By Cindy Naas

We’re more than halfway through the summer, sad as that is to say.

That means, though, that it’s time to start thinking about fall crops to be started soon.

The first round of lettuces are probably turning bitter, the spinach is a happy memory- but for the clever gardener, those veggies and more will get a replay by starting soon.

• Lettuce: After the lettuce starts tasting bitter or hot or turns tough, it’s time to let it go. Dig out the plant and compost. Now, you can direct seed a heat tolerant variety. Or, you can start lettuce seeds in a shady corner of your garden. Pot them into small peat pots, newspaper cones or just seedling trays, and you’ll have the new lettuce plants ready to be popped into the ground in mid-August.

• Spinach: This is one of the earliest crops in Read the rest of this entry »
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By Cindy Haas

A friend has begun making small themed gardens in planter boxes as gifts, and I was lucky enough to see one recently.

It was pretty and very much appreciated by its recipient.

The one I saw was a salad garden, and a planter box which was 2 feet by 8 inches wide grows enough lettuces to make a salad for two at least twice a week. Here’s what you’ll need to make your own salad garden in a box:

• an oblong planter box- the ones I have are plastic
• a mixture of potting soil and manure
• a combination of several or all of the following seeds: Read the rest of this entry »
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By Cindy Naas

A small garden can be challenging in terms of the mount of veggies you can reasonably expect to produce.

However, with just a few good choices you can provide your family and even friends with some good fresh produce weekly.

Here is a list of veggies which will give you the most for the smallest amount of space.

1. Cucumbers - that’s right, I listed a vigourous vine as my first choice. My cucumber plants never take up more space on the ground than the size of the plant, because I grow mine up a trellis. By allowing the vines to climb and then tying the vines in places, the cucumbers can be supported and will do really well.

2. Lettuce - you can grow lettuce all Read the rest of this entry »

By Cindy Naas

My favorite thing about growing my own vegetables is the amazing salads I can make.

Salad season is my favourite time of the year. Mine starts out with the early lettuces and spinach and keeps right on through till the last chard and arugula have been eaten in the fall.

Here are some good bets for growing your best salads ever.

Greens

One of the easiest ways for an urban gardener to grow fresh salads is to plant mesclun, a mix of various lettuces, greens and herbs. This is easily grown in containers if you don’t have the room for narrow rows. I plant several long planting boxes with mesclun seed mix.

Mesclun is good because Read the rest of this entry »

By Cindy Naas

The biggest challenge any urban gardener faces is that of finding enough room to grow everything.

Here are some suggestions to help you use every available inch of space. You might be surprised at just how much fresh produce you can grow in a tiny city garden!

1. Pots and Containers

Container gardens are the backbone of many city gardens. A pretty collection of pots grouped on the stairs to your house can hold tomatoes, cucumbers, herbs and pretty much whatever your heart desires. Be creative Read the rest of this entry »