I went to a friend’s house this weekend and she proudly showed me her new urban garden. Actually, it was just a pile of dirt bordered by wood, but she has plans to grow lettuce, herbs, and tomatoes.
I assumed my friend spent all day digging and hammering because urban gardens are very popular. Turns out she could care less about trends.
“At least I’ll have food,” she half-joked.
Urban gardening is not about Mother Earth any more. It’s about survival.
Recession string beans, anyone?
When my current batch of potted tulips dies, I’m going to jump on the bandwagon. Are you thinking about doing the same thing?
Here are resources to start a recession garden:
Urban gardening help points to many other resources on the web and has a helpful plant guide
American Community Garden Association – check out their Learn page for practical tips and to find a community garden near you.
Square foot gardening is a technique that supposedly reduces weeding and maintenance time
Earthfirst is a fun blog about environmental news, including urban gardening (not the radical environmental group).
Burpee is one of the better known sites to buy seeds online.
All about planters has a list of vegetables that grow really well in containers.
Welcome to Bargain Babe! I’m Mara, and I’m so glad you’re here. I am an obsessive bargain hunter and penny pincher, and I am determined to live a full life without EVER paying full price. 
hey julia, i’m with you on this one, but starting a garden is daunting even though it sounds easy. i have 2 pre-fab raised bed kits, one which i assembled a couple of years ago and one still in the box. it’s hard to dig deep enough to get out the cruddy soil we have here in sfv and i never know exactly what to amend. i managed to grow lots of eggplant last year but tomatos consistently die no matter where i get them (tomatomania, armstrongs, etc.) and where/how i plant them (container, ground, hanging bag, etc.) wish someone would start a garden workshop locally so we newbies could get good solid advice and answers to questions. know of any place?
Making a garden bed is a lot of work. I would try your local garden store for help or classes, maybe a nearby community college. Another comment is from an LA garden store offering assistance, in fact!
Hi Julia,
I have raised beds and for me it was fairly easy. My hubby built the beds, lined them with quality landscape fabric and filled them with topsoil and compost. I have 6 of them 5×5….which is a bit wide, but I make do. we are putting in 9 more this year. I love it, its way easier than old style traditional gardening. Who knew gardening would be “trendy”, I always felt I was perceived as old fashioned.
I have a seriously black thumb when it comes to gardening, and can kill a plant from 100 yards away without trying! However, I am able to grow tomatoes and herbs… I’m too lazy to grow much of anything else except for bell peppers. I don’t amend the soil, fertilize or do any of the things one is supposed to do, which is probably a good thing, in my case. I have seen gardening classes listed in the Daily News, but can’t recall the locations. If I see any articles again, I’ll let you know.
Great, thanks for sharing your gardening tips, Ellie!
My favorite nursery is West Valley Nursery in Tarzana. The owners are happy to discuss with you what to plant based upon your sun exposure etc. I also like Mel-O-Dee Garden Center in Chatsworth.
Tomato plants need lost of sun and water. They are suscpetable to a yellowing fungus disease; if you see this, cut off the diseased part immediately. Improve your soil by composting kitchen and yard waste.
I’ve been wanting to grow tomatoes and maybe some other vegetables and/or fruit on my little patio…home grown veggies & fruit are cheap–but also SO delicious! Thanks for the tips!
Although I do not have much of a green thumb (that gene stopped with my Mom apparently!) we intend to grow, or rather, try to grow a few things this year. We recently moved from an apt to a small house with big yard. My daughter is young so it’s a great teaching tool as well. In addition, our yard came with 2 orange trees and a pomegranite tree. We can’t wait for summer and all the fruit & veggies we hope to have!
Find your County Extention Service!
http://www.csrees.usda.gov/Extension/
Every county in the US has one, all associated with a State University. The have MAster Gardener programs that can help you get started, give free advise, offer you free classes on gardening, water use and composting.
They can tell you what to plant and when. You will have a green thumb in no time. I used to kill air ferns! LOL!
A great thing to grow is herbs. You can buy these for fairly cheap and already started from places like Lowes, Osh, Home Depot, etc. It’s great because when you buy them already started (but young) you can use them right away and more will still grow. It saves so much money vs. buying fresh herbs from the grocery store or farmers market because you just cut off what you need (less waste!). Also, several different kinds of herbs can be planted together in a large pot. Wonderful for patios and small spaces!
There are several things that can be grown in large pots easily that can also be purchased already started. While purchasing veggies already started from a nursery or hardware store is more expensive than seeds, they are great if you missed the ideal planting time. You can still have the veggies you want!
Lettuce, snow or sugar snap peas, and strawberries all work very well when grown in a pot.
Thanks for these tips, Katie! I grow rosemary and basil in pots and that works well, too.
You may want to take a look at “The $64 Tomato” before jumping head first into a kitchen garden. http://www.64dollartomato.com
It was a very quick read (I read half of it sitting on the floor of a B&N) and was hilarious!
The March, 09 Sunset has a great kitchen garden plan with a list of plants and all the insturctions one might need. It’s a 12 by 12 garden and can save $500!
The comments indicate how many people are into urban gardening because of wanted to eat healthy foods, beat the economic downturn, or just experience the satisfaction of growing your own food. I have gardened for years and the past two years have had year-round gardens and edible landscaping. Some plants are successful and some are not…it is an art as well as a science. For Bargain Hunters…the healthiest and most economic seedlings can be purchased at some local Farmer’s Markets from “Peter” (Culver City, Torrance Wilson Park). Vegetables seedlings are 6 for $5.00.
I’m definelty with you Julia. And not only is it a good back up food source but its also a lot more convient than running to the grocery store. (if they even have food haha j/k)
Very good blog post though, Im looking forward to growing some veggies this summer.
In my experience tomatoes in the L.A. area are sort of hit or miss. I’ve known people who’ve grown them quite successfully but I’ve mostly failed to actually get tomatoes (though I generally have lovely healthy plants). I think this is because tomatoes are actually a little picky about when they’ll set fruit. I’ve read a number of places that they need night-time temperatures warmer than 50 and day-time temperatures cooler than 90. So a lot depends on how cooperative spring is. In theory some varieties will handle cool nights or hot days better than others. But I’m still experimenting.
For someone who’s serious about getting into vegetable gardening I’d highly recommend two books: Steve Solomon’s Gardening when it Counts: Growing Food in Hard Times and Toby Hemenway’s Gaia’s Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture. They present two completely different philosophies on gardening but I think the information from both is really solid and useful. Taken together they give a lot of solid information that can help you develop your own gardening philosophy.
Digging is a LOT of work but once you’ve done it improving your soil gets progressively easier over time. Or you can skip the digging altogether and just start layering soil amendments and mulch into a layered bed (google lasagna gardening or sheet mulching for more info). But if you’re going to garden you really really really need to compost too. Making compost on site is easier, cheaper, and less wasteful than sending off your green waste and food scraps and then buying soil amendments for your garden.
Thanks for these detailed tips, Sarahliz!
Nothing wrong with this, at all, people should get it more.