Want to start gardening in the city?Have a balcony, a back yard, a community garden plot?
Here are some useful tips and links that Campus Crops recommends:
Table of contents
1. When to start growing things
2. Ecological Pest Control
3. Container Gardening: The Self-Watering Container Approach
3. Container Gardening: The Self-Watering Container Approach
More to come! In the mean time check out some great sites like this one: http://www.urbangardeninghelp.com/
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1. When to start growing things
There are lots of useful crop calendars floating around that can help guide you in your gardening endeavours.
Some plants need to be started indoors, others prefer being seeded directly into the soil in the spring and early summer. It's a good idea to check and get a head start indoors when you can! There are lots of places you can buy your seeds from, including local stores and farms. When you've got your seeds and you're ready to go, you can make your own little indoor lighting system for your seedlings. Instead of buying crates to plant your seeds in, you can make your own little pots using newspaper.
2. Ecological Pest Control
Step 1- Making your plants strong!
It's also a great idea to spray compost tea on your plants' leaves. This will make them super strong and pest resistant. You can brew "tea" by letting some vermicompost castings, comfrey leaves, or plain old compost sit in some water for a day or two. Spray the "brew" onto your plants. They will LOVE you for it.
Another way to make your plants strong is to plant them next to plants that act as good "companions." There are lists of companion plants all over the web, so have a look. Sometimes plants act as good companions because their root system attracts beneficial microorganisms in the soil (marigolds do this very well), other times companions just make the other plant taste better! (Basil can improve the taste of tomatoes, so be sure to plant them near each other!) In any case, companion planting is always a good idea.
Step 2 - Deterring pests!
For many pests you can apply foliar sprays (sprays for leaves!) to your plants. To deal with flea beetles and aphids--two trouble-makers in the Montreal region-- you can make garlic & pepper spray.
Step 3 - Attract pest killers!
It's also a great idea to plant flowers in order to attract beneficial insects or "predators". Good flowers to plant include calendula, marigold, nasturtiums, and cosmos. Plant a few in your garden or in containers or baskets around it. They'll also attract bees that will help you pollinate your plants, and thus increase crop productivity.
Unsure which insects are good and which are bad? Check out this list of beneficial insects.
3. Container Gardening
If you don't have soil to garden directly into, you can make self-watering containers for your plants. These are a good idea for many reasons. First, they minimize compression of the soil and, when filled with water on a regular basis, offer your plants the exact amount of water they need. Also, watering from the bottom of your pot also promotes the growth of a deep root system, which will enable a greater amount of nutrient absorption for your plant and a stronger root system to hold up your big beefy plants. It also means that on really hot days, you won't have a shallow root system that dries up fast, potentially threatening the health of your plant. Finally, because you have no holes at the bottom of your self-watering containers, it means that no nutrients will be lost, flushed out with rain or watering.
When gardening in containers, it's best to set up at early as possible. In Montreal, the best time to set up your container garden outdoors is in May. To build a self-watering container you need a pot or a big bin with no holes in the bottom. It needs to be sealed, save for one single hole about 2 inches from the base of your pot--or wherever your base or "platform" ends. This will be the "overflow" hole when too much water comes in.
The first step is to create a bottom for your pot, where water can be stored, and where no soil should ever reach. To do this, you can place big rocks on the bottom on the pot and cover them with a synthetic, porous cloth or mesh or, by using electoral signs, build up a frame like this one:
and place a lid on top, with four holes in the corners, for the plants' roots to get to the water below:
Place a piece of PVC tubing into the bottom of your container, in one of the holes cut out of the electoral sign. Fill the container with a mixture of potting soil, compost and vermiculite or perlite. It should look like an inverse mixture of "cookies and cream" ice-cream.
Come early June, you can plant most of your seeds and seedlings. Make sure to water the containers only via the PVC tubing. This is what will limit the compression of the soil.
You can apply fertilizer such as chicken manure pellets every 4-6 weeks to keep your plants happy.
*With more to come on the following topics!*
If you don't have soil to garden directly into, you can make self-watering containers for your plants. These are a good idea for many reasons. First, they minimize compression of the soil and, when filled with water on a regular basis, offer your plants the exact amount of water they need. Also, watering from the bottom of your pot also promotes the growth of a deep root system, which will enable a greater amount of nutrient absorption for your plant and a stronger root system to hold up your big beefy plants. It also means that on really hot days, you won't have a shallow root system that dries up fast, potentially threatening the health of your plant. Finally, because you have no holes at the bottom of your self-watering containers, it means that no nutrients will be lost, flushed out with rain or watering.
When gardening in containers, it's best to set up at early as possible. In Montreal, the best time to set up your container garden outdoors is in May. To build a self-watering container you need a pot or a big bin with no holes in the bottom. It needs to be sealed, save for one single hole about 2 inches from the base of your pot--or wherever your base or "platform" ends. This will be the "overflow" hole when too much water comes in.
The first step is to create a bottom for your pot, where water can be stored, and where no soil should ever reach. To do this, you can place big rocks on the bottom on the pot and cover them with a synthetic, porous cloth or mesh or, by using electoral signs, build up a frame like this one:
and place a lid on top, with four holes in the corners, for the plants' roots to get to the water below:
Place a piece of PVC tubing into the bottom of your container, in one of the holes cut out of the electoral sign. Fill the container with a mixture of potting soil, compost and vermiculite or perlite. It should look like an inverse mixture of "cookies and cream" ice-cream.
Come early June, you can plant most of your seeds and seedlings. Make sure to water the containers only via the PVC tubing. This is what will limit the compression of the soil.
You can apply fertilizer such as chicken manure pellets every 4-6 weeks to keep your plants happy.
*With more to come on the following topics!*
-Trellises and Vertical Gardening
-Rows and Bed formation
-Container Gardening
-Weed management
-Fertilization
-Medicinal Plants
