planning the 2011 urban garden

Last year we decided to grow some veggies.  We found some free wood on craigslist from someone taking down a deck to build raised beds.  Picked out some veggie plants and seeds at the garden center.  And then mid-summer decided to do some canning.  It was all very unplanned but it worked and was quite fruitful.  Just the other night we made a sauce from our homegrown tomatoes to go with Dan's homemade ravioli. 

Our haphazard attempt probably worked because we both grew up in households with big gardens.  The first time I had processed spaghetti sauce was in junior high and the first time I used or purchased canned tomatoes that were from the grocery store and not my mom's garden was around the age of 22.  Many hours of my childhood were spent helping my mom in the garden and preserving the goods.  I totally didn't appreciate that until I moved to Chicago and couldn't easily raid my parent's shelves and garden for the best fresh produce. 

But growing a garden in such an itty bitty shared backyard presented new challenges for us.  Last year our cucumbers did not have room (and we watered them from the top) so they failed.  Our bell pepper wasn't in a big enough pot so was another fail.  The tomatoes, carrots, jalapeno peppers, and herbs all did fantastic.  So we are kind of hooked on seeing how much we can get out of our small space this summer.

And I am excited to try some fun varieties.  Since we did our selections at the mega-garden center last year, it was pretty much your basic varieties.  This year we have seeds for heirloom tomatoes and cucumbers that are better suited for small spaces.

For seeds, I decided to order them.  There was simply a better selection.  I went with Seed Savers Exchange and Territorial Seed Company.  I have been pretty happy with my experience with both- excellent options and the shipping was quick.

Here is what will {hopefully} grow in our urban garden this spring:

• Cherry Belle radishes
• Alfresco blend lettuce mix
• Garlic

And here is what will {hopefully} grow in our urban garden this summer:

• Jalapeno Pepper, Traveler Strain
• Martino's Roma Tomato
• Green Husk Tomatillo
• Gold Medal Tomato
• Mini Red Bell Pepper
• Diamant Cucumbers

And an herb garden.  Still need to pick out the varieties for that, there will of course be some kind of basil as that is my favorite to grow.

I can't wait for it to warm up so we can get our garden started!

Comments

[Maggie [The Freckled Citizen]]

I love this post! Thinking about gardening makes me SO ready for spring. To be honest, I'm pretty stuck about what I'm going to do this year. We don't want to be living here through spring/summer, so should I plant at all? Just plant a bit and be ready to move it? Forge ahead and move it all? Ahhhh!

[Rebekah]

Our first batch of seedlings have hatched in the mini greenhouse. I'm really really excited to have a full-er garden this year. Last year we had a few plants, but this year we're going all out. It's our first year with heirloom tomatoes. :)

[Tara]

Maggie, I would hold out a little longer and then if house hunting bleeds into early summer do a few small containers... herbs maybe? A few small containers wouldn't be tooooo much to move!!

Rebekah, hooray for seedlings! I am anxious to start our seeds but am worried about getting enough sun, it is so gray still here in Chicago.