Planting in Confined Spaces

When I lived in a tiny 400 square foot apartment in Studio City, I'd keep a few pots of herbs growing at the front entrance of our small, 6-unit building. With the permission of my neighbors, of course.  What I didn't know then, was that I probably could have grown a whole lot more than just herbs, using the same, sunny spot on the concrete landing, and with a little more creative use of pots in vertical spaces. Thinking back, we could have grown seasonal chard, or spinach, or lettuce, just enough to share between us. But, then again,  the true love of edible gardening had not been born in me, yet.

Years later, I'm still trying to find more space efficient ways to grow food, even though I have a much bigger playing ground now.  I just enjoy demonstrating how simple it can be to use, for instance, a pot with a bag of soil, and some seeds, to grow food.

Here, I am experimenting with just that. As you can see, the seedlings have already taken, and with good enough drainage from the bag, the roots should have no problems sustaining the growing greens.

Step 1:  Choose your pot, placed in sunny location 

Step 2: Place some stones, or large pebbles at bottom of pot, to allow for drainage 

Step 3: Poke holes throughout bottom of your bag of soil.

Step 4:  Cut open top of the bag, and place into the pot, so it sits comfortably.

Step 5: Distribute a few seeds, planting according to directions on seed package.
Here, I placed Swiss Chard seeds about 2-3 inches apart, to avoid overcrowding.
Watch the seedlings grow within 7-10 days!

Fifty Shades of Green

Spoiled Angelenos....we are just finally feeling the first shivers of autumn.  That's fall, for some people, as in, fall "back" one hour, as in time changing, and darkness setting in earlier. This time of year traditionally gives me the blues. But one way I've found to beat the blues, is to keep surrounding myself with the greens ;)

What I love more than the taste of home grown food, is the variation of colors, especially greens. I got fifty different shades of green still growing in the back, and we are officially in November, the month of the full Beaver moon. If you go by the book, you know it's time to plant for winter crops, but the heat would not let up till about a week ago.  So here I've been admiring the giving source, my summer crops. These are, from seed, the strong yielders of the past season!

Baby watermelon, green pepper, jalapeno, green beans, and okra.

Post on Compost

Maybe it was a mental block. Maybe it was hesitation, or feeling inadequate with the tools I have. But, finally, I am just glad to start the process of composting!

 I'm looking forward to good results. It seems simple enough: Layer the "brown" material with the "green",  place in a sunny spot, cover, and mix it each time you add more stuff.  Mostly, I just look forward to creating organic matter to improve my soil, so I don't have to keep hauling in bags of commercial compost!