Growing Veggies in a City?

[YKDesigns]

As a brief introduction, my name is Yasmin Khan and I am currently in my fourth and final year studying towards a Masters in Product Design and Manufacture (MEng) at the University of Nottingham.

I am currently in the early stages of my final project with my chosen brief of Urban Agriculture: designing a product that is simple to set up, manufacture, implement and maintain within the context of the urban environment. As I am still at the beginning of my project I am still not sure what direction it will take – be it fruit/veg, animals (i.e. bee keeping or keeping chickens) or composting.

I thought I’d post on this forum and see what your views are. Do you live in a city but still grow your own? Or do you do you grow fruit/veg or keep bees (for instance) as a hobbie and think it would easily transfer over to an urban environment? What do you grow? Any views, opinions, thoughts would be much appreciated. I’m trying to get a rounded view and not just my own thoughts.

Thanks,
Yasmin

[PottyPot]

Originally Posted by YKDesigns

As a brief introduction, my name is Yasmin Khan and I am currently in my fourth and final year studying towards a Masters in Product Design and Manufacture (MEng) at the University of Nottingham.

I am currently in the early stages of my final project with my chosen brief of Urban Agriculture: designing a product that is simple to set up, manufacture, implement and maintain within the context of the urban environment. As I am still at the beginning of my project I am still not sure what direction it will take – be it fruit/veg, animals (i.e. bee keeping or keeping chickens) or composting.

I thought I’d post on this forum and see what your views are. Do you live in a city but still grow your own? Or do you do you grow fruit/veg or keep bees (for instance) as a hobbie and think it would easily transfer over to an urban environment? What do you grow? Any views, opinions, thoughts would be much appreciated. I’m trying to get a rounded view and not just my own thoughts.

Thanks,
Yasmin

Hello Yasmin Products! I could invent garden products till they were coming out of my ears. Could we split the profits

[YKDesigns]

Originally Posted by PottyPot

Hello Yasmin Products! I could invent garden products till they were coming out of my ears. Could we split the profits

lol... as I'm still student I've not managed to make any monies yet. but I live in hope. What do you grow in your garden. I only have a herb garden at the moment, and the weathers giving it bit of a beating.

[PottyPot]

Originally Posted by YKDesigns

lol... as I'm still student I've not managed to make any monies yet. but I live in hope. What do you grow in your garden. I only have a herb garden at the moment, and the weathers giving it bit of a beating.

I grow everything

Where shall I start

Fruit, I have kiwi, plum, apples, pears, quince, rasberry, tayberry, blackberry, strawberry, redcurrant, blackcurrant, whitecurrant, gooseberries, rhubarb, and fig.

Herbs, marjoram, mints, chives, sage, lavendar, comfrey, sweet cecily, parsley, basil, rosemary, thyme, bay. Some are perennial, and some of those I sow each year.

Veg varies but is usually, radish, lettuces, onions and spring onions, garlic, wild garlic, beetroot, peas, beans, cauli, cabbage, pak choi, mustards, kohl rabi, potatoes, celeriac, peppers, toms, aubergine, cucumber, swede, carrots, parsnips, leeks, squash, courgette, and if I can find more space I cram other types in

I have two freezers and freeze homemade roast potatoes, mash, soups, vegetables, and I make my own chutney and jam, and bake my own bread daily

[rachel_nickless]

pottypot what do you use your comfrey for?? Is it true it is a fertiliser??

[PottyPot]

Originally Posted by rachel_nickless

pottypot what do you use your comfrey for?? Is it true it is a fertiliser??

Yes, I put the whole leaves on my compost heap and I make a comfrey tea for the plants. It stinks like the devil itself so put a lid on whatever you use. I have a black plastic dustbin with lid on it and that is where I leave my liquid to fester

[airconednightmare]

as someone who already practices indoor gardening, i have to tell you there are already a multitude of starter kits on the market. unless you can differentiate your product in some way i don't see it being a runaway success.

i love the concept of keeping live animals in an urban environment but my concern would lie with animal welfare - i'm finding it difficult to imagine how you would raise animals without just confining them in some way. i mean no one wants a diy battery chicken farming kit

[Thomas W]

Originally Posted by YKDesigns

... Do you live in a city but still grow your own? Or do you do you grow fruit/veg or keep bees (for instance) as a hobbie and think it would easily transfer over to an urban environment? What do you grow? ...

For the past two years I have been growing my own, surrounded by neighbours and a busy road, in a town of 11k people. The bumble bees didn't move into my homemade nest, but all sorts of pests did find my garden and ate all they could. I've managed to grow peach, cucumber, strawberry, parsnip, tomato, beans, peas, onions, red beets, nose hair, squash, radish, carrots, spinach, lettuce, potatoes, apples, red currant, black currant, grapes, blackberry. It's a hobby, but PottyPot is my hero

Originally Posted by PottyPot

I grow everything

Where shall I start
...

By letting me pick your brain okay? No, seriously, where do I sign up as an apprentice? Wax on, wax off.

[PottyPot]

Originally Posted by Thomas W

For the past two years I have been growing my own, surrounded by neighbours and a busy road, in a town of 11k people. The bumble bees didn't move into my homemade nest, but all sorts of pests did find my garden and ate all they could. I've managed to grow peach, cucumber, strawberry, parsnip, tomato, beans, peas, onions, red beets, nose hair, squash, radish, carrots, spinach, lettuce, potatoes, apples, red currant, black currant, grapes, blackberry. It's a hobby, but PottyPot is my hero



By letting me pick your brain okay? No, seriously, where do I sign up as an apprentice? Wax on, wax off.

Ha ha I'm desperate for more space and intend to free up some ground this year by using a fence panel as a salad garden

It might be nice if the other forum users give it a go, and see what we can come up with?

Ok here goes...

Take a large plastic heavy duty dust sheet and afix to the fence panel. This is to prevent it rotting.

Now get a roll of chicken wire, or heavy duty plastic bean mesh, and mustering all your skill, make some deep pockets, 12" deep should be enough.

Fit one at the top of the panel, one in the middle, and one at the bottom. Make sure you're fitting to the posts either side of the panel as they will take the weight, and not the panel itself.

Line pockets with more dust sheet, or old wooly jumpers, and fill with good light free draining compost.

Now, sow your seeds

I did a drawing. I'm not Leonardo but I hope you get the jist.

[PottyPot]

Just to add, if you wanted to make timber troughs to fit the fence they would look designer fab

[airconednightmare]

that's a cracking idea, got me thinking of all the other vertical space i have. lol

[rachel_nickless]

crikey that's some contraption - my other half would go loony if I did that. I am already well over my allotted space in what should be our "minimalist" garden. I keep pushing on inch by inch. Soon enough the garden will be overtaken with all my fruit and veg....mwuah hahaha!

[PottyPot]

Originally Posted by rachel_nickless

crikey that's some contraption - my other half would go loony if I did that. I am already well over my allotted space in what should be our "minimalist" garden. I keep pushing on inch by inch. Soon enough the garden will be overtaken with all my fruit and veg....mwuah hahaha!

We must take over and populate the world with veg

[DavidT]

Let`s all follow Pottypot and vegetate the world.

[PottyPot]

Originally Posted by airconednightmare

that's a cracking idea, got me thinking of all the other vertical space i have. lol

Get thee to the plumbers and buy some plastic down pipe Take a one inch router and make holes all over it. Now, poke a stout garden cane into the ground and thread your pipe over it and screw it into the ground to stabilise it. Fill with soil a bit at a time and poke strawberry plants into the holes as you go A good gust of wind and you could have the leaning tower of strawberry if not pushed down far enough

[PottyPot]

Originally Posted by DavidT

Let`s all follow Pottypot and vegetate the world.

Procreation is such a wonderful thing

[DavidT]

VEGETATE I said not, impregnate.

[PottyPot]

Originally Posted by DavidT

VEGETATE I said not, impregnate.

I'm too old to know the difference

[DavidT]

I know the feeling.

[PottyPot]

Originally Posted by DavidT

I know the feeling.

I can see I'm becoming a bad influence