Micro farming on enclosed non-agricultural spaces in the urban environment – or growing food in the city.
A great anthropological irony
Agriculture, and its rough cousin farming, allowed for the origin and rise of the urban community. The village, and subsequently, the city, division of labor, even the existence of politicians, owe their possibility to the circumstance that a small number of people growing food crops, provided for, and continue to provide for, the nutritive requirements of the population at large. The irony resides in that agriculture is now fundamentally excluded from our cites. Most farms exist far from the city center, in the country. The industrial child has dispensed with it’s nurturing mother, or at least, has sent her packing to the farthest reaches of the provinces. Yet, that mother’s milk is coveted, it remains vital. I say to all you city dwellers, let your mother back in, let her reach back over the walls of the city, and use your urban spaces, your patios, balconies, small plots of land, to grow some of your own food. The urban environment and farming are not mutually exclusive. Rather they are symbiotic, and perhaps even necessary so that we don’t loose our visceral connection to our food, and the primordial ecological machinations which produce it.
A start with starts
Micro Urban Farming, growing annual, and even perennial crops in cities, is feasible with a modicum of knowledge and effort. One needs several basic conditions in order to produce food from the apparent agricultural void of the city. Nature, and by extension, plants and food crops, are resilient. They want to grow. Give them organic soil, irrigate them with non-chlorinated water, care for them in an appropriate manner, and they will grow beyond your expectations.
The basic conditions one needs to grow food in the urban environment are fairly simple, and mirror those conditions on any sustainable organic farm. The main difference is the necessity of planting into bins, raised beds, or small plots in the available urban space versus planting into the acreage on a farm. So what are these conditions?
- A stable location/environment (whether it is “perfect” or not is immaterial) which includes at least six (6) hours of sunlight per day, protection from temperature extremes, protection from strong wind, and ease of access.
- The proper growing medium which includes: a small plot, container, or bed, organic soil, worm compost, and amendments.
- Irrigation.
- Care and a bit of patience.
Location, location, location
Like any parcel of real-estate, where is your available location? Do you have a balcony, a deck, a roof, a patio, or perhaps a back or front yard? All of these locations will support a wide variety of annual vegetable and fruit crops, and even certain perennial fruit or nut trees. Some of the best figs I’ve eaten came from Nick Galifianakis’s Kadota fig tree growing from his back yard in Chania, Crete. One tree, in questionable soil, that relied on rain water. The most exquisite figs, warmed by the Greek sun, bursting with flavor and juice. Go figure.
The point is that nature finds her way, and if you have an open air space, somewhat protected from the elements, with approximately 6 hours of good sunshine per day in the growing season (differs by zone), I can guarantee you fresh produce.
It is vital for any “farmer” to observe his or her “farm”. The climate, the physical geography, the arc of the sun through out the day, and wind and rain patterns of your location, whether it is ten acres in Napa Valley, your front yard, or a bin on a balcony, all must be taken into account and used to create a viable situation for your crops. When the idiosyncrasies of your site are solved your next step is to build the proper physical and biological growing media.
Mini Gardens of Eden
The best environment for any plant, is to grow in an intact and thriving ecosystem. The best farms come as close as possible to providing this intact ecosystem for their crops. It is possible to approximate a healthy ecosystem in urban farming, even while planting and raising crops in bins, beds, or small plots of land.
If merely planting straight into the ground on a small plot of land, it will be necessary to amend the existing soil. The first step in soil amendment is to break up compaction and to reintroduce the proper ratio of the physical soil elements: sand, silt, and clay. The best soil is loam, which is 40% sand, 40% silt, and 20% clay, or proportions that are close to this 4:4:2 ratio (3:3:3, etc.). Upon testing the soil and determining its structure, one can generally amend poorer soil with commercially bought OMRI certified compost, or compost-like products that increase organic matter and the water holding ability of the soil. Once amended, the soil needs to be inoculated with the proper biological flora and fauna, the residents of the ecosystem. The simplest way to inoculate is, again, to add OMRI certified worm castings and compost which contain proper ratios of bacteria, protozoans, nematodes, and fungus (mycorrhizae). Allowing the soil to set for a week ensures that an ecosystem begins to emerge. Planting into this healthy soil completes this mini ecosystem. Properly irrigated, you will see your plants thrive.
Raising crops in commercially bought bins (such as earthboxes) or in raised beds merely skips one of the above steps. Since the soil is supplied in toto, there are no compaction issues, and soil structure and biology is supplied by OMRI certified compost and worm castings (and perhaps commercially available mycorrhizal fungi). All one needs is a well designed bin, or properly constructed raised bed, filled with soil (and certain fertilizers, nitrogen, calcium, depending on the crop) and a simple method of irrigation, and the plants will take off on their own.
Choices, all good
What to plant? Well, ask yourself, what do you like to eat, and where do you live? What you like is, of course, up to you. Where you live, may or may not be your choice, but you still have many options. Your growing season will be longer or shorter, depending on your growing zone. The more north you are, the shorter the growing season. The hotter and brighter your ambient temperatures and UV light, the better certain crops will grow, but… you can alter the growth trajectory by engaging in certain practices, like employing row cover in early spring and late fall, mulching with various colored mulches, planting next to walls which retain heat and reflect light, and so on. Micro-climates can be created with a bit of know how and artistry which will provide near optimal light and temperature conditions for your crops.
The most common crops grown in the urban environment are, not coincidentally, the ones people like to eat and that aren’t huge (like water melons). Tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, eggplants/aubergines, lettuces, peas, broccoli, kale, beets, radishes, strawberries, and if space allows, corn, melons, and summer squash. What most people don’t realize is that beyond these annual food crops, perennial crops (berry bushes, fruit, and even nut trees) can be successfully propagated on the urban micro farm. Dwarf trees, such as citrus, avocado, cherry, almonds, and berry bushes can all thrive in the urban environment, even on well lit patios and balconies. Care must be taken to plan for soil renewal in the case of perennial container planting, and the issue of transplanting on a 3-5 year schedule must be considered. As long as cultivation needs are met, there are few barriers to perennials growing in restricted environments.
Observe, Record, Create, Plan, Execute, Revise (ORCPER). Or, Just do it.
Now that you know urban micro farms, from one container of tomatoes, to a backyard plot, are eminently possible, here is macro outline for gettin’ it dunn. No moseying along.
Your first task, which is mentioned above, is to observe your growing area. What does it have and what does it lack? What is your growing zone, and how long is your growing season? How much actual space do you have at your disposal? Will you be growing in soil in a yard or from containers? What is the available light? Are shadows cast on the growing area at any point in the day? What are the prevailing wind and rain patterns? Is irrigation in place, or is there a source for non-cholrinated irrigation? Do animals, squirrels, birds, etc., have access to your crops? For balconies, patios, and even yards, is a heat retaining wall available? Is there a viable location for hanging containers or for stacked containers, etc..?
Record your observations. Having a record of your particular conditions eventually contributes to the formulation of your own idiosyncratic farmer’s almanac, that will help you plan and grow, season to season.
Equipped with your observations, create a growing plan. Days to maturity of your various crops should be considered, and planting your starts into the soil as soon as possible, as well as employing mulches and row covers, are important to extend your growing season. Depending on the length of your season, you will be able to have one or more successions of various crops, particularly lettuces, spinach, radishes, and other quick to mature vegetables. Remember that plants that vine, such as tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, and melons, will need a place to trellis, or at least bush and flow into a growing space.
Execute your growing plan. Prepare your soil, seed or procure your starts, and harden them out for a 3-6 days in their intended location. Some leaves may acquire a bit of sunburn if hardened out too quickly, so don’t place new starts in direct sunlight at first, and gradually expose them to increasing levels of direct sun exposure. Once hardened out, plant your starts. Be a bit gentle with them, no need to overly compact the soil around new plantings. If trellising is required, it’s better to have the trellis in place sooner than later in order to not disturb the soil ecosystem, and perhaps more importantly, the root system of the plants. Water, watch, wait. If pests or downey mildew, or other destructive fungi arrive, you will need to deal with them, but preparing a healthy soil virtually eliminates the occurrence of destructive pests. Depending on days to maturity of your chosen crops, you will be eating your produce within the month, and sooner for baby lettuces, baby kales, micro greens, etc…
Towards the end, and after the growing season, you will know whether or not your plan was sound and whether or not you executed it properly. Did your crops grow, did they reach maturity close to their predicted date, was the harvest yield reasonable, did pests or disease invade, were the irrigation, soil, amendments, proper for the best yield? What would you do, or not do, next season? It’s a learning curve, every season is different and exciting, and guess what? No matter if you grew one tomato or a thousand, you did it. You ate something you grew. And if you were lucky, you shared some of your vegetables with a friend. Congratulations!
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