tomato bag came along, which strung the tomato on a support and let the plant grow down toward you for harvesting. If you like the idea of growing strawberries, they don’t always have to be in a strawberry pot – or even a space-saving pot, like the one shown here; they can be planted in a hanging basket or other non-traditional vertical container to free up more ground space for conventional containers. The same can be done with herbs.
Vining plants. Vining plants such as peas, beans, squash and melons also use the vertical plane, but will need to be supported. Besides conventional supports and cages, deck or balcony railings do just as fine a job. A bonus to vining plants is that you can grow them on a trellis to create a temporary privacy fence when you are living close to your neighbors.
Vertical growing systems. The trend toward growing vegetables on patios and balconies has spurred the industry to develop not just small-growing varieties but also vertical growing systems that will support several containers, one above the other.
Combining all these ideas provides a way to maximize the square footage of growing space while minimizing the square footage on the ground.
Square Foot Gardening
Back in 1981, retired engineer Mel Bartholomew revolutionized the home vegetable garden with his book Square Foot Gardening. His idea was that home vegetable gardening was not just a scaled-down version of farming and the guidelines for farming were not necessarily appropriate for the home gardener. Prior to his method of gardening, we were all encouraged to till up, clear stones from the area, rake flat then sow a 10-foot row of cabbage seed. When the cabbage seed germinated, we took most of the seedlings out so that the remaining cabbages could grow at one foot apart.
Square Foot Gardening disregards this wasteful idea and says that if you want five cabbages, you sow five seeds, each at one foot apart in a grid system. Most seed available to home gardeners has a very high germination rate, so each of the five cabbages is very likely to germinate and produce a great head of cabbage for your kitchen. When combined with a 4-foot-square garden space, Square Foot Gardening creates 16 one-foot cells.
Here’s an example of what you can fit into those 16 cells in a 4-foot square:
4 tomato plants
2 peppers
18 onions
32 carrots
24 lettuces
The Square Foot Gardening system was maybe a little before its time, but in the last decade the popularity of community gardens has made this simple system a standard way of gardening. You can continue adding these 4×4 modules as you have the room and energy to cultivate them. The system also encourages you to fix the grid onto the bed. You will find many community gardens with the grids in place throughout the growing season. After a year or two, you will be able to gauge the grid spacing without a grid, but it does stop over-planting, particularly if you are new to gardening.
Raised Beds. Raised beds work well with the Square Foot Garden philosophy for gardeners who prefer not to till. Whether your native soil is sand or clay, the raised bed will provide the best fertile environment for the plants. The advantage of the raised bed is that you fill it with a soil mix that is weed-free and very loose, which makes it perfect for roots to grow quickly, and easy to pull the odd weed out. Most raised beds are 4-10 inches deep – the greater depth being preferred for growing root crops such as carrots and potatoes. Your local lumber dealer will usually have 4, 6, 8, or 10-inch boards. (Smaller kits of 4×4-foot beds are generally 4-6 inches in depth.) See Chapter Two for lots more about raised beds.
Community Gardens
The interest in growing vegetables has also led to an increase in the number of community gardens with plots available for the local residents. Some require that you reside within the city limits; others are sited in enclosed communities with gardens just for the residents. A typical plot is about 4 feet wide and 8-10 feet in length. Combine these gardens with the Square Foot method of layout, and you can obtain a sizeable harvest that saves hundreds of dollars a year in fresh produce. Community gardens attract a cross section of the community, with a range of ages and backgrounds. They are a wonderful way to get to know other gardeners in your area and chat about different vegetables that you grow – and maybe swap some fresh produce as well. When gardeners of various ethnic origins grow vegetables from their homeland it benefits not only their family but also the other gardeners, who learn about a new vegetable, how it tastes and how to use it. This is a movement that is good for everyone involved.
Visit the American Community Garden Association (https://communitygarden.org/) to find a garden near you.
A Word about Farmers’ Markets and Community Supported Agriculture
Once you are growing a few of your own vegetables, you will start to notice that the freshness and flavor of the warm, just-picked tomato or melon is markedly different from the store-bought varieties. Of course, you cannot grow the whole of your weekly vegetables in a window box, but growing some at home and supplementing with a weekly visit to the farmers’ market is an excellent option. Just like community gardens, we have seen a sharp increase in the number of farm markets springing up in most suburban and even urban areas. The markets can be year-round or seasonal and the rules for selling vary from market to market. The first major crop to ripen in the fields is strawberries, marking the starting point for most seasonal markets – April in warmer areas to late May in colder regions. The end of the season brings us sweet corn and pumpkins and marks the closing of the seasonal markets – September or October for most locations.
Most of the vendors at the markets are the farmers who grow the produce. The variety of produce available from specialty vendors is amazing. If you enjoy heirloom beans or tomatoes, you are likely to find a farmer who also likes them too. And they are happy to share recipes and cooking tips, as well as growing tips if you are trying to grow some at home. Region-wide issues such damp, cool weather that delays or destroys your crop would also hit the local farmers, so talking to them about how they deal with the problems can be a big help.
It’s important to know how the produce is grown. Talking to the farmers will alert you to whether they are growing organically, naturally or using conventional chemical treatments. Most farmers are happy to share their methods with you, particularly if they are growing with as few chemicals as possible.
One popular way to make sure you get great fresh vegetables all through the summer regardless of what you grow is to enroll in a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). A CSA farm grows a variety of mixed vegetables through the season and sells shares to the public. The share, or half share, is paid for in advance, and in return the farmer provides a box of produce each week for the shareholder. The shares can
