For most city dwellers a private garden is a rare luxury, but for anyone with green fingers living in a yardless apartment or condo, there are other options to satisfy your gardening needs.
Park organizations often reserve areas of parkland to be used as garden plots, and an increasing number of these plots are becoming organic only – ensuring that all plots in a specific area are free from pesticides, herbicides, or other chemical products.
Plot prices range from $20 for entire growing season, which usually runs from April to October depending on the region, to $50 per month, but whatever the price, plots usually have to be reserved in advance, so now is the ideal time to check out what’s available in your local area.
As well as garden plots in parklands, many areas also have community gardens with small plots for hire. The added advantage of community gardens is that composting and garden tools are often a shared resource, and without this expense, families can save a significant amount on their grocery bill by growing their own vegetables.
Although a good crop is never guaranteed, one way new gardeners can improve their chances of getting a good yield is through the use of local seed sharing programs. This enables gardeners to grow vegetables that have already adapted to the local conditions, rather than buying generic seeds from stores.
If no garden plots are available in your area, or you can’t commit to a full growing season, one other option may be to volunteer at a local community garden or arboretum. Volunteer programs often give new gardeners the opportunity to learn from seasoned experts, so no prior experience is needed, and some programs venture away from the gardens and take volunteers out to local parks and woodland for path clearing, coppicing or landscaping. So even if you do live on the 20th floor of a city apartment, there’s no excuse to not make use of your green thumb this summer.
