Contain yourself by growing your own produce
Considering growing your own produce? You'll be amazed how much a limited space will yield
While we didn't need a presidential seal of approval to enlighten us to the benefits of growing our own vegetables, it's definitely a sign of the times.
Whether it's the rise in people wanting to know where their food comes from or just a desire to save money on groceries, it's safe to say Michelle Obama's not the only one getting her hands dirty.
(Brian Jackson/Sun-Times)
But what if you don't have the White House South Lawn, or for that matter any lawn at all, at your disposal?
"Anything can be turned into a produce garden, even a wall," says Amy Cox, founder of Cutting Edge/subURBAN Homestead, a consulting company that works with both restaurants and non-professionals in creating sustainable practices. "The possibilities are truly endless."
Cox should know. She created an indoor herb garden for River North restaurant Nacional 27 that sits on the bar; its dozen or so herbs make their way into a variety of creative cocktails.
For those who don't have any land available, and even for those who do, containers are a great gardening option.
In addition to guaranteeing the quality of the soil, containers have the added option of flexibility.
"Containers are mobile so if one area of your balcony or yard doesn't get enough sun [at least six hours a day], you can always move it," says master gardener Hung Tu.
Tu, co-founder and senior designer of Tu Bloom Garden & Landscape Designs, says first-time gardeners would be amazed at how much yield they can get from a compact space, providing, of course, they choose the right plant varieties and follow correct care procedures.
Just ask Brad "The Backyard Farmer" Moldofsky, who when contacted by this reporter was enjoying a pre-breakfast nibble of spinach and mesclun leaves from the square-foot container box he has growing next to a bedroom window.
Moldofsky, a free-lance technical writer in Skokie who credits Pearl Buck's The Good Earth and the writings of Michael Pollan for his newfound green thumb, has been chronicling his successes -- and failures -- as an amateur gardener on the Local Beet Chicago's Web site, www.thelocalbeet.com.
When it comes to choosing a container, the options are as numerous as the types of things you can grow in them (see Page 3A).
"You can get containers anywhere and you can be creative," Cox says. "The important thing they need is drainage."
Tu is a big fan of the plastic buckets he finds at Menards that are available for "three or four bucks" in a variety of colors (Tip: Ask to have a few holes drilled in the bottom).
Not very attractive, Tu admits (be on the lookout for a chic line of reasonably priced containers from Tu soon), but cost-effective.
Moldofsky cuts expenses even more by recycling takeout containers, plastic tubs and large food canisters for his gardening. And while he's fortunate to have a small patch of land in his backyard, Moldofsky is a big fan of container gardening, too.
"In some ways, containers are far batter than a garden because you can raise them and protect them better," says Moldofsky, who admits he spends a lot of his time outdoors either chasing rodents or fencing them out.
Self-watering containers are another option. While pricier than other containers, they are more efficient, with water going directly into the plant's root system and only when it's needed.
An additional bonus is the convenience factor: "When you get into the height of summer, you can become a slave to container watering," Cox says.
Earth Boxes, one of the most recognizable self-watering containers, are a favorite of Topolobampo and Frontera Grill's Rick Bayless, who uses them on the rooftop garden of his restaurants for growing organic heirloom tomatoes and chiles (check out the restaurant's 'rooftop salsa' to taste the results).
Amateur gardener Merrill Smith hopes to make it even easier for first-time produce growers with her new Green Box, a portable garden constructed out of recycled material that she's designed with the Resource Center's City Farm.
The 2-foot-by-3-foot box comes already filled with City Farm's compost. All you need to do is plant the seeds that come with it (a mixture of lettuces), water and -- presto! -- instant salad.
"It's like the Betty Crocker of gardening," Smith says. "Growing greens is the closest thing to instant gratification in a vegetable gardens."
Soil selection is another component to keep in mind when using containers. Cox recommends "soil-less blends," a light soil that is mixed to stay moist and not get too compact and can be found at local gardening stores.
Tu says a common mistake people often make is using garden or topsoil for vegetable containers. Potting soil, a mix of garden soil and organic matter, is your best option, he says, allowing for water retention while at the same time creating a better environment for oxygen.
"In a container, you don't have much space to begin with so you can't get the wrong soil," he says.
No matter which items you decide to grow, start simple, experts say. First-timers should make it even simpler by starting with plants rather than seeds. Cox recommends buying them from local farmers markets, while Tu suggests nurseries.
"Buy one good tomato plant and take really good care of it and you'll have plenty of tomatoes to feed a family of two," Cox says.
And while saving money is always a good thing, that shouldn't be your only motivation for starting a vegetable garden, says Moldofsky.
He's pleased not only by how his two children, ages 8 and 10, have taken to it -- "I didn't think they would care because it's not video games or TV and there's nothing flashy about growing your own produce until the very end," he says -- but how it's affected him as well.
"Reconnecting with the earth by learning how to grow my own food has helped give me a new perspective on life in general," he says.
Lisa Shames is a Chicago free-lance writer.