Urban Farming? Micro Gardening?
August 27, 2008
Who knows what the correct term is! I just came across this on Wired.
As this is Wired, I guess you have to learn to expect such techie references as “aeroponics” and “aquaponics”. Nonetheless, it seems indicative of an ongoing trend towards more and more people utilizing allotments and container gardens for genuine sources of food. To me, it seems that there are a number of reasons for this:
1) Hubbub about food miles, CO2 emissions from food production.
2) Cooking trends towards simpler and more local food produce. Also, anyone who has watched Ramsay/Oliver/Fearnley-Whittingstall will know, sticking to local seasonal produce is very much healthy, fashionable, OK, nice-tasting, good for economy… all those kinds of things.
3) People are becoming more liberal visually in what they perceive as good food.
4) Thriftiness in context of recession this and economic downturn the other
Having talked to a number of people about this recently, it is interesting to hear how many people like the idea of unnaturally shiny apples or straight carrots. I have never given it much thought before, but I guess it makes sense for our instincts to kick in when we see a familiar food type which looks a little deformed compared to what we are used to, making us just a little reluctant to stray from the homogeneous large-scale produce we see in supermarkets.
For me, the main reason I wanted to grow food, was to enjoy fresh and flavoursome ingredients for cooking and maybe save some money along the way. Being an engineer-cum-scientist by trade, the logistic challenges and theory behind it attract me too. Being confined to an urban apartment ensures significantly more obstacles than having half an acre out back. I am however confident that over the next season and beyond I can demonstrate what is possible with a couple of window sills and an eight square metre balcony.
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Yes, it is nice to eat to food you’ve grown yourself but, I wonder, what’s the best use of eight square metres? How many calories can that produce in a year? Is it best to specialise in, say, herbs or go for variety so that, at least occasionally you can serve up a meal of home produce? Anyway, best of luck with it.
Just be sure to know what all your plants look like. You don’t want to end up like these guys
For making holes in your chive pot – if it’s plastic, use a red hot skewer – you are unlikely to crack the pot, and it’s simpler than using a drill or a nail. I hear a metal skewer ( a long one) on a gas hob….
Thanks for the tip – it’s ceramic unfortunately! It’s a nice pot so I think I will use it for something else next year, with an inner plastic pot. I can’t help but feel if I actually liked chives better I would be treating them better!