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The Canadian Garden Council (CGC) is proud to proclaim 2022 as Canada’s Year of the Garden.
What Is Urban Gardening?
Urban gardening, or horticulture, is the cultivation of vegetables, fruits, aromatic plants or medicinal herbs, among other things, outside or in enclosed spaces.
By now you are gardening in the city in June 2022. I have transplanted all the seeds that sprouted indoors outside. They are now in the soil and were watered over the weekend.
What are the things that must be considered in urban gardening?
- Space
- Seeds
- Soil
- Sunlight
- Watering
- Container
The weather has been cloudy and rainy, as well as a little cold. We have only a short window to grow some food so it is time to have your vegetables in the ground no later than the second week of June.
Some of my seeds are so small there is a chance they may not make it. However they are in the ground and hopefully strong enough to withstand the fluctuation in weather and temperature.
What Can i grow in a city?
This year I am growing the following vegetables:
Zucchini, brussels sprouts and cucumbers, (bought at 3 for $10.00).
I also have tomatoes and green peppers seeds from 2020 and 2021, as well as kale, celery, lettuce that are store bought and the ends saved with roots grown.
Additionally this year I will grow strawberries. The great news is they are perennials.
I grew kidney beans in 2020 and some in 2021. They worked out semi-successfully. This year I will grow some in 2022 again. The beans are taken from a 4lb bag of beans. The roots are grown first and then planted. Once give kidney beans a home, keep them there. They do not like to be moved.
Utilizing your space wisely
Since the backyard is small we are limited with space. Fortunately our backyard is very nice with beautiful flowers which makes the place look very nice. In the centre of our backyard, underneath the pergola, I have two vertical rows and one horizontal row of vegetables planted.
The area along one side of our backyard has a dog bone shaped garden bed. The first homeowners had a dog and built a beautiful stone garden bed in the shape of a dog bone in the backyard. The second homeowners built a beautiful Asian style garden. Even though it is beautiful, a lot of it is not practical after 2020.
In substitute for leaves growing on the ground, I took them out two years ago and started planting vegetables. This year there are tomatoes and green peppers planted in the garden bed.
The three rows of the centre of the pergola are growing tomatoes, kale, brussel sprouts, zucchini, cucumbers and green peppers. In the square boxes of the pergola I have kidney beans growing. Hopefully they will grow strong and tall. This year I added a new strawberry plant growing separately in its own garden vase.
There is also a mystery plant I have been growing that will be discussed in an upcoming blog this summer as well.
The herbs rosemary and oregano are rooted in a heavy garden barrel alongside lemon balm leaves and chives that grow annually.
Gardening in the city June 2022 has begun. As the rainy weather kicks in and the plants acclimate to the changes they will grow more robust. In each hole I made to plant the sprouted seeds, I added a small scoop of manure (purchased from 2021) to help give each plant nutrients. This will help the small plants to grow more robust.
The back right side of our backyard where we adjusted the cedar tree, spearmint is growing abundantly. The mint I picked up away from home while on a yoga course. It was wilting and I asked to take it home. Today it is thriving in the backyard. No cats will want to come to hang around this place, even though I like them.
Does Gardening Really Save Money?
You can save money growing your own vegetables and fruits.
People in my area are catching onto us building a garden and some are starting their garden too. This is a good sign. People are seeing the value of growing vegetables and becoming self-sufficient in times when things are getting tough for many. As of right now in June 2022, the whole garden cost about $30.00. This is because I purchased some plants this year.
How Can I Save Money In My Garden?
We bought the soil last year and had leftover. The manure is from 2021 as well. The strawberry plant was $12.00 and the 3 vegetables (brussels sprouts, zucchini and cucumber) were 3 for $10.00. The kale is the remaining stem purchased from the grocery store. It usually goes into compost or used in a meal, but this time it is rooted in the soil to grow big thick leaves in the summer. The tomato and green pepper seeds are from last year.
The water to help the vegetables grow will be from collecting rain water. The goal is to refrain from using the hose throughout the summer. These rainy days not only give water to our plants but leave plenty behind for us to use on hot dry summer days.
As of now some of these seeds are so small you can barely see them. However, within a short period of time they will show through. Keep working on your garden throughout the summer. Water your plants and check on them from time to time.
June 9, 2022
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