By Cindy Naas

Reader Question:

Hi, I live in Boston, Mass. and I would like to grow garlic on my back porch this fall. The time is approaching for the actual planting, but I’m still unsure of what I should plant my garlic in, i.e. how large, how deep,etc. I know that garlic should be about 3 inches below the surface, but how much more depth do I need to accommodate for root growth? Any suggestions for containers? I appreciate any info you can provide. Thanks – Lindsey

Lindsey, that’s an excellent question.

The allium family are all well suited for container growing, and garlic is an especially useful plant to grow in a small garden space.

Not only are the garlic bulbs easy to grow, the greens can be harvested and eaten once before allowing them to finish growing. They are delicious and a very healthy addition to stir-fries or salads.

The most important thing to remember about garlic is Read the rest of this entry »

By Cindy Naas

I am really big on keeping a detailed gardener’s journal.

My memory isn’t nearly as good as I am sometimes tempted to think it is, and I don’t want to lose the names of current favorite veggies I’ve enjoyed growing.

I also don’t want to make the same mistakes in next year’s garden that I made this year.

This year, my upside -down tomato pot was stolen early in the growing season, so I still have no opinion of how that worked. I intend to try it again next summer. My grape tomatoes did not live up to expectation and will not be grown again. The heirloom Brandywines were heavy croppers as usual.

The early lettuces did well, however Read the rest of this entry »

By Cindy Naas

Earlier this summer, UGC writer Vanessa Richins wrote about some lovely wall gardens designed by artist Patric Blanc.

His beautiful creations are living works of art.

A non-profit group, Urban Farming, has taken the vertical growing idea and run with it.

A series of four walls in L.A. have been turned into urban farms in a collaborative effort between Urban Gardening and Cal Poly students. 180 growing panels were planted up with organic veggies and herbs and installed in the four designated areas.

The produce was donated to area food banks. One wall was tended by residents of a low-income apartment complex and the food was Read the rest of this entry »

By Michael Nolan

I toyed with titling this post, “How I Spent My Summer Vacation” because I realize I’ve been away for most of it, but I thought I’d go with the less obvious.

I am back in full force though and I hope to continue sharing with you all for a long time to come!

At the start of June I relocated rather abruptly to the other side of town and aside from the obvious adjustments that such a move requires I was feeling rather lost when it came to my garden.

You may remember I had planted several different heirloom tomato varieties as well as green beans, cucumbers and several other veggies that I was quite excited about. When none of them made the trek with me I was at a loss.

Not only did I feel as though I had nothing to share with my gardening blog readers (especially here at UGC), I also felt as though I had left the definition of urban gardener at my prior home since I now live in what is called a ‘garden home’ in a large development . As the weeks progressed though I started to realize that Read the rest of this entry »

By Vanessa Richins

An old railway in Furness, England had become a seedy location.

As the project website describes, “The land and buildings proposed for development have been derelict for almost 30 years and until a recent clean up, had been used as an area for fly tipping, arson, under age drinking and drug abuse.”

All that has changed now.

A new urban garden is about to be opened to the public. With monetary help from several different groups, the railway was turned into a beautiful area that will be for the community to use. Access work needs to be done before it will open, but they will hold escorted tours for anyone interested on every Thursday afternoon in October.

The website says that the garden has three main features:

1. The Read the rest of this entry »