This blog is subdivided into four simple sections: Home, Introduction, Getting Started, and Tomato Resources. You're already at the introduction. The "Getting Started" section goes over what it entails to do apartment gardening successfully, like determining optimal locations and getting the proper materials. "Resources" will list out useful links to various websites and videos I find useful to tomato growing and other related gardening. "Home" will basically be my on-going experience with apartment gardening. I have grown herbs for several years and finally decided to give tomato plant growing a shot. As I progress through it, I hope to share useful information with other folks as well as attract helpful suggestions or tips.
Is It Really Worth Doing?
Why bother to grow vegetables when a quick visit to your local farm stand or reputable produce department in a grocery store is so easy? They'll have more variety than you could possibly grow, plus they've done all the work--that's what their business is all about! But recently through the amazing resource of YouTube I came to discover a whole new world of potted plant gardening. With the right approach, you can grow potted vegetable and fruit producing plants that will give forth a nice quantity of crops in exchange for a little bit of proper planning and periodic maintenance.
So yes, if you tally up all the time invested and convert that into money, it seems like you'd be better off buying your produce. The costs of pots, soil, fertilizer, seedlings, and other accessories will ultimately be less than the costs of directly buying the crops you get, but this isn't about maximizing your money. This is about indulging in a hobby that produces rewards. You can end up with even better tasting crops than what your local market can deliver. Plus, you have the satisfaction of having done it yourself and being more in touch with nature.
The only caveat is when something catastrophic happens, like animals and pests devouring your fruits, disease destroying your plants, and unfriendly weather severely limiting production. When that happens, the whole season can become a wash and you've lost your investment. The only thing you end up gaining is experience, more determination for next time, or resignation on the whole thing. If you start out with failure, it's hard to continue. But if you have at least one success, it's easier to overcome a down season.
The only caveat is when something catastrophic happens, like animals and pests devouring your fruits, disease destroying your plants, and unfriendly weather severely limiting production. When that happens, the whole season can become a wash and you've lost your investment. The only thing you end up gaining is experience, more determination for next time, or resignation on the whole thing. If you start out with failure, it's hard to continue. But if you have at least one success, it's easier to overcome a down season.
The Gift That Keeps On Giving
Once you've had a couple of seasons experience in growing vegetable and fruit bearing plants, you will find that your skill will improve over time and the "investment" will pay off even more. You will end up each season with far more produce than you and your family can conceivably eat, which means giving some away as gifts to friends and neighbors. But you'll also be able to judge what plants are easiest to grow, how to care for them to deliver the quantity of crops you want to handle, and gradually experiment with new fruits and vegetables to expand your horizons. The main thing is being able to reduce the amount of maintenance time involved and learning how to deal with changing conditions and challenges that come up during the growing season. But when you have the satisfaction of sinking your teeth into a beautifully ripe tomato of a variety you cannot buy locally, you won't be able to stop smiling and feeling good about it. Subsisting off of store bought produce has numbed our taste buds, so when eating fresh picked vegetables you're introduced once again into the incredibly sweet and bold flavors that nature originally intended.
Small Apartment Building Gardening
Rooftop gardening is certainly "aloft", but I consider it different from small apartment gardening because you get to work with a decent sized plot that could be equivalent to someone's small backyard. People in NYC boroughs like Brooklyn have turned rooftop gardening into a huge thriving community. It really makes so much sense, because the space that would otherwise be wasted is converted into a food producing area that helps cool off the roofs of buildings. True, it does introduce some challenges because these roof top gardens do need to be cared for and maintained and some undesirable wildlife may become attracted (who wants more bird droppings splashed against your hard to clean windows?). But the advantages are significant. The small apartment building space has challenges for growing things, but there may be considerations you have overlooked.
Determining Space
While apartments can be spacious or cramped, the main limiting factors are the accessibility to outside areas and availability of sun exposed windows. You can easily place plants on window sills for frequent sun exposure if they're not too obstructive, but if you're intending to grow something that produces fruits or vegetables the window sill is only useful for getting seedlings started. Plants really need to be outdoors to thrive and bear fruit. If you have a patio, you're way ahead of the game. A patio can make a terrific mini garden and with proper care will yield a reasonably good amount of crops without becoming intrusive. The real challenge is managing to keep your plants to a reasonable number (it's fairly easy to create new seedlings from existing plants to create additional full sized plants, overwhelming your patio before you know it).
Unfortunately, a majority of apartments do not have outdoor patios. Many don't even have more than a window box. If you live in a high rise apartment you may have a patio but have highly restrictive regulations that prohibit what kind of plants you can grow. But almost all small apartment buildings have fire escapes. If you're lucky and have one that isn't in direct view of the street, it's easy to place planters on the fire escape without blocking passage. It's still technically not in accordance with city codes (most insist that nothing be placed on the escape way), but "modifying" its use slightly isn't a big deal. Remember, the average highway speed limit may be posted at 65mph but a majority of people drive 75mph without getting a ticket. It's pretty much the same degree of violation you can get away with, as long as you don't block passage on the fire escape.
What Is Involved?
Essentially, once you've defined the space you're going to use, it is best to start off with a small number of plants--no more than 2-3 pots. You want to keep this manageable for your first time. Also, you need to be prepared with the fact that you may have failures. This is why it's good to grow a couple of different varieties to increase your chances of success. The most important factor will be selecting what you're going to grow, based on the climate you live in and the heartiness of the plant. For instance, tomato plants thrive in moderately warm and humid conditions, but will suffer in cooler or hotter climates. Some varieties are more resilient and disease resistant than others, ultimately being easier to grow. There is tons of information on the internet about the varieties you can choose to get started with, so I won't go into those details here. But aside from selecting the plant, for the basics you'll also need to secure a pot, soil, fertilizer, and stakes for plants that need support. I will provide more details on those in my next posting.
Final Thoughts
Why am I doing this blog? Because, I've learned a lot in a short amount of time and want to share this with others who may be considering doing the same thing. Additionally, attract other people who are doing this successfully and who may contribute useful feedback or just share ideas. This is my first season attempting to grow tomatoes. I've grown herbs before and they're fairly easy, so now it's time to see if I can get a good crop from potted plants. Also, there are many helpful people out there who are blogging and vlogging tons of great tips, as well as answering people's questions. So you're not alone in doing this if you don't want to be!From my own perspective, I've come to appreciate how detached many people have become from being in touch with nature (at least in my experience). Growing your own crops is a great way to get back in touch. Not only do you ultimately get fruits of your labors, but you get to observe nature in action from seedling to final harvest. It's truly amazing, the intricacy of growing plants and what they're able to do with so little. I think it's important for people to spend more time with nature and renew an appreciation for it. It ultimately helps you think more about what it takes to be responsible to your environment.
Anyway, enough of the soap box. I'm taking a little adventure in growing tomatoes this year and if all goes well it'll likely be a life changing one. Who knows, it may even inspire me to move out into the country and go gangbusters on growing with a nice plot of land. ;-)
Thanks for reading!
