My apologies for not attending to my blogging duties for quite some time. It probably has something to do with the “old dog... new tricks” thing.
Anyway... the garden landscape is changing. Although I live in the country (nothing better), many of my fellow gardeners are suburbanites. Garden space can be somewhat restrictive in these subdivisions, subsequently the garden has moved to decks and patios. Countless different types of growing containers are available at most retailers. Even our local grocery chain sells garden planters in the spring.
Many seed companies put forth a concerted effort to develop plants well suited for containers on decks and patios. It is quite easy to find tomatoes that will yield big numbers of tasty fruit in hanging baskets.
Plant growers and garden centers are signing on to offering vegetable varieties that perform well on the deck. It is all about growing quite a bit of food in a smaller space. The Japanese have been doing this successfully for centuries.
Speaking of intensive gardening, we have an affiliation with a company called SPIN Farming. They are all about earning a living or adding to your income by practicing intensive growing techniques in a small space. Their claim to fame is that anyone can grow and sell vegetables from a ½ acre plot and earn a decent income. The grower plants in blocks and eliminates rows of wasted space... seems to make good sense.
The other interesting phenomenon with gardening these days is the movement to roof tops or vacant lots in urban areas around the USA. Gardening in vacant lots, using intensive gardening techniques, is without question a good idea. Gardening on someone’s roof can be a little trickier. After all, gardening requires water, and water needs a place to drain, and not into the apartment below.
There are some significant greenhouse structures popping up on roof tops in the cities, and with proper engineering, it is a mighty fine place to grow vegetables.
I have just started working with growing in containers, although I have 13 acres to experiement with. Most of that is currently prairie land, however, I do have several large garden spaces. Living in Texas, the weather and the ground can be quite harsh to deal with. This past spring and summer, we endured the worst drought and dirt storms ever. The high winds, with dirt, and extreme heat left my gardens barren. I did plant tomatoes, zinnias, and cosmos on my patio in large containers. Because of this I was still able to enjoy a small harvest of fruit and flowers. We have been getting a large amount of snow and rain withing these past few weeks, restoring my faith and love for growing and gardening and I am looking forward to this new year's planning of garden spaces. I really do like the containers for growing and I am also thinking about working with raised beds this year. By the way, I am so glad to have found you here on Blogspot! blessings, Kathleen
ReplyDelete