Urban Garden Project: Composting in the City

This year I had one tomato plant that yielded 52 baseball-sized tomatoes. That may sound unbelievable, but look. When I began the Urban Garden Project 3 years ago, my goal was simple: transform a patch of neglected and fallow urban land into a high-yielding garden. I chose to plant my favorite things, and also the most expensive vegetables: Organic Tomatoes, Bell Peppers, Eggplant, Tomatillos, Arugula, Beets and Melons will all put a small dent in your wallet if you buy them from your local farmer's market. If you opt to buy these vegetables at "Whole Paycheck" , you may need to consider refinancing your home.

With the economics of urban gardening in mind, I have tried to maximize the square footage yield of my garden. The highest yields per square foot include Arugula, Basil, Red Peppers and Heirloom Tomatoes. From year to year I have been fine-tuning the balance of vegetables, berries and fruit, and ever improving the quality of the soil. It is an ongoing project that saves me thousands of dollars a year, consumes a minor amount of time, and has absorbed a major amount of compost.

Compost is any organic matter allowed to biodegrade and then later added to your garden to enhance the soil's nutrients, micro-organisms and texture. Neighbors and friends have steadily contributed organic kitchen scraps, cuttings, and rotting veggie produce. The results have literally born fruit - and lots of it.

Alex and Steve: Compost Contributers to The Urban Garden

For the collection of compostible materials from neighbors and friends, I use your standard 5 gallon bucket [above] You can simply keep this in the kitchen and "feed" it kitchen scraps, much like a waste bin- but rather than being added to the mountainous accumulation of garbage we generate, it can be aggregated in a large compost pile (as I do) and later added to garden beds.

"Give and ye shall receive" is my motto when it comes to the vegetables and berries that come from the garden. Roughly 1500 square feet divided into 8 raised beds and thoughtfully planted yields far more than I can eat, so I have been supplying my hungry green friends with free vegetables like this:

Urban Garden "Horn Of Plenty" July 27, 2008

I stumbled across the Giving Garden idea when I received a delicious marinara sauce from my neighbors Steve and Alex. A few weeks earlier I had let them pick a bucket full of fresh veggies [see above] and low and behold in return I received 5 pounds of sauce which upon tasting, in a Proustian manner, I now refer to as "the marinara of my childhood".

The Marinara Sauce of Childhood

Shortly thereafter, my friend Zeke told me that if I gave her enough Blackberries I could get a delicious cobbler in return. Sadly, this cobbler was so good that I ate it all before I could take any photos! Hearing of my garden's generous bounty, Cameron "borrowed" some Golden Girl yellow tomatoes, and returned a delicious smoky yellow tomato soup....and so on and so on...

Cameron's Roasted Chipotle Yellow Tomato Soup

Is there anything better than eating crisp vegetables, freshly made soups, sauces, gazpacho, pesto, chutneys, ratatouille, and berry cobblers? Perhaps, but only if you took the time and care to grow the ingredients yourself, and had the dishes prepared by talented friends. Thanks to everyone who helped promote and share in the idea of a Giving Garden.

Categories: Cooking , Urban Gardening