Organic Urban Gardening

Organic gardening is a popular phenomenon among rural and suburban families across the country.

People enjoy spending time in the garden, growing their own fruits and vegetables. The added bonus of being kind to the environment — and knowing your produce is free of harmful chemicals — is fueling the organic approach.

But city dwellers enjoy this trend as well, despite the added challenges of limited space. Anyone living in an apartment, condo or urban setting with limited space should read on for some fun and helpful tips for starting your organic garden.

Container Gardening for City Dwellers

Containers offer the perfect opportunity for anyone to grow their own fruits and vegetables, and they lend themselves well to a natural approach. Containers allow you to control the soil conditions as well as the exposure to sunlight and potentially damaging cold temperatures.

Other advantages include fewer weeds and the ability to protect your harvest from pests that plague traditional gardeners. You can even make your own natural soil amendments in a small space, using one of the many small-scale composting systems available today.

Raised Bed Gardens for Tiny Yards

Many condos and townhouses feature small patio areas that are perfect for building small raised beds. Construct your raised beds around the perimeter of your patio area, just as you would for decorative landscaping. But instead of ornamental plants or flowers, create a beautiful raised border of small-scale edibles.

Colorful lettuces are as decorative as they are edible. Both blueberries and strawberries make colorful additions to your raised beds too. Add a mix of delicate and hardy herbs to scent the air. You can even add miniature fruit trees in containers to add height and interest as well as flavor!

The right mix of plant species creates an unfriendly environment for weeds and pests, helping to ensure that your garden stays chemical-free.

Pocket and Park Gardens

One of the hottest gardening trends today is the organic pocket or park garden. Resourceful urban dwellers work in conjunction with their city to convert small, unused spaces into community gardens. Some cities even agree to set aside space in municipal parks for environmentally friendly gardens.

If your area doesn’t already have a pocket garden, find some like-minded neighbors to join with you in starting your own. This is a perfect example of adaptive reuse and a great way to help you meet your neighbors.

You can even combine your food scraps with your neighbors’ to create a community compost pile in the garden, and share in the benefits of this natural soil amendment.

Here at Millcreek Gardens, we strive to ensure that everyone in the Salt Lake City area has the opportunity to grow their own fruits and vegetables in a natural and healthy way. Stop by and see us today for all the supplies and advice you need to get started on your own urban organic gardening project!