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26 December 2011
Prior to leaving the city for the holiday weekend, I received an early Christmas present: a hanging herb garden made out of a re-purposed fruit basket. The unexceptional – but handy – fruit basket had recently been taken out of commission by a roommate with one exceptionally bountiful supply of bananas. Someone had picked up on my wistful glances.
The three-tier basket sports new chains and key rings, both easy fixes from the hardware store. The garden features lettuce, thyme, chives, sage and spearmint. Like many SF residents, the back door of my apartment opens onto a stairwell. Swinging the door open to see fresh food at eye level is a treat and makes it more likely that I'll tend to the garden.
One of the major attractions for me when the farm first began was the Kitchen Garden Workshop. Planting and harvesting large-scale is not always going to be an option, living as an urban renter, but growing herbs and vegetables in small spaces like window sills and stairwells is accessible and fairly easy. Small scale gardens may not yield tons, but they do produce flavorful additions to any recipe– and it feels great to not kill plants! I find it encouraging to try small scale ventures and separate them in some way, so that if one plant or section dies it doesn't feel like the whole project has failed.
The plants are packed into soil with a thin layer of sphagnum moss to hold the soil in place. A little goes a long way, making this project low impact on time and budget. Almost any metal form would work well; I'm sure there are some really creative pieces out there. We have a bike wheel succulent planter on the farm, which might even work in the right space.
Do any of you have similar hanging pots? Please share! I'd love to see what other people are using. If you have any questions about replicating the project, please feel free to email me at
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. Similarly, if you're interested in a workshop, we can make one at the farm, perhaps even bringing back the Kitchen Garden Workshop. Let us know via email or on Facebook if you'd be interested and we'll bring it back!
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Over a thousand volunteers, neighbors, and community members have helped coordinate the farm efforts.
I always enjoy greenery that provides a feast for the eyes and stomach! In college, I tried growing some kitchen herbs on our balcony but the hanging ones always seemed to die off. I find it challenging to properly irrigate hanging plants. Maybe Bob Marley was referring to watering his thyme plants in, "Babylon system is the vampire, yea!"
What's the trick? Perhaps HVF can provide a small workshop on that subject.