Organic Micro Gardening Hacks - A Quick and Easy Guide to Creating a Sustainable Garden in Your Backyard with Limited Space

Old Natural Ways, Barbara Glidewell

• Publisher: FASTLANE LLC
• ISBN:
  9781641936828
• Topic: Biowissenschaften
• Subtopic: Gartenbau

Micro gardening is essentially the practice of using small or limited spaces, such as patios, window sills, balconies, indoor pots, or courtyards in order to grow plants. The concept has recently gathered much press due to the attention given by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, highlighting micro gardening as a critical way in order to help more people, especially the urban poor, get more food on their tables. It also helps the environment, since a lot of the materials used are recycled from plastic containers, old trash cans, and even some old car tires.Because of the inherent lack of space, it will be tough to do what the rural gardeners do and support a full-fledged family simply on a micro-garden. But UN research also shows that a simple 11-square-foot micro-garden, when well tended, can yield as much as 10 cabbages every 90 days, 36 heads of lettuce every 60 days, 100 onions every 120 days, and 200 tomatoes in a year. Seeing these numbers, it is easy to imagine that micro gardens can be very profitable as well.

1 Introduction

 

When the modern person thinks of the word “vegetable garden”, the most likely image that would appear in his head would be those clean, quiet suburbs and rural areas where the earth is tilled into patches. Most likely, in the mind’s eye, a small cottage would be nearby, and maybe a farm animal or two. And why not? Vegetables meant for food can sometimes be quite sensitive, and cannot survive in the polluted hustle of the big city. Or, can they?

This is one of the common misconceptions that prevent people in urban areas from pursuing vegetable gardening. A limited space and limited time are two of the most common complaints. In order to provide an answer to these concerns, the concept of micro gardening was born.

Micro gardening is essentially the practice of using small or limited spaces, such as patios, window sills, balconies, indoor pots, or courtyards in order to grow plants. The concept has recently gathered much press due to the attention given by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, highlighting micro gardening as a critical way in order to help more people, especially the urban poor, get more food on their tables. It also helps the environment, since a lot of the materials used are recycled from plastic containers, old trash cans, and even some old car tires.

Micro gardens can easily be made out of regular scrap items -- for example, potatoes can be grown out of an old bucket, or a full-fledged herb garden out of wooden pallets. Later in this book, we will demonstrate some of the most creative ideas for the creation of effective micro gardens.

Also tied with the question of lack of resources is the question of organic gardening. In the age of artificial additives, it is no wonder if anyone planting any seed would saturate it with artificial fertilizers and such. However, it would be a different scenario if we are thinking of planting fruits, vegetables, or root crops for our own consumption. Everyone is aware how certain chemicals can seep into the plant itself, entering our systems and causing unwanted effects in our bodies. The good news is that the techniques of organic horticulture can be applied even in micro gardening, making sure that the yielded products are not only healthy but also completely safe for consumption.

2 Chapter 1: The First Steps: Planning your Micro Garden

Of course, one of the first considerations would be the thing you most likely lack - space. The urban home is most likely filled to the brim with the things that make up daily life, making it quite difficult to set aside some space for a micro garden. However, a few innovations can surely make this endeavor possible.

There are usually two types of micro gardens that can be found in urban homes. The first one would be the container-based garden, which are usually fixed in one place. However, there are also those who prefer their garden to be mobile, hence the birth of the “portable garden” concept.

When choosing between these two types of gardens, it is important to consider the place you are in. If you are living in , say, a condominium or apartment unit, where space is at a premium, container-based micro gardens might be best for you. If you have your own yard, you may want to consider a portable setup that helps save space as it allows you to place it only on a patch of land that is unused for the moment. And if you happen to need that part, then you can simply move your garden out of the way!

You should also consider the needs of the plants yo...

Table of contents

• A Quick and Easy Guide to Creating a Sustainable Garden in Your Backyard with Limited Space
• Table of Contents
• Disclaimer
• Copyright 2017 by LOVE AND LIVE LIFE TO THE EXTREME FULLEST PUBLISHING- All rights reserved.
• 1 Introduction
• 2 Chapter 1: The First Steps: Planning your Micro Garden
• 3 Chapter 2: Your Micro Garden Orientation
• 4 Chapter 3: Plant Away!
• 5 Conclusion
• BONUS BOOK: Farming In Your Backyard For Beginners Vol.2
• 6 Introduction
• 7 Chapter 1 - Learn How to do Backyard Farming the Right Way
• 8 Chapter 2 – Is Backyard Farming Right for You?
• 9 Chapter 3 – Why Start a Backyard Farm
• 10 Chapter 4 - Making Preparations for Backyard Farming
• 11 Chapter 5 - Choosing the Right Plants for your Farm
• 12 Chapter 6 - How to Make the Soil Healthy
• 13 Chapter 7 - Keeping Pests, Disease and Weeds at bay
• 14 Conclusion
• 15 A Preview Of : Farming