Duncan Day-Myron
Photo by Marianne Pointner
Getting down and dirty in your garden is a satisfying thing. But for many students, the process of digging up their backyard is a bit of a daunting task, and might seem impractical at first: limited space, limited sun and limited time are all mitigating factors to being able to tear up the earth and make something of it.
But as the spring comes to a close and summer rears it hot, humid head, gardening outdoors is an excellent way, not only to spend sometime outside, but to provide yourself with fresh flowers, herbs, fruits or vegetables. And despite any challenges, it is worth the rewards.
Ryan Hamelin is a University of Guelph student who has made the effort to transform his backyard into a vegetable garden for the first time this year.
“We have been growing a number of tomato varieties, squash, lettuce, broccoli, peppers, eggplants, beans and carrots,” said Hamelin. “The tomatoes, squash and lettuce have been growing really well and are starting to flower already.”
The process began a few months ago when Hamelin started growing his vegetables from seed in his home, with the individual seedlings sprouting up underneath a grow light.
Although it meant starting early and stocking up on equipment, for him there are benefits to beginning the process from the ground up, so to speak.
“We grow from seeds because we could find more interesting varieties of vegetable for a lower price,” he said. “The coolest crops we have are Cosmic Purple Carrots and Chocolate Cherry Tomatoes.”
Beyond just being able to have a greater selection than the starter plants you might find at grocery and department stores or farmer’s markets, it also contributed to the whole experience for Hamelin.
“Also starting from seeds allowed us to experience more aspects of gardening,” he said.
But growing from seed wasn’t without its own brand of difficulties.
“The difficulty of growing from seed is that is requires a grow light or large south facing windows if you want to get started early enough,” he said.
Once his seeds were established, their growth also brought an issue to the table. When asked what challenges he’d faced, Hamelin’s seedlings were number one.
“The main problem we have encountered was running out of space while growing inside under a grow light,” he continued. “The other issue that we are currently wrestling with is that our back yard is a clay soil with poor drainage, this has led to some flooding issues.”
His experience this year has provided him with some insight into the process, and offers some advice to other first-time growers.
“I would say to start small with one to ten species; if you are too ambitious you will become overwhelmed and some plants will inevitable be neglected,” he advises.
Where you grow your plants is also something to think about. Gardening doesn’t necessarily need to be in a garden, and for Hamelin there are advantages to other options.
“If people are short on room they should consider growing plants in pots rather than a true garden. Pots offer the advantage of requiring less room and soil, as well they are mobile, so you can take them with you if you are moving in September,” he said.
Tahlia Dyer is another University of Guelph student whose experiences in her own garden have given her some wisdom on the subject. Her best advice is to be an attentive grower.
“It’s really important to maintain it,” she said. “It’s a responsibility. If you want something out of it, you have to take care of it.”
Dyer’s experiences for growing plants are very similar to Hamelin’s. On the topic of easily maintained plants, tomatoes are at the top of the list.
“From what I’ve done, tomatoes and hanging strawberries and a lot of root vegetables [are easiest],” she said. “But that’s just my experience.”
If you still don’t think you have the time to maintain your own garden, then there is an organization in Guelph who will be glad to do it for you.
Backyard Bounty is an urban farming project based out of Guelph that encourages people to donate their unused yards to grow produce to distribute to community shared or supported agriculture (CSA) members.
“If you donate your yard, that means we use your yard for our vegetable production and our farmers will come and cultivate your land and we distribute that food to our CSA members and our other clients,” explained Ursula Abramczyk, program coordinator for Backyard Bounty. “We have 30 to 40 plots throughout the city where we grow vegetable produce.”
Backyard Bounty has two experienced farmers on staff, but rely a great deal on volunteer contributions.
“Backyard Bounty runs and is dependent right now off the support from our volunteers,” Abramczyk continued. “You can volunteer with markets, at events, but especially with gardening.”
In that way, Backyard Bounty would be well suited not only to people who have a yard their not gardening on, but also people who want to garden but don’t have a yard.
“We accept volunteers in the summer and fall,” Abramczyk said. “We provide training. We have tools here. Essentially if you have an interest in gardening, an interest in the outdoors, or you want to support local food, you can come out. Anyone can do it. It’s easy to get into.”
There are plenty of options available for anyone who wants to put the effort into gardening or growing, and through Backyard Bounty, even some options for those who don’t. Urban and small-scale growing is an interesting and increasingly popular option. And it doesn’t just end at residential backyard grow operations either. Testament to this is the growth of Small Plot Intensive Farming, or SPIN-Farming.
SPIN-Farming takes the idea of the vegetable farm, and transfers it to a smaller space, often under an acre of land. Although still a fledgling idea, the website spinfarming.com lists approximately 60 individuals practicing SPIN farming, it’s idea of using smaller plots of land for vegetable farming makes it possible to operate an entrepreneurial farm with as little as half an acre, suitable for country, suburban and even urban areas.
Although growing tomatoes in your backyard might seem like a small move, it helps support an idea and a practice of bring vegetables and produce consumption so much closer to home.
Growing season isn’t over yet. There’s still time to get on your knees, get your hands dirty and make something of even the smallest space.
Loading ...
