Growing 16 vegetables, Herbs and fruit in the City

We are in the middle of July and the garden is growing, slowly. What have I worked on so far this year? This year we are growing 16 vegetables, herbs and fruit in the city in July 2022. Some items are showing prospective and others need keeping a closer eye on and possible change. All the gardening you are reading about in the city is low maintenance, low in cost with a variety of vegetables, herbs and fruit to grow in a small space.

The cost of growing food this year is under $50.00, so far. This is not including produce purchased at the grocery store because produce was purchased for the purposes of consumption only. Since they serve a greater purpose than just eating them in the summer, I made use of it for gardening at no extra cost. Therefore planting some of these vegetables is free.

The soil is from 2021 since 3-4 bags are remaining. It is always a good idea to have extra bags of soil while the price is low. On average, have around 5 bags of soil if you have a home. Replenish them every time you use another bag as long as the prices are low. 

What Are We Growing In The Garden?

Lettuce

This year for the first time I decided to plant some lettuce. I did not buy any lettuce seeds. Instead, at the grocery store you can buy large bags of 6 heads of romaine lettuce for $6.00-$8.00. The price varies. Make sure the root is at the bottom of the lettuce as you will need it to plant this leafy green. 

I took the roots of all the six lettuces and placed the in a bowl with water. Some leaves started to sprout. In the first week of June I planted all six lettuces. Since then I cut 4 new heads from the ground to eat. More are growing. I did not grow any lettuce the first two years. This is a very easy vegetable to grow and have in the summer. You can eat the lettuce you bought and plant the roots in the ground to get more lettuce without planting seeds. You save a lot not buying lettuce in the summer. I will not buy any lettuce unless I have to. 

Kale

Similarly, I planted two stems of kale with their roots. Unfortunately both of the kale were pulled out from the ground and thrown away by an animal. Luckily I found one of the thrown roots and replanted it. However, the location it is planted is not allowing the kale to grow and expand. As a result the location is going to be moved from its current position and hopefully its new home helps this kale thrive like we have growing last year. 

Green Peppers

The green pepper seeds I planted started off very well and strong and 6 plants were placed into the ground. Two of them have been destroyed by a critter in the night and two did not survive a storm. I have two remaining. Out of them only one looks strong. I am not giving up on green peppers though. They are a resilient plant and it is not late to plant some more seeds if necessary. 

Celery

Celery has been planted very recently because the roots at the bottom have taken a while to show up. Now that the roots have come out, celery is in the ground and will hopefully thrive throughout the summer. By next month I will not need to buy any celery. The celery is planted the same way as the romaine lettuce.

I cut the root and planted it in the ground. The difference is that with the celery I waited until roots showed up whereas with the lettuce this did not have to be done. 

Kidney Beans

The roots came out of the kidney beans and I planted a whole bunch of them, but squirrels started digging through my square pergola beds. One day a large squirrel was snuggled up like a cat in the left pergola. This is why hardly anything has sprung up. However, kidney beans will grow nice and high on this newly painted structure in our backyard. 

Tomatoes

I am growing at least 10 tomato plants this year. Fortunately they are all surviving and doing well. I hope to grow as many tomatoes as possible this year to make a few delicious recipes out of them. The tomatoes are from fresh tomato seeds as I had some at home and they were readily available to plant.

Again, another wonderful effortless vegetable to grow that is resilient and very good for us. Growing your own tomatoes also saves us a lot of money. When 8-10 tomatoes are $6.00 from the grocery store you save a lot over time. This vegetable is so amazing you can grow them on your balcony and they will grow strong with a good yield. It withstands the elements better than most vegetables and thrives.

Spearmint and Peppermint

Spearmint is growing like wildfire and is a very good herb to grow in your garden to deter cats from coming in. Have around some fresh smell of mint so that animals do not linger around too much in the backyard. These leaves are planted around the cedar tree in the back, next to the lettuce and some peppermint. Peppermint is growing well but not all over the place like spearmint. I have been picking off spearmint since May and am not stopping.

 

This herb grows effortlessly as long as you give it some space. I shared a story about the spearmint that I picked this one dying stem up a few hours away from home where I was at a retreat. The mint was wilting and I asked the staff to take it. With their permission I got a pot with soil and planted the wilted spearmint in the pot.

I took it to my room and placed it along the ledge of the window. It took two weeks to wake back up and grow back to life, watering it a little each day. I got to bring the plant home and place it in the backyard as it grows all over the place today. This herb is so expensive at the grocery store while it grows for free in the garden.

Oregano, Lemon Balm, Rosemary and Chives
Oregano

Oregano and rosemary were bought from the garden centre. As of now the oregano and rosemary are growing beautifully. The oregano is growing a little wild and overpowering the space for the rosemary. Cut off the oregano as it grows and use it in your meals as a fresh herb or dry it for use in the future.

This is considered a luxury in fine dining if they serve fresh oregano. Herbs are excellent to grow as they enhance your cooking and dining experiences at home and everything tastes better with them in it. 

Lemon Balm and Chives

These two herbs are consistently growing in this garden basket since we moved here. They are perennials and grow every year effortlessly.

 

Rosemary

Strawberries

Hopefully this year I will eat some strawberries from a strawberry plant basket we bought for $13.00 at the garden centre. Once you purchase a strawberry plant they will grow without having to buy more each year as they too are perennials.

I am thrilled to grow this fruit. This is the basket in the picture above. It should be planted in the ground but I did not have enough space. I did not anticipate the yellow squash to take up a full row of garden bed.

Even though the space is limited I designated a small spot to grow some in the ground. I took three to four stems from the strawberries and planted some in the ground next to a larger cedar tree in our backyard. As of yet, they are ever so small and not really showing much. However they have a ton of potential to come out so I am waiting for something to pull through. This is the first year growing strawberries so we will see what happens. 

Yellow Squash

This is another first for 2022. I have not had yellow squash in a long time but this year we will be eating some. I had no idea how large this would grow but it is large. The squash is all over one row of a basic garden bed I built. It is on top of the kale, which is why I have to give the kale another location. The kale has no room to grow. However, it is showing some zucchinis in the centre and soon I will be pulling them out to cook.

 

Green Collards

Growing on the other side of the yellow squash is some green collards, also hidden from growing further. The vegetable is from the root of a green collard purchased from the grocery store. I ate the leaves and then planted the root into water and waited for the roots at the bottom to show up. Then I planted them along with the rest of vegetables. As of now some leaves have been pulled off and used for consumption. This vegetable will also have to change locations because of the large yellow squash. 

Cucumbers

Also another first, this vegetable is starting to grow well and will hopefully thrive. At first we thought to have it stand but it can remain on the ground and grow. Within two weeks we expect some cucumbers growing in the backyard. 

Yellow Squash, Cucumber and Brussels Sprouts 

The yellow squash, cucumber and Brussels sprouts were 3 for $10.00 were big enough to go into the ground. The Brussel sprouts have been pulled out by an animal and did not survive so we have just the yellow squash and cucumber remaining. 

Not Growing Sweet Potatoes Or Potatoes

For the first time this year we are growing neither of them. For one, compared to most vegetables potatoes are less expensive. For the most part we can afford potatoes. Strawberries are a lot more expensive. Secondly, both of these vegetables take up a lot of space and I do not have enough space for them. They sprawl out all over the place and yield a fairly decent amount, but not a gold mine that is for sure. So if you have a small space and really want potatoes, consider investing in standing potatoes in large standing straight bags. Otherwise, consider other vegetables to work with based on your space. 

The Final Tally?

8 Vegetables Growing In The Ground 

Lettuce, kale, green peppers, celery, tomatoes, yellow squash, green collards and cucumbers, kidney beans.

6 Types of Herbs

Peppermint, spearmint, chives, lemon balm, oregano, rosemary

All of the herbs are currently being used in meals. A vegetable is also being picked from the garden and soon more will come. 

1 Fruit

Strawberries

In Conclusion

It sounds like a lot and it is. I will be cooking most of this at some point and it may be all at once.

Continue collecting rain water in small buckets, containers or barrels. Water your garden a little bit each for approximately 5-7 minutes. As it gets hotter we will be using more water.  

Growing 16 vegetables herbs and fruit in the city is a great way to make your own fresh authentic produce without paying much.

July 14, 2022