Container gardens, usually reserved for flowering annuals, can also be a great place to slip in a vegetable. In some of my containers, I have planted different varieties of lettuce, Swiss chard, and pickling cucumbers. There are also grape tomato plants in pots. Placing tender vegetables in flowerpots keeps the fruits of your labor nearby, and also confuses those animals that are looking for a free snack.
In the small, dedicated garden space, I grow a few zucchini, some pie pumpkins, cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes and squash. Some years I am blessed with an over-abundance of one thing or another. This year, the cucumbers have run amok. I have eaten more than my fill, and given away considerably more than that.
Remember to use approved fertilizers and pesticides when urban vegetable gardening. Safe chemicals are indicated on the containers. Better yet, use natural fertilizers like manure, or natural pesticides, like ladybugs.
While it is possible to freeze some foods, the urban guerrilla gardener should consider canning as an option to saving food for use later. Tomatoes and pickles are the easiest to can. There is nothing like opening a jar of last summer’s tomatoes in the dead of winter and making fresh pasta sauce. My canned tomatoes include garlic, bay leaf, oregano, and basil from the garden, so it is practically spaghetti sauce before I open the jar.
I had been canning fruits and vegetables using a regular large pot, but this year decided to purchase a pressure canner. The pressure canner takes all of the guesswork out of optimum temperatures and how long the produce should be boiled in order to be safe. (Safe canning can be accomplished without a pressure canner, as I have obviously done this for many years without getting sick, but doing so involves a certain amount of diligence.) I also plan on using the pressure canner to preserve soups. Canning jars can be used over and over, thus cutting down (though slightly) on landfill waste from prepackaged food items.
In this day and age of so-called “convenience” foods, I find a great deal of comfort in growing my own. There is the undeniable connection between the soil and your plants, which transfers into the soul of the gardener. For those like me who think of food as more than simple sustenance, an urban garden makes perfect sense.
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1 - Fencing in Nottingham
dont forget to securely fence the plot from wouldbe free loaders