Living downtown in a city has a lot of perks, but outdoor space is not one of them. As in, our backyard is approximately 18’x16′ and we built a deck that covers most of it a few years back. Don’t get me wrong, I love living near everything, but it would be nice to have a little more room to breathe and for our plants to grow.
Luckily, we have a few feet behind our fence before it drops off into the dreaded “ravine,” which is really just an old train track. A couple years ago, Forrest built three raised planters between our fence and the ravine. We were excited about square foot gardening at the time and making the most of our small space. We didn’t stick with that format, but the space is great for veggies.
Right now, we’re growing some kind of blue potato, jalapenos, chocolate bell peppers, tomatillos, white cucumbers, yellow squash, and an army of volunteer pumpkins (fingers crossed for a huge pumpkin patch). Oh, and a bunch of funky tomatoes: lumpy reds, black krims, sungolds, purple cherokees, and a couple volunteers- I’m hoping they’re some sort of crazy hybrid from our plants last year. Maybe we’ll get to name a new variety of tomato! We got our tomato plants from Rodger’s Heirlooms this year- they have a fantastic variety and are super helpful.
We’re excited about the veggies, but I also have a good many flowers and other small-ish plants around here. My favorites are the poppies- SO pretty. They remind me of The Wizard of Oz.
Yes, I realize that I am basically a little old man and maybe you don’t care about my potato plants (but you should, because they’re awesome). However, I believe that people need to create and nurture- it’s important for our well-being and happiness. Our little garden gives us something to work on together that is truly fulfilling and makes us happy… plus fresh tomatoes are the best.
<3, liz
Domesticated Artists 