NYC and IDC

No man but feels more of a man in the world if he have a bit of ground that he can call his own.  However small it is on the surface, it is four thousand miles deep: and that is a very handsome property. 

-Charles Dudley Warner 

 
I spent the last few days on a business trip to NYC.  Of course, while I was there, I was anxious to see any evidence of personal gardening in the big city.   I wasn't disappointed.  Wherever I looked up I saw small rooftop gardens hanging over the edges of many buildings. On the street level, there were pots filled with flower mixtures and there were small 2 ft square plots around trees filled with pansies and impatiens.   But, the most interesting thing I saw was a small 4 x 8 area of soil that was surrounded on all four sides by sidewalk.  It had a variety of flowers and veggies snuggled up together inside of it with supports in place where appropriate.  The amazing thing is that it was also surrounded by a six foot chain link fence.  That tiny piece of land with homegrown vegetables and flowers was evidently very near and dear to the gardener's heart.  I completely understood the value of that little bit of land.  It made me realize how very fortunate I am to have my three-quarters of an acre (which I ignored and planted with grass for a dozen years).  On that note, here is how I used my land since the last IDC post:

1. Plant Something: pole beans, dill, marigolds, purple cone flower, May Night Salvia
2. Harvest Something: lettuces, spinach, beet greens, radishes, garlic (fall planted), rosemary
3. Preserve Something: no
4. Waste Not: regular composting, etc.
5. Want Not: scored a free gardening book and cookbook for my budding library. Purchased a dying perennial for $3 and nursed it back to health.
6. Build Community Food Systems: attended local farmer's market and spent targeted $10+ dollars. Purchased goat's milk soap and cheese and a packet of dried herbs.
7. Eat The Food: lots of delicious salads!

That's it for this week.  Happy Memorial Day to everyone and happy birthday to my brother!