If you like to garden on a bog scale, have you been able to make urban living work for you?

[Anonymous]

I like the idea of growing tons of veggies and having a large fun yard with big trees and so on. That is how I grew up.
My aunt lived in Brooklyn and had a garden that took up the whole back yard. She grew enough so that she never had to buy from the grocery store. We had a large lot in MD growing up and we grew everything. I want my kids to have that experience, but DH wants to be closer in. The close in lots have enough room for tiny gardens (assuming you can get enough light) and no room for running around.

[Anonymous]

Are there community gardens where you can get a nice plot?

[Anonymous]

Rooftops! Run around at the park.

[Anonymous]

No. This is one reason I live in the suburbs. I love my garden, it is my oasis and therapy and I could not give it up. I love growing my own veggies. Yes, I could do a small scale version in the city, but it would be way reduced. Don't count on rooftops, you will have to use containers that may dry out in the summer heat and need constant watering, and many roofs are not made to handle the weight of the heavy containers needed for veggies.

A community plot is an excellent alternative, but not for me right now b/c my kids are little and when my youngest naps I pop out into the garden etc. On the weekend we can all hang out in the back yard, the kids play and I garden.

[Anonymous]

I think community gardens are a good idea for the casual gardener, but my experience is that people don't properly maintain their gardens and do not control disease, therefore polluting the gardens around them.

When we purchased our home (in the burbs) the yard and its exposure was just as important as the lay out of the interior of the home.

SOME urban gardeners can really make it work, but you must have the perfect piece of land. i used to follow a blogger who had a beautiful garden in DC, until he moved. www.theslowcook.com. As it turns out, his blog as of today, on the front page is showing his old garden.

[Anonymous]

Go vertical:
http://webecoist.momtastic.com/2010/06/14/12-savvy-small-space-urban-gardening-designs-ideas/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think community gardens are a good idea for the casual gardener, but my experience is that people don't properly maintain their gardens and do not control disease, therefore polluting the gardens around them.

When we purchased our home (in the burbs) the yard and its exposure was just as important as the lay out of the interior of the home.

SOME urban gardeners can really make it work, but you must have the perfect piece of land. i used to follow a blogger who had a beautiful garden in DC, until he moved. www.theslowcook.com. As it turns out, his blog as of today, on the front page is showing his old garden.

18:33 I hadn't thought of that! Wow that would bug the hell out of me, no pun intended, if my neighbors did not control their pest/weeds and it affected my garden.

[Anonymous]

I thought community gardeners tend to be very into their gardens. And aren't there waiting lists to get one?

[Anonymous]

OP here, I meant big rather than bog. Anyway, I am kind of obsessed about the gardening thing, and as a pp said, it is therapy for me. Right now we are in a wooded neighborhood with small lots and even if I cut down some trees, there still wouldn't be enough light. I want to set up irrigation and fencing, compost heap and so on. I also plant flowers and so on. I see people in town with a few plants on a small lot, some of them work miracles, but that is not me. The kids would have no yard and the light thing is tricky.

[Anonymous]

I hear ya OP. I put my peas in and they are sprouting up and everyday the kids & I go and check on them. We spend countless hours in the garden looking for butterfly cocoons, making fairy gardens, picking tomatoes etc. I don't think I could live on a wooded lot, even though I love the woods for walking and exploring.

[Anonymous]

I grew up on a farm and even though it took me a very long time to plant things that could be eaten (our garden alone was over an acre), I've always enjoyed having a yard. In my 20s, it was fine have a postage stamp sized yard or even living in condo and doing vertical gardening, now that I'm in my 40s and with very small kids, I'm glad to have a larger suburban yard (at least for this area). As a PP noted, it's my therapy. I do composting, edible landscaping, rain barrels, retention swales and flowers. From spring until just after the first frost, I'm able to have flowers on my desk at the office. Given my preferences, I wouldn't have been as happy closer in.

[Anonymous]

I've done both - urban gardening and suburban gardening. Urban gardening was fun because of the challenge. I liked the slow cook, too. I built containers and followed the square foot gardening method. I had rain barrels which made watering easy. Of course I have a compost bin but it was sooo small. Every gardener wants more space. I'm in the suburbs now. I have a bigger veggie garden, rain barrels, and a 3-bin composters. Plus I have a strawberry patch, teepee for morning glories, and flower beds. I love it.