Organic Urban Vegetable Garden

I'm very much a proponent of growing one's own food; a la the Slow Food Movement....Victory Gardens, etc. So needless to say I was elated when a client of my gardening business asked if I would turn half her backyard lawn into an organic vegetable garden.

So I rolled up my sleeves, picked up my shovel, and began peeling back the lawn. The soil was in good shape so I didn't have to add any supplements save a bag or two of compost for the beneficial worms and microbes to enjoy.


BEFORE

DURING
It was near the end of the summer when the project was started so of course we had to plant according to the season. Any summer crops: Tomatoes, corn, peppers, etc. were out of the picture. What we could plant were veggies that enjoy a colder climate. That's pretty much anything in the Brassica family: broccoli, cauliflower, kale, brussel sprouts, cabbage. Everything but the kale went in. I also planted radishes and onions. The radishes were the quickest thing to come to fruition. Just less than 5 weeks from seed sown to having 2 handfuls of healthy organic radishes on the table! A bulk of the plot was reserved for a mix of salad greens, and I put in a circle of compact growing snow peas. The compact growing habit(versus trailing vines) eliminated the need for a vertical structure...though in retrospect I think a be-vined tee-pee in the center of the garden would have added to the asthetic value by giving height to the otherwise below-knee-level garden.
AFTER!
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Once the plants were in, I let nature do her thing. The upkeep is pretty simple. I weed every couple weeks and advise my client to spray the veggies with a non-toxic insect repellent.

If you live in San Francisco and are interested in growing your own food, please don't hesitate to contact me for a free consultation! I can help you with such things as what plants do well in San Francisco's varying microclimates, when to plant, how to amend your soil, etc.

EMAIL: Tilthyrich@gmail.com
Because that's what I do and I enjoy every bit of it!