Urban gardens grow, fed by lean economy

Driven by economy, inspired by Michelle Obama, city goes country

When first lady Michelle Obama dug up a patch on the South lawn last month for a vegetable garden, the phone immediately rang at Green Thumb, the group that assists more than 600 New York City community gardens.

As the economy drops and the locavore movement of people looking to eat food produced locally grows, more people are digging city gardens. Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer wants a public garden in City Hall Park.

“People are now ready to turn any space you can into a [garden],” Green Thumb’s Dyanne Norris said. “Food is a necessity, but you don’t have to buy it. You’re seeing a reaction to that.”

Anthony Jessica, 37, is preparing a 10-by-20-foot plot with a group of others at Miller Field on Staten Island. They’re calling it the Staten Island Victory Garden.

“My wife and I have economic issues when it comes to food costs,” said Jessica, who believes  companies are putting less food in packages but increasing prices.

“There’s a huge convergence of economic need and a population of locavores at this moment to make food-producing gardens more popular,” said environmental planner Kate Zidar, who grows mint and strawberries on the roof of Fort Greene restaurant Habana Outpost.

Want to grow in New York City?

• Metro asked environmental planner Kate Zidar for advice

1 Find your local community garden through Green Thumb
(www.greenthumbnyc.org). “Ask what you can do for the garden first and then you can learn what the garden can do for you and your pocketbook,” said Zidar.

2 Grow you own food in a window box. Zidar suggests basil and tomato (if you get enough light). “Get a little bit of compost and a little bit of dirt. Put it in a coffee jar and use wire to suspend it from the window,” she said.

3 Take a compost class. Zidar runs the North Brooklyn Compost Project and teaches New Yorkers how to make their own worm bins to recycle fruit and veggie scraps.
For more info, visit www.nyccompost.org.

• Window box tips from the Brooklyn Botanic Garden

1 Make sure the window box has drainage holes in the bottom. A layer of rocks, gravel or broken clay pots with a thin layer of newspaper over them can improve drainage.

2 Use a lightweight soil. Sprinkle in slow-release granular fertilizer. Add water and mix well so that the soil is damp to the touch and evenly mixed. 


3 When removing plants from their packs, gently “tickle” the roots with your fingers to loosen them, and place in soil. Allow about 2 inches to 4 inches between the plants.

4 Uarefully press the soil around each plant. Water well. If you have seeds to plant, pop them in now.