information about where to buy these baby plants when the time comes.

If you have any gardening questions, send them my way! If I don’t have the answer, I will find someone who does. Send all gardening questions to lori@phillyist.com.

Image Credit: Flickr user flickrich.