can grow great vegetables anyplace that affords enough light and warmth,” advises Strauss, who gardens primar- ily in raised beds in her front and back yards. “I garden on the scale I do because I love it. It’s both relaxing and challenging, and we eat well.” Urban gardening methods are as diverse as the growing conditions, space limitations and financial resourc- es of the gardener.
“Lasagna” gardening—layering newspaper or cardboard and other or- ganic materials on top—can be effec- tive in urban areas because it involves no digging or tilling. Just as with mak- ing compost, alternate between brown
and green layers. Once the materials break down, add plants to the newly created growing bed.
Urban dwellers with limited space may employ square-foot gardening, intensively growing plants in raised beds using a growing medium of vermiculite, peat moss and compost. This method can yield fewer weeds and is easier on the back. “It’s an easy concept to grasp for new gardeners,” remarks Joy. “We use it to both maxi- mize output in a small area and ensure healthy, organic, contaminant-free soil.”
Rooftop gardens are becoming more common as larger agricultural
operations use them to grow income crops. The U.S. Department of Agricul- ture considers anyone that sells more than $1,000 of produce to neighbors or area restaurants a farmer, rather than a gardener, so regulations may apply. For renters, just a few tomato plants in a well-maintained container on a patio or deck can yield as much as 50 pounds of tomatoes by taking advantage of its microclimate, influ- enced by wind blocks, heated surfaces and reflected light from windows. Urban gardening is also thriving indoors in terrariums, window boxes and small greenhouses. Even partially lit rooms can support certain vegeta- bles or herbs with grow lights. Aqua- ponic gardening, a closed-loop system that involves both fish and vegetables, expands the self-sufficient possibilities of a hydroponic system of growing plants fed by liquid nutrients.
Grow on Menus Local Foods “M
any restaurants are seek- ing to lower ‘food miles’ and offer fresher, more
local food,” reports Michael Osh- man, founder and CEO of the Green Restaurant Association, which certi- fies sustainably operated restaurants. The 500-plus restaurants certified since 1990 include university, gov- ernment and corporate cafeterias. The award-winning Uncom- mon Ground restaurant, in Chicago’s Edgewater neighborhood, maximizes the nation’s first certified organic rooftop farm using just 654 square feet of soil. Combined with its Wrig- leyville restaurant’s “sidewalk farm”, client chefs receive 1,200 pounds of fresh produce each year, valued at more than $5,600. Ingredients not
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grown onsite are sourced directly from regional farms, with their names often appearing on the menu. Com- munity education is also part of the program.
According to the “What’s Hot” National Restaurant Association nationwide survey of chefs, hyperlo- cal food sourcing, including rooftop farms, was the fifth-most-popular trend in 2011. Also in the top 10 were locally grown produce sourced from area farmers, farm-branded ingredients and sustainability. “Customers now have an oppor- tunity to demand local and organic ingredients as much as possible,” concludes Oshman. More Americans than ever want to know the origin of what’s on their plate.
Feeding Ourselves With more than 80 percent of Ameri- cans currently living in urban and suburban areas, the questionable nutri- tion of many mass-produced foods, increasing pesticide and herbicide use by non-organic farmers, greenhouse gas emissions from food transport and weather patterns altered by climate change, it’s past time to take back some control. Operating our own gardens and preparing our own meals turns us back into producers, not merely consumers.
“For the most part, we’re just av- erage suburbanites,” concludes Brown. “We just choose to have less lawn and more garden. A huge benefit is that we need less income because we’re buying less at the grocery store. Our goal is to semi-retire in our mid-50s— not because we’ve made a bunch of money, but because we’ve needed less money to live along the way.”
John Ivanko and Lisa Kivirist, co-authors of Farmstead Chef (FarmsteadChef. com), ECOpreneuring and Rural Re- naissance, operate the award-winning Inn Serendipity Bed & Breakfast, in Browntown, WI. They grow 70 percent of their organic food; the cost savings helped them become mortgage-free in their mid-40s.
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